|
|
Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 21, 2007 1:43:35 GMT -5
I met Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy in one of the bathrooms of the Atlanta airport when I was 6 or 7. Completely scared of him (because he was a heel), I nagged my dad to get his autograph, not knowing how completely rude that was. Luckily, Gordy overheard this, came over laughing, said hello, and wound up autographing a picture of the 'Birds inside of the Pro Wrestling Illustrated that I had in my backpack.
That's the only wrestler I ever met, but it was pretty darn cool, especially at that age.
|
|
|
|
Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 19, 2007 12:34:19 GMT -5
Pretty interesting stuff, Konnan makes really smart and/or interesting points.
|
|
|
|
Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 16, 2007 6:33:07 GMT -5
When I first saw Joe, my initial impressions of his character were him seeming like some upper level character from Nintendo's "Punch Out". And I only mean this as a compliment.
He's got the old-school sounding name, comes out with the towel around the neck, the telegenic scowl, the unique body, and then he almost always beats the absolute pee out of people and they couldn't do anything about it.
I'm confused by those who wonder what his character is...I think he's always had a definitive character/gimmick as the cold calculating mothersmurfer who knows he's the toughest guy around and beats people up 'cause that's what he's best at, and TNA has stayed true to that character (and yes, even protected it), even though they haven't given him 97 World Titles.
|
|
|
|
Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 14, 2007 4:18:01 GMT -5
Here are some more detailed spoilers from Meltzer's site...
11/13/2007 11:24:00 PM
TNA Impact spoilers from Orlando
by David Tuthill
TNA returned for a second day's worth of tapings. They were taping for
different weeks and it was hard to keep track of what went where, but
here are the results:
-Chris Sabin d. Brother Devon and Abyss in a three-way. I suppose this
was the first round of the "Turkey Bowl" that was taped yesterday
-Samoa Joe d. Johnny Devine and Kip James in a three-way. Havok
changing his name was just the beginning for names tonight. Joe won
with an Island Driver on Havok.
-AJ Styles d. Christian Cage and Jay Lethal in a three-way. Cage
didn't come out at first, so it was Styles and Lethal early. When he
did, Styles ran away from him. Cage had Lethal beat with an Unprettier
but Styles hit a springboard splash while Cage was turned for the pin.
-ODB d. Velvet Sky (Talia Madison) and Angelina Love (Angel Williams).
Very odd to change the names of the wrestler's who have already been
on TV. OK match. ODB won with a top rope thesz press. She is really
great. The women's division in TNA has been a big surprise.
-Booker T and Sharmell come out for a promo. He says he's in TNA to
make it the best company in the world and that he's gunning for the
world title. Robert Roode comes out and the two banter back and forth
before security gets in between them. They agree to a match later.
-Jimmy Rave & Christy Hemme d. Eric Young & Gail Kim. The
Rave/Hoyt/Hemme act are being called the "Rock n Rave Infection". That
isn't a typo. After the match, James Storm comes out and challenges
Eric Young to a speed drinking contest. Whoever can drink the most in
60 seconds wins the belt. It was funny seeing Young win despite
pouring 90% of the beer down his chest. After Young is declared the
winner, Storm breaks a bottle over his head and lays him out. Young
bleeds VERY heavily. It's kind of odd to do such a heavy angle in a
comedy feud, but this certainly got over.
-Team 3D d. Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal in a Streetfight. They brawled
around early, with Dutt and Lethal both doing dives into the crowd.
Dutt landed a flip van terminator with a trash can. Johnny Devine came
out and distracted Dutt and Lethal, enabling the Dudleyz to nail the
3D for the pin.
-Rhino d. Relic. Short. Rhino with the Gore. Black Reign hits the ring
for a 2on1 post match, and Abyss makes the save. We're running on a
treadmill with these guys.
-Booker T d. Robert Roode. Pretty standard match here, but you can
definitely tell Booker is a lot happier. Roode went for a chairshot
and Booker got out of the way and nailed a leg lariat and hit the Axe
kick for the win.
-MAIN EVENT: Samoa Joe, Kaz, Scott Steiner & Abyss d. Kurt Angle,
Christian Cage, Tomko, and AJ Styles. Why won't they call him
Kazarian? Great, long, match. The finish was all eight guys coming in
with one of their trademark moves, Joe poking AJ in the eyes, Cage
setting up Joe for an Unprettier until AJ nailed him blind with a kick
before Joe hit Cage with the Island Driver and pinned him. Afterwards,
The Outsiders came out to the top of the ramp and clapped for Joe. Go
out of your way to see this one.
Xplosion Matches:
-Johnny Devine d. Petey Williams. Devine won with a Double Underhook Piledriver.
-VKM & Roxxi Lavaugh d. Chris Harris, Shark Boy, and Angelina Love
(Angel Williams).
|
|
|
|
Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 14, 2007 4:59:27 GMT -5
Back in the day, like 1992-93, the old news letters I've seen used to speak of Sabu, Cactus Jack, and Sean Waltman (well, The Lightning Kid) in the same 100% glowing, do-no-wrong tones as the IWC and newz reporters currently speak of Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe, The Briscoes, and KENTA. Really. Looking back, you'd think that younger Sabu would've had the reputation closer to Teddy Hart, but everyone seemed to praise his ability, and think he was actually the future, not just a spot monkey.
You've got to remember, Sabu was so different than anything else going on, he was a pretty big deal to smarks (in a good way). As he got older, his high-risk style became a caricature of itself, and he's as synonymous with missing the big spots as he is actually hitting them. And he "botched"/missed a ton of moves back then, too, but those were usually on purpose to reverse the momentum of the match...not because his knees hurt and he slipped on the rope.
And that Sabu-Scorpio match from '96 is pretty awesome. Nary a botch. I know this will sound insane, but I think Sabu's a far better ring technician and ring psychologist than he gets credit for. The stuff he tries in the ring is absolutely ridiculous, but he's worked so hard on his character, that everything he does is 100% believable (no matter how ludicrous).
Plus, he's one of the top sellers of all-time...and probably because he's usually in legitimate pain.
|
|
|
|
Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 13, 2007 5:08:15 GMT -5
Okay. Leaving myself open to the risk of making a terrible analogy, IMO, Daniels is kind of like a veteran utility infielder on a baseball team. He can play 2nd, SS, and 3rd (if needed), maybe CF/LF, he's technically sound, does a great job, doesn't screw up, you can always count on him. You'd never fire/cut him. But if it's the 9th inning during the playoffs, and you need a homer...not a single/walk...maybe you pinch hit for him. For whatever reason, IMO, he's not as easily placeable to make a jump to singles main-eventer as a Samoa Joe, AJ, or even maybe a Kaz or Lethal (eventually). Something's missing.
I'm not saying he doesn't have charisma (he does), and he's not a great worker (he is), there's just something about him that lends itself to a constant stream of pushes towards the top that get aborted, but it's never a travesty when it happens (at least, IMO).
TNA has set him up to be a major main-event player on at least three occasions. One being when he debuted and attacked Jarrett at the end of one of the early Nashville shows. Another being the excellent Joe/AJ/Daniels feud, and then the whole truncated Daniels/Sting angle. But he's at his best in a tag team role, and I think they've just fallen into that line of thinking. They (Jeff Jarrett especially, because he's the one booking constant through Daniels' pushes) like him enough to make him seem like a big deal. Then they use him to elevate other guys (AMW twice, AJ, Samoa Joe, LAX, etc...wouldn't consider Sting as an "elevation").
It's kind of a weird wrestling curse when you're like Daniels and can have above-average matches with just about any opponent, but you're not yet a humongous super-duper star. IMO, Daniels slips into that category like a Tully Blanchard/Bobby Eaton/Terry Taylor/Dean Malenko/Jerry Lynn/Brad Armstrong.
I think it was Scott Hall that once said in a shoot that the worst thing the "office" can say about you is that you're just a "good hand". By that, he was saying you wanna be a really good worker, but not so good that all the bookers will use you for is to make suckier people look better than they actually are...at your expense. Does that make any sense? I think Daniels falls into that category...but there's nothing wrong with that either, because those type of guys are always employed (moreso than the Scott Halls and far suckier workers of the world), and can work as agents until they're 60 if they want.
Everyone can try to become the best worker they can be, but not everyone can be world champion. I'm not saying I wouldn't like to see Daniels eventually win it once (I would), but I doubt it will ever happen. And it doesn't seem like Daniels cares, he's never one of the guys you hear about that's "unhappy" and wants a release. He just shows up, clocks in, and puts on great matches.
|
|
|
|
old ecw
Nov 13, 2007 6:24:01 GMT -5
Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 13, 2007 6:24:01 GMT -5
its overrated in my eyes, i mean ppl complain about impact and its run ins, but ecw had em all the time and had some severely wierd crap in there matchs, like refs slamming wrestlers and other nonsense.. This is easy. Paul Heyman developed his booking style working with/under Eddie Gilbert in ECW, NWA/WCW, Alabama (Continental), and most importantly...Memphis. Eddie Gilbert learned his booking style in Memphis watching Jackie Fargo, Jerry Lawler, Bill Dundee, and... Jerry Jarrett book Memphis since he was a kid and his dad was wrestling/reffing there. Jeff Jarrett and Dutch Mantell (TNA's current bookers) learned under/around the exact same people, and Jeff was around that atmosphere his whole life just like Eddie Gilbert was. ECW's style of massive run-ins and clusterf***s was TOTAL Memphis-style booking taken up about eight notches, set to cool music, and with grungier, more real-life characters. People loved it, and WWE/WCW copied it, and it changed wrestling. TNA takes that Heyman/modern Memphis-style of booking and finishes sometimes, and people hate it, and blame Vince Russo, and say "OMG Russo SWERVEZ"...when it's really just stuff you could see on any really great Memphis angle between 1975-88. To me, that style is outdated, and Heyman did the best at getting it right in the modern age (even better than Vince or WCW did after stealing in the 1990s), but even that's old now. But it's all the same take on controversial Memphis-style southern "rasslin" that's been done for 30-years (which was modern then. And Memphis practically invented ladder, pole, scaffold matches...not Russo). |
|
|
|
Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 9, 2007 14:00:15 GMT -5
TNA's behind it, this info was posted on their YouTube account.
|
|
|
|
Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 13, 2007 0:41:24 GMT -5
*Lance Hoyt and Jimmy Rave defeated LAX.  Haha. Well played. |
|
|
|
Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 12, 2007 0:09:43 GMT -5
Shelley was talking with Alvarez about Hall in TNA on WOL tonight. Basically said he's a good guy to have around, and a good guy for young guys like himself to pick the brain of backstage, he was looking forward to doing just that, and hopefully pick up a thing or two from Hall...since he thinks Hall is a great TV personality, and a pretty good worker in his day.
Didn't sound like he was worried that Hall would hog up all of their TV time, or squash TNA's homegrown talent, so I'm not sure why a small percentage of people on here would be too worried. If you can have the right veterans around, it's better than none at all.
And unless Hall and Nash are completely full of poop, they seem to be pretty open about knowing their place in today's wrestling landscape, and it isn't the same spot as 1996. They're already rich, and openly say they don't need the money (like Fatu apparently), they're doing it for fun. If you're TNA, and you can have Hall and Nash on TV for cheap, and they're well liked backstage and helping young guys, the whole thing's a win/win.
|
|
|
|
Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 10, 2007 17:27:07 GMT -5
I'm a huge Hall mark, and I don't see him wrestling full-time in TNA, and I doubt he wants to. In his Keller shoot, he talked about how he'd most like to be involved in TNA as a backstage agent or member of the creative team.
That said, throwing him on TV for skits/interviews can only be a positive for TNA. This isn't Kip James or Rikishi we're talking about...this is Scott Hall. IMO, he'll be cool and relevant as a TV personality until he's 70. Even as a fat, washed-up old man, he just gets it.
I don't want to watch him wrestle, and I doubt we'll have to very much if he is around. And if he does wrestle, it's not like he'll be squashing young guys. He'll bump for everyone, and always jobs. Like I said, this isn't Kip James or Rikishi.
And as long as Hall's got his head clear, he's one of the few old guys that can add positive value, star power, and help an upcoming national promotion like TNA. There are a lot of lost fans out there that remember him and like him (he was one of the top 7 or 8 most "over" acts from the Monday Night War-era...and they aren't signing Rock, Hogan, Austin, Foley, or Goldberg), and his "hanging around" on TV offers a stamp of approval to TNA.
|
|
|
|
Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 13, 2007 1:07:08 GMT -5
The man's as close to a young Gene Okerlund as we have. And that's not a bad thing.
|
|
|
|
Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 10, 2007 17:06:31 GMT -5
That Dailymotion clip linked earlier in the thread with Nash about TNA, ROH, and Black Machismo is pretty good/interesting too. Other than him talking about how he could beat the X-Division guys in a real fight (which is probably true, even at his age), he's got a lot of good stuff to say about Shelley, Sabin, Lethal, and Dutt.
|
|
|
|
Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 12, 2007 1:12:43 GMT -5
- The Abyss match was stupid as hell...but if you're gonna have that type of segment on your shows, I think Redrum is a good character for the storyline. In my opinion, he should've had Judas Mesias' buildup as Mitchell's new monster. And this might sound insane to lucha/AAA fans, but I can't stand anything about Banderas or his in-ring style, and I think Johnny The Bull has a ton more upside in that role. I've always kind of liked that dude for some reason, even though he kind of sucks. For a total 1997 gimmick, Redrum still has a great look, IMO.
- MCMG looked like major players in beating Team 3D. Great match. Really good promo by the Guns beforehand. For all of us who are incredibly sick of Team 3D, you gotta hand it to them, they showed they still have a little bit in the tank, and actually elevated the guys by losing. If Team 3D really wanted to be uncooperative/unproductive, this could've been a clustersmurf, but it was exactly the opposite.
- Women's match was okay.
- As much as Eric Young annoys me, that Young/Storm drinking thing was funny. Thank god that didn't suck, because that would've been brutal if they kept having to go back to those segments if they weren't working. Storm is so money, and him and Young are great together.
- Lethal vs. Dutt was good. Not sure even Randy Savage would be caught in public wearing whatever in the hell Lethal's new pants were supposed to be. With the new outfit/look it looked like Machismo is slowly evolving out of the 100% tribute act...yet then they stick him with Elizabeth (Val), which should still be pretty good/fun on TV. I was kind of hoping Lethal would've turned on Dutt during their post match celebration and been a crazy-ass, vicious, Savage-style paranoid heel, that could add more of an edge to the character. Maybe it's still too soon for that. Tonight was pretty much the first time he's hit the Macho elbow perfectly, too.
- Tomko/AJ vs. Steiners exceeded my modest expectations. Scotty Steiner and AJ have a good chemistry, and are pretty fun to watch fake-fight. Of course, that might just be cause I could watch Steiner keep hitting AJ with his classic suplexes all day long, and that was happening.
- Joe vs. Roode was really good until the last bit, where it sort of petered out. Roode's gimmick is so bad, but I think he's almost underrated in the ring, and he's been cutting really good promos lately, so I was hoping this would be the night that he really established himself. I'm not sure that happened. Who knows.
- Kaz/Christian was awesome. Christian's really been bringing it lately (plus an awesome pre-match promo), and I think it's cool as hell that they're actually gonna do Angle vs. Kaz in the near future. If anything, the one good thing about TNA doing Angle/Joe and Angle/Sting so many times...is that any time Angle steps in the ring with a fresh new TNA opponent (like the Lethal match), it's got a special feel...and it kind of makes Angle's being in TNA feel like a big deal again. Maybe that's just me.
- It's been said 1,000,000 times before, but Don West and Mike Tenay seriously need to shut the hell up. The Booker T introduction could've felt like a ten-time bigger deal if they would've just shut up went the lights went out and let the MOMENT speak for itself. That's Sports/Pro Wrestling Announcing 101, and that's what happens when you don't have at least one legit broadcaster on the announce team, but rather hire a dirt sheet writer from Vegas and a screaming a-hole that used to sell baseball cards. TNA went to the trouble of making Booker's obvious debut seem really mysterious and special, and Tenay and West almost completely ruined the fun of it.
- Booker looked great. Nash did not, but they do such a good job explaining his injury history, and it looks so hard for him to do even the most simple thing, that it adds a whole other level of intrigue to his matches. I literally sit there hoping the guy doesn't seriously hurt himself, that it brings its own story into the match. Portraying Nash as this beat-up old man is actually a pretty smart way to use him, instead of trying to hide it, and pretend he's the same guy he was in his prime (which is how WCW used their dinosaurs like Hogan, Piper, Savage, etc. in the 1990s).
- Really looking forward to where Christian's character is going from here. The champ lost his damn belt months ago, lost his title shot tonight, now he's apparently lost his friends, and has nothing. Such a simple set up for a story. I like how he's so damn obnoxious that everyone just apparently abandoned him. I hope this doesn't lead to a half-assed face turn, because Christian's at his best being used exactly how he is now.
- Good show. Main event was a clustersmurf, but Booker looked motivated for a fresh new start, I don't mind TNA's main-event clustersmurfs at all when the undercard's really, really good...which it was. I've always hoped TNA would put on a good, consistent product on TV and PPV, and for the past month or two, they're finally starting to deliver.
|
|
|
|
Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 13, 2007 1:25:05 GMT -5
Ah the old rolling the eyes that makes me feel superior and 100% right tactic. Well played. I have it on good authority that you wouldn't have gotten an eye roll had you not said something like "TNA ripping off entrances to screw with their fans". Those were your words, and I'm sorry, but that statement just didn't make any sense whatsoever. If it was stated as your opinion, I would've let it go...like "I think TNA rips off entrances to screw with their fans", but it was stated as fact, so I rolled my eyes. I apologize. |
|
|
|
Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 13, 2007 1:04:55 GMT -5
Just watched the clip... Good ole TNA, ripping off old entrances to screw with their fans. First with Christian's Jericho's now Booker T with the Hollywood Rock stalled organs. Well, considering that the guy who makes TNA's videos (Dave Sahadi) made Jericho's WWE intro and Christian's TNA intro, you could just as easily say that he's ripping off himself. And I really don't know what you mean about Booker's, since I assume that the stalled organs for a minute before his theme song was only "mystery" music because he was the "mystery" opponent. Actually, that was as plain as day. Can't see that being his intro every week. Nevermind, you're right. I sure feel screwed with everytime I see those intros. Every time there's a countdown clock on the big screen, I'm all, "OMGZ, JERICHO'S HERE??? Whoa, hold on. Wait a sec...Christian CAGE!?!? WHAT??? Well, he used to be in WWE too! This'll work!!! THIS IS AWESOME! clap clap clap clap clap THIS IS AWESOME!".  |
|
|
|
Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 12, 2007 15:31:47 GMT -5
Come on guys. Where are the links to his debut last night? There are usually a few floating around by now. relevance/search/tna+genesis/video/x3gn94_tna-genesis-07anglenash-vs-sting_sport |
|
|
|
Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 11, 2007 8:21:02 GMT -5
I think it needs to happen to make the Lethal gimmick worth it. Um, the fact that it's already one of the most over gimmicks on wrestling TV makes the Lethal gimmick "worth it". Secretly, McMahon kicks himself (slightly) every once in a while over the fact that he doesn't have this gimmick/act on his side. It's really one of the few things TNA got right during their dark creative period from Oct. 2006-August 2007 of ultimate suckdom. |
|
|
|
Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 11, 2007 9:51:08 GMT -5
There's a reason for that, though. In ROH, it'd be "here they are, now watch them wrestle" whereas in TNA it would be "they were in WWE, here is every major angle they ever did, remember them, from WWE, because they were there you know, in WWE that is". um usually they just mention that they worked for the wwe, and usually only once. SHHH, poisonrana. You make too much sense, and provide too much honesty. (quiet) |
|
|
|
Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 11, 2007 8:40:57 GMT -5
When Nova was fully active, he was always one of the most overrated workers. He was like Jerry Lynn cross-bred with Kanyon, but somehow blander and sucked more than both combined.
Maybe he's a great instructor/backstage guy, I wouldn't know, but he holds no value on a wrestling TV show in 2007. Guys like London/Kendrick, MCMG, and 10,000 ROH guys make Nova's "innovative" style look like Gene Kiniski.
|
|
