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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Dec 23, 2007 16:30:16 GMT -5
LAX.
They seem de-pushed right now because they're feuding with Rave/Hoyt, but the booking team seems like they're only doing that to take their time (for once) in reintroducing Shelly Martinez. Once she's unmasked as the babe of the group, she's gonna be a great fit, and I got a feeling they're gonna be a pretty hot act again, back at the top of the tag division. IMO, they should already be one of the company's top acts.
They're marketable, cool, and awesome in the ring. Plus, LAX/MCMG could really elevate each other with a series of hot matches in 2008.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Dec 23, 2007 0:22:04 GMT -5
I'm at the half-way point of the replay of this wretched show, and it's not too bad, IMO. The Christmas gimmicky matches aren't the end of the world, and I kind of like it. It's the holiday season, lots of people puts lights and bows on things, and people do goofy stuff they wouldn't normally do during the rest of the year. In that way, TNA isn't much different than your neighbor with the stupid plastic Santa and five reindeer in his front yard.
The Eric Young holiday party isn't the worst thing I've ever seen. Guys like Meltzer have good intentions with their opinions regarding things being "good for business", but if TNA isn't drawing PPV buyers the other 50 weeks of the year, they'd might as well have fun with their Thanksgiving and Christmas TV shows, and try to hold serve on the ratings front during traditionally slow weeks of the year for scoring viewers.
Maybe that's a defeatist way to approach things, and in a perfect world they would have two hours of straight, super serious action that sets up huge MONEY matches on the January PPV...but mainstream TV professional wrestling in the U.S. has NEVER been that (not even if you count original ECW, Crockett, AWA, and UWF). Wrestling in every era has had really cheesy, campy stuff as a side garnish to the action...that's always been part of the appeal of pro wrestling. Michael Hayes used to dress up like Santa Claus and attack the Von Erichs, and it was both funny and serious business meant to draw money...it's a good thing Lance Storm wasn't doing a weekly online commentary back then.
I'm not bored while watching whatever this week's episode of Impact is supposed to be, and I'm glad for that.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Dec 14, 2007 5:10:14 GMT -5
Daniels started wrestling when he was trying to become a legit actor in Chicago, so I was impressed with his ability to cry on cue when getting fired. He did such a good job, they should've played his firing up more and made it a bigger deal/moment, instead of cutting away immediately.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Dec 14, 2007 6:11:50 GMT -5
The night after Scotty turned on Rick, he bleached his hair blonde, and came out as "White Lightning" on the very next Nitro.
In one of Scott's shoots, he claims that Bischoff and everyone had no clue that he was going to bleach his hair and stuff while doing the heel turn/going NWO, he just always wanted to do something like that if/when he ever turned heel, and not many people recognized him when he got to the arena. But, they thought it was cool and ran with it. I'd say he was lying, but WCW was so unorganized back then, I'd believe it.
Shortly thereafter, he was "Superstar Scott Steiner", which evolved into Big Poppa Pump...which I think he started calling himself while he was "Superstar Scott Steiner".
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Dec 14, 2007 5:39:02 GMT -5
And leave the guy alone about the robe. It's Terry Taylor's robe. Literally.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Dec 14, 2007 5:37:30 GMT -5
Actually I think he's doing better at this gimmick than his generic heel stable member role in Team Canada even if his gimmick is a mishmash of Million Dollar Man/Rick Rude. Not everybody needs to be running around spouting off about pie, games, roosters, and stompin' mudholes every 5 minutes. Why do people say he's like Rick Rude? Because he wears a robe? Because his last name is Roode, which isn't a gimmick, it's his actual name? Rick Rude was a narcissist who was always talking about how sexy he was and that wrestling fans were fat, out of shape losers. Bobby Roode hasn't really done that at all I've always hated that Rick Rude comparison. And I like both Rick and Robert. But they are SO different. As a worker, Roode's much closer to (Rick's pal) Curt Hennig. I'm not saying he's as good as Hennig, but Hennig wasn't really awesome until around 1987 in AWA...and Roode's around that point in his career. And if we want to nerd out about it, Roode's always taken Hennig-style bumps, plus stole the guy's entire offense. On the other hand, Rick Rude was a REALLY good worker by 1991 or so, but every match before then was basically like watching Chris Masters or Lex Luger wrestle (which I guess means there's still hope for Masters)...but Bobby Roode's always been better than that level in the ring, even in his Team Canada days. Roode's really solid for the main event style, and his mic work is coming on super strong. The guy's gonna be a star eventually. I think he'd be huge in WWE (with the right character) within a matter of months. In fact, if I were Vince McMahon and had to raid TNA for any five of TNA's "homegrown" wrestlers...Robert Roode would be in my top three. The guy's getting pretty good, he's just been handled terribly from a creative standpoint in TNA since he left Team Canada two years ago...though I guess it's looking better there, too. |
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Dec 14, 2007 6:02:57 GMT -5
I don't really see these guys making it big. Maybe they might make it to ROH or something. Alot of their stuff is just not my taste. Whoa. Okay, Chris Adams trained Steve Austin AND practically invented the wrestling "superkick" (where did HBK steal it from?), so don't know why anyone could hate on him. Plus, Gino Hernandez (for years) was on the cusp of superstardom before his untimely demise. He had the look, charisma, and he was a big deal EVERYWHERE. If Vince could've snatched Gino up in 1986 or 1987 (and he would've), he'd be one of the legendary characters of that late-1980s era. He was a much bigger "deal" in the old magazines and on TV than a Ted DiBiase (though not nearly as good of a worker), and was perfect for 1980s WWF. Gino would've been a WWE legend to today's mainstream fan with whatever "Latin Lover" character Vince came up with (or whatever else). He was that good. Hell, WWF could've given him Rick Martel's "The Model" character, and he'd make more money than Martel and his awkward promos. BTW: They'd fit terribly in ROH. Especially w/Gino's awful top rope finisher. But they'd be money just about everywhere else...in any period of time. |
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Dec 14, 2007 5:02:30 GMT -5
When I had a subscription to the Observer, apparently Heyman was begging Vince to bring in Bob Sapp as the WWECW Champion...negotiations fell through, and Vince gave us ECW Champion Bobby Lashley.
Lashley and Sapp aren't similar at all as performers, but nevertheless, Lashley apparently got that spot at the ECW D2D PPV as the new surprise ECW champ. It was a shame too, because I think Sapp would've been super huge in WWE. That guy "gets it", and in a way that hosses like Bobby Lashley or Gene Snitsky never will.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Dec 14, 2007 5:06:55 GMT -5
I get the wrestling shoes, I'd be more concerned as to where his kneepads went. Don't know if he lost them or has quit wearing them, but he has totally Greg Valentine'd it out with the kneepads for his last few TNA appearances.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Dec 8, 2007 18:05:50 GMT -5
I just think WWE's matches are better on average. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. But, no, they aren't. |
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Dec 8, 2007 0:06:30 GMT -5
ECW should've made some sort of dent in the TNA ratings. They made none.
Maybe I'm about to make a grand assumption, but I can't think that there are hypothetically 1.4 or 1.5 million wrestling fans every single week that watch Impact yet also...
1. NEVER watch ECW
2. Watch ECW, but completely forgot ECW was pre-empted this Thursday.
3. Remembered that ECW was on, yet stayed 100% with Impact in a head-to-head battle for one hour.
The fact that TNA held serve against any hour of Vince McMahon programming should be considered a victory. I know the running jokes about TNA scoring 1.1 every single night no matter what, and no matter how many things are on a pole, but the fact they scored that last night against a major national wrestling show was fairly impressive...no matter how the TNA haters want to spin it.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Dec 10, 2007 5:23:32 GMT -5
DDP for sure (I don't count the "Stunner" as the same deal...good stuff, but different move). That said, Homicide is doing the best "cutter" in the business right now...so he should've definitely been a poll option, IMO
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Dec 4, 2007 23:36:51 GMT -5
I always wanted to catch some of that, thanks. Growing up watching the Saturday night NWA WTBS show, it's really weird hearing that same old school "World Championship Wrestling" music and the upcoming arena events flying through space, but advertising WWF cards.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 29, 2007 2:28:32 GMT -5
The Planet Jarrett/Team Canada/Abyss "funeral" for Team 3D in the early SpikeTV era was pretty good. www.youtube.com/watch?v=II74jd4t7FQThis was the first I (personally) remember of James Storm or Eric Young really starting to break out from their old, blander early TNA personas. Storm was already carrying around a beer bottle, but used to just say "sorry 'bout yo damn luck", and wasn't given the chance to show he was funny until stealing the show in this...and I'm pretty sure this was when Eric Young started to become really, really dumb...instead of "Team Canada Member #4". I believe this was during the D'Amore/Jarrett/Mantell/Tenay booking days, but someone out there might know better about the specifics. |
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 28, 2007 8:10:00 GMT -5
Alvarez's TNA gripes are FAR less informed/logical than this board's even most vehement anti-TNA posters. I swear, his "ON A POLE!!!!" match gripe is more cringe inducing then watching Dave Coulier trot out the "CUT IT OUT!!!" catchphrase when even Full House's laugh track stopped acknowledging it.
Alvarez's schtick is incredibly tired, and it's gotta sting him to know that former/current wrestlers like Chris Jericho and Mick Foley are not only 10,000 times more talented/successful than him, but also funnier, and far more engaging writers...with probably 10,000 times less experience at writing about wrestling at a keyboard.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 28, 2007 7:44:49 GMT -5
HALL: "Hey Giant, that's your cue (...bumbling)...you big dummy."
Nash talks about this episode in one of his shoots. They were a couple 100 miles away from the show and were driving down together, and thought it be fun to share a six-pack on the way down. Then one of them were like, "you think that'll be enough?". Then they (supposedly) bought two 12-packs, killed 'em, showed up drunk to the live local 6:00pm evening news somewhere in FL...then headed over to Nitro, where Hall and Nash showed up late, then both started drinking cocktails before their segment. Nash said that one of them smacked their head hard on the bottom of the pool during the Giant segment.
Bischoff was gonna fire Hall that night, and send Nash to rehab...but it wound up Hall being sent to rehab, and nothing happened to Nash.
The Outsiders were being terrible examples of how to live, but were still pretty fun TV personalities. The story of this night (complete with a post-Nitro Hall vs. Sting drinking contest...and how Nash wasn't sent to rehab) is enough to check out one of Nash's shoots, if you haven't yet. Those guys were nuts back then.
And if anyone can find a tape of that local evening news with The Drunk Outsiders live in studio, I'd assume that's worth uploading...
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 23, 2007 19:02:48 GMT -5
I like the Feast or Famine/Fired idea.
Hasn't wrestling ALWAYS been about desperate men resorting to desperate measures to put themselves in position to compete for and win titles, because titles represent wealth and prestige? This match concept is the simplistic human concept of high risk/high reward. People gamble in real life, people make drastic decisions. It's not really that ridiculous, nor anymore ridiculous than Money in the Bank, or a typical ladder match.
Then again, seems like the same few people seem to flame/complicate just about any TNA idea, no matter how simple it is. Plus the "on a pole" jokes never, EVER get tired.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 21, 2007 3:56:18 GMT -5
I'd like to congratulate Mr. Storm on his upgrade to digital cable. And his use of "LOL" at the end of his Batista burn.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 19, 2007 3:49:37 GMT -5
Samoa Joe
LAX (please push these guys to the moon as faces...plus they have cool T-Shirts and stuff that don't look like anything that has to do with wrestling.)
The Guns
AJ Styles
Kaz
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Nov 21, 2007 13:13:05 GMT -5
8 or so, I think he's really great at blending styles, but he never set me as unique, nothing after him made me go 'Hey, that's something Ultimo does!' How 'bout the Asai Moonsault? It's only named after him. |
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