Hulk Hogan, Jeff Hardy, Abyss, and Rob Van Dam all carpool together. Who knew?
Ric Flair and AJ Styles are in the ring. Styles runs down Abyss (his opponent this Sunday) and Flair busts himself open. Jeff Hardy comes out and after some more chatter we set up a Styles/Hardy match -- for tonight!
Backstage, Eric Bischoff tells Mick Foley that Foley's getting a haircut tonight. Also, the Nasty Boys powerbomb Jesse Neal through a catering table.
The Nasty Boys and Jimmy Hart vs. Team 3D and Jesse Neal: That's right, Jimmy Hart is DRESSED TO WRESTLE in like a hockey jersey. Even worse, this is now a handicap match -- OH NO WAIT BROTHER RUNT IS BACK. OH BOY THAT TAKES THE STING OUT OF LOSING MORLEY THANKS.
This sucks. Saggs is alright but just barely. Knobs hits Brother Ray with the motorcycle helmet for the pin.
After the match, Jesse Neal (with rib tape) runs in and he helps Ray and Devon 3D Sags through a table.
Kevin Nash offers Scott Hall $50,000 if Hall can last 5 minutes in the ring with Nash.
Mr. Anderson & Desmond Wolfe vs. Kurt Angle & D'angelo Dinero: The Pope is still selling the ankle, and Wolfe and Anderson don't really get along. Fun match, albeit short. Wolfe's hammerlock DDT is one of my favorite things. Wolfe goes for a Figure 4 on Dinero but Dinero rolls him up for the three.
Pope and Wolfe fight up the ramp while, in the ring, Anderson gigs Angle with Angle's own "warrior medal." Anderson berates the downed Angle while cradling Angle's head in his hand, Angle's blood dripping into his palm.
Angelina Love is in the ring; she's challenged any member of the Beautiful People to a match. The BPs come out and announce that, tonight only, Daffney is a member of the Beautiful People!
Angelina Love vs. Daffney: Not much here. Daff goes for the toolbox but is prevented from using the hammer by the ref. The BPs immediately crotch Love on the ring post, drawing the DQ anyway.
The Beautiful People go after Love but Tara runs in for the save. Tara and Daff stare each other down -- they've got a match this Sunday.
Hulk and Sting stuff -- I'm skimming -- RVD comes out and beats Sting around the ring -- Hulk has Sting's bat and goes after him but is stopped by Bischoff. Bischoff reminds Hulk that he's "not a wrestler anymore" and shouldn't be getting physical.
Bischoff rushes backstage to set up a Hernandez vs. Beer Money match with Jeff Jarrett as special ref. It's punishment for Hernandez for being friendly to JJ.
Scott Hall vs. Kevin Nash: This is the "five minute challenge." Hall is dressed in black jeans and a baggy sweatshirt with "WOLFPAC" written on it in Sharpie. Oh, this is sad. Hall wobbles around for a minute or two -- I'm not sure he's even capable of showing any offense. Sean Waltman runs in, mercifully, and The Band takes Nash down and handcuffs him to the bottom ring rope.
Eric Young arrives to save the day, but Hall nails him with the slowest discus punch on record (seriously, he turns in a slow circle like he's looking for his keys) and then Waltman drops him with the X-Factor.
Beer Money vs. Hernandez: Hernandez fares pretty well but Beer Money double-teams him whenever he gets on a roll. Matt Morgan joins us for commentary and explains that he's not helping Hernandez because this is what you get when you stick your nose into other people's business. I sense the Blueprint/Supermex team is not long for this world.
Beer Money pins Hernandez with the DWI. Jarret counts slowly but what can you do. Beer Money, clearly full heel now, beat on Hernandez until Jarrett pulls off his ref shirt and attacks them.
Eric Bischoff is in the ring with hair clippers and a barber chair for Foley, but Foley Mandible Claws Bischoff into unconsciousness and shaves his head instead. I am uninspired.
Here's a segment spotlighting the X Division -- Motor City Machine Guns and Generation Me scuffle in the ring, soon joined by Brian Kendrick, Amazing Red, Daniels, and Kazarian. We get a couple of jumps off of high things and then a pose by the faces (Red, Kaz, and, for some reason, Generation Me).
Jeff Hardy vs. AJ Styles: This goes longer than I thought it would -- it's like an actual match. Styles mostly stays away from the high-flying stuff now that he's a heel, at one point teasing a Fosbury Flop and not delivering. Jeff Hardy wins with a Swanton. I wouldn't mind a PPV rematch at some point.
Afterward, Flair goes after Abyss (who was the special enforcer for reasons I missed) with a steel chair, but Abyss HULKS UP and points ("YOU!") at Flair -- I didn't realize until just now that Abyss' Anarchy sign is in Hulk's colors -- then Abyss chokeslams Flair through the entrance ramp! Styles looks on, terrified, and we're done.
--K
Last 5 movies seen: 40 Pounds of Trouble ***1/2 - Alice in Wonderland (1933) **1/2 - Where the Wild Things Are *** - The Informant! **** - Sherlock Jr. ****
Here's the fatal flaw with TNA and their strategy for RVD and Jeff Hardy. They're probably hoping that by joining them up with Hulk Hogan, they'll get a rub from Hogan's star power. The problem with that plan? A lot of people ALREADY see RVD and Jeff Hardy as big stars. They don't NEED Hulk Hogan to give them any kind of rub. If anything, Hulk's presence actually takes away from their star power, because it's like TNA is trying to send the message that Hulk's still the biggest star in the world. This is 2010. Hulk Hogan is NOT the biggest star in the world anymore. It's like the only people who don't get that are the bozos running TNA.
I'm still incredibly saddened that they turned Beer Money heel again without any rhyme or reason. They were the most over team in the company and now the crowd doesn't know what to make of them anymore.
A Styles/Hardy feud can make this company a lot of money if they know how to book it right. At this point, that's a very big "if".
Originally posted by It's FalseHere's the fatal flaw with TNA and their strategy for RVD and Jeff Hardy. They're probably hoping that by joining them up with Hulk Hogan, they'll get a rub from Hogan's star power. The problem with that plan? A lot of people ALREADY see RVD and Jeff Hardy as big stars. They don't NEED Hulk Hogan to give them any kind of rub. If anything, Hulk's presence actually takes away from their star power, because it's like TNA is trying to send the message that Hulk's still the biggest star in the world. This is 2010. Hulk Hogan is NOT the biggest star in the world anymore. It's like the only people who don't get that are the bozos running TNA.
Umm... Hulk Hogan is still the biggest wrestling star in the world. He's pretty obviously the most recognizable main stream star to come from the business as well. I don't think they are sticking RVD and Hardy with him so they can benefit from the rub, I think they are sticking him with Hogan because they are building a group of faces that both in and out of kayfabe Hogan has touted for years now. These are also the guys he hinted at bringing in should he ever wind up in TNA and the ones he sees as the game changers in the business. I think it's pretty clear that the line being drawn is Hogan's faces and Bischoff's heels. Bischoff protecting Sting from Hogan's RVD... Bischoff seeming to be along with AJ and Flair against Hogan's Pope and Abyss. It's a slow burn setting up the final split between the two men who came in together to run the company.
I'm still incredibly saddened that they turned Beer Money heel again without any rhyme or reason. They were the most over team in the company and now the crowd doesn't know what to make of them anymore.
Beer Money's gimmick is that they want to make money so they can get more wasted. They literally broke down the logic behind their "turn" as such in their interview. Bischoff came to them with easy matches for big money and they would be stupid to turn it down.
Hulk Hogan is not the biggest wrestling star in the world any more. "Most recognisable", maybe, but Steve Austin and The Rock outstripped him in terms of drawing power and popularity amongst fans a looooong time ago.
EDIT: Also, Bisch being the guy to push Hogan not to wrestle is clearly setting up a "Hogan gets his mojo back" angle at some point in the future.
Hogan's faction vs. Bischoff's faction is going to be a match at Lockdown like MEM vs. Frontline from last year. It was a good Impact for what it was, but Raw was running with Austin, so I doubt the rating will be good and they should be prepared for that as well. I don't mind Hardy vs. AJ since it was non-title. AJ/RVD is the money PPV match anyway. Hardy vs. Joe would be good as well if Joe ever comes back. Beer Money being heels is better then faces. The show has become a segment show instead of wrestling. Of course, with a PPV on Sunday, I understand the need for limiting the wrestling, but not every match needed post-match shenanigans. I am more curious to see next week since Lockdown is one of their bigger PPVs of the year and Pope vs. AJ has been one of their better builds, so far.
Originally posted by Amos CochranI'd say giving their first-ever match away unhyped on free TV kinda negated even having an "if" in that sentence.
There was slight hype from Taz and Borash via Twitter, but I think that's a problem too. The fact they're making it seem like a GOOD thing to give away a match like that on Impact, and a one-up on WWE's programming, seems to me like they're too focused on the immediate battle and not the long-term war. Throwing a match like that out there right away when Hardy has only been around for two shows is counter-productive to a strategy that could ultimately give the competition a run for their money. If they focused on building the new guys up and making them stars in TNA before booking them into the money matches immediately, it would give them a lot more credibility in the long run when they can have PPV matches that fans are salivating to see.
For every good step forward that last week's show took, this week's took one back. The Nasty Boys, Hall, Hogan, Foley, and Flair all took up wayyy too much TV time. It's sad when they have to take all of their X Division stars, right before Destination X, and cram them into one short segment in order to give Jimmy Hart ring time. I have no clue why they switched back to the stuff that wasn't working in favor of all the stuff that did last week. No big character building outside of Hogan, and angles revolving around people that are past their prime. I still think Destination X looks better to me than Wrestlemania as far as giving match-ups I wanna see, but the build to it fizzled out right when it was gaining steam.
Originally posted by GameCrazyI still think Destination X looks better to me than Wrestlemania as far as giving match-ups I wanna see
I just cannot fathom this point of view. It's giving me an aneurysm. It's your opinion, fair enough, but I just can't reconcile it with kind of barometer for wrestling quality.
Again with a Hummer? Seriously, Bischoff (or maybe Hogan) are so concerned with 'looking cool' that they have to show up in a Limo or a Hummer every week? How about just, oh, I don't know BE THERE. Why must we see their arrival each week?
I actually like Spike, oh, sorry Brother Runt, so I was happy to see him.
Jeff Hardy was gassed in the first few minutes of that match, and it never got better after that. Seriously, he's been "almost there" contract wise for a few weeks, he couldn't have hit a treadmill to get his endurance up?
Flair has lost it. He used to be able to at least save his decline in skills with a good old Flair Promo. But last night he was just so out of it. Time to hang it up Ric.
Foley snapping was the only thing on this show I REALLY liked, and that's just because I hate the Bischoff wannabe McMahon bad ass power man imitation.
Originally posted by StaggerLeeAgain with a Hummer? Seriously, Bischoff (or maybe Hogan) are so concerned with 'looking cool' that they have to show up in a Limo or a Hummer every week? How about just, oh, I don't know BE THERE. Why must we see their arrival each week?
Not only that, they don't even park in a parking spot! They just stop at a random point in the middle of the driveway!
Originally posted by MonteUmm... Hulk Hogan is still the biggest wrestling star in the world.
Really? 'cos his first match on TV in five years did a 1.0, while Jeff Hardy drew the largest buyrate for a stips-free PPV in WWE last year.
I thought Hogan being shown as buddies with these guys was more of a way to get Hogan over as a cool face instead of him giving the rub the other way.
I liked this show. It was clunky, the wrestling was poor, but I was entertained. There's something about seeing all these old guys together again that I just enjoy. I might be bored and done with it in a month or two, but for now I just like the bumpy ride.
It kind of makes me think that Hogan's talk of starting up a Legends Show sometime ago might have actually worked. Part of the problem I have following the WWE is that I don't really have the time that I used to to get into all the new guys and they're basic PG characters. I know Scott Hall, and Jeff Jarrett and RVD and Kurt Angle. There's no work to be put into it I can just sit and stare and wonder things like what the conversation was like in the car pool, and did Jeff Hardy wait outside his place in face paint to get picked up like my friend used to before football games or was there an argument about where to stop and get food or what to listen on the radio.
Originally posted by KarlosEric Young arrives to save the day, but Hall nails him with the slowest discus punch on record (seriously, he turns in a slow circle like he's looking for his keys)
That the perfect way to describe that punch, it was ghastly. Why was Hall dressed like such a bum anyways? If you are going to be slow and suck in the ring you might as well try and look cool.
Perhaps too much is being made out of why four men were riding together in a Hummer? Either way, I agree with Monte that they were probably just establishing who is aligned with who. Taz's line about Abyss driving got a laugh out of me, because I was wondering the same thing! So did Jeff put on his make up in the car on the way, like a woman?
Foley shaving Eric's head was a nice shock, unless you read spoilers, and I don't.
"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
Originally posted by GameCrazyI still think Destination X looks better to me than Wrestlemania as far as giving match-ups I wanna see
I just cannot fathom this point of view. It's giving me an aneurysm. It's your opinion, fair enough, but I just can't reconcile it with kind of barometer for wrestling quality.
Destination X has a very good lineup imo. Am I saying it's gonna be a better than WM26? No but you seem to be acting like Destination X is shaping up to be a horrendous ppv and WM is shaping up to be one of the best WrestleManias ever and imo that's not on the case on either front.
RAW delivered nearly four times as many P18-49 (+274%), P18-34 (+293%) and total viewers (+275%) as TNA “Impact” in the first night of its new timeslot head-to-head against RAW and more than tripled their P25-54 (+226%) and household (+246%) audiences.
Where's Raven when you need him! CAW CAW CAW. That's USA saying that!
We may need a Ratings Forum. Just to keep track of this FUN time in wresting history. Someone can volunteer to keep better track, like charts, etc - my plan is to cut and paste from "sources"
Or, Plan B - some can tie in the ratings to the RAW / IMPACT thread recaps - segment by segment. I'm sure that's feasible
Plan C - Go back to re-capping and you know the format
Plan D- just CAW every week until mistakes are admitted to or they take the horse out back
If someone can remember where this came from, please say. Re: TNA - "They expect people from all over the world to fly here and can't get people within five miles to drive there. For FREE"
The next live taping should be a hoot. Cast Members
FLEA
Demonstrations are a drag. Besides, we're much too high
"Learn to love yourself... for it is the greatest love of all" - Jeremy Borash 11:24 AM May 13th,2009
Foley snapping was the only thing on this show I REALLY liked, and that's just because I hate the Bischoff wannabe McMahon bad ass power man imitation.
Oh, and Daffney, you'll always be a BP to me!
Considering Bischoff was playing the Heel Authority figure a year plus before Vince did I dunno how you can call his act a McMahon imitation. That said, While I don't mind Bischoff as a on screen character he is on way too much. I agree on Daffney.
Originally posted by StaggerLeeWhich came first, Mr McMahon as a heel, or Easy E being behind the NWO? I wasn't watching WCW at the time, so I can't say for sure.
Bischoff joined the NWO in November of 1996. The Montreal screwjob was in November of '97 and Vince didn't go full fledged heel until a few weeks after Austin won the title at WM14. There was a couple weeks where Vince tried to turn Austin into a corporate champion and after a few weeks of stunners on Vince he became the mega heel we know today.
The St. Louis Post Dispatch recently had an article on the "Legand Killer." I found it a good read, but maybe that's just because we are from the same town and even went to the same high school, Hazelwood Central (RKO is c/o 98, I am c/o 95).