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Post by PureHatred on Apr 28, 2006 11:50:05 GMT -5
Thoughts: Not too bad. The Abyss.Christian storyline is interesting enough that I would hope they would end the show, instead of opening with it. But really good nonetheless. Enjoyed the X-Division matches. REALLY enjoyed the Shinse/Low-Ki video promo. That segment leading inot the Joe title defense is EXACTLY how they should be pushing the product. Build the characters. Display the athleticism. AJ/Daniels deserve better than to be put in the tag ranks. But the match should be good. The only 'complaints' I have would be the inordinate amount of time spent on Sting/JJ. He's not holding the title, but JJ is still the focus of the shows. The final 15 minutes seemed a little worthless. Buff looked in shape and got a nice little reception. Lex looked like absolute hell. But why are these 'mind games' exactly? Was JJ better or worse off for not having chosen?...Are we supposed to think that JJ is worried because Sting could bring out 'anyone' including every incredibly washed up former WCW guy he knows? And of course, Shelly interviewing Nash next week....  Here's how that will probably go down: ALEX SHELLEY: Big Sexy, you no-showed the last PPV we booked you on. Why should management let you come back? KEVIN NASH: Well, Alex, I - OH MY QUAD!!!11Be still my heart. |
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Post by thefamoustommyz on Apr 28, 2006 16:35:23 GMT -5
It actually felt like a packed show...and I even watched most of it, as Alex Shelley can make Sonjay Dutt and random Japanese tag team seem entertaining. Seriously...that was some great teamwork from Shelley and Dutt.
AJ/Daniels vs AMW has me FAR more excited than AMW/Team 3D ever has.
Of course, the mindgame is that Sting knew that by putting Jarrett on the spot, Jarrett would walk...setting the stage for Sting bringing Rick Steiner out to face Jarrett/Scott at Sacrifice. I enjoyed the segment, because Sting's TNA mic work has been leaps and bounds better than most of his WCW promos. Buff looked great...if his attitude's any better, he might be worth picking up for a sensible asking price.
Nash...I don't care about. At all.
Fast-forwarded through Joe-Lethal, because everyone and their dog knew Lethal didn't stand a chance in Hell.
The Senshi video was nice...haven't see Low-Ki wrestle, but if he's as good as they say, and he's that solid on the mic, then he's got the entire X division trumped right out of the gate.
Joe's standoff with Jarrett (with the 'Joe's Gonna Kill You' sign) and then his standoff with Steiner made me more excited than ANYTHING in the show, period.
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Post by myview on Apr 28, 2006 16:36:00 GMT -5
I liked the show from top to bottom, it was good to see Bagwell and interesting to see Luger. Abyss and Cage is a solid feud, I really like how this angle has worked out so far. The World X-Cup was solid, I'm really glad to see Shelley and Dutt work together. Joe versus Lethal was a givin for Joe, but it was a good showing for Lethal none the less. This iMPACT! was a good show, next weeks iMPACT! sounds good too.
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Post by PureHatred on Apr 28, 2006 17:02:49 GMT -5
IThe Senshi video was nice...haven't see Low-Ki wrestle, but if he's as good as they say, and he's that solid on the mic, then he's got the entire X division trumped right out of the gate.. WOW..you've never had a chance to see a Low-Ki match. I would start here if you have a second. www.youtube.com/results?search=low-ki&search_type=search_videos&search=SearchEspecially watch his stuff against AJ Styles and the triple threat ladder match against Styles adn Lynn. Low Ki and AJ and Am,azing Red carried a lot of the early TNA weekly PPVs. And I personally think that Low Ki vs Daniels vs American Dragon form the first ROH show is a total MUST WATCH. Best triple threat ever, IMO. A lot of the spots from Joe/Daniels/AJ were taken from there. Ironically, Low Ki's weakness was his promos. IIRC his voice used to be ridiculous to listen to. Just awful . Obviously the time away has improved that. |
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Post by thefamoustommyz on Apr 28, 2006 21:17:45 GMT -5
Yeah...his promo work on that video was aces...Joe's probably the best promo guy in the X division right now, and Senshi sounded better than Joe.
Although, Alex Shelley's THISCLOSE to being to the X division what Chris Jericho was to the cruiserweight division in '98. Just a naturally hilarious entertainer.
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Post by canadianpittbull on Apr 29, 2006 0:08:21 GMT -5
I don;t see how you could not like the Sting/Jarrett segment. The comments on "that was a shoot!" was awesome. This show was strong and very solid. Now if they can only keep the momentum and not fall into a slump. I really think they will find their stride and go with it.
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Post by PureHatred on Apr 29, 2006 0:19:25 GMT -5
I don;t see how you could not like the Sting/Jarrett segment. The comments on "that was a shoot!" was awesome. This show was strong and very solid. Now if they can only keep the momentum and not fall into a slump. I really think they will find their stride and go with it. I thought it ran too long. You spend 15 minutes on a 1 hour program to introduce two guys who WON'T be on the PPV??? Plus I question why the tag match between Steiner/JJ v Sting & mystery partner is given top billing over Christian/Abyss. It was a good show. But I've been fairly consistent on my opinion; spending too much time focusing on the 'name' wrestlers is hurting the product. My cooments will be similar next week when we get ANOTHER mystery partner segment AND an interview with Kevin Nash. Maybe we'll get lucky and DDP will cost AJ&Daniels their match with AMW. |
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Post by canadianpittbull on Apr 29, 2006 10:14:52 GMT -5
Oh I don't disagree, I think they should have swapped the Christian/Abyss segment with the Jarrett/Sting. Making the Christian/Abyss segment more focus. I think they are banking on Jarrett/Sting and the mystery partner thing to be something to draw the audience.
Plus with the kind of money they are paying Sting and others from the WCW camp, you want to be using them as much as you can to really warrant footing a hefty bill. I know personally I would be booking the show differently and one thing would be making sure my World Champion is in the Main Event since I think that is just as important if not more when it comes to pushing your ppv's? I wonder how much "pull" Spike Tv has on what gets shown?
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Post by thefamoustommyz on Apr 29, 2006 13:10:44 GMT -5
Here's the difference...Christian/Abyss kinda doesn't get a good raction, even from the Impact Zone crowds. Sting, at least, does.
If anything, Christian's entire TNA run has just made it clear why he wasn't a main eventer in WWE...he's just not main event material. Even Jarrett carries himself better than Christian does.
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Post by pikemojo on Apr 29, 2006 17:14:02 GMT -5
I find Christian to be a much better main eventer than Edge is. Christian is tons better on the mic than Edge for my money. In the ring they are more or less equal. And I am enjoying the feud between Christian and Abyss. James Mitchell is perfectly paired with Abyss and plays the mastermind to Abyss' evil deeds quite well.
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Post by LWPD on Apr 29, 2006 19:29:02 GMT -5
At least Christian can cut an entertaining promo and is somewhat original. The Double J 'I'm ticked off and here's my guitar' skulk around with an angry face act just does nothing for me. He's in desperate need of new material.
While neither man equals money...the same is equally true of Styles, Samoa Joe, Chris Daniels, et al. when it comes to attracting a larger audience. The average for the Thursday Night show has already retracted back to it's base merely a few weeks in....and it isn't for lack of a sizable lead in.
LWPD (if TNA is serious about building future stars they would do well to recruit guys who have the potential to both look and talk like they can play the part...ala rookie Brock Lesnar's, Batista's and John Cena's...regardless of what they do in the ring there is very little money to be made in featuring small guys who lack the charisma and star quality necessary to sell themselves as personas worth investing in emotionally who are engaged in programs worth paying to watch...without that you have nothing but a small hardcore consumer base to draw from)
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Post by pikemojo on Apr 29, 2006 23:45:11 GMT -5
I agree LWPD. They need guys who are good on the mic. It seems like too many guys don't take advantage of being on the indy scene and the amount of time they could take on the mic on those shows. Most indy guys absolutely suck on the mic. OVW works with their wrestlers on the mic and it shows with some of them. Some still just don't get it and never will.
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Post by thefamoustommyz on Apr 30, 2006 1:02:22 GMT -5
Christian's akward in the ring and mediocre on the mic unless he's doing midcard comedy. He doesn't carry himself like a World champion. He has some original one-liners, but that just means he's a really funny comedy act. At least Edge can sell p***ed off...and that's over a title belt. Christian can't even sell it over his WIFE.
As far as the indy scene goes, pikemojo, don't assume that just because there's no TV constraints that everyone has ample opportunity to work the mic. There's still a booker to answer too, who may not always allow everyone the chance to hone that craft.
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Post by Knapik on Apr 30, 2006 1:10:38 GMT -5
How are your skills, T?  |
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Post by floydthebarber on Apr 30, 2006 14:04:43 GMT -5
Some really great points about iMPACT on Thursday. I caught most of the late night replay and was somewhat impressed with what I saw. I agree that Alex Shelly could turn into a Jericho type character for the X-Division...if not more down the line. I thought that was a pretty good match, and gave the world cup a solid start. I thought the Joe/JJJ stare down was nice...and the Joe/BPP was even better. That's how you 'build' tension...
I have to admit Christian is having a little trouble as World Champ. He needs to carry himself with a bit more class if he wants to be a babyface champ, or a bit more 'edge' (sorry...bad pun) if he want's to be a tweener champ. I think Edge is ahead of his old tag partner when it comes to credibility as World Champion...jmo
I thought the Sting/JJJ stuff was a waste of time. Sting was good on the mike, but the whole segment was kinda lame...bringing out Buff and Lex like that, with the whole 'who you could have picked'. Neither of those guys is a big deal really (well, Lex 10 years ago maybe) and points to the importance of having guys be Sting's allies in order to actually have matches every week with JJJ/Steniner/AMW/Team Canada in order to keep the feud hot. If Sting is to be at all feared, he's got to take out JJJ and Steniner soon...
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Post by thefamoustommyz on Apr 30, 2006 14:53:25 GMT -5
How are your skills, T? Probably not good enough to carry a World Champion promo, but I'm not in that spot right now, am I? |
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Post by Avarice on Apr 30, 2006 14:54:48 GMT -5
I thought the show was pretty solid. I liked the promo with Sting and JJ. I guess I'm just suspending reality and just enjoying the show as a fan, and not a smark. I thought it was cool that they brought out Lex and Buff, I'm always a mark for some spots like that. I guess it couldn't be much different than seeing WWE keep bringing guys like Tatanka and Goldust back. They may be old, but no one's bashing the NFL veterans for being old and still doing their job, or MLB guys, etc. But overall, the show was good, I'm just waiting for TNA to still break out, and would love to see it get 2 hours.
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Post by PureHatred on Apr 30, 2006 15:12:00 GMT -5
I thought the show was pretty solid. I liked the promo with Sting and JJ. I guess I'm just suspending reality and just enjoying the show as a fan, and not a smark. I thought it was cool that they brought out Lex and Buff, I'm always a mark for some spots like that. I guess it couldn't be much different than seeing WWE keep bringing guys like Tatanka and Goldust back. They may be old, but no one's bashing the NFL veterans for being old and still doing their job, or MLB guys, etc. But overall, the show was good, I'm just waiting for TNA to still break out, and would love to see it get 2 hours. Please don't compare real sports to the WWE. Old guys don't get to keep their jobs in the NFL or MLB for name value or as draws. They either do their job or they are cut or asked to take enormous pay cuts. Especially in the NFL, once you get past your usefulness, you lose your job. And as for the WWE doing it...they have 4 hours of TV time a week to fill. Bringing back old guys to get a nostalgia pop costs them nothing. TNA doing it costs them a disproprtionate amount of time and money. They're doing another similar segment next week, leading up to a tag main event at Sacrifice..or whatever the PPV is called. Which mean the eventual JJ/Sting singles match to end the feud is at least two months away. So despite the fact that ratings haven't increased despite the nice lead-in from UFC, TNA continues to use the 'big names' as the center of their shows. Whihc might be fun to se occassionally, but it seems to be hurting the product in the long run. And for those people who don't believe Chrisitan as the World Champion, fine. it doesn't have to be him. Just pick someone -ANYONE - beyond the scope of JJ and His Army to make the focus of the shows. It doesn't work. It hasn't worked. The ironice part of that last segment may have been that of all the people standing in the ring, you could argue that JJ was the LEAST known to casual fans , and yet TNA goes out of its way to create storylines that ensure he's the focus of the shows. |
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Post by pikemojo on Apr 30, 2006 15:21:43 GMT -5
You are right Tommy, there are definite time constraints on indy shows. But I think my point still is valid to some extent. Indy shows need to make sure the fans know who to boo and who to cheer and having someone come out on the mic at the beginning of some of the matches to run down the crowd, their opponent or whatever to get heat is useful for the show as well as the wrestler involved. A big part of this would be the booker's decision but I would sure think that some indy guys would at least try to push for that kind of opportunity.
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Post by thefamoustommyz on Apr 30, 2006 15:26:34 GMT -5
To be fair, the only thing that HAS popped a rating has been Sting's first Impact appearance. Six Sides of Steel matches haven't, various X division showcases haven't, a Clockwork Orange House of Fun match hasn't...
And of COURSE TNA's going out of their way to make Jarrett the focus of the shows...he's part-owner of the company. Bill Watts did it in Mid-South/UWF....Vince McMahon does it now...Nash did it as booker...Flair did it as booker...Russo...Bischoff...who in American wrestling when in a position of power hasn't used that position to cram themselves down the viewing public's throat, regardless of the impact on the company?
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