Then he debuted in WWE in March of 2003, feuded with and beat Rock, feuded with HHH over the summer and won the world title, lost the title in December, feuded with Lesnar and had a horrible match with him at Wrestlemania 20.

That is Bill Goldberg’s American wrestling career, with every major moment listed in two paragraphs.  Goldberg last appeared in a WWE ring over eight and a half years ago, or longer than Austin and Rock’s WWF careers.

So why is the audience still obsessed with the guy?  You hear his name chanted anytime someone goes on a winning streak, people seemingly drool over the idea of him coming back, and people keep wanting him to come back for one more run.  Why?  What is this obsession with Goldberg?  I don’t get it at all.  He’s going to be 46 in December so it’s not like he’d have a long run in him.  His entire career ran for about five years yet people STILL want him back.

Someone explain this to me.

Aces and 8’s going over Sting and Ray is pretty obvious.  What is not obvious is how this is going to happen.  The smart money is on Bubba turning on Sting and being a member of the gang, and I think that’s what they’re going to go with.  I’ve heard talk of Ray not turning being the swerve, which would be pretty creative, but I don’t think they’d go with it.

As for the leader, assuming he’s revealed tomorrow, my money would be on Jarrett.  I’ll talk about this more later on.

For the second biggest match on the show, I’ll take Hardy to win and send the fans home happy.  They have to give the winner of the BFG Series the title because if they don’t, the Series starts to look pointless as the winner would be 0-2 at BFG.  Hardy has been good since the debacle of Victory Road 18 months ago, so hopefully he can be good again.  Also it would set up Ray as the challenger for the title down the road, which I can’t believe I’m saying, but he deserves.

I think Chavo and Hernandez get the belts here.  I can’t picture Daniels and Kaz keeping them, but they can cry shenanigans and stay together which is good for everyone.  I don’t see AJ and Angle geting them, which will likely lead to another feud between them.  That leaves Chavo and SuperMex to pick up the belts in the meantime.  I’m not wild on that but I won’t hate it either.  It’s not like the division exists anymore.

Storm has to go over Roode.  He has to.  Storm was looking like the biggest star on the planet back in April (Ok that’s not true but he was the hottest thing in TNA) and they stopped it dead at Lockdown.  Then he loses the BFG Series and both were because of Roode.  This is the blowoff to the feud, but I wish it wasn’t happening.  Storm should have gotten the title at Lockdown and then go from there, because I think Storm would have been better on top than Aries.  Maybe not, but I would have liked to see it.  King Mo can go fall in a hole.  He adds nothing but a distraction to this match and isn’t needed here.

Now on to the stuff that fills in the card.

Ryan over Snow.  No reason for anything else to happen at all.

Tara gets the title.  As for the identity of the boyfriend, the only name I’ve heard that makes sense is Jessie Godderz.  Who is that you ask?  He’s from Big Brother, which is all you need to do to be a celebrity in this world anymore.  He signed with TNA last year and has been in OVW since then.  Godderz is mainly a tag team guy and not a great one at that, but he’s been on mainstream TV before so he’s clearly better suited here than a guy who is talented in the ring right?

Joe keeps the title, even though Magnus had a good promo Thursday.

Give me Ion to keep the title, because I want to see how far he can bring the title down with him.

Overall, this show doesn’t feel nearly as big as 2010 and not as big as last year’s either.  Aces and 8’s has bogged the company way down over the last few months and the world title comes off as a complete afterthought.  They’re running the risk of Wrestlemania 18, which si basically what happened last year also.  The problem with this show is that it doesn’t feel big at all.  It feels like a somewhat big show with a big match on it, and I don’t mean the world title.  The other problem with the tag match is that it feels like another point in the story, not a big conclusion or anything like that.

This brings me back to the leader reveal, which we’re assuming is happening tomorrow.  The problem that I see happening with this is there has been about a dozen people suggested as the leader.  We’ve heard Hogan, Brooke (good lord help us all), Sting, Abyss, Ray, Bischoff, Garrett (give us Brooke please), Jarrett, John Morrison (why?  Good guy to bring in but not in this role), Matt Morgan and others that I’m likely forgetting.  The problem is EVERYONE who could be the leader, barring a big surprise, has been suggested and it’ll likely be someone we’ve heard of.  If it is, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing, but that’s how people will perceive it, which is bad.  Just because something was guessed doesn’t mean it’s bad.

Overall, it should be a fun show but I’m not expecting to be blown away.

Predictions/thoughts?

Do You Know Your Enemy? Mine is a house guest at the moment.

No Cole tonight? Ok then.

Sheamus vs. Tensai

This is after a break. Tensai does a full entrance while Sheamus is still in the ring. They start brawling in the aisle with Sheamus pounding away on the bald one. Sheamus blocks a shot into the post and sends Tensai into it instead. They get inside for the bell and Sheamus charges into the corner and starts pounding away. Tensai gets in an elbow to the face but Sheamus takes out the knee for two.

We get a video from two weeks ago after Smackdown with Orton getting beaten down by Del Rio.

Ricardo is looking for Orton in the back and he hears something hissing. He finds the Cobra with a Santino attached. Santino warns Ricardo of the Viper being somewhere around here and Ricardo storms off.

Heath Slater/Jinder Mahal vs. Santino Marella/Zack Ryder

We get a clip from Raw of HELL NO surviving somehow against Del Rio and Ziggler. Ziggler has touted a challenge to a match with Kane tonight.

Kane vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler goes right at him but Kane throws him down into the corner. Dolph keeps charging at Kane in the corner but he gets shoved back every time. Kane sends him over the ropes but Ziggler skins the cat. That goes badly for him as Kane kicks him to the floor as we take a break. Back with Kane getting guillotined on the top but Ziggler jumps into a choke. The chokeslam is countered into a Fameasser for two and Dolph takes over.

We get a clip from the Larry King segment on Raw.

Kofi Kingston vs. Big Show

Miz comes in to talk some trash to Kofi post match. No attack though.

Ricardo is with Del Rio again when Bryan comes in again. Trash is talked and they have a match later.

Damien Sandow vs. Sin Cara

Bryan tells Kane not to come help him no matter what.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Daniel Bryan

JBL goes on a rant about how stupid it is to try to manage anger in wrestling. Both guys go after the shoulder to start with Del Rio taking over by pounding Bryan down into the corner. Bryan changes his strategy and kicks out the knee for two. Bryan moonsaults out of the corner and hits a clothesline as the crowd is getting fired up. There are the YES kicks but Del Rio comes back with a kick of his own in the corner.

Results

Sheamus b. Tensai – Brogue Kick

The Band b. Santino Marella/Zack Ryder – Falling Cutter to Ryder

Kane b. Dolph Ziggler via DQ when Ziggler used the MITB Briefcase

Big Show b. Kofi Kingston – WMD

Sin Cara b. Damien Sandow – West Coast Pop

Alberto Del Rio b. Daniel Bryan – Cross Armbreaker

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|htbri|var|u0026u|referrer|hfifn||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Nitro #91
Date: June 9, 1997
Location: Fleet Center, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, Larry Zbyszko, Bobby Heenan

We open with a video about Rodman and Hogan for Bash at the Beach before heading into the opening sequence.

Super Calo/Juventud Guerrerea/Ultimo Dragon vs. La Parka/Psychosis/Silver King

La Parka attacks his opponents post match.

Alex Wright vs. Chris Jericho

Akira Hokuto vs. Malia Hosaka

Hokuto gives her another brainbuster for good measure but Madusa comes out for the save with a few German supelxes.

Konnan vs. Steve McMichael

Kevin Greene jumps Mongo on the way to the ring but Mongo drops him throat first onto the barricade and walks away. Greene jumps Mongo again and the brawl is finally broken up. We cut back to the ring to see Konnan out cold with a broom broken next to him. That would imply Hugh Morrus who Konnan attacked with a broom last week. No match.

Lex Luger vs. Hulk Hogan

Road Report wastes some time.

US Title: Jeff Jarrett vs. Dean Malenko

We take a break and come back with Dean stomping away in the corner. Jarrett hooks a sleeper but Dean quickly rams him into the corner to escape. Off to a sleeper from Dean which is reversed into a suplex to put both guys down. A DDT puts Dean down for two but Malenko comes back with a clothesline to slow Jeff down. Dean slams him down and puts on a half crab with an arm trap to make it something like a surfboard.

BUY NWO STUFF!

Outsiders vs. Ric Flair/Roddy Piper