As mentioned on Impact last night. So, they’re actually going to spoil their first pay per view in eight months and still expect people to pay the full price for it? There was no way they could tape at ANY OTHER TIME? Or like, air a recap show and then tape after it?
These are the sort of things where you just have to shake your head at this company. They start putting together a good show and then “oh yeah we’re going to spoil it by taping a month and a half in advance.” It worked SO well for WCW back in the day too.
Meltzer Says Impact Has Been Canceled
Obviously take this with a pound of salt, but allegedly Destination America has canceled the show and it’s done in September. Apparently the ratings have been strong but not strong enough to warrant the money put in. No word on if this is true or if it’s going to stand up going forward, but if there’s truth to this, TNA is in major trouble. Again.
Impact Wrestling Moving Back To Wednesdays Starting June 3
According to Dixie, though I’m sure you all know this as EVERYONE follows her on Twitter right? I’d much rather have three hours to do on Wednesdays (counting NXT) and have Friday night off. There’s no way around the Friday night death slot, though I’m always curious to see TNA diehards’ latest explanation for why the ratings still aren’t great.
Samoa Joe Gone From TNA
According to his own Twitter. I can’t say I blame him one bit at this point, given that it’s clear he isn’t getting back to the top of the company. He was a huge deal for years, but it doesn’t seem like an option again.
Impact Moving To Fridays
There will be a live show on January 7 and then the show moves to Fridays the next week. That isn’t going to help the ratings either.
Best of Motor City Machine Guns: I Don’t Think That Word Means What You Think It Means
Best of Motor City Machine Guns Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz, Don West
Host: Jeremy Borash
On the other side of the spectrum from the technical brawlers of Beer Money, we have the fast paced high fliers in the Guns. This is one of the most popular teams the company has ever had, but unfortunately just like the other set, a lot of great stuff happened after this was filmed. This actually includes a lot of singles stuff too. Let’s get to it.
Borash does a quick intro to try and tie this into the Beer Money part, even though it’s completely separate.
The Guns talk about how great the tag team division is in TNA right now.
Brutus Magnus vs. Chris Sabin
From Against All Odds 2009 and Magnus is issuing an open challenge. This is when Magnus was a Roman gladiator, based on his character on the UK show Gladiators. This was referenced by Tenay except for one thing: he never actually said what Gladiators actually was. That’s kind of important to mention no? Magnus easily shoves him down to start as the fans chant USA. They stay on the mat with Magnus holding a horrible armbar until Sabin fights up for a kick to the ribs. He escapes a gorilla press and goes after the legs until Magnus just ends him with a clothesline.
A delayed vertical suplex gets no cover on Sabin but a slingshot elbow has him in trouble. After a chinlock goes nowhere, Sabin fights up and nails a springboard clothesline for two. He tries to get too fast though and has his hurricanrana countered with a powerbomb. Magnus misses a charge and falls to the floor, only to get taken down by a big plancha. Back in and Magnus grabs the referee, earning him a shove into the ropes to crotch Sabin. Tormentum (a spinning Samoan drop) is enough to give Magnus the pin.
Rating: D+. That’s how you open a DVD about how great the Guns are? With a dull match ending in a loss? The gladiator character really didn’t do much for me and Magnus would be far more interesting once he just became a British guy. I still can’t get over this loss though. What’s the thinking here?
The Guns talk about having experience all over the world and how it’s made them a stronger team.
X-Division Title: Alex Shelley vs. Eric Young
Also from Against All Odds 2009 and Shelley is defending. For some reason they aired these matches out of order, meaning that this match was spoiled by the commentary in the previous match. Alexis is the villain here here and Eric hammers away to start before clotheslining him out to the floor. They keep trading places with no contact until Alex gets dropkicked off the apron, setting up a slingshot plancha from Young.
Shelley comes right back by sending Eric into the barricade, only to be sent into it as well. That’s fine with Alex though as he sidesteps a dive, sending Eric into the steel a second time. Back in and Alex kicks him out of the air before putting on a bow and arrow hold. A top rope knee to the back has Young in even more trouble as they head out to the apron.
Alex tries a catapult out there but can’t send Young anywhere. He can however duck a charge, sending Young crashing over the post. Back in and Shelley nails some running elbows to the face and a low dropkick for two. Off to a cobra clutch for a few moments before Young grabs a quick flapjack to get a breather. A discus lariat gets two for Eric but Alex hits a top rope jawbreaker of all things. Young’s Death Valley Driver is countered but he nails a springboard Fameasser for two.
The champ avoids a moonsault and nails what would become known as Sister Abigail for two. A standing Sliced Bread #2 gets the same and Shelley takes him up top. Young tries to counter but winds up eating a Mysterio sitout bulldog, followed by a nice Frog Splash for an even closer two. They head back up again with Eric countering something into a hot shot onto the buckle. For some reason Young stops to argue with the referee, allowing Shelley to grab a rollup to retain.
Rating: C. Not bad here but Young barely got in any offense after the first few minutes. It wound up being an extended squash with an odd ending, as Young didn’t even cover before he went over to yell at the referee for no apparent reason. It’s not a bad match or anything but it was oddly worked.
The Guns name the Midnight Express as their greatest influence and say they have to rely on their minds rather than their physical abilities.
Steel Asylum
Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Curry Man, Jimmy Rave, Jay Lethal, Johnny Devine, Petey Williams, Shark Boy, Sonjay Dutt, Super Eric
From Bound For Glory 2008. You should know who everyone is here. Super Eric is Eric Young as a superhero and is part of the Prince Justice Brotherhood along with Shark Boy and Curry Man (Christopher Daniels as an Indian curry company mascot). This is inside a big red cage with a dome on top. There’s a hole in the top of the dome and the first person to climb up and out gets an X-Division Title shot at some point in the future. Since there are ten men in the ring, it’s almost impossible to tell what’s going on.
Everyone goes after everyone to start with the Brotherhood and the Guns taking over early on. Shark Boy gets beaten up in the corner and then Devine gets the same treatment. The abused start fighting now as Sharky stomps on Johnny in the corner. We get a six man suplex with the Brotherhood all getting suplexed at the same time. Naturally they sell way too long for a suplex but that’s what you get in big spots like that.
Petey hooks his Russian legsweep on Dutt but gets pulled down when trying to escape. Curry Man goes up but Shelley makes a save. Alex’s climb goes just as well with Shark Boy leg sweeping him down. Super Eric drops Devine with a neckbreaker off the middle rope before Lethal and Dutt slug it out on the top rope. Curry Man takes Sonjay down with the Tokyo Dangerous backbreaker off the ropes. Lethal hurricanranas Rave off the top and Shelley adds a frog splash for good measure.
Eric hits a Death Valley Driver on both Devine and Dutt at the same time but the Guns stop him from leaving. The Guns take everyone down until Petey nails Shelley with a Canadian Destroyer. Shark Boy hits a double Stunner off the top to plant Shelley and Petey at the same time. The parade of finishers begins and Devine is the last man standing. Dutt gets up to stop his escape attempt though and Curry Man takes everyone down so he can do his dance. Curry almost gets to the exit but Dutt pulls him down. Lethal hammers Dutt in the ribs and climbs out for the win.
Rating: C. These matches are fun but they get really tiring after awhile. You can only see these spots for so long before you want some kind of storytelling or coherence after awhile. The match was entertaining but I’d much rather have like five guys in there at most. It would make things flow so much easier instead of being the mess that it was.
The Guns talk about not getting opportunities for about fifteen seconds.
Rock and Rave Infection vs. Kaz/Eric Young vs. Rellik/Black Reign vs. LAX vs. Motor City Machine Guns vs. Petey Williams/Scott Steiner
From Lockdown 2008. This is one of the dumbest ideas TNA has ever had: Cuffed In A Cage. It’s an elimination match but you only eliminate a team by handcuffing them to the cage. I’ve never gotten Russo’s obsession with handcuffs but I have a feeling it’s rather disturbing. On top of that, we don’t even have tags so it’s everyone fighting to start. The Infection is a bad rock band (complete with Rock Band guitars) made of Jimmy Rave and Lance Rock. Before the match we see Young getting laid out by Rellik (Johnny the Bull) and Black Reign (Dustin Rhodes) to continue their stupid monster feud, leaving Kaz to go it alone.
It’s a huge brawl to start of course and there’s almost no way to call anything. Steiner gets taken down and stomped by the monsters and Rock before they quickly cuff him. Eric Young stumbles out to make sure have TWELVE people in the ring at once. Thankfully the monsters keep him out because Eric is afraid of them. Young walks out and heads to the back, leaving Kaz all alone.
The match is still a huge mess where you can barely tell what’s going on, even with things slowing down. Kaz sidesteps Sabin to send him into the cage before cuffing him to the cage. Shelley gets cuffed as well, eliminating the Guns. Williams gets beaten up by the monsters and cuffed to the cage. This is almost like a battle royal as there’s nothing going on between these eliminations.
A Doomsday Cutter from LAX drops Rave and Hernandez just LAUNCHES him into the steel. Rock makes a save with a clothesline as Kaz hits the Flux Capacitor (top rope C4) to knock Rave silly. The monsters are on him almost immediately and LAX has been cuffed. So we’ve got Kaz, Rock and Rave, Reign and Rellik still in it. Rock and Kaz head up top with Lance chokeslamming him down, allowing the monsters to cuff Kaz.
The fans are screaming for Super Eric and get him almost immediately. It’s Eric Young as a superhero which keeps him from being afraid of the monsters. Young dives onto all four guys left in the match and quickly cuffs the Infection. So it’s Young vs. Reign/Rellik as everyone else is still in the ring, cuffed to the side of the cage. Do you have any idea how hard it is to have a handicap match where you can barely reach the side of the cage? Rellik tries to cuff Eric but gets cuffed instead, leaving Eric to piledrive Reign and cuff him for the win.
Rating: D-. There was barely any wrestling, the match was such a mess because there were so many people in it, and the whole thing was a disaster. Young being afraid of the monsters worked if you didn’t think about it, but Reign and Rellik were pretty horrible in the roles, which didn’t make things any better.
The Guns talk about the idea behind the team: two bodies, one mind.
Steel Asylum
Sonjay Dutt, Curry Man, Consequences Creed, Shark Boy, Jimmy Rave, Kaz, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Johnny Devine, Jay Lethal
From Sacrifice 2008. It’s the same concept as earlier, meaning everyone is in the ring at once and the first man to climb out wins a shot at the X-Division Title. By the way, this is the fifth match on the set and the Guns have only been a team in the cuffed match, where they were eliminated first. This isn’t much of a Best Of set. TNA boss Jim Cornette comes out and offers the winner a spot in tonight’s World Title match due to Angle being unable to compete.
Again it’s the big red cage with ten guys inside at once so you can barely keep track of what’s going on. Creed takes Curry Man (Daniels) down with a flip clothesline but gets nailed by Rave. Sharky dropkicks Kaz but gets double teamed by the Guns’ speed offense. Sonjay’s piledriver attempt on Shelley is countered into a reverse powerbomb (that’s a finisher waiting to be made).
We get our first attempt at an escape with Creed going up, only to dive down onto Kaz instead. The Guns beat up Curry Man again before Sonjay throws Sabin into Shelley, causing Chris to DDT Alex when Sonjay takes Sabin down with a neckbreaker. It’s as stupid as it sounds. Back up and we get a ridiculous six man Tower of Doom, capped off by Devine hitting a hurricanrana off the top of the cage.
Rave stops Lethal from escaping before taking him down with a freaky spinning Angle Slam kind of move. Sharky hits the Chummer (Stunner) on Shelley followed by the Dead Sea Drop (Diamond Dust) on Sabin. Curry Man takes Dutt up top for a powerbomb onto everyone else for a huge crash. Rave and Curry slug it out until Curry Man hits a top rope Spice Rack (upside down AA) as this just keeps going. Kaz takes Curry Man down with a Flux Capacitor but Creed stops him from escaping. Devine piledrives Creed down and goes up, only to have Kaz throw him onto the pile again, allowing Kaz to climb out for the win.
Rating: C+. The match is a total spot fest but man alive it gets annoying to have these big messes. It was like they were trying to come up with stuff to fill in time instead of having any kind of flow to the match. On top of all that, the Guns continue to barely be a factor in their own DVD set. What’s up with that?
The Guns talk about what it means to face Team 3D.
X-Division Title: Jay Lethal/Motor City Machine Guns vs. Johnny Devine/Team 3D
From Against All Odds 2008. Believe it or not, this has a bunch of stipulations. Team 3D and X-Division Champion Devine have gone to war against the X-Division and if they win here, the division disbands. If Lethal and the Guns win, Team 3D has to weigh less than 275lbs to wrestle and the person who gets the fall wins the X-Division Title. Got all that?
It’s a huge brawl to start as you would expect and thankfully we go split screen to see most of it. I say most of it because there’s a huge AGAINST ALL ODDS logo covering the top half of the screen. Is that there in case you’ve bought all the PPVs that night and are flipping through the channels to pick something to watch? They finally start heading inside with Lethal nailing Ray in the head with a Dead End sign. The good guys hit stereo dives to the floor to take out everyone else in a nice visual.
Now we get the big weapons, including Sabin throwing in an inflatable doll. We also get the now clichéd kitchen sink, which makes West far too excited. Team 3D takes some sink shots to the face as Devine chokes Lethal on the floor. The Guns put sleepers on 3D and Lethal gets back in, only to take a double suplex from Team 3D, driving the Guns into the mat in the process. The villains take over with Devine nailing Lethal in the head with a keyboard for two.
Sabin saves Lethal from a big kendo stick shot and the Guns start speeding things up again to take over. High/Low gets two on D-Von but he pops back up to nail 3D on Sabin. Shelley eats one of his own but Lethal nails a springboard dropkick to drop D-Von. The fans want tables as Ray nails Lethal to take over again. Jay’s girlfriend So Cal Val is begging them to stop but Lethal flips Ray off, earning him a trashcan shot to the head. Ray pulls Val in as Tenay freaks out, because the idea of Team 3D attacking a woman is just sick right Mike?
Lethal saves Val from a cheese grater to the head and takes Ray down with a top rope hurricanrana. D-Von pulls the referee out at two so Jay dives onto him as this has basically turned into a handicap match. Jay’s springboard clothesline gets two on Ray and the Lethal Combination gets the same on Devine. A huge Bubba Bomb puts Jay down for two as it’s table time. Jay fights off all three guys again and blasts Devine with the Dead End sign. A Macho Elbow through Devine through the table gives Jay the title. The Guns weren’t seen for the last four minutes of the match.
Rating: C. The match was fun, if not TOTALLY RIDICULOUS. I mean, I’m supposed to believe that Jay Lethal can beat Team 3D and the X-Division Champion on his own in a street fight? The Guns continue to mean nothing on this set, which is really starting to get old. Can we see them featured in a single match already? They certainly weren’t here, as this was all about Jay Lethal.
The Guns talk about Generation Me being younger versions of them. Generation Me (the Young Bucks) aren’t on the set but it’s nice to hear about them.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: LAX vs. Motor City Machine Guns vs. No Limit
From Lockdown 2009 and inside a cage with the Guns defending. No Limit is a Japanese team comprises of Naito and Yujiro. No tags again here as we have to make sure everything is as big of a mess as possible. Naturally it’s a brawl to start and I have no idea which member of No Limit is which. I believe Naito goes up for a cross body but Shelley breaks up his second attempt by tying him into the Tree of Woe.
Hernandez yells at the referee as Homicide elbows Yujiro in the jaw to take over. Yujiro powers Homicide up into a powerslam for two. Sabin kicks Hernandez in the head but has his Octopus Hold easily broken up. Hernandez just LAUNCHES Sabin into the cage in an awesome looking crash. Shelley chops away at SuperMex but Sabin has to break up a delayed superplex. That’s fine with Hernandez as he suplexes both of them down with ease.
No Limit takes the Guns down as well but LAX runs them over like the generic foreigners that they are. A middle rope knee drop gives Homicide a two count on Yujiro but the Guns get back up to crotch Homicide on the ropes. They bust out the kicks on Hernandez before putting Homicide on his shoulders for a missile dropkick, driving both members of LAX into the mat.
No Limit gets back up and hits a kind of Poetry In Motion on Shelley, setting up a big splash from Hernandez. A middle rope dropkick to the ribs gets two on Yujiro but Hernandez easily blocks a sunset flip attempt from Sabin. Chris gets LAUNCHED into the cage again as Hernandez is just way too strong for everyone. Shelley gets Border Tossed into the cage but No Limit slams down both members of LAX with Hernandez kicking out at two.
Sabin avoids a swan dive from Yujiro and a corkscrew moonsault from Naito as the Guns take over again. LAX gets back up though and takes Yujiro down with a Doomsday Cutter. The Guns bust out the kicks on Hernandez and nail a sitout powerbomb/Sliced Bread #2 (Made In Detroit) on Naito to retain the belts.
Rating: C. This was the first somewhat traditional match we’ve had on this entire set and it was only so good. Naito and Yujiro were just warm bodies out there and barely did anything for the entire match. LAX vs. the Guns would be a far better match, assuming you can overlook Hernandez not being a junior heavyweight.
The Guns talk about some international teams that they think would be great opponents, including Apollo 55 from New Japan.
Team Mexico vs. Team Japan vs. Team TNA vs. Team International
Team Mexico – Ultimo Guerrero/Rey Bucanero/Averno
Team Japan – Milano Collection A.T./Masato Yoshino/Puma
Team International – Alex Kozlov/Doug Williams/Tyson Dux
Team TNA – Curry Man/Alex Shelley/Chris Sabin
From Victory Road 2008 and this is part of the World X Cup, which was something like a World Cup for X-Division wrestling. This is a four corners elimination match with the winners getting three points, second place getting two points and third place getting one point. Also this isn’t the final, as there’s an Ultimate X match later on in the show.
Curry Man starts with Yoshino and eats a quick dropkick that might have just needed some sauce (I apologize for that joke already). The Guns quickly come in and hammer away on Yoshino, firing off some incredibly fast kicks in the process. Dux tags himself in to work on Sabin before handing it off to Williams for a running knee in the corner. This is moving incredibly fast so far.
An inverted Gory Stretch/Dragon Sleeper combo has Sabin in major trouble before it’s off to all three members of Team Mexico to clean house on Williams. Dux takes a spinebuster/neckbreaker combination before Guerrero hits a big flip dive to take out Douglas. A quick rollup gives Bucanero a pin on Dux as this ring needs to be cleared out a bit.
Yoshino and Bucanero fight on the floor before Yoshino throws him back inside for a double team from the other Japanese guys. Off to Bucanero vs. Puma with Ray hitting a kind of reverse sitout powerbomb for two. Mexico and Japan have an insanely fast sequence ending in Puma kicking Milano by mistake, allowing Averno to faceplant Puma down for the pin.
Milano flips Averno to the apron but gets kicked in the head, followed by a low superkick for two with Ray making the save. Sabin tries a springboard forearm but Milao Matrixes down to avoid any contact. Shelley comes in at the same time but both guys get taken down into a single half crab from Milano. Curry Man makes a save but Milano pretends to take a low blow, only to have a second referee say Sabin didn’t cheat. Instead Sabin kicks Milano in the head, setting up the Cradle Shock for an elimination.
So we’re down to all three TNA guys, Kozlov and Williams for International, all three Mexico guys and just Yoshino for Japan. Yoshino grabs a kind of double leg Fameasser for two on Sabin but Shelley comes in off a hot tag to kick Yoshino in the head. The Guns speed things up again with some hard kicks to the head for two more but Yoshino comes back with an Octopus Hold on Shelley. Sabin makes a fast save but Averno tags himself in to hit a kind of reverse spinout powerbomb (popular move tonight) for two on Yoshino. They trade rollups until Yoshino cradles Averno down for the pin.
Kozlov comes in to powerslam Curry Man but stops for his dancing kicks spot. Williams slides in for Rolling Chaos Theory on Sabin with Curry making a save. It’s Williams and Curry Man slugging it out now until Team Mexico double teams Curry Man in the corner. Guerrero throws Bucanero onto Williams’ back before powerbombing Curry Man down for an elimination. Guerrero puts Williams over his knees for a corkscrew plancha from Bucanero for the pin.
We’re down to the Guns for TNA, Bucanero and Guerrero for Mexico, Kozlov for International and Yoshino for Japan. The Guns dropkick Team Mexico to the floor but miss their dives. Kozlov tries to start a RUSSIA chant in the ring so Guerrero counters with a MEXICO chant. He might actually have a chance as this show is in Houston. Kozlov kicks Guerrero low and puts on a kind of cobra clutch crossface for the submission. Bucanero comes right in and faceplants Kozlov for two, sending Kozlov off to tag in Sabin.
Bucanero goes up top but takes a huge hurricanrana from Sabin, followed by a double kick from the Guns for an elimination, finishing off Team Mexico. Yoshino eats some kicks to the face as well before the Guns but out some insane double teams, including a dropkick into a Downward Spiral, for two on Kozlov. The Russian dives into a dropkick to the ribs and eats an RKO followed by a wicked clothesline for two. Kozlov is almost done but still grabs a rollup on Sabin with his feet on the ropes for the pin.
It’s Shelley vs. Kozlov vs. Yoshino now with Kozlov hitting a huge dive to take out his fellow Alex in a big crash. Yoshino fires off strikes to Kozlov’s face, followed by Sin Cara’s La Mistica mat slam for two. A kind of armbar makes Kozlov tap and we’re down to one on one. Shelley comes back in but takes too much time setting something up, allowing Yoshino to nail a dropkick for two.
A quick Sliced Bread #2 gets two on Yoshino but he blocks a Frog Splash with raised knees. Shelley puts him on top for a superkick, only to get caught in a kind of springboard spinning Zig Zag to give Yoshino a VERY close near fall. Yoshino says that’s it and takes him up top, only to take a top rope atomic drop, followed by Sheamus’ White Noise to give Shelley the pin.
Rating: B+. This took some time to get going but once they got going it was nothing but fast paced action the entire way. Some of those near falls were excellent and they kept the match moving fast enough that you couldn’t keep up with what was going on. Keeping it up for over twenty four minutes is very impressive and the match was a blast.
Interestingly enough, the rest of this DVD isn’t on the video TNA put up on its official YouTube channel and I had to find it myself. That’s rather odd, especially when the Beer Money disc was there in its entirety.
The Guns talk about singles competition and how it means a lot to them, just like teaming together.
X-Division Title: Suicide vs. Daniels vs. Amazing Red vs. Homicide vs. Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley
From Bound For Glory 2008 and it’s Ultimate X with Red defending. Red is a guy that was around near the beginning of TNA and did some very impressive flips, earning the adulation of Don West. Don is now managing the champ and was known to climb on the announcers’ table and cheer for him. Sabin and Shelley won a match on the preshow to get in this match. Suicide is a video game character who started appearing on TV, portrayed by Daniels or Kazarian (the latter here). Homicide is part of the World Elite stable, which is a group of international wrestlers, led by Eric Young, who feel they haven’t been treated right.
It’s a mad scramble to the corners to start but no one can get anywhere. Everyone goes after everyone with Homicide getting the biggest advantage by taking down Shelley and diving through the ropes to take out Daniels. Suicide rolls the champion over and dives onto Homicide but the Guns work together to set up a suicide dive on…uh Suicide actually. Red kicks Shelley but gets dropped by Daniels, who goes for a climb. Red isn’t done yet and hurricanranas Daniels onto everyone else in the match.
Back in and Sabin busts out a giant swing on Red but Shelley adds a dropkick to the champ’s head to make it even worse. Daniels attacks both Guns and Homicide goes for a climb, only to have Suicide springboard up to the ropes and make a save, only to get pulled down into a Gringo Cutter. Sabin holds Daniels and Homicide for a top rope double stomp from Shelley.
The Guns continue their control by working over Red but the champion escapes a Doomsday Device with a Sliced Bread #2 instead of a clothesline and takes Sabin down with a hurricanrana. Suicide comes back in but Homicide suplexes him down. Homicide drops the champ and goes up but Daniels pulls him down and nails a Death Valley Driver. Red goes for the ropes but slowly comes back down for some reason, only to go back towards the belt until Suicide pulls him back down.
Now it’s Daniels and Sabin going up and kicking at each other while hanging in the air, eventually knocking each other down for a big crash. Sabin nails a tornado DDT on Daniels and Shelley nails a Sliced Bread #2 on Suicide. We get the Parade of Secondary Finishers, followed by Shelley, Red and Suicide hitting a huge Tower of Doom out of the corner with Suicide taking the worst of it (and kicking Daniels in the face on the way down).
Suicide throws Daniels down but Red kicks him in the face and gets caught by a corkscrew dive. Sabin goes nuts until Suicide kicks him off the top rope. Suicide goes right back up and hits the Flux Capacitor on Sabin, setting up Daniels’ Best Moonsault Ever. Daniels and Suicide climb onto the top of the structure above the cables and Red follows after them.
The fans ask them not to die so Daniels and Suicide tease suplexing each other off. They slap each other until Daniels carefully climbs down onto the X but Suicide does the same and they both fall with Daniels landing on his head. Tazz rightfully shouts CHECK HIM as Red slips down through the treeses as well and grabs the title before someone dies.
Rating: C+. That Daniels bump had me terrified when I saw it live and it doesn’t get any easier here. Thankfully he was ok for the most part. I can’t emphasize how much better this was than last year’s opener with just six men involved. It gives the match a chance to breathe and you can keep track of what’s going on. This was a good opener but the Daniels fall made it hard to sit through at the end.
What would happen if they fought each other? We would find out at Genesis 2009.
X-Division Title: Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley
From Genesis 2009 and it’s a tournament final. They circle each other to start until Alex grabs an armbar. Sabin grabs one of his own but gets kicked off and they nip up to a standoff. Back up and Sabin cranks on the arm a bit more until Shelley takes him down by the leg. They get up again and speed things WAY up with armdrags and flips into another standoff.
Sabin gets in the first major shot of the match with a kick to the face before cranking on an armbar with his leg around Shelley’s head. Chris sends him out to the floor for a big suicide dive, driving Alex’s head into the announcers’ table. Back in and Sabin drapes Sabin over the middle rope, setting up a Harlem Hangover into a Fameasser for a close two. They trade chops with Shelley getting the better of it before hitting a Lionsault for two. Off to an abdominal stretch from Alex with an additional arm crank for good measure.
It doesn’t last long though as Sabin tries Cradle Shock, only to have Alex escape and send him face first into the mat. That’s fine with Sabin who pops up and kicks Shelley’s head off for two. They slug it out again with Sabin knocking him into the corner for a running elbow to the jaw.
A big springboard tornado DDT gets two on Alex as Sabin is getting frustrated. He goes for another springboard but dives into a Crossface which Shelley spins into an attempted tiger suplex, only to have Chris send him into the corner for a break. Sabin snaps off the tiger suplex for two and White Noise gets the same for Shelley. Alex blocks a top rope hurricanrana and plants Sabin with a slam, only to have his Frog Splash hit knees.
Sabin misses a kick of his own and Alex nails two straight Frog Splashes for two. Back up and Sabin nails a clothesline and Cradle Shock gets two. A middle rope Cradle Shock is countered into a super Sliced Bread #2 for another near fall and Alex is STUNNED. He loads up another Sliced Bread but Sabin throws him off, only to have Shelley come up limping. Sabin checks on his partner and gets rolled up for the pin to give Alex the title.
Rating: C+. I liked most of this and the idea was decent enough, but the opening was kind of a stretch. The idea is that they think the exact same way, but there comes a point where it’s clearly choreographed and there’s almost no way around it. The rest of it worked well enough with a bunch of near falls, and they probably did the right thing with a shifty ending instead of letting one member get a fair pin.
The Guns talk about how the future is more important to wrap things up.
Overall Rating: D+. What the heck was that? I’m really not sure how this can be described as the Best of the Motor City Machine Guns when there’s a single match where they’re a regular team and the rest is almost all about them either in a big gimmick match or as afterthoughts in a multiman singles match. They said the fans picked these matches, which makes me think the fans don’t like the Guns all that much. This set needed to be released about three years later, when the Guns had built up a big catalog of matches to pick from. Like a title win for example.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of the Royal Rumble at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
Best of Beer Money Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West, Taz
Host: Jeremy Borash
I’m going to cheat a bit with this as this is actually half of a DVD set called Fandemonium, which focused on Beer Money and the Motor City Machine Guns. However, since the set is two DVDs and has nothing to do with each other, I’m splitting this up into two reviews. I think the title says it all here so let’s get to it.
We’re starting with Beer Money and a quick intro from JB.
Storm and Roode say they’re another team thrown together but the difference is they’re both career tag guys.
Team 3D Tag Team Invitational Tournament Finals: Beer Money Inc. vs. British Invasion
From Sacrifice 2009 with the winners getting a title shot against Team 3D plus a trophy and $100,000. The Invasion is Magnus and Douglas Williams with Rob Terry in their corner. Team 3D jumps in on commentary. Roode and Williams get things going with the fans chanting USA. Douglas easily takes him down to the mat and Roode is quickly frustrated. Back up with Douglas cranking on the arm again and taking Bobby down to the mat with ease.
Roode tries some power instead but eats a jumping back elbow to the jaw. Instead, Roode takes him down with a snapmare and the Hennig neck snap before Storm comes in with a Russian legsweep for two. Off to Magnus who takes some right hands to the head before throwing Storm over the top, only to have the cowboy skin the cat. Again I wonder who came up with a term like that.
Everything breaks down for a bit with Beer Money picking Magnus up and ramming him into Williams. Beer Money do their SHOUT OUR NAME bit before Roode backdrops Storm onto the entire Invasion. Rob Terry finally gets in a cheap shot and the Brits take over on Storm. Magnus stomps away as Bully talks about hitting the Invasion with a kettle while they have tea and crumpets. We hit the chinlock for a bit before James comes back with a Backstabber to put both guys down.
Williams comes in before Storm can tag though and it’s time to choke on the ropes. Douglas finally misses a charge into the corner and the hot tag brings in Roode. Everything breaks down and Storm kicks Williams from the apron, only to be pulled outside by Terry. Williams uppercuts Roode for two but Beer Money crotches him on top, setting up a super hurricanrana from Storm and a top rope splash from Roode for two as Rob makes the save. That earns Terry an ejection but Williams grabs his Feast or Fired briefcase, only to have Roode take it away and knock him silly for the pin and the title shot.
Rating: C+. Not bad here but it needed a little more time. Beer Money is a more interesting team than the Brits, though the Invasion wans’t a bad midcard stable with Rob doing well enough out there as an enforcer. Beer Money vs. 3D would be the best match for the division at this point so it’s hard to pick against them winning.
Storm talks about growing up on the USWA while Roode was always a big tag team fan.
Tag Team Titles: Beer Money Inc. vs. Lethal Consequences vs. Matt Morgan/Abyss
From Genesis 2009. Lethal Consequences (Jay Lethal/Consequences Creed, now known as Xavier Woods) are defending, having won the titles less than a week ago. Beer Money has Jacqueline with them because she won’t just go away. Creed and Storm get things going but Consequences wants Roode and his bad knee. He stays with Storm though and nails a few kicks to take over.
Creed stays on Storm in the corner but James bails for a tag as Lethal tries to come in off the top. Jay no sells chops in the corner and nails a top rope ax handle for two. The champs start tagging in and out but Jackie comes in, only to get crushed between Beer Money in the corner. Abyss splashes all three of them and Jackie falls face first onto Storm’s crotch, followed by Roode falling onto his knees behind her. Naturally he likes it as my eyes roll.
Lethal Consequences hit big dives onto Beer Money before Morgan dives onto all four of them. It’s about time the monsters got involved. Abyss finally comes in legally but Beer Money breaks up a double chokeslam attempt and bulldog the big man down. A nice double suplex allows them to SHOUT THEIR NAMES to a fairly tame reaction. Abyss easily kicks Roode off and sends Beer Money into each other before crawling over to Morgan, only to have Creed tag himself in.
Consequences cleans house with a cross body and a double DDT for two on Storm. Beer Money comes back with a big double team into a swinging Rock Bottom from Roode for two. Storm and Roode both drop elbows for two and it’s off to Robert for a chinlock. Back up and a big spinebuster plants Creed for two before Storm comes back in, complete with a cowboy hat. James misses a charge in the corner though and Lethal comes in to speed things up. The fans FINALLY wake up and Lethal dropkicks Roode down for two before avoiding Storm’s elbow for the attempted save.
The Lethal Combination looks to set up the Macho Elbow but Morgan tags himself in to clean house. Well at least a room or two. Abyss comes in and no sells Lethal’s offense but gets kicked down by a flying Creed. The Carbon Footprint drops Creed but Beer Money plants Morgan with a Backstabber.
Morgan won’t have any of this though and throws Beer Money down, only to have Roode pop up for two off a Blockbuster. Jackie distracts the referee as the belt comes in, only to have Abyss knock Morgan out by mistake. Lethal drops the top rope elbow on Roode to break up the pin but Jackie WON’T SHUT UP, allowing Storm to Last Call Lethal to give Roode the pin on Morgan for the titles.
Rating: D+. This felt like it went on for about nineteen years and never really picked up. The fans treated it like it was even less interesting than I thought it was though, only waking up when Lethal and Morgan came in. It’s not a really bad match, but it went on too long and really dragged at points.
Beer Money talks about being thrown together and how perfect their name was. They came in when the division was stacked and took on anyone they came up against.
Tag Team Titles: Beer Money Inc. vs. Team 3D
From Destination X 2009. This is an Off the Wagon Challenge, meaning it’s titles vs. TNA careers (only for whoever loses the fall) with Beer Money defending. Roode and D-Von get things going with Team 3D being the heavy crowd favorites. Roode easily takes D-Von down to ride him on the mat before driving a forearm into the back. That goes nowhere so it’s off to Ray who is taken right down as well with Roode walking over his back.
Storm (with a bad leg) comes in and hits a single right hand before posing like a boxer. Time for the standard dancing test of strength spot until Ray takes him down with a neckbreaker. Everything breaks down for a bit with Beer Money taking a beating, including a side slam/legdrop combo for two on Roode. Bobby saves his partner from What’s Up and a double suplex puts D-Von down, allowing them to SHOUT THEIR NAMES.
We settle back down with Roode hitting a nice dropkick for two. The champs start double teaming but D-Von sends them into each other, allowing the hot tag to Ray. We get the required Beer Money gay sex spot so Ray hits a big Rock Bottom for two on Roode. The Flip Flop and Fly drops Storm again but Bobby pops up with the Blockbuster for two.
Storm’s nice hurricanrana sets up the top rope splash from Roode for two more and the champs are getting frustrated. Storm spits beer in Roode’s face by mistake and the reverse 3D gets a VERY close near fall. They load up the regular version but Storm comes in with a chair for the DQ.
Actually hang on a minute as TNA boss Jim Cornette comes out and says this isn’t ending that way. He orders the match to be restarted with No DQ. D-Von heads outside and goes old school with a double noggin knocker as Ray steals Storm’s cowboy hat. 3D connects on Storm but Roode pulls the referee out. He picks up Storm in a fireman’s carry and leaves for the countout.
Rating: C+. This was good for the most part but the ending was rather odd. There really wasn’t a need for the second half of the match as it does the exact same thing that the DQ would have done. It’s one of the better matches so far and hopefully a sign that things are going to pick up soon.
Beer Money talks about how important it was to be in the ring with Team 3D since they were huge influences on them. Team 3D even gave them some tips on their matches, which meant a lot to Storm.
Tag Team Titles: Lethal Consequences vs. Beer Money Inc.
From Against All Odds 2009. Beer Money is defending and the video has an equation theme, mainly talking about how Lethal Consequences are really fast and want the titles back after holding them for three days. Lethal goes right after Roode to start but Robert bails into the corner. The champs slow things down and bring in Storm, only to have Creed (with a bad shoulder) dropkick him out to the floor.
Back in and Consequences easily slams James a few times before snapping off a headscissors. Creed ties Roode in the Tree of Woe and crotches Storm against Roode’s face, naturally sending Roode falling down on top of James. Much beer is consumed to clean out the taste, but Roode spits the beer on James’ face by mistake. Everything breaks down for a bit with Lethal’s back being driven into the barricade for two.
The champs take over inside with some elbow drops for two on Jay followed by a Backstabber for the same. Jay fights up but charges into a knee to the ribs to put him right back down. The champs nail a nice double superplex and LOUDLY SHOUT THEIR NAMES. Jay uses the breather to drive them into each other and roll over for the hot (not according to the fans) tag. Creed’s shoulder keeps him from throwing a lot of punches but he’s still able to nail a double clothesline.
A high cross body gets two on Storm but Jackie offers a distraction, allowing James to shove Creed off the top and arm first into the barricade. Back in and the champs start working over the arm with an ax handle and armbar for good measure. With that not working too well, Beer Money just hammers away in the corner.
Lethal FINALLY tries to make a save and actually beats them down enough to allow Creed to make the hot tag. Jay speeds things up with dropkicks and clotheslines before making Storm elbow Roode by mistake. The Macho Elbow gets two on Roode but Jackie comes in and takes a backdrop. Jay’s Lethal Combination gets another near fall on Roode as Storm can be seen loading up a chain. Lethal loads up a monkey flip but gets knocked out with the chain to retain Beer Money’s titles.
Rating: C-. Not bad here but Lethal Consequences felt like a team there to lose to Beer Money to make the champs look good. The three day reign really didn’t help them as it made them feel like flukes instead of a top team, but at least the match wasn’t all that bad. Creed’s shoulder injury really didn’t play into the match all that much.
Quick chat about how much it meant to beat Team 3D.
Lethal Lockdown
Beer Money Inc, Team 3D
British Invasion, Main Event Mafia
From No Surrender 2009 with Beer Money fighting for the forces of good. This is TNA’s WarGames for no apparent reason. There’s one ring and the two starters fight for five minutes until the villains get to send in a second man due to winning a match prior to tonight. That team will have a 2-1 advantage for two minutes until the team that lost the coin toss sends in a second man. They alternate every two minutes until all eight men are in. Then the roof lowers with weapons attached and it’s first fall wins.
It’s Williams and Storm to start but Douglas tries to get in a cheap shot on the stage. That earns him a beer to the face and a hiptoss on the ramp as the fight starts before the bell. They get inside with Williams choking away in the corner before he nails a running knee to the chest. Storm comes back with a powerslam for a cover that doesn’t count. Douglas nails a jawbreaker and chokes with his shirt as the fans are trying to get into this.
Back up and the Eye of the Storm has Williams in trouble before James chokes with a t-shirt. A low blow has Williams in trouble but he pops back to life and tries to send Storm into the steel. Storm chokes him against the ropes until Magnus gives the Brits a 2-1 advantage for two minutes. He takes too long getting in though, allowing Storm to baseball slide the cage door into his face. That’s fine with Magnus who slams the cage door onto James’ face to put him back down.
A High/Low has Storm in even more trouble and the Brits pose a bit. Storm is busted open and Magnus hammers away at the cut. Roode comes out to tie things up and of course cleans house as soon as he gets in. Very traditional you know. Roode catapults Williams into a DDT from Storm, followed by a Hennig neck snap and a knee drop from James. A few fans try to count down the clock from 25 seconds and it’s as lame as it sounds.
Scott Steiner makes it 3-2 as the villains take over yet again. He busts out a Frankensteiner on Roode in an attempt to make people think he’s more than a brawler. Beer Money is sent into the cage as we’re following the WarGames model to the letter. D-Von ties things up and fires off right hands, followed by a slow motion Thesz press to Magnus.
Things slow down again until Booker T. completes the heel team. Speaking of slow, Booker very calmly walks to the ring while holding both Tag Team Titles. The villains take over with Steiner and Booker sending Storm into the cage so hard that they knock the door open. Cue Brother Ray to give us a ridiculous eight people inside the ring at once. Well in theory at least as Big Rob Terry intercepts Ray on the way to the ring and sends him into the crowd. He adds a chair shot to the back for good measure before forcing the guy in charge of the cage to lower the roof, bringing the weapons into play.
Steiner and the Brits take over with the weapons but Terry misses a chair shot to Ray’s back. Ray hits a completely unnecessary chair shot to the head to put Terry down before taking said chair inside to clean house. Now the good guys take over until Magnus goes through a door in the top and climbs onto the roof.
Beer Money follows him up for a terrifying double suplex and SHOUT THEIR NAMES up top. The 3D plants Steiner back inside but Booker comes back with a trashcan. A Book End gets two on Ray but Beer Money comes back in with DWI (Drinking While Investing, a powerbomb/neckbreaker combo) for the pin on Williams.
Rating: C+. This was good based on being Lethal Lockdown, but there really wasn’t a need for this to be in the cage. As usual, the ring got way too crowded near the ending and the whole thing basically resets after the weapons come in. Nothing special here due to the cage not being needed.
Quick chat about wanting to beat the Brits for revenge instead of wanting the titles, so it’s time to go after the gold again.
Tag Team Titles: Beer Money Inc. vs. Team 3D
From Slammiversary 2009 with Beer Money challenging in their title shot for winning that tournament from earlier. D-Von and Storm get things going with the champ taking over on the cowboy. A shoulder puts Storm down and a flying headbutt gets an early two. Roode gets in a cheap shot from the apron and takes over with a knee drop for two on D-Von. Ray comes in to stare at Roode as it feels like they’re going for the big match feeling here.
Off to Ray legally for a slugout with Roode, whose clothesline has no effect. A forearm finally puts Ray down so he rips the skin off Roode’s chest with some chops. Ray goes Canadian with a big release German suplex and the side slam/legdrop combo gets two on Roode. Somehow Roode just pops up though and goes after D-Von, only to have the Beer Money suplex blocked by Ray, allowing D-Von to clothesline both of them down.
Roode gets D-Von to chase him though and crotches him against the post to give Beer Money their first real advantage. They take turns with their choking until Roode hits the chinlock. D-Von finally fights up and backdrops Storm down, allowing for the lukewarm tag off to Ray. The Bubba Bomb gets two on Roode but Storm knocks Bubba away from Team 3D, leaving Roode to only take the flapjack. What’s Up nails Roode and it’s table time. Storm gets back up and tries to put D-Von through, only to have Ray make a save. That earns Bully a spinebuster from Roode for two and things settle down a bit.
Now the double suplex puts Ray down and they SHOUT THEIR NAMES. Cue the British Invasion who have been having issues with Team 3D lately to join in on commentary. D-Von finally comes in off the hot tag to clean house, including a clothesline for two on Roode. A chokeslam of all things gets two on Storm as everything breaks down again. James pops up for a high cross body to both champions and Roode escapes a Doomsday Device attempt.
Storm’s top rope hurricanrana sets up Roode’s splash for two more as the fans are way into this now. The challengers load up a double superplex but Ray makes a save and sets up the Doomsday Device for another near fall on Roode. 3D puts Roode down again but Rob Terry distracts the referee. Ray goes up top and dives on Terry and Magnus, causing a small earthquake in the processs. Now Williams tries to interfere but gets knocked through a table, only to cause Beer Money to nail DWI on D-Von for the pin and the titles.
Rating: C+. The best word for this one is overbooked. They really didn’t need to do all the stuff they did here for the ending. I get that you don’t want to have the champions lose the belts clean, but the Brits and the tables were more than they needed. At least Beer Money got the belts though, which they rightfully deserved.
Beer Money talks about how awesome that match was, but there was a better one at Lockdown 2009.
IWGP Tag Team Titles/TNA Tag Team Titles: Team 3D vs. Beer Money Inc.
From Lockdown 2009, meaning two months before Slammiversary and this is title for title. Team 3D brought in the IWGP Tag Team Titles and the fans were just supposed to care about them, even though the tag division was barely deeper than WWE’s. This is a Philadelphia street fight but the reason they’re fighting isn’t explained because Ray had to talk about how awesome the Japanese belts are. The match starts in a cage but the door won’t be locked and falls count anywhere.
It’s a brawl to start with Team 3D taking over early on. They quickly throw Beer Money out to the floor and it’s time for the ECW portion of the show. We go split screen but it only covers half the screen because we need a BIG FREAKING LOCKDOWN LOGO instead of more of the match. You can barely see what’s going on but Team 3D seems to be in full control. Storm comes back with some right hands to Ray as they fight into a luxury box.
That’s fine with Ray as he just hammers Storm down and shouts a lot. They fight near the concourse but come back into the arena with Storm falling down the stairs. Ray crotches Roode on a barricade and Storm easily gets knocked backwards. D-Von bites James’ head as they “fight” back towards the ring (read as they stagger about five feet off a single punch).
Back to ringside now with Ray having the cage door rammed into his face to give Beer Money their first control. They load up the steps in front of a table, setting up a double suplex to drive D-Von through the wood in a nice looking crash. A bloody Ray is brought inside where Roode hammers away at the cut like a true villain should. D-Von is still down on the floor so Ray has to clothesline both of them down before climbing up to the top rope for a super Bubba Bomb, knocking Roode senseless.
It’s Beer Money up first but D-Von breaks up DWI, allowing Ray to nail a big side slam for two on Roode. Storm takes a Doomsday Device for two and What’s Up Roode. It’s table time but D-Von takes the better part of forever to bring the thing in, allowing Beer Money to drop Ray with a double belly to back.
A Blockbuster/Samoan drop combo gets two on Ray but he avoids a splash from Roode and a Swanton from Storm. That’s fine with Bobby who comes back with a spinebuster and neckbreaker as Storm has fallen to the floor with a bad knee. He’s good enough to slam a door, only to hit his partner by mistake though knocking him into the 3D for the pin and the titles.
Rating: C. This was your standard ECW style brawl, but at least this was a different kind of match than what we had been seeing for most of the night. It used to drive me crazy when I had to see six or seven matches that were so similar in the original ECW, so mixing things up like this helped.
The team talks about what it means to stay together instead of go their separate ways.
IWGP Tag Team Titles/TNA Tag Team Titles: Beer Money Inc. vs. British Invasion vs. Team 3D vs. Main Event Mafia
This is a TLC match with two sets of titles above the ring. These teams have been feuding forever and this is the final showdown. The British Invasion (Douglas Williams and Brutus Magnus) and the Main Event Mafia (Booker T. and Scott Steiner) hold the IWGP and TNA titles respectfully coming in.
It’s a huge brawl to start with Team 3D getting beaten down in the corners. We head outside with Steiner using a ladder on D-Von. The Brits are smart enough to go in to try and climb but stop for a handshake, allowing Beer Money to make the save. The fight is getting too busy to keep track of as Beer Money destroys Williams in the ring and Steiner fights with I believe Magnus by the stage. Booker comes in to clean house but Roode stops his climb attempt.
Booker ax kicks Roode and Steiner is choking D-Von with a cable. The fans go nuts for the Spinarooni but Booker takes too long climbing, allowing Beer Money to take him down with a Last Call and DWI (powerbomb/neckbreaker combination). Steiner gets back in and destroys everyone in sight, even busting out Frankensteiners and superplexes for the Brits. Booker’s wife Sharmell comes out to check on Booker’s knee as Scott suplexes everyone he can find.
Scott goes up and we realize that the ladder needs to be about four feet higher. The Brits drop Steiner with a double neckbreaker and Booker is taken out on a stretcher. What’s Up nails Steiner and it’s Table Time. Team 3D destroys the Brits for stealing their table gimmick and Beer Money takes a beating of their own. Ray hands Zack Wylde (remember him?) a chair to blast Storm before D-Von puts Williams through a table in the ring. The real What’s Up makes Magnus writhe in pain and we get a lot more tables brought in.
Beer Money gets chokeslammed through tables but Steiner comes in with a chair to drop Team 3D. He brings in a ladder but is still too short to bring it down, allowing Team 3D to slam him through a table. The belts seem to be lowered a bit when it’s clear that this match is never going to end.
Both members of Team 3D climb up at the same time but Rhino of all people comes in to destroy them with chairs. D-Von pulls the IWGP Title down anyway to win the titles for he and Ray but takes a beating from the chair. The Brits come in and lay out Rhino and Team 3D even more before climbing up to to go after the other belts. Beer Money makes another save by shoving one ladder over and superplexing Magnus off the other.
They take too long getting up though and Magnus nails them both with a chair. Storm comes back with beer to Magnus’ face and a huge sunset bomb off the ladder. Williams hits James with a chair but Roode knocks him off. The third British Invasion member Rob Terry pulls Roode down and slams him through a table before lifting Williams up the ladder for the TNA Tag Team Titles. That’s the same way TLC II ended at Wrestlemania X7.
Rating: B+. This was a solid brawl, even though Scott Steiner was down WAY too long towards the end of the match. They did a good job of keeping all of the teams involved for the most part, which is the hardest thing to do in a match like this. Booker being taken out of the match was the way to write him off TV as he and Sharmell were leaving TNA.
One last talk about the future of the team wraps things up.
Overall Rating: B-. It’s not bad for the most part but this really needed to be done like two years later. This was all from the same year and got repetitive after awhile, with eight matches and five of them had Team 3D involved. The set was released before the great matches with the Motor City Machine Guns. This was very similar to the Kurt Angle DVD where they just needed to wait another year or so to have a far better match selection. It’s good, but the best for the team was yet to come.
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Thought of the Day: From A Different Point Of View
I agree. He is very good.The more I watch Impact, the more impressed I am by Ethan Carter III. The interesting thing about him though is how he came from being a comedy good in WWE to one of the best heels TNA has had in years. He’s just easy to hate and can put on a passable match in the ring, which is all you need when the fans hate your guts. He’s similar to Rick Rude from the early 90s in WCW where Rude went from a glorified comedy guy in WWF to a top heel when he was given a more serious look and treated like a killer. It’s all about the packaging and how seriously the company treats someone.
Thought of the Day: TNA’s Ancestor
Since they’re on the verge of death. For roughly the 100th time in ten years.You often hear people comparing TNA to WCW and I don’t really get why. In theory it’s because they’re the second biggest company in the country, but the situations are completely different. Think about this for a second.
WCW has a basically unlimited budget. They could pay for anything and anyone they wanted and never had to blink an eye. They could routinely steal talent from WWF, whereas TNA has to pick up whatever released talent they can or sign someone from the indies.
TNA basically caters to the live audience. Look at their ECW reunions to pop a big response from the fans in the arena and ignoring how the fans watching on TV feel about it. It’s all about listening to the fans chant TNA instead of creating stars and making new fans.
The biggest thing of all though, and the hardest pill for TNA fans to swallow, they’re not competition to WWE. At least not serious competition to WWE. It’s as much competition to WWE as the Arena Football League is to the NFL. WWE is so far and ahead of TNA that they can’t even notice them back there. The other thing people so often overlook: other than a few weeks in 2010, WWE and TNA have never been in direct competition. I can watch Raw, Impact and Smackdown without any scheduling conflicts or additional costs. Other than their once every four month PPVs, TNA has nothing that directly challenges WWE, and if they tried, WWE would squash them like Barry Horowitz.
I could keep going for a long time, but the point should be clear. TNA is much more like a modern day ECW than WCW as they’re basically a fly buzzing around WWE’s head instead of a tiger trying to kill them.
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The signs continue to mount up. It’s a bad sign when the best way to save money is to not have the wrestlers perform. They’ll have TV up to BFG but after that is up in the air. Things are really looking bad for TNA right now and they’re practically circling the drain.