This is the sequel to On This Day and is something I’ve been planning on doing for awhile now.  The idea is simple: every day for the year I’ll be selecting a wrestler and posting reviews of some major matches from his career in a kind of timeline format.  I’ll also include my thoughts on the person as a whole.  I won’t bother with a bio or anything unless it’s someone not very familiar.  I’m not sure how many matches there will be but it should be at least three a day.  The primary way I’ll be picking them is by birthday, though of course this won’t always work.  I’ll also do two guys or a tag team if a particular day doesn’t have a good option.  Hope you enjoy and let’s get to it.

We start with the It Factor of Professional Wrestling: Bobby Roode.

We’ll start REAL old school here with a match from Roode’s jobbing days on Sunday Night Heat. Yes, Roode wrestled in WWE for a handful of matches.

Sunday Night Heat
Date: March 2, 2003
Location: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Attendance: 10,000
Commentators: Jonathan Coachman, Lita

Bobby Rood vs. Al Snow

It’s so old he doesn’t even have the E. Snow takes him down with a fireman’s carry as Coach talks about Limp Bizkit performing at Wrestlemania. Rood fights out of a hammerlock with an elbow to the face, only to be taken down by an armbar. Bobby comes back with that running lariat of his and sells the arm as he should. A rollup gets two for Snow but he gets caught in a backbreaker for a near fall for Bobby. Snow fires off right and lefts before hitting the trapped headbutts. A northern lights suplex puts Rood down and the Snow Plow is good for the pin.

Rating: C-. It’s just a squash to put Snow over but it’s always interesting to see someone like this thrown in there. I really liked how Roode sold the arm as so many wrestlers, including veterans, would just ignore something like that. Obviously he was still young, but there’s clearly potential there.

On to TNA and the first PPV, Victory Road. Roode is part of Team Canada and defending the tag titles along with Eric Young against 3 Live Kru.

Victory Road 2004
Date: November 7, 2004
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 700
Commentators: Don West, Mike Tenay

Tag Titles: 3 Live Kru vs. Team Canada

Team Canada here is Bobby (Robert) Roode and Eric Young while 3LK is Konnan and Road Dogg. They use the Freebird rule to fight and will use it if they win the belts here, along with Ron Killings. Anyway, this is the finale of a long feud between them which of course didn’t end here. We start with Roadie and Roode. For the life of me I do not get the hype on this guy. He’s ok and that’s it.

People to this day think he could be a main event guy. Why? Tell me one thing that he could do that would validate him as a main event guy. And I don’t mean a line like just watch him or how can’t you see it. Pretend I’m stupid and tell me what it is that this guy has that makes him a big star. Konnan is in now with Young and these two just amuse me to no end.

We have a guy that no one cares about that tries desperately to play up the gimmick of being from another country which makes him interesting when he’s just bland otherwise and no one cares about him, and then we have Eric Young. We hit the formula portion of our event with the heels working over Roadie to build up Konnan for the hot tag.

Does anyone else see this sucking harder than a Diva wanting to get a job? I miss Scott D’Amore. The guy was a fat waste of oxygen but he was a decent talker and heel manager. Nothing great here but it’s kind of like the first Mania where the tag titles changed: it allows you to have a title change so the show is memorable and has some impact to steal a pun from myself.

Konnan finally gets the tag after a heel miscommunication (remember folks: TNA is breaking NEW ground!) spot and cleans house. It of course turns into a brawl with Roadie being fine after getting taken out for about 4 minutes. D’Amore tries to use the hockey stick but Killings comes in for the save and a BAD looking X-Factor gives the Kru the titles.

Rating: C. It was average, plain and simple. This match could have been on any TV or house show or PPV and it would have been fine. At seven minutes long they didn’t have much time to get anything substantial going but still, this wasn’t much but it was fine for what it was I suppose.

After this Roode would stay in Team Canada for another few years before becoming a solo act for awhile. I never found Robert Roode: Rich Guy to be interesting at all so we’ll skip over that and jump to something much more fun: Beer Money. This was one of the best teams to ever exist in TNA with Roode teaming up with James Storm to form a country/city tandem. Their biggest rivals were arguably the Motor City Machine Guns so let’s take a look at I believe their first meeting with Beer Money defending. This is REALLY old so please bear with my horrible writing skills.

TurningPoint 2008
Date: November 9, 2008
Location: ImpactZone, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 1,100
Commentators: DonWest, MikeTenay

Tag Titles: Beer Money vs. Motor City Machine Guns

One of the taglines things is will the Guns finally get the titles. Oh that’s rich. Neither team has their current music so things are just ridiculously bland. Again they mention the Guns possibly winning the titles. Wow that’s funny. So despite acting like heels in the back, they of course act like faces here. Could the psychology have been more messed up in TNA around this time?

The challengers of course are all over the place and getting a ton of damage in on Storm. Shelley reminds me of Miz a bit looks wise. ALL Guns here as Shelley hits a Lionsault for two. The champions take over as I think we’re going to be in for a long while here. Storm puts on his hat which of course makes him fail.

I love the missing the tag thing which is as basic as possible of a tag cheating tactic but it works every time and is perfectly legal. Shelley hits a combination Downward Spiral/DDT to get enough time for the hot tag to Sabin. The crowd is uncommonly quiet here. Dang the Guns are fun to watch.

Storm has been gone for a LONG time. It’s a double team clinic from the Guns here and they’re completely dominating. Storm comes back in and botches what is now Madison Rayne’s move. The big Tower of Doom spot does nothing special at all as they kind of just fall backwards. ASCS Rush to Roode but here’s Jackie of course because we have to have the annoying pest in there once at least. Storm spits Beer in Sabin’s eyes so that DWI can keep the belts for Beer Money. Yes the Guns lose again. Film at 11.

Rating: B-. Not bad here. This was another one of those matches where they let them do their thing and it worked for the most part, but at times the Guns’ offense gets so ridiculous that it’s a waste of time and takes away the point of it. The Guns have to win the titles eventually.  Not bad, but nothing classic.

Eventually Beer Money broke up, and things got REALLY fun. Roode became the #1 contender for the world title by winning the 2011 BFG Series, only to lose the title match to Kurt Angle. James Storm would go on to pin Angle in about a minute on Impact less than a week later, setting up Roode vs. Storm for the title on Impact.

Impact Wrestling
Date: November 3, 2011
Location: Macon Coliseum, Macon, Georgia
Commentators: Taz, Mike Tenay

TNA World Title: James Storm vs. Bobby Roode

Feeling out process to start as they’re playing up the idea that they know each other very well. Off to a test of strength which doesn’t last long. Neither guy has an advantage as we go to a break. Back with Storm ramming shoulders into Roode in the corner. They keep countering each other and Roode can’t get much of an advantage. Storm stays ahead with a superplex but both guys are down.

They slug it out and Storm takes over with some running shots. Blockbuster gets two for Roode. Backstabber gets two for the champ. Eye of the Storm is countered into a spinebuster for two. They head to the floor and both guys barely get back inside in time. Storm tries an Orton DDT but gets countered into a Crossface. Storm makes a rope and Roode is frustrated. Roode tries a superplex but Storm counters into a top rope elbow for two.

This is getting good. Last Call misses as Roode grabs the fisherman’s suplex. Storm counters that and is almost sent into the referee. The referee avoids the contact but twists his knee in the process as Roode is sent to the floor. Roode succumbs to the demons inside and grabs the beer bottle which he breaks over Storm’s head to BIG heat. It gives him the world title at 17:40.

Rating: B. This was a very solid match that could have easily main evented a PPV with about five minutes extra. Still though, good stuff here and that’s what they needed to do. I’m really not sure I like the ending but it’s TNA after all so how good can it get? The heel turn was needed, but Roode is going to have to step up his emotions as a heel to deserve this spot. Good match though.

These two would feud for months, eventually culminating in Roode vs. Storm inside a cage at Lockdown 2012.

Lockdown 2012
Date: April 15, 2012
Location: Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

TNA World Title: James Storm vs. Bobby Roode

Storm drives a truck into the arena. He has something resembling the AMW trenchcoat but it’s not quite the same. Storm jumps him on the floor before the bell rings and takes the fight to him. He rams Roode into the cage and drops an elbow from a table. The bell hasn’t rung yet and they have over half an hour. Storm blocks a cage shot and they fight up the entrance. All Storm so far.

Storm swings a chair at the cage but misses, allowing Roode to hit a clothesline to the back of the head to drive Storm’s head into the steel. Roode gets a beer bottle and Storm is busted. The beer is put on the steps as Roode hammers away. Montgomery Gentry and Storm’s wife are here. They go into the cage and there’s the bell. Roode is in full control and rams Storm into the cage again.

Roode yells a lot and the crowd is quiet enough that you can hear most of it. Suplex and knee drop get two. That cut is opening more and more. Storm Hulks Up and wins a slugout but a running elbow takes him right back down. Storm gets a boot up in the corner but Roode takes him down with a big clothesline for two. Roode does the cheese grater spot on the cage and the tape on Storm’s wrists are all covered in blood.

Roode is still shouting in Storm’s face and has Storm’s blood on his face. We cut to Storm’s wife and she looks as interested as parents when their kid isn’t on stage in a third grade school play. Storm comes back with a bunch of punches and clotheslines. Here’s the Eye of the Storm but Roode escapes. A catapult sends Roode into the cage and the Eye of the Storm gets two.

James walks into a spinebuster for two. Roode is busted also. Closing Time (Codebreaker/Backstabber combo) gets two. Now Roode gets the cheese grater treatment. Roode ducks a dive and Storm eats cage, allowing Roode to hook the Crossface. Storm manages to roll to the ropes but both guys are spent. They go to the corner and Storm fights out of a superplex but gets his head rammed into the cage.

Roode climbs on Storm to try to get out and he kicks Storm down to the mat. Storm climbs up and gets Roode dangling on the top of the cage. He’s back in now and they slug it out on the top rope some more. Storm pulls him down and loads up the Last Call but it hits the referee flush on the jaw.

Roode takes him down and has the door wide open but he wants the beer bottle. He busts it over Storm’s head and demands that Hebner come in for the cover but it only gets two. Instead of sprinting out the door, Roode walks into the Last Call but Storm can’t follow up. Storm superkicks Roode out the door, AND HE KEEPS THE TITLE at 17:39.

Rating: B. This company amazes me. If there was EVER, I mean EVER, a more perfect setup than this, I’d love to see it because this was as perfect as you could get and they go the other way. On top of that, they do it TONIGHT, with the crowd being as uninterested as they’ve ever been. The match was great, the ending…..oh dear.

We could keep going with this all day so I’ll cut it off there. Roode is a guy who everyone talks about but I’ve never seen the massive appeal. He’s definitely got talent, but I don’t see him as the be all and end all for TNA. I had no problem with him as world champion and his reign went well, other than a far too long feud with Sting. For as basic of a look as he has, Roode has come a long way and is definitely a success.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of In Your House at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

A quick one to close us out.There’s no real point to nominees here as this comes down to two people.

The winner is……..John Cena.

As well as Daniel Bryan.  At the end of the day I simply can’t pick one over the other so it’s a tie.  Let’s look at both guys.

First up we have Bryan, who got the rocket push of this generation over the course of the summer.  Bryan went from being in a very successful tag team to flying up the card, culminating in something that happens once a year at best: pinning John Cena 100% clean in the middle of the ring.  That flat out does not happen most o the time and it’s a huge deal.  After that Bryan won another world title and main evented several PPVs to close out the year.  That’s something that’s hard to top.

However, when you look at kayfabe accomplishments, Cena had a dominant year.  He won the Royal Rumble, he won the world title in the main event of Wrestlemania, he held world titles for over half the year, he main evented Summerslam and TLC plus brought the WHC its most prestige in years.  That’s a great year by anyone’s standards and a very good one for Cena.

I just can’t pick one guy over the other and they both deserve to be called the best wrestler of the year.  Now go ahead and call me biased.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of In Your House at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

There were some great matches in 2013 and several of them were available for free.

One honorable mention: Sami Zayn vs. Antonio Cesaro from NXT.  It’s a 2/3 falls match and an outstanding fight.  Zayn is as good of an underdog character as you’ll find in wrestling today but Cesaro in Beast Mode is going to put down anyone he’s against.

Now to the nominees:

Rhodes Brothers vs. Shield – Battleground.  It’s the worst show of the year but this match brought out so much emotion for reasons we’ve already covered.  The main story here is the Brothers trying to get their jobs back after losing them to the Authority.  The match was all about the emotion and that’s better than action every single time.  Great match but it didn’t save the show.

CM Punk vs. John Cena – February 26 Raw.  This was the match for Cena’s Wrestlemania title shot and these guys tore the house down.  I called it the best TV match I’ve ever seen and I still  think it ranks right up there with anything I’ve ever seen.  The one thing that holds it back is the lack of drama at the end.  Everyone knew Cena was going to win, but the question was how.  That’s very good but not perfect.

Daniel Bryan Runs The Gauntlet – July 22 Raw.  If a match told a better story on TV this year, I didn’t see it.  Bryan had to face Jack Swagger, Antonio Cesaro and then Ryback in succession.  Swagger didn’t even last three minutes, but the Cesaro section is a war between two different styles.  After that it was Ryback where Bryan gave it his all but couldn’t overcome the power.  The key here though: Ryback lost via DQ, thereby giving us a logical conclusion that doesn’t damage anyone.  Outstanding stuff.

That brings us to the two real contenders.

Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena – Summerslam.  What else can I say about this match?  It was long, it was exciting, it had great action, it had an ending that came out of nowhere.  The one thing that holds it back: there was no way Cena was winning with that baseball growing out of his elbow.  Just like Cena vs. Punk, there was only one possible winner to this and that was Daniel Bryan.  Still though, excellent match.

The winner:

CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar – Summerslam.  My goodness what a match this was.  In something I don’t say that often, I was completely wrong about this one.  I didn’t think Punk could be a realistic threat to Lesnar but he went move for move with the beast and had me wondering who was going to win the entire time.  It’s an amazing match with both guys beating the tar out of each other.  On top of that, it was more proof that HHH had no business hogging Lesnar for a year as Brock has had masterpieces with Punk and Cena but three only good matches with HHH.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of In Your House at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

Another one with more options than I was expecting.It’s rare for me to be surprised in wrestling but this year it happened several times.

First up, a note about TNA.  This is usually a category where they can pull off some good entries but there’s nothing this year.  It’s seemed like you can predict just about everything that happens every time they have a big show.  That’s a really bad sign and something they need to work at.

Anyway, on to the nominees. There are twoof these that happened in the span of about five minutes.

First up, Daniel Bryan pinning John Cena clean.  The question here wasn’t would Bryan win, but rather how he would do it.  People had been expecting to see something like a rollup or a cradle, but to debut a brand new move and cave John Cena’s chest in with a running knee was a big surprise.  I had the words “for two” written but had to backspace furiously.

Orton cashes in.  Yeah people thought it might happen, but the way they executed it was nearly perfect.  That delay before Orton’s music hit was the perfect way to sucker the fans into believing nothing was happening.  I snapped up when the music hit, which is the sign of a good surprise.

This brings us to the winner, which ironically is kind of obvious.

Mark Henry fakes retirement.  it led to a one off match, it doesn’t hold up incredibly well when you look at the details, but it was AWESOME live.  I completely bought that Henry was retiring and that this was the end for him.  The speech was great, the reaction was great, and the turn was great.  I loved this and it was another example of why Mark Henry is underrated.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of In Your House at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

I believe this has the most options.I’ll go through some nominees as usual.

Bully Ray.  Ray won the title in a moment that didn’t surprise many people, but his title reign went well for the most part.  The biggest thing lacking was major title defenses, though it’s not fair to blame that on Ray.  On top of that, it was pretty clear that he was losing the belt at BFG no matter what.

Dean Ambrose.  This started off promisingly but turned into the same midcard title reign you see every time.

Shield.  Now we get into some of the interesting stuff.  This is a good example of a title reign that started and ended well, with Shield looking dominant up until their reign, looking dominant in their reign, and losing the titles in an awesome match.  This is probably second on my list.

Rhodes Brothers. The problem here is similar to Ambrose: too many losses.  Despite an amazing title win and some great defenses, the Brothers keep losing matches that they shouldn’t be losing, presumably leading to a split and Goldust vs. Cody match at Wrestlemania because someone said that was a good idea years ago and that’s what we’re getting, great tag team or not.

I’m going to leave out Del Rio and Orton’s reigns as neither of them did anything for me at all.  Del Rio is just dull and Orton spent his time being handed the title back over and over.  Cena’s title reigns were really nothing all that special either.

Actually I’m going with AJ Lee.  This is a rare occurrence of someone cleaning out of a division and having no one left to challenge her.  She even has her moment with the Total Divas promo and has made me cheer for her every time she’s made one of those nitwits (or Natalya) tap out.  She’s closing in on the record for longest Divas Title reign and has looked dominant (and cute) while doing so.  It’s AJ by a few touchdowns.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of In Your House at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

This one took some time.One of the most common choices I see for this is Magnus and I really don’t get why.  He’s improved somewhat but it’s really more that he’s been pushed more than gotten better.  The same holds true for Roman Reigns, who has been the explosive power guy of Shield the entire time but has been pushed as a major force over the last few months.

If we’re talking about someone who got much better, look no further than NXT Champion Bo Dallas.  This guy started off the year as one of the only acts on NXT that made me want to fast forward but the heel turn changed everything.  Now that Dallas is just SO over the top that it’s hard not to live him.  The reaction when he loses the title is going to be off the charts and that’s why the character works so well.  Also getting rid of that spear and switching to the bulldog was a great change.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of In Your House at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

Make your own Kurt jokes.

This one comes down to two options as most angles either aren’t all that entertaining or get on my nerves with stupid twists.

I’ll throw in an honorable mention to Angle vs. Roode since TNA has had a really bad year.  This started off as a makeshift match for Angle but it’s turned into one of the few bright spots in TNA in the last few months.  Roode is looking like a killer for the first time in a long time and Angle is Angle.  Good stuff all around there.

Now to the real contenders.

First up: Heyman vs. Punk.  The premise was great, the beginning was great, the stuff with Lesnar was great, the ending…..was that the ending?  That’s where they lose me as the ending just kind of happened instead of building up to a big conclusion.  When I hear Punk talking about wanting to destroy Heyman for months, I need more than him just beating on Paul with a kendo stick on top of the Cell.  It didn’t help that Ryback and Axel are a long jump down from Lesnar.

The only other option is the winner: the rise of Daniel Bryan.  If anyone has had a hotter year in recent memory than Bryan, I can’t remember him.  He starts out the year as part of one of the best teams in years before moving up to beating everyone in sight.  Bryan got the rub of a lifetime with Cena selecting him as the Summerslam opponent and he capitalized on it with the running knee (that was awesome) to pin Cena 100% clean for the title.  I say rise of Daniel Bryan because everything after that was pretty horrible for Daniel, so much like Total Divas, we’ll just pretend none of that happened and that Daniel is still WWE Champion.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of In Your House at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

Part one of a double shot today as I forgot to put anything up yesterday.

Rookie of the year is a tricky award in wrestling.  What do you classify as a rookie?  Bray Wyatt debuted in WWE in 2013, but Husky Harris was around years ago.  There’s little argument that Shield has been a force in WWE, but they had one match in 2012.  It’s hard to come up with official criteria, but for the sake of these we’ll go with any new character in 2013.  I’ll leave Shield off because they’ll win enough this year.  Based on that, there are a lot of nominees this year.

A few honorable mentions:

Sami Zayn.  If you watch NXT, you get this one immediately.  Sami Zayn is the former El Generico and is currently chasing Bo Dallas’ NXT Title.  He is about as perfect an underdog as you can ask for and has put on some outstanding matches against guys like Antonio Cesaro and Jack Swagger.  He’s going to move up to WWE one day and will fit like a glove.

Ethan Carter III. He’s the Rick Rude of modern wrestling.  Now before you old school fans jump down my throat, think about this for a minute.  Rude was a glorified comedy wrestler in the WWF but once he jumped to WCW, he became a killer and the top heel in the company for over a year.  Carter was as goofy as you could ask a wrestler to be in WWE but he jumped over to TNA and is now playing a solid heel.  The guy is going to be a big deal in TNA and is a rare instance of TNA getting a good steal from WWE.

Now for some actual nominees.

Wyatt Family.  These guys are CREEPY.  If you watch Survivor Series 1990, the crowd goes silent for Undertaker’s debut.  Not because they’re bored, but because they have no idea what to make of the guy in front of them.  That’s the vibe I get from these guys.  Wyatt is so perfect for the character it’s unreal as well as a good sign.  Instead of lettting him be Husky Harris and having him lose for a year before cutting him, they realized the talent that was there and found something that fit him perfectly.

However, he might not have the most potential out of all of them.  I dig Luke Harper more and more every time he’s out there.  That discus clothesline of his is AWESOME and looks like it could take anyone out.  The look in his eyes is just disturbing and he’s got a great finisher to top it off.  What more can you ask for from a guy?  He’s got a future once the Family breaks up and the gimmick change is so easy too.

Now for the winner: Big E. Langston.  This guy is actually a rookie by WWE’s standards and looks like he’s going to be a big deal for a long time.  He’s been treated like a monster (save for that stupid loss to Del Rio) and is already in the main event scene.  They’re actually protecting this guy and he has the promo skills to back it up.  Considering he only started wrestling about four years ago and is just 27 years old, that’s remarkable.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of In Your House at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

We’ve got a few options here but a handful stand out about others.First up is Mark Henry retiring.  This worked for one reason: I bought it.  I totally believed he was done and was actually sad to see him go.  I didn’t think he had a chance to win the title at the PPV, but this worked perfectly for the time being.  Unfortunately it led to a one off match and Henry is a smiling face again.

Second and the runner up is AJ Lee vs. the Total Divas.  As someone who watched every episode of Total Divas (good looking women in small outfits being completely over thet op in a fake scripted show with wrestlers making cameos?  You couldn’t sign me up fast enough), I was literally cheering for her as she ripped that show limb from limb.  The problem again here is the follow up.  WWE relied on the idea that the fans were going to like the Total Divas, even though AJ has run circles around them (literally at certain points).  AJ is portrayed as the heel here and that just doesn’t work, especially when AJ has mauled them at every opportunity.

This brings us to the winner: CM Punk vs. Paul Heyman after Money in the Bank.  Here’s why it worked: it had a history, it had logic, it had hatred, and most importantly of all, it was leading up to a professional wrestling match.  CM Punk vented his frustration against Heyman, swearing vengeance against Heyman for costing him the world title.  The obstacle in Punk’s way: the Beast Incarnate, Brock Lesnar.  This was setting up David vs. Goliath, but Goliath was standing in the way of David’s real target.  That’s wrestling in a nutshell people, and you had two of the best out there talking about it, and that’s why it’s the best of the year.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of In Your House at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

Also my Christmas sale on ebooks is ending soon so take advantage of it while you can:

For once we have a close one.There were some big stories this year and picking the biggest is actually difficult.  As usual we’ll go with some nominees first.

Bruno Sammartino comes back to WWE.  This is minor by comparison but to see Bruno on Raw and at Wrestlemania was long overdue.

Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff leave TNA.  This is less of a news story and more of an answer to several prayers.  I won’t say these two were universally bad for the company but the bad outweighed the good.  The focuses on the Hogan drama and Garrett Bischoff from a few years ago dragged the good stuff down and it just never ended.  Hogan would have been great as a GM character who showed up once every few weeks and made a match and OCCASIONALLY got physical.  Having everything centered around Hogan got old fast and the fact that we never got a payoff to Hogan vs. Bully Ray really hurt things.

TNA running out of money.  It isn’t as high on the list because of one simple things: there isn’t much of a surprise here.  TNA has cut PPVs down to like three a year, moved onto the road and hasn’t cut any major salaries.  I’m no economist, but it’s clear that a model like that isn’t going to last long at all.  Things seems to have stabilized in recent months with Hogan and Bischoff leaving and moving back to Orlando.  Yeah it’s a step back, but it’s either step back or fall off a cliff.

Death of Paul Bearer.  Not so much of a story as it is a big surprise.  Bearer seemed to be in far better health and was certainly more normal sized than when he weighed well over 500lbs.  From what I can find people saw him looking bad on March 2 and he was gone on March 5.  That’s a very quick turnaround and was a shock to wrestling fans everywhere.

This brings us to the winner: Darren Young coming out.  No it hasn’t meant much since, but think about this for a minute.  The NBA has one active player who is out (yet not on a roster), MLB, the NFL and NHL have zero.  Darren Young is in a physical contact sport in very little clothing yet came out anyway.  Luckily there hasn’t been a lot of backlash that we know of and might be helpful for others in the future.  It hasn’t meant much since, but this was big at the time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of In Your House at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

Also my Christmas sale on ebooks is ending soon so take advantage of it while you can: