RedJed

I hear ya on the Nash, Hall, and Savage comment - as I agree all should never have been brought in if they can't offer any real value to the company. Hall and Nash should have been tag champs (for a short run) at this point and getting to the point where they should be putting another team over. Instead we have Team Canada v. AMW, a match where I am rather giving a fuck less about seeing. With Kid Kash, I dunno.....I just dont see what's so apparently special about this guy other than that he has good mic skills. His ring work is not as good as it was back in the ECW days and his heat isnt as top notch as some people think he's getting. His attitude doesnt help his case either.

Hopefully thats the case about Hardy - he's been just about as "whatever" about his career right now as he was in WWE during the past few years of his run there. Even an outright title chase (which would have likely led to a title run if he would have been more motivated to work better and be a company person) didnt get him going. I'd say give Hardy another few months and if its the same shit, just get rid of him. Anyway watching Impact last night and Daniels/Sabin was a very good match for TV. Whoever wins the Ultimate X match - I hope they pencil them in a long term feud with Daniels over the belt. The rest of the show was ok but I didnt see the hard sell for the ppv like I expected to see. I havent minded Rhodes' booking run so far but he needs to step it up during these two week TV tapings, especially when you only have 2 of those tapings to build to the next show. I'm willing to give somewhat of a benefit of a doubt as they've had some problems with talent not showing up last minute and having to change booking (Garza, Abyss, etc). But whatever the case, long term planning is a must in the system they have now. I still really think they should make the Sat night show a completely different show instead of just a replay. It might burn out the live crowd somewhat to do 2 weeks of 2 shows in one night, but I think they should still try it. TNA desperately needs more TV time to build up to the ppvs and storylines. This is the main issue I have seen with this ppv tomorrow - in that there just wasnt a very good job of building it up as much as it could have/should have been. Part of that was the booking but I think the main issue is just a lack of time overall to get things across. The undercard of these ppvs needs much more work too. Still looking forward to it though - if TNA gives Brown the title tomorrow and Ultimate X delivers, it will be a solid show.

I kind of agree with Dutt and Skipper (although Dutt has stepped it up in some matches - mostly those outside TNA rings before) but to say Williams is overrated is a stretch. He had two solid matches at the last two ppvs, the last with Sabin which is an easy TNA MOTY. How is his finisher "exposing the business?" That's the first time I've heard someone say that.

It wouldnt be a bad idea at all for Raven to be added into that 3 way dance for the title shot - in fact to take it a step further I wouldnt mind even seeing him win the match in a booking surprise if they really arent fully on Monte Brown yet. In that respect, I'd much rather see Raven v. Jarrett again, even with no buildup, other than DDP or Nash v. Jarrett. Allowing Watts to work the ppv would really make me question TNA's ability to handle their talent (which already there are alot of questions on - such as why they continue to keep talent like Jeff Hardy around when its clear he still has substance problems or at worst, his heart clearly not into wrestling). He should probably be forced to either quit or else allow TNA to help him in a rehab facility to get his job back, much like WWE has done with workers in the past.

I'm still going to order it, but not without less than a large amount of excitement at the overall card lineup. Regardless, I still feel like it will deliver well and above the WWE shows as of late, and possibly continue the momentum from Turning Point since they know what is riding here and everyone will surely work hard. Main event: If it isnt Brown and if Brown doesnt win the title, its going to be a letdown whatever the case. Ultimate X: This one should be great and easily MOTN. Tag titles: This doesnt really interest me - AMW is stale as hell and Team Canada is ok but is also kind of stagnent. Triple Threat match actually sounds intriuging just to see how Page and Nash work against Brown. Rest of the undercard is rather weak. Kash/Rhodes might be ok, but everything else was just thrown together with little booking thought put behind it. Skipper and Daniels are horribly misused right now and honestly, they would have probably be best fit on this show to have been put against each other in a number one contenders X division match or something.

I dont think they should eliminate the brand extension but I think its about time they eliminated the brand seperation for most of the titles. For right now, I'm fine with leaving the world and WWE titles seperate, and same with the IC and US titles, but with the tag belts, CW, and Women's title, there isnt enough talent in one brand to really have any of those belts prominent. They should unify the tag titles at Mania in the very least and at best, also decide to make the Women's and CW titles interchangable through both brands, akin to how the WWE title was right after the brand extension. This is how I would do it.... Tag titles: Make a TLC 4 Way match at Mania: RVD/Rey v. Dudleys v. Jericho/Benoit v. Edge/Christian - Duds and E/C being in there since its a TLC match obviously. CW title: Have a 8 man tournament leading to Mania on Raw for a shot at whoever the CW champ would be come Mania from Smackdown. Raw would obviously need to sign up some more CWs for their side since they maybe have 2 or 3 at most who qualify, but this would be a perfect time to show them off and debut them. Women's title: Just have a bra and panties elimination catfight with all of the WWE chicks at Mania with the winner taking the title. I think its time WWE came to realize this women's division, as it is currently, is never going to fully get over and all of the women workers and "divas" should just merge together and have pointless eye candy segments/gimmick matches for the belt. Just my two cents....

I'd like a little more documented proof that this was even Heyman he was mentioning the whole time...

Well good to hear I wasnt the one being referred to Regarding the Japan v. US thing, I hear ya on the two different dynamics, and are/have been aware of the styles from both countries, but I still say that if at least a small amount of fans were conditioned to treat a company like, say, the way a company like NOAH is run, it could work because its different and I think the US wrestling industry needs a shakeup or "the next big thing" to make it happen. Time will tell, but I see MMA gaining momentum in the states as well and if you could do a wrestling company with no real heels/faces but with still the flashy personalities and storylines that dont reek of "good v. evil" it could still work. Sure, you would have to have some characters be more heelish than others just because of their character traits but I think movement should be made for a true alternative to TNA/WWE and everyone else, and that might be it. I can't, off the top of my head, think of any company who has tried that route in the US yet, so how can you say it would fail? Its certainly not like the current US scene is booming at this rate....

TNA's new time slot change is official starting on 1/7. The show will move to 4 p.m. on Fridays with a midnight Saturday replay. they also announced the first line of TNA action figures will be released by Toy Biz, a division of Marvel Enterprises, in March, and Liquid Blue will release licensed TNA T-shirts Credit. www.wrestlingobserver.com I dont think this is any sort of big deal to report, as I dont see the 4pm any better than the 3pm, other than maybe some kids are home from school more than at 3. The midnight Sat replay is interesting, more than anything because they could and SHOULD use that instead for Xplosion or a new TNA show, maybe a little more violent and/or high energy even (with more X division bouts or could even use this show to be nothing BUT X division)? They got enough talent on the roster than its stupid to just settle for the 1 hour of Impact to build to these ppvs every month when they have now even taken out time for another extra show. I know it would cost a little more to tape more stuff for another 1 hour show, but I would think it would be worth it for them to do at this point.

Quite simply, by how I rate things, there are too many *** 1/2 matches out there to watch each over and over (I just dont have the time). Again I refer to alot of RAW main events or, say, a match like London v. Kidman from No Mercy or something like that. Anything over or at **** to me are definately matches worth mentioning to a friend to check out, and definately worth a second viewing.

Just for the record, I'm not pissed off or anything because someone is this critical of the match (I'm not sure if this point was directed to me or what, but am assuming so) - surprised, yes, but not pissed. Just because I figured any way you slice it, this match was an easy **** to even the most analytical. And I certainly dont mean to act like I'm critisizing or "giving someone some shit" over it either. Just making for some rare worthwhile discussion is all, as was stated. For the record though, everyone has a different style or degree of watching or rewatching a match. For just as many who might rewatch it now after this discussion and notice things that might drop the overall opinion of the match, just as many may see it the opposite way. There was a letter to Meltzer on how high he rated the match and then about a week later wrote back to mention how he now sees it in a different, more positive light. The posts related to that are at the Observer site. So it goes both ways. Relating to face/heel definitions - I'm not even going to touch that other than stating that I dont think a companies survival or this business would die without it. Ultimately the business would still survive such as New Japan, All Japan (albeit its seen better days) and NOAH lives and even though thats in a different country, U.S. fans could be conditioned to live without it if done right. You just simply turn it into more of a legitimately based sport without the shooting. In fact I think an organization where the roles arent THAT defined would flourish well in the future and be a refreshing change to change the formulmatic structure of some matches (like face is in peril, cant make the tag due to cheating, etc, etc, hot tag finally made, etc), and if ROH, for example, took that approach completely, I dont think it would affect their overall appeal.

Thats a good point, thats kind of what I was trying to get at - although I admittedly went overboard on trying to make that point previously. Bottom line though is that everyone has their own opinion on what they feel is a good match and what isnt. For every person that thinks that a technical masterpiece is the best match ever, another person will think its boring. Everyone has their own criteria for judging what makes a match ***, ** 1/2, ****, whatever. So to each their own. My major argument was that a match that had me personally on my feet near the end of it in anticipation of the finish would no way get only *** 1/2 from me and I am really shocked that anyone would rate this match that low. But as I said, to each their own - but it's just something I still don't get after reading long winded post after long winded post here. Alot of the points made about the structure of the match and build of it being weak - I didnt see personally, but I've only watched it a few times and I'm not one to breakdown a match piece by piece in most cases, which maybe is the difference here. I felt XXX had been established enough as the heels in the weeks past on Impact as well, with teams like the Naturals actually helping XXX assault AMW before, etc. I dont think I mind that the heels and faces werent defined though to the n'th degree but thats just me (and maybe my love to ECW). All I know was it started out fast with some good cage brawling, early blood, and in general, not wasting much time to get somewhere. Thats not always a bad thing to me. Working the highspots at a certain time, such as doing Daniels elbow some other time, wasnt a big deal to me since logic concludes that he was up by the top of the cage anyway after the Skipper highspot and they were going to attempt to finish off Harris with the two big manuevers one after another. I feel like its a tit for a tat when things get this detailed in determining why a match sucks or why it kicks ass. So I wont get into things anymore than that as far as a lack of organization of spots does not really turn me off from a match enough to hurt its rating. Example - even though I dont think it was the greatest match ever, Foley taking the fall from the HIAC match with Taker right away didnt make it a worse rated match if it would have been held til the end of the match. One thing though, dont get it twisted that in no way, shape, or form do I think this is a "classic" - all I'm stating is that it is one of the better TNA matches ever, and to be probably **** or **** 1/2 according to my criteria (which definately isnt the same as Tims but thats ok) Numerous RAW main events this year got that sort of *** 1/2 feeling from me, and this was nothing near those in terms of overall quality - this was way better and memorable to me than those RAW matches. *** 1/2 to me is something that is solid but probably not one that I would feel compelled to watch more than once or really sticks in my head as something "wow".

When JBL comes to the ring, you don't see/hear the crowd going 'GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE' pretty much. You can tell when the crowd is genuinely booing someone...as they want them to get the hell off of their television screen, and when the crowd is booing...well because that person is a heel. During a JBL promo, if everyone hated him so, the crowd would pretty much be chewing him out the whole time...but they don't. They usually start to boo or whatever, when, what you can tell is when they're supposed to. He gets the hugest heat when he starts his 'JBL chant'. He gets the crowd to boo, when he uses his 'cheap shots' (which I know some seemingly hate...but, isn't that what a heel should do?) For his promos on SD, you can tell that a better part of the crowd is..well...listening, and they boo when they hear what they don't like, instead of just booing him, and I'm sure that it's not just canned heat, or lowered boos. What shows are you watching? When JBL comes out, there is almost NO HEAT, nobody really makes a sound when he comes out to the ring for the most part. If a crowd really hates a guy, you dont either here hardly any response from them, not "them chewing the guy out." Either that or the fans do the wave or outright leave the arena to grab another beer or to take a leak. Again I bring up Armageddon, the feeling I got from the crowd was that when JBL won, it was a depressed response, which was, more than anything, not a response at all. Kind of a groaned response when he won followed by zero heat. What a horrible way to end a ppv was all I kept thinking. When you claim fans are "listening" during a JBL promo, maybe try and think that maybe that silence isnt as much listening as it is an apathetic towards the individual - IE X-pac heat!

But like he said pretty much, fact is, how do you know? How do you know attendance is low, and buyrates are sinking because of JBL? I mean...you can guess that's probaly the reason, but then again, maybe people are tired of the Undertaker. Maybe people are turned away from SD because of Heidenreich. maybe people just aren't able to watch SD, so why should they buy the SD PPV? Not saying that JBL isn't a negative draw, because hey, I know there are some people out there who hate him..and won't order a PPV if he's main eventing. But..to put it all on him, just because he is the champ, just isnt' right. When Benoit, who's supposedly so great, was champion, RAW's rating, and PPV buyrate defintely, still weren't at their best. Even if he wasn't pushed as the greatest...he was champion, so the buyrate/rating all depends on him right? So 'his greatness' alone should have made the buyrates raise like a mother...even if, like Bad Blood, he wasn't pushed as the main event. And this just goes with the above. Maybe some don't like Tough Enough?> (even though it was usally one the higher segments) Maybe people hate the commentary..etc, it can be a number of things, so I don't think saying it's all JBL is justifyable, because it's clear he's doing a good job...even if he is 'Crapshaw'. Who I'm not/wasn't a fan of, but I've liked him in this particular role. And he gets heat from the fans...and not that X-pac heat, so he must be doing something right. Regarding TE, in the same light as I mentioned Meltzer broke down the ratings segment by segment by the main wrestler(s) featured, the TE segments every week actually did very well, so much that they already have greenlit it for next season. To be honest, now that TE is done, it will be interesting to see how the SD ratings are, since that was one of the few things that was consistently drawing crowds.

I wish I had some way to look them up right now (I'm at work) but Meltzer recently did a ratings segment breakdown wrestler by wrestler to see who is even coming close to drawing right now, and Bradshaw's segments normally dont do large numbers. Guys like Angle, Guererro, and Rey draw a lot more. Like I said I wish I could be more specific, maybe someone can help here? Regarding the ratings for SD, I think whats happening right now is that for awhile now, WWE has reached its bare bones number of viewers for shows - these are diehards like you and me who usually tune in each and every week even if it sucks, just because there isnt anything for competition and we've been through the worst and will stick around no matter what. Not having any competition is a big reason for maintaining 3.xx ratings currently, I believe.

JBL IS getting X-pac heat - at the last ppv, when he won the main event, I can clearly recall the crowd deflated at the finish. There was no heat on Bradshaw the entire match really, and even though he is a heel, nothing has been accomplished to give him credibility as champ since he won the damn thing. Armageddom would have been the perfect time to get the title off JBL, since he could lose it, and, well....not lose it himself, so he'd save credibility. Then they could have built him more on the upper card and maybe in due time, to another run. One way or another I can't believe how many of you can't see that the guy clearly isnt over with the crowds, its completely obvious to me. To me, the guy just doesnt come across as any sort of main eventer, much less a champion. If he had a nice run of solid matches, much like Orton had, or even a US title run for a long time, then that would have helped. This would be similar to handing a guy like Christian or Matt Hardy (very solid midcard talent) the world title out of nowhere - it just never made sense in the first place to go from point A to point Z so fast.

While I know everyone has a right to an opinion, I just dont get some people - I swear they have to "go against the grain" of a rating or overall majority feeling of a certain match just to be different or to act like they know more than anyone else. While I'm not saying this is the case here, I just think its a weird dynamic of some of the IWC. Whatever the case though, as it pertains to this opinion - I think it is sad though about some people's overcriticalness of a clearly very solid match, as it just generally narrows the mind so much about the sport that you miss out on alot of aspects that make it great to be a fan of wrestling. Again though, everyone has a right to their own opinion, but I just think its funny how nitpicking some people can be in general, as even the most hardcore book or film critics can't touch some IWC posters. It's like, why are you even bothering to watch if you are turning a viewing of a match into a intrical surgical breakdown of things without seeing the big picture, that is was just a fun match to watch? It also demeans the hard work all 4 of these guys put forth in this match to do something worthwhile and memorable with the 20 minutes they were given. The fact that there is a comparison here of this match and ROH Scramble matches (which are usually memorable but even MORE spotty and illogically built than this match in most cases) is something I definately dont agree with. Dare I say this statement may have more to do with a "ROH Rules, TNA drools" mentality than anything. Plus to say there was no build here - umm, they have been on and off feuding (and more "on" in the last 4-5 months) for a very long time. That, to me, shows just a lack of knowledge about the current TNA product and their program than anything. I guess TNA, once again, can't do anything right, huh?

Umm, yeah they do (it's in all of their signup brochures) and from what I understand it's already being used (its called something like Interactive TV). It was also reported in this week's Observer as well that WWE 24/7 will start with Dish Network already next month.

Here is Jan's program grid........sweet stuff there..... http://www.wwe.com/shows/wwe24_7/highlight...Prog_Grid_1.pdf

It's completely worth it. I've had a Dish DVR for about 4 years and it was definately worth the money. Though I think the cheaper DVR might be $300 now. Yeah I just called them last night and they confirmed it was "on the way" but didnt specify to me when exactly, but they said in most cases the services pop up out of nowhere without a real "official" target date, so Jan is very possible for it to start. Like someone also mentioned, if you sign up to Dish Network they basically give you a free DVR reciever if you wish (I think its only like $4 a month then for the service) so its actually a great deal. They dont give you a free HD DVR reciever, which is what I originally wanted, but at least I can get a regular DVR for the other TV.

NICE - I was just looking into getting the Dish Network just today since I'm moving into a new apt Jan 1. PERFECT *spazzes out* For what its worth, my cable company basically told me it was a far chance from it happening since they dont even have the bandwidth in their structure to hold anymore channels (HD or standard). VOD services were going to be something that was at least 2 years away if not longer. The thing that sucks in reading the Dish pamphlets is (I believe) you HAVE to get their DVR box, which is something like $500 just to get VOD services. So I dunno, it still sucks. By the way, where did you hear that Dish Network will have this come Jan?

I can see this being in the Wal Mart $5 bargain bins almost immediately, much like the History of Mania and the HBK re-release from 96 was. Otherwise, why the fuck are they even putting this out? Calling it the "Best of the IC Championship" is a joke.

I think that was the Russo/Jerry Jarrett team when both of these instances occured.

One thing I forgot to mention is that I thought, but I may be incorrect, that Russo had, for a month or two, damn near full and unfiltered booking power of TNA, and this was where I was thinking early 2003 came into mind and I thought that is what led to Jerry getting back into the writing more (in March or April of that year), as he took a break of sorts when he was more booking things from TNA's inception until October of 2002 and then had Russo do more after that time. I could be off though. As has been discussed already, when he has full control of things, its usually not as good as it could be which brings the point if he really is THAT good of a booker or not. I'm still unsure about him to this day.

Yeah I guess thats the point I was also trying to make - Russo and Jerry as a team wrote some tremendous stuff when one or the other would bounce ideas off each other or moreless Russo would be filtered, but in a fair way. I also wish it would go back to them too, but maybe if Jerry can work hand in hand with Rhodes, that may do something. Time will tell. If you have time, try and get that journal book from Jerry Jarrett, (I think they have it at HighSpots) which covers all of 2002 in trying to develop TNA from basically a day to day process. It shows that, while I feel he (at the time) needed some dose of reality in that the wrestling scene is different than it was once was, that Jerry Jarrett does actually know his shit, and especially when it comes to his son and how to use him. It also shows how much of a deer in the headlights Jeff can be with alot of the business stuff, which is one of many reasons why TNA hasnt succeeded. It's too bad that Russo and Jerry wont work again together since Jerry is basically the reason why Russo left (from his scathing comments about him in his book). But I still hope now that Jerry is trying to get himself back in the fold and take control of the sinking ship to get a new and positive direction formed. The company, though, sounds way too political right now, according to the last reports of Jeff and Dutch still damn near having full control of the book even though Rhodes is supposedly heading it. I dont get it...Jerry needs to (and I think he is currently trying this) sweet charm the Carters to allow him to fully run TNA with his business desicions overpowering everything else. This goes beyond the book (which he can still just give to Rhodes until he blows it) but covers such things as possibly getting all of these egos in check and not allowing plans of action to be compromised. I can't imagine the friendship, or lack thereof, that the two Jarretts have these days from all of this. Pretty sad.