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Now that Wrestlemania is over, TNA is going to have to try to do something to get the attention of the wrestling media, and hopefully, fans back as it counts to its PPV. Here are the spoilers from tonight's tapings. They taped 3 weeks, so this is the final build to LockDown....lot's of interesting, for better or for worse, developments. Credit: www.wrestlingobserver.com I don't know about all the matches being in the cage. That could kill the gimmick completely. I'll give them that's it hasn't been done before (at least not to my knowledge), but there may be a reason for that.

I was thinking that...the line-ups look good for the most part. I'm excited about Sabin and Shane after watching that fourway, and AJ hasn't wrestled on Impact in a little, so he'll feel fresh too. I like the Hardy and Styles/Abyss and Raven match. It's the perfect kind of match to headline Impact with. As long as it goes at least 8 minutes, it will seem like a big deal, and move the storyline along without blowing the wad (a la Brown/Jarrett I). The cages though....

I wasn't talkin about them trying to top WM...I was just saying that for the past few days, the eyes of the wrestling world have been focused on WWE, and rightfully so. You didn't see much TNA discussion on the Net, as evidenced in this folder. So I was saying that no that the are out of the shadow of WM hype, they have to try to get people excited about their PPV. Yeah...I was actually considering ordering this show, but now I don't know because this is definitely overkill. Some of the matches, like Daniels/Skipper and Styles/Abyss (even though I think Styles and Abyss will adjust better), would have probably been better w/o the cage gimmick. This was going to be the first TNA PPV I ordered since Turning Point, mostly because I've really enjoyed the Daniels/Skipper feud, am intrigued by the Raven/Hardy feud though I know the match will most likely suck, and I know that Styles/Abyss and AMW/TC will click even without strong storyline support. But geez, 8 cages matches.....

I usually do that as well. I watched XIX, XX and Savage/Warrior from VII last night, and I'm looking for XIV right now.

Since I'm in DC I don't get Impact 'til 1:30 Sunday morning, but I just wanted to know from those of you who saw it already it is the X-Division Shootout as good as the spoilers said it was? I haven't really watched an entire episode of Impact since the one that was headlined by Styles/Kash, but the talk about this one (plus watchin the WWE HoF induction) has got me ready to see some wrestling, so I think I'm going to actually watch Impact as it airs for the first time in forever. Just wanted to know if it worth the buzz it got when it was taped. Also, just for discussion's sake, what do you guys think of this new plan TNA seems to have of featuring one "workrate" match per month on Impact? Do you think doing that causes people to want to check out their PPVs to see what these guys can do with time or do you think it causes people to skip the PPVs because they are getting long matches on TV? It'd be interesting to see the ratings for each episode to see if the shows headlined by those matches do any better than the other episodes, where matches usually aren't announced "in advance."

I know some have said they hope TNA gets the post RAW slot (11 pm), which I could see happening. UFC would probably be the lead-in since I believe they are drawing decent numbers in this slot. But in an ideal world, I'd rather see TNA getting the 8 pm slot, so that if they expand to 2 hours, they can do the 8-10 slot Nitro did for awhile, where they can get people eager for wrestling and try to hook them to stick around. That's the best Monday Night War II scenario I can think of, though I doubt any of it will happen any time soon. Can't fault Jarrett for trying though. Smart business in my book. Now if he'd just continue that trend (doing smart business) and eat a Pounce, we'd all be better off.

I agree that this scenario is the only way this makes sense. But to give them credit, it gives them an out if Brown doesn't get as over as a heel as they hope, they can have him pull the favor card, saying that because Dusty was playing favorites with the older guys, this was the only way he could get the title, which was more important to him. Also, they have a ready-made storyline of Dusty throwing veterans at him to "prove himself," which will allow him to get wins over the known stars that they have. I can see this happening at Slammiversary (this is their next big "PPV," and there's no better way to make it seem memorable than being the first monthly PPV to feature a title change. And if they don't do it here, they'll have to wait til Bound for Glory in Sept.) Otherwise, the turn doesn't make much sense.

I just finished reading the column and realized that was an April Fool's joke. So nevermind. , but it was an interesting scenario.

Don't know how seriously you guys take him [i usually read him more for analysis then news], but here's an update from Rick Scacia's column over at OnlineOnslaught.com: Thoughts?

Here's Keller's full update about the situation:

According to Bill Banks latest column, credit for this name goes to Shark Boy. And Slammiversary is supposed to be one of their annual "crown jewel" PPVs according to him (a la Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, Summerslam and Survivor Series), along with Lockdown, Bound for Glory and another one that has yet to be named, though I'm guessing it will be Victory Road.

The anniversary ppv is originally gonna be called Slammiversary, and it's apparently going to be an annual thing, one of their "big" PPVs. Here's the press release from TNA: I like that they're going to make a big deal out of the anniversary, but I'm kind of disappointed that they aren't leaving Orlando here. This so was rumored to be taking place in Pittsburgh. I think it'd be approriate for them to even consider returning to Nashville here. But I guess that's not to be....

credit: PWInsider.com I hope they do work out the deal for that Fox special, because that could be very good for them. I love the idea of Bound for Glory being their "big" event, since that was going to be their first PPV so long ago. The only way it's going to feel bigger than the rest though is if they leave Orlando. And I did believe that the 3rd anniversary show would be Nashville, but the rumors now say they're looking at Pittsburgh. And them running in NYC would be interesting. Hadn't really thought about it. The ratings must be great in the Northeast and Midwest, because all the place they've talked about running are up there.

Harris Brothers vs. Phi Delta Slam: I'd say PDS gets the win here because they think they are going to be built up to be fed to AMW eventually. But who's supposed to be the face in this insipid feud? Raven vs. Dustin Rhodes: No way Dustin jobs twice, so Raven looks at the lights here. I still don't care though... Trytan vs. Monty Brown: This is about the worst possible match TNA could have booked because it leaves them with no desirable options. Monty can't afford a loss to a new guy after being JJ's bitch, and Trytan's build up coming in will be all for nothing if he eats a Pounce during his in ring debut. Just a bad booking decision here. With that said, I think by some chicanery, Trytan wins. Kevin Nash vs. Billy Outlaw: I thnk they going to test Nash as a face and have him get screwed by Outlaw and Jarrett. Another case where there's no real winning combo. Billy losing his first match in would be bad, but Nash really hasn't won anything since coming in in November. Abyss vs. Jeff Hardy: Hardy probably wins here with some creative pin, a la Foley and the Rock at the Super Bowl, so he gets his win back but only beat Abyss by luck or by outsmarting him. AJ Styles vs. 3 Other Guys: The guys will be Daniels, Skipper and Sabin so they can throw XXX marks a bone w/o "breaking" the cage match stipulations. And it will of course come down to Daniels and AJ, with AJ barely hanging on to the belt, to set up a one-on-one rematch at Lockdown, rumored to be a cage match. DDP vs. Jeff Jarrett: TNA hasn't had a face champion in almost a year, ironically as long as JJ has the belt. So with that said, I think this will be the one. DDP is over and has proven he can work at least a *** match. JJ prolly won't bitch about jobbing to a star and the DDP will put over a heel like Abyss in a month or two.

I don't believe they started running pre-show matches until Final Resolution.

This is a bold move, but if they hype it as a Clash of the Champions type deal, they could do alright. And casual wrestling fans will be more likely to flip past and be in the mood for wrestling, being WM weekend and all. I just hope we don't have to suffer through another BDSSP tie-in. Anyway, it's good to see they're serious about expanding from Orlando. With this and the talk of the June PPV being in Pittsburgh, it's looking up on that front. Good luck TNA!

I figured they'd do this feud after I saw the vignettes, but I don't think I get it. Monty can't afford to job after being Jarrett's bitch for 2 months and what's the point of pushing the new guy so hard to have him eat a Pounce in his first match. I smell a non-finish, which will go over real well with the PPV buying audience.

Here are my predictions: Guys, I really think TNA is gonna pull the trigger and put the belt on Nash. I really hope that its a way for JJ to get out of jobbing for Monty, but I think we're going to be looking at Nash as a transition champion here, as much as I shudder at the thought. Jarrett won the belt on June 2. He almost HAS to drop it, and you know TNA always has had a hard-on for "star power." If they do the switch, you know they'll do Nash/Hall and then prolly have Nash drop it to Monty or DDP, but that all needs to happen pronto IMO. AJ/Daniels should by all means close the show and be a fantastic match. The built up has been superb and I think the reason they did the iron man gimmick to tell people who were worried that they might get shortchanged on time like Petey and AJ did at Victory Road that this match will be an epic. Anyway, I think we'll either see a Hitman/HBK WM12 redux with no one winning a fall until overtime or a Rock/HHH-type 3-4 finish. I'd like to see something in the middle, like a 1-1 tie, Daniels demanding Sudden Death and then AJ surprising him with a roll-up or something that would allow the feud to continue. I doubt we'll see a title change here because I think the title change is on top and because they'll built the X title to mean something through long reigns. Speaking of devalued title belts, can you believe AMW has been 6 time champions in a company that's only 2 1/2 years old. That doesn't make any sense at all. Anyway, AMW/Kash and Hoyt should be a good match. I enjoyed the TV match they had on the first Impact and liked Kash and Hoyt when they were tag champs. I think this match will finally stop the tag title hot potato, because AMW is only dropping those belts to Team Canada or the Outsiders. Hardy/Abyss should be an entertaining brawl as the Abyss match was a nice change of pace at the first 2 PPVs and Hardy was actually tolerable in the last high-profile match of his that I saw, the Victory Road ME. If they work the power vs speed game, they can pull the crowd in. I think Abyss goes over here as a thank you for not jumping ship and gets fed to Nash in an Impact main event near you. Raven HAS to beat Dustin this Sunday or they may as well rename him David Young. The last big match he won in TNA was the Gauntlet for the Gold he won in August 03 before getting fed to AJ the next week. Think about it. He's lost every other "big" match he's been involved in in TNA. He lost to Jarrett, he lost to Douglass, he lost to Harris in the Road to the Cage, he lost the Monster's Ball, he lost to DDP. Hell, he even took the pin on the last show heading into the PPV. If this were WWE, that'd mean he were going over here, but this is TNA and Raven we're talking about, so he'll be putting Dustin offer, if you will. I just hope we see Dustin get a character of some sort. Team Canada versus Monty and DDP should have the crowd in it because of the heat of the wrestlers involved. DDP and Young will probably work most of the match, but Young will definitely be taking a Pounce for his efforts here. Monty and DDP will celebrate and look like stars, and Monty will probably declare that he still wants the belt. James and Hammond versuses Shane and Kazarian won't be awful until Hammond gets in the ring, but I really think that they'll keep his involvement to a mininum. I'm afraid that Shane will be taking a pin from Hammond, but I'd prefer to see him eat a superkick. Either way, Shane and Kazarian need to be AMW's next challengers. In this one, I think we'll see Shane and Kazarian incapicitate the rest of the Kru and take advantage of James and Hammond post match, setting up Billy Gunn to make the save. Skipper versus Williams should be a great match, but I wish TNA would decide if Skipper is a heel or a face? One week, he's facing Williams, one of the most over heels on the roster. The next week, he's teaming with the Naturals, despicable in their own right. Both these guys need wins after kind of being buried in recent months, but I'm going with Skipper taking a Canadian Destroyer to continue his path to being TNA's very own Marty Jannetty. Tragic, isn't it? I don't think we'll see Waltman debut until the next Impact, when Nash and Hall will announce that he's replacing Jarrett in the Kings of Wrestling. You know they're going to try to turn JJ face when drops the belt and a feud with Waltman would be a good way to keep him away from the belt. And I think Gunn coming in with the Kru will eventually led to Truth going heel on them, so we can have the 3LK still and effectively use the Truth for the first time in 2 years.

I'd probably order, because Styles/Daniels will rock and AMW/Kash and Hoyt, Hardy/Abyss and Skipper/Williams should all be good and because I enjoyed Victory Road and Turning Point. I could do with Nash/Jarrett though, and generally, I don't hate JJ. Either way, I don't have PPV at school, so I may try to finagle a tape or something if they reviews are good.

I like your list, but I'd replace Styles with Sonjay if they can bring him back and have it be for an X-Title shot at the next PPV rather than the belt just because I don't want them to vacate the belt. I hated it when they did it after the Styles/Kazarian/Shane UX match. I'd dying to see a full-time feud between AMW and Shane/Kazarian though, so I'd definitely be there for that. The King of the Mountain match always makes me think of the Deadly Draw match 2 weeks earlier. The concept was a nice twist on the four way and the match was one of my fav. heayweight matches since TNA started. The only problem with them doing that in this case is that it automatically puts babyface heat on the champion since he is guaranteed to start out first, so maybe the KotM match would be a better fit. But knowing the way TNA thinks, they'll probably try to turn JJ before he drops the belt anyway.

I'm 100% positive that the cage match at SS '94 was Bret/Owen for the title, and not Hall/Nash.

This is true. I had kinda forgot how good a promo Truth cuts until his I should be the champion promo with Russo and Jarrett after the anniversary show this year. That promo was so good, it almost made me forget how crappy the booking of that feud was and care how it ended. IMHO, that promo was the best one of his career, even better the one with Steamboat that had defined him until that point.

Here's the TNA press release: It's really time for them to branch away from holding the PPVs in Orlando, even if they just go back to Nashville for one. They could really benefit from a chance of scenery, IMO. I do like the names of the February and March PPVs though.

Ok, i know this is extra late, but I ordered the replay of Turning Point Tuesday and finally got to see the show. I just wanted to share my thoughts.... My initial reaction was that the show didn't live up the super hype, so I decided to watch it again and see if my opinion changed. Without expecting to be blow away every second, I really enjoyed the show. The tag match was about what you'd expect from these teams, a solid old school tag match that got the crowd going. This match was better than the match at Victory Road, but I'd attribute that mostly to the Truth replacing Konnan. Truth got the first pop from me of the night when he hit that axe kick on Young while he was on the top rope. I'm really a mark for Team Canada. I absolutely love the way they sell the "USA" chants by covering their ears and acting like it hurts to hear them. Very nice touch. And the finish didn't bother me as I've come to expect Team Canada to check and at less it wasn't D'Amore running in this time, though it was still a hockey stick. Definitely looking forward to the pending Team Canada/AMW feud. This was a good opener. The X-Division 6 man was fantastic. I've always like Sonjay, but he really impressed me here with his selling ability. The selling here was actually better than it was in the cage match. Sonjay sold that arm like a pro, and timing his highspot comebacks perfectly. Hector getting the win didn't surprise me, but I wonder if his push is going to continue after he jobs to Jarrett this Friday (haven't read the spoilers, just making an educated guess). The spot were Sonjay leapfrogged Siaki into a huricanranna was great too. Crowd was great here, really getting behind Sonjay like I've haven't seen before. With the finish they ran in the opener, I wondered why they did have this open the show since the faces went over here. The Monty/Abyss match was surprising. I really thought with Raven not in the mix, this match would be as good as the 3 way at Victory Road, but it actually turned out to better, though the thumbtack spot wasn't a good. Monty just looks more and more like a star each time out. I loved how Abyss reversed the Pounce into the Black Hole Slam and how Monty turned the chair on Abyss when Abyss went to squash him the second time. Once again this showed Monty can handle more than just the squash matches he gets. Abyss should definitely never take his shirt off again though. The tag match with NYC was a throwaway, so I won't spend too much time on it. It was just there. Wasn't good, wasn't bad....just there. DDP looked like the DDP of old in the match with Raven. The match did seem a little overbooked, with Watts "coming to DDP's aid' before the druids even did anything. The crowd loved DDP though, and popped for the Cutter, which I believe was the point, so I guess it didn't matter. DDP proved here that he's not deadweight like some people on the roster, because he can still go. They should definitely use him to give someone the rub. I just hope that someone isn't Watts though. I'd actually like to see DDP feud with Abyss if he's done with Monty. The X title match was phenomenal. I'd say it was the 2nd best X title match this year (I'd rank Styles/Kazarian from 6/9 a lil' higher). These two just went spot for spot and other than Williams shitty sharpshooter, there's really nothing to complain about in the first 17 minutes. The powerbomb onto the rail was sick, and Sabin jumped over the first 3 rows onto Williams was awesome as well. They finish here sucked though. I know Williams is the cheating champion, but I think I would have preferred something other than the nucks lead to the pin. Maybe have Sabin kick out there, go after D'Amore and then get caught with the Destroyer. Kind of like he knew the counter, but he was distracted by D'Amore and thus got caught. Then you could build up the rematch with D'Amore barred from ringside, or in a cage, or something. Anyway, I would have liked to Sabin take the belt here, but I'm not surprised he didn't. I guess they're saving it for next month, because if there's going to be an UX match, he'll win. They're pushing that as "his" match. The six match was watchable. That's the highest compliment I can give it. And that was solely due to Styles and Jarrett. Styles may be Superman, but Hall and Nash are his kryptonite. They bumped for him, but it was almost as if they only agreed to sell dropkicks. Hall sold a bigger variety of stuff last month in the ladder match than he did here. And then the LAME finish with Old Man Savage coming out and barely being able to lower himself made it even worse. The Vinne Mac/HHH skits were funny than most of TNA's attempts at comedy. Tim Welch was spot on in the voice and whoever played HHH was funny being scared of Abyss after asking him if he knew what game he was playing and eating the cookies after "Vince" knocked them out of Traci's hands. The Best of D-Ray 3000 and "Vince" firing Sabin for wearing jeans were hilarious too. The footage itself was kind of pointless, considering the hype, but I liked that TNA didn't play it as earthshattering and laughed when Tenay said "It's not like we drove a tank up to their headquarters." The six sides of steel match more than made up for it. This was just an intense, bloody brawl, that topped the original. When they showed the highlights of the first cage match, I got my hopes up for another classics, but feared a letdown. These guys delivered and then some. I knew Skipper was going to walk the cage, but still popped huge for it. The spots were fantastic, and build to well, which I liked. They didn't just come out hitting spot after spot. The pyschology was solid, with the handcuffs and all. Daniels was in super dick mode teasing Harris with the keys and hanging them around his neck, and there was good drama when Storm had to use Harris' move (the spear) to get the keys and free him. And then, the AMW reversed the tables and handcuffed Daniels and hit Skipper with XXX's finisher. The pyschology of the cage matches between these teams may have even been better than the spots. I say MAY because the spots were awesome. Though I appreciated AMW finishing off XXX with their own move, it almost seemed anticlimatic after all we'd seen them kick off in these match. Either way, kudos to TNA for giving them the time to a story and the main even spotlight to shine, and kudos to the guys for delivering. All in all, I would say any card that has no less then six good to great matches on it is a keeper. The crowd was super with some funny chants, and the atmosphere nearly match Victory Road, which I never thought TNA would be able to do again. I do think they need to seriously consider having Final Resolution somewhere else though. They could really benefit from a new look.

Credit: PWInsider.com