Magus

you imagine correctly.

I'll admit that the weekly PPV format puts TNA at a high disadvantage. but they won't have that excuse for long. If anything though, monthly PPVs should make Impact better, make the PPVs better, and maybe if they start touring they'll get some better ideas of what other fans want to see.

So you do care about them, then? I certainly don't rate this card as high as last week, but it's good to see they've got rid of the duel champions and AMW vs. XXX could be something special if given the time. y'know, as an English student, you'd think i'd know better. as long as TNA has certain wrestlers on their shows, i'm going to care to some minimal degree. even if they use them in the completely wrong ways. in truth, there's more guys on the roster that i like than guys that i hate. so yeah, i guess you could say that i do care, just very very little

JJ's writing the show and gets final say for everything that hits the air, so he is INSANELY responsible for the sucky product. and its not just his shitty writing, its his shitty work. the wrestlers can't do much on their end, because you can have a great match all day long, but if its overbooked to hell and the wrong people are winning, it doesn't matter how much of a clinic you put on. and we haven't seen a decent angle in fucking FOREVER. you can count TNA's good fueds on one hand, basically. and even when the tag division and X Division were doing well, the main event stunk to high heaven because of... you guessed it... Double J. the fans are tired of him, and tired of the nonwrestlers. if TNA is supposed to be wrestling-oriented, why do we have to put up with this bullshit? basically, if TNA were to listen to ONE THING from the fans, then just take Jarrett, Russo, and Dusty off TV. Jarrett seems to actually believe that TNA won't survive without him and some has-beens hogging the spotlight. the fact is, TNA will probably do better without them.

I could care less about any of these matches. a few have potential to be pretty good, but TNA usually finds a way to overbook them so they look like shit. its really nice to see that the focus on the tag team division is STILL on AMW when the Naturals are the champs and haven't gotten dick for air-time. i'm willing to bet that nobody cares about Jeff vs. Jeff, as it'll be a terrible match. and just remember, we're not getting a match this week, just more of the usual bullshit from TNA's main event. David Young is talent wasted at this point. Glenn Gilberti is one of the few guys in pro wrestling that you can't do anything with. he sucks no matter what he's doing. 3LK vs. Team Canada will suck (Russo was mentioned twice in that paragraph, but they can't mention the actual CHAMPS? Naa-Ture-Alls. not that hard to say). the Goldilocks angle is one of the worst in TNA history. and it'll be a great thrill to see all those X Division wrestlers kicking ass in the ring. maybe it'll even be a good match. but the X Division itself is in such shambles that it doesn't really matter. good fueds screech to a halt for no reason and the title was given to TWO guys who can't work the style. goddamn, i swear a whole lot more when i don't like the product. but i'm a forgiving God. i'm waiting for them to start the monthly PPVs and see if the booking gets any better. probably won't, but hey, we can try.

of course there's a magic answer. it involves putting on matches that aren't dumbed down and telling stories that make sense. TNA does neither.

of course they're responsible. the fans are getting bored with the product, and why shouldn't they? TNA has NEVER NEVER NEVER been "good". they've been decent before, and they've had a good head of steam a couple times, but they ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS find a way to fuck it up. case in point: last night they used the blowoff match to one of their biggest fueds to jerk the curtain. then they blew off yet another big fued with no build up whatsoever, and threw it away without a second thought. that, and the fact that the owner/booker/champion continues to run the shows into the ground, well, no wonder fans are apathetic. TNA doesn't care what the fans want anyway. these are the people who pushed Glenn Gilberti as a main eventer. TNA's entire existence has been masturbatory. they've done a lot, but it really hasn't gotten them anywhere. WCW taught me not to care about a lost cause, and as much as i enjoy some of what TNA has, they've really shown that they have no idea what they're doing and are more concerned with pleasing themselves than the fans. fuck it, i'm going to the dark side. it feels less stupid over there.

from all the reviews i've read so far, it seems pretty unanimous that this was a big let down. once again TNA had a great show on paper, but they royally fucked it up by going too far over the top with it. Vince Russo has NO heat, and its a fucking CRIME that Raven/Sabu was put on FIRST. TNA needs to keep things simple.

Touring is a good idea, but i think they should stay close to the South so as not to travel too far. the way Impact is right now, TNA would have to make MAJOR changes to it to make it seem less like Jobber TV. make it two hours long and it'll work. as for moving to Orlando... anything is better than Nashville's shitty audience. so i guess these are pretty good moves to make (sensible, at least). but i was hoping that the big news was going to be "Jeff will retire", though.

...what does that even mean? Jeez, TNA, at least try to post coherent sentences on your official previews. On the other hand, Kash/Styles excites me, as does Raven/Sabu. If I wasn't so certain that they overbooked this card, I'd order it right away. yeah, we're going to get the typical "co-champions getting jealous which leads to a match to decide who is really champion once and for all!" story. that angle has always sucked, and with these two guys, it'll suck even more. they could've done something different with this angle, but alas. as for the overbooking, i couldn't agree more. not only does TNA's creative team lack actual creativity, but they have all the subtlety of a sledgehammer and make the stories more complicated than they need to be.

Raven vs. Sabu: since this is the blowoff, it NEEDS to be in the main event. i'll be pissed if TNA shuffles this one somewhere in the middle of the card. anyways, it should be a good brawl. the question is, what does Raven do after this? the main event needs Raven desperately, and i'll be SUPER pissed if they just throw him back into a meaningless fued with Jim Mitchell. Styles vs. Kash: i feel like they could've built this up a bit more, since it't their first encounter and all. but i expect that this is just the first of many matches in this fued. my only hope is that they bring the X Division title back into it where it belongs. Shane/Kazarian vs. Sabin/Lynn: speaking of the X Division title (and all the heat it just lost by leaving one of TNA's best fueds right now), we have THIS. at least Sabin and Lynn are wrestling... AMW vs. Team Canada: i'm starting to think that we're going to see a xXx/AMW vs. Team Canada fued. not that i mind that. it'd be cool seeing how AMW and xXx would work together. Kenney vs. Vito: Vito's a good brawler, and Kenney's just plain good. i think this is okay, but Kenney could stand to get into a fued that doesn't involve garbage wrestling. at least they're using him. and Trinity is better off with Vito than she ever was with Gilberti. Siaki vs. Abyss: the Contract vs. Money matches are just getting dumb. i don't care who wins this match, because i don't care about Goldy's money or Siaki's contract. like i've said, Dutch is a good writer, but this is just proof that he seriously lacks imagination. and Finally... TWO JEFFS COLLIDE! my guess is the same thing will happen that always happens when someone faces off against Jarrett: he'll ramble on about how great he is, Hardy will take it and look like a little bitch, we'll see a guitar spot somewhere, and JJ walks away clean. i'm SO looking forward to this. the show looks good on paper, but we all know TNA's reputation in that regard.

i think at this point there's not going to be some creative genius to come along, write everything himself, and make the show great. that's the answer TNA is looking for, but i don't think it'll work. i'm starting to think that a small committee is the way to go with the creative department, kinda like you mentioned, Laz. here's how i see it: -Dutch: i actually like his booking, as he can pair up wrestlers for matches all day long. but he lacks something important: imagination. i think he's the guy to decide who fueds with who. but other people need to actually tell the story. -Russo: as an idea man, he could be useful in character development. as long as he's actually changed and he stays off TV. this is the guy to write promos and such for those who need it. -Douglas: he's responsible for a lot of ECW's success, and of course XPW. and Douglas could teach a thing or two to TNA's heel wrestlers. he's also creative, so he'd help establish what the fueds are about. -Raven: not so much on the booking team, but i'd let Raven have more control over his character. Raven should be able to come in and say "this is what i wanna do", and let the booking team work that in somewhere. -Jeff and Jerry: i'm against letting a wrestler book himself, so i think these two should only be involved if Jeff stopped wrestling. i think Jeff could contribute a lot to the creative team, but he sucks right now because he's booking himself to be invincible. Jerry's proven to be a good traditional booker, but he also wants to put Jeff over everybody. put it this way: the shows lately seem really good except for the parts with Jeff Jarrett involved. so just end the pain and retire, Jeff! you've got a company to run, nobody expects you to be the star of the show as well. but i've said this all before. Jeff would probably do a better job writing (and the shows would be better) if he weren't involved himself.

God, the X Division is fucking WEAK nowadays. what happened to the obligatory X Division 6-man tag matches? they've got the guys to do it. i'd rather watch that than a bunch of squash matches. Impact is looking more and more like Velocity every week.

JJ/Mantell are decent. they don't rush things, and they focus on the action. those are the only two pros i can think of. unfortunately, the JJ/Mantell booking seems to dumb down the in ring action (God knows why), they aren't very creative with storylines, and the main event scene serves entirely as a handjob to Jeff. IMO, they should just get someone NEW to write the shows, or maybe give the book to Raven and Shane Douglas. they're both creative guys who can book compelling fueds, and they don't have a problem with others getting over. it'll never happen though. and Vince Russo can't book shit without putting himself somewhere on the show, so he's no better than Jeff. Jarrett, after all these years of main eventing and holding World Titles, is STILL NOT A STAR. Jarrett would have to go on the wrestling version of Queer Eye to get made over enough to at least MAYBE be a half-decent main event wrestler. at this point, he's trying so hard to prove to everyone how great he is, its just pathetic. maybe if he just left the show and focused more on booking and less on his ego rampage, TNA would benefit. i'm liking the shows lately, but not the main event basically b/c Jarrett just can't cut it. okay, i'm done now.

the booking could be a lot better, but i'll be the one to give them credit on one thing: it seems now that every week there's a BIG match. Six Sides of Steel, UX4, and we have Raven/Sabu and JJ/Hardy (despite who's in it, its a World Title match, thus its important) seemingly lined up for the future. having a big match in the main event every week is at least a step in the right direction. I still think Laz is right about his points against the booking, but they have to be given credit where credit is due. Hell, i think Jarrett should take himself off the fuckin' show completely, then maybe he won't be such a bitch about booking everything around himself. he and Mantell are an okay team, but Jeff's ego definitely gets in the way.

the co-champion thing sucks HARD. there's no way they should've done that. Shane and Kazarian shouldn't even be in the X Division, much less co-holders of the title. this was another one of TNA's stupidest moves (they've got so many dumbass moments in history, they could make a DVD of it). I could see this working if they play it a certain way. I think its way to obvious that Shane and Kazarian would start bickering now that they're co-champs. I think they should work the xXx trick and when someone gets an X Division title shot, they don't know which guy they'll be facing until matchtime. give them a few defenses (they'll need it), and then hand the title over to Kid Kash (or at least a more competent spot worker). Styles/Kash is going to be a great fued, so WHY take the X Title out of it? just stupid.

at least the fans let them know what they thought of the finish. Bullshit says I.

just to be arguementative, JJ doesn't have to be the champ to overtake the show and suck everyone's heat. AJ's first title reign is the prime example of this.

goddamnit. it ALWAYS sucks when you have co-owners of a title. and this particularly sucks because Kazarian wasn't a great X Champion, and Shane was an absolutely shitty X Champion. why don't we throw Sonny Siaki in there too and make it a 3-Way Ownership? idiots. at least Kash/Styles is still going, which i'm grateful for. the X Division just isn't going to shine with guys like Shane and Kazarian as its top stars. TNA needs to be a bit more discriminating on who they let into the X Division, especially who they give the freakin' belt to.

I'm just glad that they didn't throw Killings to the wayside and forget all about him. hopefully he'll actually have a match next week.

that actually sounds.... okay. damn, I was expecting TNA to fuck that match up, but it doesn't sound too bad.

the Raven segment sounds like it was cool as hell. threatening to burn people alive = over. i'm dreading a fued between Double G and the Coconut Pervert vs. David Young. but hell, they're jobbers, so what matter does it really make?

EEWWWWWW. not that there's anything wrong with Mr. Hardy if he happens to enjoy that sort of thing.

yeah, definitely putting from the rough. i personally don't care how weird he gets, just so long as he'll actually get in the ring and TRY. maybe he'll get his old work ethic back if TNA is supportive of his, um... "lifestyle" oh yeah, this is my 100th post. where's my free sandwich?

Marty isn't a wrestling fan. he's just a fan of some writer who used to work for WWF a few years ago. yeah, i thought it was strange too.