Hunter's Torn Quad

HHH needed a heel to work with.

Cena pins Orton Lashley pins Shane Undertaker wins by KO or a DKO (possible Kennedy involvement as well) Jeff pins Trevor MVP pins Benoit Melina pins James 225,000 domestic buys

That right there is the main reason people are so heavy into bashing TNA. While some people might be doing it because they really do hate TNA, the majority of people, including myself, do it because TNA have been so incredibly frustrating for so long. They have the in-ring talent, and have had for most of their existence but now especially, to provide a real alternative to the Sports Entertainment of WWE. TNA could be the alternative to WWE that they've always claimed to want to be, but instead they're hell bent on being WWE-lite. TNA can't get anywhere being a poor man's WWE, but that doesn't seem to have got through to them. Instead of being a refreshing alternative to the generally lame skits, piss poor comedy and mostly average wrestling you get in WWE, TNA have completely undercut the credibility of their talent and managed to piss off their most loyal fans in a futile attempt to beat WWE at their own game. Remember when TNA were regularly putting on PPV's that blew away anything WWE were doing at the time? That hasn't been the case for well over a year. TNA have the in-ring talent to be putting on some great PPV's that would be filled with the kind of action their own fans are telling them they want to see and that would establish TNA has an alternative to what WWE provide. But as long as TNA are determined to stick their head in the sand and refuse to accept that their current path isn't going to get them anywhere, then you're damned right people are going to be ripping into them for pissing away their potential to give fans a viable and entertaining alternative to WWE.

PWTorch.com says that as punishment for his latest fuck up, WWE is considering moving Randy Orton to Smackdown or ECW, and also possibly keeping him off the bigger PPV's to cut into his PPV bonuses.

Not sure on the guy, but I think the woman is Jillian Hall.

Some more specific numbers for Impact, via Alvarez. The actual rating for Impact was 1.02, with quarters of .97 (Sting vs. Angle), .95, 1.04 and .95. So, not only did TNA give away the first Sting vs. Angle for free, it wasn't even the highest rated quarter of the show.

I'll wager good money that Van Dam winds up staying with WWE. His current downside is, I believe, in the $250,000 per year range. If Van Dam plays it cool and acts like he can and wants to go elsewhere, he's got a great shot at getting a significant raise, if only because Vince likes to sign people who he thinks don't want to be there. If you assume that gets him a raise in the $375,000 to $400,000 per year range, add in merchandise and you're looking at a guaranteed level of income that Van Dam will unlikely be able to get with TNA, even if you add in whatever money he can make working Indy dates and in Japan.

The problem with Tenay and and West is you have two color guys trying to be play-by-play announcers. Tenay, and West for that matter, can be great if they're in the role that suits them best, which is to give color commentary and chime in with the facts and figures and to put spots over. TNA need a good play-by-play announcer who Tenay can play off of, while West can shill the PPV's.

Impact with Sting vs. Angle drew... 0.98.

You got that from, "Unbelievable first match"?

Or maybe it's just not a good example of a ladder match.

How do you interpret "Yes, it's Jake vs. JYD" as a shot?

3.7 off of hours of 3.4 and 3.9

The problem with that idea is that it encourages the kind of behavior from Orton that they really need to stop. If Orton's problems are anger management related and he tries to get over them, the last thing he should be doing is a gimmick that calls for him to throw fits.

No drug testing at UFC's 69 or 70

JR's latest blog has his comments on the Orton situation: I think this is the first time that an 'anger issue' has been talked about as having something to do with this latest incident. Not that it would be a surprise, and if true could indicate Orton crossed paths with a women in some fashion; when Orton was suspended last year, the word on his behavior in regards to women was that he would basically throw a fit if they didn't treat him like a star.

Given TNA's reactions when it comes to people speaking negatively about the company, I don't think it would have mattered how Aries or Killings voiced their complaints.

Haven't you heard, dude? If you like anything about TNA around here, your opinion is WRONG! A wild guess, but are you a big fan of TNA? Stick around.

I guess some people must really love their blinkers. And you'd make a shitty boss to work for.

Yesterday's WO update said he's shaken up but it's not thought to be serious.

Journalists have better things to do than actively look for stories about professional wrestlers. This is 1999. Nobody really cares. I doubt most ordinary people have heard of Randy Orton and I doubt more than maybe 5% of those people would even care in the slightest. Hey, I wonder if anyone like Austin Aries, who TNA were wrong to reprimand for his conduct lest we forget, would do something so dastardly as to smoke 'certain subtances' in public? The fact that wrestlers are, by and large, unknown to the general public is no excuse to let certain things slide just because 'nobody really cares'. What happens if the next time Orton, or any wrestler, goes overboard it results in something tragic? Why not put a stop to things before they go that far? I'm not saying stop the guys from letting off some steam with a few beers or whatever they may partake of, as long it's done in a somewhat reasonable form and not in a manner that could possibly cause embarrassment to the company or worse, cause them to do serious harm to themselves. But if you get someone like Orton, who flagrantly breaks the rules to where it could possibly cause embarrassment to the company, it's a lot better to put a stop to things before they go too far. If that ever happens, and something serious takes place, I don't think it'll be so easy to brush off.

Like what? Off the top of my head: Making Ron Killings pay for the surgery he needed due to an injury he got at an Indy date that TNA booked him on. Not doing anything to help Konnnan pay for the kidney transplant he needs. They were willing to loan him the money but wanted him to pay it all back. AAA, the promotion in Mexico that Konnan helps book, held a benefit show for him, but TNA? Nothing. Stopping paying for the trans and hotel for the undercard wrestlers, to where they had to start going five or six to a room to save money, but all the while continuing to pay for the hotel for the production crew. A couple of years ago, when Scott Hall was part of the company, he went on a huge bender in Singapore that was so that his friends were genuinely worried for his health. Most of the roster wanted him gone, but how did Jeff Jarrett, who was the power at the time, respond? Kept Hall around, against the wishes of just about everyone else, with the rationalization that "well, it wasn't on our watch". Yeah, you really want to keep around a guy who not only shows that he's self-destructing to such a degree that his friends fear for his life, but who could show up to work hammered at any time and risk who knows what going on if you happen to put him in a match. I could go on, but the point has been made. Speaking of the Austin Starr fiasco, here's more on it, and the ongoing disgruntlement of the TNA roster, from F4W: Alvarez also points out that a problem with the Jarrett babyface turn, and partly a reason why it's not really taking, is that TNA have done so many swerves, including a fake babyface turn with Tomko a week or two before Jarrett returned to turn face, that fans aren't really buying into the Jarrett because of the expectation that it'll be just another swerve. And to top it off, and I don't think it's been mentioned here yet, the main event for Sacrifice will be Chrstian vs. Sting vs. Kurt Angle.

The problem with that mindset, and it's one prevalent in WWE where they live in such a bubble, is that it ignores the fact that wrestling is part of the real world. Putting aside the fact that trashing a hotel room is in itself inexcusable, no matter your profession, look at the fact that Orton has made numerous transgressions over the years, his run-ins with women for example, and WWE, for all intents and purposes, let it slide. That is, until, Orton broke company policy in public when it came to his apparent smoking a joint backstage at an arena, where anyone, like a sneaky journalist with a camera and the need to make a name for themselves, could have seen him. Imagine would could have happened if the wrong person, the aforementioned journalist, for example, had seen Orton. All sorts of shit could have gone down. Look at the reaction when Orton's name was linked to the steroid ring. It's easy to try and write this off as 'well, it's just what wrestlers do' and let it slide. But letting it slide is exactly what lets things escalate to where Orton trashed a hotel room and had to be sent home, causing TV to be re-written and potentially screwing up plans. Instead of writing something off just because it's 'what wrestlers do', it's a lot easier to nip these things in the bud and stopping things from getting that bad in the first place. Imagine if the next time Orton goes off the rails, say getting pilled up and going crazy in a hotel, and somebody gets hurt or worse, WWE would have trouble explaining things to people if they told them "Well, that's what wrestlers do". WWE need to do something about Orton now, while all he's trashing is a room, before something much worse happens, either to Orton or someone else.