SK Rant for Week 10

[Guest ShooterJay]

Everyone's favorite Internet recapper, Scott Keith, after forming a negative biased opinion of NWA-TNA, due to Canada only showing two episodes so far (the WWA-level Week 1 and the famously bad "Puppet with a gun" episode) finally saw a good week of the show. Here's what he thought...

 

The SmarK Rant for NWA-TNA #10

 

- Live from the Fairgrounds.

 

- Your hosts are Mike Tenay & Don West. With Ferrera gone, I actually found West to be a bit more bearable, believe it or not.

 

- For those wondering, yes, I am officially approaching wrestling burnout this week due to all the material being pumped out, but at least most of it has been good. As long as I’m enjoying what’s presented it’s no problem to keep pumping out the content at this kind of pace.

 

- Opening match: AJ Styles v. Jerry Lynn. In true modern wrestling fashion, their first meeting to “settle the score” is already a series of gimmick matches. But given the short lifespan that this promotion probably has left, you might as well milk it for what it’s worth. This is the falls-count-anywhere portion of the match. They brawl out right away and Lynn sends AJ into the crowd, but gets superkicked. AJ splashes him for two. He chops away, but charges and hits boot. Lynn crotches him on the rail and they fight into the crowd again, where Lynn gets two. Up into the bleachers (admittedly a short trip), and Lynn gets tossed to the floor, and Styles follows him down with a bodypress for two. Lighting and space limitations kinda ruin the effect. Back to ringside, and they slug it out, and Lynn gets a suplex on the floor for two. Back in, AJ springboards with whatever and gets reversed to a jawbreaker for two. Styles reverses a piledriver into a facebuster and gets two. Lynn blocks a slingshot suplex, but falls victim to a neckbreaker instead. That looked awkward. They tumble out and AJ gets two. We head up the ramp, where Lynn spears him and runs AJ off the stage for two. Back up, Lynn blocks a piledriver attempt and gets his own version for the pin at 9:55. An okay brawl, although neither guy is particularly good at it. This was just a lot of the usual WWE-style main event lazy brawling, but it worked well enough for what it was. **3/4

 

- Meanwhile, Chris Harris runs down James Storm’s cowboy gimmick. Brian Lee and Ron Harris, both sounding like they’re stoned out of their minds, interrupt and try to get Chris Harris on their side. Total Russo stuff here. And while I’m on the subject, Chris Harris has a TERRIBLE wrestling name. Too many soft feminine sounds to it – good wrestling names should be short and filled with sharp edges – The RoCK. SteVe AusTIN. Lots of “Ks” and “Vs” and “Ns”. “Chris Harris” sounds like a sensitive country singer, not a badass. He should just dump the name and call himself “Wildcat”, or “Wyldekatt” if you want to give it Attitude for the kidz. Same with “James Storm”. Too many “S” sounds in there. Even “Jim Storm” would be better. Now “Ron Killings” – THERE’S a name that sounds like someone who’s up to no good. By the way, I just love how Russo books angles where guys make fun of supposedly dumb gimmicks (like a perfectly good cowboy gimmick) while coming up with stuff like “Jeff Jarrett: Midget Killer” as a way to get his main event guys over. There is no shame in being a cowboy if you believe in your gimmick and the fans will pop for it.

 

- Ron Harris & Brian Lee & Chris Harris & James Storm. Apparently the NWA’s budget only has enough to budget one Harris brother per show. Of course, it’s not like anyone could tell the difference or even care if Don Harris played both parts. And what’s with all the people named Harris not related to each other? Brian (Lee) Harris, Ron Harris, Chris Harris…geez, it’s an epidemic. In the interest of fashion sense, it should be noted that Lee has changed his look from Undertaker’s American Badass to Bryan Adams’ Kronik Reject. On the upside, his hair is now so impressive that I bet the WWE will have him back in the fold by the end of the year. Remember: Tall, muscular, good hair and you’re in. Lee overpowers Storm, but gets slugged down. The faces clean house and Chris frustrates Ron with armdrags. I’m reduced to using first names to prevent this match review from becoming something out of “A Comedy of Errors”, except with more latent Nazi symbolism. I mean, talk about your social faux pas – a friggin’ “SS” shirt? How do you accidentally wear something like that on national TV? Anyway, Ron comes back with corner clotheslines, but the faces clean house again and Storm follows with a plancha. Back in, Chris hits Ron with a headscissors, but Lee tombstones him for two. The crowd is chanting “DOA” like that’s a good thing or something. Perhaps they’re referring to the match? The Harrisssessesees pound away in the corner, and Ron gets a sideslam (SideSlam…SS….COINCIDENCE?) for two. Lee hits the chinlock. Chris Harris comes back with a Thesz Press, but Lee goes low to break, and tosses Chris. Chicanery of the highest order follows. Back in, Ron gets the big boot and Lee gets two. Hot tag to Storm and I guess it’s Bonzo Gonzo, but I’m not thrilled about it. Lee gets dumped, and for some reason the camera stays on him and ignores the match. Finally, it makes sense, as he beats up a helpless audience plant, who happens to be the only roided guy sitting in the front row and might as well be wearing a t-shirt that says “Indy Worker”, and this distraction on Lee’s part allows Chris Harris to roll up Ron Harris for the pin at 8:58. Truly in the annals of idiotic finishes this one deserves at least an honourable mention. *1/4

 

- Sonny Siaki v. Jimmy Yang. This is a 2/3 falls match for god knows what reason. I mean, hey, bully for them for filling up the time with wrestling instead of skits and all, but giving green guys 15 minutes on PPV when they barely have the ability to fill 7 or 8 sometimes just reeks of the same kind of desperation that resulted in WCW’s TV being filled with Power Plant rejects near the end. Siaki goes after Yang on the ramp, but gets jumped by Estrada and dragged back to ringside. Into the ring, a dropkick gets two. Siaki charges and hits elbow, and Yang springboards in with a dropkick for two. We hit the chinlock. Siaki fights up and gets two. Yang hits a neckbreaker and Yang Time for the pin at 2:59. Yang tries a rope-assisted headscissors, but gets dumped and tossed into the crowd. Back in, suplex gets two for Sonny. Neckbreaker gets two. We go back to the chinlock again. They exchange chops, and Sonny pumphandles him for two. Sonny pounds away in the corner and goes back to the chinlock. Seems to be a lot of that going around. Yang backslide gets two, but Siaki clotheslines him down. Yang comes back with a leg lariat, but gets hit with a neckbreaker for the pin at 7:56 to even things up. Siaki gets a backbreaker for two. Yang rolls into a half-crab, but Siaki makes the ropes. Yang grabs a kneebar, but Sonny escapes. This submission stuff is pretty silly, considering no one’s done so much as an armbar through the whole match. They head up and Siaki gets a superplex, but Yang hits a Shining Wizard. What is that, the trendy move for cruiserweights these days or something? People make fun of it for a REASON, you know. They slug it out and Yang spins out of a wristlock and gets a clothesline for two. At least, I assume it was a clothesline – for some reason I was using “CL” to abbreviate “clothesline” for this show, which I don’t normally do, thus throwing myself off. Have I mentioned how much I like doing rants live off the TV tuner rather than depending on my own notes? Funny story – I’m left-handed by choice. When I was really young, my writing was so bad that my teacher basically told me to write however felt most comfortable, because it couldn’t possibly be any worse. When I got to grade 9, I learned to type and never looked back. But I digress. Both guys are down, and Yang pounds him in the corner, but Sonny gets a hotshot and heads up. Yang crotches him down and gets a neckbreaker off the top for two. Rollup is reversed by Siaki for the pin at 13:39. Well, they tried, and I’ll leave it at that because that’s all you can ask from people as young and completely mismatched as these two were. **

 

- Jeff Jarrett of course immediately cuts off any celebration or reprequences & consecussions by letting us know that he’s MAD AS HELL. Brian Lawler then attacks him to cut off any further illumination on the subject. Goldylocks asks Lawler for his motivation, but Slash attacks and cuts HIM off. He should have just said “I don’t owe these fans an explanation!” like all the trendy heels do these days.

 

- Brian Lawler v. Slash. Slash drops him on top and dropkicks him out, and they brawl on the floor. Lawler reverses a piledriver, and they head back in. Lawler sends him out again, and they fight on the ramp, which leads to a bulldog out there. Back in, Slash superplexes him for two. It should be noted that this crowd, which seems to be composed of the basest wannabe smart-marks, is committing the most IRRITATING infraction known to smarkdom – chanting the real name of the heel in an attempt to show how clever they are. I HATE that, and advocate slapping your neighbour should be you be at a wrestling show sitting beside someone who participates in it. I think it’s actually legal to do so in some states. Helicopter slam, which seems to be one of the 14 or so moves called “Slash and Burn”, gets two. Lawler gets a floatover DDT, but he stops to dance, a point which Tenay stops to hammer home by screaming into the mike. Yes, he gets distracted easily, we get it. Enzuigiri, more dancing. He goes low, as does Slash. They head up and Lawler finishes with the Tennessee Jam at 5:50. Tenay makes a big deal about how it used to be called the Hip Hop Drop, but now it’s the Tennessee Jam again. Do I CARE either way? ½*

 

- Meanwhile, Bob Armstrong threatens JJ with a surprise.

 

- X Title: Loki v. Joel Maximo v. Jose Maximo v. The Amazing Red. The SATs all beat on Loki, but he takes them all down and the kicks the crap out of them. It turns into a four-corners match, as Loki hammers Red for two. Elbow gets two. Red kicks him into the corner for two. Jose tags in, but can’t get a DDT. Another try works and gets two. The Maximos double-team for two. Joel gets a good lariat for two. Loki gets a rana and a rolling kick in the corner, and one for Jose as well. Red tags himself in and moonsaults Joel for two. Loki back in, but he gets put in a fireman’s carry position, and the others take turns jumping off the top rope onto his back. Loki escapes and hits Red with a double-team leg lariat. Maximos get a weird, inverted 3D on Loki, but Red escapes them and dropkicks Jose out. Red ranas Jose off the apron, onto Joel. In the ring, Loki tosses Red onto the Maximos. He follows with a corkscrew onto the Maximos. Back in, it gets two on Joel. Joel dumps Loki, and Jose goes with Red. Facecrusher gets two for Joel, and then he uses Mikey Whipwreck’s double-underhook bomb to finish Jose at 9:10. Loki kicks Joel to a pulp, and Red DDTs him and moonsaults him for the pin at 10:05. So that leaves Red and Loki. Red gets rammed into the corner backfirst, and that gets two. Ki Krusher from the top is stopped, but Red tries to reverse and gets caught in the same position again, and this time Loki finishes the move for the pin at 12:04. Lots of eye-popping stuff, but only about half of it hit clean and there was no sign of psychology. Still, for what it was, it was a spectacular spotfest. ***1/4

 

- NWA World title: Ron Killings v. Monte Brown. I’m still waiting for someone to call one of Brown’s moves “Three Card Monte”. Brown overpowers the Truth and dances. The slug it out, and Brown gets a corner splash and slugs Truth down. That gets two. Brown bails and Truth follows with a tope. Brown meets the stairs, and the table. They fight on it, but nothing gets demolished. More brawling, and Brown suplexes him on the floor. Back in, Brown gets two. He chops away, but Truth gets a Flatliner and goes up for a legdrop. That gets two. We hit the chinlock, and Brown gets a sunset flip for two. Truth comes back with a leg lariat for two as it starts to become evident that neither guy is particularly ready for the position they’re in. They slug it out, and Brown suplexes him for the double KO. Brown pounds away and powerslams him. Splash gets two. Killings dodges him and gets the axe kick for two. Alphabomb is blocked, and they screw up the spot and try it again, and this time the Alphabomb is reversed to a rollup for the pin at 10:11. Good intensity and the hype almost made you think they could pull it off, but once it got past the brawling the match just had no legs and Killings in particular couldn’t hold it together. Say what you will about the WWE and their oppressive training system that forces people to work “WWE Style”, but if they give up on you, there’s usually a reason. *1/2

 

- Jeff Jarrett immediately lays out both guys, but Lawler attacks again. It ends with Lawler accidentally laying out Killings with a chairshot.

 

- AJ Styles v. Jerry Lynn. This is match #2, no-DQ. Styles attacks, and we’re on. They slug it out and Lynn finds a table under the ring and sets it up on the floor. He tries a sunset flip through the table, but Styles blocks. Back in, Styles legsweeps him into the chair and wedges it into the corner. They slug it out, and AJ gets a rollup for two, but Lynn sends him into the chair for two. Lynn stomps him down and chops away in the corner. Lynn guillotines him between the ropes, but can’t DDT him through the table, and gets clotheslined for two. AJ chops away, and they clothesline each other and land on a chair. Lynn tries a sunset flip, but it’s blocked by a chairshot, and that gets two. Lynn Van-Daminates him for two. He puts Styles on top and DDTs him onto the chair in an awkward spot that gets two. Back up, but Lynn gets knocked off, then recovers and crotches AJ. He gets a rana through the table, although it misses badly. Back in, Lynn gets two. They head back up, and AJ gets the Styles Clash for the pin at 11:34. Strongest match of the night. ***1/2

 

- Iron Man: AJ Styles v. Jerry Lynn. 10 minutes kinda demeans the whole “Iron Man” name. AJ pins Lynn twice to start (he was still out from the previous match) and goes up 2-0. Lynn kicks out of a third try. Lynn gets a neckbreaker for two. They slug it out and Lynn gets a sleeper, reversed. Lynn escapes, but gets yanked down. We hit the chinlock. Styles tries a rana, reversed to a facebuster for the pin. So it’s 2-1. Lynn’s piledriver is reversed and Styles chops away. Styles charges and misses by a mile. Lynn legdrop gets two. He goes up but gets powerbombed off for the pin to make it 3-1. That looked like a screwup. Styles gets a spinkick for two. Lynn tombstones him for the pin to make it 3-2. Loki and his ladder come down to watch. Lynn gets his own Styles Clash to tie it up at 3-3. Styles backslide gets two. Pinfall reversal sequence and AJ goes low and cradles for two. 10:00 is up, no winner. Wow, a draw in a 2/3 series that was supposed to have a guaranteed winner. What a shock. So it’s a three-way next week. This match alternated between wasting time and rushing through sequences. ** And now I’m officially burned out on Styles-Lynn. 40 minutes of them in one show is quite enough for a while.

 

- Bob Armstrong’s big surprise for Jarrett: The return of the masked Bullet. Good grief.

 

The Bottom Line:

 

Well, this show definitely had the Good and the Bad.

 

The Good: A minimum of bullshit, emphasis on in-ring action, generally good action at that, and nothing really bad in the ring. It was a much more easily-enjoyable show than the one I saw a couple of weeks ago.

 

The Bad: Budget cutbacks are EXTREMELY obvious, from people disappearing from major storylines without a trace or logical reason (Apolo, Malice, Mitchell, Shamrock, and even Ricky Steamboat, all absent from this show and the next one due to cost constraints). The people that are left, outside of the very polished Lynn and Styles, are obviously indy-level workers at best. An indy product is fine if you’re running indy shows, but this is supposed to be an alternative to the WWE that costs $10 a week. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to spend money watching green rookies learn basic transitions while surrounded by midgets and twin Nazis. I can get that on Smackdown. Well, not the Nazis, but you know what I mean.

 

I liked this show, quite a lot, but if you can’t compete as advertised, then stop wasting my time. The September 18th show, their return to live PPVs, is also the 13th, which means that the deal with InDemand can be ended if need be. I think they should give it serious thought.

 

 

-> Overall, I more or less agree on his stance on the show. My only problems with it were that he was way too hard on Yang and Siaki (I thought it was ***1/4 easy) and the Truth, and I would have rated all the AJ/Lynn matches 1/2* higher, and the SAT match ***3/4

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

Probobly not enough Canadians for him.

[Guest Vyce]

I said this in the other thread.

 

SK = Biggest WWE mark on the planet.

 

Even if 99% of the time he ridicules them.

 

I believe he only does that because he knows there's more interest in his columns if he bashes the WWE instead of praising it.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

My problem with this rant is this:

 

He took the last paragraph of Meltzers recap about cutbacks...and threw it in as his opinion.

 

He stated in one of his mail feedback's that he hadn't seen TNA...but suddenly...the cutbacks are hurting his enjoyment?

 

Further...If cutbacks mean that the wrestlers wrestle...and their is not stupid backstage Russo garbage, but an emphasis on WRESTLING...how is that a bad thing?

 

Plus...he was way off on the Elvis match IMO.

 

And since the Truth was almost knocked out for the second half of the match...fuck him.

 

Yeah...I guess Albert is better because he can work the WWE style.

 

Screw that.

 

Killings worked with a green newcomer while dizzy and hurt. And it didn't suck. I'd like to see half the people on the WWE roster do that.

[Guest The Notorious CRD]

I haven't cared about SK's rants (AKA his opinions) in quite a while. His artificially-inflated ego and the fact that he regards himself so highly just makes me lose more and more respect for him. Saying that TNA should pull the plug after the 13th show is ridiculous and shows just how jaded he's become. Maybe he should work on getting his 5th rejection letter from WWE since it's obvious he has such a hard-on for them. 'Nuff said.

[Guest ShooterJay]

What does matter in the end though, is that we, the marks for the promotion, enjoyed it.

 

I enjoyed this show more than I have any WWE PPV since Summerslam and No Mercy (the RVD elevation period)

[Guest Mindless_Aggression]

Him calling everyone Indy level workers outside of Styles and Lynn is HILARIOUS. This means Red, The Maximos, Jimmy Yang, and Low fuckin Ki are no better than indy grunts.

 

Scott Keith ladies and gentleman!

[Guest J*ingus]

I really shouldn't be doing this. I mean, he's one of the biggest of heavyweights on the net (heh), with a decade of experience, and legions of followers. Hell, in regards to his WW(F)E writings, I'm one of them most of the time. But this... is wrong. It reeked of bias and negativity. It pissed me off. And you know what that means.

 

Dissection of Doom time.

 

The SmarK Rant for NWA-TNA #10

- Live from the Fairgrounds.

 

It's the Tennessee State Fairgrounds Sports Arena, thankyouverymuch. (Side note: in order to keep this from being five miles long, I'm cutting out a lot of his play-by-play and other boring crap.)

 

- For those wondering, yes, I am officially approaching wrestling burnout this week due to all the material being pumped out, but at least most of it has been good. As long as I’m enjoying what’s presented it’s no problem to keep pumping out the content at this kind of pace.

 

Wait, you're suffering burnout "this week"? Why now? Not during 1999-2000, when you still had Raw, Smackdown, Nitro, Thunder, and ECW, but NOW?! Methinks Scott's writing hasn't been to the gym in a while, so to speak.

 

- Opening match: AJ Styles v. Jerry Lynn. In true modern wrestling fashion, their first meeting to “settle the score” is already a series of gimmick matches. But given the short lifespan that this promotion probably has left, you might as well milk it for what it’s worth.

 

And immedietly he starts taking cheap potshots at the product (I guess he never saw old Memphis shows, where feuds progressed at a lightning-quick pace) and the promotion itself (you know approximately NOTHING about the behind-the-scenes business deals, so don't be taking bets on how much sooner or later the promotion will fold).

 

Up into the bleachers (admittedly a short trip), and Lynn gets tossed to the floor, and Styles follows him down with a bodypress for two. Lighting and space limitations kinda ruin the effect.

 

Ooh, making fun of a 50-year-old building is HARDCORE~! And didya ever think, Scott, that just maybe, just MAYBE the reason that they're in a tiny building with limited resources is simply because wrestling "fans" today won't get off their asses and actually spend money on a product?

 

An okay brawl, although neither guy is particularly good at it. This was just a lot of the usual WWE-style main event lazy brawling, but it worked well enough for what it was. **3/4

 

To put things in perspective, let's look at the last WWE main event he reviewed: Rock vs. HHH on Raw. I found it to be a fairly uneventful match, especially by these guys' standards, with no growth from their previous bouts, not much in the way of interesting spots or bumps, and it had no finish at all. Keith only gave it 1/4* less than this match, which ended with a cradle piledriver on the rampway.

 

And while I’m on the subject, Chris Harris has a TERRIBLE wrestling name.

 

How do you know it's not his real name? Thanks for the sensitivity.

 

There is no shame in being a cowboy if you believe in your gimmick and the fans will pop for it.

 

With James, it ain't a gimmick. Those are really his pistols. He even has horses and everything.

 

Apparently the NWA’s budget only has enough to budget one Harris brother per show. Of course, it’s not like anyone could tell the difference or even care if Don Harris played both parts. And what’s with all the people named Harris not related to each other? Brian (Lee) Harris, Ron Harris, Chris Harris…geez, it’s an epidemic.

 

1. Don Harris is reportedly in the doghouse for the shirt scandal, so he sure as hell wasn't going to be on this week's show.

 

2. The Harris "twins" are not identical. One is taller than the other, and their tattoos are completely different.

 

3. Brian Lee and Ron Harris ARE related, cousins to be exact. Nice research there.

 

I mean, talk about your social faux pas – a friggin’ “SS” shirt? How do you accidentally wear something like that on national TV?

 

He's a biker. If you knew any hardcore Harley riders, that would explain it right there.

 

The crowd is chanting “DOA” like that’s a good thing or something. Perhaps they’re referring to the match?

 

Actually, I thought it was fairly witty, since they're referencing an obscure gimmick that's five years old in which both guys had different names. What do you want, more "E-C-Dub!" chants or something?

 

Truly in the annals of idiotic finishes this one deserves at least an honourable mention. *1/4

 

Are you kidding?! One heel gets annoyed by an audience member and beats the crap out of him, thus costing his team the match, you call that an idiotic finish? True, they could've picked a less-burly individual to do it, but still.

 

I mean, hey, bully for them for filling up the time with wrestling instead of skits and all, but giving green guys 15 minutes on PPV when they barely have the ability to fill 7 or 8 sometimes just reeks of the same kind of desperation that resulted in WCW’s TV being filled with Power Plant rejects near the end.

 

Translation: "If you're a young high-flyer and you didn't come from Japan or OMEGA, you suck."

 

They head up and Siaki gets a superplex, but Yang hits a Shining Wizard. What is that, the trendy move for cruiserweights these days or something? People make fun of it for a REASON, you know.

 

Plenty of young cruisers copy EVERY Japanese finishing move, not just that one. And when done right (which Mutoh only achieves 1/4 of the time), it does look damn cool.

 

Well, they tried, and I’ll leave it at that because that’s all you can ask from people as young and completely mismatched as these two were.

 

Both of these guys have been doing this for years, longer than Kurt Angle for instance. Both of them are cruiserweigts with Asian backgrounds. So just how, praytell, are they inexperienced and "completely mismatched"?

 

It should be noted that this crowd, which seems to be composed of the basest wannabe smart-marks,

 

As a member of that crowd, who had quite a few friends in that crowd, fuck you Scott.

 

is committing the most IRRITATING infraction known to smarkdom – chanting the real name of the heel in an attempt to show how clever they are.

 

What the hell are you even talking about? The "Wolfie!" chant? Earth to Keith, that's not his real name!

 

I HATE that, and advocate slapping your neighbour should be you be at a wrestling show sitting beside someone who participates in it. I think it’s actually legal to do so in some states.

 

What would you know about the "states", canuck cracka? Oh, and thanks for the advice to committ illegal assault and battery on complete strangers.

 

They head up and Lawler finishes with the Tennessee Jam at 5:50. Tenay makes a big deal about how it used to be called the Hip Hop Drop, but now it’s the Tennessee Jam again.

 

It's a big deal because they're making the point that Lawler is shedding his old WWF gimmicks, including the name of his move.

 

Do I CARE either way? ½*

 

This from a man who once gave Kevin Nash vs. The Giant a ** rating.

 

Lots of eye-popping stuff, but only about half of it hit clean and there was no sign of psychology. Still, for what it was, it was a spectacular spotfest. ***1/4

 

What kind of bizarrely strict, narrowly-defined way do you define "cleanly hitting" a spot? They didn't blow more than one or two things that I saw. Sabu vs. Sandman at N2R97, THAT'S blown spots.

 

I’m still waiting for someone to call one of Brown’s moves “Three Card Monte”.

 

How about... no.

 

Truth comes back with a leg lariat for two as it starts to become evident that neither guy is particularly ready for the position they’re in.

 

Alphabomb is blocked, and they screw up the spot and try it again, and this time the Alphabomb is reversed to a rollup for the pin at 10:11. Good intensity and the hype almost made you think they could pull it off, but once it got past the brawling the match just had no legs and Killings in particular couldn’t hold it together.

 

Um, could the fact that Truth got suplexed right onto his damn head and probably had a concussion for the rest of the match have anything to do with this?! I mean, come on, you took so damn long posting this report that surely you could've read the news updates on your own website and discovered this.

 

Say what you will about the WWE and their oppressive training system that forces people to work “WWE Style”, but if they give up on you, there’s usually a reason.

 

Remember Flash Flanagan, one of the participants in the hardcore title match on the OVW Rockin Rumble show you reviewed recently? You know, the match you gave a big **** to? The WWE gave up on him and fired him a few weeks back. So, what was the reason for giving up on a worker you declared to be ****-worthy?

 

He gets a rana through the table, although it misses badly. Back in, Lynn gets two.

 

WHAT SHOW WERE YOU WATCHING?!? Styles CLEARLY obliterated the table, and in fact had huge scrapes on his back afterward from that spot.

 

10 minutes kinda demeans the whole “Iron Man” name.

 

They've already been wrestling for nearly half an hour combined. What else would you call it?

 

This match alternated between wasting time and rushing through sequences.

 

Bullshit, this was some of the smartest psychology I've seen in a while. Lynn is still knocked out at the start, so Styles steals two quick pinfalls. For the rest of the match, Styles is always ahead on points, so he just kept going back to the rest holds in order to beat the clock and win.

 

And now I’m officially burned out on Styles-Lynn. 40 minutes of them in one show is quite enough for a while.

 

Hold up. "Officially"? I don't know about you Scott, but to me "officially" connotates a situation in which important things are announced to the public, usually involving political or business matters. One man's opinion is as far as you can get from being "official".

 

The people that are left, outside of the very polished Lynn and Styles, are obviously indy-level workers at best. An indy product is fine if you’re running indy shows, but this is supposed to be an alternative to the WWE that costs $10 a week.

 

And this brings up another point I've been wondering for the longest time: why the hell does Scott Keith hate independent wrestling so much? When he doesn't like something the WW(F)E does, he sometimes refers to it as "indy-level bullshit" or something similar. When he doesn't like a particular wrestler, the phrase used is often "he's not ready for the big-time".

 

I’m sorry, but I don’t want to spend money watching green rookies learn basic transitions while surrounded by midgets and twin Nazis. I can get that on Smackdown.

 

If memory serves, you gave the last Smackdown a thumbs-up rating. If it was so good, why are you comparing them to something which you claim is bad?

 

I liked this show, quite a lot, but if you can’t compete as advertised, then stop wasting my time.

 

You liked this show which wasted your time. Uh-huh. And of course the time of one smart mark is so damned valuable.

 

The September 18th show, their return to live PPVs, is also the 13th, which means that the deal with InDemand can be ended if need be. I think they should give it serious thought.

 

Scott... you don't know ANYTHING about what's happening backstage. You don't know how they're doing, monetarily. You don't know what kind of buyrates they're bringing in. You don't know what their expenses are. So kindly keep your gloom-and-doom, "McMahon is the only REAL promoter" Cassandraesque prophecies to yourself.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

Ok...so Jingus and I "Officially: understood what the story was for the Styles/Lynn match...

 

but someone who devotes their life to watching and reviewing wrestling..misses it completely.

 

That combined with saying a guy with a concussion couldn't carry the greenest guy on the roster to higher than *1/2 match doesn't belong in the land of Taker and Hogan...

 

tells me pretty much everything I need to know about his recapping ability.

[Guest Vyce]

I'd like to just throw out something here, to go along with what Jingus has posted.

 

I'm word-for-word quoting here, from Scott's own review of WWF(E) Judgement Day 2000, the Rock v. HHH Ironman match for the World title:

 

Third fall: The Rock is still groggy, so HHH small packages him for the pin. 2-1 HHH. Great spot.

 

Seventh fall: Rock is out cold, so HHH calmly pins him. 4-3 HHH, and another great bit of booking there.

 

Scott lists this match, I believe, in his top 20 WWF(E) matches. A ***** star classic, in his eyes.

 

Now when Styles / Lynn do similar spots - i.e., Styles getting quick pins on his unconscious and/or incapacitated opponent - suddenly that type of booking ceases to be "great" or "brilliant", and instead is, what?

 

This match alternated between wasting time and rushing through sequences.

 

A time waster. A rush. I suppose if it had been Rock v. HHH doing this, he'd be raving about it.

 

But it wasn't Rock or Trips......it was two guys who, for the past 10 weeks or so, have been INFINITELY more exciting.

 

It's not that I hate Keith's opinion so much.....I think it's ignorant, and a bit assinine, but he's entitled to it.....it's just that you and I both know there are a lot of people out there who buy into his BS.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

Did you know:

 

Rock and HHH don't even start the match until the clock has run for ten minutes?

 

And then they spent 50 minutes going through 11 different falls.

 

That match lacked the pure genius of the person with the lead continually putting on rest holds...which makes so much sense it's scary.

 

Also...he gave Raven and Richards vs. PittBulls 2/3 falls *****

 

I don't think that match was near as good as the Styles/Lynn match.

 

Those two fought over everything...refusing to give an inch.

 

But...I guess that match didn't have 911, Tommy Dreamer, Bill Alphonso and a whole host of over booked madness on its side.

[Guest bob_barron]

Did you know:

 

Rock and HHH don't even start the match until the clock has run for ten minutes?

 

And then they spent 50 minutes going through 11 different falls.

 

That match lacked the pure genius of the person with the lead continually putting on rest holds...which makes so much sense it's scary.

 

Also...he gave Raven and Richards vs. PittBulls 2/3 falls *****

 

I don't think that match was near as good as the Styles/Lynn match.

 

Those two fought over everything...refusing to give an inch.

 

But...I guess that match didn't have 911, Tommy Dreamer, Bill Alphonso and a whole host of over booked madness on its side.

Rock v. HHH did lock up after about a minute of trash talking. Rock got a pin 10 minutes in.

 

All the falls were well booked-

Rock gets the early pin to go up 1-0 and put extra pressure on HHH

HHH with the Pedigree

HHH pins him again in a move that really puts over the Pedigree

HHH with a piledriver after wearing Rock down. Now the crowd is really nervous.

Rock pins HHH with the DDT- normally not a pinfall but they were selling the action so it made sense.

Rock wins a fall by DQ when HHH wallops him with a chair. WTF?

HHH pins Rock seconds after. Ohhhhhhh I get it- He sacraficed a fall to get a fall back and hurt Rock more

HHH wins a fall with the sleeper- normally Rock would revive but he's been through and hell back for 45 min.

Okay Rock- you're two falls down- 15 min to go. Time to kick it into high gear

Rock then explodes and quickly wins two falls- again- selling the action.

But then all hell breaks loose and Undertaker comes down and the crowd goes battyshit but he accidentally costs Rock the title without meaning to. A lot of people hate the ending so I won't defend that one.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

Woah Woah Woah.

 

Go back...watch the opening of that match...

 

and tell me when they first start doing anything other than lock up...stall...lock up...stall...

 

It's the ten minute mark...and HHH gets pinned a minute and a half later.

 

Absolutley retarded.

[The Dames 0]

Fellas.....screw SK.....because MY review is finally up on the main page.

 

Dames

[Guest bob_barron]

I liked Dames review better- He seems to have more of an open mind

[Guest Jobber of the Week]

I think we all know this promotion will fold sooner than later, certainly whenever they put Russo at the wheel. It's an interesting ride.

 

Anyway, this site seems firmly divided on the people who think it will fade away at any oppertunity () and the people who think that Jerry ought to be rubbing shoulders with Vince in less than five months (). Then there's the few people in myself in the middle. I enjoy what I see, but I think there is a point where things will hit brass tacks and the promotion will fail.

 

On the plus side, guys like The Truth are making a name for themselves, so even if it does, things aren't THAT bad.

 

EDIT: As for the things like guys gone with absolutely no trace, whether Keith thought that himself or picked it up from somewhere. Well..Ouch. No explanation at all? That's a bad idea, really.. Just admit it's fake and that they're gone for now, but will be back.

[Guest eirejmcmahon]

Some of you guys are letting your markish side get the better of you.

 

Scott's entitled to say what he wants about the NWATNA product, you shouldn't let that detract from your enjoyment of same.

 

I believe he saw one of the earlier shows (somewhere around the week 4ish mark), which would explain why he could note the differences between NWATNA then (bigger venue, some bigger names) and now.

[Guest oldschoolwrestling]

On the plus side, guys like The Truth are making a name for themselves, so even if it does, things aren't THAT bad.

If this fails and the NWA folds, The Truth really doesn't have anywhere to go. He crapped on Vince and the WWE so he really will be taking 2 steps back. Its one thing if you make a name for yourself and the WWE steals you away. Its another thing if your company folds and you have to hope the WWE picks you up.

[Guest oldschoolwrestling]

Ok...so Jingus and I "Officially: understood what the story was for the Styles/Lynn match...

 

but someone who devotes their life to watching and reviewing wrestling..misses it completely.

I think it hurt Scott's review by not having seen the history these two guys have put together since this started. They have put together some good chemistry by teaming and feuding for the past couple months and by not seeing that and trying to review their match, his review suffered. Same goes for Ron Killings. Scott hasn't seen his matches and promos and still blindly sees him as K-Kwik, not someone who has been busting ass to get to where he is now.

[Guest HollywoodSpikeJenkins]

Face it.

 

 

 

Scott Keith Sucks

[Guest El Psycho Diablo]

SK is really..off, I think.

 

I cought the show last night, and I haven't watched wrestling when aired since the eight-man tag a couple weeks back. (I've cought up since then) and it seems to me that Keith's problem is..

 

Well, he's the ultimate mark.

 

The last few WWE shows have been mediocre at best, and the fact he slaps **** on any match with Benoit involved says some kind of bias is evident.

 

The NWA show last night was the best complete wrestling show I've seen in a while, probably all year. Or longer.

[Guest BionicRedneck]

Him calling everyone Indy level workers outside of Styles and Lynn is HILARIOUS. This means Red, The Maximos, Jimmy Yang, and Low fuckin Ki are no better than indy grunts.

 

Scott Keith ladies and gentleman!

Erm...actually its true. Red, Maximos and Low Ki are basic indy workers.

 

SK would have probably loved the show if Benoit was on. Face it, Keith is extremely biased towards WWF/E or old NWA/WCW (Ric Flair). I mean he used to hate every ECW PPV even before he had watched it.

[Guest BobbyBacklund]

He meant Indy-level as in bush league I think. Mediocre, Sabu-ish kinds of wrestlers. But I could be wrong, so don't flame me if I am...

[Guest JHawk]

See, I can never tell what SK is thinking anyway. HHH-Rock from Raw was decent, but not all that good. In fact, I enjoyed the hardcore schmozz a lot more than that, but because the word "hardcore" didn't have "porn" after it, he gave it like 1/2*. Missing basic psych like that is inexcusable for somebody who always asks "Where's the psychology?"

 

I did not see this week's TNA, but SK's take was probably the ONLY somewhat negative review I saw of it. That ought to tell you something right there

[Guest Jobber of the Week]

If this fails and the NWA folds, The Truth really doesn't have anywhere to go. He crapped on Vince and the WWE so he really will be taking 2 steps back.

Well, JR has said that they may take him at a future time, although I guess he'd possibly say the same thing about me if someone asked him. =b

[Guest SuperTonyJaymz]

Im all for opinions and shit but SK sucks.

 

I mean, i know everyone marks out for certain people and all( Bsp21:The Truth SK:Benoit, et.c) but to think that Lynn/Styles was anything less than *** is crazy, to think that The Truth coudln't wrestle WWE style and thats why he sucks(he doesnt suck and he got fired for not wanting to put a rap album out on smackdown records) is crazy.

 

I forgot were i was going with this, i think it was something about SK should be more openminded or whatever. eh.

 

The Flying Elvises still rule.

[The Dames 0]

Eh, cheap plugs rule. Read my review on week 10....it should be in the middle of the page by now.

 

Dames