BoboBrazil 0 Report post Posted April 22, 2004 NWA:TNA BACKSTAGE NEWS AND NOTES by Buck Woodward @ 1:00:00 PM on 4/22/2004 I haven't heard any real explanation as to why TNA, after spending weeks building to Chris Harris vs. Jeff Jarrett, decided last night to do an injury angle and give AJ Styles the match (and the title). One source said that the attitude backstage was simply "the people really want AJ to win the belt", with no other reason given for the switch. Not to take anything away from Styles, who is deserving of the title, but given that the fans were chanting "Truth" during most of the World Title segments last night, I would say Ron Killings is the "people's choice" these days. Surprising lack of reaction backstage to the match as well, although more than a few have made "the more things change, the more they stay the same" comments in regards to the amount of Vince Russo on the show last night, and how he was the main player in the main event program. At least one person was also very annoyed that Russo talked back to Abyss on camera and showed no fear in front of someone the company has been pushing as a monster in recent weeks. As mentioned on last night's Pay-per-view, Scott Hudson was in a car accident and unable to appear on the show this week. From what I understand, Scott is fine. Surprising lack of talk regarding Fox Sports Net last night backstage, especially compared to last week when there was a great deal of buzz about it. Some sources seem convinced a deal will be done, and TNA is wisely keeping quiet until it is finalized, while others are taking the "If it happens, it happens" attitude and not worrying about it. All talent was told to submit a list of their outside bookings through the end of the summer to Bob Ryder or Tim Welch. A sign in the locker room also relayed the message to workers, with the note "We are working on some special events." I have heard that Jeff Jarrett was strongly in favor of taking the TNA talent off of Ring Of Honor shows. There is definitely a belief amongst some workers that Jarrett and other members of TNA management were jealous, or at the very least annoyed, at the way workers were constantly praising Ring Of Honor (as opposed to TNA) in interviews and backstage. pwinsider.com Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Salacious Crumb Report post Posted April 22, 2004 I had figured it was the plan all along for Styles or Raven to get into the Cage match with Jarrett. Though I never posted it here I figured Raven was going to take Harris out of the cage match and someone was going to replace him. That way Harris got the rub of beating Raven and doesn't get his momentum halted by jobbing the next week. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Ghost of bps21 0 Report post Posted April 22, 2004 One source said that the attitude backstage was simply "the people really want AJ to win the belt", with no other reason given for the switch. Not to take anything away from Styles, who is deserving of the title, but given that the fans were chanting "Truth" during most of the World Title segments last night, I would say Ron Killings is the "people's choice" these days. Hell Yes! The man spent over a year doing nothing...they make it appear for a couple weeks like he's going to be a top player again...and he's the #1 face on the roster again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TNABaddboi 0 Report post Posted April 23, 2004 All talent was told to submit a list of their outside bookings through the end of the summer to Bob Ryder or Tim Welch. A sign in the locker room also relayed the message to workers, with the note "We are working on some special events." I'm hoping those "special events" are the house shows. They should really consider running some of those ECW strongholds like Buffalo, which was always a hot crowd, the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC, and Center Stage in Atlanta. I think they could draw well at places like that for starters. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Man Of 1,004 Modes Report post Posted April 23, 2004 Before it starts again, please, no more TNA v. ROH fan wars in threads. Its justy repeating the same shit for 3 pages. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest OSIcon Report post Posted April 23, 2004 Giving Styles the belt seems a little goofy to me. It isn't that I don't think he should have the title, it is just the booking surrounding it. They built of Chris Harris for weeks as a legit singles threat. Now all of a sudden he is out of the picture and Styles is champ. Unless this is part of a storyline where Harris continually gets close to the title only to somehow see it allude him, the booking confuses me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BoboBrazil 0 Report post Posted April 23, 2004 Yeah it didn't make much sense. It would have made sense for Raven to be put in because he has been built up to it also, but this made no sense. This is the 2nd time AJ has won the belt with no buildup. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest OldSchoolCarnage Report post Posted April 23, 2004 Hopefully they're building up for Styles vs. Harris...but I have my doubts. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
