OAO 3/18 Impact Thread

[TNABaddboi 0]

I was watching SNME (just enjoying a wrestling night) and I started thinking about Impact, so here's the OAO thread. Here's the official preview:

 

 

 

SATURDAY NIGHT ON “iMPACT!” ON SPIKE TV

The aftermath of Destination X – and the road ahead to Lockdown!

 

This Saturday night on “iMPACT!” at 11pm, the wrestling world will feel the aftermath of Sunday’s “Destination X” Pay-Per-View spectacular! The following is a preview of what you’ll see on the program as TNA heads towards the April 23 annual “Lockdown” spectacular – wrestling’s only all-steel cage match event!

 

SCOTT STEINER SPEAKS OUT THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! WILL STING AND CHRISTIAN CAGE BE WATCHING?

“Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner shocked TNA fans by making his surprise debut at “Destination X” and attacking “Sting” Steve Borden! This Saturday night on “iMPACT!”, the genetic freak has demanded in-ring interview time along with Jeff Jarrett and his army to speak out on their brutality against Sting and NWA World Heavyweight Champion Christian Cage! What will the controversial star have to say about his actions at “Destination X”? Will Sting and Christian Cage be watching? Tune in Saturday night to hear what “Big Poppa Pump” has to say!

 

MAIN EVENT MATCH

New X Champion “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels, “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles, “The War Machine” Rhino and Ron “The Truth” Killings vs. NWA World Tag Team Champions America’s Most Wanted, Alex Shelley and The Prince of Punk

 

WORLD X CUP QUALIFYING MATCH

Matt Bentley w/ Traci vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. “Primetime” Elix Skipper

Three of TNA’s top X Division stars will be in action this Saturday night, with the winner earning a spot on Team USA for the upcoming World X Cup event! With Jay Lethal and Chris Sabin already members of Team USA, who will join them after Saturday night – Bentley, Dutt or Primetime? Tune in and watch!

 

Also this Saturday night on “iMPACT!”

“The Monster” Abyss w/ James Mitchell vs. Cassidy Riley

Konnan’s Latin American Exchange vs. Norman Smiley and Shark Boy

 

In addition, “iMPACT!” will have an update on the April 23 “Lockdown” Pay-Per-View – wrestling’s only annual all-steel cage match event!

 

Looks like they are trying to get away from the squash heavy format, which is a major plus. For some perverse reason, I'm looking forward to seeing Steiner. I've never really cared one way or another for the guy (I wasn't watching WCW when he was in the main event picture), but for all the talk about his limitations, and bad memories from his WWE run, I'm curious to see how TNA books him. Thoughts on the show?

[Guest J0bber]

Sure, this card looks like a step up from the usual squash heavy Impacts, but TNA really needs to start having matches worthwhile outside of PPV. It will be interesting to see how the crowd reacts to Steiner and how they book Moore tonight. Doesn't look like we'll be seeing too much Christian or Monty Brown tonight. It's a shame.

[Astro101 0]

Looks like Joe's moving to the heavyweight division without a rematch for the X division title. Oh, and Sonjay gets another shot on the US Squad and finally gets it. Shelley should so be on the team, face or not.

 

Hah, Simon's pretty funny. "Any kid with a Ipod could have doctored that!" "Don't you mean Photoshop, you genius?"

 

Hah, Eric Young gets like, 2 seconds of face time and he still rules. On the cage match next week: "Our thoughts? We're petrified."

[gWIL 0]

Good show. Much better than SNME.

[Placebo Effect 0]

That video at the end was fucking creepy.

[Astro101 0]

I think they basically used the same video from last year's Lockdown, minus the Team Canada and Team 3D inserts.

[Guest abowen33]

Steiner always brings the goods on the mic. Remememer. I love it.

[TNABaddboi 0]

This week show was kind of a mixed-bag for me. The opening promo was just kinda there. It was really hurt by the crowd's sudden realization that neither Christian nor Sting was interrupting. The X-Division match was fun for what it was. TNA needs to make sure Impact has at least one "athletic" match like that each week, because that's what seperates them from WWE. The Abyss/Joe/Monty squashes are beyond repetitive at this point, and the LAX is just not interesting to me at all. On the plus side, I've always liked Simon Diamond, but the guy's becoming one of my favorite characters in TNA right now. To me, he's the perfect case for TNA needed a mid-card title. He'd be a great heel champion that would give a guy like Truth something meaningful to do. As it stands, he's taking a throw away storyline and making it great. Anyway, the main event was energetic, though it wasn't an awesome match by an stretch. But the guy's were all over and the crowd is clearly into the Truth. They did a good job setting up next week's show, but didn't do anything to put over LockDown as the "blow-off" night it should be. That's just my two cents though...

[Fro 0]

This week show was kind of a mixed-bag for me. The opening promo was just kinda there. It was really hurt by the crowd's sudden realization that neither Christian nor Sting was interrupting. The X-Division match was fun for what it was. TNA needs to make sure Impact has at least one "athletic" match like that each week, because that's what seperates them from WWE. Abyss's squashed are beyond repetitive at this point, and the LAX is just not interesting to me at all. The main event was energetic, though it wasn't an awesome match by an stretch. But the guy's were all over and the crowd is clearly into the Truth. They did a good job setting up next week's show, but didn't do anything to put over LockDown as the "blow-off" night it should be. That's just my two cents though...

 

They have 6 weeks until the next PPV, so they have some time to stretch out the build up a bit.

[TNABaddboi 0]

They have 6 weeks until the next PPV, so they have some time to stretch out the build up a bit.

 

I know...I was just talking about putting over why the event is special, and different from every other TNA ppv. Maybe some clips of last year, or spots with guys who were on the show last year talking about how brutual it is and how hard it was to watch what the cage did to other guys who wrestled before them. But that could be coming, so I'll reserve judgement for now...

[RedJed 0]

Good show. Much better than SNME.

 

I'm sorry but even coming from a TNA fan here, SNME blew Impact out of the water with two matches that were definately watchable (opener and ending) as well as a few strong and noteworthy angles to build to Mania.

 

Now on the flipside, what did Impact have? Well a decent X division three way, a Steiner/Jarrett segment that really didnt accomplish anything, a thrown together pointless main event, a ridiculous squash match w/ Abyss (squashes should ONLY be done now w/ TNA when a new guy comes in and even then its a stretch), and Machete gets beat down by Konnan and Homicide.

 

The buildup for Lockdown via the backstage segments didnt really come across as newsworthy to me either. I really think Joe needs another rematch w/ Styles and Daniels to establish his ferocity more than now, as if he would not win back the X title in another match with them (a match that would see Daniels pin Styles to estabish Daniels as the real deal champ - as of right now, he comes across as a paper champ to be honest) he would really be pissed and THEN move him up in a feud with Sabu. TNA can still accomplish this by delaying the Sabu return, or at best have him return and have Joe immediately (as in minutes after he returns) just kick the living shit out of him, laying him out until the May ppv, and/or when he could cost Joe the match v. Daniels/Styles at Lockdown.

 

Good to know they have 6 weeks to build the Lockdown ppv - with that said, maybe some significant changes will be put into effect with the card, as something has got to give here, as TNA is just not impressing me at all right now.

[gWIL 0]

Good show. Much better than SNME.

 

I'm sorry but even coming from a TNA fan here, SNME blew Impact out of the water with two matches that were definately watchable (opener and ending) as well as a few strong and noteworthy angles to build to Mania.

 

Now on the flipside, what did Impact have? Well a decent X division three way, a Steiner/Jarrett segment that really didnt accomplish anything, a thrown together pointless main event, a ridiculous squash match w/ Abyss (squashes should ONLY be done now w/ TNA when a new guy comes in and even then its a stretch), and Machete gets beat down by Konnan and Homicide.

 

The buildup for Lockdown via the backstage segments didnt really come across as newsworthy to me either. I really think Joe needs another rematch w/ Styles and Daniels to establish his ferocity more than now, as if he would not win back the X title in another match with them (a match that would see Daniels pin Styles to estabish Daniels as the real deal champ - as of right now, he comes across as a paper champ to be honest) he would really be pissed and THEN move him up in a feud with Sabu. TNA can still accomplish this by delaying the Sabu return, or at best have him return and have Joe immediately (as in minutes after he returns) just kick the living shit out of him, laying him out until the May ppv, and/or when he could cost Joe the match v. Daniels/Styles at Lockdown.

 

Good to know they have 6 weeks to build the Lockdown ppv - with that said, maybe some significant changes will be put into effect with the card, as something has got to give here, as TNA is just not impressing me at all right now.

 

What did SNME have? A bunch of boring, pointless segments and main event no one cares about. Impact was at least fast paced and held my interest.

[Astro101 0]

Impact > SNME

 

Other than the opening match on SNME, there wasn't anything that was interesting for me.

[Guest JRE]

I think SNME won based mainly on the novelty and presentation. It had some fresh stuff in it...mainly just the opener, the Edge brawl, somes spots here and there (like the suplex spot), and again, the presentation. But Impact was sorta just more of the same + Scott Steiner.

 

The thing with TNA is I feel like I have to buy the PPV to find anything surprising. Or to see Christian wrestle, for that matter. Or a good one on one match. Yet, the angles seem to come and go and...I dunno, never polished enough for me consider a purchase.

 

(Not to make my first TNA board post all critical....just some things I had on my mind. I do watch it because I like it)

[Placebo Effect 0]

I thought Impact was one of the best they've ever done.

[Guest Timmer]

It's time to turn Monty full face... and let him eventually square off against Steiner.

[Dangerous A 0]

FYI...

 

 

TNA is moving the first run Impact slated for 4/1 to Thursday 3/30, presumably to get it out of the way of the WWE HOF Ceremony show. The rerun will air in the same slot.

 

 

Smart move on Spike's part.

[2GOLD 0]

FYI...

 

 

TNA is moving the first run Impact slated for 4/1 to Thursday 3/30, presumably to get it out of the way of the WWE HOF Ceremony show. The rerun will air in the same slot.

 

 

Smart move on Spike's part.

 

Now, if only we could see a commercial telling everyone this. Maybe run a few during the times they run one of the 800000 "King of Vegas" ads.

[qdes 0]

I thought Impact was one of the best they've ever done.

 

I had same thoughts, especially after people have been complaining about squashes and poor tv matches. Maybe TNA can learn after all.

[Magus 0]

There was a squash match. But that's not why Impact sucked.

 

What made it bad was that Sting and Christian weren't there. These are the sorts of guys TNA should be building around, and yet they do everything possible to keep Sting away and make Christian look like a bitch. Sting--the guy their paying half a mil--should be on Impact. There, I said it. Christian--the CHAMPION--should be on Impact. This is common sense. Even if Christian is indeed off filming a movie, they should do something more important with him other than have him basically saying "sorry I couldn't be there". Having him out in the injury angle is just stupid anyway. Sting should be fucking up bad guys, not showing up only at PPVs. But no, the heels are the only ones we see, they make the faces look like shit, and then get away with it. This kind of booking--the kind of booking that goes out of its way to protect Jarrett--is the main thing that makes Impact suck.

[razazteca 0]

Maybe they should of given the belt to Sting instead of Christian.

[Guest Chris Xtreme]

Maybe they should of given the belt to Sting instead of Christian.

 

I don't think that would be a good move. Christian has more long term potential than Sting. Christian should get at least a 4 to 6 month title riegn. But I do agree with one thing one of the above posters has said. They need to have Christian and Sting on Impact more. Signing Sting and having him out this long didn't do anything for the ratings. Of course when Sting comes back maybe the ratins will go back up. But who knows.

[TNABaddboi 0]

PWI is reporting the ratings for this show rebounded a bit, so some good came of it. Here's what Mike Johnson reported:

 

After several low weeks in a row, Saturday's edition of TNA Impact shot back up to a 0.9 rating. Among Males 18-49, it scored a 0.8 and among Males 18-34, it scored a 0.7. The average audience of the show was 864,000 viewers

[RedJed 0]

Good to see the number went back up - they really need to get somewhere other than between .7 and .9 though each and every week. I dont know what it would take to get over a 1.0, but they really should try their hardest to do so for the Thurs 3/30 show.

[razazteca 0]

Maybe they should of given the belt to Sting instead of Christian.

 

I don't think that would be a good move. Christian has more long term potential than Sting. Christian should get at least a 4 to 6 month title riegn. But I do agree with one thing one of the above posters has said. They need to have Christian and Sting on Impact more. Signing Sting and having him out this long didn't do anything for the ratings. Of course when Sting comes back maybe the ratins will go back up. But who knows.

Sting could of been the transition champion between JJ and Xian. Sting comes in to beat the EVIL~BORING Mr. White Pants. JJ sends Shelly to stalk Sting to find some weakness which is the family. JJ plays some mind games to make Sting lose...+1 on the title count for Mr. White Pants. Xian comes in to help out his friend Sting who is down on his luck...after a couple weeks of training Xian & Steve Borden get the title shot at LOCKDOWN in a King of the Mountain match against the White Power Army, Xian would win. Capt. Chrisma would hold on to the belt for 4-6 months until heel Samoa Joe is ready.

[Guest Coffey]

Sting should've never became "Steve Borden." Christian, in my eyes, shouldn't be the World Champion. Granted he's better than Jarrett and maybe I'm just too used to WWE size but he doesn't look like a champion. They should put it on someone like Abyss.

 

I still say the six-sided ring in trash. They shouldn't be having cage matches on iMPACT! to sell an all-cage match PPV either. The Dudleys should be heel. Team Canada needs to splith with Roode getting a solo push, and Young turning heel. Traci needs to leave "The Maverick" (which is awful, so I won't even talk about that). Mitchell needs to stop all this "doomsday" bullshit because it comes off extra corny. Monty needs to drop the stupid africa lion gimmick. Make Steiner wear a shirt because that new tattoo was a bad fucking investment. Dump Gayda because she brings absolutely nothing to the table and isn't even attractive. I could go on and on and on.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

And you could go on and on forever and still not get to the actual significant problems that company has.

 

I should note that you are not necessarily wrong in your assertions, it's just, what you're saying is akin to "The problem with this boat is that it is green". When in reality, the problem with the boat is that it has a hole in it. Changing the colour might make it look better, but the hole is still there and there still is a problem no matter what colour it is.

[Astro101 0]

Sting should've never became "Steve Borden." Christian, in my eyes, shouldn't be the World Champion. Granted he's better than Jarrett and maybe I'm just too used to WWE size but he doesn't look like a champion. They should put it on someone like Abyss.

 

I still say the six-sided ring in trash. They shouldn't be having cage matches on iMPACT! to sell an all-cage match PPV either. The Dudleys should be heel. Team Canada needs to splith with Roode getting a solo push, and Young turning heel. Traci needs to leave "The Maverick" (which is awful, so I won't even talk about that). Mitchell needs to stop all this "doomsday" bullshit because it comes off extra corny. Monty needs to drop the stupid africa lion gimmick. Make Steiner wear a shirt because that new tattoo was a bad fucking investment. Dump Gayda because she brings absolutely nothing to the table and isn't even attractive. I could go on and on and on.

 

Half agree, half disagree. Sting becoming Steve Borden and getting his ass kicked ruined some mystique Sting had going for him. I like Christian as champ, but he hasn't been pushed like one. I say he looks more like a champ than Abyss. Love the six sided ring, but I agree that putting a cage match on this week's Impact is so blatantly stupid. Young is perfect in his character right now. I don't mind Monty's character. I say dump Gayda as well, yet I think she's pretty attractive. She just can't act or wrestle......and I just wonder where they were going with that dirt on Jarrett.

[Jericholic82 0]

prob with Jackie (and gail kim to a lesser extent) is that TNA brought her in simply cuz she used to be in WWE. nothing more, nothing less. I HATE when TNA brings in a random former wwe midcrder and Tenay acts like Jesus Himself has just appeared in the ring.

[razazteca 0]

The PROBLEM: with this, that, and everything is the simple fact that TNA does not have enough tv time to promote anything to get emotional about. The average angle gets push at an alarming pace of roughly 2 or 3 weeks for the PPV then gets forgotten for the next story the next month. There is not enough time for anything to sink in to get emotional about. And with less than an hour of tv time on iMPACT its hard to figure out the motovation of why person A hates person B. Add on the fact that the people involved in these angles have a hard time reading the teleprompters and/or remembering the lines...the whole thing looks like a big clusterfuck of suck.

 

SOLUTION: Two hours of Total Nonstop Action! iMPACT can feature the main eventers and established stars. The second hour can be Xplosion or another show but it has to feature the midcard. People like the 3rd wheel of Team Canada that being steaksause boy A1, the Diamonds of the Rough, Sharkboy, Norman , Hoyt and the random X division guy of the week need tv time.

 

The monthly PPV format has to go. Rushing the angles in order for it to fit into the PPV of the month does'nt exactly get anybody excited about the show so why pay for it, right. Reduce the number of PPVs to 6 a year so the PPVs can get the proper build it deserves. LOCKDOWN could be a big time show but there is no build up to it. LOCKDOWN could be up there with Starrcade/Wargames or Survivor Series as a major show but it feels like a In Your House show. Why exactly is Christian vs Abyss going to be in the cage......because Abyss earned a title shot(s) several months ago that people forgot about?!?!?! Why is Samoa Joe fighting Sabu in the cage...it is because Joe pushed the ring announcer into the wall?!?!?!

 

Inquiring minds want to know why the PPVs are happening.