Super Duper Major Announcement at No Surrender

[razazteca 0]

I don't know if I can take 20 minute shoot promos at the beginning and the ending of every Impact or tournments for championships every 3 months that are nothing but 2 minute matches with run-ins or more NASCAR drivers being involved in matches and winning or Justin Long as the next X Division champion or the idea of Mr. New Yawk being involved in every segment of the show or race wars between LAX vs Black Panthers wannabe (Truth, Monty, Dvon) vs White Trash (James Gang) vs religious extremists.

[Guest Connzilla]

The only way I will like this is if Russo comes out starts to go a spill the returning Lance Hoytt comes out and Powerbombs him, Throw a table

[Downhome 0]

From PWInsider:

 

Vince Russo officially started yesterday as part of the new TNA creative team in Nashville, TN. The decision to make the change in the creative end had been coming for some time with the feeling that the previous team had hit a wall and things needed to be shaken up. The creative team was informed on Tuesday of this week.

 

The new creative team will be positioned as Vince Russo and Dutch Mantel, although Jeff Jarrett will remain in his previous role as something of an editor with a lot of power as well. In recent weeks, Dixie Carter has not been as hands on with the creative end and I believe that will continue in order to give this new regime a chance to get their feet wet.

 

Mike Tenay and Scott D'Amore are officially off creative with Tenay retaining his commentary duties. D'Amore is remaining with the company as well, although it's unclear what his new role will be since he pulled himself off television to devote more time to booking. He may be getting new backstage duties, but I haven't confirmed that. Jeremy Borash's new role in the team is unclear, but I've heard one source claim he'll be devoting more time to production and his on camera role and less to the day to day of creative. Borash remains close with Jeff Jarrett so I believe whether he is officially on the team or not, he'll still have a forum to pitch ideas.

 

Those who are no longer on the creative team are still expected to be called upon as consultants of the creative process as the shows are put together.

 

It's interesting to note that at no point has any source close to TNA actually indicated that the creative team change was the "surprise" promoted on the TNA website by President Dixie Carter, as had been floated in reports online. It's conceivable that was the surprise, but it's also possible that the surprise is a completely separate issue altogether. If this is the planned surprise, TNA has done themselves a great diservice. My hope is that it's an entirely different situation. I guess this will be be made clear one way or another this Sunday.

[gWIL 0]

Russo in WCW was a better on-screen character than Vince McMahon has ever been.

I'm not Vince McMahon's biggest fan, but McMahon on-screen is worlds better than Russo ever was. He could at least get somebody over and would try to. Russo was only ever interested in trying to get himself over.

 

Well, it's true that mcMahon made a lot more money and was involved in more angles, Russo comes off as this sleazy, evil, New Yorker that's not half as over the top as McMahon.

[razazteca 0]

Russo is over the top in the costume catagory.

[Celtic Guardian 0]

From PWInsider:

 

It's interesting to note that at no point has any source close to TNA actually indicated that the creative team change was the "surprise" promoted on the TNA website by President Dixie Carter, as had been floated in reports online. It's conceivable that was the surprise, but it's also possible that the surprise is a completely separate issue altogether. If this is the planned surprise, TNA has done themselves a great diservice. My hope is that it's an entirely different situation. I guess this will be be made clear one way or another this Sunday.

 

A later PWInsider news item stated more definitively that Russo is coming in but is NOT the surprise, essentially the same as the PWTorch report.

[Guest Kobe24KGold]

From PWInsider:

 

It's interesting to note that at no point has any source close to TNA actually indicated that the creative team change was the "surprise" promoted on the TNA website by President Dixie Carter, as had been floated in reports online. It's conceivable that was the surprise, but it's also possible that the surprise is a completely separate issue altogether. If this is the planned surprise, TNA has done themselves a great diservice. My hope is that it's an entirely different situation. I guess this will be be made clear one way or another this Sunday.

 

A later PWInsider news item stated more defnitively that Russo is coming in but is NOT the surprise, essentially the same as the PWTorch report.

 

THANK GOD

[RedJed 0]

I'm just putting two and two together here, but IF the big announcement is Mondays head to head, I can at least understand now why Russo was all of a sudden thrown back into the mix. Agreeing with it is another story.

[2GOLD 0]

Yeah, it Russo was the suprise then why would be have started his job yesterday?

There is probably something involving them and SpikeTV coming up with a new slot for the show. After the failure of both of their comedies and Blade having slipped up badly (may or may not be dead), TNA and UFC are really the only things Spike has in terms of original programming that hasn't been a total disaster.

 

UFC has been a huge success and before the last few Impacts, they were obviously very pleased with TNA. I guess it's a wait and see now.

[spman 0]

Really though, if Russo IS the big surprise, and they DO get a better timeslot, then this is essentially The Last Stand of TNA. It's do or die time, and this will be their last opportunity to hit one out of the park, or they're done. If Russo doesn't improve the creative end in any way shape or form, and they can't pull higher then a 1.0 in Primetime, then Spike is just going to drop them for something more profitable that will get better ratings. MacGyver reruns anybody?

 

Personally, I think this is going to be the death sentence for TNA. Russo has proven to only be marginally decent only when filtered through Vince McMahon, and has been, for all intents and purposes, creatively bankrupt since about 1999. Even if TNA isn't losing money anymore, if they get dropped by Spike, then forget it, it's over.

[Scroby 0]

Mantel and Russo are now booking? Fuck! There goes the whole TNA is wrestling aspect, and here comes the damn entertainment aspect. I'm guessing by the time Bound For Glory comes around TNA is going to be a trainwreck.

 

The thing I don't understand is that TNA has Jim Cornette, Scott D'more, Mike Tenay, and so many others who can actually book a promotion properly but TNA goes back to Dutch Mantel and Vince Russo and please correct me if I'm wrong but didn't a lot of you not like Mantel's booking when he was head booker for TNA a little while ago? I didn't watch TNA at the time but I do believe a lot of people here complained about his booking of TNA. How soon until we get Vince Russo back on tv again? How soon until we get the Jarrett is either with Russo or against Russo storyline again?

 

TNA has taken a big step backward with making Russo and Mantel the head bookers of TNA. The only good thing Russo has ever done, is give La Parka (L.A. Park) a lot of tv time in WCW, other than that, ever since Russo quit WWE, he's been a joke. He helped kill off WCW and he's going to now hurt TNA. Very bad choice on Dixie Carter's part.

 

I really hope that big annoucement isn't that TNA is going head to head with Monday night Raw now because if Russo and Mantel at the helm, chances are TNA will be a bigger joke than Raw already is.

 

Damnit, I'm with ECW

[Guest Hotbutter Spoontoaster]

That might be hard, Raw has a 60 year old man waving his taint and balls around on national TV.

[Scroby 0]

Are you sure about that? This is Vince Russo booking.

[chaosrage 0]

Are you sure about that? This is Vince Russo booking.

 

Yeah, like that whole awful Attitude Era thing. Remember how horrible that was?

[TheFranchise 0]

And more recently, WCW's time with Russo at the helm...

 

Remember how horrible that was?

[Guest stringerbell]

Vince Russo is the primary guy on the booking team, and it is a three-man team. There was talk of more guys, but Russo does not like committees.

 

Russo is on the same page as Dixie Carter. The first taping is already booked and Dixie is excited about it. Russo will be answering to Dixie, and this was not Jarrett's call to bring in Russo. Dixie believes Russo will be different than Jarrett or D'Amore, and her feeling is that D'Amore's crew simply ran out of creative ideas. Keller used the analogy of a snowy hill. The more it's used in the same day, the more straight that the sled will go.

 

Keller says that reportedly Russo is re-energized and ready to do new things. There is suspicion that Russo may have just been "good at the interview" as he has been hired by so many companies.

 

RUSSO IS NOT THE ANNOUNCEMENT! The vast majority of those in TNA do not know what it is. It is supposed to be something huge. Keller's guess is that it's the two-hour timeslot, but he emphasized that it was a guess. He also confirmed that the surprise is NOT The Rock.

 

Russo has the green light to push who he wants. Jarrett is not guaranteed to have a PPV main event position after November. Jeff Jarrett and Dutch Mantell do not have veto power and it will ultimately be Dixie's call.

 

The decision had been made about two days ago. Dixie realized a few weeks ago that the quality of the show and TNA product had gone downhill.

 

Scott D'Amore thought that the X-Division should be more about spots and human wrecks. D'Amore didn't care for rules being followed such as keeping legal men in the ring. Others behind the scenes disagreed with this. D'Amore is the main reason for the demise of the X-Division in TNA in recent months. D'Amore will still be with the company, but now that's he's gone, it's possible that the X-Division will get a new push.

 

Russo will book the finish for Jarrett/Joe at No Surrender.

 

Vince Russo is a big fan of Samoa Joe, so it is likely that Joe will still become a main eventer. Russo is also on good terms with Konnan, so LAX's push will still be kept going. Russo is also a fan of Christian Cage.

 

Russo being hired is not the major announcement TNA has promised. The announcement being made on Sunday will be big, according to sources who have talked to people who know, and not a letdown.

 

credit: PWTorch Audio Report

[cabbageboy 0]

How hard is it to really book Joe/Jarrett at the PPV? Any moron could do "Jarrett goes out of the ring, fans beat him with straps, Jarrett gets his ass kicked for a while, does something illegal to gain an advantage, Joe comes back and hits a musclebuster, then gets a submission."

 

As far as Jarrett's main event push ending, I wouldn't bet on it. He and Russo are thick as thieves. I doubt Jarrett would want Russo around otherwise.

[2GOLD 0]

Vince Russo is a big fan of Samoa Joe, so it is likely that Joe will still become a main eventer. Russo is also on good terms with Konnan, so LAX's push will still be kept going. Russo is also a fan of Christian Cage.

 

If this is true and Russo's obviously like of Styles and The Truth as well, he may have a good idea what the hell he's doing. But just like with Nash, I'm not hopeful.

[hyperchord24 0]

So . . . is he going to be an on-screen character or not? I don't know how TNA could resist NOT putting him on TV now that he is booking.

[AlaskanHero 0]

I don't know if Russo and Jarrett are still buddy-buddy at this point, considering how ugly things were when Russo left TNA the last time he was booking.

 

Although, I have to admit, now I'm scared for TNA considering the only person who can filter Russo's ideas is Dixie Carter. Even if they barred him from booking "sleaze" (what the hell does that mean anyways?), Russo getting what is basically free reign is not good at all.

[RedJed 0]

I don't know if Russo and Jarrett are still buddy-buddy at this point, considering how ugly things were when Russo left TNA the last time he was booking.

 

Although, I have to admit, now I'm scared for TNA considering the only person who can filter Russo's ideas is Dixie Carter. Even if they barred him from booking "sleaze" (what the hell does that mean anyways?), Russo getting what is basically free reign is not good at all.

 

I will say this much, it is true that Russo and Jarrett arent as chum chum as they used to be, and in past interviews since he left TNA, Russo almost spelled out what TNA's problem was and that was a Jarrett conflict of interest on top. So this MIGHT work - hard to say though as fucking Mantel helping out is nothing but a shitty deal. I could handle Russo, D'Amore and Tenay doing the booking, with that said.

 

The Keller audio recap is promising to hear as that news makes this not sound as bad as originally thought, but I still have my doubts about Russo coming back.

[BUTT 0]

Even if they barred him from booking "sleaze" (what the hell does that mean anyways?),

 

I assume they mean no transvestite blowjobs and stuff like that.

[Guest Kobe24KGold]

Vince Russo is the primary guy on the booking team, and it is a three-man team. There was talk of more guys, but Russo does not like committees.

 

Russo is on the same page as Dixie Carter. The first taping is already booked and Dixie is excited about it. Russo will be answering to Dixie, and this was not Jarrett's call to bring in Russo. Dixie believes Russo will be different than Jarrett or D'Amore, and her feeling is that D'Amore's crew simply ran out of creative ideas. Keller used the analogy of a snowy hill. The more it's used in the same day, the more straight that the sled will go.

 

Keller says that reportedly Russo is re-energized and ready to do new things. There is suspicion that Russo may have just been "good at the interview" as he has been hired by so many companies.

RUSSO IS NOT THE ANNOUNCEMENT! The vast majority of those in TNA do not know what it is. It is supposed to be something huge. Keller's guess is that it's the two-hour timeslot, but he emphasized that it was a guess. He also confirmed that the surprise is NOT The Rock.Russo has the green light to push who he wants. Jarrett is not guaranteed to have a PPV main event position after November. Jeff Jarrett and Dutch Mantell do not have veto power and it will ultimately be Dixie's call.

 

The decision had been made about two days ago. Dixie realized a few weeks ago that the quality of the show and TNA product had gone downhill.

 

Scott D'Amore thought that the X-Division should be more about spots and human wrecks. D'Amore didn't care for rules being followed such as keeping legal men in the ring. Others behind the scenes disagreed with this. D'Amore is the main reason for the demise of the X-Division in TNA in recent months. D'Amore will still be with the company, but now that's he's gone, it's possible that the X-Division will get a new push.

 

Russo will book the finish for Jarrett/Joe at No Surrender.

 

Vince Russo is a big fan of Samoa Joe, so it is likely that Joe will still become a main eventer. Russo is also on good terms with Konnan, so LAX's push will still be kept going. Russo is also a fan of Christian Cage.

 

Russo being hired is not the major announcement TNA has promised. The announcement being made on Sunday will be big, according to sources who have talked to people who know, and not a letdown.

 

credit: PWTorch Audio Report

 

A two hour timeslot, in and out itself, is not going to change the face of wrestling. A two hour timeslot on primetime and/or on Monday nights might...

[razazteca 0]

I don't know if Russo and Jarrett are still buddy-buddy at this point, considering how ugly things were when Russo left TNA the last time he was booking.

 

Although, I have to admit, now I'm scared for TNA considering the only person who can filter Russo's ideas is Dixie Carter. Even if they barred him from booking "sleaze" (what the hell does that mean anyways?), Russo getting what is basically free reign is not good at all.

It means that Christy Hemme can't do anything but the commercial breaks "Coming up after the break its Jeff Jarrett's main event speech".

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

How hard is it to really book Joe/Jarrett at the PPV? Any moron could do "Jarrett goes out of the ring, fans beat him with straps, Jarrett gets his ass kicked for a while, does something illegal to gain an advantage, Joe comes back and hits a musclebuster, then gets a submission."

Just remember this is Vince Russo. I don't think he's physically capable of booking a clean finish. Remember that terrible 32-person WCW world title tournament in 1999 that had almost nothing but screwjobs and outside interference? Or Starrcade '99 which had such classic finishes as Kevin Nash beating Sid in a powerbomb match simply by telling the referee, who had been bumped, that he had powerbombed Sid while the referee was out, or Shane Douglas winning a match that he was only commentating on or a rehash of Montreal in the main event?

 

I have a bad feeling that Russo will have Jarrett beat Joe simply to shock people with something they're not expecting.

[gWIL 0]

How hard is it to really book Joe/Jarrett at the PPV? Any moron could do "Jarrett goes out of the ring, fans beat him with straps, Jarrett gets his ass kicked for a while, does something illegal to gain an advantage, Joe comes back and hits a musclebuster, then gets a submission."

Just remember this is Vince Russo. I don't think he's physically capable of booking a clean finish. Remember that terrible 32-person WCW world title tournament in 1999 that had almost nothing but screwjobs and outside interference? Or Starrcade '99 which had such classic finishes as Kevin Nash beating Sid in a powerbomb match simply by telling the referee, who had been bumped, that he had powerbombed Sid while the referee was out, or Shane Douglas winning a match that he was only commentating on or a rehash of Montreal in the main event?

 

I have a bad feeling that Russo will have Jarrett beat Joe simply to shock people with something they're not expecting.

 

Reports said that Russo is a fan of Joe, how about we wait before we jump on Russo for something he hasn't even done yet and likely won't. But for the record Russo's WCW > Raw these days.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

--Whether this will be announced on Sunday I don't know for sure, but within TNA the talk is they will have a new time slot starting soon, likely but not definitely on a different night of the week 8 p.m.-9 p.m. was talked about, but there were several different possibilities both sides were talking about including the possibility of a two hour show. There have been talks for months in this direction.

 

 

From Meltzer

[razazteca 0]

How hard is it to really book Joe/Jarrett at the PPV? Any moron could do "Jarrett goes out of the ring, fans beat him with straps, Jarrett gets his ass kicked for a while, does something illegal to gain an advantage, Joe comes back and hits a musclebuster, then gets a submission."

Just remember this is Vince Russo. I don't think he's physically capable of booking a clean finish. Remember that terrible 32-person WCW world title tournament in 1999 that had almost nothing but screwjobs and outside interference? Or Starrcade '99 which had such classic finishes as Kevin Nash beating Sid in a powerbomb match simply by telling the referee, who had been bumped, that he had powerbombed Sid while the referee was out, or Shane Douglas winning a match that he was only commentating on or a rehash of Montreal in the main event?

 

I have a bad feeling that Russo will have Jarrett beat Joe simply to shock people with something they're not expecting.

 

Reports said that Russo is a fan of Joe, how about we wait before we jump on Russo for something he hasn't even done yet and likely won't. But for the record Russo's WCW > Raw these days.

What about rehashing Bash at the Beach 2000?

[TNABaddboi 0]

From Da Meltz:

 

--Whether this will be announced on Sunday I don't know for sure, but within TNA the talk is they will have a new time slot starting soon, likely but not definitely on a different night of the week 8 p.m.-9 p.m. was talked about, but there were several different possibilities both sides were talking about including the possibility of a two hour show. There have been talks for months in this direction.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

HTQ beat you to it, TNABaddboi.