OAO 2/8 Impact Thread

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Which fans of Russo will use as proof that he's turning things around, all the while ignoring the fact that TNA PPV's are still at the same level they used to be, and might even be lower.

[Mecca 0]

Which fans of Russo will use as proof that he's turning things around, all the while ignoring the fact that TNA PPV's are still at the same level they used to be, and might even be lower.

 

And it doesn't change because Jeff Jarrett and Russo are telling Dixie how great the ratings going up is and she buys what they say.......oh and I'm sure SpikeTV is filling that into their heads too.....they're totally losing focus on how you make money.

[Chazz 0]

Which fans of Russo will use as proof that he's turning things around, all the while ignoring the fact that TNA PPV's are still at the same level they used to be, and might even be lower.

 

 

And if ratings sank again, Russo Haters would be all over as evidence that what he is doing isn't working. As I stated in another thread, TNA wouldn't have even needed Russo if things were firing on all cylinders to begin with. I personally could give a shit less about ratings or PPV buyrates. I judge a show on if I'm entertained or not. I tried to get into TNA before Russo came back, but I didn't find it all that interesting. Since Russo returned, I haven't missed an Impact. Something tells me I'm not the only one.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

I personally could give a shit less about ratings or PPV buyrates.

 

You would care if the money marks were unhappy with them and pulled the plug.

 

Since Russo returned, I haven't missed an Impact.

 

Great. Have you bought every PPV?

[Chazz 0]

No, but that has nothing to do with the quality of The Show. I haven't purchased any Pro Wrestling PPV since 1999. I work Mid. Shift and am usually on on Sunday Nights. However, I'm 10 times more likely to buy any PPV from TNA than any from The WWE if that helps you any.

[Mecca 0]

So you are obviously a fan of a show that features no wrestling is what you are telling us.

[Prime Time Andrew Doyle 0]

Fans of Russo react to Impact - Warning; You are entering a logic-free zone

 

I wanna know what that guys feelings are on the Main Event & Vince Russo.

[Chazz 0]

So you are obviously a fan of a show that features no wrestling is what you are telling us.

 

 

I do wish they would give some of the matches more time,yes. But if it means dragging out what could be a solid 5-10 minute match with boring chinlocks/armlocks to fill 15-20 minutes because The Writing Team can't be bothered to come up with enough material to fill up a 2 hour show, then I guess I'm not. Just because a match is long does not automatically make it good. See Lashley vs Kenny Dykstra on Raw this past week. Just my opinion. And if you guys hate what Russo Is doing on TNA, then why do you continue to watch?

[Mecca 0]

Fans of Russo react to Impact - Warning; You are entering a logic-free zone

 

I wanna know what that guys feelings are on the Main Event & Vince Russo.

 

Holy crap I just sat and read some of that forum.......those people shouldn't be allowed to take up our oxygen. The best are the people that actually think Lance Storm is a moron or the ones that say "longer matches are boring".

[Chazz 0]

Yes, because everyone who doesn't agree with your way of thinking are morons. Again, why do you watch it if you hate it so bad?

[Mecca 0]

Yes, because everyone who doesn't agree with your way of thinking are morons. Again, why do you watch it if you hate it so bad?

 

Have you read that forum.........

[Chazz 0]

Yes, because everyone who doesn't agree with your way of thinking are morons. Again, why do you watch it if you hate it so bad?

 

Have you read that forum.........

 

 

If your just talking about some of the posters on Russo's Tribute Website, then yeah, as much of a fan of Russo's work that I am, I agree that certain posters over there tend to be a bit overzelous with their views. But so do some haters of Russo.

[Prime Time Andrew Doyle 0]

this show was a 10/10 show, INCREDIBLE. Incredible Raw my ass. This show was 100% Vince Russo!!!

 

I loved the show man... Scott Steiner at the end. The faction and poses by Christian, AJ Styles, and Steiner. I remember Steiner making fun of Christian being from Canada (Mexico North), and him being skinny. But this faction is full of 4 badasses. Yes, AJ Styles now counts as a badass as he is now a believable cocky son of a b*tch.

 

Great promo by AJ, and Great coaching by Vince and great dialogue. I laughed out loud when Christian said, "it's not true what people say about you, you're not stupid after all". Something like that... AJ is like "what?"

 

Ron The Truth Killings in Rocky VII: Rocky Blackboa. I laughed out loud on that. I hate that they tease a screenshot of the movie, then have him do a promo on the movie the next week. It'll take forever at this time for him to be on television. I thought he'd be acting, trying out, auditioning, finding agents, reading lines, and maybe encountering a few celebrities (ala David Arquette). I hope Russo is going somewhere with this, because Killings is a star and needs to be one.

 

Christopher Daniels! Intriguing.. Everything is followed up.

 

Who's Johnny Damon? I marked out huge to that segment; very similar to the Courtney Cox/David Arquette segment. Great to see AJ Pierzynski cut a promo.

 

I love Sting in the Abyss mask, as well as Abyss in a red mask. That was very cool to see. Damn Abyss for beating on Sting. Very well done segments. Weird seeing Shane Douglas come out in the beginning regarding the Naturals.

 

The Traci segment with Eric Young. She looked very good, and I'm happy to see that. Sex appeal on the show, finally. The show is no longer a southern hillbilly show like it once was back in the Asylum days.

 

What a conflict TNA once had? You have Vince Russo, who is everything ratings, success, and mainstream AGAINST TNA, which was found in Nashville, and had struggles with the old-school mentality, and rasslin mindset. I didn't see much conflict tonight as I was thoroughly entertained.

 

I watched the end package at the end and every feud had something going. I didn't have much time, so I fast forwarded the six man, but will probably watch it later tomorrow.

 

Kevin Nash's segment was funny. I emailed Vince saying there needs some more time with Nash, VKM, and Serotonin. I understand that the length of time they get and respect it, but they're getting paid to do not very much. I still look forward for them getting into brawls and doing segments live in the ring. I haven't heard Nash cut a live promo in ages, nor Raven.

 

I'm looking forward to the extreme makeover for Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt, and hope they do become as big as Sting and Samoa Joe, lol.. Actually, a good character role will be great enough.

 

Good segment with Kip James and Christy Hemme. Kip James is a sexist bastard, and I like that character. I also am very pleased to see Christy get a match, and I don't know who she's facing but I'm looking forward to it. Maybe Kip? but that'll be way too predictable.

 

Again, anything with Sting cutting a live segment is great to me. I liked the beginning opening beatdown, followed by Sting's backstage promo. Cool Hannibal-esque looks on both guys, haha.

 

James Storm with Ms Tennessee is really cool. I'm liking James Storm's character. I also like Rhino.

 

Fantastic main event, and again, putting AJ Styles with Christian and Steiner is great because those guys are really good at being heels and AJ is developing at a fast rate right now and putting him with them will develop him a lot faster.

 

The flow of the show was great and everything was followed up upon. Tomko is in New Japan as I read the "newz" sites, so he got the 'day off', which I wouldn't have figured out if I didn't read the net. But yeah, the hints were his beard, the glasses, "pump" and finally, the damn lead pipe. I like Tomko too now.

 

Cool to see the mobile votes being top: Goldberg and Other leading. Everything was followed up upon. Out of all the angles, the one that I least enjoy is 3D vs LAX, but even that angle is developed well. Cool to see Konnan. I hate that he's dissing the crowd, but that makes sense. He's hurt and we all wish him well. I think a good portion of the crowd knows that. Good promo by 3D, but I dont know.. Something missing from them. I liked Bubba Ray in WWF when he was stuttering, and when he would go into a trance after beating up women. I popped for all of that. But yeah, strong stuff here. Lots of variety.

 

Main event: Good thing about Russo booking; he gives us a great main event every week with stars. TNA back in the day didn't give us any of that and we'd get a Christian vs Shelley, which nobody cared about. The angles were weak back then. This is incredible and the promos done by Joe/Angle in the beginning of the show was really good. I dont know when Joe will get the title but rumours have it that he will. I hate that all the smarks will be happy about it, but I hope it's done well. I like Joe too.

 

Great writing for the main event. Like Angle doing the slam on AJ on the top rope. You gotta write that stuff. Sure agents help the motions in the ring, but writing the key points is done by Vince. Rhino interferes, Angle does the move, gets the win. Everyone faces the other way, then Steiner with a mask comes in and then the beatdown occurs with Christian pointing the belt in Angle's face and putting it to him. I loved the pose at the end by 3/4s of the new faction.

 

This is a cool faction and really helps give AJ the rub. It's funny to see Christian with Steiner/AJ, because Steiner dissed Christian and Christian feuded with AJ recently, but that doesn't matter. Same with Joe/Angle. I love this new faction, AJ's new grittier look, etc. I also liked AJ's promo. I'm a huge AJ Styles fan now. I respected him as a wrestler, and yea his moves were insane, but I didn't really care for him from a character standpoint. I do now.

 

The boos during the entrance of Sabin.. I think they were edited in, but that doesnt matter.

 

I wish I didn't read the spoilers this week.. I knew it was Steiner but if I didn't read it, I wouldn't have known that he debuted. I hope I covered everything that was on the show. there was a LOT. Sucks that VKM travels all the way there to do two 30 second segments.

 

Thumbs way up for this show: 10/10

 

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Backlund was funny too

 

I'm reading the impact forums and they're praising AJ, etc, but not giving ANY credit to Vince for the dialogue and probably the coaching/producing to make the promos and characters work

 

I feel sorry for Vince, often.. as he never gets credit when it's sooooooo obvious and fact that he was the big part of the success of the wwf, and the incredible shows he wrote in WCW.

 

The character development and storyline is completely off the charts for TNA right now.. It's so obvious Vince is behind it.. I hate the purists and critics on the net that never give Vince credit. He is the f*cking man that delivers the goods in wrestling: see WWF/WCW and now's TNA

 

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Some people have asked me to predict TNA.. And radz has this ridiculous monthly 'pickems' where we get a 50% chance of getting the right answer for match wins. Russo doesn't book who wins.. he books what happens... how it happens.. that's so different than booking "he wins"

 

I love not predicting, but I also love the writing.. I know when I'm watching great writing.. WWE is just atroicious.. it's like the beverly hills cop III and ongoing.. and the first beverly hills cop is the attitude era.. : 250 million dollars earned .. and iii is 44 million.. that's the wwe stage.

 

Ive been rewatching the endings to the last two impacts.. Last week AJ beating up Joe and Angle with the chair and shaking Christian's hand

 

This week with AJ, Christian, Steiner posing to the crowd after their beatdown. Tomko had the "day off", but we'll see him back.. TNA is just amazing right now and the only people that refuse to accept Russo/TNA doing good are the "WWE marks" as BG stated..

 

Definitely the most exciting stuff ever. You know Russo can write. I think he was given this talent from god.. or something. He's a TV fan, he's up to date with everything mainstream, and knows wrestling in and out.. he's smarter than all the people that critique him..

 

And it seems that he's stilll passionate about making the show as best he can.. He just desont' like the business sides of things, the talks, the gossip.. and I don't wanna see any of that with TNA

 

I mean, TNA's viewers/ratings have beeen growing and growing so obviously something is working... the only way TNA would f*ck up is if they listen to the typical negativity and gossip.

 

But yeah, TNA is on a roll with kickass shows

[luke-o 0]

And if you guys hate what Russo Is doing on TNA, then why do you continue to watch?

 

Ive asked this before, theres no real answer for why we watch TNA when its been sucking quite a bit lately.

 

Now, i didnt watch WCW at all, was quite difficult in the UK when you dont have Sky TV. But id imagine i would have tuned in each week just to see how bad the show sucks.

 

I get tempted to do it each week when Raw is on, but i stop myself most times. I also did the same thing with ECW v2 untill i decided to boycott it (which, FYI i've stuck to, unlike Lance...)

 

Why do i tune into Impact each week? Its the only show where i can see Christian, Angle, Joe, Sting, Shelley, Nash, Sabin, Rhino, Austin Aries, AJ Styles, Daniels etc on TV.

[Corkscrew_Senton 0]

And if you guys hate what Russo Is doing on TNA, then why do you continue to watch?

Why do i tune into Impact each week? Its the only show where i can see Christian, Angle, Joe, Sting, Shelley, Sabin, Rhino, Austin Aries, AJ Styles, Daniels etc on TV.

[Mecca 0]

And if you guys hate what Russo Is doing on TNA, then why do you continue to watch?

 

Ive asked this before, theres no real answer for why we watch TNA when its been sucking quite a bit lately.

 

Now, i didnt watch WCW at all, was quite difficult in the UK when you dont have Sky TV. But id imagine i would have tuned in each week just to see how bad the show sucks.

 

I get tempted to do it each week when Raw is on, but i stop myself most times. I also did the same thing with ECW v2 untill i decided to boycott it (which, FYI i've stuck to, unlike Lance...)

 

Why do i tune into Impact each week? Its the only show where i can see Christian, Angle, Joe, Sting, Shelley, Nash, Sabin, Rhino, Austin Aries, AJ Styles, Daniels etc on TV.

 

I thought Raw was sucking then I watched Impact......I stopped complaining about Raw.

[luke-o 0]

Nothing is as bad as Raw.

[Mecca 0]

Nothing is as bad as Raw.

 

I beg to differ......TNA is pretty annoying in and of itself for the 42 angles that go in a 5 minute span but then it gets even more annoying when you add in Tenay and West.

[razazteca 0]

Nothing is as bad as Raw.

Trump vs McMahon = Baseball feud in "Things That Make You go hmmmmm" head scratching migraine madness

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

And the main events on Raw are usually given more than five minutes before a million run-ins and you're never told what the finish is. More often than not, a Raw main event is given some time and actually has a finish to it. That alone puts it above Impact.

[Prime Time Andrew Doyle 0]

And the main events on Raw are usually given more than five minutes before a million run-ins and you're never told what the finish is. More often than not, a Raw main event is given some time and actually has a finish to it. That alone puts it above Impact.

 

What also puts Raw above iMPACT! is that while it feels like a dated Raw from late 2000-2001, iMPACT feels like a dated Raw from 1998 minus the characters that made 1998 such a hot year.

[razazteca 0]

And the main events on Raw are usually given more than five minutes before a million run-ins and you're never told what the finish is. More often than not, a Raw main event is given some time and actually has a finish to it. That alone puts it above Impact.

There is alot of crap on both shows that is hard to overlook at the moment the Raw main event is good but the days of the Spirit Squad had me change the channel to NBC and FOX for entertainment. I'll stay as a fan of TNA until they do something stupid like give the NWA championship to somebody who is not worthy like Tomko, Hoyt, Steiner, Nash.

 

iMPACT feels like a dated Raw from 1998 minus the characters that made 1998 such a hot year.

Hey they have Stone Cold Kurt Angle, (Rikishi) Joe, Mr. Cornette, and that tag team that makes dick jokes!

[GODSON 0]

And if you guys hate what Russo Is doing on TNA, then why do you continue to watch?

 

Ive asked this before, theres no real answer for why we watch TNA when its been sucking quite a bit lately.

 

Now, i didnt watch WCW at all, was quite difficult in the UK when you dont have Sky TV. But id imagine i would have tuned in each week just to see how bad the show sucks.

 

I get tempted to do it each week when Raw is on, but i stop myself most times. I also did the same thing with ECW v2 untill i decided to boycott it (which, FYI i've stuck to, unlike Lance...)

 

Why do i tune into Impact each week? Its the only show where i can see Christian, Angle, Joe, Sting, Shelley, Nash, Sabin, Rhino, Austin Aries, AJ Styles, Daniels etc on TV.

 

Because Impact is a hour long and a fast pace show. Raw is usually long and drawn out. WCW had two hours as well. When Impact moves to two hours and stays in the Russo funk, I don't know if you will continue to watch. WSX is also a show some people hate but will continue to watch because it's only 30 minutes. Impact and WSX don't take up too much time, by time you turn the channel the show will be over.

[cabbageboy 0]

Right now Raw is a very good show with some excellent build towards WM. Yeah, the Vince/Trump stuff is a bit tedious but the upper tier stuff on the show has been solid.

 

TNA has become the Russo wet dream. 1 hour so he can do crazy angles and shits and not have to worry about that pesky wrestling nonsense. It's like if you took a typical Raw from 1998, cut out all the actual matches aside from maybe a condensed main event, and were left with 1 hour of goofy shit. It wouldn't be so notable if TNA had 2 hours, which I hope they get. The show needs a chance to breathe a bit.

[GODSON 0]

Right now Raw is a very good show with some excellent build towards WM. Yeah, the Vince/Trump stuff is a bit tedious but the upper tier stuff on the show has been solid.

 

TNA has become the Russo wet dream. 1 hour so he can do crazy angles and shits and not have to worry about that pesky wrestling nonsense. It's like if you took a typical Raw from 1998, cut out all the actual matches aside from maybe a condensed main event, and were left with 1 hour of goofy shit. It wouldn't be so notable if TNA had 2 hours, which I hope they get. The show needs a chance to breathe a bit.

 

I've seen people say that but I think the build up towards WM is always above average. Usually around this time of year, they pick up in quality. If you a wrestling fan and want to know about the WWE, just watch the shows from November to March. There's no need to watch from April to October because that's when the product suck balls.

[Si82 0]

Nothing is as bad as Raw.

I disagree. Raw is far superior to Impact. It features actual wrestling matches for a start.

[Guest Grifter]

Again, why do you watch it if you hate it so bad?

Ahh, the classic "if you don't like it, don't watch" comeback which has obviously put SO many people in their place.

 

The reason no one answers the question outright is because it doesn't really have an outright answer. The best way I've seen it summed up was in regards to wrestling as a whole, not just TNA, but I still think it applies.

 

Let's say that you're a sports fan, a baseball fan. Your favorite team is...let's say the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs haven't won in a really long time. They've had a few decent seasons but they haven't won the big one. That doesn't mean when the team is bad that you stop watching them, following them and supporting them. Maybe in the off season they get healthy, or get some new aquisitions or a new manager and before you know it, you're anticipating opening day again. Then, at the end of the year, when they hit some key injuries or what have you, you're disappointed but "there's always next year."

[Corkscrew_Senton 0]

Again, why do you watch it if you hate it so bad?

Ahh, the classic "if you don't like it, don't watch" comeback which has obviously put SO many people in their place.

 

The reason no one answers the question outright is because it doesn't really have an outright answer. The best way I've seen it summed up was in regards to wrestling as a whole, not just TNA, but I still think it applies.

 

Let's say that you're a sports fan, a baseball fan. Your favorite team is...let's say the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs haven't won in a really long time. They've had a few decent seasons but they haven't won the big one. That doesn't mean when the team is bad that you stop watching them, following them and supporting them. Maybe in the off season they get healthy, or get some new aquisitions or a new manager and before you know it, you're anticipating opening day again. Then, at the end of the year, when they hit some key injuries or what have you, you're disappointed but "there's always next year."

 

As both a Cubs fan and someone who watches TNA despite hating Russo's style, this is pretty much spot on.

 

TNA around say, May of last year was the 2003 Cubs. Putting on a great performance with talented people, really on the cusp on doing something special. The Kurt Angle announcement was Game 4 of the NLCS when Chicago went up 3-1 and looked headed for the World Series -- TNA looked headed for the big time. And the hiring of Vince Russo to book...that was the Steve Bartman ball.

 

And like the Cubs of '04-'06, I hold out hope. The Cubs have/had Derrek Lee, Greg Maddux, Carlos Zambrano, Juan Pierre, Jacque Jones, Cesar Izturis, etc. TNA has Samoe Joe, Austin Aries, AJ Styles, Fallen Angel, Christian. This is seriously the perfect analogy.

 

You've seen the team/product do some great things, and some of the pieces are still there, and you're just waiting for it to come all together.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Except you are given an offseason to rest from being a weary fan of a losing team. In wrestling? Constant reminders of why the product sucks.