The OAO LIVE Impact thread (3.27.08)

[Matt Young 0]

Why is Sting saving Christian?

 

So many different jokes could be made from the way that statement was worded.

[The Truthiness 0]

Why is Sting saving Christian?

 

Because he is one.

 

 

Good one, but didn't Christian cause Sting the title last time they were "friends"?

 

[Downhome 0]

About Robbie, from PWI:

 

Shortly after he was shown on air, he left the taping with the word being that WWE officials contacted him upset over the situation.

 

Meanwhile, word is making its way around backstage at the Impact taping that TNA talent and staff are barred by WWE from visiting the hotel WWE has put their performers and staff up in this weekend in Orlando.

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

That's pretty low shit, outing Robbie McCallister in the audience. He's probably there to see friends for crissakes, and wasn't drawing attention to himself in any way. Also what's the deal with using his real name? Bunch of scumbags.

 

 

[The Amazing Rando 0]

It wasn't like he was enjoying himself and holding up a "I (heart) Samoa Joe" sign. Nobody would have even known if they hadn't thrown him on screen.

[cd213 0]

From Gerweck.net

 

- TNA turned away between 2 and 3 thousand fans from tonight's live edition of iMPACT!

 

- Before the tapings there was a dark match as Curry Man, Shark Boy and Eric Young d. Jimmy Rave, Lance Hoyt and Rellik.

 

- TNA president Dixie Carter was greeting the fans as they entered the tapings.

 

- TNA tossed out free merchandise to those in attendance.

 

- Many WWE wrestlers are backstage including but not limited to The Highlanders, Shannon Moore and Chavo Guerrero.

 

- Executives from Midway Games are in attendance.

[Matt Young 0]

That's pretty low shit, outing Robbie McCallister in the audience. He's probably there to see friends for crissakes, and wasn't drawing attention to himself in any way. Also what's the deal with using his real name? Bunch of scumbags.

 

I agree it's low, but they wanted to show that a WWE guy came to see their produc.

 

They had to use his real name, since Robbie McAllister is copyrighted.

 

And, whether TNA showing him on air was wrong or not, he was stupid for violating WWE's edict about associating with TNA guys this week.

[Steviekick 0]

You know, if he was dumb enough to be out their knowing what kind of crap he'll get he deserves it.

[Jingus 0]

"OMG look, we've got a complete jobber nobody who just happens to work for the WWE sitting in the crowd!1!" Who the fuck cares, besides the WWE office of course.

 

Lots of live technical errors tonight (including Robert Roode's forehead no-selling the razor blade), plus the usual TNA dumbassery. After watching the ladies' match, I tuned out. Seeing 3D and Kevin Nash in the same match? DO NOT WANT.

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

"OMG look, we've got a complete jobber nobody who just happens to work for the WWE sitting in the crowd!1!" Who the fuck cares, besides the WWE office of course.

 

I agree completely. That's why I don't understand them showing him. You gain nothing as nobody cares but the wrestler probably gets in shit.

 

[cd213 0]

I missed the women's match, what happened?

[Jingus 0]

ODB vs. Kong. Kong won clean. That's about it.

[cd213 0]

Didn't expect James Storm to come out there. I'm interested to actually see where this goes as I am a Storm fan.

[Matt Young 0]

Calling it now... unmasked Abyss returns and joins Team Cage to make Lethal Lockdown 5 on 5.

[cd213 0]

Calling it now... unmasked Abyss returns and joins Team Cage to make Lethal Lockdown 5 on 5.

 

That's not bad, and I wouldn't mind that at all.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

I'm watching the show on DVR now.

 

So far...I hate that Devine won. I don't have anything against him...but Shelley's better.

 

They put LAX over pretty strong, which was nice to see. All the talk they were spewing about LAX starting to dominate again made me happy because that usually means they're actually going to push something. And LAX is tremendous.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

As dumb as Karen Angle's interview was, at least they used part of it to put over that Kurt doesn't care about anything but Joe.

 

I liked the Joe video. I'm starting to get behind the way they're building the match since it is different than anything else they've tried.

 

Frank Trigg was better on commentary with one try than Don West has been in his over 5 years.

 

For as dumb as AJ's character is portrayed...when it came time for his sparring with Angle he was a freaking genius.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

Booker T/Robert Roode was good for a mid show match. But I can't help but wonder exactly what Roode does once this feud is over.

 

I got a Mayweather vs. Show WrestleMania commercial after the match.

 

I can't believe Gail Kim got screwed out of the match. That's BS. Kim/Kong is the best thing TNA's got. Dammit.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

Kong is fantastic as always.

 

Good, fun main event too.

 

Didn't see Storm coming in there. That's kind of interesting and I wonder where they'll go with it.

 

Good to see a TNA original standing in with the "names" for a change.

[CubbyBr 0]

I liked a lot of the show including the MMA Segment, Steiner/Petey vs. LAX and the main event. The joe segments were ok. Again, though, the announcers killed a lot of the good stuff by trying to scream over the crowd. One thing I've liked about WWE lately is that there's is a lot more dead air on Raw with the announcers just letting the action speak for itself. TNA should take note.

 

Another thing that's really bringing the show down is the number of talents they have on every show. It's just way too much. How many people were featured in the first ten minutes of the show? It had to be atleast ten or twelve.

[Silence 0]

So far...I hate that Devine won. I don't have anything against him...but Shelley's better.

 

I wish TNA would quit holding a grudge against Shelley just because he wouldn't blade at Against All Odds when they forced him to.

 

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

I don't see what the huge deal over him not blading was. I can understand the decision to not blade, considering if it's done wrong it can be awful (see: MASS FUCKING TRANSIT), and it leaves incredibly unsightly scars on one's forehead. Maybe it was how he said it. Maybe, instead of calmly and politely explaining their personal reasons for not blading, they just went "nope, uh-uh, not fucking blading, eat shit." Then I could see a problem a-brewing. Either way, though, don't punish one of the most over tag teams in the INDUSTRY because of one argument.

 

I only caught the end of Kong/ODB and the main event, but what I saw was tight. The main event actually had me looking forward to Nash and Tomko duking it out. FUCKING NASH. Now THAT is how you build a feud: hint at the faces getting retribution, but have the heels take an easy way out and then go on with a beatdown. I can't wait to see Team Christian take Team Tomko on, be it on DVD or live on PPV.

[RedJed 0]

I was really overall impressed with the live show last night. I wish they would do the show live, say, once a month even, as it makes a difference in how it comes across on TV, especially from the passe Impact Zone location (which to me, needs all the help in an overall feel as it can get). You can just tell the difference in a canned TNA show versus a live one, big time. Maybe it was because of the different type of crowd there last night too (because of Mania of course) but I wasn't as annoyed with the fans as I usually am when I watch Impact, OR Tenay/West either. The fans were amped up and responding to just about everything, and I didn't feel like Tenay and West were reading from a script as much as normal. All in all, the show came across as a larger "ppv calibur" event versus just another week of Impact, which I had yet to see done in all of the "special" Impacts they have done in the past (first two hour show, first show on Spike, etc). I also liked the idea of the website interaction with the two "voted upon" matches. In essense, this is what WWE should have done versus having an actual ppv of all voted upon matches, as it helps promote their website within the show and at the same time give instant satisfaction in a sense that what you are voting for RIGHT NOW will happen in a matter of hours later, or minutes. The downfall of Cyber Sunday is they want you to vote on these matches and gimmicks that you have to pay money to see the matches and arent even guaranteed to get what you want. In presenting it on a major edition of the normal wrestling show, it creates less confusion and annoyance for the fan, if that makes any sense. Plus they didn't water down the voting gimmick to where it gets repetitive, which has always been my main distaste for Cyber Sunday/Taboo Tuesday too. They took the idea from the UFC shows on Spike to have the main event "uninterrupted" as well, which I think is a great formula to present when you are trying to make a show like this stand out as something memorable (which it was). And, as any good weekly wrestling show should have, the ending left me wanting more, as in that I was shocked to see Storm show up out of nowhere, and now interested how this plays into Lethal Lockdown.

 

Some small annoyances with the show though include:

 

-The really lame ass Val/Lethal shit, with Dutt involved. I understand they are trying comedy here (and seems to be continuous "inside" jabs at Randy Savage) but it just doesn't fit the context of this storyline, really. Can Lethal just quit fucking talking like Savage all the time when he's on these "dates?" It would be fine normally, but they just spent weeks before establishing Lethal as legit with a few outstanding promos from him in the ring, and now that he has the belt back and is "happy" he goes back to playing a ridiculous gimmick, even out of the ring. I would think going on a date with a guy who rambles like Randy Savage would get old. Wait a minute, maybe they will address that if Val ends up going with Dutt? Val will turn Lethal "real" or something.

 

-Pointing out Robbie from the Highlanders in the crowd. From an outside "fans" perspective, it comes across lame as nobody really cares if jobroni is there watching, and from the inside "business" perspective, its very low brow of TNA to do that to a guy who is there to probably see friends, but more importantly, to indirectly somewhat support the TNA product by waiting in line just like everyone else, etc. I would even think if, say WWE fired him because of this, there may be grounds for a lawsuit of sorts.

 

-"Rough Cut" - I think the idea is fantastic and I hope they use it to promote other matches in the future, but its just not working for this one.

 

-Botched audio issues w/ Consequences Creed promo. They should have re-inserted that vignette later in the show.

 

-Karen Angle interview, less hokey than most of Tenay's interviews in how they are presented, but I just wasn't feeling it, didn't suspend by belief that this is any different than last year's Karen shenanigans. Then again, limiting the Karen shit to just this simple segment is a huge positive.

 

-Having that weird women in the backstage segment cut right as they cut to a commercial in the middle of a match. Just didn't need to be there.

 

The show started off strong with Booker and Roode brawling. This feud is one of very few that has drawn interest to be in the build of their feud via the angles, and this just continued that. Its just too bad these two just dont connect as much when they actually HAVE the matches with each other. With that said, I thought the first blood match was alot better than any of their previous exchanges as both of these guys worked in the style you would expect from a heated feud, with intensity and purpose. The bladejob Roode did was borderline pathetic though.

 

Devine/Shelley was a strong and solid *** match, I thought. Was a bit surprised to see Shelley jobbing out, but it wasn't exactly clean and they are trying to keep the focus on Shelley and Sabin for the tag team ranks, so having him in the Xscape match wouldnt make much sense anyway.

 

LAX was showcased just about flawlessly in their match w/ Steiner and Petey. Was Steiner working stiff and/or pissed off or something? Or did he just have his working boots on, because he was bumping damn good too. Sounds like there is clear direction with LAX gunning for the tag belts, which is good to see and not that TNA just "forgot" they have already won a contenders match for a title shot. I'm thinking that at Lockdown, the MCMGs will win that match to establish both LAX and MCMGs as top contenders equally.

 

OBD-Kong was just as good as their ppv match, not better though either. Perfectly fine stuff though. Kong won literally out of nowhere.

 

The Joe/Angle build just continues to impress me. Good solid promo by Joe, nice small video package of his training, etc. The segment in the ring with Angle v. Styles and Tomko was fantastic as well. Tomko looked good in there with Angle (which I'm sure was the intention) and Styles played his character well, at first timid on hooking up with Angle (guilt of feelings for Karen?) and then starts sparring a bit with Angle and shows him he can go. Then to segway that to the return of the Sting was really well done, I thought. Simple yet very effective. Frank Trigg did a great job on commentary, too.

 

I enjoyed the main event for sure. Perfect showcase for the Lockdown match, since it appears now that it will be a 5 vs 5 deal at the ppv, with Storm added. One would guess we have either Abyss returning for this match, or else Jarrett?

 

If TNA could do shows like this every week, we would see movement in the ratings, and probably the buyrates too, since this show got me more interested in the top two matches on that card for sure.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

TNA live show rating was a...

 

1.0

 

Obviously a disappointment

 

--Most already know this, but Derreck Graham-Couch, identified as a WWE wrestler on last night's Impact show, is Robbie McAllister. This was a major issue and there are a lot of TNA wrestlers really hot at management over it, and will be even more because WWE sent McAllister home today. WWE wrestlers have been told to avoid going to any ROH and TNA activities. Obviously several would have gone to the ROH show and some would have gone to TNA just to see friends. McAllister is good friends with Johnny Devine and just came to see his match. He stood in line like a fan and dressed to not call any attention to himself. TNA filmed him being there, and put it on TV. Because he's so low on the pecking order, there was fear it could cost him his job. I haven't talked with anyone in TNA management but several of the wrestlers thought it was a terribly classless move by the promotion because they were putting his job as the head of a family in serious jeopardy.

 

via the Observer site.

[RedJed 0]

Wow, I have no freakin idea how to explain that rating at all. I thought the show had that "hooking" feel to it. And it was on its normal timeslot and whatnot.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

So they stop focusing on the soap opera stuff for a couple weeks and they get rid of comedy Angle...and the rating drops.

 

*throws hands up*

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

So they stop focusing on the soap opera stuff for a couple weeks and they get rid of comedy Angle...and the rating drops.

 

*throws hands up*

Which, sadly, creative will use as an excuse to go back to the silly comedy and bad soap opera, which is a proven failure when it comes to converting viewers into PPV buys.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

Yeah...hopefully they'll stay the course since I think Lockdown is going to do better for them than their usual ppvs since they haven't f'd up the build for the 2 main events yet.

[RedJed 0]

Yeah...hopefully they'll stay the course since I think Lockdown is going to do better for them than their usual ppvs since they haven't f'd up the build for the 2 main events yet.

 

Yeah, the live gate doesnt lie there, and time will tell on the buyrate, but I can see this ppv appealing much more to a MMA demographic as well, kind of blending itself to a more broad audience.

 

I think freaking out about a .1 to .2 drop in a rating is premature at best for the company, but certainly wouldn't surprise me to see them freak out about it. I doubt it really has anything to do with people tuning out because they are making a change in the product more than it is that people were starting to tune out because the product was getting too hokey and lame and hard to follow, and they are still just feeling the effects from that, how it was months ago.

[Chazz 0]

Wow, I have no freakin idea how to explain that rating at all. I thought the show had that "hooking" feel to it. And it was on its normal timeslot and whatnot.

 

The NCAA Sweet 16 match ups were on before and after Impact started. I'm guessing that probably had something to do with it.