James: For nearly 20 years now, WWE has been the undisputed top name in the professional wrestling business. Nobody has the reach, the mass appeal, the stars and the brand recognition that WWE has. They are far and away the biggest, to many millions of people outside our little pro wrestling bubble, WWE may as well be wrestling itself. But that wasn’t always the case. Up until 2001, WCW tried their damndest to keep pace and put WWE out of business. Yet, for a thousand different reasons, WWE defeated WCW, bought its tape library and asserts, and has put its corpse on display on the WWE Network. Although WWE is undisputedly #1, that hasn’t stopped other companies from trying to go after that throne though. Specifically, out of the ashes of WWE came a company that’s just too crazy to be believed. Now relegated to almost joke status, it was once the internet’s favorite promotion, the alternative to WWE. You know, I know, everyone knows it by their three letters. Total Nonstop Action. T-N-A.
Seán: This company would have many good years, with some many brilliant wrestlers like AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, LAX, MCMG, Christopher Daniels and sign big names like Christian Cage, Kurt Angle, Sting and others. They would have many memorable moments, with some many questionable decisions and some questionable people at the helm. 2010 would come around and holy Hogan and Bischoff era, batman. An influx of allsorts of talent would follow Hogan and Bischoff like Scott Hall, Sean Waltman, The Nasty Boys, Jimmy Hart, Sean Morley, Bubba The Cuck Sponge, MY BOY Shannon Moore and others. Three of the bigger names that they would sign would be Ric Flair, who would go on to manage AJ Styles and form the Fortune faction. Mr. Anderson, fresh out of being sacked by WWE in the summer of 2009 and thrown into the main event almost immediately but the most notable signing. Hot off the heels of being the most popular wrestler in the world for a good two years, three world title reigns and being the top merch seller, beating JOHN CENA in merch sales. Jeff Hardy came back for his second stint in TNA, the man who this five month story arc will be based around.
JT: TNA has certainly had a lot of ups and downs in their history, but I know that many people look at this period as the time when TNA got too big for their britches and really began to fall out of favor with wrestling fans for their ridiculous decisions. Case and point, taking their biggest possible signing, a man who pulled me, at age 10, to watch Jeff Hardy, and turned him heel.
Seán: It would all come to the final destination of what would surely be the crowning moment of his TNA career. Bound for Glory 2010. 10. 10. 10. The moment where THEY would arrive…
JT: The Jeff Hardy saga begins, and more, on this episode of The Power Hour!!
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Happy Days are here Again
JT: Hellooooo everyone, and welcome to the JT & Seány McPower Hour. This time around, we’re beginning our TNA saga with the infamous “10/10/10” Bound For Glory, the first BFG in the new Hogan/Bischoff era of TNA. Seán, my man, how’s it going my man?
S: Oh I’m bloody brilliant today, James. Great to be back in the saddle after covering Angle vs Lesnar. I’m well jazzed to be talking about 2010 TNA, there’s gonna be a lot to say about this show here today.
JT: Oh absolutely. That was my biggest takeaway from this show. The quality of what we’ll discuss on this show, it varies, but it varies in interesting ways. Like every single match has some sort of asterisk that gives us something to talk about. TNA is going to be a handful, I tell you what.
S: Oh we’ve certainly got our hands full here, I’m just waiting for 2011 to come around with The Angelic Diablo himself. This show really was a variety show in some ways.
JT: Absolutely. It’s going to be a wild ride. Now, oh shit! How rude of me! Let me introduce myself for all of y’all who are new around here. I’m JOfnT, aka James, but please, my father was James (okay not really, just roll with it), call me JT. I’m a 20 year old America, who has been loving wrestling for 10 years, and who has loved discussing and giving out about wrestling that whole time.
S: And I’m Seán McLoughlin, or Young Seán, I’ve got the McLovin thing going now where I don’t have a last name on my ID. I’m a 19 (or 7 year old depending oh who you ask) Irish wrestling fan of 13 years who got into it because of my brothers and became a bigger and bigger fan whilst they became more and more distanced from it.
JT: We’re both super excited to talk about this show. So how about it, buddy oh friend of mine, how about we just jump right into our opening match of the night?
S: But first James, I think its time to run down tonight’s facts and figures, don’t you think?
JT: Oh shit of course! Again, to any new readers, be prepared for this kinda thing to happen. If we ever start scripting this series out, just give me the Zack Ryder treatment and throw me off the stage in a Wheelchair. Yeah Séan, please hit us with them facts and figures.
S: Bound for Glory 2010! Taking place on the 10th of October 2010, 10/10/10. Coming live from the Ocean Centre in Daytona Beach, Florida with an attendance of 3,500, a live gate of an unknown amount, our commentators are Mike Tenay and our old pal Uncie Taz. Theme song tonight is ‘F.O.L’ by The Smashing Pumpkins, personally one of my favourite bands but this era of The Pumpkins?
JT: I’ll be honest, if you hadn’t told me, I’d have no clue that this was The Pumpkins. It didn’t have the distinct sound I’ve come to associate with them, and because it’s TNA, I just assumed it was generic rock music from god knows where. Nice to see Billy Corgan involved with TNA though, right?
S: Yeah it was nice to see, about five or six years before he’d join TNA management and also last year for Lockdown 2009, they actually used ‘Bullet With Butterfly Wings’ as their theme song!
JT: Looks like Billy was a TNA Mark through and through, god bless em.
S: He’s a real wrestling mark through and through if anything. I remember him being in the crowd for ECW Anarchy Rulz 1999 too. James, would you like to have a crack at how many buys this show got?
JT: He’s a real wrestling mark through and through if anything. I remember him being in the crowd for ECW Anarchy Rulz 1999 too. James, would you like to have a crack at how many buys this show got?
S: Oh man, you’re over double off what this PPV actually did. 39,000 PPV buys tonight which is the first time they’ve cracked over 30,000 buys this year, 19,000 buys more than their second highest PPV in Hardcore Justice with 11,000, yes that really sad ECW reunion show they did and it’s also the highest amount of buys they’ve gotten since Bound for Glory last year which did 38,000 buys with AJ Styles and Sting in the main event.
JT: Well when they say BFG is their biggest show of the year, they mean it. Given all the new additions over the course of 2010, it’s kinda surprising that they only managed 1,000 more buys. I’m sure that’s not something that Hogan & Co were expecting.
S: Yeah definitely not but as we go through this arc more, I think we’ll realise that nobody really wants to buy for Hulk Hogan.
JT: Oh yeah with hindsight, it’s damn apparent that Hogan wasn’t the draw he and TNA thought he was.
S: Absolutely, so with enough of these facts and figures, shall we kick off this show?!
JT: Let’s do it.
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Already Elite Wrestling
JT: Our opening contest for the night is for the TNA Tag Team Championships!! It’s the Young Bucks, I mean “Generation Me”, aka Matt & Nick Jackson, I mean Max & Jeremy Buck, facing off against the reigning and defending Tag Champs, Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley, the Motor City Machine Guns!!
S: Oh my god, talk about kicking off this arc with an absolute belter of a pairing. Two of the absolute best tag teams in the last fifteen years. They faced off three times earlier in the year. In GenMe’s debut where the defeated The Guns in a belter, again at Destination X in Ultimate X where The Guns won in a belter and again last month at No Surrender where Sabin and Shelley retained the belts in what was, get this, you’re not gonna believe this, in a belter. Max and Jeremy would turn heel on The Guns and would hit spike DDT’s on MCMG over the next few weeks.
JT: Can we talk for a few seconds about just how weird it is to see the Bucks in TNA? Like if you ask me, obviously they’re the foundation of AEW, but they also a huge part of PWG over the 2010s, as well as Ring of Honor and New Japan. Like it still feels so weird to see them here. I mean the Young Bucks were already an established Indy brand, though not to the extent they’d become. I mean, they’re actually Young here. Matt/Max is 25 years old here, and Nick/Jeremy is only 20 years old.
S: In hindsight, yes it is so strange to see The Bucks in TNA, considering how much you wouldn’t associate them with TNA today but at this time, The Bucks being signed was such a huge get for TNA at the start of 2010, they had a decent look, they would perfect their look later on but man when they joined. Vinny Ru had them get their hair cut a good bit, lengthwise. He had them wear the bleeding black jeans with purple trim and those damn skate shoes. This gear they have tonight, not bad in my opinion.
JT: Yeah their original GenMe gear was pretty bad. This look here, it’s not as good as their gear would become, but it’s not a bad look in the least. Like you said, this is far from the Bucks would become. Their popular here, but the pop Shelley & Sabin gets, it blows them out of the water.
S: And deservedly so for Sabin and Shelley, it’s so great to see how respected MCMG are by the TNA crowd here. God, I love these guys, my all time favourite tag team.
JT: I can’t say I’ve seen enough of their stuff to say that myself, but i will say everything I’ve seen them do in TNA absolutely ruled. What a sensational, revolutionary pairing. Shelley & Sabin really brought back high speed, well coordinated tag offense if you ask me. Nobody does it like the Guns.
S: Absolutely, the masters of high octane tag team wrestling. Everything they do is absolutely splendid.
JT: With all that said, when they came out, I was shocked to learn this was only their first Tag Title reign?!? How did they go so long without winning the Titles?!?
S: It’s always a mystery to me, I guess it was just a case of TNA being so focused on pushing other tag teams like Team 3D, Beer Money, British Invasion, Main Event Mafia, LAX and others rather than pushing The Guns.
JT: I mean like you said, they had a few options, but if you ask me and as most people will assert looking back on it, it feels like the Guns should’ve been a team they prioritized. I feel like there’s definitely a bit of old timey traditionalist stuff going on. Like, I mean, I feel like MCMG weren’t pushed to the belts because they just thought of MCMG as two X Division guys as opposed to a proper heavyweight tag team like Team 3D or Beer Money.
S: That’s what I feel was holding back them being Tag Champs for so long, they were really just viewed as a Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team and two X-Division guys who could easily make for a good title programme without actually winning and I’d say them being IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Champs in 2009 was them being held back some more by management but man, it’s so nice to see them with the belts here.
JT: The people were damn excited to see it. They make good faces to counter the obnoxious heel antics of GenMe. Speaking of which, this role that GenMe are in is in stark contrast to their babyface run in AEW. So I gotta ask you, what’s better in your opinion: Heel Bucks or Face Bucks?
S: Oh man, that’s a really good question you’ve just laid on me right there. For me personally, on one hand you have Heel Bucks who are absolute heat magnets and are easily detestable because of how obnoxious they can be but on the other hand, they are great babyfaces and their style of wrestling is very much a face style. I’d give the edge to Heel YB but I think that The Bucks have gotten so popular to the point where they’ve outgrown working as a heel and also because of how beloved they are in AEW etc.
JT: Yeah I agree. I think a lot of their schtick is better suited to heels, but that doesn’t really matter since the schtick itself is over along side them. And if they’re damn popular as faces, as much as I’d like to see them as heels again, there’s no need to turn them while they’re still hot.
S: Exactly, they’re very good character wise in either disposition, should we crack on with this opener?
JT: Yeah we’ve got a lot of action to get to, so let’s get to it. Max & Shelley start us off, Max quickly getting aggressive on him the corner, but he goes to hot dog and Shelley quickly hits him with chops, an arm drag, leg sweep, they pinball him in the corner into an Enziguri for 2. Double Poetry in Motion by the Guns, followed by a quick Gedo clutch for 2. Jeremy trips up Shelley, low Dropkick by Max to take control. Shelley sends him across, Jeremy grabs the ropes and rolls out only to get a Penalty Kick from Sabin. Classic Guns as Max runs in only to get the Inverted Atomic Drop, Low Dropkick, rolling over clutch and Dropkick again!! Big pop for it, crowd love the Guns as they get Double Suicide Dives and loud TNA chants. Shelley with a Crossbody off the top, 1-2-Kickout by Jeremy. With the match quickly turning in the Guns favor, Jeremy grabs the ref, and Max sweeps Shelley off the top. They hit a Double Team Hangman DDT on Shelley, going back to the neck that they’ve been focusing on. Shelley slaps Jeremy, trying to turn the tides, but then he runs and gets a classic Spinning High Kick from Jeremy. Classic Bucks as they hit a Double Hip Toss, Backflip, Double Dropkick. Both these teams have such great signature tag moves. Again, more classics as Jeremy & Max hit a Gutbuster, followed by a Running Neckbreaker across the knee. They put Shelley up top, Jeremy goes for the Superplex, Shelley fights Jeremy off, then knocks Max away, Double Foot Stomp off the top!! Shelley is going for the tag, Max is in, Sabin is in!!
S: Oh my god, this hot tag sequence, Sabin was absolutely burning shit up with this hot tag. Hot Ones reference, he was Blair’s Mega Death Sauce with Liquid Rage on this one.
JT: Ladies and gentlemen, you’ll come to learn that in this series, my partner and I, we’re a real pair of HOT ONES!!! HEYOOOO!!!
S: Les Claypool! Hit that Seinfeld theme!
JT: Speaking of Seinfeld, I’m going to go full Kramer but walking in and completely changing the topic. So, back to the action, big flying forearms and elbows by Sabin, he hooks Max in the Tree of Woe, Baseball Slide by Shelley, Hesitation Dropkick by Sabin, then a Springboard Crossbody Plancha onto Jeremy on the floor by Sabin, and a Springboard Clothesline!! 1-2-Kickout!! Max goes to tag out but he’s got no partner there for him, allowing Sabin to slap him, then the Guns hoist him up for a Running Facebuster/Reverse Powerslam combo thing!! Still so innovative a decade later!! 1-2-Jeremy breaks it up!! He hits a kick on Sabin, but Shelley runs off his back to knock Jeremy to the floor!! Shelley goes for a Plancha but nobody home, allowing Jeremy to hit the Springboard X-Factor, then a Jumping Axe Handle to Shelley off the apron!! It’s funny, you can see what they haven’t fully put together yet, since nowadays that’s a Moonsault instead of a Axe Handle. Sabin & Max alone, Casadora Facebuster by Max!! 1-2-Kickout!! Crowd is so hot at the start here, another loud TNA Chant!! Gen Me goes for the Double Hangman DDT again, Shelley with a German to Jeremy, Sabin rushes Max into the corner, where Shelley hits an Enziguri!! They go for Made in Detroit, Jeremy breaks them up by shoving Shelley off the top and hitting a Tope Con Hiro over the corner onto him!! Then Max hits a Flipping Ace Crusher on Sabin!!
Gen Me hang Sabin up, Springboard 450 by Jeremy!! 1-2-Shelley with the save!! He has to turn things around himself with a 2 on 1, but he does as he hits a Flatliner & DDT at the same time to take out both of Gen Me!! Shelley goes up top, Max moves, Backflip Leg Lariat Combo by Gen Me!! They send Sabin to the floor too!! They get Shelley down in the middle of the ring, Standing Moonsualt, Springboard Frog Splash Combo!! 1-2-KICKOUT AGAIN!! They go for More Bang for Your Buck, or whatever the equivalent name, but it’s not to be!! Shelley blocks the first 450 with his knees up, then holds him there, allowing Sabin to use his back to jump straight to the top, hitting a Top Rope German on Max!! Holy fucking shit!!
S: Absolute liquid wrestling between these four lads, holy shit like. The sheer chemistry that they have is unprecedented, I’ve seen this match multiple times but every single time with these incredible exchanges they do, it will never fail to pop me whilst watching. Love it.
JT: I was so impressed with how great their footwork was for that spot. Like you slip off the man’s back or skip landing on the top rope, the spot is blown. But Sabin just nailed it, and it’s not some easy spot to nail. Really nothing against other guys, it just shows how good he is.
S: He’s so incredibly smooth in the ring, isn’t he?
JT: Really an MVP of TNA from like 2006 to 2011. Pre-injuries Sabin was great. Shame his mobility got so hampered as time went on. But that’s now, let’s keep talking about 2010. Shall we finish this match off?
S: Yes we shall, take it home.
JT: So after that huge spot, Jeremy is all alone, so the MCMG pull him to the corner, with Sabin holding him as Shelley climbs up and jumps off, Shelley’s Splash propels Sabin’s Neckbreaker!!! Sabin & Shelley connects with Skull & Bones!! They cover him, Max nowhere to be seen, 1-2-3!! MCMG retain their tag titles!! Man, what a really good tag match!! They had a good amount of tag psychology and there was just constant, fast paced, high flying action!!
S: Awh lad, I absolutely adored this match. Two of the absolute best tag teams in the world at this time going balls to the wall for about 13 minutes, the pace was off the charts, exactly what is needed in an opener for a TNA show. Everyone looked like MVP’s in this match, Jeremy Buck or Nick Jackson being only twenty years old here is so mind blowing because even ten years later, he still wrestles at this frantic pace. Sabin and Shelley were on top form as per usual here, whenever you watch an MCMG match, you should expect brilliant tandem tag team offence and high energy (not Owen Hart and Koko B. Ware). Two huge thumbs up for this match.
JT: Now I tend to give out about the psychology in Young Buck matches, but here I’ve got that I didn’t mind that there wasn’t a ton of psychology here. This is because this match was just supposed to be a tag team opener to hype the crowd up, not an almost main event match like the Bucks have been treated in American for like the last 3 years. Plus it was a nice, quick, 12 minute match instead of 20+ like in AEW. Like if you’re going to have a quicker match with lots of crazy high spots, I’m fine if you don’t want to/don’t include a whole hell of a lot of selling/limb work. What say you?
S: I’d say the same as you, if you want to have your quick, high octane, high spots match, I’d rather it be around 10-16 or 17 minutes long so that you don’t burn out the crowd. If you’re going to have high spots tags in 20+ minute affairs, I’d prefer if the teams did some limb work and working over body parts or just build and build to the mad crescendo with a flurry of mad shit, ya know? But if you’re able to keep the crowd involved with a crazy 20+ minute match, then I’m not complaining.
JT: Overall, I think we can agree that we’ve got no complaints here. Moving on.
S: Absolutely not. Next match, sir.
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Heels on Wheels
JT: Up next, we cut backstage to Christy Hemme, who is there to interview Madison Rayne & Tara, two of the four women from tonight’s Knockout Championship Four Way match. So this interview here, it was….ummmm……something wasn’t it?
S: Yeah….. This was quite uncomfortable in some parts, in terms of the vocabulary, that is. Many female derogatory comments, a plenty here and that fucking promo package.
JT: Yeah, to give TNA some credit, they absolutely gave their women more time for segments and matches than in WWE. They also hired better wrestlers with more unique looks and body shapes than WWE. That said, I can’t say they were necessarily better with booking or writing their Women. Madison immediately tells Christy that “Bozo the clown called, he wants his hair dye back you phony bitch”, then tells her to “Zip it Pig” and calls her a “Skank” two seconds later. Like it was almost funny how this interview slapped me in the face with “BAM!! WOMEN’S WRESTLING IN 2010!!”.
S: Ohhhh yeah, this is Vince Russo with his hands all over this knockouts division here, wouldn’t be until Gail Kim would come back and Russo being phased out where they’d start to get away from this stuff. Also, what’s wrong with Christy Hemme’s hair exactly?
JT: I think Madison was trying to say Christy’s hair was super fake, but she’s had dyed blonde hair so she’s a giant hypocrite.
S: Yeah I was thinking that was what she was going for with that line and Christy calls her out on it too so I can give that wee nugget some credit there. Is it just me or does Madison’s hair here just sum up early 2010’s female hair so well here?
JT: You’re pretty much on the money. Lots of the same sort of thing across the board. Madison keeps talking, she says everyone needs to keep dreaming because Tara won’t turn her on her, because Tara is indebted to her “for life”, which gets a questioning “For Life?!?” look from Tara. She then says “speaking of skanks” and Madison tells Mickie she can’t just walk into TNA and become Queen Bee, because that’s her. After a great show opener, they really just throw throw us into that didn’t they?!? Like I went into this show basically as a new viewer, since I haven’t watched 2010 TNA Since well….2010, and even then, I was 11 years old, my memory for TNA wasn’t too great. So this whole segment was a big fat “what the fuck is going on here?!?”.
S: Yeah honestly, they just throw you into a classic TNA storyline salad with all sorts of accoutrements being in the bowl here. You’ve got your Tara being the mystery biker woman, she drives a motorbike to the ring now, remember that. Her and Madison are a pairing but there’s also a bit of a lesbian relationship between them. Angelina Love and Velvet Sky are still together as a pairing, they just won the right to The Beautiful People theme song on Impact. Angelina is Knockouts Champion and we’ve got a four way between them tonight.
JT: I’m glad that now that we’ve gotten to discuss TNA, we also get to discus one of many different Lesbian Pollen storylines they’ve had over the years. I mean, who doesn’t love storylines like this? I mean it’s totally necessary? Who cares that Madison ended Tara’s TNA career and this was Tara’s big return? Nah fuck that, we need to get them over with the phrase “Dike on a Bike”. Lovely stuff TNA.
S: Very classy of them to write such a comment, isn’t it? You can find this and many other lovely words that TNA Knockouts call each other in this video package.
JT: I’ve gotta say, that video package, it kinda sucked. Now the reason I say that is now because the production was bad or anything, but for the life of me, I couldn’t tell you who was face and who was heel by the time it was finish. Seán please clarify to me, who the fuck are we supposed to be rooting for here?!?
S: Alright so the faces here are Velvet and Angelina Love, the heels are Madison Rayne and Tara. Madison has been the queen bee for a while and The Beautfiul People have been face too for a while.
JT: Bad sign for your product that this had to be pointed out. Also, is it not weird that the Beautiful People are goodies? Isn’t there whole gimmick that they’re hot bitches who use their obvious sex appeal to take advantage of people unfairly?
S: Yeah they’re basically the three gals in Mean Girls.
JT: So before the participants in the Four Way *Abyss Squeezy Noise* make their way down the ramp, out comes the big special guest referee, fresh off joining TNA literally a week ago, it’s Hardcore Country, Mickie James!!
S: What’s your thoughts on this theme song here, James?
JT: All in all, I guess it’s alright. The music & lyrics aren’t too my taste, but it does its job. You know when you hear “HARD-CORE COUN-TRY”, you know who’s coming out. Hearing this song the first time in years, I thought it was odd to label her “Hardcore Country” considering she doesn’t do anything hardcore remotely, but when I realized it’s that she’s very into the countryside, I figure whatever that at least makes some semblance of sense. It’ll do. Also shoutout to Mickie singing on her own theme, very few get a chance to properly do that, go on her. Although, that didn’t stop me at age 9 from thinking a bunch of wrestlers actually sang their theme songs (looking at you Big Show).
S: She’s a got a good voice, does Mickie. I still find it odd with her and this TNA run because you always associate Mickie James with WWE, would you agree?
JT: I would agree. It is kinda weird too, because her time in TNA wasn’t a pit stop like say, Cody or MVP. She was properly in TNA/Impact/GFW for like 6 years, nearly as long as her whole original WWE run. And she started off in TNA before she got to WWE too!! But it’s like, since she came in at this era, nobody associates her with TNA. It’s when TNA lost a lot of its hype and credibility, and people stopped caring. So even though she was there for a while, people weren’t watching her that whole time. Besides, her biggest feuds were in WWE. You’ve got the whole Trish Stratus feud, her brief (but still memorable) romance angle with John Cena, and regrettably, Piggy James. That said, the biggest them to come out of her TNA run was probably when James Storm pushed her onto some train tracks, killing her*.
*she would not remain dead, it was only a way to write her off until everyone went “Hey, wtf did they just kill off Mickie James?!?”
S: Yeah I’d have to side with you on that one, I’m aware that she had good matches in TNA but she didn’t have many memorable angles aside from the train push and maybe her first angle which does get kicked off after this match concludes. Stick around and find out.
JT: The fact that we’ve been talking about Mickie for a while now goes to show the nature of TNA at the time. Your Knockout’s belt is on the line, and who’s the first to come out? The Ex-WWE star who recently jumped ship! Then when the actual wrestlers for the match come out, they come out in fucking pairs. What did you think of the fact that for this Fatal 4 Way, we only got 2 different entrances?
S: Yeah that’s well naff but I guess they had them come out in pairs is probably due to the fact that their entrances individually wouldn’t be the same without their respective partner, ya know?
JT: True, plus it gets over that there are 2 clear alliances here. Still, I can’t help but feel this I’m walking into a tag match with those sort of entrances, y’know?
S: Yeah I get you but honestly, you’d think this is a tag match by watching the hype package but they just did the tag match on Thursday on Impact. Like if it weren’t for the mention of the belt itself, you’d think it’s a tag match or even a Knockouts Tag Title match. Speaking of which. JAMES! Knockouts Tag Title check in time! It’s a new segment to the show. So James, at this date of the 10th October 2010, who are the current TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions?
JT: Oh god help me. Talk about something that was ahead of its time but not treated like the proper ahead of its time move it was. I’m going to take a wild guess out of like the 3 Knockout Tag Champs I know and guess Rosita & Sarita?
S: It was not, the current Knockout Tag Champs at this time are….
Taylor Wilde and Hamada!
JT: That’s certainly a team that held the Knockouts Tag Titles.
S: One of many that’s certainly a team, teams to have held the Knockouts Tag Titles. Shall we get on with the match?
JT: Yeah after that very important update on a very important championship, let’s get on to the Knockouts Title match.The match is under 4 Corners rules, so tag in tag out rules. Yeah, this doesn’t help my criticism from before. So Madison & Angelina start, but Madison tags out to Velvet to force them to go after each other. Dumb Faces actually lock up and go to fight each other because valor or whatever, rather than just retaining the belt then and there. Some quick pins and with quick kickouts, Madison tags in but gets sidestepped by Love, only for Madison to slam her into the mat off a Neckbreaker from the ropes. Madison & Mickie get in each other’s face, World’s Strong Slam by Love on Rayne, cover, Tara breaks it up. Tara tags in and gets a big hangman hair pull on Love, until Mickie forces the break and gets in her face, as Love tags out to Sky. Shit chops but a good Headscissor by Velvet on Tara, all while Taz is perving out on commentary. Nice octopus hold by Velvet into a quick cover, but Tara rolls through and hits a Dropkick. Bulldog on Tara, 1-2-Kickout. Madison attacks Velvet from the apron, Angelina runs in and takes her down, Tara slaps Angelina, chaos as the match breaks down. Three Second Ride by Tara on Angelina, but she catches a Dropkick from Velvet, who catches a Knee Crusher from Madison, who catches a weird Stunner from Angelina, who hits the Botox Injection on Tara, but Madison hits her with another Knee Crusher, and a jumping DDT from Velvet to Madison. Velvet tries to knock Madison off the apron, but this allows Tara to attack from behind. She goes for the Widow’s Peak, Velvet slips behind and pushes Tara into Madison, who is knocked off the apron and hits Angelina on the floor! O’Connor Roll by Velvet, Tara counters into a really shit O’Connor, but it’s enough to get the 1-2-3 and crown a New Champion!! Of course, this goes against what Madison said in the interview, that Tara wouldn’t screw her over. Oops. There’s a bit of post match action, but let’s just look at the actually match for now? Seán, your thoughts?
S: I thought this was quite the come down from the opener but for what it was, I thought it was fine and it served a purpose. Angelina Love is a lot better in the ring than what I remembered her being, the action involved was pretty decent, I was actually kind of enjoying it and then that really weak O’Connor Roll happened for the finish. I’d give it a thumbs in the middle.
JT: Yeah this wasn’t great but all things considered, it definitely isn’t bad. At least they had time to work with, all four women are fairly decent workers, and the booking made clear sense. As flat as a finish as thay was, I’ll give them a bit of credit and say it made sense for the story they built. Of course, that’s not all!! We’ve got post match shenanigans to get to!
S: Oh we sure do, Madison and Tara, the two lovers on their nice motorbike, they’ve a bit of a quarrel, don’t they?
JT: That they do! Madison, entitled heel that she is, felt that Tara was indebted to her for bringing her back (even though she kicked her out of TNA to begin with) and is now furious that Tara won the belt. Tara wasn’t supposed to win it, she was supposed to ensure Madison got the belt. She gets right up in her face, they don’t come to blows but it looks like Madison is ready to snap. And she does snap, but not on Tara. Mickie James comes over to do her referee thing and break up the conflict, and by doing so, she shoves Mickie. Mickie then knocks her out with one clean shot, and the segment, new Knockouts Champ and all, ends with Mickie’s music. Surely a sign of what’s ahead, no?
S: It is indeed a sign of what is to come but by the time the blow off comes around at Lockdown, we are on to greener pastures and leaving Orlando, Florida. I liked this post match angle, it displayed Madison as the entitled Queen heel, it showed the signs of friction in the duo and it got Mickie James over with an impactful statement.
JT: Yeah overall, we can argue with how they put this whole ordeal together, but we cannot argue with the fact it got done what it needed to get done.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————
InSanity
JT: Now it’s time for something completely different. It’s Orlando Jordan, teaming up with Eric Young, facing off against the team of Jesse Neal & your BOY Shannon Moore, Ink Inc!!
S: Oh my god! It’s like my favourite Tag Team from 2010/2011! INK INC! And my BOY has a match on PPV! Everything’s coming up Shannon.
JT: We all know how the old cliche goes, and honestly I think it’s wrong. If you ask me, less isn’t more, MOORE IS MORE!!!
S: But in this case, Moore is more.
JT: So before we get into the meat and potatoes of this match, first, we need to look at the interview segment that happened right before the match.
S: Oh my god, this had me in stitches. Eric Young, he gets comedic wrestling. He’s so brilliant.
JT: So with Christy Hemme backstage with Eric Young, it’s apparent that EY has some new tattoos!! And boy they look…..uhhhh….they look like something. He explains to her that he got them from his buddies Ink Inc, and goes on to tell her about his weird tag partner, Orlando Jordan. He says that he’s cracked the code on old OJ. He says that Jordan thinks of him as a father figure, he’s a dad to him. So now, he’s going to take Orlando under his wing, and that he’ll teach him to be a real man. He goes on to say that Orlando’s family abandoning him for his “alternative lifestyle” is ridiculous and unfair, “So what if he’s bi……polar”. That’s about when OJ appears in a white lace number, and EY gets scared and shouts “back off devil” no realizing who it is. OJ calms him down, with EY telling him to be more carefully because Orlando “almost got nunchucked”. Orlando reminds him they have a match next, and that EY set it up, so let’s get to it. Before they go, Orlando offers Christy a lick at his lollipop, before they head off. As you said, EY is great at playing a goofy comedy guy. He’s charming and clever from time to time (in kayfabe of course, man is always clever irl) and you really like him. That said, I found it still a little cringey considering the material they’re working with. It’s a real kettle of fish, ain’t it?
S: Yeah it really is, I think EY was the star of this segment, talking about his ink as if they were real tats really did get a chuckle out of me if I’m being honest, as well as the ‘Bi…. polar’ one, it’s silly but still kind of funny to me and the ‘back off devil’ quote just broke me. He’s a real loveable goof here but I will agree that it was a little cringeworthy in parts.
JT: Yeah the material isn’t great but EY does his best with it. His opponents are the first one out and damn, I didn’t realize Ink Inc were actually pretty over. Like I was immediately on board with them when I first started watching in 2010. I mean I think it’s a pretty good gimmick with their crazy tattoos, matching red & black Mohawks, piercings, and the studded jacket Shannon has. I mean aside from you and I though, I didn’t really think anyone cared much. It’s nice to have my 10 year old thoughts validated.
S: It actually makes me so happy to see that my boys Shannon Moore and Jesse Neal are over, I feel like TNA never fully capitalised on them if you get me? They were in GenMe territory where they good easily get into a tag title programme and they wouldn’t look out of place but aside from that, its class to see them here and man, they had such a cool look, makes them stand out from the rest of the TNA roster.
JT: Yeah, I think it was especially smart to pair them up together too. Neal was only 2 years into his career by this time, and while he’s got a good look, he’s still Raw as a wrestler. To pair him with a young veteran, who can wrestler well like Shannon, it benefits both of them. I would say that they didn’t capitalize on them properly, but hey, this is my first time seeing them in years. I need another extended proper look at them.
S: Wow, I never realised that Neal was still a rookie at this stage, there’s a guy who just completely disappeared after TNA, shame really.
JT: To be fair, he was already 30 years old by this point. So if people running companies felt he was polished enough to be worth their time, oh well. But at the same time, wanna hear a fun little fact about his partner? Do you happen to know what age we was here?
S: Shannon Moore? I’m gonna say about 31 because I know he was born in 1979.
JT: Seán, you know your fucking boys. You’re right on, he was 31 here. But unlike his similarly aged partner, Shannon had 15 years of experience by this point. Crazy to think that Jesse was gone so quickly and Shannon stuck around so long.
S: Shannon is one of those real journeyman wrestlers who often doesn’t get talked about as a journeyman, he had his stint in WCW as part of three count, he had his first run in WWE until 2005, then had a brief run in TNA where he feuded with AJ, then his second WWE stint in ECW and Smackdown and now he’s back in TNA. I know my bottom boy well.
JT: What a wild life he’s lived. Speaking of wild, Taz makes sure to tell us that it’s “well documented that he (Orlando) is a virgin”. Uhhh, thanks bud. Commentary also tells us that this match apparently happened just last week on Impact too. EY & OJ won after a low blow from OJ, but EY tried to reverse the decision like the goof he is. That’s why Eric has the TNA Rule Book with him tonight. It’s not however, why he EY he unhappily takes OJ’s lollipop, which is delightfully gross, considering the implications they make about Orlando. This whole thing feels like the only heel is Jordan, who is a big old creep. What do you say to that, and also about having a PPV Match, on the biggest show of the year, that’s a rematch from Impact?
S: Yeah that’s a bit fucking cheap if we’re being honest, like don’t get me wrong, I love seeing all these lads here but it’s a bit of a lazy move to pull on the paying audience. I think we could have perhaps used this to put more time on maybe the tag title match or the match after this but then again, knowing what’s to come with this match, I can safely say that this had its place with me.
JT: Well should we just get to it then? I’ve got no more preamble to say.
S: Let’s get down to it, my friend.
JT: So Jordan & Neal start things off, when suddenly, EY comes in and starts to ref the match!! He counts a 2 count after a quick pin before the ref comes in. This is just the beginning, this is EY’s match and the crowd is absolutely there for it. They are loud for EY. Neal meanwhile with a Springboard Crossbody, 1-2-Kickout, Taz says “Watch the hands in that cradle Jesse, who knows what could happen”. Because Jordan is a creep, get it? Shannon tags in, drop down by Neal, Dropkick by Moore. OJ twists the arm, tags in to EY, who tells him to let go and go back to the corner, so he does and Eric gets rolled up for a quick 2. Casadora roll up by Shannon, 1-2-Kickout, Eric gives him a big double high five, then one for Jesse then after an initial refusal, OJ gives it to him, and then Eric slingshots him into the ring, hitting back first off the canvas! Now Orlando is confused as the crowd chants for EY, then Ink Inc work over OJ with a corner attack, as Eric goes to join in. He runs at him for a Splash, but Orlando moves and Eric hits the corner then gets stuck on the top rope on his stomach, leaving him open to a kick to the gut and land on the ropes on his “yambag“. Orlando soon joins him up there as Ink Inc puts him on the ropes, then they give them a good shake of the ropes. As the match turns around, Orlando grinds on Shannon in the corner, then plants him with a Spinebuster and grinds up on him for a cover. The crowd ain’t in it for Orlando though, as the crowd chants “We Want Eric”. Shannon goes for a Sunset Flip, Orlando sits down on it while grabbing the ropes, but Eric kicks his hands of the ropes! Taz is confused, as am I, as Eric goes to Ink Inc’s corner and gets a hot tag on his own partner!! After that, Ink Inc ditch him, allowing them to hit a Diving Neckbreaker/Samoan Drop by Ink Inc after this commotion go get the 1-2-3!! Ain’t that a hoot and a holler?!?
S: I’m not gonna lie but I really enjoyed this match, I got a fair amount of big laughs out of this one if I’m being straight, EY is a comedic master, he is the standard bearer for what a comedic wrestler should be. The layers to this match of him having the “tattoos” done by his boys Ink Inc, him being completely oblivious to the fact that OJ has quite the fancy for him and Eric Young being so dedicated to the rule book that he disapproves of his tag partner’s cheating antics. I liked this one and it was great to see Ink Inc win.
JT: I agree that it was funny, but I won’t lie, my interest in this match wasn’t entirely there, mostly because I felt like I wasn’t even sure where this was going. Like what’s this all leading to? But then again, I realized it’s been ages since I watched pure comedy EY. Like I feel like I didn’t enjoy this as much because wires crossed, like my brain was trying to understand why he was acting that way, because since I’ve been watching, EY has been a serious character. I just feel like I just need to take a step back, relax, and remember that this is just how Eric was.
S: Yeah like this isn’t World Elite weird heel Eric Young from 2009 with the TNA Legends Championship, this is wacky Eric with his love of the rules of wrestling, tattoos and lollipops with his good pal Orlando Jordan. The original odd couple.
JT: Now before everything is said and done, it looks like Orlando is going to attack Eric for what has happened here, but then stops when Eric bends over to get the rule book, and Tazz makes a lovely “don’t drop the soap” joke, because if wrestling needs anything, it’s prison rape jokes.
S: Come on, Tazz. You’re better than that, lad. Why do you think that bisexual men are rapists? Come on.
JT: Let’s be real, for TNA in 2010, Bisexual might as just well be “gay”, and lord knows they’re not gonna treat them as equals or anything better than the butt of jokes.
S: Ah yes I forgot who is writing the show at this stage. Old Vic Venom. Send the caaaaash.
JT: So for the time being, Orlando Jordan & Eric Young are still a team. For now….
S: Dun dun dun…
———————————————————————————————————————————————————
End of the X-cellence?
JT: Next on the ledger is the X Division Title on the line, it’s Jay Lethal defending against Doug Williams!! It’s TNA Locker Room vs Fortune!! It’s another fucking rematch from Impact, dammit TNA!! Like we just gave out about this!! It’s the biggest show of the year!!
S: Ah now TNA, this isn’t the two lower card tag teams you’re working with here, this is like your most prestigious and longest running championship in your company. Don’t fucking use it as just a random prop for another rematch like.
JT: Yeah this definitely around the time when the statute of the X Division starts to dip from the prestigious levels it was held to in years earlier. We ain’t getting no Joe/Daniels/Styles here.
S: Oh man, we’re entering the dark ages of the X-Title here, this is the period where TNA management and Russo alike start neglecting the fuck out of the division and the title to the point where the whole division storms the office the night of Lockdown 2011 with Spanky kicking Russo’s door down.
JT: Oh shit, like for real for real storming his office? Or was it so obvious they were neglecting the division that they turned it into a storyline?
S: Oh it was for real, The Bucks and many others told the story in some shoot interviews and then they turned it into an angle in the summer because its TNA in 2011 and of course they fucking did.
JT: Well I mean fair. This one is hardly a strongly booked match. The real story here is the contractually obligated rematch. CONTRACTUALLY OBLIGATED REMATCH!! That’s their big plan for the X Division match on their biggest show. Jay beat Doug on an Impact in September, Jay then lost it to Amazing Red on a House Show in Red’s home state of NY after only 17 Days later, and then won it back in Lethal’s home state of New Jersey, all in time for this match just over 2 weeks later.
S: Man even TNA were doing house show title changes. I completely forgot about the win Red got on that random show. What a story heading in, contractually obligated rematch. For your WrestleMania.
JT: I mean I get the X Division is a division focused around work rate and good matches less so then character and storyline, but like, they didn’t even save a big first time match? They could’ve did a proper Amazing Red vs Jay Lethal match at least! I mean outside of the series of matches on House Shows and Xplosion (one of which was taped a House Show match taped for Xplosion I believe) they hadn’t had a proper singles match before. Certainly that’s gotta inspire more intrigue and excitement than Lethal vs Williams in a rematch from Impact?
S: Or to make shit interesting with this. Do a Triple Threat match with Lethal, Doug and Red. Simple as, both lost the belt to Lethal and both want the belt back. It’s so easy to book.
JT: Less to 0 effort put in for their biggest show of the year. Damn shame. And I hope this come off to any of y’all like we hate Lethal or Williams. Like I can’t speak for my partner here, but I think both of them are great wrestlers and can be great characters too. But this wasn’t the peak of either man’s career. I mean, Lethal’s may have come in connection to Doug, since his manager here is Ric Flair, and he and Jay shared a piece of magic back on Impact in July.
S: Yeah I mean they’re both magnificent wrestlers, Jay would go on to get even better and Doug had been on top form since the early 2000’s but character wise, I feel like they aren’t given the opportunity to have some good exchanges on the mic, we know Lethal can go and Doug has always had a great promo voice and confidence, so why not let them build this match up with some promos? But hey, a match with these two, I’ll take it any day of the week.
JT: Well since you’ll “take it any day of the week” (Abyss squeezy noise) why don’t we just get to the match?
S: Might as well.
JT: So we start things off with some chain wrestling that sees Doug grounding Jay until he starts to get some momentum with a few arm drags. There’s some USA chants, because America, duh. Doug goes for the Rolling Chaos aka the Chaos Theory, Lethal jumps over him in the corner then hits the Lethal Combination, followed by a Plancha. Lethal goes for a Springboard Missile Dropkick, but Williams moves out of the way and goes to ground him again. Big Knee followed by a Clothesline by Williams for a 2. Lethal starts to fire up with right hands, jumping clotheslines, a regular clothesline, and a pair of dropkicks!! He gets a Springboard Moonsault: 1-2-Kickout! Lethal with a Back Handspring, maybe for the Lethal Injection, but Doug catches him with a German Suplex!! 1-2-Kickout!! Exploder Suplex by Williams gets another 2 count, then he calls for the Rolling Chaos. He goes behind, and GETS IT!! 1-2-Lethal kicks out!! Damn for a clean finisher kickout, especially for one as awesome as the Chaos Theory, they really no selled this didn’t they?
S: Yeah what was that about? Kicks out Chaos Theory and then they just no sell it. Like I was expecting Tenay, being the wizard on pro wrestling knowledge that he is would make reference to how big a deal this is, right?
JT: Yeah again, it’s no wonder the X Division would be mad at management. They get no story given to them, and when they try to make their own, commentary undermines them. Shame. After the “big” kickout, Williams is taking really taking his time. He’s trying to put him away as he put him up top, going for a Super Hurricarana!! But Lethal rolls through and gets the Cradle, 1-2-3!! He retains his X Division title!! So Seán, what have you got to say for this match?
S: I thought this was quite a decent match, a step up from the previous two matches but it just had lazy build which does hurt it and they were only given about nine minutes to do the match. Douglas and Jay clearly work well together as they proved here in this match, they both looked well, Lethal got some lovely spots in and the Chaos Theory is a beautiful move. Now that we’re talking about the end of the match, did ya get a load of Lethal’s generic theme song?
JT: Literally had to look it up because I didn’t remember it. Pretty much as generic as generic comes sadly. Jay deserved better, and would luckily get better in due time. And I might as well add on my thought from the match. Honestly I feel like this kinda let me down. Like from a wrestling perspective, it was definitely better than the last two. That said, the crowd didn’t feel as into this as the past 2 matches, and commentary really felt like they weren’t paying this much attention. Plus, given the two involved, I hoped this would be a bit better than it was. Maybe I set my expectations too high, after all they didn’t even get 10 minutes. But as a whole I came away thinking that this was okay, but it could’ve been much more.
S: That is fair enough but I probably should clarify the more we get into this story arc is that we are past the golden era of the X-Division here. I mean there’s a lot of guys gone at this stage. Daniels, Dutt, Petey Williams, Johnny Devine, Jimmy Rave, Homicide, Consequences Creed, Shark Boy, etc. I think this is going to be a running theme when go further down the line.
JT: Well hey!! I know they’ve left, but just tonight, one of the biggest stars in the history of the X Division arrived! How dare you overlook that!!
S: God I hope you’re being sarcastic.
JT: Why I’d never!! This is a big deal!! After his title defense, Lethal takes to the people, celebrating in the crowd with them, only to get attacked!! But who the hell did that?! BY GOD!! BY GOD THATS THE SHORE!! ITS THE SHORE!! ROBBIE E & COOKIE, GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY!!
S: So this is obviously a play off the popularity? Hate? Controversy or infamy that Jersey Shore, the infamous reality show which ran on MTV from 2009-2012 for six seasons. Rob Eckos here playing Robbie E, a parody of Pauly D and Cookie, who is a parody of Snooki, played by Becky Bayless.
JT: So jokes aside, I completely forgot this was happening at this time, but when he showed up on screen, I got the weirdest feeling of nostalgia ever. And it makes no sense too!! Like he’s on NXT as Robert Stone!! And I know that was Robbie E too!! But like seeing this character again he me with the weirdest wave of “Oh shit, Jersey Shore!! That was whole thing wasn’t it?!?”. I mean calling it “nostalgia” is probably too kind to it. Because it wasn’t a good feeling, but it was a strong feeling regardless.
S: I mean to give credit to TNA, Jersey Shore was certainly a hot topic in the media world at this time and they had they had their finger on the pulse in knowing what to do with the publicity the show was getting. Of course South Park and WWE would capitalise on this attention the show was getting too with South Park’s ‘What is a Snooki’ episode and WWE using Snooki for Mania 27, Mania 27? That could be a story for another day.
JT: Perhaps some day. And yeah, TNA definitely struck while the iron was hot I suppose, but was it even worth capitalizing on? Well, we’ll discuss that at a later date, because Robbie & Cookie aren’t going away. Robbie beats Lethal up through the crowd, he fist pumps, then hits a RKO on Lethal in the middle of the ring. He says Lethal is a disgrace to Jersey, he’s gonna win the title, bring it back to Jersey and bling it out to add class. Cookie says “Jersey’s in the house bitches” and the segment is over. Prepare yourself for more Jersey Shore & Robbie & Cookie discussion in the near future.
S: Nice diamond cutter but ‘Jersey’s in the house, bitches’? *Sideshow Bob groan*
JT: Yeah, prepare to step on our fair share of rakes for the rest of this arc, as far as the X Division is concerned.
S: Let’s just hope we don’t have to move to Terror Lake because of it.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————
Staring into the Abyss
JT: Speaking of terror, it’s time for the Monster’s Ball!! Abyss vs Rob Van Dam, and Jesus there’s a whole lot going on here, isn’t there?
S: Ooooooohhhh boy, there is so much going on here. We got Abyss’ weapon, Janice, RVD and his time in TNA, the time he beat Abyss and almost got murdered by Janice, the vacancy of the TNA Championship, the arrival of ‘they’ on 10.10.10. RVD constantly asking ‘what if?’ but he doesn’t live by what ifs, does he, James?
JT: No he does not. It makes it crystal clear that he’s going to end Abyss tonight. After all, this is Abyss’s FINAL TNA MATCH??! WHAAAAA?!? Like I’m not over exaggerating when I tell y’all that this was one of the biggest matches on the card here tonight. It’s a proper main event level match as far as promotion and buildup is concerned. Should we just go right into breaking down the many different storyline elements at play in this Monster’s Ball?
S: Yes we shall because there is so much story going into this match right here, we don’t want to leave readers being confused.
JT: So first off, why are these two fighting? Well let’s just start off with RVD in TNA in general. After his WWE contract expired in 2007, he had just been doing his thing on the Indies for a while. Like proper indies indies, no ROH or TNA for RVD, just odds and ends, until March of 2010, when he debuted and beat Sting in mere seconds with a Flying Kick on the debut of Monday Night Impact!! And it would only be up and up for Mr Monday Night/Mr Thursday Night from there!
S: Things would get better for RVD from this point as on the April 19th episode of Impact! Van Dam would defeat Jeff Hardy to get a shot at AJ Styles later in the night as RVD would defeat Styles to win the TNA Heavyweight Championship! He would fly high (no pun intended) as Champion defending the belt against the likes of AJ Styles, Sting, Jeff Hardy, Mr. Anderson. Oh, and Abyss in a ladder match with Bisch as the special guest referee.
JT: How did he get to fighting Abyss? Well RVD (and TNA) can’t let ECW die! So in 2010, less than a year after the death of WWECW, we get EV2 in TNA, aka totally not ECW, in to feud with Ric Flair’s Fortune Stable, which Abyss helps out as sort of a Monster for hire. But besides that, he’s really riding high as TNA Champion. Until suddenly, DISASTER STRIKES!!
S: RVD was found backstage, looking absolutely butchered hahaha. I’m sorry but how was Abyss not brought to court for this ATTEMPTED MURDER with a 2×4 with fucking nails all over it? Joseph Park Esq. must have done a good job to bail him out of that one.
JT: That’s for sure. Rob looked like he’d been stabbed a billion times and was gushing blood, bleeding like a stuck pig. They wrote him off tv for “stitches, spinal trauma and possible acute BRAIN DAMAGE”!! Fucking brain damage!! Jesus Christ. And then they let him keep wrestling for their company for months after that?! T-N-A, T-N-A, T-N-A!!
S: Ya gotta love it, James. What a brilliant and safe working environment for old Bob Van D, here. Ya know, he got all these injuries about a month and a half ago, sure ya might as well go out and wrestle a Monster’s Ball match, mate. You’ll be grand, it’ll do ya no harm, sure.
JT: To be fair, Bobbert asked for this one. By the time Rob Van Dam, he went straight after Abyss, and got Eric Bischoff to make this match for BFG. It almost didn’t happen too, because Abyss had put his hands on TNA owner “Dammit Dixie” herself, Dixie Carter!! When that happened, Bischoff was going to fire Abyss, but Rob threatened to quit if he couldn’t get his revenge. So now Dixie has signed the papers, which would give Abyss the boot from TNA, but it’ll only go through after the Rob get his hands on the Monster.
S: And of course, the lingering albatross above all of this show and this match especially is the rumour that Abyss has been spreading of the arrival of ‘THEY’ on 10.10.10. Remember that, I’m running it into the ground so you all can be reminded of it. DYA REMEMBER?!
JT: DO YOU REMEMBER?!? THE 10TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER?!?
S: Wait. September? I thought this was October, dude?
JT: Awww fucking shit. Dammit D-Lo.
S: Fucking hell, D-Lo. We need a recharge now!Get this man a cookie, he’s a bit flustered.
JT: No no, I can keep going! Let me finish this match coach, I can do it, I promise!!
S: Alright we’ll keep it going but keep the cookie on standby, dudes.
JT: Look, I’d all for taking a break here, but we need to discuss RVD’s legendary TNA theme song.
S: It was only a matter of time before we discussed this master-piece of shit of a musical number, wasn’t it?
JT: Here goes nothing……..ahem:
🎶BERRRNANERRNAAANEERRR
ROB VAN DAM 🎶
🎶 BERRRNANERRNAAANEERRR
THE WHOLE FN SHOW 🎶
🎶 BERRRNANERRNAAANEERRR
ROB VAN DAM 🎶
🎶 BERRRNANERRNAAANEERRR
FUCKING MIGRAINE 🎶
It’s the stuff of nightmares.
S: Some of my favourite lines in this nightmarish ditty include
‘VAN ASSASSINATOR!’
‘I WILL FLY HIIIIIIIGH, FIVE STAR FROG SPLASH *bass string pop*
And who could forget?
STRAIGHT TO YOUR SKULL CRACK!
JT: It’s so shit. Just total “this is RVD, these are RVD’s catchphrases and moves” on top of a fucking horrendous guitar licks. And despite all that, I can’t even associate this song with RVD immediately, because I heard a parody when I was 11 and it’s been stuck on my brain. Shall I curse you with the knowledge that’s been plaguing me for 10 years?
S: Is it by any chance the Carlito parody?
JT: FUCKING YES!!!
Here goes nothing……..ahem:
🎶BERRRNANERRNAAANEERRR
CAR LI TO 🎶
🎶 BERRRNANERRNAAANEERRR
THATS NOT COOL 🎶
🎶 BERRRNANERRNAAANEERRR
CAR LI TO 🎶
🎶 BERRRNANERRNAAANEERRR
THATS NOT COOL🎶
BACK CRACK-INATOR
BACK STAB-INATOR
BACK TO JOB-INATOR
S: I’m glad we both know that hidden gem of a song, I really wish that TNA signed Carlito and had him use that song. Always makes me laugh.
JT: It just goes to show how ridiculous and slap dash the song is. And again, the guitar is so fucking terrible. Just so incredibly grating to hear. It may be my least favorite theme song of all time.
S: Oh it’s definitely up there for me too. We talk about how crap the guitar is but the bass is absolutely wretched, the most generic butt metal sounding bass line I’ve ever heard.
JT: I think personally what makes this the worst is how long it lasts and for no fucking reason. Like take Samoa Joe’s original NXT Theme. The real proper “Smithers tapes over Mr Burns’s Flight of the Valkyries” level of not fitting music. It lasted like a month or two at most before it got replaced. Then you have the Right To Censor Theme & Rob Conway’s “Just look at me” theme as to perennial “worst themes ever”. But like the RTC’s was supposed to be annoying and nothing, because the RTC are annoying no fun dickheads who have such a dick up their ass that they can’t even get music, they’ve gotta censor that too. And Conway’s was almost so bad it’s good, like look at this arrogant dickhead who thinks ever his shit theme is good. RTC lasted like a year, but Conway didn’t last all that long with that song. But RVD, he had this blender full of nails shit for his entire 3 years in TNA. AND HE HAD IT AGAIN WHEN HE CAME BACK GO TNA IN THE PAST YEAR!! DAMMIT DIXIE, DAMMIT…Don Callis? How the fuck did nobody get him new music?!? It’s fucking wretched.
S: You’re gonna be delighted to hear this James. RVD has officially gotten brand new entrance music in TNA. The polygamous stoner god himself, with his bird Katie has rid of the worst theme song of all time.
JT: God bless. Only took literally years, but hey, any change is good. But let’s not dwell on negativity, let’s just take a second to praise TNA for how great Abyss’s Theme Song is!! Honestly, how great is Abyss?
S: Abyss, probably one of the best presented guys that TNA has had. Just everything about him, the entrance, the lighting, the look, the theme music and this look he has on tonight, easily his best look in my opinion. The jacket makes it for me, personally. Abyss is great.
JT: Agreed. His mask at the time had to be the coolest for a monster heel (well for a non luchador) since Kane. And though I know he got the name before he went to TNA, they really built him up and made him one of the biggest homebred stars TNA ever had. Though we’re entering far from great times for Abyss, you gotta applaud the fact he’s here at all and is treated like a big deal, really on a main event like level.
S: Yeah honestly, when Abyss makes his entrance, he feels like such a big deal. He is head and shoulders presented better than well more than most of the people on the show, even one of the men in the main event who we’ll get to later.
JT: Yeah they even gave the man his own gimmick match!! I think it’s pretty fair to say he’s basically TNA’s Kane. Not to be reductive, but they both were big men with masks and fire pyro who were consistently over their whole careers, were booked really strong but never got the top guy world title run. That said, I’d argue Abyss is a better actual wrestler than Kane. Like of course Kane is great, but you remember him more for moments than matches and he was always better in multi man stuff than singles stuff. Abyss meanwhile, he had some real belters with AJ Styles, Kurt Angle, Rhyno & Christian. Plus, awwww man, that Blackhole Slam!!
S: Abyss really doesn’t get enough love for some of the awesome matches he’s had in his career in my opinion, yeah he’s done a lot of hardcore and plunder matches, maybe a bit too much for a lot of people’s liking (including myself) but he’s also really fucking good at doing them. I think what quality Abyss has over Kane is that I feel that he can mix it up and have a good match with more people than what Kane can do. You mention the Blackhole Slam there, the best times that move would look good would be when he would bust it out on the smaller guys like Petey Williams or young Jay Lethal where he would a double revolution version of it.
JT: It’s great when he just scoop them up and they go totally limp so that they’re legs swing as he spins them. It’s great. And I agree they went to the Abyss hardcore match well an awful lot, but I don’t mind it here, considering the lengthy buildup and Rob’s history in ECW. It makes sense to put these two together for this type of match.
S: Agreed, it’s not like Abyss is facing Killer spelled backwards in a hardcore match just because. It makes sense here because Abyss carved RVD and he wants revenge in a violent manner. That video package though, it was so good.
JT: Yeah it was pretty great. You real get the feel that this match matters to both guys, that there’s a lot that happened to come to this point, and now it’s all going to explode. Shall we get into the match?
S: Let’s do it man, I’m jazzed to talk about this match.
JT: So just before the match can begin, Abyss started to cut a promo, saying that his prophecy is coming tonight, but before he can get too far, he’s interrupted by Rob in his T-Shirt. He immediately jogs, then rolls into the ring and hits a limp spin kick, before a bigger one in and a corner and more shots in the corner to loud RVD chants. He Slingshot Guillotine Neckbreaker by RVD, Springboard Kick to the face sent Abyss to the corner to hit a Van Daminator!! Abyss rolls to the floor but RVD dives out onto him, then he throws a barbed wire board into the ring, knocks Abyss off the apron, but finally gets some offense in as Abyss cut off his dive with a back elbow. Abyss goes for a Chokeslam, RVD fights out, but crossbody attempt is caught by The Monster. Again he tries to slam him on the board, only for Rob to slip behind and hit a Bulldog onto the board!! RVD goes for Rolling Thunder, but Abyss moves and Rob lands in the barber wire mess!! After this spot, I’ve gotta say, I thought the board looked super weak and real fake. What did you think of TNA’s Hardcore Prop?
S: Oh this was one of the main talking points of this match for me. The absolute state of your barbed wire boards, TNA! What the heck are these like? They look so cheap, so flimsy, so phony and they look ineffective as wrestlers just flatten them as if they’re bloody pipe cleaners like.
JT: Like I get you want to keep your wrestlers, but at least go the extra mile then! Put a fuckton of that fake barbed wire crap on the board than! Instead not only is there like barely anything on it, but it folds and bends easily whenever anyone is on it. It just looks lame.
S: It’s hysterical to see as well because its literally a strand of fake barbed wire used to cover a fraction of the shitty little board. Hilarious.
JT: TNA, skimping out whenever possible. It would’ve really turned this up a notch if the board didn’t look so shit, it’s a real important part of the match!
S: I know right? This is meant to be one of the big spots of the night and its hampered due to TNA being cheap with their gimmicks.
JT: It is what it is, nothing else can really be done. It hurts the moment, but there’s still plenty more to come. So Abyss sets a table up on the apron & guardrail, then hits RVD with a Trash Can, allowing him to set up a barbed wire board in the same position as the table. Abyss tries to Suplex Rob from the ring through the table on the apron, but RVD escapes, then escapes a Goozle, as Taz would fall it, laying Abyss out on the, allowing him to hit a Rolling Thunder from inside onto Abyss, through the table! There’s a “This is Wrestling” chant in response, as Abyss goes back inside the ring, swings at Rob with a chair, but Rob ducks and hits another Van Daminator, Abyss brought the chair up into his face like a moron. RVD goes up top looking for a Van Terminator, goes to hype up the crowd, allowing Abyss to get up and throw the chair into his face, knocking him off the top and through the bridge barbed wire board!! Abyss brings him back in, sets the board in the corner, but RVD sends him into it, then pins him in the corner, allowing him to hit a Van Daminator into the Board into Abyss!! Abyss is down dead central, one more taunt, Five Star Frog Splash misses as Abyss moves!! Now it’s time for Abyss to get out his favorite toy, he goes and gets Janice. He swings, but misses!!
RVD throws a chair at him, goes to go up top, but stops and grabs Janice instead, swinging, and hitting!! He nails Abyss right in the stomach, then hits a Superkick goes up top, and puts this one to bed with a Five Star Frog Splash, 1-2-3!! Gooooooddbyeeeeeee Abyss.
S: Abyss, my man once again doing the big J O B on the P P V. My thoughts on this match. I thought it was fine, there were some decent spots in this like when RVD went through the barbed wire board to the outside, that was grand, the first spot with the pipe cleaner wire and the Janice spot with Abyss fucking running at him with his hands in the air (did he care?) like a fucking simpleton did take it down a notch or two for me. I know you have to be extra careful with that scary ass weapon but it did hamper it, it was grand but man it could’ve been a whole lot better.
JT: Yeah Hardcore stuff usually isn’t my thing. Like if you’re talking like wacky 24/7 Hardcore Title, I’m in. If you’re talking about like insane Deathmatch shit, I can buy into that two. But I tend not to be a fan of this sort of in between area where they try it serious but they don’t really have the same “HOLY SHIT WTF” levels of props and gore. Like this match is pretty indicative, as it’s a lot of brawling, guy walks over and sets up something to bump on or use, then they go and set up something else, repeat until match over. There was definitely a degree of that here, though they did have some creative spots. I like the idea of kicking the barbed wire board into someone in the corner, and I like that they actually used Janice rather than just having someone do a big swing and miss and that’s. However, I’ve gotta say, I had a real issue psychology wise in this one. You can tell me what ya think, but I feel like this match never really put RVD in peril. Like this is revenge match, so I can shrug off them booking him to look strong and get a lot of offense in on a monster like Abyss, but I never felt like he came close to losing at all. Like, was there ever really a moment where RVD took a huge bump and you felt “Oh, Abyss could win this!”. He took the Barbed Wire Board bump but that was to the outside. Man didn’t even get a Chokeslam/Goozle nearfall.
S: Oh I’d definitely agree there, I never felt RVD was in any real form of grave danger in this match too, I mean RVD should be getting worked over in this for at least 60% of the match with a few hope spots in the beginning, beat down in the middle, comeback, close calls in both victory and defeat and then he can do the Janice spot and win with the Five Star. It never looked like he was going to lose to Abyss at all and for a man who seemed to have suffered numerous injuries like seven or eight weeks before this. He seemed to be getting around pretty grand if I may say so myself.
JT: I mean there’s also this idea that it’s his last match in TNA, so I guess everyone would’ve already assumed he’d have no chance.
S: I guess but it’s Abyss, he’s not someone like I don’t know, Tommy Dreamer on his way out of WWE in 2010.
JT: Oh, and I have only one last complaint about this match before we move on. Jesus Rob is so reliant on his taunt this match. Did you see that?!? It’s like one of his Five Moves OG Doom!! He does like every 2 minutes, and ever time he does it, it’s like a signal to Abyss that he’s supposed to go on offense now. Like he does it constantly, and half the time it leads to Abyss taking advantage. Like he’s always done his taunt, because it’s over, but it was like a crutch in this one.
S: I noticed it, it got so old after like the first two or three times. I honestly think this is a segment we need to add for whenever we review another RVD match. RVD Taunt Watch!
JT: For sure. I got I believe 5 times in this 12 minute match. We’ll see if he goes even higher next time!!
S: I believe he can do better if given more time. Boy I’m feeling a little burned out right now.
JT: I know exactly what you mean. That’s why it’s time to go to our Power Hour Recharge!!
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The Recharge
S: Ahhhh, feels good to be recharging again, doesn’t it? For those unfamiliar with this, basically its just a wee break segment where James and I talk out of the setting of our review and ask some wrestling trivia questions. How are you feeling today in the recharge centre today, James?
JT: Well given everything else that’s happening in the world, it’s nice to just talk about some wrestling. Talking about 2010 TNA, I knew we’d have a lot to say. And it’s been real fun already.
S: It surely has been so far, its been a great, fresh new coat of paint on the blogcast. So far they haven’t disappointed us in giving us topics to talk about.
JT: Well since we’re on our recharge here, I say, we take a little time to talk about Impact Plus, the neat little service that will allow us to watch not just this show, the rest of this arc. Seán, how has Impact Plus been treating you? You like it, dislike it, have you messed around with the back catalogues at all?
S: Man Impact Plus is a great streaming service (this is not an ad guys), I must say that whenever you load up anything on the service, the streaming of the PPV’s and shows alike are literally flawless in the flow of it for me, works perfectly on my Fire TV Cube. I’ve watched a few old matches here and there but I’ve mostly been dabbling in BOSJ 26 recently. How do you find it?
JT: I think Impact Plus a solid service. It’s put together pretty well, I think the layout is more manageable than the WWE Network can be, although I am comparing the Network App to the Impact Plus desktop site. Shame they don’t have a supported app on PS4, but I imagine those aren’t as easy to come by as they might seem. I’ll give them this, I was at least able to load the video player in the PS4 safari unlike NJPW World (although sadly the sound doesn’t work, so close to being able to watch on my actual TV rather than my laptop). As watching other wrestling, I haven’t really been sinking my teeth into much other wrestling other than for this arc. When I’ve been inclined I’ve mostly been watching random WWE PPVs or random matches I had thrown in a YouTube playlist.
S: Yeah same here, aside from watching BOSJ matches, I’ve just been watching random ass matches from various promotions that are free on YouTube. Impact have quite a hassle free, exceptional streaming service if I may say so. So James, should we get down to our trivia and remind everyone of the rules?
JT: Yes let’s get to our trivia!! This isn’t supposed to anything too serious, just my partner and I testing our knowledge and finding little fun facts for each other, and all of you to know. Basically, we’re each going to ask each other a question, with the guesser getting 3 guesses until they’re out, along with a hint to help them out if they’re lost or need a bit of extra help.
S: There you have it, so without any further ado, James, would you like to hit me with your question de jour, sir?
JT: Well my question today involves a man who we just talked about, the Monster, Abyss. Now though he’s gone by Abyss most his career, Christopher Joseph Park has also gone by “Joseph Park”, “Chris Justice”, “Justice”, “Prince Justice” and “The Original Terminator”. Now clearly, Abyss is the best of the bunch, although I do think “Joseph Park” was a good name for that variation of his character. So my question is this, which legendary mind of the wrestling business gave Abyss his most famous and beloved ring name?
S: Legendary mind? I’m going to take my first guess, so he got the name in about 2003 if I’m not mistaken. I’m pretty aware of who TNA management was at that time so I’m going to take my first guess at Dirty Dutch Mantell.
JT: Bam! Right on the money!! It was Dirty Dutch himself!! But for extra fun facts and nerd points, it actually happened in 2002 and outside of TNA, with Dutch having been the booker of IWA Puerto Rico!!
S: Oh wow, I had no clue that it happened in IWA Puerto Rico of all places, that’s really interesting. I knew Dutch was a booker in Puerto Rico but I never knew he was doing it in 2002!
JT: Yeah it’s crazy how much longevity some guys can get in wrestling. Like wasn’t he involved in booking and that sort of stuff in PR back during the days of Bruiser Brody? That’s a good 2 decades!
S: Yeah he was involved with Puerto Rican wrestling for decades as a wrestler and a booker if I remember correctly.
JT: What a guy, that Dutch. So, do you have a question for me now?
S: I most certainly do, James. RVD’s theme song, it’s infamously bad, we all know that and more regarding the song but can you name me the band who performed this number?
JT: Alright I think I actually know this one. Is the band, Dale Oliver & RVD?
S: It is not actually Dale Oliver nor RVD, this is a legitimate band. They have also done theme music for The Addiction, Kaz and Daniels. Would you like a hint?
JT: Mmmm I’m not sure where I heard that it was those two, maybe I confused it with another—OH I KNOW WHERE I CROSSED MY WIRES!! Mickie James’s Theme is her & Dale Oliver. Glad I figured that out. Alright, I’ll take that hint please.
S: Alright so the hint that I will lay on you is this, the name of the band, part of that name is a slang name for weed.
JT: Hmmm interesting. I think I’m completely lost here if I’m being honest. I’m going to try and go for small goals. Is the slang for weed in their name “Dope”?
S: It is not Dope, you’re two guesses down. Dope actually had some pretty good songs tbf. James, your final guess for us please.
JT: Well since I’m pretty lost, I’m going to go with the fun guess. Is the bad Bryan Clark and Brian Adams? Is it Chronic?!?
S: It is not them either, unfortunately. James, your three guesses are gone, someone play the sad song which I’m gonna say is ‘How You Remind Me’ by Nickelback. Sorry James.
*Insert Song*
JT: Well shit. Can you at least give the readers the sweet release of knowing what the bands actually was, so that they can avoid them at all cost?
S: Alright so the band is named Kushinator, proper great band, I’d recommend you check them out whenever they’re in your town and download all their stuff on Spotify, if they have one… If not, maybe Soundcloud or if you’re a giant hipster, Deezer or if you can’t be arsed. YouTube.
JT: What a name, Kushinator. Alright, I’ve had enough. Back to the knacking?
S: Let’s get on it, lad.
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10.10.10 was an Inside Job
JT: Next up is a fucking weird one. It’s The Band, aka Kevin Nash, Sting & D’Angelo Dinero in a Handicap Match against Samoa Joe and J-E-Double F, J-A-Double R-E-Double T, Jeff Jarrett.
S: TNA Universe Mode books match number six, amirite? Now you all may be confused but James, would you care to run down how this match came about?
JT: You bet I can! So first, what the hell does “The Band” mean? Well, it started out as an obvious wink wink nudge nudge reference to The Kliq, since the group originally consisted of Nash, Hall & Sean Waltman aka X-PAC. But Hall & Waltman are now gone, and Pope & Sting have come around to being allies of Big Kev. And for extra context, Sting is a heel here, having turned heel after attacking Hulk Hogan on the debut episode of 3 Hour Impact. Since then, he’s been going on about how “There is a disease festering in TNA wrestling”. He’s basically turned into a conspiracy theorist, convinced there’s some big storm brewing, and that nobody is willing to listen to him because they’re all sucked into it, or they’re cheering for the people involved in it. One such person is Jeff Jarrett, who alleges in the promo package that Sting saw the changing landscape with the emergence of Hogan & Bischoff in TNA and isnt happy with it, just because they’re his old enemies and he can’t except that they’ve changed. Meanwhile, he’s happy with the new landscape, he’s glad to see the promotion he started grow and get such big names involved. Someone who isn’t happy though is Kevin Nash, who calls Hogan “the biggest ‘worker’ in the business (in case you forget Vinny Ru was involved) and a snake. Nash & Sting have also have The Pope D’Angelo Dinero on their side, as The Pope insists you cannot play a player like him. He’s been sneaking and lying and backstabbing his whole life, so he knows a rat when he sees one. Of course, with those 3 seemingly calling for the end of TNA as we all know it, Samoa Joe has stepped up to help out Jeff against the baddies. And in fact, Hulk Hogan himself was going to be on their team to even the odds! But alas, trouble! He was set to be in the match, but he’s old and he’s had a flare up on back problems and has gone to have another surgery, so he can not compete or be here tonight. Remember that. So instead, the faces aren’t afraid to fight the odds. They’ll fight for the honor of Hogan & TNA against the 3 heels who have been talking a whole lot, but have revealed nothing, leaving them as self obsessed, grumpy conspiracy theorist cowards!! There’s a whole lot going on here, so I’m just going to let you have the pick of the lot. What, or who, do you want to touch on first? There’s so much to chose from, there’s really no wrong answer.
S: Jesus man, where do you even start with this one? There’s just so many layers, its an onion of a storyline is this little chestnut here. I mean this one has been a long ass build, to be fair to TNA, they’ve been teasing that Hogan and Co. are not to be trusted, its a slow burn to tonight. You mention The Band there, you forgot one forgotten member of that faction….
ERIC YOUNG!
JT: Missouri Athletic Commission barred Waltman from wrestling, due to his
S: Vic Venom, you’ve struck gold yet again. Gotta love the World Elite boys being reunited again.
JT: So I guess one thing I think is worth bringing up is the fact that in 2010, Sting is a heel and Jeff Jarrett is a face. I can’t help but feel like that’s a real miscast. I mean, SPOILERS, that’s not going to last, but it still feels weird. One bigger problem them, is Samoa Joe. Man, what the hell is he doing here. I mean, yeah, you need a big wrestler to help make sure these old dudes like Nash & Sting (more-so Nash than Sting, but still) can have good matches, but why Joe? It feels like a big waste to have him in this match if you ask me. I don’t give a fuck that they’re big stars, Joe feels like a total bit-player in a feud where he has to carry the wrestling, when he could be doing much bigger things.
S: I hate to break it to ya but this is going to be another constant in this arc my friend, the constant mismanagement of Samoa Joe and my word is he completely being mishandled by being in a miscellaneous handicap match.
JT: I hate to break it to ya but this is going to be another constant in this arc my friend, the constant mismanagement of Samoa Joe and my word is he completely being mishandled by being in a miscellaneous handicap match.
S: Joe’s? Oh fuck yeah, that theme is badass. Three whopper theme songs we have in this match here. Sting’s cool guitar solo heavy tune, Joe’s and Double J’s of course.
JT: Agreed, big fan of all 3 of those themes. Now I’ve got a question for you. Are you a big fan, or even a fan at all, of The Pope?
S: I gotta tell you this, James. I really do like The Pope, D’Angelo Dinero. Dude is charismatic as all hell, he’s got a class look, great promo and a whopper theme song, should’ve gotten more when he was in WWE and TNA but tbf to TNA, they used him well for the most part.
JT: Yeah I’d say that he’s better off being involved with Nash, Sting & Jarrett than Joe. Like you could say this is a downgrade since he was fighting for the TNA Title not too long ago, but man had only been in TNA for about a year and hadn’t been a big deal in WWE, so it really helps make him feel like a guy who belongs in a prominent position. I also have to say that I really like his face mask, and that I think the ring name “The Pope, D’Angelo Dinero” is legit one of the greatest ring names of all time. D’Angelo Dinero itself is class with its alliteration and the meaning behind the name (D’Angelo = From the Angel, Dinero = Spanish for “Money”) but The Pope is a unique nickname that’s nobody’s ever had before or since and that’s real fitting for Dinero. 10/10 Presentation all around.
S: Great to see some love for The Pope here. Charismatic guy, good in ring but just don’t have him on commentary.
JT: Yeah let’s avoid that. And just a general word of advice, avoid him on WWECW in general, because it’s WWECW. But that’s unrelated. Let’s get into this odd encounter underway, shall we?
S: Let’s break-it-down-a-gain.
JT: Good on my man, Big Sexy, chill Kevin Nash getting that sweet pay day to do about 4 moves and get the pin. RIGHT ON, BIG KEV! What a fucking lad, he’s out the door to WWE after this hahaha. In terms of in ring action, I can’t complain if I’m being straight with ya, it was technically sound, crowd involvement was there for me, Jarrett was good at amping the crowd up for the hot tag before turning heel. They shot the angle well, The Band are proper smart lads for sniffing out the rat in the one night duo and the angle I thought was pulled off well. This reminded me a lot of Pillman and Arn against Flair and Sting at Halloween Havoc 1995 not gonna lie.
S: I can definitely see why you’d say that. I certainly don’t think it’s on the level of that, mostly because that had the great historical link of Flair & Sting, but it was the same type of thing. More of an angle than a match, but it did it’s job. Joe is the sympathetic face, Jarrett’s the heel for turning on him after aligning together for weeks, and The Band show that for all they’ve said, they actually do seem to know something that everyone else doesn’t. Can’t say it was a great match but it definitely has its place in the overall story of the show, and therefore, it’s earned its spot.
JT: Yeah I think it wasn’t a great match, technically fine but it was mainly a story driven match to get an angle over and to plant the seeds for later on in the show. It served it’s purpose and it got the job done.
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The Final Commandment?
JT: So before we get to the next matchup, we’ve got a big announcement from Brother Ray & Brother Devon, Team 3D! First off, pour one out for Bubba & D-Von getting hustled by Paul Heyman.
S: God I love that brother of mine called Ray, good old Raymond and Devon. Was Heyman Hustle a thing at this point I wonder?
JT: Uhh, maybe? Heyman’s always been pretty ahead of the curve, so he may have? But jokes aside, for anyone who doesn’t know, when ECW Bubba & Devon left ECW for WWE, they made sure to ask Paul whether they owned the Dudley Boys copyright or not. I mean it was 2000, ECW wasn’t in great shape, and WWE wasn’t always very welcoming of new guys (See here: Public Enemy). So just in case they had to go to WCW or back to ECW or even the Indies, they made sure to ask Paul if they owned the copyright to their name, and he assured them, it’s all fine. But then, fast forward to fall 2006, and The Dudleys are ready to leave WWE and head to the greener pastures of TNA. Surely they’re bringing their copyright over with them, right? HAHA, BITCH YOU THOUGHT! Nope, scummy fucker Paul E had just bullshited them, and then got WWE to trademark it under their noses. Congrats guys!! You got conned by Heyman just like pretty much everyone in ECW did in some way or another. So I fuck you’re “Dudley Boyz” copyright, you are now Team 3D.
S: That story is always a great one to hear every single time, very scummy move by Paul there, everyone knows it is, I mean everyone got fucked over by Paul at some stage in ECW’s lifespan. Team 3D as a team name though? It’s not a bad substitute for The Dudley Boyz. Brother Ray and Brother Devon though? Eh but its probably the best they could’ve done.
JT: Yeah I’ll give them credit, it’s the most they could really do. The name “Bubba Ray” is kinda tough to deal with, considering that though his name technically is “Ray”, everyone just calls him Bubba. So you have to deal with that his entire run, you have to literally call him “Brother Ray” every single time or it’s just weird. The “Bully Ray” workaround was a good one, but that’s a long time from now. And they’ve got a lot to say here, about their future in TNA.
S: Man this is a really good promo that they cut here, Bubba is an absolute master of working the crowd. Just every time he is talking stick whether he’s a face or a heel, he just has that crowd in his hands.
JT: For sure. It must be nice for Devon. Not to say Bubba carries him in the team, but like, when Bubba’s doing such a good job, Devon is smart to just let him keep talking. So Bubba (fuck you im not trying Brother Ray every time) basically gives a big speech about how they’ve only gotten this far because of the fans. He says they’re both proud to be in a company who respects tag teams wrestling and has the best tag division in the world, so cue TNA chants. But with all that said, what they’re out here say, what’s left to do? I mean they’ve won Tag Titles everywhere they’ve gone, including here in TNA. He really milks the crowd, who are chanting “please don’t go”, which is funny with hindsight (man’s still wrestling now) but I’m sure I would’ve been torn up by this news if I was there too. He sadly announces to the world that “As of this moment, Team 3D is officially retired”. But as sad as that is, they have one last request. They’re last request, as perhaps the greatest tag team of all time, is to face the Best Team in the World, they want the TNA Tag Champs, they want Motor City Machine Guns. Devon says “Oh my brother, Testify!!”. Like you said, it’s a good promo, and I’ve gotta say, I’m intrigued. Like hindsight actually helps this. I know they’re not retiring, so something big has got to be coming right?
S: There may be, there may be not anything big coming from this but I will say this. At Turning Point, we’re getting The Guns vs Team 3D, dude.
JT: Oh fuck yeah. I’m there for that. I cannot wait. Good job TNA. We’ve been giving out about them a bunch, deservedly so in some cases, but that’s a PPV worthy match. That’s a match that’d get me to buy your shows.
S: Absolutely, I’m in agreement with all that, I am absolutely pumped to get to watch that match.
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Fortunate Ones
JT: Alright from one former ECW act to six!! It’s time for Lethal Lockdown!! It’s Ric Flair’s Fortune vs Mick Foley’s EV2.0!! It’s TV Champion AJ Styles, Robert Roode & James Storm collectively Beer Money, Kazarian, & Matt Morgan vs Tommy Dreamer, Rhino, Stevie Richards, Sabu & Raven!!
S: FORTUNE FOUR! Which has five lads in it? Or is it six? Where the hell is Desmond Wolfe?
JT: Desmond Wolfe, despite having been aligned with Flair, wasn’t ever actually in Fortune. When Fortune was formed, apparently Flair demanded that they earn their spot, and that’s right when Wolfe hit a big losing streak, preventing him from entering the group. So since couldn’t make Fortune, he entered a team with Brutus Magnus aka Nick Aldis called London Brawling. Of course, just the month before this at No Surrender, they were scrapped from the show last second for “behavioral issues”. Sadly, that wasn’t actually the case. What actually was the case was that Desmond had been Diagnosed with Hepatitis B, which essentially ended his career. He’d show up like maybe a few more times on Impact and then way later (like in May) as Commissioner of Xplosion, but he’s pretty much done by this point. It’s a real sad story.
S: Oh wow, I didn’t know that he was diagnosed with Hepatitis B at this stage, I thought that happened after he got released from TNA, oh god, that’s a real shame. The tag team with Magnus though, much more brief than what I remember it being.
JT: Yeah same, I didn’t realize it all happened so soon. Now technically, he’s not retired yet. However, he has been written off. And what’s the excuse? Well he’s gone back to England in order to try out for Chelsea. Not fucking kidding. They wrote him off by saying “he’s going to try play Football, because England”.
S: Try out for Chelsea?! Ah for fucks sake like hahahaha, being the football fanatic that I am, I’m pretty sure football teams don’t just hold open tryouts. I may be wrong but I’ve never heard that being done because then any Tom, Dick and Harry would just show up like Pete from down the pub or Daz the local chip shop owner.
JT: Hey, he’s not just any bloke, he’s a TNA SUPERSTAR!!
S: Oh how could I forget? That’s the gateway to the Premier League!
JT: Exactly! So that’s why he’s not here, but what’s the deal with Matt Morgan in Fortune? Well, he’s really just here as a body to fight EV2. Like that’s it. The original group of Fourtune was AJ, Beer Money & Kazarian, but they beefed up to include Morgan & Douglas Williams by the end of the summer. They renamed it Fortune because you can’t be a Four Horseman stable with 6 fucking people, so they just renamed it and said fuck the Horseman.
S: It’s a pretty solid group if I’m being honest. You got Flair who is in that JJ Dillon role now that he’s older, AJ is obviously the crown jewel. Beer Money are your tag team. Kaz is your X-Divison guy. Matt Morgan is your enforcer, the heavy. Doug Williams is your veteran utility player who can settle into any division, beit tag team wrestling, with the X-Division guys or higher up on the card. It’s a brilliant group on paper, isn’t it?
JT: On paper it’s a really well constructed group. You’ve got clear roles and statuses for everyone. I think the issue that Fortune had is that they never really had much of an identity other than “Ric Flair’s Faction”. They didn’t have much other driving cause to be together, they didn’t have an overall aesthetic other than heels in suits, they didn’t have a defined purpose for being together like “Taking over TNA” or “Making the future now” or “Running Hogan out of TNA”. They were put together because Flair wanted a faction, and so they came together.
S: Yeah it was really just Ric Flair’s guys which is a shame because they’ve the looks nailed down and the roles perfectly assigned, shame they had no real motives during their tenure because they are positioned as one of the top factions.
JT: Well tonight they have a chance to prove they’re the dominant faction, as they plan here to EV2.0 for good. So Seán, before watching this show, did you remember EV2 were a thing? Because I sure as shit didn’t.
S: Yeah I briefly remembered that they were a thing, I was watching TNA and keeping up it at this time and I knew there was an ECW reunion faction because the Hardcore Justice, blue balls ECW reunion show was the reason of the formation of EV2.0.
JT: Boy, that’d be a hell of a bonus episode wouldn’t it? No promises though folks. Yeah so having seen EV2.0 again, I had a memory from the depths of my subconscious dug up. Here’s the story. Me, 11 years old. Mick Foley coming to my Long Island book store as part of his book tour for his next book, Countdown to Lockdown. I distinctly remember telling myself that when I met him and got my book signed, I’ll wish him good luck beating Flair at Lockdown!! Yeah!! Because remember, I was 11, and a mark. It’s funny, because by then I already knew wrestling was fake, but I thought I’d be the right thing to do. Anyway, I got nervous and never did it, got em!! So thanks Extreme Version 2.0. That’s what EV2.0 stands for BTW. The most minimal of effort was made.
S: I would’ve called them The Extreme Middle Aged Dads. In relation to Countdown to Lockdown, have you read that book by any chance?
JT: I have but honestly that was years ago, and my memory of it isn’t great. I can tell that it wasn’t nearly as good as his first 2 books were, but I’m sure I’d be able to get some enjoyment out of it when I inevitably reread it.
S: Possible book report in the future perhaps???
JT: Who fucking knows at this point, with the state of quarantine and all that.
S: If the readers want it and if you’re bothered to read it, I think it could be a fun little side venture.
JT: Again, we’ll leave that up to you. So, what’s the deal with EV2.0? Well it all stems from Mick Foley and his run in TNA. First of all, I just want to remind you that in the year 2009, a decade since he lost was a World Champion, he won the TNA Title. Like jeez, it wasn’t as if everything suddenly went bad under Hogan & Bischoff. But anyway, as 2010 began, under new management, Eric Bischoff fired him, believing Mick had attacked him. Even though Hogan helped get him back in, Mick continued to upset Easy E, shaving Bischoff bald on Impact, and he helped another man who Jeff Jarrett (who Bischoff was also pushing around). Ultimately, they were pitted against each other in a Loser Leaves TNA Match on Impact, with Jarrett winning and reluctantly leaving Mick out of a job. This was done irl so they wouldn’t burn through all of Mick’s contracted dates with so much of the year left. He would return in July to attack the locker room with the requisite ECW Alumni. After the attack, Dixie Carter granted them a special reunion PPV, the aforementioned Hardcore Justice. The week after this show though, they were attacked by Fortune, who claimed they didn’t belong in TNA. As President, Dixie disagreed and signed them so they could handle their beef with Fortune. Over the next few months, the various all sorts led by Tommy Dreamer fought Fortune, to poor results. No Surrender saw the extent of their defeat, as Douglass Williams retained his X Division Title over Sabu, and Dreamer was forced to say I Quit
against AJ Styles. Two weeks later, Tommy was ready to admit defeat, but that wasn’t enough for Fortune, who beat him up again. They didn’t just want him defeated, they wanted him out of TNA. So naturally, next week he returned with tonight’s Lockdown team, setting up tonight’s match. But that’s not all! In order to determine who would have the number advantage in this Lockdown, AJ Styles and Sabu faced off in a Ladder Match, with AJ winning. Then in the go home show for BFG, Mick Foley wrestled what would be his last TNA Match, defeating Ric Flair in a Last Man Standing Match. Thank you Wikipedia, ain’t no way I would’ve known all that without it. Point is, Fortune wants EV2.0 gone and they’ve been trying to get rid of them for months, and not EV2.0 have to fight for their existence in their own environment. In Lockdown, they’re hardcore fish in a hardcore pond, and they need to win to stay alive.
S: Credit to TNA again here with this one, fucking intelligent long term booking stemming from the start of the Bischoff and Hogan era leading to their biggest show of the year, I didn’t watch the episodes of Impact or No Surrender prior to this but the build you just mentioned there sounded awesome. The younger Fortune stable wanting to rid of the bygone era of ECW legends. The dynamic of it sounds really appealing now.
JT: I wish there was a bit more meat on the bones here, but still it’s a well established rivalry that makes sense and has been given a proper amount of build for this big gimmick match on their biggest show of the year.
JT: Yeah we should. First, do you want to run down the Lockdown rules for anyone unfamiliar?
S: Absolutely, with pleasure my friend. So Lethal Lockdown, the rules are identical to War Games with two men starting off for five minutes within a usual TNA steel cage, after the five minutes is up, the team with the coin toss advantage is allowed the handicap advantage over the other team. After entrant number three enters, a new entrant enters every two minutes until it is five on five. Much like War Games, the match beyond begins with the lowering of the roof allowing Lethal Lockdown to begin with weapons hanging from the cage roof. The man who gets the first pinfall or submission takes the win home for their respective team.
JT: So Kaz & Richards start off, with Kaz starting off strong until Stevie starts talking him down with Neckbreakers and by throwing him into the cage. Kazarian takes control again once as he avoids a Dropkick and hits a Springboard Leg Drop. He’s sporting his Metallica Font tights in blue, as all of Fortune have matching blue. Stevie avoids another Leg Drop to take control again, and honestly, he doesn’t look so bad considering he’s 38 here. But his run doesn’t last long as AJ is the first man to enter for Fortune, hitting his signature beautiful Dropkick as they take control, teaming up together to work over Stevie. AJ with the Figure 4 with Kaz holding him down, nice nod to their leader, and vicious tactic considering he can’t tap out or get a rope break. Tommy enters first for EV2.0, sprays water in AJ’s face as he takes control. He gets a nice Pumphandle Suplex on AJ that lands him on his stomach, followed by some double team offense by him & Stevie. Stevie goes for a Superplex on Kaz, but it ends up as a Tower of Doom as AJ hits him Stevie with a Powerbomb, which sends Kaz down to clips Dreamer on the way down to the mat. Luckily for Fortune, this happens just in time for Roode to come in for Fortune. Dreamer is bleeding, and Fortune are exploiting it as they punch him from the outside of the cage via hole the camera goes through. I feel like this a fun little spot, something you could only see in TNA, no? Any thoughts about the little hole in the side of the Cage that TNA would always have?
S: Crazy to think Stevie is only 38 here, that’s mental. Even ten years later now, he still looks in brilliant condition, that’s what you get when you look after yourself. Big up, Big Stevie. You mention the cage hole there. The wee glory hole, is it? I always thought that was just a weird design that they would add to the cage but for those who don’t know, it’s for the camera men, they should’ve added one of them to the big red steel asylum they had.
JT: Oh for sure, that thing was kinda neat, but it was difficult as fuck to see through. It’s also proof that Vince McMahon never watched any TNA, otherwise he wouldn’t have made the fucking Hell in a Cell RED. More proof is the fact that it took another 6 years for WWE to sign him. I mean, look at AJ here man. Just like, fucking wow.
S: Oh thank you for bringing that up, he is absolutely exceptional here. Arguably the best wrestler in the world at this point, if not the world then TNA for sure. Pretty sure he was PWI’s number one in the PWI 500 as well.
JT: Yeah it’s crazy how somehow AJ was just MVP of TNA for like, his whole career there. Like no matter what period of TNA you tune it to, you can assume that AJ was doing his absolutely best to get it over and make people care. There was only so much he can do on his own (see here: Claire Lynch) but he absolutely did his part in this one. He feels like the captain of Fortune in this. He doesn’t enter first, because you don’t want him tired out by the end, and you don’t want him out last, because Morgan will be tired if he’s in too soon. So you throw him in second, so he can make sure everyone is organized as they come in. He’s TV Champ here, which is a downgrade from beating Sting to retain the World Title at last year’s BFG, but then TV Title is kinda funny. It spent its first year as the “Legends Title” as part of the Main Event Mafia storyline, then became the “Global Title” after Eric Young won it as the of the World Elite faction in late 2009, and finally AJ had rechristen it the “TV Title” when he won in July of 2010. Midcard belt or not, AJ is the type of workhorse you’d pick to give the belt legitimacy.
S: He most definitely is but this TNA TV Championship, it never ever got legitimised really, did it? Like it was usually the belt given to people with fuck all else to do.
JT: Sadly you’re right. But luckily, we will get to see some TV Title defenses during this arc. So perhaps we can decide how exactly it failed. Was it a lack of defenses? Lack of meaningful storylines? Did someone winning the belt kill its importance? Was it a lust for power? Gold? Or were they simply born with a heart full of neutrality!!
S: I think it was most of the things you just mentioned, I mean some of the guys they’d throw the belt on just for the hell of it. I think whenever we get to our final TV Title Match on this arc, we’ll get into greater detail about the belt itself but it really was a multitude of those reasons.
JT: So with Kaz, AJ & Roode taking liberties on Stevie & Dreamer, it’s time for Sabu to come in and make the save. But not just any Sabu!! In the words of the immortal Spongebob Squarepants: BALD BALD BALD BALD!!! Ok but jokes aside, Sabu looks alright all things given. He comes in with Poetry in Motion into the corner, then does typical Sabu stuff as he slips on the ropes, then retries and hits a Springboard Tornado DDT on AJ. Tommy is bleeding big time when nobody else has as much as a scratch, but that would change as the match went on. To give Fortune the advantage again, it’s James Storm. Now both of Beer Money are in and Fortune’s teamwork tenfold. Spinebuster into a Backstabber by Roode & AJ, then Roode holds onto the grip to Slingshot him into a DDT by Storm. The classic “Beer!! Money!!” taunt by Roode & Storm gets a big response from the Impact Zone. We’ll get into this more when we get our first individual Beer Money match, but they fucking rule.
S: Fuck yeah man, Beer Money absolutely slap. Such an awesome pairing of two charismatic lads, one the rich Canadian, the other being the beer swilling cowboy from Tennessee. A pairing that was made for one another.
JT: Cannot wait to properly see them in action. Meanwhile, Stevie hits a Stevie Kick on Roode, but Storm gets revenge for his partner as he hits Stevie next with the Last Call!! Next in, evening the odds, it’s Raven! He comes in and quickly cleans house with a Bulldog & Clotheslines combination. Sadly, unlike Stevie, Raven got real old looking quickly. Like only 5 years prior, he won the NWA World Championship in TNA, and he wasn’t looking that bad. Aged, clearly, but not like this.
S: Oh my god stop. He looks like fat blonde Elvis here, bless him. Which is such a shame because Raven is so cool and one of the greatest characters in wrestling history. But here, jaysus.
JT: Yeah sadly, one of the biggest parts of Raven’s appeal was his awesome grudge look, so he feels very different than he did when he was younger. Anyway, Dreamer hangs up AJ in the tree of woe, and then stands right on the phenomenal one’s “Yambag Region”. Now Roode has also been busted on, as The Blueprint Matt Morgan rumbles in as Fortune’s anchor. He’s another guy who will be interesting to talk about as this arc goes on. So as he comes in, Morgan Powerbombs Sabu into the side of the Cage. With his power this late into the match, Fortune stands tall as they get control of the ring, busting open Sabu & Raven to go along with Tommy. EV2.0 need help, and they need it fast, and that’s when their anchor, The Manbeast Rhino enters!! A ref enters alongside him, as the roof lowers and Rhino runs wild, hitting Storm with a Gore to officially enter the final stage of the match. Now that there’s nobody there to hold them back, Flair & Foley join in the chaos as they start to fight each other on the outside. Fuck sake, Ric is busted on in the commotion. I don’t blame him too much here, as it looks like he reopened an old wound, but that wouldn’t shouldn’t have been there in the first place!! Dammit Ric, you’re like 60!! Take your health more seriously!! Have some respect for yourself!!
S: Legit question here. How in the name of Paul Roma has Ric Flair never contracted hepatitis? He blades every single chance he gets, the divil.
JT: On top of blading constantly for like 30 years, he’s also made a big deal about, uhh….let’s call it “Space Mountain”. It’s surprising he never got it, especially since he worked with guys who did, either as opponents or partners.
S: Like he has had just as much sex as a Gene Simmons or a Magic Johnson and yet he’s hepatitis and HIV free. Ya gotta respect it.
JT: Like he has had just as much sex as a Gene Simmons or a Magic Johnson and yet he’s hepatitis and HIV free. Ya gotta respect it.
S: Now that we’re talking about Flair now. What do you make of him here in TNA?
JT: Being a manager? I don’t mind it. If he truly needed the money like he says he did, I don’t mind him being a manager. He was always going to age, but his mic skills and charisma never have, so letting young guys benefit from working with him is something I’m fine with. It worked with Charlotte when she was younger, and I’m a okay with him elevating all the fellas and fortune. Seeing him get pushed around in a wheelchair when he was managing AJ earlier in 2010 was funny too. Him wrestling though? Really not keen on it. Like I mean if he takes a bump or two here or there, it’s fine, managers have to get comeuppance every once in a while. But like doing Last Man Standing Matches against Mick Foley? Nooooo fucking way. Absolutely not. No.
S: Yeah like him as a manager and him being a mouthpiece for someone or a group as a whole. I’m all for it. Him wrestling Jay Lethal and Mick Foley in bloody matches? Nah you’re alright.
JT: I mean maybe I wouldn’t be opposed to him having a silly match with Jay Lethal, but I don’t want to see Ric Flair in 100% serious matches at his age. At most have him be in a 10 minute long tag match where he does comedy spots and the Flair flop. And again, that’s totally based on him being healthy enough to compete. I don’t want to see him even do light comedy matches if his health is at risk. I know he comes out of this all alright, but it’s just an unnecessary risk when you consider he’s Ric Flair, TNA would’ve paid him hundreds of thousands if not millions, just to strut naked through the Impact Zone every week.
S: It also completely dampens his awesome retirement match with HBK at Mania 24. Like I don’t wanna see him wrestle in his multi coloured boxer shorts.
JT: Back in the ring, there’s loads of weapon shots with various different objects once the roof is lowered. Now that it’s come down to weapons, it seems like EV2.0 are finally in control. For example Raven hits Morgan with a Trash Can Lid, Morgan hits him with a Kendo Stick, they trade shots back and forth until Raven tackles him down. Even if Morgan is bigger, he can get control. This leads Fortune to try and use their explosive youth to get the control back, but the young guns are too impatient. Morgan goes for the Carbon Footprint on Stevie, but he moves and Morgan goes down after hitting the door, allowing EV2.0 to throw Kaz outside the Cage, with Stevie chasing Kaz up to the top. Jesus Christ, they tease Kaz hitting Stevie with a Flux Capacitor off the cage to the floor. Then even seemingly have people go to huddle up for the catch, until Stevie fights Kaz off. A table & ladder are set up on top, with Kaz puts Stevie across the table, when suddenly, it’s Brian Kendrick?!? He was hiding on top of the cage in a body bag, allowing him to go after Kaz o the ladder. Now you may be asking, why the fuck is he here? He’s not an ex-ECW geezer!! Well, you’re right, but he grew up idolizing them, and in the build, he had repeatedly offered his services to them. They’re clearly setting up a big ladder bump on the top of the cage, but the ladder tips, and Kaz awkwardly falls onto its side. So instead of an awesome fall off the ladder through the table, Kendrick has to get him up and give him a backdrop through the table. Back in the ring, AJ escapes a Dreamer Driver and hits a Pele Kick on Tommy. He puts a chair on Dreamer, but Dreamer gets up and hits him with it!! He grabs AJ off the top rope and hits the Dreamer Driver off the top onto the chair!! Tommy covers, 1-2-3!! EXTREME WRESTLING LIVES ON!! What did you think of this one?
S: Boy this match was a smack bang in the middle meh for me, not good, not bad. Just there, probably one of the weakest Lethal Lockdowns that I’ve seen to be honest with ya. Like I wasn’t expecting much considering Raven is way older and out of shape, that pains me to say that. Rhino clearly is a bit slower than he was in 2003 or so but he still has that intensity which he’s not lost. Sabu even in 2010, he’s moving around fairly carefully, six years later he’s even worse in that match against Janela where he needs hip replacement surgery. Tommy and Stevie can still go at a good pace. There were a few good spots, Brian Kendrick showing up completely shocked me. The finish was awesome with the Spicoli Driver off the top onto the chair. I think this match was a bit hampered by the Lethal Lockdown stipulation not gonna lie. I think this ten man tag would’ve worked way better as an atomicos match or a ten man tag hardcore match. Or maybe do a four on four match and then have Dreamer vs Styles for the TV Title in a falls count anywhere match or something. I’m just spit balling what I feel could be better matches for this show. What about you, James?
JT: I agree. When I initially finished the match, I felt like I had wasted my time. Of course, having done more research into it, I have more appreciation for the feud, but it doesn’t totally save the match. I’m no longer disappointed that EV2.0 won, because I know now that it wasn’t really the blowoff, considering many of the EV2.0 guys had this to be a real showcase for the first time in a while. But as you said, many of them aren’t nearly who they were at the start of the last decade or even 5-6 years before. And I agree that the Lethal Lockdown stipulation really limited this. Like when you have ex-ECW guys, especially these ex-ECW guys, you’re expecting to get weapons stuff. So you just sit through the first half, letting everyone enter, as you get pretty bland brawling in the cage. And then when the weapons finally enter the fold, the Cage squished everyone in. You don’t get Sabu jumping off a chair onto the ropes through a table, you don’t get Rhino speed across the ring through a table or off the side of the ring with a Piledriver. You just get dudes standing and swinging a weapon indiscriminately, without much purpose other than “here’s the bit with the weapons”. Like you suggest, maybe make this a 5 on 5 Hardcore Tag and let them brawl all over the arena. I’m not usually a crowd brawl guy, but you can get some nice hardcore action between these guys if you just gave them space to work with. On top of that, seeing Kendrick was kinda weird and didn’t feel necessary. And though I was initially confused that they’d have EV2.0 go over (even with a nice finish like that), I’ll end my bit here by saying it was nice to see Tommy get the win after begging for a truce weeks earlier. They could’ve finished the battle there, but they wanted a war, and they got more than they bargained for.
S: Yeah I agree, spoiler for Turning Point, James. We’ve got more of this feud next month, just so you know.
JT: I’m honestly not real excited to see more EV2.0, but I’ll try to be optimistic that the next match will be a better use of everyone and it’ll be more entertaining. Fingers crossed.
S: I’m pretty sure we’ve got EV2 stuff until the end of 2010.
JT: Well strap in for more ECW nostalgia milking next time on the Power Hour.
S: Can’t wait for it.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————
Brother Nero, I knew you’d turn!!
S: Well, its time. We’ve reached the main event.
JT: THE ASSHOLE, MR ANDERSON!! THE OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST KURT ANGLE!! THE CHARISMATIC ENIGMA JEFF HARDY!! TNA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ON THE LINE!! And that’s not all!! If Kurt Angle loses, he says his career IS OVER!! ALL THE CHIPS ARE DOWN!!
S: It’s big match feel! I think it’s time I run this down, don’t ya think?
JT: Please do!! Let everyone know how our big main event came about.
S: So when RVD got nearly killed by Abyss. The TNA Heavyweight Championship was VACATED and thus an eight man tournament was declared with the winner becoming the new TNA Heavyweight Champion. The eight competitors were Jeff Hardy, ROB TERRY?! Kurt Angle, Douglas Williams, Jay Lethal, Mr Anderson, The Pope and Matt Morgan. Hardy would defeat Terry, Angle would defeat Williams and they would meet in the semi finals. Ken defeated Lethal and The Pope at No Surrender to get to the finals. At No Surrender, Angle and Hardy would wrestle to a 30 minute time limit draw, next episode of Impact they would wrestle to another draw leading Bischoff to declare the finals to be a no time limit, no count out, no disqualification triple threat finals at Bound for Glory to definitely crown a new TNA Heavyweight Champion.
JT: Another piece of build they have for this show is individual promos by each wrestler in the main event, sprinkled throughout the show. And I’m going to break them down right here, right now. So we start off with Jeff Hardy. He says tonight is a new beginning for him, and though some people struggle to know what they want to do, he knows what he wants to do. Someone is going to suffer an unfortunate Twist of Fate…followed by that Swanton Bomb baby!! Oh, and he makes a Goldust growl to end the promo. In Mr. Anderson’s promo, he cuts off Christy to apologize to Kurt Angle, Angle’s family & friends, and others because he’ll have to end Kurt’s career tonight. He said it’s Kurt’s fault because he punched him in the nuts and to quote him “That shit hurt”, and “Not just the left one but the right one as well, both, equally”. He’s going to end Kurt, not because he wants to, but because he has to. Kurt’s the final one to cut a promo tonight, and he says he’s not in the mood to talk, he’s gotta focus. He’s always stepped up to every opportunity and the pressure will make him thrive. He guarantees he’ll win, and says “Hulk, this one’s for you!”. Man, I love when companies do this sort of thing. The fact that the build happens throughout the night makes this match feel bigger, and it makes the guys seem important for them to get their own individual interviews when nobody else is. Quality job by TNA here.
S: These backstage interviews really helped the main event. Made the match feel all that more important. Great job by TNA here.
JT: Oh, and of course, there’s also a video package before the match. It basically just highlights all the times the guys have fought each other time, spliced with footage of them training and preparing for their matches. It’s honestly it’s quite good, the footage is nice and crisp, it cuts between everything nicely, they don’t use slow mo excessively. I think that as far as promo video for major American companies go, I’d say it’s WCW last, then ECW (it had its charm), then ROH, TNA and on top, WWE. AEW included because I can’t say I have a lot of experience with their video packages, and they’re new so they don’t have a definitive style yet. What say you Seán? Did you like this package, where do you think TNA stands in the promo package game?
S: I’d say TNA are definitely a deserving second place in the promo package game. I think that’s because David Zahadi has been in charge of video production since about 2005 ngl.
JT: Well he did a great job here tonight. So, what say you and I break down each member of this Triple Threat as they come out? Just discuss them at this point in their career, any sort of bits and bobs about their gear, hair, music, and so on? I mean; the three in this match all have real interesting history’s regarding TNA. Sound good?
S: Absolutely man, let’s do it.
JT: So these guys all come out in the order in which they’re interviewed (I like that little detail). So out first, it’s Jeff Hardy, Brother Nero, and why look at that!! He’s got a brand spanking new theme song!! Another Me blares as Jeff is doing his Jeff Hardy dance behind this semi-transparent screen, which slowly rises up as the black light effect comes out. I like Jeff’s black light entrance honestly, it’s a fun different little thing. It works well with his getup, which is a black bodysuit & pants with neon green sleeves and white face paint with black vertical stripes and green & purple horizontal stripes, all very prototypical Jeff Hardy colors are styles. So uhh, Jeff Hardy in TNA huh? This was definitely a big development for me as a child, he was my favorite wrestler and I tuned in to TNA specifically because he was there. Mind running down Jeff’s history in TNA? Feel free to add any sort of little comments about Jeff’s getup and music and entrance and all those nice things.
S: I like the theme song, I think its probably his best TNA theme by a good margin. He had so many theme songs in TNA too, it was ridiculous. The lighting and the entrance was very well presented too. The hair though? Ewww not a fan
JT: Yeah, short hair Jeff Hardy is kinda weird. But honestly, none of that matters. I think it was 100% smart of TNA to put Jeff in this main event. Man had just been having the best run of his life from Summer 2008 to Summer 2009, where he became really the Number 2 face and merch seller to John Cena. So good on ya TNA for actually booking the right guy in the main event of their biggest PPV. They definitely nailed that, across the board.
S: Yeah they knew what they had to do with Jeff after he left WWE. There was just so much juice left in Jeff as a main event guy so credit to them for capping on that.
JT: Out next is Mr Anderson, who has a cool spotlight based entrance, which goes great with his Boxer Ring Introduction gimmick. But you know what doesn’t go great with that aesthetic? A fucking Baseball Cap and “A**hole” T-Shirt. God dammit Ken, have some respect, dress up for the biggest show of the year, for fucks sake. I mean, am I crazy? Shouldn’t he do a little more for such a big show?
S: Holy fucking shit the absolute state of Mr. Anderson here. He’s got his early 2000’s peroxide blonde hair, his TNA redneck baseball cap, his skinny fat post WWE 2007 roid cycle frame. His ‘A**hole’ t-shirt’ with the sleeves cut off and the shirt is long making him look naked and his awful biddle rock theme song which is a rip off of his Airborne theme. The cut of him.
JT: Now, you and I have talked before about Mr Kennedy/Anderson. I’ve said that I generally don’t really like him. I know you have held him in higher regard than I have. But I think here, it’s a good meeting of the minds. Like I could play as Mr Anderson on SvR 2008, the first WWE game I had. But for my time watching WWE, he was gone pretty much the entire time. So seeing him in TNA, it was my first impression of him. So Seán, I think you can at least kind of understand why I didn’t see the hype around him. However, I will continue my point from earlier by saying he belongs here. Whether I like him or not isn’t relevant. Dude was a someone who people thought had potential, and never really got a fair shake in WWE. So naturally, after he got the boot from WWE, he went to TNA, and they pushed him. Much like pushes for someone like Brodie Lee in AEW, I get it. If you have someone who fans felt were under appreciated in WWE, push them in your company. As such, Anderson is a proper main event guy. He is over, he has the crowd’s attention, and he is a fresh face in the company. I’ve got no qualms of him being in this match, personal gripes notwithstanding.
S: Oh I fully understand where you’re coming from and honestly man, I think I’m on your side of the fence at this stage. I think when I started becoming more familiar with Internet fans’ opinions, I think I fell into that Mr. Kennedy was underrated camp and boy was I a fucking idiot to fall into that camp, honestly, I don’t get it now.
JT: Oh damn. I did it fellas!! I brainwashed Seán!! Nobody can stop me from taking over the universe now!! Muhahahahaha!! Ok seriously, but to be fair to him, he just came off a pretty good feud with Kurt Angle, probably the best rivalry of his career, he was a proper douche and got his ass kicked for it. Speaking of which, out last is Kurt Angle!! And first things first, is it just me or does Kurt Angle with a beard look real scary? Not just in a tough, grizzled bastard way, but it also makes him look like a little dodgy too (although that might be my knowledge of his real life situation taking over).
S: Yeah this short little stubble beard makes him look well dodge but as you said, its probably a case of his personal life being in a tailspin, I think around this time, Karen Angle was in her affair with Jeff Jarrett.
JT: There’s also the fact that he really got into trouble with pills and alcohol during his TNA run, due to their looser drug testing than WWE. Those factors combined just make it always kind of uncomfortable to watch Kurt in TNA, which sucks because a lot of his TNA work is great. But hey, if you and I weren’t prepared to deal with the uncomfortable reality that people, often people we admire, have issues with substance abuse, well then we wouldn’t be doing this arc.
S: Yeah with this arc we’re doing, there is a lot of scandal in the company happening around this time. Both with the wrestlers and the company itself.
JT: Enough of serious talk, let’s talk about music? Seán! Ya like Kurt’s music?
S: I think it’s a pretty good song for Kurt Angle, I like the backing track and the rapping in it is pretty dope too. Do you know who is rapping in this track?
JT: Oh I actually know this one! It’s John Cena’s boy, The Trademark!! The same dude who rapped with Cena on My Time is Now!!
S: Not only is he Cena’s boy, he’s only his bloody cousin!
JT: So he’s a proper Nia Jax huh? That’s fun. This is fun. We’re learning stuff. I also have a fun thing for ya, I’ve got a “What Bar” for Kurt Angle!!
S: Hey listen, WWE stole what bar from OSW already, we need our own little thing.
JT: So he’s a proper Nia Jax huh? That’s fun. This is fun. We’re learning stuff. Alright so back on track, Tenay says momentum is on Kurt Angle’s side. He’ll need it, since his career in on the line. What do you think of Kurt putting his career on the line in this match?
S: Its certainly a stipulation but I’ve no idea where it all came out of. If he was to lose, was this a way to write him off TV to sort himself out or finalise his divorce with Karen or something?
JT: I’m not sure. Like maybe you could say that it’s a “I have to get the TNA Title back at all costs”, but he fairly earned his way into this title match. It’s not like he had to put his career on the line to get a heel champion to agree. And it hadn’t even been that long since he was Champ!! It had been like a year, he lost the belt to AJ the show before BFG in 2009!! And it’s not like he’s been losing a lot either!He won his feud against Anderson by beating him at Lockdown, he won at Victory Road in July over The Pope, and then it was a draw against Jeff at No Surrender. Kurt, my guy, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!?
S: It feels like a ploy by TNA to boost the PPV buys, doesn’t it?
JT: Yeah it feels like them trying to add a cherry on top of the main event, in case what they were already promoting wasn’t enough. They had to add this extra spicy bit just in case you weren’t convinced, which seems silly to me, considering you’ve got 3 of your biggest names fighting for the title. To add to that, you’ve got this storyline that’s been going on for a while now about a big conspiracy, that something is coming. We don’t know what it is, we don’t know who it is, if it’s even a person. I know for storyline purposes, they’ll use this whole affair, but it doesn’t seem like something that’s really necessary.
S: Yeah it feels like they’re adding too many spices to the curry. You don’t need this much to your MAIN EVENT of your biggest show.
JT: Yeah if you want to do a Kurt Angle retirement storyline, you gotta book it in a one on one. Make it the story of the match, not an aspect of the story, not a little side story. But that’s enough chit chat. This is our final match of the night, and according to Taz, there will be “no shenanigans, no tomfoolery” in this match. So, should we get to this, the main event of TNA’s biggest show of the year?
S: Absolutely, let’s take this one home!
JT: Bell rings, Hardy & Angle go after Anderson to start, working him over in the corner, only for Angle to miss a spear in the corner, leaving Anderson vs Hardy. Quick counter Neckbreaker by Anderson, 1-2-Angle breaks it up. He hits a Belly to Belly on Ken, but Brother Nero breaks up the cover. Jeff grabs Anderson from behind, Kurt grabs Jeff, BAM!!, Big Double German Suplex to both of them!! Great to see, you love to see it quite frankly. So Jeff sends Kurt out over the top, and sneaky heel Anderson attacks Jeff from behind. But then Angle pulls Andy out to the floor, allowing Jeff to dive out into both of them with a Tope Con Hilo!! It’s now Jeff & Kurt in the ring, Jeff goes up top, and Angle comes up to meet him, throwing him with a Belly to Belly off the top!! Anderson then jump into the fray, grabbing and driving Kurt with a standing Green Bay Plunge, only for Jeff to get back up to hit a Spin Kick on Ken, then hit the Swinging Corner Kick to Kurt. He goes up top and leaps off for the Swanton, but Anderson moves, and there’s a bit of a botched spot where it looked like Kurt was supposed to catch him or something but he didn’t. Did you catch this Seán? What was supposed to happen here?
S: I think what the plan was for this spot was that Kurt was gonna catch him out of the air and hit him with a bodyslam but he just completely mistimed it and it looked sloppy.
JT: Makes sense, shame. I hate seeing botches like that in a match like this. Like it’s the main event of the biggest show of the year guys, just get your best out there. I get it, mistakes happen, but like, man, it’s the main event of the biggest show!! If there was ever a time to demand a lot from your wrestlers, now is the time!!
S: Yeah it reminds me of BFG 2007 in the main event between Angle and Sting, Angle is supposed to bust out a 450 splash but instead does a 360 foot stomp to poor old Stinger.
JT: Oh god, even worse than that, you’ve got Angle swinging the baseball bat at Sting, who is supposed to catch it, but it’s mistimed and he bonks Sting in the face with it, and they have to no sell and act like he stopped it.
S: Oh I forgot about that! Fucking hell, Sting got a woeful hiding in that match, that must’ve been impossible to no sell.
JT: Luckily, Sting is a pro, so he does a good job, he really just flinches and that’s it. But it’s so clear from Sting hands that he missed. Like they began outstretched, and when he “catches it”, they’re back at his chest. But anyway, enough of that, back to the main event 3 years later!!
S: Let’s go!
JT: Kurt goes for a Superplex on Jeff, Anderson grabs them and hits the Tower of Doom!! Cover of Kurt, 1-2-Kickout!! Cover on Jeff, 1-2-Kickout!! Angle gets the Triple Germans on Andy, then he hits them on Brother Nero. The straps come down, Angle’s ready to be TNA Champion again!! He’s not going to see his career end today!! He gets the Ankle Lock in on Jeff!! Anderson runs in to break it up, but Angle ducks and takes him down, he’s got the Ankle Lock in both of them at the same time!! Will one of them tap? Can he get the win? No, they roll over and send him off, escaping for now. Angle goes up top, having to dig deep into his bag of tricks, and it costs him as Anderson cuts him off and grabs him, hitting the Green Bay Plunge!! He covers, 1-2-JEFF WITH THE SWANTON TO BREAK IT UP!! It’s the Armageddon 2008 finish!! Wait no, he covers them both, and they both Kickout!! Jeff goes for the Twist of Fate on Angle, he’s pushed off and hits Anderson off the apron, then gets hit with the Angle Slam!! 1-2-KICKOUT BY JEFF!! Okay, what’s the deal? Is it just me, or is the crowd like, kinda dead? Like they’ve had some real close, pretty convincing nearfall moments, but the crowd just didn’t seem to bite. Like Angle, hitting the Angle Slam, got the “Twoooo” treatment. Am I being hypercritical or were they kinda dead?
S: This is the iron man match syndrome from Smackdown all over again, isn’t it? For those unfamiliar with what I’m talking about, basically with Kurt and Brock in their famous iron man match, they’re putting on a brilliant match but the crowd are just parched for about fifty five minutes. Anyways, this match is absolutely superb, great spots and near falls a plenty but this crowd, you’re right, are kinda dead. They just seem knackered which is what I’d never think a TNA crowd would be. I agree with you there.
JT: It’s a shame, because one of my favorite aspects of wrestling is crowd reaction. Just live, unbridled investment in the story, as it happens. No other medium of entertainment has such a direct audience/performance relationship. Naturally when good crowd cheer on good matches, I’m a happy boy. Same can be said when good crowd raise up the quality of the match. Like imagine Cena/Punk MITB 2011 with a less engaged crowd. It wouldn’t be the same. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I get it when crowds grow bored and uninterested during bad matches or bad shows. Like it’s not their job to be entertained, you respond to what you’re given. Most of the time. Stuff like this just makes me sad. Not like angry, just sad. Like the guys, they’re doing their most, they’re trying their best, they’re putting on a good show!! But, it just isn’t connecting for whatever reason. Like, what needs to be done?
S: I’d say it’s a case of TNA just losing their connection with their fans because of the shit which has happened since about 2008, it’s been a steady decline in the overall average quality of their shows. Like it feels that each year is a slight step down from the previous one. With 2006 being a brilliant year for them and each passing year being a notch below its predecessor.
JT: I mean, when 2 of the 3 guys in the main event of your biggest show haven’t even been in the company for a full year by this point, I can see why people were starting to check out. 2010 especially is just when the narrative that “TNA just signs every ex-WWE guy” starts to really take shape. Like I think Anderson & Hardy are great signings but like, it’s still going to have an effect.
S: Yeah and also you consider the fact that there’s no real true TNA guy in the main event, I know Kurt had been there for four years at this point but everyone would still have associated him more with WWE.
JT: Yeah, for all the good we’ve said about this show, the TNA originals really aren’t getting much limelight. AJ Styles? He’s there, but he’s got Ric Flair attached to his hype. Samoa Joe? Middle of the card nothing, fighting for “the Honor of Hulk Hogan”. Abyss? Yeah, he’s fired, and he jobbed out to RVD, who also wasn’t here a year ago. And this all really comes to a breaking point at the end of this match.
S: On the button there, should we get to the end of this match?
JT: Yeah, let’s end this. So Anderson tries to go up top, Angle catches him and hits what looks like a kind of wonky Angle Slam off the top!! Jeff steals the pin!! 1-2-Kickout by Anderson?!? God damn, these fuckers won’t die. Jeff hits Whisper in the Wind on Angle, then a ToF to Anderson, Swanton Bomb on Anderson!! Will this finally end this? 1-2-ANGLE PULLS HIM OFF AND GETS THE ANKLE LOCK!! Will Jeff tap?!? Will Angle tap him out, win the title, and keep his career alive?!? No, Jeff rolls through and sends Kurt off, right into Anderson, WHO HITS THE MIC CHECK ON KURT!! 1-2-ANGLE KICKS OUT!! Anderson picks him up, and sends him across, but Kurt goes for a Sunset Flip only for Anderson to roll through and cover, but Jeff rolls him up, but Anderson rolls through, leading to a simultaneous Clothesline that knocks Anderson & Hardy down. Kurt is the only one still up, so he goes up, and ACTUALLY HITS THE MOONSAULT!! 1-2-JEFF KICKS OUT!! The crowd are finally getting back into it, as there’s a TNA chant as Anderson & Angle go at it. Kurt goes for a leapfrog but Anderson catches him on his shoulders! Kurt slips behind and goes for the Angle Slam, but Anderson slips free and grabs him for the Mic Check, only for Kurt to fights out!! Anderson sends Kurt into the corner, Kurt comes out hard and goes for a Clothesline and catches the ref!! Ref bump time, crowd boos, as ref bumps are a real repeat offender in TNA’s history. Kurt manages to go behind and hit a German on Anderson, but Andy fights out of the Angle Slam and hits a real low impact looking Mic Check, and cannot make the cover. With both men down out comes. Eric Bischoff makes his way to the ring with a chair. It’s time for the big main event swerve, who is Easy E going to hit, and why? Well, it’s going to be nobody, because Hulk Hogan is here!! Hulk Hogan is in the building!! Who’s bad now!! So Hulk hobbles out on his crutches, because of his back surgery, and Eric looks like he got caught throwing a party only for Mom & Dad to come home early. Dude, he’s totally going to get grounded. Also, it’s kinda funny to see 2 random dudes have to go hold the ropes open to let Hulk in the ring. Bischoff tossed the chair out, acting like nothing had happened, I was just having friends over!! It wasn’t a party, I swear!! They both manage to get a crutch, and it looks like they’re about to tear each other apart. No longer will Hulk put up with Eric doing stuff on his own, no longer is he going to let Eric have his way. They’re business partners no longer, brother!! Well before they can come to blows, Kurt starts to stir, and Jeff stands between Hulk & Eric, playing peacemaker. OR SO WE THINK UNTIL HOGAN HANDS JEFF HIS CRUTCH, AND JEFF BREAKS IT OVER KURT’S BACK!! NOW BISCHOFF HANDS JEFF THE OTHER CRUTCH!! WHAT’S HAPPENING?!? Hogan does the nWo double arm point thing at Jeff as he slams the crutch over Anderson’s back!! HOGAN & BISCHOFF HUG IT OUT!! TWIST OF FATE ON ANDERSON!! Bischoff forces the ref to count, a slow ONE…TWO…THREE!! NEW TNA CHAMPION, JEFF HARDY!! Listen up Jack, there are swerves, and then there are swerves, and brother, WE’VE JUST BEEN SWERVED!!
S: So there it is, the famous or infamous (it can be either) heel turn of Jeff Hardy in 2010. We’re nearly a decade on from this happening, it’s your Russo special. A big old swerve with there being one heel at the start of the angle and three at the end of it. I don’t know what to think of it because on one hand, it’s an interesting card to play, top heel World Champion Jeff Hardy is something that’s never been done before but on the other hand, why turn whats already a marketable babyface heel? After this match you’ve lost a major babyface and there ain’t many other ones, Angle is gone, Joe is toiling it down in the midcard with Double J. Bob Van Dam, I guess but they’re not doing that match at all next month. So all your left with is the ex WWE guy, Mr. Anderson, the man who is supposed to save TNA from this evil power trip.
JT: Yeah I agree, it’s a weird choice. Again, it certainly is going to grab your attention. Jeff Hardy’s a heel main eventer?!? It got me to tune into Impact that week. But it’s a short term fix, like you said. It leaves nobody really left to be the top face. Plus, it makes a lot more sense if one of the other guys in the match joined them. Like Anderson already had a bloody feud with Angle and lost, why wouldn’t he sink to the lowest of lows and become the Corporate Champ of Hogan & Bischoff? It’ll be his first world title too, it’s the depths he had to sink to to finally become The Man. Plus, he’d retire Angle in the process, how about that for some revenge!! Or you could have Kurt cheat and join Hogan & Bischoff (and the rest of the gang). He could say something about getting back on top and doing what he had to because fuck y’all, he’s never going to retire. Then you can have Anderson be an anti-hero who wants Kurt enough to go along with the rest of the goodies, and Jeff as the challenger who Kurt can’t beat on his own. The Kurt turning would be that it’s a little too much like the Main Event Mafia, but that’s at least tested and true. Kurt can work as a heel in a suit. We’re here to discuss this arc because we know that with Jeff, at best it’s muddy water.
S: Exactly, like the prospect of Jeff as the antichrist heel champion is very intriguing but its also the least fitting of the three when you break it down. Like Angle putting his career on the line only to sell out yet again would be the perfect fuck you in kayfabe. Mr. Anderson for me makes the most sense here, he should be selling out to be the chosen one in Eric and Hulk’s eyes would be so fitting as he was always the chosen one in WWE but it never came to fruition. Each heel turn would’ve been good and or interesting no matter what but it’s a shame Jeff is bottom by default.
JT: Well done feel down, we’ve got more to go!! So Eric announces the new champion happily to the crowd, who boo at this crazy development. Wait suddenly, it’s Jeff Jarrett!! Oh shut, here comes Abyss!! Jeff’s friend RVD comes out, asking Jeff what is going on, they’re buddies, and now Jeff is celebrating with the man who tried to kill him!! Jeff says, FUCK YOU BOBBY, and does his first obviously heel thing and cracks him in the head with the World Title!! Abyss, Jeff Jarrett, Eric Bischoff, Hulk Hogan and Jeff Hardy celebrate together to end the show. 10.10.10. They’re, whoops, I mean THEERRRREEE HERRRRREEEEE!!
S: The most famous sign in TNA history. Probably one of the most famous signs at a wrestling event ever. What a sign, garbage in the ring, Mike Tenay closes the show. Immortal has formed brother! And we’re out. James, thoughts on the match and the post match formation?
JT: I just want to say, how funny it is that the most famous sign in TNA history is grammatically incorrect. It’s they’re, as in THEY ARE, not there, as in over there. It’s fitting. And I feel you might disagree with me here, but I wasn’t really on board with this one. I mean maybe if it still had all the shock value someone watching it live would’ve had, I would’ve liked it more. But the finish is so famous, it’s like the defining moment of my TNA fandom. So when they throw out a lot, and I mean A LOT of finishers just for big surprise kickouts, I’m not biting, because I know it’s not ending. It doesn’t help that I feel like a lot of this match is just spent doing big signature moves for kicks out. It just felt often like “Guy does his big move, 1-2-Kickout!! He pulls the other guy up, he goes for another big move, they escape and HIT THEIR BIG MOVE!! 1-2-Kickout!!”. Plus I don’t feel they really tell much of a story other than the usual “it’s a triple threat, guys are gonna desperately do moves and break up pins and stuff”. They had creative moments, but also like we said, the crowd wasn’t incredibly into it like it was biggest match of the year. It was a decent match, before the swerve, it really just doesn’t have the impact (heh) I’d want my biggest show of the year main event to be. The swerve though and formation of this evil faction to be named later, it’s fairly creative. I liked how Jeff grabs the Crutch and it seems like he’s gonna step in for poor Hulk, but then uses it on Kurt. Then Bischoff hands his to Jeff, and now you realized they’re all in on it. It also ties up stories from the whole night. Jeff saying “it’s a new beginning” and that he knows “exactly what he wants (the TNA World Title)”, you’ve got Abyss’s 10.10.10 thing actually happening, which plays into The Band’s conspiracy theory since Jarrett turned heel and was involved in this too. Finally, you have Hulk Hogan, who came in just earlier this year as a big hero and savior for TNA, the man who is set to lead TNA into the next generation, revealing he was in it for himself the whole time. He went and got “surgery” to avoid fighting The Band, and in order to orchestrate this whole thing behind closed doors, while pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes. Honestly I think this was a pretty damn good long term story as a whole. But like everything tonight from this show, there’s a little asterisk, a point of contention. All that put together, all those stories uniting, and binging on the hope that Jeff Hardy will make a good heel. Time will tell how that will turn out (spoiler: time did tell, and that’s why we’re here to talk about it).
S: We’ll see how it pans out over time, dude, I don’t have much hope but it’ll be good to watch. Regarding The Band, Nash is gone, Pope is still gonna be here and Sting is going into hiding while TNA discuss his contract. Honestly James, I enjoyed the main event and I’m glad we disagree on this one. I thought the three guys involved in it worked well together. It felt like a proper triple threat match and was booked like one. There were a lot of good spots, finisher kickouts (maybe a bit too much) and near falls. It added to the drama of the main event but this crowd was just parched for whatever reason, maybe it was a case of they knew that the 10.10.10 thing was coming and they were waiting for that to occur rather than wondering who is going to be your brand new champion. The stuff with Bischoff and Hogan teasing to fight bothered me for how long it took but Hogan was just after having back surgery so I can’t really complain too much about that. The heel turn was well done, albeit the least compelling of the three possible turns but still compelling nonetheless. The reveal of 10.10.10 and THEY was a bit get out there quickly we’ve got fuck all time left, get it over before the garbage gets thrown in. It was fine, very much a tune into Impact to find out. End scene. We’re done with this show.
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The Wrap Up
JT: Alright everyone, that’s Episode One of the Jeff Hardy Heel Turn Saga done!! I’ve gotta say, it was fun to watch Impact again. I’m not necessarily talking about the quality of the show, I’ve got more in depth things to say. No, what I mean is that I really am not an avid watcher of Impact. I’ll be honest, aside from maybe watching a PPV that they’ve uploaded fully to YouTube or catching the odd show every 2-3 years, I don’t watch Impact. I really don’t. I keep up with it, because it’s always been an interesting company for better or worse, but I rarely if ever actually sit down to watch it. So seeing all the old TNAisms play out again, with my own eyes, was a fun experience. I wouldn’t say it’s comforting to be back in the saddle with old Total Nonstop Action, but it’s certainly fun to see everything again, the way I (mostly) remember it.
S: I think I might just follow that up with some quick thoughts on the show before we get into our awards for the show itself. I thought this was a very middle of the road show. There were two matches that I can say that I really enjoyed. Doug vs Lethal was good but could’ve been better. The women’s match, Ink Inc vs EYOJ, Joe and Jarrett vs The Band and Lethal Lockdown was just sort of there for me. Abyss vs RVD, it was what it was. I expressed my liking for the main event, the opener for the tag belts between The Guns and GenMe was fantastic. Overall, a very thumbs in the middle show.
JT: Yeah I agree on that front. I feel I have one match where I was really on board, and pretty much everything else was decent/fine. Like everything else has some element where I find myself going “Ehhhh maybe don’t do X/Y/Z” or “It would’ve been better without etc.”. But don’t misinterpret this as me saying the show is bad. It’s not bad. It’s a pretty easy watch for the most part, and if you like ironic watching and pointing and laughing at stuff, there’s a bunch to point and laugh at. Entertaining, but not the most genuinely entertaining show, more so a show with problems that you sometimes take in stride and sometimes can’t. So, want to hit us with your Match of the Night and MVP?
S: I think it will come across as a real no brainer that the Match of the Night for me has easily got to be MCMG vs Generation Me, the match was on first, they came out with the crowd in the palms of their hands and they blew them all away with how excellent they performed. My MVP is actually going to be a dual award for the first time as my MVP goes to Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, these two lads, my word, they are just on another work rate level in comparison to most of this roster. They are just exceptional in ring, they got the biggest reactions with what they did, they were over with the fans and they stole the show in the first match. They were without a doubt the best tag team in the world at this stage and that’s why they’re my first Co-MVP’s.
JT: Yeah, as fun as it is to disagree and fight with you about silly wrestling stuff, I’ve absolutely got to agree with both your picks. The opening match blew me away. It was the only time this show where I was legit on my feet, freaking the fuck out. It was absolutely stupendous. Just, so much fun. And as such, I’ve gotta also give The Guns the MVP. GenMe did great in the match as well, but Shelley & Sabin have their whole gimmick and moveset polished and perfected. They were running on A+ form. They’re fantastic, I can’t wait to watch more of their stuff. It’s legit the thing I’m most exited for this arc.
S: Absolutely, and next month we are getting The Guns in a match that I am really looking forward to reviewing because next time on The Power Hour! Chapter 2 of this Jeff Hardy: Heel Edition story arc, we will be staying in Florida. But we’ll be heading to the Imapct Zone for Turning Point 2010! The first PPV of The Antichrist of Pro Wrestling that is Jeff Hardy. On that show we will get The Motor City Machine Guns vs Team 3D for the TNA Tag Titles in Bubba Ray and Devon’s retirement match! Fortune vs EV2.0: Electric Boogaloo! Jeff Jarrett vs Samoa Joe! And our main event for the TNA Heavyweight Championship, our champion Jeff Hardy battles *reads card* MATT MORGAN?!
JT: OHHHH FUUUCCCKKK. We’re going to have a lot of explaining to do next time, shit hits the fan REAL QUICK in TNA after this show. I hope y’all have enjoyed reading this episode of the Power Hour!! For now, it’s goodbye from me James!!
S: And a smell ya later from me, Seán!!
JT: And remember, But you can’t judge a book, looking at the cover!! You can’t love someone, messing with another!! No, you can’t win a war, fighting with your brother, and you wanna have peace, gotta love one another!!! Cue the Big Train!!
The JT & Seány Mc Power Hour 