2010 Pro Wrestling Thread

Agreed, although I put in Morgan and Hernandez because they're both bigger guys and can be the muscle, plus they've each had singles success and would be eventual challengers to Styles and Wolfe when they broke up.

I also agree on the surprise entries. I like them sometimes because it rewards the loyal fans who stick with the show (like when Clooney appeared unannounced on the third to last episode of ER), but at the same time, sometimes you have to announce them so fans know. It's a balancing trick that isn't always easy to do.

 

Since RVD's appearance was a little more anticipated, they should have allowed that to be promoted, while Hardy's could have remained a surprise, since there was a lot of uncertainty about whether he'd do anything on camera with his legal issues. SPOILER ALERT: He does play prominently in next week's Impact, so I guess they're assuming he's in for the forseeable future. Also, Spike Dudley returned and Ken Doane worked a dark match tryout.

 

I think Kevin Eck or someone in this thread brought this up, but really - Wouldn't it make much more sense for Hogan to "mentor" Matt Morgan? Abyss is a hardcore wrestler, and he has as much in common with Hogan as a hole in the ground, a fishing line with a boot on the end, a donkey eating a can, or my book of cliches. Meanwhile, Morgan is a big huge strong guy, and you could actually have personal vignettes with Hogan trying to steer Morgan the right way, referencing his own past problems and reputation issues. I think that would have been much more effective.

 

For posterity's sake can we all quit talking about RVD vs Sting like it was some half hour epic. It was a quick roll up and that was it. I wouldn't even consider it a match if not for the referee in the ring.

 

Indeed. When you think about it, Abyss is better off with Foley, but they've already done that.

It's reminding me, in a way, of when Hogan was mentoring Tugboat, who really wasn't that effective.

Morgan with Hogan would seem like a pretty good tandem because they would have similar styles. Just like Flair and Styles because they're both on the small size, relatively speaking.

 

Caught a bunch of the replay of Impact on the treadmill at the gym tonight. I think TNA might someday go toe-to-toe with the WWE for real but it won't be for a VERY long time, especially when they're pulling boring shit like the whole Hogan/Sting "oh, no, security is between thing" angle and the whole "Angle patronizing the troops" thing. That's like 1999 WWE storytelling right there man.

Oh, and who here doesn't know how this whole Eric Young/Kevin Nash vs. Hall & XPac thing is going to end? Nash is going to turn on Young, say the whole angle was to get Hall & Pac a contract and then those two washed up hasbeens will be back in the fold. Yawn, boring.

TNA needs to focus on the things that make them better than WWE and, right now, that's not much. You've got the Beautiful People, Styles, Pope, MCMG and Generation Me. That's pretty much the only reason I even consider tuning in.

 

The only way the 'Security is stopping a guy from an attack' ever works is when you have a wussy guy (like Vince McMahon) who is being protected. Otherwise, it's ridiculous when guys get Pearl Harbored for the entire show, then a security force comes out in the end.

Agreed on the whole Young/NWO thing. A different change would be for Young to leave Nash lying and explain that he doesn't want to be hanging out with old fossils anymore. That would get Young elevated. But instead, we'll get an NWO (or whatever they'll be called) beatdown for the 10 millionth time.

Agreed on the last part as well. They have a limited window of opportunity with Flair and Hogan, simply because they're so old. They need to use those guys to get over the younger guys, otherwise, it'll all be for naught.

 

Considering TNA's head writer has spent the last decade trying to recapture his 1999 WWE storytelling mojo, that's hardly surprising.
Seriously, how on God's green earth does Vince Russo still have a job in the wrestling business beyond setting up the ring?

That's the ironic thing about TNA. There's plenty of talent there. A nice mix of fading veterans (Sting, Jarrett), guys in their prime (Angle, Styles, Samoa Joe) and rising stars (the X Division, the Pope). TNA's matches let them show off their skills and athleticism a lot more than most WWE matches. With the exception of maybe Angle, most of their top guys (not counting the washed-up guys like Hogan, Flair, Foley and Nash) have never stepped in a WWE ring.
And yet the angles are so bad that it's hard to get into TNA. They have no patience for letting a storyline play out over time, something WWE often does almost to a fault. It ruins everything else TNA should have going for it.

 

That's one of the other things that the WWE does too much to a fault. They make the wrestlers work in one style, which is always super-fast-paced. Sometimes, the best matches tell a story that starts slow and builds. And they let their stars all get away with doing the same 3 or 4 moves in every match.

In addition to Angle, the Dudleys/Team 3D have been all over the place, and they still can bring it, usually. I read an interview where Vince McMahon admitted that he had made a mistake in letting the Dudleys go because he thought they were washed up.

 

It'd be nice to see the Dudleys back in WWE. While they get credit for bumping up the star power associated with their tag division, all the teams are either patched-together singles (ShowMiz, MVP/Mark Henry, John Morrison/R-Truth) or stuck-in-neutral teams (Hart Dynasty, Cryme Tyme). Dudleys would give them a huge boost.

 

Anybody pumped for Raw tonight?

 

Nope.