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Column - TNA 101: The Mega Edition
 TNA 101 “The Super Column” Column Summary: § Sacrifice Results and thoughts (the Good, Okay and Bad) § Road to Slammiversary Rankings § A rant on iMPACT! Zone fans. § War of the Words: TNA’s Creative Direction Opening Statement § Talon’s Notebook § Special Thanks § Rebooking Sacrifice Sacrifice Match Results: - Team 3D defeated Sting & James Storm in a Deuces Wild Quarterfinal when Sting finally turned on James Storm and put him through a table. - Christian Cage & Rhino beat Booker T & Robert Roode in a Deuces Wild Quarterfinal. Booker T attacked Cage and Rhino after the bout. - The Latin American Xchange beat Kip James & Matt Morgan in a Deuces Wild Quarterfinal - AJ Styles & Super Eric defeated BG James & Awesome Kong in a Deuces Wild Quarterfinal - Kaz won the first-ever TerrorDome match to become the #1 contender to the X Division Championship, as well as a shot at the World Title in the main event. - Team 3D defeated Christian Cage and Rhino in the Deuces Wild Semifinal after Johnny Devine interfered - The Latin American Xchange beat AJ Styles & Eric Young in the Deuces Wild Semifinal after Hector Guerrero interfered - Gail Kim won the TNA Knockout Makeover match, earning a Women's Title shot. Roxxi Laveaux ended up getting her head shaved, thanks to interference by Angelina Love. - The Latin American Xchange defeated Team 3D in the finals of the Deuces Wild Tournament to become the new TNA World Tag Team Champions - Samoa Joe defeated Scott Steiner and Kaz in the main event to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Kaz replaced an injured Kurt Angle for this match. The Good § TerrorDome- I enjoyed this match thoroughly, Yes it was chaotic, yes it was hard to keep track but the Six Sided Asylum of TNA was pretty fun. It was a nice display of the X Division. There were some pretty cool moves in the match as well. We saw elements of both the Six Sides of Steel and Ultimate X in this match. § LAX wins the World Tag Team Titles- This was long overdue for LAX. Now they have a mouthpiece in Hector Guerrero and they looked good tonight defeating three teams to win the belts. § Kaz back in the X Division- This is a kick of adrenaline that the X Division needed. Kaz brings star power from defeating Christian Cage, taking Kurt Angle to the limit and main eventing Sacrifice. Hopefully the X Division improves with the addition of Kaz. § Booker T turns heel- I was bored with Booker T and now I am not. Hopefully this new added attitude gives Booker T the edge he needs. § Awesome Kong and BG James vs Super Eric and AJ Styles- On a night where many of the tag team matches were the same, this match entertained me. First of all Awesome Kong looked good in the match (wrestling-wise). Kong slapped Eric and AJ around and even put AJ in the groin claw. The only bad about this match was the botched finish from AJ but that occasionally happens in wrestling, more so with WWE though. § Deuces Wild Finals: Team 3D vs LAX- This match restarted the feud these two teams had early last year as they both fought on the outside. I like storytelling like what we saw in the King of the Ring (could have been better). The storytelling in this match was that Hector Guerrero eliminated the man who helped Team 3D advance to the finals (Johnny Devine). While I hope he would have done a Frog Splash as opposed to a foot stomp through a table, it was still cool. Now LAX looks smart for recruiting Guerrero when the chances of them winning the Tag Tournament were much lower had they not. Guerrero helped LAX advance to the finals as well so he was needed badly tonight. § Frank Trigg- I like TNA’s move to make Trigg a TNA Analyst since it makes the company seem more legit. Trigg is also a very good talker and he actually makes anyone he talks about look better. Hire Trigg full time or at least just for the PPVs The Okay § Makeover Battle Royal- I didn’t like the overall set up of this match nor did I like the Battle Royal portion but when it got down to Roxxi Laveaux and Gail Kim in the Ladder Match, things got interesting. With Angelina Love ringside for a possible haircut had Laveaux won, she made sure that Gail Kim was the winner. The Ladder Match was good aside from the constant interference from Angelina Love and Velvet Sky. Gail Kim looked bad because she barely defeated Laveaux even with the help of the Beautiful People. The aftermath was emotional and aside from the “Fire Russo” chants, was a memorable moment for the show. I felt so bad for Laveaux and was pissed at Angelina Love and Velvet Sky. § Team 3D vs Sting and James Storm- While there was no fantastic wrestling in the match, the story was interesting. James Storm played his character well, just drinking beer. He wouldn’t tag in and in the end it backfired as Sting threw Storm through a table. I would have liked the match better had Storm left Sting out in the cold as Team 3D put Sting through a table after he was distracted by Sting. § All the other Deuces Wild Quarterfinal and Semi Final Matches- The story was the same and no matches were exciting, they were just there. Not really bad but not good. § The main event- You knew things were shaken when Kurt Angle was removed from this match. I question adding Kaz to the match because the match would have made more sense being one on one. I thought the last minute addition of Kaz only hurt the legitimacy of the match. Everyone knew that Kaz wouldn’t win and it would have hurt him badly had he been defeated. Kaz did get some moves in but he didn’t look like he fit there in the main event. The match wasn’t bad but it didn’t live up to the main event status. § Kurt Angle removed from Sacrifice due to injury- I hate seeing Kurt Angle injured. It was a good move to see Angle protected by TNA and not allowed to wrestle in this match. It did hurt the overall PPV but in the long run it was good. § Kevin Nash and Rick Steiner- TNA built all throughout the night on Kevin Nash turning heel and joining Scott Steiner but never did anything in the main event showing it. While the clean finish was good, why build when you can’t deliver. § SACRIFICE- This show was filled with mediocrity. The Deuce’s Wild Tournament filled most of the card and none of the matches in the tournament were standout matches. TerrorDome was good as well as the second half of the Makeover Battle Royal. It was topped off with a mediocre main event. This show was hurt with booking going into the show but the actual event lived up to expectations. The Bad § The overall Deuces Wild Tournament- The two main factors for this overall tournament being bad was the Egotistical 8 pairings and how well these pairings would do. None of the Egotistical 8 Teams felt random. Why not just team up worst enemies? I would have enjoyed seeing Roode team with Awesome Kong rather than Booker T. Imagine Roode and Kong losing only to see Roode berate Kong pissing her off and Awesome Bombing Roode. The second problem was that none of the Random Teams advanced past the Quarter Finals which in reality made me realize that this Tournament didn’t do anything. Had one or more of the random teams advanced than the Egotistical 8 idea would have made sense. This did prove that Tag Team Chemistry is important in wrestling. § Too many matches- There were 10 matches on a 3 hour PPV which is WAY TOO MUCH. Most of the matches averaged about 10 minutes long, some shorter some longer. Most PPVs need about 6-8 Matches. The Royal Rumble is the exception because of the hour long Royal Rumble match. If TNA would have gone the traditional booking route we would have only had the semi-finals and finals of a standard tag team tournament. Add in the other matches on the show plus one or two and you have 8. That is how TNA should have gone. § The fans at Sacrifice- Sacrifice is a perfect example of why you should have all your Pay Per Views on the road. The Orlando crowd can not be trusted at a Televised Live Event. They didn’t show much excitement at all throughout the show which hurt the buzz of PPV. They also chanted “Fire Russo” following the Makeover Battle Royal. More on that below. The Rankings (5/13/2008) Heavyweight Division (World Champion) Samoa Joe- One month after winning the World Championship and Samoa Joe keeps on rolling (figuratively speaking). Joe defeated Kurt Angle on iMPACT two weeks after Lockdown, pinned the X Division Champion, Petey Williams and successfully retained the World Championship in the Sacrifice main event when he silenced the critics who said he was a “one hit wonder” by pinning #1 Contender Scott Steiner. (#1) Scott Steiner- Big Poppa Pump used his Feast or Fired World Title shot at Sacrifice and came up short. Steiner did look pretty dominant during the 3-Way Sacrifice Main Event but all that matters in the business of Sports Entertainment is Wins and Losses, and Steiner lost. (#2) Kurt Angle- What a horrible month it has been for Kurt Angle! He loses the World Title to Samoa Joe at Lockdown, loses the rematch a few weeks later on iMPACT, gets injured at a house show and has to back out of the Sacrifice Main Event. On top of that, AJ Styles has a crush on his wife. It sucks to be Kurt. (#3) Kevin Nash- The “former” mentor of Samoa Joe made a big mistake by catching a ride to the arena with Scott Steiner. This not only hurt the trust Samoa Joe has for him but also it earns Nash less money for not being associated with the champ. Nash has been teasing that he is the man to take the World Title from Joe. Winning the World Championship means more money for Nash. (#4) Kaz- One of the MVPs for the Sacrifice PPV was definitely Kaz. Kaz not only defeated nine other men in the dangerous TerrorDome match to earn an X Division Championship Match at Slammiversary but he also got an opportunity to wrestle in the main event at Sacrifice for the World Championship. While Kaz was the underdog against Samoa Joe and Steiner, he didn’t get pinned and for a while proved he could hang with the big dogs of TNA. (#5) Booker T- The fifth spot in this month’s rankings goes to Booker T, who made a statement at Sacrifice. While Booker was eliminated in the first round of the Deuces Wild Tournament, he clearly proved he wasn’t someone to mess with as he laid out Christian Cage and Rhino with chair shots, leading to their downfall in the next round. X Division (X Division Champion) Petey Williams- The “ultimate opportunist” Maple Leaf Muscle, Petey Williams cashed in his Feast or Fired Briefcase right after Jay Lethal defended it against Johnny Devine. With his new association with Scott Steiner, Petey has proven that he is the “Definition of Definition”. (#1) Kaz- Kaz defeated 9 other X Division stars in the debuting TerrorDome thus earning himself a X Division Championship match against Petey Williams at Slammiversary. Can Kaz capitalize on the opportunity? (#2) Black Machismo- The former X Division Champion is always a threat to the championship gold. Machismo did well in TerrorDome but with his focus on SoCal Val and Sonjay Dutt, it might be a while until he challenge for the gold again. (#3) Johnny Devine- One of the most underrated stars of the X Division, Devine proves that he is a legit title threat. He nearly won the title at Lockdown and did very well for himself in the TerrorDome. All that and he is partially responsible for taking Team 3D to the finals of the Deuces Wild Tournament. (#4) Curry Man- “He’s hot, he’s spicy, he tastes great”. And that’s the gospel according to…er, Curry Man! (#5) Jimmy Rave- Jimmy Rave made quite an impression by winning the 6-Man X Division Melee Match by pinning Curry Man. With his new “Move that Rocks the World” who will stop Jimmy Rave. Tag Team Division (NEW World Tag Team Champions) Latin American Xchange – Homicide and Hernandez overcame four teams to win the Deuces Wild Tournament (including qualifying) winning three matches in one night. The addition of Hector Guerrero to their team was a smart one as he assisted LAX in defeated AJ & Super Eric and Team 3D. (#1) Team 3D – The former 20-time tag team champions were so close to becoming 21-time World Tag Team Champions at Sacrifice. Team 3D overcame the duo of James Storm and Sting and then beat the team of Christian Cage and Rhino (thanks to the assistance of Johnny Devine). Now that Brother Ray and Brother Devon are focused, LAX’s time as champions are numbered. (#2) Super Eric and AJ Styles- One held the tag team championship last month, the other won it from him but lost it due to stupidity. Super Eric and AJ Styles did well for themselves in the Deuces Wild Tournament eventually losing to LAX in the Semi-Finals. (#3) Christian Cage and Rhino- Going into Sacrifice many thought Christian Cage and Rhino would be walking out of the PPV the World Tag Team Champions. A series of misfortunes involving Booker T, Johnny Devine and Team 3D prevented this however. (#4) Motor City Machine Guns- Finally Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin are out of the doghouse. The Machine Guns did well in the TerrorDome until they were met by Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal. (#5) Shark Boy and Curry Man- Technically they didn’t lose to the Machine Guns a few weeks ago on iMPACT, they didn’t win either. Knockouts Division (Women’s Knockout Champion) Awesome Kong- Kong has been dominant since she won the Knockouts Championship, and before that. She represented the Knockouts well in the Deuces Wild Tournament. (#1) Gail Kim- Not only did Gail Kim win the Immunity on a Pole Match right before Sacrifice, she won the Makeover Battle Royal as well defeating Roxxi Laveaux in a rough and emotional Ladder Match. (#2) Roxxi Laveaux- She may have lost her hair at Sacrifice but she gained the respect of the fans and the other Knockouts. Now she is focused on vengeance against Angelina Love and Velvet Sky. (#3) ODB – She has remained one of the most popular Knockouts in TNA and constantly racks up wins. She isn’t just another pretty face. (#4) Angelina Love- This woman is responsible for Roxxi Laveaux being bald and now she had the wrath of the voodoo queen upon her. (#5) Raisha Saeed- Cheerleader Melissa got a nice singles win over Daisy Haze on iMPACT and Raisha Saeed defeated Shantelle Taylor on Xplosion. Melissa told me to credit Raisha with the win for some reason. Rant of the Week Before I get into my rant I would just like to say that I do believe a fan should freely express their opinions on the product. If a match is boring they should chant “This is boring” or if a concept is stupid they should chant “This is stupid”. Be well aware though that the wrestlers involved sacrifice their health to entertain you. With that said I want to recognize an incident that happened at Sacrifice that pissed me off. Orlando, Florida is the home field of TNA Wrestling and has featured more wrestling events than any city in the past year. The fans in the iMPACT Zone have the opportunity every other week to see back to back shows of some incredible action at it’s raw form. They don’t witness most of the backstage segments which can only be seen on TV. They only see the wrestling matches and in-ring segments. I know because on occasion I have attended a few TNA Wrestling events in the past. The point I am trying to make is that the Orlando fans are spoiled. They have seen all different types of matches, wrestlers, concepts and characters. They have been part of the greatest TNA Moments in it’s near 6 year history. What fans from other cities would pay to see, the Orlando fans only show up to see, without paying to get into the iMPACT Zone. There are many cities across the world that would die to experience TNA Live at least once and have yet to do so. There are many cities that TNA is capable of selling out its arenas to, where there are crowds as, if not more passionate than the fans in the iMPACT Zone. Orlando fans you have a privilege to experience TNA every other week. This all leads to my biggest gripe about the Orlando Fans from Sacrifice. After viewing an event which saw many excellent showcases of wrestling, the fans in the iMPACT Zone witnessed the Makeover Battle Royal. The booking leading to this match may have left something to be desired but the match itself or the result of the match was good. Orlando fans who think they are smart because they read internet sites and talk to their IWC buddies than ignorantly start chanting “Fire Russo” during the Roxxi Laveaux head shaving process because they don’t like the outcome of the match. A few points on this 1) This result should have drawn heat on Angelina Love and Velvet Sky, who cost Laveaux the match. It should also had drawn sympathy for Roxxi Laveaux, which it did both. Mission accomplished TNA Management. 2) The match and segment were emotional, which in my book are signs of success. That is what music, movies and sports entertainment do, draw different emotions. Personally I would have felt sad for Roxxi Laveaux had I not felt angry at the ignorant idiotic Orlando Fans. 3) Vince Russo is not all to blame. Fans didn’t chant Fire Russo during the attitude era. They don’t chant Fire Russo during segments that they like. Did you know that Vince Russo is a TNA Writer? Much like the WWE Writers, Vince Russo doesn’t have final say on what comes onto the television screen. Jeff Jarrett is the one responsible for the final creative decisions. Of course the fans who chanted this are ignorant, so-called “smarks” who don’t do their research. Not to sound like a sap here but what about Vince Russo? He is a human being who loves the business and the fans. It is easy to blame someone for something without research being done. How easy is it to see it from their point of view. I know he sits front row at certain events with his kids. What do you think his kids think when the fans are chanting “Fire Russo” ignorantly? The kids feel crappy. It is disrespectful to Vince as a human, not as a professional. 4) There was absolutely no reason to chant “Fire Russo”. While the show may have been overbooked doesn’t mean it was bad. There was nothing wrong with Roxxi Laveaux getting her head shaved. Earlier in the show you fan were chanting “TNA” and “This is Awesome”. Either Vince Russo is responsible or he isn’t. Don’t only credit him for the bad. 6) As Fans it isn’t your job to make creative decisions, booking decisions or anything like that. If TNA wanted your opinion they would ask you. I know for a fact one of the biggest reasons they don’t ask fans for their opinions anymore is because of crowds like we saw at Sacrifice who base their opinions on false pretenses. If you want to write or book a show than get hired as a writer or booker, I suggest working your way up through the independent shows. Your writing or booking expertise will then be utilized. Maybe if you’re good enough you might get hired by TNA or WWE. Unfortunately don’t put all your eggs in this basket because by your response at Sacrifice, it Is evident that most of you Russo haters share a brain and professional wrestling promotions hire independent thinkers. As a fan, you have a right to say what you like and don’t like. But make sure your criticism is on the product that you know for certain, not the one you don’t know. You can definitely say that you want more wrestling or more clean finishes or want Wrestler A to get a bigger push etc. Make sure your criticism is what happens in front of the screen, not behind the scenes. If the promotion does not fulfill your needs as a fan, then stop watching the promotion. TNA, WWE and other national promotions judge their product on buyrates, ratings, merchandise and Live Event attendance. If the ratings drop, TNA knows there are problems that need to be fixed. If TNA doesn’t fix them than Spike TV will. You might have the line of thinking that you don’t want TNA to die because of you not watching but TNA won’t die. Even if Spike TV drops iMPACT there will be other television outlets or other means of viewing. TNA is growing in every facet, not shrinking. If TNA dies, another wrestling promotion takes its place. There are alternatives to TNA. You want pure action, watch UFC. WWE features a brand that is more focused on UFC Style Wrestling. TNA answers to certain fans who want storylines nobody else delivers. 7) There are forums that you can discuss the behind the scenes stuff on TNA. Community Forums on internet wrestling sites, e-mailing TNA or in the company of your friends and family. When you chant things like that you take away the moment for fans watching on TV, hurt the product of other fans in the arena and tick off fans like me who PAY to see the show, unlike you guys did. 8) Do the Orlando Fans realize what could happen if they keep on chanting things like that? Does anyone remember the Hammerstein Ballroom and their relationship with the new ECW? WWE decided that since the fans weren’t reacting the way they wanted them to then they weren’t fit to be a WWE crowd. What Orlando did was much worse because they were chanting something that could offend the higher ups. Orlando, watch what you chant in the future. 9) I am not just targeting Orlando but other cities as well. From my memory I recall three incidents of Fire Russo chants: Sacrifice 08, Lockdown 07 and Destination X 07. The Electric Six Sides of Steel was stupid. The Last Rites Match from Destination featured good wrestling but over the top gimmicky concepts. I apologize to all Non-“Fire Russo Orlando Fans who had nothing to do with the chants from Sacrifice. As a fan I thank you for your consideration of other people and your wisdom to not jump to gun per say. I will also be posting this article in my latest column to get the point across. TNA War of the Words To me the best time in TNA was 2005 because that was when they were putting on the best matches in pro wrestling. When the company started going up until they made their debut on SPIKE TV they were putting out a product that was not currently seen on anything coming from WWE. Since then they have been so focused on destroying WWE they have completely lost sight of what they were and have become depending on the show/PPV a cross between WWE-Lite and the last Vince Russo WCW Era. If they want to ever become a true competitor to WWE they need to go back to what they were and not be what WWE is and what WCW used to be. All you have to do is look at TNA's ratings to know they are not going in the right direction. I just hope that they figure out how to fix the problems and do not do anything stupid like assume the ratings have fallen because a former ECW/WCW/WWE Superstar is not holding the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. If they do not do some major changes with the creative direction of TNA Lance Storm's prediction is going to come true sooner rather then later and the only place you will be able to see TNA is on WWE 24/7. -Suzanne Abshire’s opening statement on why TNA needs to change its creative direction (Due to late entries there was a substitute for Joe Travis this round. Joe, you finish your opening statement and respond to Suzanne’s opening statement and you can take over in the second round) What is so wrong with TNA? Most criticisms fall under the booking category, which ironically has always been Vince Russo’s weak spot. TNA is a young company, the booking can be fixed and eventually will be. In 2005 and before that why did TNA have such a buzz? Did it have anything to do with storylines? Could it possibly have something to do with the X Division and the less talk more action aspect of it? Under the current regime of TNA those problems can be fixed, more clean wrestling can be offered and the X Division could have more importance once again. What my opponent is saying is to move TNA in a direction where WWE is currently heading and guess what, their ratings are dropping too. What was the most popular time in wrestling? When was it the coolest to be a wrestling fan? Can anyone say attitude era? Many people like to criticize Vince Russo for all the bad he has done but it was indeed Vince Russo who pioneered the Attitude Era and Sports Entertainment. Why waste his talent when you can utilize it to create the best product in the world. He does need a filter or editor but that doesn’t mean TNA needs to shift their whole company to re-live memories of the past. Right now TNA offers more storylines than WWE does, most of them have substance and actual plot development. TNA offers better minute-by-minute wrestling. If TNA eliminated their booking problems and fixed a few other minor problems, they would have the admiration of the fans. Many people criticized WCW when they started “copying” WWE back in 1996. WCW became the #1 player in the World because they offered a huge storyline (nWo) plus had excellent in-ring action. It was the lack of creating new stars and the spending of too much money that sent WCW into the arms of the WWE. Up until 2008, WCW was doing so much right. They were doing most of what TNA did, using established stars from the WWE mixed with their original stars to create entertainment. WCW nearly put WWE out of business until one man saved the day: Vince Russo. I say stay your path TNA, fix your booking problems and increase your wrestling on TV, learn from WCW’s mistakes and your mistakes and you will eventually be successful with time. -Anonymous writer defending TNA path If you want to comment on the debate, send your criticism or offer advise to the debaters, e-mail me at Talon_DR@yahoo.com and I will forward your e-mail to them. Talon’s Notebook I have a notebook which I write rumors/spoilers/ thoughts about TNA during the week, kind of like a wrestling journal per say. Here are some notes you should read. § TNA Officials were disappointed with how Sacrifice came off. While they really enjoyed the TerrorDome match and will be using it again in the future, overall TNA was dissatisfied with the event. Possibly the worst TNA PPV of the year for them they won’t be making some of the same mistakes twice. This only shows that a) TNA does recognize when it is doing good and when it doesn’t do so well and b) TNA is a young company that will be making many bad decision along the way like a teenager would. Many have complained about things like this but TNA fully recognizes the apparent problems and tries to correct them. § Expect the Knockouts to be featured more on iMPACT. In the end, TNA fans get their say and it all happened through ratings like I said it would. Fans like the Knockouts by what ratings show and TNA will appease them and deliver more knockout action. § A fake TNA iMPACT Spoiler Report leaked out on Wrestlezone.com yesterday which became obviously true. Not everything can you believe in wrestling. On the spoiler from the second iMPACT Taping this week Abyss returned maskless and with a new name, TNA debuted a new ring with black ropes and a bluish/grey canvas and many intriguing matches were announced for Slammiversary. § Speaking of Abyss, I am really intrigued by this disturbing video footage to air on iMPACT. All I can tell you is that I want Abyss to return to TNA as Abyss, with his mask. Abyss is a marketable character and should TNA take away his name or mask then they would be losing that marketable character and would sadden me along the way. § I was chatting heavily with someone the other day who is a HUGE TNA fan and is very well informed and well educated in the world of TNA. I thought for a moment he took my “TNA 101” class but I was mistaken. His viewpoints on TNA are very different then what standard TNA fans would think. He believed that TNA Ratings dropped because their wasn’t enough Drama, Comedy, Storyline progression and character development. His research showed that TNA was more successful during the time they displayed less wrestling and more entertainment (January 08). § Apparently TNA officials brought up the Makeover head shaving to all the girls backstage and of all of them, Roxxi Laveaux was most willing to do it. TNA officials would not have forced anyone or compelled anyone to have their head shaved if they didn’t want to but Roxxi Laveaux stepped in for the company. I personally give credit to Laveaux for doing this as would hope for her sacrifice, she would be in line for a push towards the Knockouts Championship § Kurt Angle’s neck injury wasn’t major! He suffered a stinger on a House Show match against AJ Styles. Doctors and TNA Officials told him not to compete until he was healed to prevent further injury and until further assessments were made. Angle is expected to return to action at Slammiversary. § Bobby Lashley’s WWE No Compete Clause expired earlier this week. Kurt Angle and Booker T have both been trying to recruit Lashley to TNA since they believe he has a star quality they could build off of. TNA has been known for pulling off coups that nobody expected such as Sting, Christian Cage, Booker T and Kurt Angle all coming to TNA. § There is no Major concern within TNA or Spike about the 0.9 rating that iMPACT received this past week. Officials from both parties understand there are booms times in wrestling and there are low times in wrestling. Spike TV has been pretty happy with the ratings TNA has been getting on their network since TNA’s arrival in 2005 (as evident by the Primetime, Thursday Night 2 hour Show). Spike TV also realizes that there are other networks that would kill to have TNA on their brand due to the sustainable growth and following they have. (All this means is not to expect Spike TV to cancel anytime soon but anything can happen in the world of Sports Entertainment) Special Thanks § I would like to send my thanks to the community forum moderator, TheIconSting for posting one of my latest columns on the community forums. I truly do appreciate it. § Thanks to Professor Newton Gimmick who created the new logo for TNA 101. Looks cool Professor! Re-Booking Sacrifice New Lineup for Sacrifice *World Championship: Samoa Joe vs Scott Steiner *Makeover Ladder Match: Gail Kim vs Roxxi Laveaux *TerrorDome Match *Tag Team Championship Tournament Semi-Finals: AJ Styles and Super Eric vs LAX * Tag Team Championship Tournament Semi-Finals: Team 3D vs Rhino and Christian Cage * Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals: Team 3D vs LAX * No Disqualification Match: James Storm vs Sting * Strange Bedfellows Match: Robert Roode and Booker T vs Matt Morgan and Kip James TNA World Tag Team Tournament- The biggest change to the lineup is the elimination of what would have been 4 matches and a whole lot of unnecessary tag team chaos. I actually liked the Deuces Wild Tournament idea but after all Egotistical 8 teams were eliminated in the first round this tournament made no sense. Why book the whole Deuces Wild Tournament when in the grand scheme of things, it wouldn’t make a difference. It begins right after Lockdown where the Super Eric catastrophe would have been. Instead of booking Super Eric and Kaz into the match it would have been a standard tag team title match involving Tag Team Champions, AJ Styles and Tomko and challengers LAX. Since the titles needed to be vacated the best way is for the challengers to get screwed as well as the champions. I suggest the pinfall of the illegal man. After complaining from both sides, Jim Cornette announces a Tag Team Tournament to happen at Sacrifice where the best team becomes tag team champions. The next week on iMPACT Team 3D qualifies over Black Reign and Rellik while Rhino and Christian Cage request to be in the tournament and qualify over the Machine Guns and Shark Boy and Curry Man (which for some reason excluded from the tournament). The following week LAX qualifies over Kaz and Eric Young. Tomko is “injured” so AJ has to find a new partner and Super Eric comes to the rescue. The rest is history. This would allow for more time for matches at the Pay per View and eliminate the Egotistical 8, who would mostly have other matches on the card. Makeover Ladder Match: All that would change in this match is that instead of having the Immunity on a Pole Match on iMPACT, you would have the Battle Royal on iMPACT! Angelina Love and Velvet Sky would interfere because their b****es. The same things would happen after the match. TerrorDome- The only things that would change are the origin of the match (Jim Cornette doesn’t put on this match to get back at certain individuals) and the stipulation where Kaz goes into the main event would be taken out as well. No Disqualification: It is a shame that the No DQ Match between James Storm and Sting didn’t get the time it deserved. Since neither would have a match I would have moved their iMPACT No DQ Match to Sacrifice. This way the match would get more time. The result would be the same as the iMPACT No DQ Match but James Storm would get a few near falls. Strange Bedfellows- Would you sacrifice your hate to get the win. That is what this match is about. Following the Matt Morgan/Kip James match from three days earlier on iMPACT, somehow Robert Roode and Booker T get involved. Jim Cornette says he is sick of all the chaos and announces that at Sacrifice it would be Booker T teaming with Robert Roode against Matt Morgan and Kip James. The fans will either think that Cornette misspoke or that he is losing his mind. The Strange Bedfellows match would be interesting as Kip James would help Robert Roode while Booker and Morgan would help each other. Unfortunately after a misplaced kick from Morgan, Booker T would get pinned. After the match Booker and Morgan would argue, BG would come out and try and cool everything down and Booker would go outside the ring as BG talked with Morgan and would smack both Morgan and BG with chairs like what he did to Christian Cage and Rhino at Sacrifice, turning him heel. World Championship Match- When Kurt Angle meets Samoa Joe in their rematch, Scott Steiner comes in and costs Angle the match, like he did before. After the match Steiner would attack both men and lock Angle in the Steiner Recliner “taking him out of action”. It would lead to a one on one match between Joe and Steiner at Sacrifice. These two men have had quality matches in the past such as at Slammiversary 06. They could have had one at Sacrifice 08 if given the opportunity. WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK ABOUT MY BOOKING? Talon Thorne TNA Analyst Talon_DR@yahoo.com www.tnawrestling101.proboards57.com This article has been viewed 115 times.
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