More on the TNA schedule change
*9/8 in Nashville – Final Asylum show: Hardy/Jarrett
*9/9 in Orlando – Final Thursday Impact taping
*9/14 in Orlando – First Impact/Xplosion Tuesday taping
*9/15 on PPV – HITS Vol. 1 – Tag Teams
*9/21 in Orlando – Impact/Xplosion taping
*9/22 on PPV – HITS Vol. 2 – X-Division
*9/28 in Orlando – Impact/Xplosion taping
*9/29 on PPV – HITS Vol. 3 – Heavyweights
*Early November – First Sunday TNA Supercard
Despite the close proximity to the planned TNA schedule change in early September, and the fact that it will mean several cancelled bookings for wrestlers who will need to find another way to make money until TNA—for many a full-time job—, TNA has not revealed to wrestlers that their lives are about to change.
Until a better slot can be arranged, TNA Impact will continue to air Fridays on Fox Sports Network at 3pm local. The show taping will be moved to a lighter day for wrestlers, Tuesday, which will allow a more lenient two and a half days for post-production. A Sunday morning slot is currently being arranged, possibly competing head-to-head with WWE’s poorly-rated Experience show. It will be scaled up in terms of booking, and will serve the purpose of a RAW or SmackDown within WWE, to promote the supercard PPVs. Xplosion will take the current place of Impact, and will be scaled up from the current format.
TNA will be hyping Hardy/Jarrett for about a month and it will be the last big feud under the current system. The build for the first supercard PPV—a pricing system for which has yet to be devised, with numbers ranging from $19.95, to more likely figures $24.95, or on the high end $29.95—is planned to be about seven to 10 weeks of TV, most likely in early November. Wrestlers will be losing three bookings next month, which amounts to between $1500 and $4500 lost.
The Jarretts took a stance of opposition to this move, especially considering this will move TNA permanently out of taping Nashville, but it’s not their money.
TNA on PPV (8/11):
1. 3Live Kru (Konnan and B.G. James) over Team Canada (Eric Young and Johnny Devine) in 8:30 to be #1 contenders to the tag titles. Scott D’Amore interfered and Team Canada won initially, but Dusty Rhodes talked the referee and got the match restarted. Konnan pinned Young 25 seconds into the restarted match. Turns out this just helped continue the feud between Dusty Rhodes and Vince Russo, which is incredibly useless. Russo came out because he doesn’t like match decisions being reversed, similar to the rule enforced in WWE, even when the match decision was faulty in the first place and the referee reverses it.
Another unfunny Goldylocks segment followed. It gets worse weekly. She got mad at Abyss.
2. Alex Shelley over Ekmo, fresh from All Japan (Jamal from the Island Boys), in 5:12. Ekmo had the pin, but Mike Posey was dealing with Desire and Goldylocks fighting on the outside. Abyss came out and basically won the match for Shelley and put Shelley on top of Ekmo, meaning that Goldylocks now owns Ekmo and I’m bored.
Since it didn’t work as well as they expected the first time, TNA is trying the Sabu/Raven feud again. Sabu had a chain around the neck of Raven, choking him. They fought and Raven bled. Sonjay Dutt ran in to help pull the two apart. Tenay announced Jarrett/Hardy for September 8, which is scheduled to be the last show at the Nashville Fairgrounds until TNA switches formats (see main story). This means that the championship committee didn’t even make an appearance to make this official announcement. Monty Brown came out. Ron Killings followed. Killings vs. Brown was announced for next week.
3. David Young over Glenn Gilberti to keep his job (Gilberti “loses” his) in 8:18. Young has broken his losing streak of 90 matches, if I’m correct. Swinger helped Gilberti with brass knuckles but Young ended up using them on Gilberti.
Russo did a backstage interview. Jarrett told Russo that Rhodes was after his job. Russo said he may be passionate but he’s not a backstabber. He argued that by doing things the right way, no one likes him. “You’re an island. You’ve been trying to do things the right way…. There isn’t a person walking god’s green earth who would stand by your side.” A.J. Styles said he supports Russo. Jarrett called him a brown-noser. The two fought all the way out to the ring. Brown gave Styles a pounce, killing Styles. Killings ran in. Hardy ran in.
4. Chris Harris & James Storm (1-0) over Christopher Daniels and Primetime (0-1) in the first of a three-match series to qualify for a shot at the Tag Team Championship, currently held by the Naturals, in 9:34. Harris hit a spear to win. Very good match for the time they gave it.
Michael Shane and Kazarian did a promo. They aren’t Shawn and Marty, which means nothing to me. They aren’t good wrestlers? One isn’t going to turn on the other, kick him through a piece of glass and then become famous? They aren’t Christian? Raven is challenging Sabu to a “Hangman’s Horror match.” He called Sabu a “publicity stunt” created by Paul Heyman, which, true or not, has no purpose in this feud.
5. Petey Williams won the Internation X-Division Gauntlet match to win the X-title in about 30:00. The final four was Shane, Kazarian, Williams, and Amazing Red. Earlier, A.J. Styles eliminated Kid Kash and a la Sid Vicious in ‘92, retaliated, taking Styles out. Styles had the most eliminations for the entire match. The rule for the final two—Williams and Red—was pinfall and submission only. They got to do the high flying moves that were lacking in the match. D’Amore hit Red with his hockey stick (the hockey stick) to help Williams hit the Canadian Destroyer and win. Other entrants: Sonjay Dutt, Jerry Lynn, Chad Collyer, Chris Vaughn, D-Ray 3000 (who was only in for a few seconds), Joey Matthews, Mikey Batts, Jarelle Clark, L.A. Park, Psychosis, Nosawa, Miyamoto, Shark Boy, Jason Cross, Nigel McGuiness (from ROH) and Chris Sabin.
ENTRANCE
ELIMINATION
1. Kazarian
Dutt by Collyer
2. Sonjay Dutt Collyer by Lynn
3. Chad Collyer Lynn by ?
4. L.A. Park Miyamoto by Styles
5. Miyamoto Matthews by Styles
6. Jerry Lynn D-Ray 3000 by Styles
7. Joey Matthews Batts by Styles
8. Nosawa Vaughn by ?
9. A.J. Styles Park by Styles
10. Chris Vaughn Nosawa by Styles
11. Petey Williams Clark by Kash
12. D-Ray 3000 Cross by ?
13. Mikey Batts Kash by Styles
14. Jason Cross Styles by Kash
15. Jerrelle Clark Shark Boy by Sabin
16. Kid Kash McGuiness by Red & Sabin
17. Nigel McGuiness Psychosis by Shane & Kazarian
18. Psychosis Sabin by Kazarian
19. Shark Boy Shane by Williams
20. Chris Sabin Kazarian by Williams
21. Amazing Red
22. Michael Shane
thumbdown (0k image) Keep in mind that the advertised main event of this show was the announcement as to the date of the Hardy/Jarrett match as they are trying to drum up interest in the match that simply doesn’t exist. At least, it’s consistent and promoted ahead of time, which has been the promotion’s main improvement since I last evaluated them in depth in January. The quality of the shows hasn’t improved coincidently with that movement, but they have been more organized. As soon as I type that though, it’s important to know that the booking for this consisted of agent Jerry Lynn having a list of order of entrance and exit, similar to the one above, and told everyone to just do their spots, and that’s basically it. He did more with the final four. That said, if they can create characters that fans identify with as well as A.J. Styles, and shy away from characters like Jarrett and Goldylocks, and write interesting storylines, then they’ll have a promotion that is set to stand the test of time. With the new schedule, that will be an easier feat. Nonetheless, it’s easier said than done.
This is the latest card for next Wednesday:
—America’s Most Wanted vs. Triple X in pt. 2 of a two/three series
—3Live Kru vs. The Naturals for the NWA World Tag Team Championship
—Street fight: A.J. Styles vs. Kid Kash
—Petey Williams vs. Chris Sabin for the X title
—Ron Killings vs. Monty Brown
—Raven vs. Sabu in a Hangman’s Horror match, where I suppose the name is supposed to get people to buy it, because the feud sure as hell hasn’t
ROH Schedule
*8/28 in Braintree (Boston), MA
*9/11 in Elizabeth, NJ
*10/2 in Philadephia, PA
*10/15 in Dayton, OH
*10/16 in Chicago Ridge, IL
*12/18 in Elizabeth, NJ
August 28 – Braintree, MA: Samoa Joe vs. C.M. Punk vs. Homicide; Scramble Cage Melee featuring Jack Evans, Alterboy Luke, Fast eddie, Dan Maff, B.J. Whitmer, Loc, Devito, and more; Tag titles: Ricky Reyes and Rocky Romero vs. Jay and Mark Briscoe; Pure title: Doug Williams vs. John Walters; Colt Cabana vs. Austin Aries; Ace Steel vs. Roderick Strong; Jay Lethal vs. Alex Shelley.
September 11 – Elizabeth, NJ: Mick Foley appears; C.M. Punk vs. Austin Aries; Ultimate Endurance with Generation Next, Carnage Crew, and two other teams. The gimmick is that its an four-team elimination match with a different stipulation for each fall. Fall one – submission only; fall two – tag team scramble; fall three – anything goes. Also, Dan Maff and B.J. Whitmer vs. Chicano and Slash Venom from IWA Puerto Rico.
You can view talent lists for the upcoming shows here.
Impact on Fox Sports Network:
*Jeff Jarrett over Psychosis in 3:14. Does this make Psychosis a jobber?
*Monty Brown over Jimmy Rave in 2:24.
*Mikey Batts and Jerrelle Clark upset The Naturals in 2:06 with the help of the 3Live Kru.
*Petey Williams over The Amazing Red in 4:26. This was a competitive match.
*Raven over Todd Sexton in 1:01. This was not, and led to Sabu choking Raven again.
*A.J. Styles and Jeff Hardy defeated Alex Shelley and Abyss in 5:41.
thumbup (0k image) Also on the show: Dusty Rhodes challenged Scott D’Amore to a fight, spitting all over himself in the process. Jeff Hammond’s weekly segment where he looks uncomfortable analyzing or interviewing someone, was done this week with Vince Russo. Nothing important.
TNA Impact for 7/30 did a 0.18 (a low rating, but not the lowest), bringing the average from the beginning down to a 0.25.
ROH NEWS SUMMARY: The website Declaration of Independents has been running Rob Feinstein’s stance on the situation, saying that its primarily from “people close to the situation,” probably because Feinstein can’t legally speak on the situation (due to both legal avenues he is currently considering, as well as a non-disclosure clause signed in the split of RF Video and Ring of Honor.) He is pursuing at least one lawsuit for libel against Perverted Justice, and for defamation against the NBC-10 station in Philadelphia.
The website ran quotes from the lengthy chats published on the Perverted Justice website and pointed out the inconsistencies in them. I’d say America Online Instant Message transcripts are a perfect place to look for inconsistencies. As far as I know, those aren’t admissible in court, but the video of the news broadcast probably is. Feinstein, and those aligned with him, claim that Perverted Justice, as well as the Philadelphia NBC news affiliate (it was a period produced for sweeps period) capitalized on his bisexuality, edited the chats to further show that he was also hunting after children. In a year he will be starting a wrestling promotion, when he is contractually permitted to do so, with Doug Gentry.
TNA NEWS SUMMARY: There was a ton of heat between Styles and Kash going into their PPV match, most of it coming from Kash’s side. Either he is taking a page from Teddy Hart’s book—which is not smart—or he really does think that Styles is overpushed and all that stuff he said in the interview that got him “fired.” Styles knew beforehand that Kash might shoot on him during the match, and, as an amateur wrestler, was prepared. This story is far too 1960s.
Monty Brown made an appearance on FSN’s Best Damn Sports Show Period. During the interview, a funny exchange happened. In introducing himself, Brown said “The Alpha Male…singular, not plural. The most dominant male on this planet. The most territorial male on the planet…period!” Bryan Cox responded, “So what does that mean?” Brown replied, “It means I’m the man!” Brown was in character. In showing that he knows nothing about wrestling, he said that he’s the “only hybrid that has come from the NFL to the wrestling ring.” Naturally, he wasn’t challenged by these professional hosts. He wished Brock Lesnar the best and said it wouldn’t be easy. Nothing of depth.
Talent: Jeff Hardy was a little late for the Nashville-Orlando bus this past week, but not that late, and has been much better. Kazarian has been put in charge to make sure that he doesn’t get out of control, wakes up on time, and all that man stuff… Kid Kash, work or not, is complaining that he is not getting a raise. He is claiming that he gets paid $500 which is on par with a lot of mid-card talent, but a little lower than I would expect, considering how much he is pushed. He is asking for a release, which TNA is not granting freely, claiming that he is a step away from a job with WWE, which I guarantee you, he is not. The Pro Wrestling Torch has put this under the perspective that TNA doesn’t want to give “the squeaky wheel grease,” which is the exact opposite from WWE, which is trying to soothe the nerves of Bob Holly, who is angry about not being pushed, and Eddie Guerrero, who Dean Malenko has been unofficially in charge of keeping his nerves cool… James Mitchell should be back next month.
That’s all for tonight. Be sure to check in with the TNA/ROH Blog all week long for consistent updates, and about this time next week for H&S.
Matchmaker
Trevor Hunnicutt
THunnicutt@aol.com
– Feedback in regards to the above article may be emailed to THunnicutt@aol.com. With the amount of time each author puts into an article, your responses are appreciated.
