It seems like forever since my last column was posted. I ran into a little medical thing which was the reason why I haven’t written anything this week. I had to see my doctor yesterday because of a huge lump on the right side of my forehead which in turn caused my right eye to almost completely shut and it also swelled up my cheek area. This started Monday morning but got much worse from Wednesday on. He diagnosed it as an insect bite and put me on antibiotics and an antihistamine. I’m a little better today, not great but there is a small improvement with the lump. It is a tiny bit smaller. Unfortunately my eye is still swollen. I look like I met Mike Tyson in the ring. But I really wanted to do a column about Impact. So hopefully even though I’m working with one good eye I’ll keep the errors to a minimum. Also I want to thank so many of you whom emailed me to see if I was okay since I hadn’t written a column. I appreciated your emails very much.
For almost a year I stopped watching the shows. Week after week it seemed like Jeff Jarrett was IMPACT and that all the great young talent in the X Division just got buried more and more. Finally when Jarrett was given a stable that was it for me. I forgot the name of this lame group but the acting was so pathetic that watching the members try to act was just painful. Also the reason I wanted to watch Impact was because Christian was now there. But his character Christian the face was a DUD. I don’t know if Christian can’t play a face or if it’s just in TNA, but he stunk. He wrestled very little at first and did a lot of mic work, but as a face I wasn’t buying into most of the stuff that was coming out of his mouth. The Christian that TNA was giving us was a total let down. And then I think what really was it for me was TNA bringing in Scott Steiner and Buff Bagwell. Steiner can blame WWE and Triple H all he wants, but the guy never had it when he came to WWE, he couldn’t even move. And Bagwell? He was a nightmare to watch in WCW and I certainly wasn’t going to be glued to my TV to see what he could do. It got to where it was like watching WCW at its worst and I couldn’t take it anymore.
Now after Kurt Angle signed with the company I swore that I wasn’t going to watch him because of the fear that he would either severely injure or kill himself. But, I gave in, not really because of Angle but because Jarrett took time off, Steiner and Bagwell disappeared and Christian made a nice comeback. So I got back to Impact a little over a month ago. I don’t watch the shows on Thursday nights because honestly I’m not ready to give up what I usually watch that night. But I do watch the replay on Saturday night’s and all in all I can say I do like most of what I have been watching. Let me get back to Christian. Man it’s so good to see him back as one of the best heels in the business. Now this is the Christian that I was hoping we would see from the time he came to TNA. Okay it didn’t happen immediately, but at least it happened. And then you add Tyson Tomko to the mix and it’s like watching WWE all over again. And when it comes to those two that’s a compliment. I might not have been a fan of Tomko in matches, but as Christian’s body guard these two gelled from the start. I think another reason why I feel the show has improved so much is bringing in Vince Russo. There’s a different atmosphere to the shows now. Many of the guys that came off so poorly on the mic are now doing a much better job. I find that Alex Shelley, Jay Lethal, Senshi, Sonjay Dutt, and Austin Starr all come off very natural and relaxed with the segments that they do with Kevin Nash. I can honestly say these guys win me over each week with these skits.
The X Division is what I really like to watch each week. Everyone involved in this division is still just awesome to watch. And one of my very favorites, Chris Sabin is now a heel, and I feel this heel character suits him so well. Turning him was a very smart move, and I like how he’s getting a lot of TV time. Also it’s weird for me to see Petey Williams as a face now, and as much as I like Sabin the heel that’s how much I like Williams the face. I have also enjoyed watching AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels do their thing. My only comment on Styles would be, KEEP HIM OFF THE MIC. I have never liked listening to him, and I still don’t, but because of his fabulous in ring work there is no reason to even bother putting him on the mic. As you can see there are plenty of things in one hour for me to sit and get into. But of course there are a few things that I don’t like and each week it’s the same old stuff with the following and none of it works for me.
First off while VKM might have started out kind of humorous in the last few weeks I’m not laughing. There is no way Vince McMahon is going to acknowledge them and put Michael Hickenbottom and Paul Levesque in a match against Kip James and B. G. James. In fact the less funny VKM gets I think the more turned off many TNA fans become. I would rather see TNA focus on their own tag team division. I would certainly give WWE less publicity and TNA more. But then again I think TNA’s tag team division is going. With AWA and The Naturals finished and VKM screwing around with DX there’s not many opponents for Team 3 D. But this whole VKM thing in my books has run its course. And then you have understanding Sting trying to befriend Abyss. I am so not into this angle what so ever. And I am so not into watching Kurt Angle go berserk week after week throughout the show. That too gets old fast. While Kurt has been super in his matches for their pay per views, on free TV he hasn’t shown me much. I am already tired of him yelling and threatening unless he gets his rematch from Samoa Joe. Finally, I still can’t get into the TNA announcing team. You have Mike Tenay in his tuxedo and Don West yelling. I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to either guy.
But I am watching and I plan to continue. I never thought I would go back to TNA but damn, I did. I’m no where near ready to buy a TNA pay per view, but as they always say never say never. Before I forget I thought the Raw Tribute to the Troops was done so well. It’s one show that always comes off with such class. It was really nice seeing the Undertaker interacting with the troops and smiling and doing a few moves with them. Vince McMahon gets props from me for putting these shows on. Okay I want to wish all of you a very Happy and safe New Year and I’m already to see if K-Fed can perform in the ring against John Cena. And I have a feeling that DX will be anything but funny when they go after Edge and Randy Orton for almost “killing” them two weeks ago. I will leave you with two requests from my readers and again HAPPY NEW YEAR. I was wondering if any one has links to hear Jeff Hardy and his band. You can email me at mooedson@gmail.com.
I was just emailing to ask if you if anyone would happen to have a DVD recording of RAW from MONDAY 14TH AUGUST 2006.thebanksies@tiscali.co.uk
2006 was definitely a crazy year in pro wrestling. The resurrection of ECW, the return of D-Generation X & Sting, TNA’s move to Thursday and later to primetime, Kurt Angle leaving WWE, Kurt Angle joining TNA, the rise of Edge & Samoa Joe. Yep, 2006 had a lot of major things going on and with the year coming to a close, it’s time to vote on the best of 2006 in the 2006 TWV Wrestling Awards. With twenty-five categories to vote on, every inch of pro wrestling is sure to be covered in these awards from Match Of The Year down to even High Flyer of the year.
Voting is currently open to anyone who wishes to vote and is taking place on The Wrestling Asylum discussion forums. You must register to vote, but registration is free and there is a lot more than just this voting to offer! Voting will close on December 31st, 2006 at 5 PM EST with the results being first announced on the return episode of The Wrestling Crossfire on January 1, 2007 and posted on TheWrestlingVoice.com on January 2, 2007.
To vote and view all twenty-give categories up for voting in the 2006 TWV Wrestling Awards, just click here.
We hope to see you soon voting for the very best of 2006 in pro wrestling!
Email lindarobin3@yahoo.com
