Source: Kevin Eck of The Baltimore Sun
I remember the last time a wrestling company proclaimed that something “would change the face of professional wrestling forever.” It was in WCW in 2000. I was the editor of WCW Magazine at the time, and I was aware of what the big news was going to be (actually, I don’t think it was a well-kept secret). I also knew that WCW was setting itself up for failure.
For those who might not remember, the earth-shattering development was that Goldberg turned heel. To say that WCW made an overstatement would be a huge understatement. To this day, I don’t understand why WCW promised something that it couldn’t possibly deliver. No matter how bad things were going for WCW at the time (really, really bad), setting up the fans for a letdown only made things worse and reeked of desperation.
Last night on a live edition of Impact (now in HD, not that it matters to me) from Las Vegas, TNA once again took a page out of WCW’s book. Mick Foley had a major announcement to make, one that, in the words of Mike Tenay, would “rock professional wrestling.”
After the announcement was pushed hard throughout the show, Foley finally revealed the shocking news that … wait for it, wait for it … he was now a major shareholder in TNA! The only thing missing was Tony Schiavone screaming, “This is the single biggest announcement in the history of professional wrestling!”
All kidding aside, Foley becoming part owner of TNA is a decent plot twist and should make for some entertaining scenarios. It would have been better, however, if TNA had simply said that Foley had a big announcement to make about his future in TNA. By making ridiculous claims, TNA just made the announcement feel anticlimactic.
Other thoughts on last night’s show:
I liked Kurt Angle’s “major announcement” better than Foley’s. Angle revealed that he, Kevin Nash, Booker T. and Sting have formed a faction known as the Main Event Mafia (not to be confused with the Voodoo Kin Mafia). That’s a lot of star power there. The group’s name isn’t that great, but at least it’s better than The Millionaires Club. …
I continue to be amazed by Sting’s “heel turn.” He now is officially aligned with the top heels in TNA, but he still doesn’t come off as a villain. He did put on a suit and act a little cocky, but I think it speaks volumes that he did not participate in MEM’s beat-down of Samoa Joe and A.J. Styles at the end of the show. I’m betting that somewhere down the line Sting either renounces the group or they boot him out (like the Four Horsemen did in 1990). …
Could it have been more obvious that Joe was blading himself after taking the belt shot from Nash or that the referee picked the blade up off the mat? That’s live TV. …
I don’t know how Angle and Nash kept a straight face when Booker kept repeating the word “respect” in his accent every time one of them would say it. I know I was laughing out loud. …
Booker’s facial expressions during his verbal confrontation with Christian Cage were hilarious, too. Booker and Cage are clearly the two most entertaining performers in TNA right now. I can’t comment on Cage’s Lil John jokes, however, because I am not familiar with Mr. John’s work. I assume that he is no relation to Elton. …
Booker’s TNA Legends title belt is an obvious takeoff of Ted DiBiase’s old Million Dollar belt. Booker is putting his belt on the line against Cage with the stipulation that Cage has to join MEM if he loses. I don’t care for the idea of wrestlers competing for titles that don’t really exist. And no disrespect to Christian, but, story-line wise, does he have the qualifications to be in the group? The four members all were world champions in either WWE or WCW, but Christian was never more than a mid-carder before coming to TNA. …
It was definitely time to put the TNA women’s title back on Awesome Kong, and this sets up a title program between Kong and Roxxi. Taylor Wilde never really got over as a babyface champion. Gail Kim’s departure has left a major void. …
What better way to kick off TNA’s first high-definition broadcast than with a match involving The Beautiful People? As someone who does not have HD, I can only use my imagination as to how Velvet Sky’s ring entrance looked up close and personal. …
Sky’s match against Christy Hemme wasn’t exactly smooth, but the effort was definitely there, and because it was the opening match, the crowd was hot for it. …
Perhaps I wasn’t paying close enough attention, but I was almost as confused by the rules for the tag-team gauntlet match as I was for the double gauntlet match on Raw Monday. I was even more confused by Team 3D playing to the crowd. Did they turn babyface while I was making a sandwich? By the way, why was Brother Devon unable to kick out of a pin attempt after only having beer spit in his face? …
What’s the over/under on how long it will be before Matt Morgan turns on “best friend” Abyss? …
I was enjoying the Sheik Abdul Bashir-Jay Lethal match – while it lasted. I am shocked that Bashir won so cleanly and quickly. …
Could the TNA creative team have made Rhino look any dumber? After grabbing Bashir by the throat backstage and cutting a promo on him, Rhino let him go and turned his back to walk away. Of course Bashir jumped him and dished out an intense physical and verbal beat-down. With Rhino left for dead, Lauren then asked, “Are you OK?” That was almost as funny as Booker’s material.
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