Reported by Martin Hawrysko of WrestleView.com
On Tuesday, March 6, 2007 at 3:49 PM EST

When I began writing at WrestleView.com, I was very disgusted with the WWE product. I was enjoying TNA Impact far better than WWE Raw week by week. Then, somewhere during the month of January, Vince Russo began to kick his style of booking up a notch, just as the WWE was getting their act together towards WrestleMania.

About a month ago, as the WWE was picking up steamed, I asked a particular question. My question was, with the WWE starting to get good again, are more people going to slowly care less about TNA? After writing that column, I received so many e-mails from TNA fans that were mad as hell at me, and I hadn’t even said anything bad about that product.

I have not made it a secret that Impact has taken a turn for the worse as of late. I had no interest in buying the last two pay-per-views, and after reading the results and gathering reaction off message boards on the ‘net, I can see that both of those pay-per-views were absolutely bombed (Impact is being watched by the most people ever, yet their pay-per-view buyrates of 20,000 not only are not growing, but are decreasing).

I am looking at the storylines that are presented on Impact, I am looking at the card for this Sunday’s Destination X pay-per-view, and I am thinking to myself, just how much Total Non-Stop Action wrestling has gone down the last few months. To put it bluntly, TNA Wrestling kind of sucks right now.

It sucks so much, that even as a wrestling writer, I am left with very little desire to waste my time watching Impact. There are so many stupid things that happen on that show each week, and rather than have any direction, it seems as if TNA will do anything just for the sake of doing it.

Tomko pins Samoa Joe:
First of all, why the hell is the company’s soon-to-be heavyweight champion, Samoa Joe, getting pined by WWE reject and Bull Buchanan wannabe Tomko? What the hell did Tomko ever do in WWE? What the hell has he ever done in TNA? He has done absolutely nothing! Tomko is NOT someone who is going to be carrying any professional wrestling company down the line, so why the hell would anyone think it was a good idea to book him to pin one of their most popular talents?

I have no problem with Joe getting pinned on Impact, only as long as it is by someone who has some importance in the company. Tomko doesn’t even have a match at the pay-per-view! Booking Scott Steiner to beat Joe would have made more sense, because that at least would show he is capable of winning a match, and just might add something to the build-up of him and Angle.

Speaking of Tomko, my jaw dropped open after hearing Mike Tenay claim that Christian owes Tomko a title shot down the line, for all that he has done. WHAT!??!

Rhino and AJ Styles:
I like the Elevation X concept. However, why the hell are Rhino and AJ Styles still feuding? What the hell are they feuding about in the first place? Does anybody even care about Rhino anymore? Through no fault of his own, he continues to be booked as a repeated loser, with no momentum going into any feud. Does anyone think Rhino has a chance at winning this Sunday? Rhino is made to look like a complete loser, which is why no one cares about him. They are wasting Rhino’s ability, and this feud is doing nothing to make the fans care about AJ Styles, who I feel is making strides as a heel personality.

Abyss has been destroyed:
The Sting and Abyss feud signifies everything that is wrong with Vince Russo. Russo does not have any patience, and instead of building something up to be special, he attempts a lot of things at once, and when they happen, it makes zero sense. I can guarantee you this. If Vince Russo had his way back in the WWE, you would have seen Kane’s mask removed prior to year 2000. I guarantee it.

Abyss has totally been destroyed in this feud, and any mysterious aspect about him barely exists today. We now know his name is Chris and that he shot his father in the back of the head. How the hell is that supposed to make him appear any scarier or more intimidating? Vince Russo has absolutely destroyed Abyss, and the only reason you haven’t seen his masked remove is probably because a) the upper TNA management won’t allow it, or b) Russo has enough sense to realize that removing Kane’s mask was a bad move, and knows better not to do it to Abyss.

Mike Tenay and Don West:
I could only wish that whatever illness plagued Michael Cole at WWE’s No Way Out pay-per-view a few weeks ago, would spread to Mike Tenay and Don West. These two have no idea how to announce a wrestling show. First of all, when someone is cutting a promo in the ring, it is NOT necessary for any announcer to repeat what the wrestler is saying! Half the time, while watching Impact, I’m practically screaming to my TV “Shut the fuck up already!" to the damn announcers. Tenay and West would be perfect if Impact were being broadcasted on the radio. For television, it is not necessary for the announcers to describe every single thing that happens! A lot of the time, the picture can speak for itself. In all serious, in the long run, if TNA is going to grow, the company should either stop serving any drinks with caffeine at the TNA tapings or strongly considering hiring a new set of announcers.

Sadly, Tenay has the ability to be a great announcer. His being popular is for a reason. But if Tenay ever watches a tape of Impact and fails to realize how foolish he comes across, and can’t adapt, then he has no business calling a professional wrestling television show.

Other things that make absolutely no sense:
-I like Eric Young and think he is a personality that TNA should utilize. However, this storyline with Robert Rood is so horrendous and a waste of time. When Rood and Young eventually have their match, is anybody going to care about it? Does anyone care about Rood at all? I think not.

-Team 3D comes across as shells of their former selves in their feud with LAX. The only thing I can think of when watching Team 3D on camera these days is how much of a bunch of badasses the Dudleys were back in the same, much how LAX tries to be today. Team 3D have been booked like crap since coming to TNA, and anything short of a world tag team championship reign following this feud will make it a complete failure.

-Jim Cornette is supposed to be the authority figure of TNA. However, his character is booked so badly that he has absolutely no credibility as one. Cornette is someone who SHOULD have credibility, because in real life, he is absolutely nuts! His real life persona would make a great character and they are failing to capitalize on that. Instead of feeding Cornette scripts, give him an open mic and really let him rip lose.

To TNA fans:
I honestly can care less if any TNA fans think that company is the greatest thing going. I honestly can care less at any angry e-mails I get because TNA fans think I am completely wrong. How can I take any serious TNA fans seriously who actually like the crap that they are watching each week? Any serious TNA fan who enjoys this crap are probably the same fans who enjoyed WWE’s Katie Vick angle or Mae Young giving birth to a plastic hand. Those fans are a small minority. The 1.0 or 1.1 that TNA earns each week are mostly fans who care more about the WWE anyways. We all now know how many true diehard fans TNA has after going head-to-head against Raw’s second hour a few weeks back.

There is absolutely nothing on Impact that I find to be that enjoyable. Christian Cage is one of my favorite talents, and the mere fact that he is champion isn’t enough to maintain my interest in this show. Am I going to stop watching Impact? No. But I certainly am not going to plan my Thursday nights around that show. And if I certainly decide to tape the program, you better belief I am going to fast forward through the endless crap that makes no sense.

Aimless Observations

-Another good Raw last night. The main blemish was the Master Lock challenge. We understand the Master Lock can’t be broken. We don’t need to be reminded of that three years after his character debuted, because the WWE books him to be a complete clown.

A huge mark-out moment for me last night as the glass shattered leading to Steve Austin walking down the entrance ramp. I was disappointed not to hear him speak on the mic, but I realize they are saving that for tonight. It’s smart booking if you think about it. Vince is always at his best while interacting with Austin.

-I was out last night and my buddy sent me a text saying Mick Foley was the special guest referee. I almost spilled my drink, in anger.

-If you want to see something funny, Google search “WWE Basic Instinct parody." That dates back to WrestleMania 21’s “going Hollywood" spoofs. The Basic Instinct one was just a classic, especially with Christian’s lines and the look of Jericho’s face at the end of Moolah and May Young are walking in.

-Following my anti-Hulk Hogan comments in my previous column, I was anxious to receive some hate mail from all the Hogan lovers. I think it says A LOT about what people think of Hogan when all the e-mail I receive is from people who are just as disgusted with him that I am. Are there not any Hulk Hogan fans out there? Oh well… WrestleMania will be that much better with out Hulk Hogan and the 20,000 Hulkamaniacs.

-The fact that TNA will soon lose the NWA titles will not hurt the company in any way. The only people who might care are the old school wrestling fans from before the 1990’s.

-MTV can’t make up its mind as what to do with WSX, just as Vince McMahon can’t make up his mind with MNM. The exploding cage match that will be featured in the final episode sounds like fun. I hope WSX can find a new home, but I don’t have much confidence.

-- That will do it for me. I’ll be back, whenever…

My e-mail address is martinhwv@gmail.com. Feedback is always welcomed and appreciated. As always, thanks for reading.

NOTE: The views expressed in this column are not the views of WrestleView.com and its immediate staff.