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Pro's from the Palace (#217) - Happy Thanksgiving! TNA & a reader's idea |
» Reported by Mike Siciliano of WrestleView.com
» On Thursday, November 22, 2007 at 11:31 PM EST
This column has two parts. I have to comment on the debacle I saw on Spike TV tonight. I know people aren't going to like it, but it's an opinion, and I'm going to share it. I also am going to take the idea of my buddy Rocky, and provide some information about my all time favorite Survivor Series Pay Per View.
First, the bad....
I was fortunate enough to be given the night off tonight for the thanksgiving holiday. And while I don't purposely set time away from my schedule to watch Impact due to the fact that it just doesn't interest me from the reports I have read on the web, I did catch the tail end of it tonight.
What a mistake.
I catch a 3 way match, that has a stipulation of the winner receiving a check for $25,000 and the loser having to don a turkey suit, called the "Turkey Bowl". The match is between Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, and Chris Sabin. The stips bother me, but I'm interested, because its three men that I know can deliver a good match when they're paired up together, and in a 3 way, it's triple the fun at a single price.
Could TNA & Spike pack in any more freakin' commercials to break the flow of a match? I mean, damnit, one commercial break in a television match I am used to, but this one had three I think, and it totally took the momentum that this match had caused away. It made me disinterested, and I bet it made the rest of the general populus that may have watched this match disinterested.
Back to the match, some spots in it were very impressive, Joe's suicide dive on to the table, catching AJ while he tried for the inverted DDT, Sabin's work all together was solid, and the match was fun to watch, I will give credit where credit is due.
Joe wins the match, pinning AJ with the muscle buster, grabs the check, kisses it like he hasn't seen a paycheck in months, (which is entirely possible, but 2 to 1 says that check he kisses bounces), and splits pretty damn quickly. AJ then is left in the ring to argue with referees about putting the suit on, and it becomes one cluster F of a end of a program.
Tenay screams that Cornette is en route to the ring to demand "justice". What's justice, that a man who could potentially be a main event superstar in your company be reduced to wearing a suit that makes him look like a turkey? Who the hell are you trying to kid?
Now, don't get me wrong, I know that the show had to do a thanksgiving theme, and what not, and you got it, with Angle dressed like a pilgrim, the obligatory food fight segment, and the like. I get it. It's Thanksgiving. I know. But, you take this match, this very positive match that happens between three men who could literally be on the upper tier of talent in the company, and turn it in to a cluster bomb because you force a man who two years ago was wearing gold on a regular basis to put on a turkey suit! WHERE THE HELL IS THE DAMN LOGIC HERE?
You can't tell me that there's not a better way to celebrate thanksgiving than to publicly humiliate one of your talents. Don't sit here and tell me its a pay day, and its scripted, and all that jazz, because the human mind is a fragile thing, and you cannot tell me that AJ Styles walked in to the back locker room after that segment, whenever it was taped, and was happy that he had to endure that insult.
The first man ever to win the triple crown of championships in Total Non Stop Action, reduced to being a bitch, literally a bitch, for former WWE castaways Christian Cage, and now Kurt Angle. For a fan of AJ Styles, and the work he is CAPABLE of bringing to the ring, it is degrading to his career, its degrading to his character, and its degrading to the company who sanctions it.
Of course, at the end of the show, Angle comes down in a pilgrim costume, and he and AJ argue about AJ wearing a turkey suit. AJ's like, "you're dressed like a pilgrim!" Somewhere in the back crevaces of Stamford, Connecticut, Vince McMahon is laughing his ass off, because Kurt Angle, multiple world champion, superstar, with a resume a mile long, is reduced to arguing with a guy in a turkey suit while he's wearing a pilgrim suit on thanksgiving. My, how the mighty have fallen.
And don't tell me that you didn't think this, Tomko's sitting in the back of the ring as Angle and AJ are jawjacking, and he's probably thinking to himself, "when's the first plane back to Tokyo, where at least I can wrestle with some dignity...."
And lastly, on this absolute debacle and horror show I witnessed, I love how they're promoting a main event with a man who can't even climb in to the ring anymore. Nash looked like he was going to break both his knees trying to struggle to jump the apron and get to the ring. And he's going to be able to fight in main event style matches in TNA? Give me a break.
Damn, Mitsuharu Misawa, who's probably just about as old as Nash, performed out of his mind at ROH, and everyone thought he was washed up. Nash, I swear, is going to be carted out of a TNA ring in a closed casket with the way he looks athletically, it's just a matter of time as to when.
Attempting to move on, because if I don't, I'll start being more insane in my writings....l
And, lastly, to the good. Kudos to Rocky for this idea....
I was asked to talk about my favorite Surivor Series moments, as that PPV just passed, and I thought this'd be a good topic for discussion at the blog.
The best Survivor Series I can remember was back in 2002 at Madison Square Garden.
It started with the enemies Jeff Hardy and Bubba Ray Dudley teaming up with Spike against Jamal, Rosey, and Rico. A terrific match that saw the Dudley Boys reunite following the brand extension split. It was classic, and a terrific moment.
Next, was the moment of Billy Kidman's career, as he took the cruiserweight title from Jamie Noble. Sad to say, especially for someone as talented as Noble, he hasn't seen the belt since.
Third was the hardcore women's title match between Trish and Victoria. An absolute classic. These girls took it to another level, and it was extremely impressive, with an emphasis on extreme.
Of course, Paul Heyman's double cross of Brock Lesnar was not anything I didn't smile about, because frankly, I hated Brock from day one, and I still do, and seeing Heyman double cross him made me smile from ear to ear.
The WWE Tag team championship match was amazing to experience with 6 men who could absolutely steal the show at any time, Mysterio, Edge, the Guerreros, Angle & Benoit. (And don't yell at me because I mentioned his name, he was in the match, and you know how I feel about that subject).
Scott Steiner's debut at this Survivor Series was also fun to watch as he dismantled Chris Harvard Nowinski and Matt Hardy at the same time. "Who said guys from Raw and Smackdown couldn't get along..." Nice quote from Hardy. Five years later, it seems to be truthful as the brand extension seems to be disappearing.
Of course, the elimination chamber was the main event, and Shawn Michaels capped his comeback with the win over champion Triple H, Chris Jericho, Booker T., Rob Van Dam, & Kane. As much of a gimmick match the chamber may be, its still awe inspiring to watch, and a fun time to experience.
Ok, so that was my favorite Survivor Series. I can't tell you specific moments, because bluntly, my memory stinks. But, this card definitely stands out there. I'd like to see yours. Let me know, and I'll publish your stories in the blog for others to see.
In closing, I want to say to anyone who is annoyed by what I wrote about TNA, I'm sorry. I am a fan of AJ Styles and his abilities in the ring. I am a fan of Samoa Joe and his abilities in the ring. I miss getting the chances I used to get to see them live at ROH events, but I won't go there. Seeing them as they are now just infuriates me more because I feel its a waste of limitless, untapped talent, and that's just something I can't sugarcoat.
I invite your debates at my blog. Click here for a link to that page.
Or you can email me by clicking here.
Thanks for reading. Happy thanksgiving to all, happy holidays to all. I hope it has been a happy and a healthy one.
NOTE: The views of this column do not represent those of the administration of this website.
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