That Wrestling Podcast Episode 14

That Wrestling Podcast Episode 14 by Dave Hatton on Mixcloud

With Bound For Glory and Hell in a Cell being just a week apart Michael and I felt it would be good to put together an episode discussing both. You can’t talk about pay-per-views these days without discussing the respective television shows that follow them, so we chat about them too. And there’s been talk of Panda Energy-slash-the Carter family wanting to flog TNA to the highest bidder so we talk about that too. Why would Panda want to sell, who would want to buy, and what exactly would they hope to get out of the purchase? That’s all discussed.

Plus there are some amusing news stories doing the rounds so we talked about them too. It’s a packed episode, reflected in the hour-plus running time.

Bound For Blory 2013 preview

Somebody in TNA has finally taken notice of the fans. Free of the constraints of Hulk Hogan's contract AJ Styles is at last getting the opportunity he deserves to headline a pay-per-view for the world title, and to step up and be ‘The Man’. It’s what they’ve needed to do all along!

I'm being facetious of course. Styles has had chances to be the megastar TNA has always needed many times before. This latest shove, modelled on WWE's use of CM Punk in 2011, is simply the latest in a long line of attempts to turn Styles into something special. It won't work. I know this because it's never worked before and AJ has not changed significantly since the last time. If he had it in him to be that guy he'd have done it by now.

Yet a Styles push is something fans constantly call for. Make Impact the AJ Styles show, give him the championship and let him show his wrestling ability and the ratings will pour in, or so the logic goes. I won't argue that having Styles in a more prominent spot than he's typically been in for the last two years, and wrestling lengthy matches, would be the best use of him but it's not enough to save TNA. Styles has been used as well as a company like TNA can use him at various times in the past. It didn't make TNA into a global juggernaut or worthwhile number two wrestling promotion then. It won't do so now.

Pitting Styles against lead bad guy Bully Ray should result in a very good match. Styles' strength, as noted, is wrestling longer than average and exciting matches. Ray has been enjoying one of the best periods of his career over the last few months, easily the greatest portion of his career as far as his singles endeavours go. I don't doubt they'll produce a worthwhile match, but it won't be the sort of thing that encourages fresh eyes to TNA. Ultimately that's what TNA should be striving for with every show they put on, especially PPVs.

I can see one of two things happening with this match. Either Bischoff and co will continue to ape the Summer of Punk II plot and have AJ win the title while supposedly working without a contract or Dixie will further cement her ill-advised heel turn by costing the fans' golden boy a victory. The second option is almost as unappealing as the first but that it wouldn't be such a blatant rip off of a relatively recent opposition plot, and that it wouldn't result in 'The Phenomenal One' getting his umpteenth, inevitably doomed chance to prove he's 'The Man', makes me think it would be preferable.

I hope Bully Ray wins because he, in a roundabout and stunted way, stands for a fresher approach than AJ Styles does¹. Bully is also a more rounded performer than Styles thanks to his strength with promos, which makes me think he deserves the championship and the top spot that comes with it more.

Why has this been allowed to happen?

The problem of how TNA stars are perceived is not one exclusively linked to AJ Styles. Nobody in the company is seen as a genuinely big star. Even people who have been big names elsewhere, such as Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and Jeff Hardy, lose lustre and credibility in TNA. There are dozens of reasons for this, a relatively minor one being how TNA handles its world title. Specifically I'm talking about former world champions going back to hold mid-card singles titles. The tag team championships are different because they can contribute to storylines in interesting ways and, more importantly, don't feel like a step backwards. The logic should be that once a wrestler has won the world title no other singles championship can satisfy them². At the moment it feels like TNA is in danger of making their world title look like a secondary title.

I bring this up because four of the five men in the Ultimate X match are former world champions. How is a world title meant to look important when pretty much everyone on the roster gets a turn to hold it? As with the main event I'm sure the match will be good, although there's a chance this one could get a little too spot heavy. A gimmick match becoming too reliant on big spots? Well, yes. If incredible, death-defying leaps are being rolled out at the three minute mark how is an audience meant to care (and react) when spots just as ludicrous are appearing twelve minutes into the match? Pacing is the key, and some of the guys in this match have had trouble in that area in the past.

The participants, for the record, are Jeff Hardy, Samoa Joe, Austin Aries, Chris Sabin, and Kenny King, with the latter being the one never to have held a world title. Reasons could be found for all of them to win. Hardy would be winning a title he's never held before³. 'A Double' and Joe would be getting something to do. Kenny King would be solidifying himself as a mid-card stalwart (which is even more meaningless in TNA than it is in WWE). Sabin would be getting something to brag and boast about, enhancing his wearisome heel act.

I'd like to see King win. I don't think it's going to happen. I suspect Sabin will leave with the gold.

In order to combat the slenderness of their roster TNA have granted considerable time to two of their middle card matches: Sting v Magnus and Kurt Angle v Bobby Roode. It was the smart thing to do. In theory it should create interesting matches with understandable reasons to be taking place. That’s what a show like this needs.

In practice it’s not worked out quite as well as could have been hoped. Acting is not the strength of either Magnus or Sting, which is unfortunate as they’re teammates breaking up which has meant their reasons for clashing have been entirely verbal (as opposed to the more conventional random run-ins and beatdowns). Their exchanges have been awkward and have frequently made me cringe.

That said it’s nice that TNA appears to be planning on doing something worthwhile with ‘The Mag Daddy’. He’s got the look, size and promo ability that are rare in wrestling these days, and he’s also one of the few people that has managed to continually shrug of any nonsense thrown his way by the writing team. Used right he could be someone that helps TNA grow. A split from and feud with the Main Event Mafia would be a good starting point, and it looks like that may be what we’re getting.

I’d like to say TNA will do the smart thing and put Magnus over clean. I can’t see that happening. I think he’ll win via underhanded tactics to further demonstrate that he’s making a turn. I wouldn’t be surprised if Sting simply won clean. That would sum up the company’s approach to preparing fresh storylines and building new stars perfectly.

Angle versus Roode hasn’t been mishandled. Announcing Angle’s return for the biggest show of the year makes sense: it helps it to feel like a worthwhile event and may possibly encourage a few more people to tune in. The trouble with it lies in the fact that we’ve seen the two men clash many times over the last several years. It was at BFG two years ago that Roode’s headline elevation started with an unsuccessful challenge against Angle. They won’t have a bad match, but it will be very hard for them to have a fresh one.

As far as a winner goes it would make sense for it to be Angle. A loss wouldn’t harm Roode while a win for Angle would reintroduce him in the right way and provide the crowd with something to cheer for. I think it helps if big shows (and Bound For Glory is the biggest in TNA Land, remember) can provide more face wins than heel wins whenever possible.

Elsewhere on the card ODB defends the once prestigious but now mostly forgotten Knockouts championship in a three-way match against Brooke (Tessmacher, not Hogan) and Gail Kim. Again I find myself thinking that the match should be fine but I’ll be surprised if it amounts to much more. I will say that it’s a shame Taryn Terrell’s not involved in the product at the moment (she’s pregnant) because she was looking very promising as a wrestler.

The final match will see tag champs Gunner and James Storm defend against the winners of a gauntlet match. Involved in that are Eric Young and Joseph Park, Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez, Bad Influence, and The BroMans. Of those four Bad Influence are my preferred unit but we’ve seen a lot of them over the last year. Robbie E and Jesse Godderz are a promising tandem that TNA management were smart to pair up. They deserve to make it to the pay-per-view and wrestle for the titles. Whoever goes through I’m not going to predict a title change, but anything could happen in a company as haphazard and desperate as TNA.

The last thing to mention is potential returns and debuts. Mr Anderson, Mickie James and Hulk Hogan have all left TNA recently. In each case it’s been due to contract negotiations. In theory any or all of them could show up at Bound For Glory. In practice Hogan and James are unlikely to appear.

James seems content to pursue her musical career for the time being. There seems to be interest in her in that regard so she clearly doesn’t need TNA. ‘The Hulkster’ could return if he got a similarly cushy deal to the one he’s had over the last few years: limited dates in exchange for creative influence and what we should assume is a considerable chunk of cash. But I think he’ll see if WWE has interest in using him at WrestleMania XXX before he commits to TNA. Which they might.

Anderson strikes me as someone who will return to TNA. It’s hard for me to imagine him trailing around the US indy scene and WWE appear to have no interest in him. In TNA he’d be guaranteed an upper mid-card spot at least, plus a regular paycheque. He was written off TV as part of a rivalry with Bully Ray, which would make his reappearance during the main event natural.

The last man to mention is potential debutant Ethan Carter III. Formerly NXT’s Derrick Bateman the real life Michael Hutter has signed with TNA as part of rumoured influx of new talent. The character has apparently been inspired by a football player called Robert Griffin III. He goes by RG3 and Ethan will go by EC3. It doesn’t sound the most thrilling of ideas, but introducing the character at a pay-per-view would provide it as good a start as possible.

Bound For Glory's problem is that it just doesn't feel like a must-see event. It's a card filled with the same faces we've been seeing for years. There are no matches that have the aura that they can't be missed. It's allegedly the company's biggest and best show of the year but it has unfortunately rolled around at a time when TNA are simply incapable of living up to the hype that entails.

Predictions summary:

Bully Ray to defeat AJ Styles
Chris Sabin to win Ultimate X
Magnus to defeat Sting
Kurt Angle to defeat Bobby Roode
ODB to defeat Gail Kim and Brooke
James Storm and Gunner to retain the tag team championship

***

¹ Which is a fairly depressing thought.

² I've written this before but it bears repeating every once in a while.

³ This seems to be becoming increasingly important in wrestling. It's an excuse to put guys into feuds. It's linked to the former world champs winning mid-card titles problem, the "I've never won that belt before" shtick being the excuse to get the wrestler in question competing for a title clearly below their station.

The Reunion: Now Showing in 3D

I don't normally do this but if you're the sort of person who's keen to avoid spoilers regarding TNA you'll want to avoid this until Friday morning. This is the only warning you'll get.

Last Thursday's sort-of-live Hardcore Justice edition of Impact Wrestling hinted at dissension in the ranks of lead heel stable Aces and Eights. Gang leader Bully Ray told his second-in-command Mr Anderson that he didn't feel sufficiently supported by his subordinates. Of course everything worked out for them in the end. Anderson dutifully trotted out to the ring to play his part in Bully regaining the world championship during the main event.

Just because things ended up rosy for the biker boys that don't own bikes last week doesn't mean they'll stay that way. TNA has given us a very clear tease of a potential future storyline.

This Thursday's Impact (recorded last week, hence the uncharacteristic spoiler warning above) will feature a ten men tag match with the stipulation that the man who's pinned must leave TNA. It will be Devon who takes the fall. That could be TNA's way of moving him off our screens and into the D'Lo Brown shaped agent position they have backstage. It could be their way of legitimately getting rid of a guy who has far less to offer than recent firees Joey Ryan and Matt Morgan (and it should be noted neither of them had much to offer). Or it could be the promotion preparing for the next instalment of their long running storyline.

It's easy to imagine Bully Ray losing his world title at Bound For Glory come October. To who doesn't matter. The important thing here is that a bright-eyed babyface is likely to wrestle the title away from Bully at BFG.

What if the loss of the world title leads to Mr Anderson leading a coup of Aces and Eights? He could claim Bully's become a weak link and kick him out if the group. This would work incredibly smoothly, although slightly differently, if it were Anderson that won the BFG series. But honestly, can you see that happening? No, me neither.

With Bully out of A&E the stage would be set for him to battle with the gang for weeks on end until TNA's next pay-per-view rolled around (expected to happen in January). It's not too difficult to envisage Bully challenging Anderson and any member of his crew to meet Bully and a "mystery partner" at that pay-per-view.

 

Could a Team 3D reunion be in the works?

 

Obviously this mystery man would be Devon and we'd have the first major Team 3D match in years against the massive heel faction Bully fashioned in his own image. Just as obviously this scenario would be tedious to watch play out and illogical even by wrestling standards. Why should we care if Bully's kicked of a group he created to bring down TNA (through unspecified means)? The answer is that we shouldn't.

Some people would probably get behind a babyface Bully. He worked well as a good guy last year and for the first few months of this year. But that doesn't mean this scenario’s a good idea. I've written this simply to flag up the possibility. And to give myself something to link back to in six months’ time if they do go ahead with it.

Hail Sabin

Tonight Chris Sabin will make his first (televised) defence of the TNA world championship. Bully Ray is the challenger, getting his contractually obligated rematch after losing the title to Sabin on last month's X Division themed episode of Impact Wrestling (where wrestling and slogans matter). The rematch will be fought inside a steel cage so as to stop Bully's Aces and Eights gang interfering. Finally, if Bully loses he will (allegedly) never get another shot at the title.

Let's point out the obvious logic flaw first of all. The cage stip will not nullify A&E. Cast your minds back to Lockdown in March. In the main event of that show Bully Ray defeated Jeff Hardy for the TNA title with help from the Aces. The steel didn't stop them then so why should we believe it will stop them now?

The other big problem this match has is that everyone expects Bully Ray to win. That was the case the moment the rematch was announced and adding the no more title shots stipulation has only added to that.

There’s good reason to expect ‘Calfzilla’ to win. The Bully v Sabin feud has very clearly been a time killer from the very beginning. It's the drawback of the Bound For Glory series. Western wrestling fans expect world titles defended roughly once a month. With the BFG series running from June to September and involving TNA's most credible challengers it makes booking world title programmes hard: the champ can’t defend against someone in the series because that negates the purpose of the series, so he has to kill time with mid-card talent.

TNA's answer, as we've seen with Sabin and last year with Austin Aries, has been to allow the X Division champion to vacate their title and step into the main event. But this is not a solution because anyone familiar with the way wrestling works can see that they're not going to become a headline mainstay unless they have the required qualities. 'A Double' did. Chris Sabin does not.

This is not to belittle Sabin. He's a talented wrestler, he's just not cut from the main event cloth. He looks, wrestles and carries himself like a mid-carder. He can’t cut a half-decent promo, let alone a promo befitting a world title feud. He looks like he belongs in the X scene. He does not look like he should be at the top of the card.

 

Chris Sabin: lacking in main event aura

 

I'd feel this way no matter how his reign had come about but I will say that TNA didn't do Sabin any favours when laying out his victory last month. After selling for ten minutes Sabin got hold of the rubber hammer Aces member Mr Anderson had introduced to proceedings, clobbered his foe with it and then fluked a rollup.

The rollup was inoffensive enough. Considering the size difference in the match it was a logical move for the match to finish on. But coupled with the hammer blow and selling it made Sabin look weak. He should have entered a spirited, gutsy performance in which he peppered Bully with high flying moves and just survived all of his big moves.

Using the hammer, even in a turning the tables scenario, was the move of a heel and only served to underline that Sabin could not win a fair fight. If the hammer had to come into play (and there's an argument for its use because TNA need to keep Bully looking strong for his presumed Bound For Glory title match) it should have been an Aces member smashing Bully by accident and then Sabin following up with a move or a rollup to score the win.

The poor presentation has continued since Destination X. Sabin has been presented as a fluke champion and played second fiddle to the endless crushing boredom that is the Aces and Eights v TNA-slash-Main Event Mafia feud. Reducing a first time champion to the role of bit part player in a feud involving several big names does him no favours. It doesn't do the title any good either.

Some people have suggested that Sabin has been given the title reign as a reward for his years of loyalty and dedication. I couldn't hope that's not the case more. World titles shouldn't be handed out based on terms of service. They should be awarded based on how credible a wrestler will be in the role of champion. If TNA want to award Sabin's loyalty and hard work great, they should. But it shouldn't come in the form of a reign with what is supposed to be their most prestigious prize. Give him a cash bonus or a lengthy run with the X Division belt. Don't present him as the number one man in the promotion unless you're willing and able to fully get behind him in the role.

Adding to the frustration is that TNA had alternatives. They could have had Jeff Jarrett return to work the summer feud with Bully. The storyline there is obvious: ‘Double J’ has returned from exile to save the company he built from Aces and Eights.

They could have done something interesting with James Storm and Bully. Storm’s the only former world champ under the age of forty not to be involved in the BFG series, his omission coming because of his tag title reign alongside Gunner. He has the status within TNA to be involved in a world title feud. He and Bully could have had some great matches and Gunner could have been used for some interesting tag team matches and evening odds. There would have been a natural Gunner and Storm v Team 3D match to book as well.

There were plenty of things TNA could have done that would have been just as good, if not better, than slinging the belt on Sabin for a few weeks. In the long run I think the title reign is going to do Sabin more harm than good. He's unlikely to ever have a second reign, and if he does happen across one it will in all likelihood come about under circumstances similar to his first. Once he loses the title back to Bully and the feud wraps up Sabin is destined to slip back down the card.

That's only going to degrade the world championship because it will have been worn by a mid-carder. Meanwhile Sabin himself will look like he was out of his league and has been sent packing to his rightful spot. TNA really needs to get a grasp on the star building process before they bungle a main event push for everyone on the roster.

Glory Bound

At Turning Point last November AJ Styles was pinned by James Storm in a triple threat match. As a result of the pre-match stipulation that put ‘The Phenomenal One’ out of contendership to the TNA world championship for eleven months. A ban which comes to an end at this year’s Bound For Glory.

Why do I mention this? Because with the benefit of hindsight the loss was the starting point for Styles’ current story in which he’s an enigmatic loner who refuses to be affiliated with either TNA or the invading Aces and Eights faction. The loss sent him off the rails. We’ve learnt through the power of video packages that since losing at Turning Point AJ has become distant with his wife. He’s also been reluctant to get his hair cut or have a proper shave.

Look at the plot for long enough and you’ll spot a pretty obvious hole. So what if Styles was locked out of challenging for the TNA championship for eleven months? That’s not even a year. And, more to the point, many people on the roster have gone far longer than that without wrestling for the top prize. Chris Daniels’ last title shot was hyped as being his first in three years, for example.

I’m being a little facetious here. The general idea is that knowing he couldn’t earn a title shot is what sent Styles over the edge. Daniels, and anyone else on the roster who’s done a lengthy stretch with no title match, didn’t know it was coming, and so could always tell themselves they could earn the opportunity. In the wonderful world of kayfabe Styles new he would have no such luck until this October.

Which brings me to this year’s Bound For Glory series. The winner of TNA’s third annual tournament will challenge for the world championship in the main event of Bound For Glory (obviously). Styles has been entered, meaning he could have a title shot on the night on which his ban comes to an end.

 

AJ's giving up shaving since becoming a heel

 

At first glance an AJ win seems like the obvious result. After a year away from the title and setting himself apart from the rest of the roster Styles could be presented as the outsider that TNA finds itself relying on to take back the belt from the heinous Bully Ray.

Fine, makes sense. But perhaps it’s too obvious and simple. TNA is rarely a company to shy away from giving its audience something unexpected. And there are eleven other men in the BFG series, some of whom would also make credible challengers to Bully Ray’s title. Maybe AJ’s been set up as a decoy in order to disguise TNA’s real plans for the Bound For Glory main event.

The most credible entrant after Styles is Jeff Hardy. He’s a marketable force who can produce great matches with everyone on the roster. That includes Bully. Hardy challenging for the belt would make a great deal of sense as he’s probably TNA’s best hope of drawing decent pay-per-view numbers both at BFG and in the future.

‘The Charismatic Enigma’ may have wrestled Bully once on pay-per-view this year (his losing effort at Lockdown that saw the Aces Pres win the belt) but over six months will have passed since then by the time of BFG. That’s more than enough time for TNA to put a fresh spin on the contest. Although the fact that Hardy and Ray wrestled in the main event of the June 6^th Impact could indicate that they’re not meeting again in October: why would TNA give the match away free if they’re relying on it to sell a show in a few months?

Samoa Joe is another man who seems like he has a good chance. The last couple of years have seen him treated pretty poorly in the series, but with a field relatively light on big names Joe is almost certain to make it to the semi-finals (a side note on the rules here: every entrant wrestles every other entrant and earns points for wins and losses, and once all matches have taken place semi-finals and finals happen between the top four scorers). Joe hasn’t been used as a proper challenger for quite a while now. Combining that fact with his already well-established feud with A&E and Joe could squeak passed the more obvious choices of Hardy and Styles to face Bully.

If TNA wanted to use the series to create a new star (and that should be one of the goals of any such tournament in wrestling) then they could have Magnus win, or at least be a top scoring entrant who just misses out in the semis or the final. That they’ve done nothing to prepare audiences for the possibility of the former Oblivion winning makes me think it won’t happen, but if it did it could considerably enhance his standing.

 

TNA Need to make the most of Magnus while they have the chance

 

Both Bobby Roode and Austin Aries stand a chance of winning thanks to their status as former world champions. That they’re heels who’ve been left on the periphery of the Aces and Eights story (lucky them) means it probably won’t happen. A heel versus heel main event would be pretty poor and I can’t see either man being turned face before October, despite the fact that both could pull the move off and benefit from the change.

The remaining six competitors strike me as unlikely winners for various reasons.

I’m not sure why Mr Anderson is in the series. As a member of Aces and Eights he seems a strange choice to be given a shot at the TNA world title. Perhaps ‘The Hulkster’, or whoever is credited with putting this together, is hoping to cause descent in Aces and Eights with the possibility of an Anderson v Bully final? Even if that was a compelling story (which, let’s be honest, it’s not) it wouldn’t happen because Anderson’s stock has plummeted over the last eighteen months. He’s not headlining a pay-per-view any time soon.

Both Christopher Daniels and Kazarian have almost certainly been included to ensure there are some solid workers involved. Neither strikes me as having a chance of winning, although ‘The Ring General’ could make it into the final four. For the record (read more on said record here) I still think that TNA should discontinue the whole A&E thing and switch to presenting Daniels as a top line heel act and title contender. That would make a far more interesting product.

Joseph Park is a comedy performer, not a pay-per-view main eventer. If I had to guess I’d say he’ll be involved in something with Abyss at Bound For Glory. Either tagging with him, challenging him for the TV title, or working in some sort of angle that finally reveals both characters have been the same man all along.

Anyone who thinks the clumsy, boring forty-year-old Hernandez is going to win needs their head examined. The plan right now is quite possibly to present him as a dominant monster. If it is it won’t last. He’ll soon start picking up losses when TNA start planning out the scoring in the latter half of the series. He’s in there to lose to people and to give him something to do.

Finally there’s Jay Bradley. He’s going to lose. A lot.

Which brings us back to AJ Styles. There’s nobody involved in this tournament that has both the credibility to headline TNA’s biggest annual pay-per-view and a story to take them to the finals. AJ is the most realistic winner to predict. It’s possible that someone else, Jeff Hardy, Joe or Magnus perhaps, will become involved in a story over the coming weeks that makes them an obvious choice to tackle Bully Ray at Bound For Glory, but it’s not likely. Everything TNA’s done over the last year points towards a showdown between AJ Styles and Bully Ray at BFG. And while that may be predictable it almost guaranteed not to be boring.

Slammiversary XI review

TNA's eleventh Slammiversary may not have done much to excite me during its buildup but it certainly delivered once the first bell rang. There wasn't a single bad match on the card, even the worst entry (Devon v Abyss) being perfectly adequate thanks to its brief time and an enthusiastic crowd. Even more impressively the show's final three matches were perfectly laid out. That's never a bad way to top off a pay-per-view.

The card kicked off with the X Division championship Ultimate X match. Kenny King defended the belt against Suicide (played by TJ Perkins) and Chris Sabin. They had as good a match as possible with what is quite a restrictive gimmick. The standard offering of flips and dives were on display. It was entertaining. It earned itself a "This is awesome!" chant fairly early on.

Towards the start of the match we were told it was the thirtieth ever Ultimate X. As soon as Tenay furnished us with that fact I remembered just how overused the gimmick was at one point. WWE hasn't reached that number of Hell in a Cell matches yet, and that's a gimmick that predates Ultimate X by well over half a decade.

King removed Suicide from the match in the closing moments by trying to remove his mask. Seconds later Sabin leapt up to join him in the centre of the crossed wires and booted him until he fell down to the mat. The former Moror City Machine Gun then unhooked the belt for the victory and the opening match pop.

Before Sabin could get backstage he was accosted at the top of the ramp by Hulk Hogan. 'The Hulkster' did his typical apathetic routine of trying to get a young guy over: saying his name and the name of the city they were in repeatedly, presumably in the hope that it would continue to generate enough of a reaction to make Sabin look like a star. It didn't. People can see through Hogan like a window in 2013.

 

The new X Division champ: endorsed by Hulk Hogan

Once the token attempt at turning Slammiversary into something special for Sabin had failed Hulk hobbled down to the ring and continued wittering about Boston, name dropping André the Giant for good measure, before Mr Anderson, Garrett Bischoff and Wes Brisco interrupted him.

Anderson uttered some thoroughly clichéd material which prompted 'The Immortal One' to call Aces and Eights terrorists and pussies. The crowd lapped it up but it still felt a very strange thing for him to say. Hogan also referred to Sting as the greatest wrestler in the business. That's not going to help make new stars, is it? Once again I feel compelled to advocate stricter rules when it comes to old hands cutting promos in TNA.

That segment led into the evening's second match, a six man tag pitting the Aces and Eights members against Magnus, Samoa Joe and Jeffrey Nero Hardy (who'd grown a beard during his time off). The match was a solid effort that gave everyone something to do.

The faces won, which I feel was the wrong result. Had Garrett or Wes pinned any of their opponents it could have been a big moment for them. Instead Brisco caught Magnus with a low blow and a rollup, only to be hit with a Swanton by 'The Charismatic Enigma'.

Backstage JB interviewed Joseph Park about the TV title match he'd have later in the night. The segment existed solely to have Park assaulted by Devon and Knux.

Match three was the Gut Check tournament final between Sam Shaw and Jay Bradley. Shaw played face but had received a bye earlier in the tournament while heel Bradley had won all his matches. That's another curious booking decision to add to the list.

Neither man got much of a reaction when they entered. The crowd had been hot earlier in the show and would liven up considerably later, so the logical conclusion to draw is that they were interested in the Gut Check participants. Perhaps it's time to retire the concept and go back to introducing new faces in a more traditional manner. A generic but inoffensive and competent match was won by Bradley after a poke to the eye, a shove to the turnbuckle and a clothesline. After winning Bradley told Christy Hemme it feels "good" to be in the BFG series. He said he'll win it and go on to become champ. I'll be honest, I don't like his chances.

A backstage promo from Aries and Roode was followed by Devon retaining his television championship by count out. Joseph had been so thoroughly duffed up earlier that he was unable to make it to the ring, you see. Devon then got back onto the mic to run his mouth about Abyss.

That prompted the monster to return. The referee rang the bell to signal a title match. As Taz rightfully pointed out no bout had officially been made. This would be fine in ECW but TNA so often goes out of its way to emphasise tedious rules and regulations that it just seems off when they're disregarded like this. Abyss won the match and the title. No mention of how he and his brother have remarkably similar builds was made.

Dixie Carter came to the ring, completely oblivious to the fact that she is not well suited to an on-screen role. The woman seems determined to be the TNA equivalent of Vince or Stephanie McMahon. She's no Stephanie and she's certainly no Vince.

Anyway... Dixie recited a well rehearsed pro-TNA speech and invited the roster out onto the stage. Everyone bar Aces and Eights members was shown filing out. Kurt Angle was then announced as the second member of the TNA Hall of Fame. He's a good choice, particularly when you consider that he's been saying nice things about WWE again lately (because this could placate him and sway him to stay a bit longer, plus TNA are inducting him while he's under contract). A well produced video package of Angle's Olympic win and TNA career was shown after which he said a few words about the announcement and thanked the fans. Although I don't see the need for a TNA Hall of Fame I think it was a very well put together slice of television and Angle's a deserving inductee.

Backstage Bad Influence made fun of Jeremy Borash and claimed credit for making the tag team titles valuable again. I think they have a point. TNA's doubles belts meant very little until the Bad Influence v Angle and Styles feud last year. Daniels and Kazarian did help to restore meaning to the gold.

The tag team title match that followed was very good. Even Hernandez and Gunner, two men I'm not especially keen on, looked good. With so many guys involved I'd expected the match to be a mess but it was one of the better tag matches TNA's put on this year. I suppose having so many veterans in one bout helped keep the quality high.

Daniels and Kazarian were the first team eliminated when 'The Fallen Angel' was caught lamping Chavo with a title belt. Seconds later that act resulted in Chavo getting pinned by Austin Aries. Having the first two eliminations occur at the same point in the match helped the pacing. It's not a trick that could be used all the time because it would become boring and cheap but it worked well here.

The closing portion showed Gunner to be the equal of the three more high profile performers he'd been left with. It culminated with him kicking out of the 450 splash and getting the win for his team by making 'A Double' submit to the Gun Rack. TNA passed up quite a few star building opportunities at Slammiversary but they took care of Gunner. That's better than nothing I suppose.

Presumably Gunner and Storm will feud with Aries and Roode. That will be great for Gunner but a comedown for the other three men, all of whom were headlining cards last year. Hopefully some new teams are created so that they can return to singles roles.

We went back to JB for the final time to find him with Brooke Hogan. She was there to discuss the Knockouts division that she's still in charge of yet knows nothing about. Her stupidest claim was that the division has been "grown like never before". Maybe she should watch some KO footage from 2008, when the division boasted Awesome Kong and the Beautiful People along with Gail Kim and was often the most enjoyable thing about iMPACT. That was the division's golden age and should be something TNA emulate now.

When quizzed about whether she still loves Bully Ray Brooke said she'd have to end the interview. Thank heaven for small mercies.

That was followed, fittingly, by the Last Knockout Standing match between veteran Gail Kim and referee turned grappler Taryn Terrell. The match the two women had was astonishingly good. It was the best Knockouts offering I've seen for quite some time and far better than anything the WWE Divas will be allowed to produce anytime soon. It bettered the Ryback v Cena LSM from Extreme Rules too.

Memorable spots included: Taryn narrowly avoiding a Kim spear, which sent Kim tumbling into a chair out of the ring; a cross body onto a steel chair from Taryn to Gail; and the match winning running cutter from the entrance ramp to the floor for Terrell. It was an intense, believable and crisply executed match. If Taryn Terrell can wrestle like that all the time she deserves a spot in the division.

AJ Styles had new music when he headed to the ring to face Kurt Angle. People have been going crazy for it. It did nothing for me.

Styles and Angle produced a match that was predictably superb. They did everything from high spots to mat wrestling. In a break from the norm of pay-per-view wrestling Angle won after an exchange of pin attempts stemming from an attempted Angle Slam. The result surprised me. I thought they'd want to keep 'The Phenomenal One' strong for whatever push is planned for him later in the year. Apparently not. It doesn't matter really. AJ's so well established that a loss to Angle won't harm him.

 

Look at the intensity!

A poll that JB had introduced in one of his many backstage segments was revisited after that. Viewers had been asked to vote (via TNA's high-tech Facebook page) on who they thought would win the title match between Bully Ray and Sting. Sixty four per cent of voters believed Sting would become the new TNA world champion. I thought that was high at first, but perhaps viewers were swayed by the stip that Sting would never challenge for the belt again if he lost.

Bully cut a pre-match promo telling Sting he was going to beat him with the most feared move in wrestling: the piledriver. He wanted to break 'The Stinger's' neck. To begin with I thought Bully was talking about the 3D. A no DQ match would have made interference from Devon perfectly legal. But then I remembered the Motor City Machine Guns kicked out of that and lost interest in the idea.

I do like the idea of TNA building up the piledriver. It's gained a reputation as a legitimately dangerous move due to WWE's ban of the move in the late nineties, which influenced many other wrestling groups to follow suit. It's a move that could meab a great deal if limited to special occasions.

The match started out as a pretty decent brawl. Bully predictably connected with the piledriver eventually. Just as predictably Sting kicked out. He also kicked out of a power bomb through a table. Moments later Bully easily avoided a Stinger Splash and piledrove Sting on the exposed boards of the ring. Sting kicked out of that too, at which point I begun to think that the piledriver's credibility was being sorely tested.

 

You may have noticed that Bully Ray's new move of choice is the piledriver

Bully got dropped with a Scorpion Death Drop on the boards and appeared to have been beaten. Aces and Eights naturally made the save. Sting made a comeback against group jobbers Bischoff, Brisco, DOC and Knux. Devon tossed a chain to Bully but Sting grabbed it, nailed the champ and went for the pin. Devon did the old yank the ref from the ring routine and so Sting, stupidly, left the ring to chase the Aces member around ringside. That allowed Mr Anderson to hand a hammer to Bully, who landed 'The Icon' with it as he sailed back into the ring from the top rope.

Yep, Bully Ray won a PPV main event via hammer shot. Again.

I've nothing against screwy finishes to main events usually. As long as they don't happen all the time I tend to be fine with them. But because TNA's only producing four pay-per-views a year now they should be trying to avoid this sort of thing. If it has to be done they should at least vary things a little.

I liked the main event. It was a match built around brawling and false finishes and was very effective for what it was. It provided a fitting end to an enjoyable, productive and well-paced card. If TNA can thread some decent stories together between now and Bound For Glory and then replicate the in-ring action of this card on the night they'll be doing something right.

Bully Boy

Bully Ray has become TNA’s new chief heel, turning on his storyline father-in-law and wife (Hulk and Brooke Hogan respectively). He’s also been revealed as the boss of the Aces and Eights gang (pipping long time favourites Jeff Jarrett and Eric Bischoff to the post) and become the company’s world champion into the bargain, unseating the popular Jeff Hardy.

All of this happened in the space of one match at Lockdown. It was a busy, some may say frantic, evening for TNA and for Bully. But then the company has never been known for their well-paced stories.

 

I remember watching Hardcore Heaven '99, headlined by Ray versus Taz for the ECW championship, and thinking Bubba would never win a world title. Looks like I was wrong...

 

I wrote on Sunday afternoon that I wouldn’t be averse to a Bully Ray world title reign. I’m still not. I think Ray as a performer is easily good enough to be the top guy in TNA. I’m less thrilled by his heel turn though. He’d become a popular act for TNA, and I think fans would have been willing to embrace him as a top line babyface far more than they were James Storm. By switching him back to bad guy mode TNA have short-changed themselves.

It’s the situation we have though, and while I’m not especially interested in the dealings of the alleged outlaw biker gang and their newly revealed miscreant leader I am interested in seeing who Bully is pitted against in his new role. At the top of his challenger list will obviously be Jeff Hardy. As the wronged former champion ‘The Charismatic Enigma’ is the clear choice to be Bully’s first challenger.

The question of when is an interesting one. TNA’s next pay-per-view will be June’s Slammiversary XI (celebrating eleven years of abject nonsense). That’s a long time to wait to book a rematch. The time could be padded out with Bully originally refusing to grant Hardy his return bout, and then eventually booking it for an episode of Impact and having it end in a disqualification. Even with those tricks it’s a long time to wait.

With three months to play with TNA should really be planning on wrapping up the Hardy v Bully feud (and the Aces and Eights v TNA for that matter) earlier than Slammiversary. If built up for several weeks beforehand the rematch could get Impact a strong rating. That’s what the plan should be.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Sting and Hulk Hogan were booked in challenger roles too. Both men gave their storyline trust to Bully and were betrayed by him. Booking Bully against either man at Slammiversary seems fairly likely. If I had to pick between the two I’d go with ‘The Stinger’. He may be fifty-three but he’s more spry than Hogan.

Of course ‘The Hulkster’ is the bigger name of the two and the entire Brooke-Bully marriage plot has started to look like an elaborate setup for a Hogan v Bully match since Lockdown. Couple this with Hogan’s talk since late last year that he wants to return to the ring and be TNA champion and the fact that he’s involved in the promotion’s booking and a Bully v Hogan match looks inevitable.

 

Bully Ray's next pay-per-view opponent?

 

Will Hogan beat Bully for the gold? If ‘Calfzilla’ is still champion when the two clash I think there’s a strong chance of that happening. However, it’s also possible Bully will drop the belt over the summer and headline October’s Bound For Glory in a non-title outing with Hogan.

The man that should be used as the next challenger after Jeff Hardy is James Storm. He’s someone who was being promoted as one of the leading forces of TNA early last year. Sadly his push cooled and he’s done very little of interest for the last year. Portraying him as the outraged, loyal TNA guy and having him target Bully for messing with the company could help to rehabilitate him. Something needs doing, or he may as well be released.

Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, and Magnus would all make very good television opponents for Bully. In the case of Angle the match should be built up far in advance so that it can attract a good TV rating. ‘The Cyborg’ shouldn’t be wrestling regularly with his dozens of nagging injuries. If he appears on TV it should be a big deal.

We’ll have a better idea of who will challenge for Bully’s gold next after Thursday’s Impact. Whoever it is I don’t think it will convince me that Bully leading Aces and Eights is a good thing. Turning Bully has come at the cost of a popular act that had plenty more to do. He would have been of far greater benefit as a face. But then short-sightedness is nothing new for this company.