Getting to Know: TNA Knockout Taeler Hendrix

Trash Talking: Gut Check

written by Rob Poulloin (@Robbie_G_CH)

Since 2004, 'Gut Check' has been apart of TNA. Starting off as a tryout program, the process has now evolved into what we see on Impact Wrestling once a month. But now that TNA's landscape has changed due to the shift in Pay-Per-View lineup, where does it leave Gut Check and in what format?

Gut Check started as a one off competition, with various categories testing the competitors. The winners were rewarded with a cash prize and an appearance on TNA programming. After a few years of development, the process moved into the seminar format, where independent wrestlers pay for a place on the course, to be put through their paces and show off their skills in front of TNA representatives, such as D'Lo Brown and Jeremy Borash.

Crimson was spotted through Gut Check
(photo by Lee South)

This process benefits both parties, as it allows TNA to witness the ability of new wrestlers, whilst also creating extra income. As for the independent wrestlers, they are in front of people who could make their dreams come true and sign them to either a developmental deal or even a full time contract. As beneficial as the seminars are, I can't help but feel that they are exploiting the wrestlers, as the company should be looking to sign the best and should be using their own resources to find those talented enough. Looking at the wrestlers to make it to Impact thus far; Crimson and Jesse Sorensen; would suggest that going out and watching other shows would be a better way of talent spotting. 

From April 2012, Gut Check has appeared once a month on the 'Open Fight Night' episode of Impact Wrestling. This is usually the second show after a pay-per-view, giving the opportunity of a contract to unsigned wrestlers, who would show their skills in a match against a roster member and then be judged the following week by Bruce Prichard, Al Snow and Taz (replacing Ric Flair). The segment of Gut Check seems completely unrelated to the seminar side beside the name. The talent picked for television have either previously been in TNA's developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (Alex Silva and Taeler Hendrix) or independent stars who could have easily been given a contract without the segment (Sam Shaw and Christian York). The process being used as an angle multiple times, firstly to create hype around Joey Ryan, who was unsuccessful in his bid to win a contract and took to Youtube to protest and 'invading' multiple wrestling shows; and more recently, to add Wes Brisco to the roster, despite being seen as a masked member of Aces and Eights for months before his 'tryout'.

Joey Ryan failed in his Gut Check Challenge
(photo by Lee South) 

Officially, six out of the nine wrestlers to 'tryout' for a contract have been successful, with Ryan being the seventh as he had to fight for his contract in a match against Al Snow at Bound For Glory. Out of the seven only Joey Ryan, Christian York and Wes Brisco have been seen on Impact Wrestling on a regular basis with the others being sent to OVW to improve their skills, so it questions the need to have them taking up valuable television time where full time roster members can go without a match in months.

TNA will always need to be on the look out for the next stars to keep their product fresh but Gut Check doesn't seem to be the way to do it considering the best additions to the roster in recent history have been Austin Aries and Kenny King who have both come from Ring Of Honor. Comparing TNA's new recruits to those that WWE are assembling in NXT there is no competition, WWE are signing talent who are ready to go and have proved themselves as the biggest names on the Indy circuit, the likes of PAC (Adrian Neville) who has been Dragons Gate and New Japan, former ROH wrestlers including World Champion Tyler Black (Shield member Seth Rollins), Tag Team Champions Claudio Castagnoli (Antonio Cesaro) Chris Hero (Kassius Ohno) & El Generico; these wrestlers will not only be future stars but help improve the 'home grown' talent with their experience. 

With the wealth of talent currently on the Indy circuit TNA should be looking to those as the future of the business, Crimson was given a monster push on television whilst being relatively green where he wasn't actually ready for it where as someone who has proved themselves, Austin Aries, took the ball and become TNA World Heavyweight Champion within a year of debuting. 

Davey Richards is one of wrestlings
great unsigned acts

I have nothing against Gut Check or OVW but the future of WWE currently looks a lot brighter with wrestlers that TNA most likely overlooked who will also pass on their knowledge and experience. With TNA looking to move up to the next level they need to build a strong undercard; as the roster is starting to look a little top heavy; and rebuild the tag and X-Division who have gone unnoticed for far too long. Names like Adam Cole and Davey Richards would do this much better than Jessie Godderz and Devon. 

Gut Check will continue to hold seminars and recently launched an online voting process of former participants, but this has been suspended due to voting issues. The future of the televised version is unknown as OFN has not been apart of Impact since the January 17th show. I would much rather see TNA make more of a competition out of the process with a separate program in a style akin to UFC's Ultimate Fighter and early series of NXT which would allow the wrestlers to gain TV exposure whilst not taking away time on Impact. This would allow for a winner to be crowned and a deal offered but would be less frequent than the current process meaning that the roster and viewers wouldn't be flooded with a string of new names.  

I hope that TNA keeps Gut Check in one form or another but the seminars should be invitational rather than at the cost of the attendee, the cream of the crop can should then be moved up to the next level, either to be offered a developmental deal on the spot or entered into a separate television show. This would weed out those who are not yet ready for the big time and would mean fans can enjoy the best wrestling from the top to the bottom of the show.

Trash Talking: TNA's PPV Strategy

written by @Robbie_G_CH

This week TNA announced that they are changing their Pay-Per-View strategy, moving away from one event per month to a model that includes a quarterly live PPV and seven pre-recorded events that will go under the banner of 'One Night Only'. 

This major shake-up announced by TNA President Dixie Carter is a much needed change for TNA and makes perfect business sense. Currently, TNA gains a large percentage of their revenue through Spike TV with the weekly Impact Wrestling, whereas the PPV buy rates languish behind those offered by the competition, WWE. To put it in perspective, the worst ever WWE buy rate for a PPV gained an estimated 35,000 more domestic purchases than TNA's biggest event in 2012, Bound For Glory. In a shrinking economy, fans pick and choose the events they buy more so than previous. The old model didn't allow for the weekly free shows to build up to a whole event worth buying. Some months had a lack of unique selling points, with repeat bookings from month to month and others not getting enough hype with the card only being revealed days before the event. This new model should provide ample time for build up to events that are must see.

The Big Four

The quarterly live events will start with Genesis and will include Lockdown in March, Slammiversary in June and Bound For Glory in October. The model is similar to that which WWF used in the late 80's and early 90's, allowing for each event to be built up to and create the most hype. Hopefully, TNA will be able to recreate this and gain substantially larger buy rates for the four big events than they did for twelve small ones. With the PPV's taking place outside of the Impact Zone; with the exception of Genesis; the arena's will add a grander scale, coupled with three months build, should create the appearance that these are special events that can't be missed.

Moving away from the monthly model will allow for TNA to focus on freshening up Impact. Removing the monthly cycle of building up to the next event, whilst fitting in Open Fight Night, Gut Check and Championship Thursday and allow them to create the best TV show that they can. The themed Impacts can now take place less frequently, allowing them to be built up more to make them special and give a greater push for television ratings. This will work well for Gut Check, as the theme needs slowing down, otherwise the roster will be flooded with new talent. If this were to take place only once between pay-per-views, then it will provide a greater competition for the final places and allow only the best talent to make it to Impact.

The build up for each event will be unique, the 'Road to Lockdown' will incorporate TNA's tour of the UK which will feature a few cage matches from tapings in Manchester and London, whilst it is expected that the Bound For Glory series will provide the build up to the BFG event.

This month's Genesis event is classed as the first of these quarterly pay-per-views, but it is more in line as the last of the old monthly model. It has had barely any build up, with the majority of the card being added on the 'go home' show. Also, the event is taking place in the Impact Zone as-per-usual, which doesn't give it that feeling of a must watch. It is difficult to see whether Genesis will maintain it's status as a pay-per-view next year or if it will be replaced with another named event or be given a theme to make it more of an super-show.   

One Night Only

Filling in the gaps between the 'Big Four' will be the 'One Night Only' series, these events will be pre-recorded and go out in the US on a Friday night once a month. Unlike the live pay-per-views these will be unrelated to the happenings on Impact Wrestling so no build up will feature on the weekly show, these will be self contained events giving them more of an independent super-show show feeling, especially as many are expected to include wrestlers not contracted to TNA.

The events will be much cheaper than the live pay-per-views to appeal to those who may have second thoughts about watching a non-essential show, the only downside is that being prerecorded the results will appear online once the show as been filmed, but without title matches and those that progress feuds then spoilers will unlikely make to much of a difference to the viewing experience. If TNA can put on top quality matches on these cards, then fans will be likely to seek them out, not wanting to miss out on something special. 

Themed events will make up the 'One Night Only' series; with X-travaganza and Joker's Wild being the only two officially announced so far. The first being focused on the X Division, whilst the latter is a Tag Team tournament; but expect to see the return of the World X Cup, a Hardcore Justice theme and an event dedicated to the Knockouts. Having themed events provide fans with something a little different, but they do run the risk of repeating themselves. From the rumored events to take place, five of them look to be tournaments, whilst a good format for a one off event and adds to the serious competition element, they could put fans off the idea of watching if they feel like they have seen it before. 

This change is a bold move for TNA. Moving away from a model that they have used since the demise of the weekly pay-per-views in 2004, they are trying something that could freshen up their product. Not only on the pay-per-view front, but also give Impact Wrestling a boost. Removing the pay-per-view hype from Impact will allow them to tell better stories and hold better matches on TV, which should, over time, provide better viewing figures. The pre-recorded events could be taken on the road or even to different countries such as the UK to give them a fresher feel and a greater revenue of gate receipts. Providing the booking doesn't become counter-productive and give too many big matches away on free TV and the live events become must see events, TNA could legitimately take things to the next level.


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Preview: TNA Genesis 2013

X Division #1 Contender Match

Kenny King vs Christian York

For the past two weeks, TNA have held what can loosely be called a tournament to decide the new number one contender to Rob Van Dam's X Division Championship. Christian York advanced first by defeating Kid Kash two weeks ago on Impact. I wasn't at all impressed by York's performance, which was blighted by a series of noticeable botches. For the most part, it seemed as though Kid Kash was leading him through the match, even when he wasn't on the offense. But, being the latest Gut Check winner, with a series of matches against high profile opponents no less, York was clearly building momentum. In the other tournament bracket, Kenny King decisively defeated former Champion, Zema Ion, in an impressive bout on this past week's Impact. The Ring of Honor import has been turning alot of heads in recent weeks and with a heel turn on the X Division Champion himself, looks to be the surer bet for the title shot later in the night.

Prediction - Kenny King defeats Christian York via pinfall to become the X Division #1 Contender.

TNA Tag Team Championships

Matt Morgan & Joey Ryan vs Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez (c)

In a rematch from Final Resolution last month, Joey Ryan and Matt Morgan take another run at TNA's Tag Team Champions, Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez. Nothing much has changed since their last encounter, with the challengers far more concerned with sticking it to Impact General Manager, Hulk Hogan, than seriously competing for the belts. As a slight improvement, the two teams have had an increased level of interaction in recent weeks, as opposed to last month, where they barely saw each other at all. I'm still not impressed with the partnership of Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez, as it's always struck me as lazy booking "Hey, I know, let's put the two Mexican guys together!". It's not that they don't click together, as they've had some satisfactory displays against multiple tag teams. It's that they're another incarnation of Mexican America, who were a copy of the Latin American Xchange. Frankly, Hernandez must be sick of being teamed with a random Mexican and playing up racial stereotypes over and over again. So far, as Tag Team Champions, we've watched Chavo and Hernandez defeat the likes of AJ Styles & Kurt Angle, Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian and the current challengers, Matt Morgan & Joey Ryan. While these are impressive victories on paper, our enjoyment of the team has been paper thin. They've had the belts for months upon months and it's not as though the division is catching fire as a result. Maybe it's time for a change.

Prediction - Matt Morgan & Joey Ryan defeat Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez to become the NEW TNA Tag Team Champions.

Knockouts Gauntlet #1 Contender Match

Gail Kim vs ODB vs Miss Tessmacher vs Mickie James vs Velvet Sky

In a rare exception, the Knockouts Champion, Tara, appears to have been given the night off. Instead of a title defense, five of the biggest names in women's wrestling battle it out for the opportunity to become number one contender. All involved have held the title at one time or another and have frequently jockeyed for fresh opportunities. Unfortunately, none of them stand out from the pack at the moment, with poor booking have sunk their previous assaults. It's quite literally a toss up as to who will win the next title shot. Mickie James and Velvet Sky have the most momentum, having come off simultaneous returns. As Mickie took the spotlight for the past couple of months, I say it's Velvet's turn at bat. She's the hottest act in the division (both metaphorically and literally) and it's about time she rose to the prominence she deserves.

Prediction - Velvet Sky wins the Gauntlet to become the new Knockouts Championship #1 Contender.

Joseph Park vs Devon

While this match could literally have been made with any member of Aces & Eights in mind, Joseph Park's journey towards becoming a professional wrestler has been months in the making. Beginning in the run up to Bound for Glory, Joseph Park claimed to have vital information about the biker group, necessitating his immediate capture and month long imprisonment. Since his release, Joseph has been petitioning Impact General Manager, Hulk Hogan, for matches at every opportunity. Wishing to put his "legal career" to one side, he has business to take care of in the Impact Zone and he's not leaving until it's done. To this end, he's been training at TNA's developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling, eventually coming to impress head trainer Danny Davis. The one wildcard in the match will be Joseph's tendency of going wild at the sight of his own blood. Should Devon push things one step too far and bust the giant open, he may as well be jumping into the nearest Abyss! With several Aces & Eights matches on the card tonight, I see one victory and one loss, to keep the scales even and the faces chasing the heels. Both Sting and Joseph Park are freshly returned to the Impact Wrestling roster, but where Sting can take the loss, we're still teasing the evolution of Park. It'd be far more entertaining to see the lawyer snap once again and defeat Devon whilst "blacked out".

Prediction - Joseph Park defeats Devon via pinfall.

"The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels vs "The Cowboy" James Storm

Both of these men are in the prime of their careers and well within their rights to be focused upon the World Heavyweight Championship. But due to an inflated roster of main event stars, the Cowboy and the Fallen Angel have been mired in somewhat of a holding pattern of late. They're giving 100% and having the best matches of their lives, yet because it's off in mid-card obscurity, it's almost as if it's not happening at all. Since losing his last title shot to Bobby Roode in an unfortunate gamble several months ago, James Storm has stepped into AJ Styles' shoes somewhat and picked up where he left off with Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian's Bad Influence. Taking exception to the former World Tag Team Champions of the World (not redundant) and their flagrant disrespect, Storm has spent the best part of a month whupping their asses at every opportunity, all the while producing top notch matches that happen to fall just below the Impact Wrestling radar. Both are primed and ready for the main event, but with Jeff Hardy, Austin Aries, Bobby Roode and no end of legends ready to step into that slot, time is running out. This will undoubtedly be the stealth match of the night, pleasantly surprising everyone, yet nobody will remember it in the morning. I hold these men in the highest regard and it's time TNA pulled the trigger. As for who will win this particular match, I see James Storm getting the feel good win. He has star power, time to shine it up.

Prediction - James Storm defeats Christopher Daniels via pinfall.

Director of Chaos vs Sting

Having been the recipient of beatings from Aces & Eights countless times, even putting him on the shelf twice, Sting is more than due a little dose of revenge. The Director of Chaos was directly responsible for the last injury the Icon sustained, using his hammer to put the Stinger out for a couple of months, minimum. Hints of his return began in late 2012, when a promo video began to run teasing the downfall of an unknown party. These videos were a lovely bit of intrigue, which kept the wrestling community on the edge of it's seat. However, by the time the reveal came, there was a distinct feeling of "oh...it's JUST Sting", TNA having run angles centering around his return once too often. Even the return itself turned out to be somewhat of a damp squib. After all the hints and teases, it was literally just a matter of Sting stomping down to the cage in the centre of the Impact Zone and taking out the entire biker gang single-handed. Being able to take down so many of Aces & Eights in one go, it's no surprise that this past week on Impact, the Icon thoroughly embarrassed the newly unmasked Mike Knox and sent him running for the safety of the pack. While I don't personally view D.O.C. as much of a threat, the group itself is majorly in need of credibility. Having been about as effective as the three stooges, they could do with getting a victory, no matter how tainted, over a legend such as Sting.  I suspect much underhanded behaviour and for Sting to be floored by a foreign object when the referee's back is turned. This conflict is far from over, so it doesn't pay to see the hero triumph just yet. Maybe at Lockdown in March.

Prediction - D.O.C. defeats Sting via pinfall.

TNA World Heavyweight Championship

Austin Aries vs Jeff Hardy (c) vs Bobby Roode

What to do with an enigma like Jeff Hardy? That's the question I'm sure the bookers of Impact Wrestling have asked for the past several months, ever since he won the World Heavyweight Championship at Bound for Glory. He can't cut promos worth a damn, he's so beaten up his ring style is suffering, just how do they convincingly sell a Jeff Hardy World Title reign? The answers are Austin Aries and Bobby Roode. Wherever the Charisma Enigma lacks, Aries and Roode excel. Take the past few weeks for instance. First came the presentation of the Impact Wrestler of the Year, which because of being a fan vote, you could automatically assume Jeff Hardy was going to win. Aries and Roode, being the savvy gameplayers that they are, saw this coming a mile away and knew the real meat of the segment wasn't in Jeff accepting the award, but in the pair of them bickering over who deserved it more (because let's face, they both deserved it more). Similarly, this week on Impact, the pair cut an absolutely hilarious backstage skit whilst walking to the ring, about whether they should wear their new t-shirts or not. This went on for a fair few minutes and the bickering was pure gold, even continuing during their tag team contest against Hardy and James Storm. They may not be the Champion (yet), but they have cleverly drawn the focus away and back onto themselves. Unfortunately, this strategy has only been somewhat successful, as there isn't a single doubt in my mind as to who will walk out of Genesis as the World Heavyweight Champion and that man is Jeff Hardy. The walking personality vacuum is just too popular. No matter his obvious flaws, the crowd loves him. He's the TNA Champion for a reason. That was why he won the belt at Bound for Glory. That was why he retained it at Turning Point. That was why he retained it at Final Resolution. Genesis is no different. 

Prediction - Jeff Hardy defeats Austin Aries and Bobby Roode to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

Why I'm NOT paying attention to Impact Wrestling

In the past month or so, I've grown increasingly disenchanted with the booking of Impact Wrestling. To the point that I'm not fussed whether I miss it or not. Don't get me wrong, I still tune in every week. But it's by habit and not by choice. More often than not, I'll give them about half an hour to grab me. I'll see if the opening segment shows any promise, hang around for the first match and then if nothing is ringing any bells, I'll totally zone out and wander off. You can blame my short attention span (wait, what was I saying...), but in recent weeks there simply hasn't been anything to hold my interest. Top to bottom, the stories have sucked. I'll address a handful of them in this article, but don't think there aren't more.

Aces & Eights

In what was meant to be TNA's big summer angle that catches everyone's interest, the Icon Sting was attacked during his Hall of Fame acceptance speech. The culprits were a group of masked men, their number ever increasing, their identities remaining unknown to this day. They followed up this bold statement by taking out the Immortal, Hulk Hogan (never mind that he was scheduled for surgery that week anyway). Subsequently, they've attacked random members of the roster, from people as high as the World Heavyweight Champion to others as low as the latest Gut Check chump. This is the bread and butter of Impact Wrestling for the foreseeable future...only it's not working. While the idea of a masked faction adds a level of intrigue to the angle, the fans have had nothing to grab onto. There's no figurehead, no motive, no meaning, no nothing. Also, it doesn't help that the recognisable members of this faction, even through the masks, are jobbers through and through. If there's a high profile name among them, I'll be shocked. At best, we'll get a bitter Jeff Jarrett revealed as the mastermind and he'll boss around his legion of jobbers for a few months. Where's the upside of this angle? Where's the excitement? This is no NWO. Hell, they aren't even the likes of Immortal or Fortune. This group were D.O.A.

Clare Lynch

I could somewhat understand an angle whereby Christopher Daniels was trying to insinuate AJ Styles was having an affair with Dixie Carter to get ahead in the business (even if he hasn't been in the World Title picture for months), and as bizarre as the payoff was, I could somewhat understand the reveal that they were simply helping a family friend. But that's where it should've ended. The angle was bombing even back then and people were wishing it'd end. Inexplicably, TNA decided to continue. Clare has pulled a pseudo heel-turn and is now claiming AJ cheated on his wife to father their love child. How the hell does anyone benefit from this angle? AJ Styles is a wholesome family hero, who they're dragging through the mud with no redemption in sight. He can't even feud with the villain of the piece, as she's a pregnant woman! What's the payoff? A handicap match of AJ vs Clare and the illegitimate baby? No, it'll be Match 1,000,000 with Christopher Daniels. I'm sure AJ will get his triumphant moment, where it's revealed he never slept with Clare, that she merely took pictures of him whilst passed out, and that Daniels is the real father of the baby. But what sort of reward is that? I borderline expect another Mae Young giving birth to a hand debacle.

Where's Joey Ryan?

This is a double edged sword. I absolutely love what they're doing with Joey Ryan. They're just not doing enough with him. TNA have a certifiable phenomenon on their hands with his 87% gimmick. Fans are taking 87% signs to WWE shows for christ sake! I just can't believe they're moving at such a snail's pace with him. Assuming there's one Gut Check segment a month, you MIGHT catch a glimpse of Hollywood's own in the Impact Zone's audience, that one single time, but there's no guarantee. This angle has almost entirely been off the grid, in the realms of Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. I've never known a promotion (in Joey's own words) leave money on the table like this. They really need to pull the trigger on this and have him regularly appear on Impact Wrestling. Giving this the appearance of a legitimate shoot situation may work in the short term, but you don't draw a gate by telling the crowd who WON'T be on the show. Joey Ryan has all the potential to be this year's Austin Aries and look how that turned out. It's a no brainer, make it happen.

The Booking of Austin Aries as Champion

Speaking of our World Heavyweight Champion, I have a bone to pick. The booking of his title reign has been ridiculous to say the least. I can see how A Double's rise to stardom may have caught TNA by surprise. He didn't get to the main event through a story or a promo, he got there through the fans recognising his talent in the ring. Whether it be Bully Ray, Samoa Joe or Bobby Roode, Aries has let his skills do the talking. As such, I imagine the booking committee flat out don't know what to do with him. They can count on him to carry a PPV all on his lonesome, but to give him scripted content? You can hear them scratching their heads from here. Despite having one of the biggest feel-good moments of TNA's ten year history in his World Title victory at Destination X, Aries has spent the past month lost in the shuffle. Aces & Eights take all the focus, then James Storm and Bully Ray, maybe some Bobby Roode after that, but what does our Champion have to say about all of this? We don't really know, because they keep putting him back with X Division guys. Either he's stuck in a room deciding who gets a shot at Ion next or he's tagging with Kenny King. He broke through the glass ceiling of that division months ago, but they're still treating him as though that's where he's meant to be. Aries got to the top through blood, sweat and tears, don't let that all be for nothing because you simply don't know how to capitalise on it.

So there you have it ladies and gentlemen, two outright disasters and two "why the hell aren't they doing more with these guys?". Impact Wrestling can very easily be a good show and essential viewing, but they need to take the focus off the crap and put it where it belongs. It's an eerily similar problem to what happens in the WWE. You're TOLD what to like, not come to your own decision and request more of something you DO like.

Trash Talking: Destination X Fallout

The landscape of TNA has changed, Bobby Roode has lost his prized possession and Austin Aries has forced his way into the history books as the man who dethroned the longest reigning champion. The match between the two headlined the Destination X pay-per-view and was a thrilling end to yet another decent TNA event.

The crowd were hot for the title change as everybody was resigned to another Roode cheap win, yet this would have been more enjoyable live as by the time the event was shown on Challenge TV images of Aries with the title had been circulating the internet for days, for casual fans this would have been no problem but for those who read wrestling sites and follow social networking sites the title change was ruined, if the event was aired on the Monday night it would have been possible to avoid spoilers but by Wednesday the secret was out of the bag, it's good that viewers in the UK get events for free but it would be nice to have them a little earlier. 

It's excellent that Aries has gone from fighting for a contract a year ago to being the top dog, but his performances and promo's have proved why the company should have faith in the man, it just depends how long they will let him run for, whether it be to have a quick switch before Bound For Glory back to Roode to have the eventual Roode / Storm title match or whether he will walk into the biggest event of the year with the belt on his shoulder.

Ultimate X

Destination X also crowned a new X Division Champion, after a tournament involving signed and non-signed talent Zema Ion captured the belt in an average Ultimate X match involving Sonjay Dutt, Mason Andrews (Scorpio Sky) and Kenny King. The match was hindered by the fact Dutt was carrying a shoulder injury sustained in his opening match against Rashad Cameron which showed during the closing spot of the match. 

The other qualifying matches were entertaining but more of the same spotfests that had been shown on Impact in the lead up to the event to showcase what the talents could do. The four losers from the earlier qualifying matches were allowed a final shot which showed the lack of depth TNA had, its a shame that Mark Haskins wasn't given an opportunity as his role seems to just play home town hero on the UK tours.  

The X Division needs to rebuild now that Aries has progressed and Zema Ion was the logical step for the short term being the only contracted wrestler in the match. It is clear that TNA would have liked to have given this to Jesse Sorensen and is building a feud between the two based around the injury Jesse sustained earlier in the year but it is doubtful Ion will hold the belt for the length of time before he comes back especially with the wealth of talent being brought in with the likes of Dutt, King and the recently announce Chavo Guerrero. Aries elevated the championship with his undefeated reign and now it's up to everybody else to build upon that legacy and restore the division to the forefront of TNA and with the added incentive of the option of a shot at the Heavyweight Championship at next years Destination X there is no reason why it shouldn't.

The event whilst showcasing the X Division also had two other excellent matches involving ex X Division champions, A.J Styles defeated Christopher Daniels in a bloody last man standing match after Styles hit the Clash of the ramp through a table. Although many hoped this would be the end of the feud that has been ongoing for a year it appears not as Claire is claiming that A.J. is the father of her baby although nobody actually cares as it is this type of soap opera story that the 'wrestling matters' motto was trying to rid from the company. 

The other match had no such overhanging story where Samoa Joe claimed 10 points in the BFG Series against Kurt Angle after a hard fought match that nearly went the time limit distance after Angle was deemed passed out after refusing to submit. The match showcased the competitive nature of the series and continued to build up to BFG and proved the unpredictability of the competition as Joe went on to lose to RVD on the following Impact. Joe and James Storm remain the break outs of the competition so far but as last year showed that an winning streak or injury can change everything.

Besides the BFG series the biggest story is the Aces and Eights invasion, a bunch of masked men attacking Sting, Hogan and a number of TNA wrestlers. Whilst not being opposed to a faction storyline as TNA has always seemed to have factions around such as the Main Event Mafia and more recently Immortal and Fortune, this story so far goes against everything we are currently being treated to as fans. We as viewers are to believe the masked men; who's message is the 'dead man's hand'; have broken into Universal Studios during a live television show and attack Sting in the middle of the ring whilst nobody from the back, security or wrestlers come down and help him! With Gut Check using inside terms and the BFG series making matches more like a sport where wins matter, this invasion story feels out of place and slightly out of time.

When the NWO went to WCW and when ECW invaded WWE there was an excitement about the angles, wrestlers from other promotions turning up on television, but the fact these guys are hiding behind masks and have yet to reveal why they are there, what they are doing and what they hope to achieve. Hopefully once these intentions are announced then maybe this can move along although why Dixie Carter or Hulk Hogan would offer any of them on contract in storyline terms remains to be seen, or maybe we are meant to overlook that small fact, making the Gut Check segment pointless if you can just walk in and not need a contract. 

Luke Gallows and Wes Brisco are rumoured to be two of the gang which doesn't excite that much at present but maybe it's good that they are not more superstar names arriving from WWE or ROH to not over stack an already crowded roster, while the others are unknown, maybe an angle involving guys like Garret Bischoff who have nothing else to do and have decided to join the group to make a bigger name for themselves and force some television time.

Finally Joseph Parks black hole slammed Bully Ray after 'spacing out' while bleeding post match to add another far fetched angle, the television title is still MIA or should that be non-action and the most interesting angle is continuing online with Joey Ryan continuing to post videos on youtube continuing his feud with Taz, it is not known whether this is a work but it is very entertaining non the less. 

Until next time;

@Robbie_G_CH

Pictures by  Impact Wrestling (http://www.facebook.com/ImpactWrestling/photos)

Trash Talking: 03/07/12

Going into July and the Destination X event TNA can hold there head up high, despite ratings not showing it the quality of product has been top notch most of the time with some great matches, promos and invasions. 

TNA has done a great job transforming the product in recent months, mainly since Vince Russo has parted ways with the company, for the most part the product feels fresh, this may just be down to the Bound for Glory Series and the X Division Championship tournaments but at the minute the stupid angles seem to have been cut down.

Claire Lynch clogging up TV time 

Unfortunately the amount of good on show highlights the bad, the main culprit being the 'affair' angle between AJ and Dixie Carter, which has been just awful from the start. Daniels and AJ have enough between them to make us want to watch their matches, even if we have seen the pair match up on numerous occasions, but this has been a big fail and a reminder that soap opera remains within the wrestling business.

Another reminder of this is Madison Rayne crushing on a mystery wrestler which is just dragging the Knockouts back into Diva territory by taking away the strong independence the division is known for, there is nothing wrong with pairing wrestlers up, just look at EY and ODB, but don't reduce a former KO Champion to a giggling teenager. 

Joseph Park's character still remains to entertain, but we all know he is Abyss and the sooner this reveal is made the better, hopefully the challenge laid down to Bully Ray on Impact (28/06) will bring about the end of this angle and match where Park's reveals the secret we all know. As much as Abyss has done in TNA the business seems to be at a point where supernatural situations and parts unknown are not needed any more, with more realistic characters such as Aries and Roode taking president which leaves the Abyss character looking dated and more of a throwback to the early TNA years, hopefully the coming weeks will blur old and new although has the damage been done with two separate characters already?

Security? 

Sting remains off air since his beat down on Impact (14/06) by three masked men, although just a tool to take The Icon off TV for a while and get him out of the feud with Roode we are still left with the fact three guys jumped the barriers and no one came to the rescue, no security stopped these men and not one of the wrestlers praising Sting for being the first inductee to the HOF cared that he was being taken out!

The Bound For Glory series is under way and is more structured than last year, whilst annoying that some of the matches have been over in a matter of minutes in typical television matches its good to see random matches that actually matter. Samoa Joe is making up for his poor outing last year with a number of submission victories with the crowd behind, a match with Kurt Angle taking us back to 2007 is on the Destination X card which is making the event a must watch.

Ryan gets in Taz's face

Gut Check continues and is very hit and miss, it is a good way of getting new talent on TV but seen as Alex Silva hasn't actually appeared on Impact since is it worth while? Silva and Taeler Hendrix have both wrestled previously in OVW so were likely on there way to having a shot on Impact at some point anyway.

The highlight of Gut Check so far has been Joey Ryan, since getting turned down in May he has started posting videos on YouTube against TNA and on Impact (28/06) invaded the Gut Check segment holding up a sign saying '87% of people can't be wrong' in reference to the percentage of people who voted for him to get a contract. This work has been the biggest talking point so far and hopefully will launch Ryan who could be this years Austin Aries.

high flying X Division action

With Aries trading in his X Division title for a shot at the Heavyweight Championship the mad scramble to become his replacement has started with independent wrestlers taking part to qualify for a tournament taking place at Destination X. Doug Williams, Kid Kash and Zema Ion get automatic spots in the first round as they are the only people left in the X Division following last years reboot and hopefully Mark Haskins may make an appearance as he to is still on the books. 'The original playa from the Himalaya' Sanjay Dutt returned after three years to book his spot at the ppv as did Rashad Cameron (Sabian). The matches on display on Impact showed the X Division style off and the crowd were lapping it up, it's just a shame that most of these wrestlers such as the losing pair of Rubix (Jigsaw) and Mason Andrews (Scorpio Sky) will likely not be seen in the division again, much like last years fan favourite Jack Evans; if TNA wants the X Division to be a weekly talking point again then these high flyers are the way to go! This week's Impact has some more qualifying matches to look forward to, although no one has been announced it's exciting to see who will come down to the ring!

Hulk Hogan said the TV Title was to be defended every week on Impact, Devon said he was a fighting champion, so where is it?

Finally, this week sees Angelina Love and Shannon Moore leave TNA, both have had great moments in their careers but have recently been given little opportunity to shine, we wish them best in their future endeavours.

Writer: @Robbie_G_CH
Photos by: Lee South and Impact Wrestling (@LeeSouthPhoto) (http://www.facebook.com/ImpactWrestling/photos)

April In Review

April has been and gone and despite not having the time to add much on here, the goings on of TNA have still been viewed and despite what was quite a lackluster month still drew up some points worth mentioning.

Hogan Knows Best

Hogan with Sting and Dixie
(Image by Impact Wrestling)

The Hulkster took over from Sting as the GM for Impact Wrestling. In doing so he has opened up various different avenues which has seen some knock on effects, such as adding the stipulation to the lethal lockdown match that the losing Bischoff would leave Impact Wrestling and announcing the end of the Crimson / Matt Morgan fued, I hope in which that promise isn't broken. 

The problem of Hogan being GM is that he now seems to appear on Impact much more than what is needed, maybe this may slow down but at the minute he's making about 5 appearances a show which is just too much 'brother' for my liking. 

Not So Lethal Lockdown

The annual pay per view for April is the much look forward to Lockdown. This year the event was the first on the road and had much to look forward to, unfortunately it all fell rather flat! 

Lethal Lockdown kicked off the event for the first time ever and in predictable fashion it came down to the two Bischoff's facing off against one another, I have no issue with this as it was the whole reason the match was being contested, but the manor it was booked was a little weak, the fact that everybody lay around the ring apron where a much better option would have been to allow them to escape the cage and be scattered around the arena. 

My main issue with this PPV was not with the ring action but with the crowd, as good as it is to see TNA out on the road Tennessee really let themselves down as the roof should have been blown off the venue but that didn't happen and you could hear the individual heckles. 

Ric Flair also got some air time on the event to everybody's embarrassment with a segment which looks like it will end in a match against Hogan at Slammiversary, not that this match is what anybody want's but if it has to happen can Flair keep his clothes on from now on and not throw his shoes!   

Angle and Hardy had a decent match that was probably the best of the night and the other worthy mention is that Bobby Roode retained the title after another gimmick ending after being superkicked through the door of the cage.

Open Fight Night 

Impact held is first Open Fight Night which was one of the few new introductions that were announced after Lockdown. Essentially this once a month special show means that anybody can challenge anybody else and no isn't an option, with a title holder having to defend against what seems to look like Hogan's selection. 

On OFN there was also the first Gut Check where an unsigned wrestler got a chance to shine and get a chance at a TNA contract. This month's was Alex Silva who didn't impress me much against Robbie E as my main enjoyment in this segment was seeing Al Snow on TV, which I didn't think would ever occur on purpose again.

Devon defends his TV title on Impact
(image by Impact Wrestling)

I like the idea of OFN and hope it develops well over the next few months as it could become the must watch Impact of the month, even if it does seem as if management have been reading through ROH's 'Code of Honor' with their 'Proving Ground' policy. The roster doesn't actually need boosting that much unless cuts are going to be made so I hope they don't give contracts out every month but it would be interesting to see well known unsigned talent given a chance, even if they only take the 5 minutes to boost their name value. 

Moving on into May we have a TV title that is finally being defended on Impact on a weekly basis, a PPV that is looking more like filler while the main happenings will take place at Slammiversary X. 

RVD has a shot at the title after winning a number one contenders match against Jeff Hardy and Mr Anderson, the losers received a tag title shot and now face each other at Sacrifice, while previous title challenger James Storm hasn't been seen since saying his luck had run out after Lockdown. We are also one step closer to finding out why Kazarian turned his back on A.J. with a photo of some sorts seeming to be something so horrific that friends will turn on one another and A.J. would rather take a beating from Angle and lose a match than risk anybody seeing what it is, obviously we will find out soon.

The final note I have for May is that the ratings have been dreadful and the buy rates for Lockdown not so great, hopefully these will begin to turn but with Lesnar making waves in WWE and Extreme Rules apparently being a top PPV, TNA will have to pull out all the stops over the next month to stop the rot and turn things around.

@Robbie_G_CH