The Future of the TNA Television Title - Is there one?

As many of Devon's Twitter followers may have noticed today, the veteran has parted ways with TNA after his contract negotiations failed to reach an agreement, leaving his Television Championship up for grabs. While I thought his title reign was misplaced and hurt the division more often than not, I'm glad he had this run at "the top" as a singles star. He deserves our respect and I applaud his hard work. However, the big question is - what comes next?

The Television Title has long been neglected by TNA. They occasionally make noise about it being defended weekly on Impact Wrestling and even stick to their guns for a couple of months at a time. But due to whatever reason, they miss a week. That leads to missing another week. And another. Until we haven't seen our Television Champion for just as many weeks as he was defending it. There was a quiet mention of the weekly defense being suspended during the Bound for Glory series, but this put the division right back where it was at the start of the year - showing up solely on pay-per-view against an unannounced opponent. This makes the Championship a chore, not a sought-after accomplishment.

With the news of Devon failing to re-sign and return to defend his title, I suggest a short period of reflection for TNA. The easy way out would be for them to hot-shot a match tonight on Impact Wrestling, making people aware of the situation and putting the title belt onto another indistinguishable midcarder. However, I would implore them to wait a few weeks and think about their next move. As far as the average viewer is concerned, the Television Title is off-air at the moment for a reason. As long as the Bound for Glory series is running, this is a moot situation. Take the two weeks before No Surrender to formulate an honest to god plan for the division and that first show back after the pay-per-view we can begin in earnest.

As for who could possibly take up the mantle of Television Champion, the task is daunting to say the least. Anyone selected for the challenge must be worth putting on television each and every week, guaranteed. Another Devon or Robbie E and the Championship may as well not come back. We'll be right back to where we are now, with the title MIA and treated like dirt when it finally reappears.Whoever steps up has to anchor the division and show the viewers it's worth a damn.

My first candidate would be our current World Heavyweight Champion, Austin Aries. After the events of last week's Impact Wrestling, I have no doubt in my mind that TNA are in the process of stripping Aries of the World Title. It's the exact same play they used back in 2010, when they needed to take the belt off Rob Van Dam. But instead of an outright loss, they came up with some bull about Abyss butchering him with a nailed board. TNA clearly value Austin Aries to a similar degree, but he doesn't fit into their plans for the big pay-per-view coming up, enter Aces & Eight's brutal attack leaving A Double with a "broken arm". Obviously, this angle would require Aries to spend a little while off the air to sell the severity. However, when he returns, I could seriously see the Greatest Man Who Ever Lived holding down the Television Championship for months on end, giving the division the respect it deserves. Aries got where he is today by letting his skill in the ring speak for itself, so what better showcase than guaranteeing him a high profile title match on each and every Impact Wrestling. He became the star of the show doing much the same thing for the X Division, why not the Television Championship.

My second candidate would be, ironically enough, Devon's former tag team partner, Bully Ray. Assuming that Ray hasn't left TNA in the same contract dispute that cost us our current Television Champion, the Bully from Hell's Kitchen would be an obvious choice. For well over a year now, Ray has been producing the best work of his career. It's not a particularly high-brow act, but he's become the quintessential heel of the wrestling business and his effort deserves a reward. Whether he's working with Austin Aries, AJ Styles, Bobby Roode or Abyss, there's little the man can't do. In working as stiff as he does, he seems to bring the best out of every opponent, as they're immediately forced to raise their game and bring the intensity to match. Now imagine that each and every week, as he reigns over an entire division, all to himself. It'd add a whole new air of self-rightiousness to a man that opens every promo with "Do you know who I am?". If the Television Title is suitable for the lesser Dudley, it sure as hell couldn't hurt on the superior.

These are two shining examples of just how easily the division could be turned around under the right man, and it doesn't end there. I could come up with equally plausible reasoning behind Kurt Angle, Ken Anderson, Jeff Hardy, etc. Even if TNA were determined to keep it lower down the proverbial ladder, shock the wrestling world by bringing in Joey Ryan. Have him get the Title on a technicality, all the agents backstage wanting to get rid of him and yet the 87% prevailing in the end. It's that easy. So why aren't TNA making more of this Championship?

Ringside Report: NBW Southside Wrestling: Supremacy (19/08/12)

Back in January the Maximum Impact IV tour inspired me; I have been a wrestling fan for many years but before my venture to the Capital FM Arena, I had only previously been to two wrestling live events, both held by the WWE and both over 10 years ago; but watching the likes of A.J. Styles and Austin Aries in person made me want more. Last month I attended Leicester Championship Wrestling's 'Summertime' event and now I had a front row ticket for Southside's 'Supremecy' event in which the main attraction was to see Ring Of Honor's Davey Richards in person as he is regarded as one of the best in the world.

Arriving at the venue I wasn't sure what to expect, the LCW show I attended was good but had a crowd made up of kids; but walking into the bar waiting area I could tell this would be different, a large array of different people but only a small number of children to be seen and a variety of wrestling t shirts ranging from the everyday WWE CM Punk shirts to the rarity of ROH merchandise. 

After a lengthy delay, presumably down to the Q&A session taking place we were allowed into the arena, we were sat on top of a bowling green, but I guess finding  places to hold events is tough and once I was seated I was in a wrestling arena rather than anywhere else.

Seated at ringside, right in front of the corner of the ring near to the wrestlers entrance way and sound desk, it was worth the extra fiver not to have anybody in front of me to have the perfect view, only spoilt on occasion by the camera men trying to make their living. 

The show kicked off and the ring announcer 'Diamond Dale Mills' made his way to the ring to a chorus of boo's, but only from the side of the crowd that I was in! Having not read up on the history I was a little taken aback, but on the introduction of Harvey Dale it became clear there was a divide between Southside and the House of Pain which are two promotions (but seemed more like factions such like the WWE Invasion angle) and the crowd behind me was made up of HOP trainees. The two in the ring had a good back on forth on the mic and set the tone of the rest of the show and then introduced the opening bout of Lionheart vs. Ego Dragon, Harvey was then sent packing to the back and DDM took a spot on the commentary table. The match was a solid opener and I was familiar with Lionheart having seen some of his matches on the internet, but the crowd heat died off from the opening promo and the in ring action suffered slightly from it, Ego Dragon picked up the win which continued his undefeated streak    

The second match on the card was a treat as it was unscheduled, Gresham and MK Mkinnon took on the 'LDRS of the New School'  Marty Scurll and Zack Sabre Jr in tag team action. LDRS are regarded as the best British tag team and from this showing its easy to see why, once the novelty of referring to 'Party' Marty as that guy from ITV's Take Me Out has worn off. The match built from comedy moments at the start including lots of hugging and 'wrestling friends' to a hard fought, hard hitting bout which showcased the talents of all involved including some great technical wrestling and excellent selling by ZSJ who spent a large period of the match looking out of it right by my feet. LDRS picked up the win and Zack challenged Marty for a shot at his Speed King Title for later on this evening. 

The entrance of Rockstar Spud

The next 'match' segment brought out HOP's Max Angelus with Harvey Dale to face Rockstar Spud; who coming to the ring to the whole of Living On A Prayer rivalled any Wrestlemania entrance in length; Spud grabbed a mic and said he didn't want to be there so tried to strike a deal with Dale to make Max lie down for him, this went back and forth with Max initially refusing and riled up the crowd giving back and forth opinions with the HOP side yelling for him to do it and the rest telling him to stand up for himself. After a period of time Max hesitantly got on his back while Spud instructed the camera man and referee to do exactly what he wanted, after the two count though Angelus reveresed the pin and rolled up Spud for the three count. Dale was angry at Max clearly setting up a further angle between the two. 

During the segment I have to say how great Spud was on the mic, his entrance gave him a sleazy feel but his mic work made him despised, especially as he talked down to audience members and bossed around the employees, but he played his part elevating this segment. 

The next contest was a six man tag splitting the audience as it was House of Pain (The Predators and SC Supreme) vs. Team SWE (Martin Kirby, Robbie X and Mad Man Manson). The match showcased everybody's abilities and having read about Mad Man in Fighting Spirit Magazine was amused to see his act in person, with drawn on ring boots, straight jacket and random moves such as nipple twists which added to the match making sure it didn't go too much in one direction.

Noam Dar - Future Superstar

Noam Dar came out next which meant it was time for Davey Richards, going into the event this was the match I was most excited for and it delivered! From stiff looking kicks to hard hitting knocks in and out of the ring this was an excellent match up. Davey picked up the victory but Dar came out looking like the winner, going toe to toe with one of the best in the world, a few more matches like this and it wouldn't surprise me if he was called up to one of the big American companies.
After the match Davey grabbed the mic and put Dar over, then it was time for the interval where Richards stayed in the ring for photo's while selling a very serious limp, whilst Lionheart was selling merchandise in which I quizzed him over a number of things and am hopefully looking forward to seeing him on the Maximum Impact Tour next January.

Richards - Best In The World

After the break it was time for the Speed King title match between LDRS members Marty Scurll and Zack Sabre Jr. The match started slowly between the two friends and tag partners with holds taking part between jokes and reversals being more a 'you can do it, I can do it' mentality but this built into another excellent match with each willing to do anything to become the victor. The crowd were a little flat during this match but I think it was mainly down to not knowing which man to cheer for!  Scrull retained his title in the end after hitting a tombstone and ZSJ was upset with the loss and almost went straight to the back, but Marty won him over and the two embraced to send Zack off on his tour of Japan, with a promise of a rematch in the future to whet out appetites.

The Main Event was to crown a SWE Heavyweight Championship and started with Stixx coming to the ring in street clothes as no opponent had been named for him. After another two and fro between Harvey Dale and 'DDM' the HOP side of the crowd were demanding Stixx just be awarded the strap, but then Mark Haskins was announced as his opponent and the match was a NO DQ match! The match was wild and spilt into the crowd on multiple occasions, the crowd were all on their feet lifting the roof off the venue with the noise being made as the two athletes threw everything at one another, well mostly chairs! HOP got involved in the match but SWE members came to chase them to the back, duelling referees played their part and eventually Stixx picked up the victory, after Harvey Dale took a super-kick off the apron.

The HOP side of the crowd went mental for Stixx winning and he made his way to celebrate with them as Haskins pulled himself together in the ring as stated this wouldn't be the end between them. The crowd continued to be at war with one another with the HOP rubbing the title win in the faces of the rest of the crowd. Once the excitement had died down a little Stixx and co went backstage to draw an end to a fantastic show.



I can only recommend that if you see a promotion close to you holding a show then you should give it a try and if you can make it to a Southside show then what's stopping you! From reports I may have been lucky and caught one of the best independent shows ever in this country but it shows that with quality talent and booking this was from top to bottom an excellent card and definitely worth the price of admission with the only down point to the show was that Juvi Guerrera pulling, but the talent on show and getting to meet most of the card afterwards more than made up for it!
I saw Stixx open the LCW show I attended before this and little could I have predicted he would have been beating a TNA superstar the next event, it just goes to show that you never know what to expect!

Written and Photos by: @Robbie_G_CH

Full set of photos at: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.395327070531472.94499.225595667504614&type=3

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.

TNA Hardcore Justice 2012 PPV Predictions

In a matter of hours, TNA's best and brightest will go to war at the pay-per-view special, Hardcore Justice. While not quite the celebration of all things hardcore, as previous years were, the tradition is still alive and well. This year taking the form of three brutal Bound for Glory series matches involving all twelve of the title contenders. Who will walk out of the Impact Zone with those precious points. More importantly, who will walk out, at all...

TNA X Division Championship

Zema Ion (C) vs Kenny King

The X-Division seems to have floundered in the wake of losing their crown jewel, Austin Aries, to the main event scene. Zema Ion, while being the next obvious choice for champion, still hasn't displayed a natural ability for the role. Infact, he's pretty much been coasting on the fact he broke Jesse Sorensen's neck back in February and that was a horrible accident! Kenny King, on the other hand, I've been rather impressed by. He has a certain charm and charisma that I think could benefit the division hugely. Also, after his very public firing by Ring of Honor after appearing on an episode of Impact Wrestling, his profile is sky high. While I'd prefer for TNA to try King out as X Division Champion, that'll probably have to wait a few months. In my opinion, Ion will keep the title until Jesse Sorensen is ready to come back. Look for the hairspray to come into play.

Prediction - Zema Ion defeats Kenny King via pinfall to retain the X Division Championship.

Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez vs Kid Kash & Gunner

I'm astounded by the hype TNA are putting Chavo's way. You'd genuinely think having him on the roster was a big deal. I know he comes from the prestigious Guerrero wrestling family, but no matter the company, whether it be WCW or WWE, Chavo has been a midcarder through and through. Hell, even in TNA's own Ring Ka King sister promotion, Chavo was merely a Tag Team Champion. Unfortunately, ever since the passing of the late, great Eddie Guerrero, bookers have grown confused and treat Chavo as if he's the second coming, which he is clearly not. Don't get me wrong, Chavo has a lot to offer and will put on awesome matches, but a draw he is not. This match shouldn't be a long affair, it's mostly about feeding Gunner and Kash to the new Guerrero in town. Hernandez is there...just because.

Prediction - Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez defeat Kid Kash & Gunner via pinfall.

TNA Knockouts Championship

Miss Tessmacher (C) vs Madison Rayne

Usually, you can predict a victor through observing either competitor's momentum going into the match, but this one has me stumped. TNA have been putting serious work into making Miss Tessmacher (never call her Brooke, because two Brooke's on the same roster would blow our minds or...you know...we'd deal with it) the new face of the Knockouts division (while the real face, Velvet Sky, gets quietly released). However, Madison Rayne has been the centre of almost every Knockouts segment in the past month. She's been inexplicably partnered with referee, Earl Hebner, resulting in her winning matches where her shoulders were clearly pinned to the mat for the three count. While I prefer Madison as a legitimate champion, this current gimmick of hers with Earl is so counter to logical thought, it hurts my brain. I don't think TNA are quite done with Miss Tessmacher as Knockouts Champion, so she'll get the nod. Earl is sure to get a post-match tongue-lashing for his ineptitude.

Prediction - Miss Tessmacher defeats Madison Rayne via pinfall to retain the Knockouts Championship.

Falls Count Anywhere

Rob Van Dam vs Mr Anderson vs The Pope vs Magnus

The first of three random Bound for Glory series matches. None of the competitors have a grudge against each other and the stipulation doesn't really make much sense either. The easy bet would be Rob Van Dam for the win. He's the highest profile competitor in the match and it'd make perfect sense for him to walk away with the points. Which is exactly why he doesn't need them in the first place. Same goes for Mr Anderson to an extent. Considering this is the least of the three BFG gimmick matches tonight, I say surprise everyone and have Magnus walk away the victor. He's never been truly validated on the Impact Wrestling roster (Ring Ka King Championship reign not withstanding), so maybe it's time to put him over. It'd be a talking point for a match that doesn't have many.

Prediction - Magnus defeats Rob Van Dam, Mr Anderson and The Pope via pinfall.

Tables Match

Jeff Hardy vs James Storm vs Bully Ray vs Robbie E

A big step up from the initial BFG series match, as this one features arguably TNA's biggest star, Jeff Hardy, and the current main feud of Impact Wrestling, James Storm vs Bully Ray. We'll just pretend Robbie E isn't also in the ring, as I'm sure the other competitors will too. This match will very quickly come down to two classes - the feud and the spot monkeys. The majority will focus upon the tremendous work of Storm and Ray, who I'm sure will work stiff as a board and take literal strips off each other. Meanwhile, Jeff and Robbie will be bouncing all over the place taking a series of ridiculous bumps, never really threatening to win the match though. I suspect this feud between Storm and Ray is far from over and the conclusion certainly won't come tonight as they're sharing the ring with two other men. Look for a surprise fluke win from Bully Ray, leaving Storm pissed off and baying for his blood.

Prediction - Bully Ray puts James Storm through a table to win the match.

Ladder Match

Kurt Angle vs AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels vs Samoa Joe

In what is sure to be the final BFG series match of the night, the four most memorable stars in TNA's ten year history have been thrown together and I fully expect this to be match of the night, if not the year. If you wonder why, consider that Styles, Daniels and Joe have had several candidates for this honour in past years and they've just thrown the best wrestler in the world, Kurt Angle, into the mix. When these guys go all-out, we'll be picking our jaws up off the floor for the next week thinking about it. Pretend you know absolutely nothing about Clare Lynch and the "who's your baby's daddy?" dreck, this will come down to pure athleticism. Frankly, any one of these four men could win the match and I would be perfectly happy. Personally, I see Joe picking up the points. He's had an amazing start to this year's BFG series and is often vying for the lead. I don't know whether he'll be topping that leader board come No Surrender, but the fact he's in contention works wonders for re-establishing his credibility. Simply...enjoy.

Prediction - Samoa Joe climbs the ladder and grabs...something...to win the match.

TNA World Heavyweight Championship

Austin Aries (C) vs Bobby Roode

A rematch from last month's Destination X pay-per-view. While I'm a huge Austin Aries fan and want to see him carrying that World Heavyweight Championship for years to come, I think it's the end of the line for this particular title reign. Last month's win was more about establishing the credibility of the Destination X title-shot and capitalising on Aries' phenomenal popularity. However, in the month since then, he hasn't been given much of anything to do. For the most part, he's been placed in segments with several larger names and gotten lost in the shuffle. Most tellingly was the week where he was placed in a room with the rest of the X Division for an entire show. It was almost as if TNA were saying "you can't cut it with the big guys, so here, go back where you belong". This isn't any fault on Aries part, it's more to do with TNA not knowing what the hell to do with him. He got this far on popularity and workrate, it was never to do with a story he'd been given. As such, I think the booking committee will look at his short reign as a nod to the smart fans, make the quick switch back to Bobby Roode as Champion and continue on as if the last month never happened.

Prediction - Bobby Roode defeats Austin Aries via pinfall to become the NEW World Heavyweight Champion.

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)

TNA Destination X 2012 PPV Predictions

Last Chance Fourway Dance

Dakota Darsow vs Rubix vs Lars Only vs Mason Andrews

In the first match of the night, the four wrestlers who lost their respective qualifiers will be granted one final opportunity to win our hearts and carry on to the tournament later in the evening. I have no prior knowledge of them all before seeing them lose on their Impact Wrestling debuts. I would guess much of the audience at home will be rather in the dark also, so I would hope this fatal fourway to be short and sweet, carried by their high-flying X Division shenanigans. However, I did take a liking to Rubix for his unique look and TNA certainly don't have any masked competitors at the moment, so the niche is always open.

Prediction - Rubix wins via pinfall and progresses to the X Division Tournament

X Division Tournament

Featuring Douglas Williams, Kid Kash, Zema Ion, Flip Cassanonva, Kenny King, Rashad Cameron, Sonjay Dutt and the winner of the Last Chance Fourway Dance

In what will make up the majority of the night's action, eight X Division competitors will compete in a tournament to decide the new X Division Champion. The Title was previously worn for the best part of a year by Austin Aries, but upon being offered a chance at the World Heavyweight Championship, he forfeited his prized belt in exchange. While I don't see history being quite as favorable to this latest crop of talent, there is a lot of potential in this group and we could be in for a spectacular array of matches. With the roster being made up of half established and half newbies, I expect that we'll see one veteran for every rookie, who under the worst circumstance can carry them through to the end of their respective matches. Whoever wins such a singles match will then progress to Ultimate X and compete to become the new champion. As for the eventual victor, your guess is as good as mine. None of the competitors stand out as truly memorable and would struggle to follow in the footsteps of the departing Aries. However, Sonjay Dutt has always been there for TNA when they needed him, now it's time they returned the favour and gave him his first ever X Division Championship! 

Prediction - Sonjay Dutt wins Ultimate X to become the new X Division Champion

Bound for Glory Series

Kurt Angle vs Samoa Joe

Long-time TNA fans will immediately peg this match as a special occasion. Not only will it feature fifteen minutes of quality mat wrestling, but the history between the Olympic Gold Medalist and the Samoan Submission Machine goes back years to Angle's own debut in 2006. At the time, Samoa Joe was the NWA World Heavyweight Champion and in the midst of an impressive undefeated streak. Upon arriving in the Impact Zone, Angle made his intentions clear with a swift headbutt to the Champ's face. What followed was one of the hallmark feuds in TNA's ten year history.

In retrospect, I think the bookers were far too eager to appease their new imported star. By allowing him to be the first to defeat their homegrown monster and strip him of the Heavyweight Title, they put the brakes on Joe's momentum, something he's never entirely gotten back. He beat Angle several times in the next two years, the pair going back and forth, but the damage was already done with that initial loss.

Knowing how much Samoa Joe has struggled to climb back to the top of the proverbial ladder, I'm extremely happy to see him sitting pretty at number two in the Bound for Glory Series so far. Last year, TNA lumbered their formerly unbeatable monster with a ludicrous losing streak, so I was pleased they avoided repeating themselves. Now they've finally decided to start treating Joe with the respect he deserves, I'd hate to see them fall back on old habits and have Angle go over for no other reason than he's a bigger name in the industry. With Kurt winding down his career, this is the perfect time to pay it back to the next generation and start putting guys over. He certainly doesn't need to win the Bound for Glory Series to have a place on Impact Wrestling, but it'd do Samoa Joe the world of good.

Prediction - Samoa Joe defeats Kurt Angle via submission

Last Man Standing

AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels

This feud has been the backbone of Impact Wrestling since the last Destination X pay-per-view in 2011. First it began with  the pair as friends simply wanting to know who was the better wrestler. His eventual loss led to jealousy for Daniels and he spent the better part of last year trying to find a way to best his former friend. Frankly, the whole angle should've ended back at Bound for Glory, when it escalated to Daniels threatening to kill Styles with a screwdriver. I certainly zoned out around then.

Somewhere along the line, Frankie Kazarian was lured to the darkside by Daniels and the pair proceeded to spend the past six months taunting Styles with evidence of imagined improprieties with TNA President, Dixie Carter. In theory, this climaxed several weeks ago, when it was revealed that they were simply aiding a troubled family friend named Claire with rehab. But did it end there? Oh no. Now we have Daniels making even more accusations that family man Styles is having an illegitimate child by Claire. What Daniels says could be true in the context of a new swerve storyline meant to add an edge to AJ's boyscout image, but we're long past caring.

I once thought I could watch AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels wrestle all day long and I wouldn't get bored. Then it lasted a year. Now I'm at the point where I never want to see these two men in a room together, let alone wrestling each other for twenty minutes. I'm sure the match will be technically sound and even try to teach the upstart X Division kids a thing or two, but the terrible storyline has killed whatever interest I had in either man. The sooner they go their separate ways and focus on fresh material, the happier I'll be. Styles probably won't win this match, but I wish he would.

Prediction - AJ Styles defeats Christopher Daniels after he fails to answer the count

World Heavyweight Championship

Bobby Roode (c) vs Austin Aries

With this being the match the entire pay-per-view has been built around, tremendous pressure lays on the shoulders of "The IT factor of Professional Wrestling" and "The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived". A year ago, the notion of this match would've been viewed as absurd, but here we are and both men have earned the privilege, their ascension through the ranks of TNA second to none.

While this match is most notable for Aries' first ever main event on PPV, it also holds an element of mystery for Bobby Roode, being the first time he's ever been relied upon by TNA as a dependable, bankable World Champion. For the past seven months, Roode has run a gauntlet of icons, whether it be Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, Rob Van Dam or Sting. He's always been the question mark, relying on other wrestler's star-power to get over with the crowd. Even against long-time Beer Money partner James Storm at Lockdown, you could argue the feud itself had precedence over any draw on Roode's part. Only, this time, he is the big name and all eyes backstage will be watching to see if that trust on TNA's part was well-deserved.

As for the match itself, I haven't seen a bad performance out of either man in months. The wrestling quota will be top notch, with both men putting each other through a physical war and elevating their status in the process. They have a lot to prove and I think we'll get their top game as a result. The only downside is the inevitable screwjob finish. No matter the momentum Austin Aries has coming out of a solid year of success and notoriety, Bobby Roode is unquestionably locked in for the Bound for Glory main event in October and will hold the World Title until that day, guaranteed. As a huge fan of Austin Aries over the past year, I'll be disappointed to see him take the loss and leave Destination X with nothing, but I take solace in the fact that he made it to main event level and if he can do it once, he can do it again.

Prediction - Bobby Roode defeats Austin Aries via foreign object to retain the World Heavyweight Championship


Written by Mark Clements

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)