Thursday, March 27, 2008

Attempts to get through a taping of TNA Impact result in a clinical breakdown

Hello there.

This blog is a little late. I should have wrote this a week ago when the episode was still relevant but I'll write it now.

*Warning* If you are one of those people who don't like TNA bashing, don't read this entry. I never liked those people who bitched about TNA either but I honestly feel that I need to get this off my chest. Besides - I'm Mike Tedesco and this is my blog.

Since I've started this blog I've tried to start watching TNA Impact again just to add more depth to my columns and to not have my column be completely WWE. Unfortunately it looks like it's going to stay all WWE as it literally took me a week to get through one episode of Impact.

TNA Impact, as I'm sure you know, is on Thursdays, a night on which I'm not home. I've got my bowling league and piano lesson so it's impossible for me to be home to watch it so I have my DVR set to record it every Thursday. When I get home from bowling I either go to bed or if I've had too much soda I watch Impact.

Well for the March 13th episode of Impact I just happened to be in one of those caffeine induced moods to watch Impact so I turned it on and within fifteen minutes it was off and I was sleeping. The episode started off like an old episode of WCW Nitro. Jim Cornette (in place of Eric Bischoff) rattles off two main events for the upcoming Pay Per View and then we get two ex-WWE guys who spar for a bit before a "big" Kevin Nash hobble in.

Why is Kevin Nash still around? He looks so old and he moves worse than ever. This isn't a guy who has "one more big one" in him. This is a relic of the past who just refuses to hang up the tights because his name, remarkably, still has drawing power. If he keeps going the way he is when he retires he'll be thought of as a joke. He may already be at that level.

If TNA isn't the new WCW then I don't know what it is. You've got a bunch of over the hill "legends" still clinging to that sacred spot they once held (like Kevin Nash and Scott Steiner), you've got guys who couldn't quite make it in WWE (Tomko and Rhino) or got fired for doing drugs (Kurt Angle) and you've got ridiculous gimmicks (like the Rock n' Rave Connection). It's just ghastly and sad to watch.

On top of all that the storylines are downright lame and poorly thought out and the ones that are on the borderline of being OK are ripped off from WWE!! Yikes.

Petey Williams is too good to be teamed with Scott Steiner and be made to look like Steiner's jock strap. It's not fair to a wrestler as talented as Williams is. Oh, and I just cannot believe that they're still fighting over who gets what suitcase. That was so long ago. It stinks of a stolen storyline WWE created - perhaps Money in the Bank?!

The Kurt Angle-Karen Angle-A.J. Styles love triangle reeks of something familiar as well. Could it be a repeat of the first major storyline/feud of Kurt Angle's WWE and professional wrestling career? Think all the way back to the Summer of 2000 (for wrestling fans this may take a while - you may need to take a few naps). Triple H was married in storyline - at the time - to Stephanie McMahon. Along comes the Olympic Hero Kurt Angle and he starts trying to impose himself on Triple H's marriage to Stephanie. Both were heels but it would ultimately turn Triple H into a tweener for the next few months until Steve Austin returned. Now this is just one fan's opinion but am I really wrong? Does it just look like the roles are reversed now? I mean come on!

On top of all this we have Kevin Nash wrestling in a Main Event. Kevin Nash shouldn't be anywhere near a wrestling ring with the shape he's in. But I already went over that.

Now I'm not going to completely bash TNA. They do still have some stuff that's entertaining. I like Samoa Joe. He's a terrific talent and I might just order their Pay Per View to see him take on Kurt Angle. Unfortunately they already ruined the ending - everyone knows when you say "Either I win or I retire" 9.9 times out of 10 that wrestler wins. It doesn't matter. In my opinion Joe's long overdue. I just hope his character isn't too destroyed after all they've put him through.
I also LOVE Curry Man. That gimmick is absolutely HILARIOUS! I had to rewind it and watch it again. It was hysterical. I even showed my girlfriend. She thought it was hilarious. I know a lot of people on the 'net are appalled at what they're making Christopher Daniels do but if it's selling T-Shirts and making people entertained it's good enough for me. However, all the other stuff in TNA needs a major uplift.

TNA used to do it right. I used to think they'd one day be the alternative to WWE. When they got a TV deal I started salivating at the idea that perhaps the Monday Night Wars would be renewed. Now we have Team 3-D telling Jim Cornette to commit suicide. How disgusting. First their one hour show was unwatchable because there was too much stuff crammed in and now at two hours it's even worse. Somewhere, somehow they dropped the ball. Was it the hiring of Vince Russo? Perhaps. We all know that if Vince McMahon isn't there to calm him down and squash his ridiculousness he's out of control. Look what happened to WCW. I'm not saying that was all him, but he played a huge role.

If you really want me to bottom line this I'll do it: TNA needs to change and they need to do it now. Just because their ring is six sided doesn't make then unique. They need to have unique characters, storylines, and a unique presentation. Right now it's a half-assed RAW and a blatant rip-off of Nitro. And not the Nitro from 1996. I'm talking Nitro from 2001. OK, fine, 2000.

Please TNA - I changed my mind! I don't even want a repeat of the Monday Night Wars. I just want a show that I can turn to when I'm frustrated with WWE's product and say "Oh, wrestling still can be good". I just want some variety in my wrestling - not the same show with a different name and less production value. It's time to turn it up, TNA!

Until next time, wrestling fans.

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