Posted in: Wayne's World Wayne's World: The Way I See It - Impact 7/2/13
By zzzorf
Feb 8, 2013 - 7:05:57 AM
Welcome back one and all to the column that knows first hand how relaxing it is once the school holidays are over and the kids are finally back at school, my name is Wayne and you are now entering my world. Due to me becoming unemployed last year and thus now relying on benefits to support my family last month I had to let my Pay TV slip away. What that meant for me mostly was that my ability to watch wrestling on TV slipped from my grasp forcing me into the world of streaming on the net.
The up-side to this though is that I know actually get to see the wrestling shows live. Normally here in Australia I don’t get Raw for at least 24 hours after it is finished and for Impact it is closer to 30. Granted Smackdown I get about 20 hours before the US but it is always pre-taped and you know the results anyway. So far I have been enjoying watching these shows as they happen instead of them being spoilt for me as it comes as a nice change of pace.
While I was getting ready for TNA Impact today (live for me is currently 12 noon on a Friday with the time zone difference) a thought came to me, why not try something that I have wanted to do but have never been able due to watching the shows way later than everyone else, why don’t I review the show? So here we are with my first ever show review of a recent event. There will be no ratings or talk about the quality of the matches here but more my thoughts on the participants and the storyline that got us to this point. So let’s get this under-way shall we?
Aces & 8’s In-Ring Segment
First thing that I thought of when looking at the Aces & 8’s standing in the ring when I turned on Impact today was that it is damn good to see actual faces in the group and not those silly masks that they have been wearing the entire time. That is something that they should have done months ago instead of now rushing to get everyone revealed before the big match at Lockdown. A nice steady reveal would have been a lot more effective.
The main problem everyone sees with the reveal of Aces & 8’s members is the lack of name power that the group possesses and quite honestly I am not really one of those people. While the names in the group could be bigger I think for their purpose they are fine. Unlike the likes of the NWO , Evolution and the Man Event Mafia, Aces & 8’s are not out there to be top of the card. Yes they have taken out the TNA Champion at times that was more for the statement than for any bigger reason. They are only feuding with the upper midcard talent, the likes of Bully Ray, Sting and Kurt Angle, so having a mega name in their group is just overkill.
I can still hear all you arguing though that the names revealed so far are nothing compared to who they are fighting with but I still hold that the names are fine. D-Von has been the perfect front man for the group and a great second in command to whomever the leader is. He is the perfect foil to Bully and is capable of putting on some entertaining matches. DOC has been a great muscle man and his face has been easily recognisable since unmasking. Knox is the guy I have most trouble with and I think he was better having the mask on, he was making more of an impact that way. Bischoff and Briscoe have copped a lot of flack as the week link of the team but ZI think they will be fine as the tag team of the group, Briscoe has shown a lot of talent and I really don’t think Bischoff is as bad as everyone reckons he is. That leads me to Anderson, I think he has finally found a place where his Asshole gimmick fits and if they do end up moving up to challenge for the title he is there as their go to guy.
X-Division Title Match – RVD v Zema Ion v Kenny King
Watching the three guys come down to the ring I thought to myself haven’t I seen this match over and over again in a few different forms. On stating this on Twitter the reply that Super Chrisss gave hit the nail on the head, “Mainly because that's the entire X-Division right there”. Off the top of my head it is really hard for me to come up with other members of the X-Division at the moment and once looking at the official roster on the TNA website I can see why. Other than Christian York the only other members are injured (Sabin and Sorenson) or have moved up higher in the card (Aries, AJ, Daniels and Kazarian).
It is nothing against these three guys as they are all good wrestlers but three wrestlers does not a division make. If TNA wants the division to be anything like it was before they need to do something about it. I think the first step is to drop AJ and Kaz back down into the division once more since AJ is not able to go for the World Title and Kaz is stagnant while Daniels quests for it. Other wrestlers like Douglas Williams and Robbie E would also be a good idea to move back into the division but this is only a temporary fix as these match-ups are also something we have seen over and over again. New blood needs to be signed to help the division once again flourish, a nice mix of old stars and new, hey isn’t Morrison and Benjamin still available.
Mr. Pec-Tacular v James Storm
Is it me or is James Storm just being fed the trash of TNA now. He has become the problem solver for them, called on to clean up the mess of their booking. Not long ago he put an end to Crimson’s flimsy unbeaten streak and now he is facing this reality TV wannabe, seriously there must be something better that Storm could be doing.
Tag Title Match – Chavo/Hernandez v Aries/Roode
Just like WWE, TNA finds itself currently with a pretty decent tag division. It is not up to the high standards it was a few years back but it is still in reasonably good shape. The difference with TNA compared to WWE is that they did not make the mistake of not putting the titles on a tag team at the height of their popularity. WWE missed the ball with The Rhodes Scholars not giving them the titles, TNA did not make the same mistake here with Aries and Roode. There is no team in TNA at the moment more popular then these two and it was an absolute no-brainer that they needed to put the titles on them.
In saying that though why the fuck have TNA not had two members of Aces & 8’s holding the tag titles, I mean come on people it is not rocket science. You want your major heel stable to look dangerous, put some gold around their waist. Devon is the TV Champ, why couldn’t they take it further. I could easily see DOC and Knox as a menacing team who I would not blink an eye at holding the belt or they could give it to Bischoff and Briscoe adding a little bit of credibility to them. There is always the possibility of a Freebird Rule put in place as well.
Lastly this brings me to the teaming of Chavo and Hernandez, honestly I like the team and what not but I really think Chavo would be a perfect fit in the X-Division. Another partner could easily be found for Hernandez and that means Chavo would be free to move on. Chavo has a lot to add to that division from his Crusierweight days and would be the perfect leader to get the next generation of X-Division stars up to scratch. In reality though they really need to justify his signing as the tagging with SuperMex is not enough, anyone can tag with him and look a million bucks, just look at all the people who have already.
Miss Tessmacher v Tara
Yeah again we have the problem of same old, same old. Again we find a division short on talent and a shell of what it once was. The only things really good about the division at the moment is that it is still heads and shoulders above the WWE product, Tessmacher is fucking hot and the brilliant idea of having a special ref for the entire division.
British Boot Camp & The Two Robbies
Honestly I have no interest in this Rockstar Spud or whatever he is called. Having all these no names come through Gut Check within the last year (that is not including York or Briscoe) and not doing nothing with themselves a guy winning some other contest to win his contract just does not fill me with any happiness. Then from all accounts the show, British Boot Camp, that he came from was attrocious this means I am even less wanting to see this man in action.
The segment went from bad to worse though with Robbie E joining him in the ring. Look I am fine with his character and him being in matches but does he really have to have these segments where he tries hard to be cool, I mean come on Jersey Shore was like so last year.
Being serious though I think it’s time they got it over with and had big Robby flatten him breaking up one of the weirdest teams in recent memory. They can then have their mini-feud and be on their way, hey there may even be an opening for Big Robby to team with Hernandez.
Tables Match – Bully Ray/Sting v Devon/DOC
After the tag title match a tweet came across my feed from Tito saying “So I tune into a random #TNA match and I get to see a Tag Title change.” Not long after a reply came through from The Crow stating “ It's the tag titles though. The main event tonight is for the biggest storyline going in TNA right now.” Honestly I have to agree with Crow here. While the Tag Title change was big, especially with the fact that that the winners have both been World Champion within the last year, they pale to what has been the biggest storyline in TNA at the moment and I am not talking about Aces & 8’s.
No the biggest storyline at the moment is the one with Hogan, Hogan and Ray, well you can chuck in Sting to if you really want to but it is mostly those three. I am fine with the story but honestly at a time when the focus needs to be on their growing heel stable it is all forgotten so that we could go on this silly love ride. Honestly wouldn’t it have been better to have done this storyline with someone younger like Morgan. Ray was already a main event star and just needed that final nudge, not a big wallop like he is getting. Morgan needs more and this storyline would have been a perfect fit.
Actually I think I can see this storyline really hurting Bully in the long run after watching him Hulk up. I mean that was a pretty poor attempt and it did not look natural at all for him. I think if he continues to do this it may eventually hurt his credibility and he will be more a laughing stock than the main eventer he made himself into over the last few years.
Well that brings me to the end of the show but it has to be pointed out to those who have not realised, this is the second week in a row That the TNA Champion Jeff Hardy has not appeared on TNA television. Why? Because of his criminal record he was not allowed into the United Kingdom where the tapings were held. Honestly this comes down to stupidity on TNA’s part. UK is one of their big markets and they couldn’t even take their Champion over to see the fans. All it would have taken was Hardy to lose the title to someone before they went, hell he could have even won it back when they got back but at least they would have had a Champion to parade in front of the fans.
So that brings me to the end of today’s column, please feel free to feedback me either at the bottom of this column or through any of the methods I list below. I have a special treat for you all in the coming weeks as I bring a series I will debut a series I run every couple of months called Me and My Mates for you all on the Main Page. That series will be a group of 7 dailies so be on the lookout for it, other than that you all will just have to wait and see what I have install for you next,
