(Courtesy of TNA)
It’s a rough day today at Grass Roots of Wrestling. It’s no secret that I’m a huge Oklahoma City Thunder fan. I have been since they were known as the Seattle Supersonics. Last night the young Thunder got knocked out of the NBA finals by the NBA’s version of the Mega Bucks. It was a great season for the Thunder, and I look forward to seeing what they do with the 28th pick in the NBA Draft. This is the deepest draft in a decade.
I’m hoping All American Draymond Green from Michigan State University, who is a jack of all trades type of player, is available at the end of the first round. For a team not looking to shake up the first 8 players in their rotation, Green would fit well as the 9th man on the bench because of his ability to bring a variety of basketball options to the team including passing, rebounding, and an extremely high basketball IQ. With a team that’s core group of players is around 23 years old collectively, I know the Oklahoma City Thunder are going to be a force in the years to come. This isn’t the end, just the beginning.
After the game I settled in to watch TNA’s Impact Wrestling
on the DVR. I will have to admit I haven’t watched much TNA over the past year
because every time I do I usually end up regretting what I am seeing. I think
the frustrating part about TNA is that they have some of the most talented
wrestlers in the business, but usually the promotion ends up dropping the ball
with the misuse of talent, diluted storylines with too many twists as if the
writers are trying to prove they’re smarter than the fans, or they try too hard
to be a wrestling show pretending to be a reality show. You’re not the WWE, you’re
Total Non-Stop Action. Highlight your athletic roster and stop trying to be
another show on VH1.
Last night was another mixed bag of nuts on Impact
Wrestling. First off, Austin Aries should be called “The Mint” because he
prints money. His look, his mic skills, and his persona are better than almost
anything in pro wrestling today. Then add in the fact he is one of the top five
wrestlers walking the planet today, and you have a true bona fide star. I loved
the opening segment because it helped elevate the X-division, it showed AA isn’t
a moron because who turns down a shot at the world title, and it was a good use
of Hulk Hogan to help get a star over instead of himself. Robert Roode vs.
Austin Aries will probably be the best wrestling match on PPV in July for any company,
WWE included.
The decision to make it that every year the X-division
champion can trade the title for a world title shot at Destination X is a
really good idea. The title already had importance, but now it will have more
importance around TNA’s biggest time of the year, Slammiversary. If you are the
X-champ after that PPV then you are guaranteed a title shot at the next PPV. It
just adds more heat to any title bout. A big thumbs-up to TNA on elevating one
of their second tier belts, unlike what the WWE has done with theirs. Who’s the
US champ, and does anyone care?
The Bound for Glory series is another over thinker moment in
TNA. I didn’t like it last year, and I don’t like it again this year. I guess
it is for the stat nerds. If this happens then this can happen, blah blah blah.
Why is a submission victory more important that a pinfall? Kurt Angle gets an
Ankle Lock & its 10 points. Jeff Hardy nearly cripples RVD with a KO neck
snapping twist of fate & its 7 points. It doesn’t make sense.
Also having Robbie E in the series makes no sense at all
either. Crimson has lost one match in his TNA career and he is somehow out of
it. What about Sting? He was in the Slammiversary main event a couple weeks
back & now he can’t get into the Bound for Glory series. Yet Robbie E is
out there getting torn apart by Kurt Angle. Also the Pope has been out for a
bit, and he returns to a spot in the series. Maybe I missed something, but
shouldn’t the guys who have been on TV be in the series, not a Jersey Shore midcarder
& a dude straight off the shelf. Plus why do I care about Magnus? He’s an
ok talent, but what about Kazarian? AJ & Angle are in the tournament, why
not Daniels’ partner?
This Bound for Glory Series is another over thought angle
that has too many holes in its logic. The six matches were ok, but nothing to
write home about. The ten minute time limit puts restrictions on the talents to
tell a story. There is just so much you can do in 6-8 minutes. How is this
going to play on PPV, where 15-20 minute matches can do more to flesh out the
feuds & characters? Until I see something special from this idea, it will
continue to be a failure by TNA & a waste of talent.
Another waste of my time is Dixie Carter. I was lucky enough
to marry a beautiful Indian woman. Her Grandma came to America from India years
ago. When I hang out with Nani, we watch Indian soap operas on Zee TV. It’s how
I am learning to speak Hindi. Anytime Dixie Carter is on my TV it looks like an
Indian soap opera. She is over the top emotional for everything. On top of that
she somehow sucks three of the best talents (AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels,
and Frankie Kazarian) into her web of soap opera suck.
The current storyline is that somehow Dixie & AJ are
doing unspeakable deeds behind closed doors as Daniels & Kaz would have us
all believe. Yet it isn’t that they are committing adultery, but helping a
pregnant addict that they both know somehow. Are you kidding me? I hate when they
bring addiction & this type of stuff into wrestling. So for the past few
weeks AJ has been protecting the secret of an addict and letting his &
Dixie’s names be dragged through the mud, including letting talents call them
home wreckers. Now we just need an evil auntie with an oversized bindi, and
this would be classic Indian soap opera.
There are too many non-wrestling, non-manager characters on the
TNA roster. Hogan is the GM, Dixie is the owner, and Brooke Hogan is the
Knockout Commish. Is Nick Hogan going to be the food & beverage manager
next?
What does Brooke Hogan bring to the table? Just because
Ivanka Trump is on the apprentice doesn’t mean Hulk’s kid has to be in TNA. The
group meeting in multiple segments was a waste of time. A title match is on the
line and everybody is just chillin’ like it’s a slumber party, catty comments
& all. The Knockouts are leaps & bounds better in the ring than the WWE
Divas, but their segments behind the scenes are just the pits.
“Let’s pow wow for a bit girls so I can get to know you”,
hey Brooke how about you watch the product before you take the job! How does
anyone get a job running a division in any business & have no idea about what
makes up the division? If Brooke’s work was her boyfriend, it would cheat on her
for being this horrible. The capper was having Velvet Sky & Mickie James
together backstage as she made her decision, and there wasn’t much of a fight
from Sky when Brooke picked James. She just hugs Mickie. I guess that title isn’t
that important.
One Segment that is really original is the TNA Gut Check.
The idea is great & it lets the audience see some of the amazing talent on
the independent circuit. Each time Gut Check comes around I will tune in
because I want to see fresh faces, and this is a perfect way to do it without
taking away from your established talent. It makes the crowd care about
somebody who will probably job out to an established talent.
Taeler Hendrix, this week’s Gut Checker, had a nice piece on
her. Giving her a backstory like being a cancer survivor, and showing footage
from some of her indie matches, helps develop why the fans should care about
her. In the ring she was ok. She didn’t screw anything up, but there wasn’t any
moment that popped out that made me want to see her again. Her look doesn’t set
her apart from the other knockouts, and the way she took Tara’s finisher didn’t
do much to help elevate the established veteran. I would be shocked if Ms.
Hendrix survives her Gut Check. Good try, but better luck next time.
Bully Ray is another bright spot for the company. The former
Dudley is probably the best heel in the company. On the mic he can get the
crowd to riot. In the ring he is so physical. I hope he can get out of this Abyss
feud soon, and move on to the title picture, especially if AA wins at Destination
X. An undersized champ and a brutish bully, it writes itself. More Bully Ray,
More Austin Aries, Less Boobs Hogan; That’s a recipe for success.
Again TNA’s Impact Wrestling was another episode of highs
and lows. As one segment would make you want to keep watching, there was
equally another segment that made you want to change the channel. The matches
didn’t really move the needle as most looked to be more angle driven than
anything. Again the 10 minute time limit forces too many matches to have the out
of nowhere finish feeling. It is handcuffing TNAs ability to set themselves
apart from the WWE, where the 6-8 minute match is their bread & butter.
This show, and the promotion overall, is a big mixed bag of
nuts, which probably explains why they drive me crazy. Cut the crap, stop
trying to be a full contact soap opera, and start being the action packed
promotion you can be. I like the way Hulk Hogan is used. I like a lot of the
wrestlers. The Knockouts can wrestle. Just stop trying to be a reality show
with situational drama & out of the box concepts that water down the actual
product. I don’t care about the backstage meetings & hug fests going on.
Make me believe these people want to tear each other apart in & out of the
ring. This is Pro Wrestling, not a Boy Scout camping trip. Less weenie
roasting, and more action! There are too many lulls for this to be called Non-stop.
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