The General Wrestling Thread

[Derrville]

Hall, xpac and the Nasty Boyz are said to be gone after Genesis too which is FTW.

[IamMedellin]

lol...Impact really scored record Ratings

[BazookaJoe5]

So TNA is said to likely go to monday night programming, and possibly as soon as two weeks from now.

-Matt Hardy/Gregory Helms are rumored to have asked for their release from the WWE with the hopes of joining Jeff/Shannon in TNA

-They stated there will be 2 big debuts @ genesis. (RVD / Kennedy?)

I don't think anyone that watches WWE gives a shit about Gregory Helms but scoring BOTH Matt and Jeff (assuming Jeff doesn't go to jail) would be huge for TNA. Those two have as big a fan base as anyone in wrestling today...

[SuperKevin]

The thing I love most about TNA is that they actually use the Tag Team Division well. The WWE stopped utilizing Tag Teams prior to the Attitude era in my opinion.

[EmpireWF]

Jeff may have signed whatever kind of deal with TNA because he knows he's going to be dealing with his legal issues for a LONG time and possibly even face jail time, preventing him from returning in time for WM.

Either way, TNA made Hardy look like a dwarf compared to their other new additions despite the fact he was a legit superstar in 2009. Perhaps, they know he won't be around for a the long haul so there's no sense in building around him.

Whatever happens, I hope Spike and TNA go to Monday nights because it would spice things up.

[EmpireWF]

The thing I love most about TNA is that they actually use the Tag Team Division well. The WWE stopped utilizing Tag Teams prior to the Attitude era in my opinion.

After that era is when they stopped using them. During the Attitude Era we had New Age Outlaws, APA, Holly's, Hardy's then you had the Dudleys, E&C, Too Cool. Obviously not like the 80s but then they just crapped out.

[SuperKevin]

I'm just not a fan of the WWE and their seemingly random pairing of singles wrestlers to create tag teams.

[FedEx227]

Around 2003-2004 the tag division died. It was still very strong in the early 2000s.

[FedEx227]

With Sapolsky in charge, every result mattered, and was a piece of the puzzle. There was really no "throw away" matches or shows...every show was important, because selling the DVD's was the #1 revenue stream. Each character had a direction, and there was clear long term booking that would all come together at "Final Battle" at the end of each year.

Adam Pearce has changed everything. 75% of the roster has no direction or storyline. Tons of throw away matches where the result is meaningless, so why should we care? It's like watching midcarders on WWE Superstars. The "house shows" are now just that--house shows with no meaning. Why buy a ticket?

It's also more character driven now, as opposed to athletically driven. Why would anyone watch another character driven promotion, especially when you cant compete with the slick presentation of the other two companies? At least ROH used to cater to a niche, now they cater to nobody.

This sums it up best:

The crew no longer works long, state of the art matches. KENTA & Davey Richards tore down the house in Houston on WM weekend. I was there, bpapa was there, bigbiss was there. Standing ovation, would have been the easy Match Of The Year in pro wrestliung if not for the botched finish, and its the match anyone who was there will remember forever. Well, Pearce chewed out both men when they came back through the curtain, because they gave the crowd "too much". Unreal.

The bottom line when it comes to ROH these days is this...the Gabe shows did tend to be overlaod sometimes, BUT...

I'd rather be burnt out than bored.

Right on the money. There is absolutely no comparing a Gabe-booked ROH show to a Pearce-booked ROH show. Not even close to comparison and it's not JUST the talent.

[Bigpapa42]

Sadly, I just started getting into ROH right as they made the booking change. I think I would have to go back and watch everything in sequence to really fully appreciate all that Sapolsky did. But its not hard to see that there is a big difference and I easily prefer him to Pearce. I watched a booking DVD with Sapolsky about what his plans for ROH were before they released him that showed just how much thought, consideration, and effort he put in. Impressive.

[Epidemik]

Credit: PWTorch.com

Hulk Hogan was said to be very stressed backstage at Impacton Monday, and feels the company has organizational issues. TNA was still filming pre-tapes late in the day, and it was said to be a very chaotic atmosphere for Hulk compared to the treatment he was used to in WCW and WWE.

Hogan held a meeting with the TNA roster prior to the show, which was described as a basic pep talk meeting. Hulk told the wrestlers that he’s looking forward to getting to know them all. He told them his door is always open, and gave the impression that he and Bischoff are running the show, although Vince Russo is still handling his usual backstage duties.

Some backstage sources say Russo came across as withdrawn, and after the show was telling people he had no idea what the storyline direction will be going forward.

[Bigpapa42]

I won't post the actual spoilers from the Impact tapings last night, but it doesn't sound like a major step forward for TNA.

[BazookaJoe5]

I won't post the actual spoilers from the Impact tapings last night, but it doesn't sound like a major step forward for TNA.

I read them as well, and I agree.

 

lulz @ fuckin' Val Venis "getting the better of" Daniels. also lulz @ Beer Money v. Hall and Nash. hope they know where to buy a couple of tombstones.

[young2rice]

Supposedly Hall/Nash/Nasty's contracts are going to only last until the end of Genesis, which is good imo, i have no problem with them being here, and going out putting someone over.

Val Venis is great, he's a very underrated wrestler and was never given a proper push.

[dave]

TNA seems like a huge clusterfuck.

I didn't see Monday's TNA show, but it sounds like they were hopelessly desperate.

IMO, TNA should accept their role as the #2 mainstream wrestling organization and run with it.

Trying to compete with the WWE in the mainstream is ridiculous ... especially dragging out the Nasty Boys, Hall, Waltman, etc... guys who have nothing to do with today's pro wrestling scene.