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  Wrestling News World > The Blog Spot >
  TNA Blog Zone - Fish Eggs & Hot Dogs
  By Kendra Bunyon on September 5th, 2008

While watching ECW this week I was able to really pin down what was wrong with some of TNA’s booking. The main event on ECW had Finlay, Evan Bourne, Tommy Dreamer and Matt Hardy face off against John Morrison, The Miz, Chavito and Mark Henry. The end of the match found Mark Henry tagged in with Matt Hardy. Matt took Henry down in the right position close to the face corner. Evan Bourne tagged in and hit a 450 splash then tossed Miz from the ring as he rushed in. Dreamer tagged in and hit a frog splash and tossed Chavo from the ring as he rushed in. Finlay tagged in and slammed down on Henry and knocked Bam from the apron. Matt then tagged in again, waited for Henry to get to his feet, hit the twist of fate and covered for three. It was extremely fast paced and high intensity and the fans were on their feet screaming for the faces because they were so into the match. I was smiling and pointing things out to my boyfriend as they happened and told him why it was working so well compared to TNA’s slow and drawn out endings that have such little pizzazz. TNA really needs to re-examine their booking practices. That ECW match was so well received and the ending so spectacular that it makes TNA’s booking look that much worse. When WWE’s C show blows the pants off TNA, it’s obvious they need some serious help!

Some people wanted a rating system from me. I’m not exactly sure how I want to do it as there’s so many fun ways to rate matches, promos and vignettes. I could rate by how many rotten tomatoes should be tossed at people (sadly the numbers would get too high when Booker T spoke). I could go by the gymnastics rating system where everyone gets a 5.9—– and go out to six decimal places, but that would be more entertaining for me than you. So I will start on a 1-10 rating system (for now) but I still hold the option to throw tomatoes at certain times. Also, please remember I am rating everything against the rest of the show and what TNA puts out for a product. I am not at all rating against the ‘other company’ as it would not be fair in any way, shape or form.

TNA started with Angle. He headed to the ring in a suit and tie for a promo. Booker joined him as if one of them speaking wasn’t more than enough confusion. Angle said they’re both what World Champions are supposed to look like before he cut down Samoa Joe. Everything Sting said last week about respect was directed at Samoa Joe, according to Angle. Booker put on yet another strange accent before agreeing with everything Angle said. They just kept going on and on about how wonderful they are and what they’re going to do to people at No Surrender. Cage came out and got involved in the discussion, actually doing a better job on the mic than the other two put together. He has grown so much since he joined TNA that I think the ‘other company’ lost someone great when he left (not that they gave him such opportunities). Booker continued to bounce from accent to accent as he spoke to Cage, none of it actually made any sense (as have so few of his promos and vignettes of recent times - since joining TNA). Cage held his own with Booker and Angle until they managed a two on one beat down. But AJ Styles rescued Cage, even though they were slated to face each other later in the night. Cornette declared that if Angle or Booker involved themselves in the Cage versus Styles match later, then they’d lose their spots at NS.
8/10
Tomatoes tossed at Booker for his sheer daftness and lack of charisma!

Borash interviewed Joe out back. Joe was pissed at Nash, their relationship is over. Joe also was unhappy with Sting. I think Joe hates everyone right now - but it works for his character. He’s very good at being a pissed off man and it comes across eloquently on the mic.
9/10

Another long and drawn out video about Consequences Creed’s life. Why they feel they need to tell us every little part of this guy’s life, I don’t know. It slows everything down and makes me want to go to sleep.
1/10

Sheik Abdul Bashir was interviewed by the blonde out back. He rips her a new one after speaking in his native tongue. He has the opportunity to be the best heel of our time. He could do exactly what the Iron Sheik did in his day - he has the mic talent in him, they just have to let him become the biggest heel he can be.
7/10

Bashir then had a match with Creed. It made sense, but they took so much time to set up the match by showing us the (too long) video and the interview. I really could care less about the match as they took so long to get started. Some good wrestling and a cheating win for Bashir, then the fans yelled and screamed at the ref about Bashir’s cheap win. The ref restarted the match and Creed quickly got the win. Bashir felt he had to argue with the ref well after Creed had left the area. Staying in his heel character he finally pushed the ref too hard and the ref (actually wrestler Glamour Boy Shane, Shane Sewell) snapped. Shane took Bashir apart in the ring. The end of the match, though drawn out, was actually decent. What bothered me was how long it actually took to get to the first match of the night - 25 minutes into the show before the first match is not good.
5/10

Borash interviewed Nash out back. Nash agreed he let his emotions get away with him last week and destroyed his relationship with Joe. He sure isn’t the Nash we knew when he was in the nWo. He’s quieter and mellower, but it seems to be working for some reason. It might be his age and experience, or it could be that he’s used to talking to a drunken Hall in that subdued tone.
6/10

Beer Money was interviewed by the blonde. They pushed the new video game. Super Eric and crew showed up to tell them they’re bad for kids and need to be removed from the video game. Curry Man went on about sake and not drinking too much. Shark Boy accused them ( Beer Money) of having sexual relations with each other and the whole thing turned into a shoving match. It didn’t really do much for either team other than show who are the heels and who are the faces. We know that already and need more than snappy banter that isn’t.
1/10

Video about Abyss - it talked about how he’s a self appointed protector of those in need. It didn’t really do much. He proved last week just how wonderful he can be on mic. They need to let him talk rather than showing these inane videos if they want to promote him.
1/10

The Beautiful People are interviewed by the blonde out back. Velvet Sky is horrible on mic. Her voice just grates. And I still don’t understand why Kip is back in his “Billy” roll. That was used up years ago, why is it back?
1/10

Beer Money out to the ring for the second match of the night. Curry Man was supposed to go to the ring, but he never showed. After he no shows, Super Eric and Shark Boy head for the ring. Out back Curry Man is cornered by Christy Hemme - the announcers say it has something to do with last week, but it doesn’t ring any bells for me! It looked like the second match of the night might actually start at 9:50! They fight in the ring until the cameras go out back to show Curry Man had been beaten down by Rock and Rave after Hemme’s distraction. Rude pins Shark Boy for the win of an uneventful match. But they can’t let the match end there! LAX comes to the ring running Beer Money to the heel ramp. Homicide is behind them for the attack. They all end up back in the ring. LAX beat down Beer Money for another over booked match ending. Four teams and two Knockouts involved - in some way - in one match that is only supposed to involve 4 people. The whole thing was just too convoluted to be entertaining. The only good part of the match, in my opinion, was when Homicide returned and got the upper hand over Beer Money.
4/10 - Most of that is for LAX.

They show a bit of Abyss on Karen’s show last week, but none of the funny bits. Devine and Team 3D come out to accept Abyss’ open challenge. Brother Ray says he and Brother Devon accept on behalf of Devine. But it’s a Hardcore Match! In the ring Team 3D threw Devine to Abyss. Devine hit a chair shot to Abyss’ face, but it did nothing and he took Devine apart with his hands, but Abyss would not use the chair to hit Devine. Team 3D returned to the ring to destroy Abyss. I was really wishing for a good, old fashioned ECW type Hardcore Match, but that didn’t happen! Matt Morgan rushed out to save Abyss further cementing their friendship. There was no real end to the match or a winner.
3/10

ODB out back was interviewed by the blonde. She screamed about the beans and rushed for the men’s room. She tossed some guys out and proceeded to do horrible things in the potty. The blonde was mortified that ODB did not wash her hands when she was done. The whole thing was icky and raunchy. It suited ODB but felt too much like 5th grade humor for me.
2/10

Sting arrived out back but didn’t say a word.

Kong was barred from ringside as ODB faced Saeed. The match started outside the ring as both end up flung into the barriers and then ODB into the stairs. So nice to see women fight hard and get taken seriously by the fans (and the bookers). A flash of the word “suicide” during the match. I’m told I missed it during the previous match - it was very hard to catch. ODB gained control over Saeed and easily won the match. They’re really showing her to be one tough woman. She tried to remove Saeed’s hood after the match. They couldn’t just end it when the winner’s arm was raised. ODB pursued Saeed out back and returned with the mask. Kong attacked ODB from behind with a huge clothesline. The fighting continued into the ring. The show went to commercial, returned and Kong was still beating on ODB. Roxxi finally joined the fray but Saeed took her apart before an awesome bomb on Roxxi. Finally security broke the whole thing up. In other words the end of the match kept going and going. The whole thing was drawn out and way too long!
7/10 - For the actual match, tomatoes to the bookers for them not being able to let it end!

The blonde is out back again with the Beautiful People. Kip has to fix the blonde’s hair before he would let her continue. In doing so he played up his character but looked really lame. I don’t know how he plans to get back in the ring and actually wrestle as a heel after following these two around and acting like one of the girls.
0/10 - They’re not worth the time to throw tomatoes!

AJ was interviewed by Borash out back. Borash asked if AJ will be able to focus on his match with Cage after Sting hit the death drop on him last week. AJ said Sting is the one who needs to earn respect in TNA. Yes he has been around in the industry, but AJ has been with TNA from the start. AJ works hard while Sting sits at home earning a paycheck. AJ respects Cage, even though he plans on beating him in the ring in the main event. AJ got very into this promo. His shirt came flying off and he showed some serious emotion about TNA, something that the smaller guys who have worked hard from day one with this company all seem to show.
8/10

Cage head for the ring and AJ joined him. 10:35 and the fifth match finally started. The ‘other company’ gives us that in a one hour ECW show! It actually started out with some good chain wrestling and actual action, something we have seen very little of tonight. AJ jumped up to springboard off the top rope and Cage knocked him off. AJ landed well, but it could have been a mess. They followed it up with some high flying (both of them), a nice contrast to the technical way the match started. They went back and forth through the whole match. Both of them went all out to hit their best moves, but missed a lot as they countered each other beautifully. Cage’s reversal of a superplex followed by a frog splash was impressive. The ref got knocked down and in that time Angle’s look-alike friend, Trigg, attacked AJ with a kendo stick. Some wonderful near falls - the best being from AJ’s inverted DDT on Cage - until Cage pins for the win. By far the best match of the night.
7/10

Jeff Jarrett video. In the video JJ talked about his wife and how much he loved her. It then went into how the guitar keeps showing up every time JJ’s music played. Why even bother showing this? It didn’t add anything to the show.
2/10

Sting headed back to the ring and said he was shocked he was not booed out of the place when he talked about respect last week. This seemed like honest surprise by Sting - and possibly by the writers of last week’s speech of Sting’s. He kissed up to the fans telling them that without them there’s no wrestling, no TNA and no Sting. He got the fans really pumped and behind him before Joe came out to rip him apart. He did the same as last week with AJ and handed Joe his bat and turned his back. Joe said he didn’t need Sting’s bat or his respect. Joe then pulled a baton. Nash joined the guys in the ring. He told Joe to do it without the weapon but as Joe headed for Nash, Sting hit Joe with the bat and a death drop. JJ’s music hit but Sting called it off. Sting told JJ to join them next week. I had to, again, give more of a play by play with the Sting part of the show as I feel it’s quite important. He is so good on the mic. Then you add Joe and Nash into the mix and you have three great speakers in the ring. Though I do think they have drawn the JJ thing out a bit long. Everyone knows he’s going to show up. There’s no question about that, so why doesn’t he just do it?
9/10

I thought this was supposed to be a wrestling show! Tonight looked more like a bad soap opera. Maybe I had not been paying enough attention to prior shows, but I really thought they showed a heck of a lot more wrestling that just five matches in two hours. Of the matches one didn’t have a winner, three had long drawn out endings after the bell rang and the last match had interference. That means not one match of the night had a straight forward ending. The bookers just could not let a match end without adding something extra, even in the match without a winner. I was truly bored through most of the show. While some of the promos were really good - Joe, Nash and AJ - the rest was just bad filler that added very little to the actual show. Sting did a great job of capping off the show and ended it all on a high note, but it was like putting caviar on a hot dog. Sadly, it’s still just a hot dog with fish eggs on top.

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This entry was posted on Friday, September 5th, 2008 at 7:43 am and is filed under Kendra Bunyon, TNA Blog Zone. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

 

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