@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter
On Friday, I wrote a blog
detailing some of the “issues” I felt TNA needs to address to improve the
company. After watching Slammiversary XI, I am still concerned most of those
issues will continue to be problems going forward. Because of these issues, I
have decided to hold off on purchasing tickets for Bound For Glory as I want to
see how TNA proceeds before throwing down a chunk of change for a show that
might possibly be equally parts entertaining wrestling and annoying booking.
With that said here are my thoughts on what went down in Boston.
I mentioned in the blog on
Friday how I have little interest in Aces and Eights because they do nothing
but lose. Instead of having a solid showing at Slammiversary, they turned out
to be the “pu***es in leather” Hulk Hogan referred to them as early in the
show. Garrett Bischoff/Wes Brisco/Mr. Anderson lost a six-man tag match to
Magnus/Samoa Joe and Jeff Hardy. D-Von lost the TV title to Abyss. Bully Ray
retained the World Title only after Bischoff, Doc, D-Von and Brisco ran in and
got beat down by Sting allowing Mr. Anderson to hand Bully a hammer which he
used to hit Sting in the head knocking Sting out for an easy three count.
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| Bully Ray wins with Aces & Eights Photo by Impact Wrestling |
Again I ask, am I really
supposed to care about Aces and Eights? If so, what have they done to make me
interested? I’m not asking for complete dominance. That would be too extreme in
the opposite direction. But is it too much to ask that any member of Aces and
Eights get a victory that means something?
If Aces and Eights really
want to win a match, I recommend they take at least a couple of months off from
wrestling. In Friday’s blog, I talked about how wrestlers disappear for months
at a time. Usually it’s mid-card wrestlers who fans forget all about, then when
they reappear fans are in a stunned silence trying to figure out who is in the
ring. When a popular wrestler disappears and reappears the TNA playbook is to
have the wrestler get the big win.
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| Chris Sabin wins gold Photo by Impact Wrestling |
At Slammiversary, Chris
Sabin won the X-Division title after returning in the past month from being on
the injured list for almost a year. Abyss’s return to TV was capped off by
winning the TV title. James Storm hasn’t been gone but his tag-team partner
last night, Gunner, hadn’t been seen in God knows how long. In their first
title match StormGunners won the Tag Team Titles. I don’t know what long term
plans TNA has in place so I may be being typical internet wrestling fan
nitpicking for the sake of complaining, but none of these title changes seemed
necessary.
Being X-Division champion
allows Chris Sabin to challenge for the World Title at some point over the
summer. I can see why TNA would rather have a Sabin/Bully Ray match instead of
a Kenny King/Bully Ray match but it still feels like Sabin’s victory was done
simply because he returned from a serious injury. Abyss’ win was bad
storytelling. Abyss replaced his brother Joseph Park after Park was attacked
backstage by Aces and Eights. Joseph had been counted out so the match was
over. The D-Von/Abyss match never should have happened. Trying to remember why
James Storm was inserted into tag match since from what I recall he had been
calling out AJ Styles and dealing with Aces and Eights. Putting the tag straps
on a new makeshift team instead of an established makeshift team seems
shortsighted. We’ll see where it goes.
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| Taryn vs. Gail Kim Photo by Impact Wrestling |
Since I’ve been negative so
far let me dish out some praise. The match of the night and surprise of the
night had to be the Gail Kim/Taryn Terrell Last Knockout Standing Match. Anyone
who’s followed Gail Kim’s career knows she can bring it when allowed to
actually showcase her wrestling talent but who knew Taryn was as good as she is
before this match? Either she greatly improved since joining TNA or WWE really
doesn’t know how to utilize Divas. This was a more brutal and entertaining
match than expected and it was given the right amount of time to tell the
story. If you didn’t see
Slammiversary, I highly recommend you track down this match.
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| Soon-to-be-Hall of Famer Kurt Angle with Kevin & Chad Photo by My 1-2-3 Cents |
Kurt Angle was announced as
this year’s TNA Hall of Fame inductee. I am of the belief active wrestlers
shouldn’t be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Last year when Sting was
announced, I questioned the reasoning. After the Hall of Fame ceremony was over
it made sense why TNA inducted him and doing so on the tenth anniversary of the
company was meaningful. I understand the significance of Kurt Angle leaving WWE
for TNA however I don’t t feel this is the right time for his induction. Not
only because Kurt is still wrestling but also in terms of historical importance
I feel Jeff and/or Jerry Jarrett should be inducted before anyone else. Kurt
going in now also looks like another example of TNA putting ex-WWE/WCW guys
over their homegrown talent. AJ Styles, James Storm, Christopher Daniels and
even Abyss have been in TNA longer than Angle. Why is Angle being inducted
before guys who helped found the company?
I briefly touched on the
main event when talking about Aces and Eights. Sting losing means he can never
challenge for the World Title again. I don’t know how much longer Sting will be
wrestling. I do know this stipulation is a good thing as now TNA might push
some new contenders into the World Title scene. If memory serves right, Sting
has challenged for the World Title at either Bound For Glory or Slammiversary
every year since 2006. Time to mix it up. Now I ask TNA to layout a world title
match that doesn’t involve ref bumps and run-ins. I won’t hold my breath.
After reading this you might
be thinking Slammiversary wasn’t a good show. To be honest, Slammiversary was a
perfectly fine wrestling show hindered only by TNA’s standard booking
practices. I am not disappointed I paid for the show. I’m only sad that after
11 years, TNA continues to make the same decisions over and over and over. The
TNA locker room is full of talent. If TNA wants to grow they have to stop being
TNA. I forgot to mention this
earlier so I’m going to briefly throw it in here. Jay Bradley won a spot in the
Bound For Glory series. I’m not saying he should win the series but he should
be in the final four. This is a chance to build a new star. Will TNA seize the
opportunity or will Jay be the Jobber To The Stars in the tournament? Time will
tell.
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