Things I'd Like to See Addressed in TNA

By Chad Smart

@chadsmart & @my123cents

I had planned on making this a 5-part series, but 1) who really wants to read 5 blogs and 2) I’m lazy so getting one blog is challenging enough these days. As I’ve said over the past year, I really feel TNA is on the right path to being a solid company and worthy competitor to WWE. That being said, there’s still a lot of work to be done before TNA can get lazy and rest on any laurels of success. The following is a list of things I’d like to see addressed before Bound For Glory.

Hernandez & Chavo
Photo courtesy: TNA

The Tag Team Division: For the past few months there have been three tag teams battling over the titles. Chavo/Hernandez, Roode/Aries and Daniels/Kaz have been playing hot potato with the number one contendership and the tag belts. Am I to believe there are no other tag teams in TNA that could at least act as a buffer to prolong another match between the previously named trio of teams? Aces and Eights have two potential teams in their ranks. Why haven’t Bischoff/Brisco or Doc/Knox attempted to bring the tag gold to the clubhouse? Why were Robbie E and Robbie T split up? Why did Joey Ryan and Matt Morgan never do anything as a tag team after putting them together at Bound For Glory 2012?  Sure the tag team title matches have all been good this year but the division is far from ideal.

Wrestlers Disappear for Months at a Time: Speaking of tag teams, at Slammiversary, James Storm got to pick his partner for a Four Way Tag Title Match.  His partner was the returning, Gunner. I don’t remember the last time Gunner was on TV and pretty sure the last time he was on Impact he was a heel teaming with Kid Kash.  So Gunner shows up and the crowd let out a collective, “who’s that?” 

Right before Lockdown, Sting brought back Eric Young to be on his team for the Lethal Lockdown match. EY had appeared sporadically over the past year due to shooting his reality fishing show. I don’t think EY has been seen since Lockdown. There may be a storyline reason for his absence that I don’t recall, but the point is wrestlers being brought in and used once or twice then disappearing is more the norm than the exception in TNA. Look at how guys are brought in for X-Division matches and once they lose are rarely seen again until a spot has to be filled in an X-Division match.

One of my big complaints with WWE and TNA is the same wrestlers are on every show, and usually interacting with the same wrestlers week after week. I wish one company would learn how to effectively rotate the roster so shows feel fresh.

Why is the Knockout Tag Title Still Around? It was bad enough when Eric Young and ODB won the Knockout tag titles but now that they’ve been champions for over a year while Eric is rarely around and ODB has been named the Knockout division referee, can the titles be forgotten? Most fans probably have forgotten they exist anyway. I’m including this here because EY/ODB are still listed as champions on the Impact Wrestling website.

Aces & Eights

Why Should I Care About Aces and Eights? Have Aces and Eights ever won a match they didn’t rig?  I think the nWo B-team won more matches than Aces and Eights have won. Why bring in Doc and Knox and have them be nothing more than punching bags for Sting and Kurt Angle? They’re close to the point where they should swamp out D-Lo Brown with Al Snow and change the name of the group to The Job Squad.

For the love of God, do not have Hogan vs. Bully Ray at Bound for Glory: I may be putting the horse before the cart for this one. However, given the storyline with Hogan wanting revenge for Bully Ray tricking him into giving Bully the title shot at Lockdown and for Bully marrying Brooke Hogan.  Add in Hogan’s recent comments about wrestling again and wanting to be TNA Champion, I’m going to address this possible scenario.

Hogan & Bully Ray
Photo courtesy: TNA

Yes Hulk Hogan gets one of the loudest cheers from live audiences. Why? Hulk Hogan is a legend in the sport of wrestling and had a hall of fame career. If Magic Johnson stepped foot at center court of the Staples Center, he’d most likely get a loud ovation as well. Same thing would happen if Wayne Gretzky, Ozzie Smith and Dan Marino took the field in their respective hometown arenas. Does this mean they should suit up and play another game? No. It means fans are appreciative of the athlete’s careers and are giving them the reaction earned from years of playing.  Hulk Hogan is the biggest name on the TNA roster, of course he’s going to get cheered. In no way though should the Hulkster consider another match, especially a match for the TNA title.

A big reason why wrestling is stagnant at the moment is the lack of new stars being made. Putting the biggest name in the business, who’s been around for over 30-years in a match with a guy who’s been around for nearly 20-years isn’t going to do anything for the long term success of TNA. It will give the appearance that TNA doesn’t know how to build new stars and relies on past stars to sell their shows.

Since TNA has four months to build up to Bound For Glory, hopefully they’ll use that time to take whoever they see has a potential face of the company and build that person up as a credible challenger for the title. Now that I’ve typed that, unless Hogan is entered into the Bound For Glory series, there should be no logical way he challenges for the title at BFG. Stranger things have happened though. TNA could always rehash the ending of Wrestlemania 9.

So there are just five areas I’d like to see addressed by TNA and improved upon before their biggest show of the year. Since Bound For Glory is being held in San Diego, I am planning on making the two-hour trip down Interstate 5 to see the show for the second consecutive year. Last year’s show was a better experience than being at Wrestlemania 28. We’ll see if the same holds true this year.

Do you have any suggestions for TNA? Share them on our Facebook page. Not that TNA will read them. Just curious to hear what other fans think. 

Time to Take a New Look at TNA

By Chad Smart

@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter

Last week on From the Rafter’s radio (past episodes available on iTunes) a question was asked whether TNA would get four straight weeks of a rating of at least 1.5 or higher by the end of 2013. Today on the My123 Cents Facebook page, I asked what does TNA need to do to get more people watching. Based on the answers received, I got the feeling a lot of people haven’t watched Impact much in the past 6-9 months as a lot of the criticisms don’t apply to the current product. Being a fan of TNA and wanting to see them succeed, I felt I should address some of the answers and try to clear up some misconceptions about TNA.

GET RID OF ANYONE FANS ASSOCIATE WITH WWE/WCW/ECW: Two years ago I would have agreed with this assessment. Back in 2007 when I was living with my cousin, after watching the Victory Road pay per view, he thought Vince McMahon owned TNA because of all the ex-WWE guys who were on the show. Today, while there are still several ex-WWE/ECW/WCW guys on the roster, I feel for the most part they are being better utilized.

Of all the ex-guys, Mr. Anderson is the only person I can think of that I would cut due to just not being a fan. I also think Kurt Angle needs to freshen up his act as he’s very repetitive these days. Sting is being used in a way that helps elevate younger talent. Bully Ray has reinvented himself and created a completely different persona separate from Bubba Ray Dudley. Devon has been used to help mentor newer talent. Jeff Hardy is arguably the most popular guy on the roster and seems to be motivated and trying to re-establish his reputation after a couple of down years. Chavo Guerrero is still relatively new to TNA but after the way he was used for the last couple years in WWE, I’m hoping he wants to show what he’s capable of inside the ring. Rob Van Dam, while a step slower than he was in his prime is still popular and can put on good matches.

I do wish TNA would not relay on putting titles on ex-WWE guys as soon as they come into the company. For the most part though, established guys are being used to help establish the next generation. That is something I think a lot of fans overlook. If TNA didn’t use any established stars, a lot of fans wouldn’t see the homegrown talent as being very good because they haven’t been in the ring with anyone of note. I once had a friend ask me why he should care about Jerry Lynn appearing on a local indy show because “Lynn didn’t do anything important when he was in WWE.”  While I think wrestlers should be able to cement their stature based on their work, there is a section of the fan base that doesn’t care how good a match guys have, if they haven’t heard of at least one of the wrestlers in the match, even though they’re on TV the wrestlers are on the same level as the local indy wrestlers who wrestle on the weekend in front of 30 people.

In a perfect world, TNA’s roster could exist of only guys they’ve made but this isn’t a perfect world. So TNA uses ex-WWE who fans know as a way to draw an audience and bring in wrestlers who may have wrestled in WWE but didn’t achieve much success and (hopefully) uses them in a way to make them bigger names.

DITCH HOGAN AND ALL THE GUYS OVER 50. FOCUS ON THE YOUNG GUYS:  I believe Sting is the only other TNA roster member who is over 50. I just looked up Stings age and was surprised to find out he’s 53. Sting is definitely no spring chicken but he’s also not a broken down relic. To repeat myself from the last section, Sting has been used to help elevate newer talent and he’s not embarrassing himself in matches. Hogan if the General Manager but what separates him from a WWE GM is rarely does he get 20 minutes of in-ring talk time. I feel TNA has done a good job of relegating Hogan to backstage segments, which help propel the storytelling aspect of the show. Even though I wasn’t crazy about Hogan taking out three Aces and Eights members at Bound For Glory, the reaction from the crowd showed fans still like seeing him do his act. Hogan isn’t dominating the show and, say it with me, he is being used to help put over new talent. When he says Matt Morgan, Joey Ryan or Austin Aries are the new generation that tells fan to pay attention to these guys.

I also wonder how many of the fans who complain about the use of ex-WWE guys are the same ones clamoring for Steve Austin to come back to fight CM Punk or cheer every time The Rock and Mick Foley show up on WWE TV.

GET RID OF THE DUMB STORYLINES: I don’t think that’s TNA specific. I’m trying to think of all the ongoing storylines in TNA and the only one I would throw into the dumb category is the ODB/Eric Young story. The main reason I think it’s dumb is because once Vince Russo was fired, I was hoping the Knockout division would regain some focus and importance. Instead Eric Young is one half of the Knockout Tag Champions. Other than that, since the Claire Lynch story was ended all the stories in TNA make sense, are logical and put an emphasis on either being champion, wanting to be champion or wanting to be in TNA. Even though I don’t understand why TNA has a camera in the Aces and Eights hideout, the story being told is the A&8s want to be in TNA and will do whatever they need to to get a spot on the roster. 

Compare TNA to what’s going on in WWE. If fans aren’t watching TNA because of dumb storylines yet continue to tune into RAW every week, well maybe it’s not the storylines that are dumb.

THEY NEED TO CHANGE THEIR BOOKING STYLE: Again, anyone who has watched TNA in the last 6-9 months should have seen a change in booking style. Stories have logical advancement and a focus. 90% of what happens on Impact has a reason for happening. Instead of throwing random guys into a match or having the same match week after week, there is purpose and story advancement to the majority of each segment on Impact.

HIRE YOUNGER GUYS. SIGN MORE INDY TALENT: There are several wrestlers on the Independent level I would like to see get a shot at national exposure. However, there are several factors into bringing them into TNA. First off, TNA can’t just sign every talent that’s out there and have them appear on Impact. That roster should remain at a level where everyone can be properly utilized and honestly, that’s one of TNA’s problems. There are several wrestlers already on the roster who don’t get airtime for weeks or month at a time. Bringing in more wrestlers would only add to the problem unless TNA cuts several talents. In which case fans would probably complain TNA cut the wrong people.

Even if TNA is interested in talent, the talent may not be interested in TNA. If talent as heard WWE may be interested in signing them in the future, they will be less likely to take a TNA offer and not being available when WWE calls. If they are top-level indy talent, being able to control when and where they work could be more enticing then having a company dictate where you’re going. Money could also be factor. Someone who works every weekend could potentially make more money working indies and selling merchandise than a TNA position pays. Would it be worth bigger exposure to take a pay cut?

FINAL WORD:  After looking at the reasons fans seem to not like TNA, I think a lot of people need to take another look at TNA. And I don’t mean tune in for ten minutes and as soon as you see someone you don’t like change the channels. I mean actually watch an entire show for a few weeks. Learn the story lines and see the action in the ring. I will make a challenge to anyone. Watch TNA for a month. If after a month, you think WWE is better than TNA, well, I don’t know what I’ll do. Plus, I’m still skeptical that with the Thanksgiving episode of Impact next week that we’ll see AJ Styles in a turkey costume again. Seriously though, today’s TNA is not the same TNA that a lot of fans claim to hate. I honestly believe that if you are a wrestling fan, I said wrestling fan not WWE fan, and you can’t enjoy Impact, then the problem isn’t with TNA.

Bound for Glory: A Fan's Perspective

Jeff Hardy: New TNA Champion
Bound for Glory '12
Photo by My 1-2-3 Cents

By Chad Smart
@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter

After the experiences on Saturday at the Fan Fest and Hall of Fame dinner, I was eagerly anticipating Bound For Glory. I thought the card was a decent line up. Granted I would have preferred to see a Knockout 4-Way with Madison Rayne and Gail Kim added to the match instead of a straight rematch from No Surrender with Tara vs. Miss Tessmacher, That match notwithstanding, there wasn’t any match I saw as a “bathroom break” match. My biggest concern, as I wrote about last week, was whether or not there would be any significant story development with the Aces and Eights angle.

Inside the arena
By My 1-2-3 Cents

I got into the Arena around 4:30. I was somewhat disappointed there was no dark match or anything to hype up the live crowd prior to the show. Around 4:50, Jeremy Borash and Hulk Hogan appeared on the video screen and talked about Aces and Eights. Shortly after that Austin Aries came out to cut a heel-esque promo on the crowd saying he knew his name so he didn’t need the crowd to chant. I don’t know if TNA expected such a vocal supportive crowd for A Double and his promo was done to try and get them to cheer Jeff Hardy or not, but even with Aries heeling the crowd, the majority of the crowd stayed supportive of the TNA World Champion.

I’m not going to do a match-by-match review as there are enough of those floating around the web and since this review is getting posted two days after the fact, I doubt anyone reading doesn’t know what happened. Instead I’m going to offer up my personal Pros and Cons about the show.

CONS

Since I have more positive to say and want to end the blog on a high note, I’ll start with the things I didn’t like.

When I got to my seat, I had fourth row on the floor, three seats from the ramp. As I took my seat this guy came over and stood in front of me. At first I was thinking maybe he was a my123cents fan and I was going to have my first fan interaction. Instead he said his girlfriend was sitting next to me. They had bought their tickets separately and he was in the same row eight seats down. He asked if I would be willing to change seats so he and his girl could be together. I was hesitant to switch due to how good the seat was but decided it wasn’t like he was sitting in the cheap seats. I was only moving about 10 feet. It wouldn’t be that big of a move so I agreed. While the new seat was still a great view there were two issues I had to deal with throughout the show that I wouldn’t have had to deal with in my original seat.

First up was the group of four guys sitting in the third row.  They were the type of fans who got excited over every little move and would stand for the slightest punch or kick and would remain standing for a good 30-45 seconds. That wouldn’t have been so bad except for the fact the guy directly in front of me was about 6’4” and 350 pounds.  Definitely made a better door than window. I hate to nit pick on their standing because I’m all for fans enjoying themselves and having excitable fans makes for good television. However, I also think fans should be aware of their surrounding and realize when no one else is standing, be courteous try to not obscure other’s view.  Plus, they were in the third row. It isn’t like they were getting a better view by standing than they were by sitting.

Samoa Joe wins!
Photo by My 1-2-3 Cents

The second nit pick is the loud female fan behind him. Again, I’m all for cheering and expressing your support or who you want to win the match. I only ask that if you’re going to be yelling throughout the entire match, please have more than one cheer.  This girl would just repeat the name of whomever she was cheering for. Hearing, “lets go Joe” at the beginning of a match is fine. Hearing “lets go Joe” every 15 seconds for 10 minutes straight is torture. Maybe I’m getting old and cranky. Or maybe I’m used to Chikara crowds who are creative with their cheers and taunts.

Speaking of Chikara, one of the events of the night reminded why I enjoy Chikara (and Chikara fans) as much as I do. During the Aces and Eights match, one of the masked wrestlers maybe perhaps was Luke Gallows. Because he has been rumored to be part of the group and the crowd was a “smart” crowd, the fans around me were chanting “Luke Gallows” and “Festus” over and over. Contrast that with Chikara where Archibald Peck has resurfaced under a mask as the Mysterious and Handsome Stranger. When the M&HS comes to the ring the fans don’t chant for Archie, instead they play into the story and chant “we don’t know you,” or “who are you.”  Again, a small thing that means nothing in the grand scheme of things but at the same time helps to sell the story being told in the ring. OK, that’s it for small complaints. Onto the actual things I think could have been done differently.

My biggest complaint of the show is how underused the video screen was used. There were several times when I turned to look at the screen to get a better visual of what was happening in the ring and would be greeted with the Bound For Glory graphic. Only during selects moments when the action spilled out onto the floor did the director feel obligated to put the action up on the screen. Yes it was a small venue and there weren’t any “bad” seats so the crowd didn’t need to watch the action on a giant monitor for 95% of the show. It still would have been nice to have the monitor available to see what the audience at home was seeing.

New tag team champions
Hernandez & Chavo Guerrero
Photo by My 1-2-3 Cents

The outcome of half of the matches were outcomes I mentioned on From the Rafter’s Radio as being the least productive outcomes for future stories.  Rob Van Dam, Chavo/Hernandez, Tara and Jeff Hardy all winning not only cut the legs out from rising TNA stars. With the exception of Hernandez, all are former WWE talents and their wins, to the cynical fan, re-enforces the belief TNA wrestlers are inferior to anyone who’s wrestled in WWE. 

Rob Van Dam is and will be super over with crowd based on his history. Zema Ion is a rising star that hasn’t been featured on a regular basis since winning the X-Division title. This match could have been used to give Ion a major victory and some momentum in the X-Division. Speaking of the X-Division, where’s Kenny King, Sonjay Dutt, Rubix or any other potential rising star?

Chavo Guerrero has only been in TNA for about three months and is now one half of the Tag-Team Champions. Much like when Gail Kim returned to TNA, after a couple years of doing nothing in WWE, and quickly won both the Knockouts and Knockout Tag-Team titles, the impression being sent is if a wrestler jumps ship to TNA they will be rewarded with a championship. I like the team of Chavo and Hernandez, I just don’t see a reason for switching the tag-titles at this point in time.

Tara & Mr. Pectacular
Photo by My 1-2-3 Cents

Tara winning the title from Miss Tessmacher felt like less of a situation built around a title and more about giving Tara a stage to introduce some ex-reality star that most of the crowd didn’t know. I have been impressed by Miss Tessmacher this year and believe she could be a cornerstone for the Knockout division. Not discrediting Tara, as she’s a very talented wrestler in her own right. Simply stating the title change felt overshadowed. A quick note about Jessie (I think that’s his name), Tara’s Hollywood boyfriend, after he came out, I texted a friend and asked if Tara called him her “boo” so when the crowd booed him Mike Tenay and Taz could claim the crowd was actually cheering for him. I was saying boo-urns.

Jeff Hardy winning the World Title made sense from a storyline perspective. The year of redemption paid off for the Charismatic Enigma. I’m guessing no one in TNA expected Austin Aries to have the breakout year he’s had either. Otherwise why put the title on Aries only to quickly move it to Hardy?  

The video screen and the results are really the only negatives I had with the show.

Bonus Miss Tessmacher pic because Kevin's a fan...
Photo by My 1-2-3 Cents

PROS

During the Fan Fest, I spoke with a TNA employee who expressed concern with the crowd since Phoenix wasn’t a major television market for the company. At 5:05pm those concerns were put to rest. This was probably one of the loudest, rowdiest crowds I’ve witnessed live. They really didn’t get quiet for anything. Even the cool down matches had a frenzied crowd cheering almost every move. I’m guessing TNA wishes every crowd was like the Phoenix crowd.

Even though I don’t agree with the outcomes of most of the matches, that didn’t stop me from enjoying the show. As a wrestling fan first and sports entertainment fan second, I was pleased with the action on the show. All the wrestlers went out there and gave 100%. The matches weren’t cookie cutter matches going through the motions working in the wrestler’s signature spots. On the biggest show of the year, everyone delivered.

Joey Ryan gets Head
Photo by My 1-2-3 Cents

The stories being told were logical.  It’s a little thing, but in wrestling logic is seen about as often as Billy Kidman actually getting power bombed. Yes, I just made a reference from 1998. At first I was disappointed in the Joey Ryan/Al Snow match because I felt Joey should have came in and dominated Al proving Joey belonged in TNA. Then I took a step back and looked at the story being told. Joey took a beating, making Al believe Joey wasn’t that good of a wrestler. Then when Al figured he had Joey ripe for the pickings, Joey had Matt Morgan ready to run in and destroy Al. At least I hope that’s the story TNA was telling. I think the pairing of Joey and Matt could be interesting and hope there’s a plan in place for the duo.

Devon revealed!
Photo by My 1-2-3 Cents

My questions about Aces and Eights were answered in a way I didn’t expect. I don’t know if it was because I was expecting Bully Ray to turn on Sting, or because of all the names I’ve heard rumored to be a members of the gang, whatever the reason, the reveal of Devon was a shocking surprise. Not only was it a surprise, it made sense. Here’s one half of the most decorated tag team in wrestling history who has watched his partner become one of the most popular guys on the roster. A guy who was Television Champion when his contract expired and who the company said “don’t let the door hit you on the way out” instead of offering a raise. Why wouldn’t he want to cause havoc and seek revenge? The reveal was a shot of energy into a story I felt was spinning its wheels for the past month. I am curious to watch Impact this week and see what the fallout will be from Devon’s involvement and how TNA handles Aces and Eights being allowed access to the Impact Zone.

Storm vs. Roode
Photo by My 1-2-3 Cents

What can I say about the Bobby Roode/James Storm match that wouldn’t sound like exaggerated hyperbole?  The blow off match to a yearlong feud was just as brutal and intense as one could have hoped for. Two of TNA’s originals went out and bled for the company they helped put on the map. One thing I really liked was how little King Mo was involved in the match. Usually when there’s a special enforcer or referee the person ends up having some effect on the outcome of the match. Other than protecting Earl Hebner from Bobby Roode at one point in the match, King Mo was kept more as a bystander. With Mo coming into wrestle in TNA, the match gave him a front row seat to let him know if he expects to make it big he better be willing to bust his ass.

A Double vs. Jeff Hardy
Super Hurricarana
Photo by My 1-2-3 Cents

Overall, I had a great time at Bound for Glory.  TNA has made some serious improvements over the past 4-5 months. It seems like they have plans for the next 6-12 months. Hopefully they will stick to the plan and continue to build on the entertaining and intriguing product they have going.  In doing so hopefully they forge their own identity. Also, hopefully they will quickly get the Knockout Tag Title off of Eric Young and put them on an actual Knockout Tag Team or get rid of the titles all together. Thanks to everyone at TNA for a great weekend of wrestling and for treating fans like they mean more than just money in your pocket.

Do you like the direction TNA is headed? What would you like to see them do differently? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

Aces & Eights: Is The Dead Man's Hand Already Dead?

Aces & Eights
Photo by TNA

By Chad Smart
@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter

One of the most intriguing stories going on in TNA for the past few months has been the presence of the biker gang, Aces and Eights. Named for the famed “dead man’s hand,” the group has been showing up in the Impact Zone both in person and on the Dixie-tron to issues warnings of attacks. At first there was intrigue as to who was leading the group and how they were able to get into the stage. Now though, I think too much time has passed with little advancement in the story and it’s led to fans losing interest in caring to find out who’s under the bandanas.

Aces and Eights debuted at the beginning of June. In four months, there has been no reveals as to members of the group or who’s leading them into battle. The group has not had any in ring altercations with members of the TNA roster since the No Surrender pay per view on September 9. Instead they have only been seen via video. At Bound For Glory, two members will face Sting and Bully Ray. If Aces and Eights are successful they will be allowed to join the TNA roster.

I have to say while I enjoyed the Aces and Eights storyline at the beginning because while it was reminiscent of the nWo story line, I liked that Aces and Eights weren’t dominating the show and every episode of Impact didn’t end with A&8s standing tall in the ring. After four months of essentially nothing happening, I am ready for this angle to die and something new to come along.

The way the story has played out also has me less than interested in the reveal. I don’t understand how Aces and Eights’ videos keep getting played during Impact. If Dixie Carter, Hulk Hogan and Sting are so interested in who’s behind the group, wouldn’t the logical (I know, that’s a made up word in the wrestling universe) step be to go to the control truck and ask the Director where the feed is coming from and why he keeps putting it on the screen? Or ask the audio guy who mic’ed the people in the hangout? Wouldn’t it also require the hideout to be nearby so the A&8s could get to and from the Impact Zone quickly. Actually, didn’t Hogan and Sting go to the hideout at one point? Why not take the entire TNA roster over there and beat up all the members of the gang to find out the group’s identity? I’m just going to move on to the next paragraph because if I keep trying to make sense of this angle, I’m going to give myself a headache.

As mentioned earlier, at Bound For Glory, two members of Aces and Eights will face Sting and Bully Ray. Maybe it’s because I’ve read too much speculation on what will happen during the match, or maybe it’s because I’ve been following Sting’s career for almost thirty years and know his history with tag team partners. Whatever the case, I fully expect Bully Ray to turn on Sting and be revealed as a member of Aces and Eights. Part of that assumption is how Bully Ray has been the most vocal wrestler claiming other TNA roster wrestlers are part of Aces and Eights. Also, Sting doesn’t choose tag-team partners wisely.

Whatever the outcome, something big involving Aces and Eights has to happen at Bound For Glory. If we go another show without a reveal, it would probably be best to scrap the entire group and bring whoever was supposed to be part of the gang into the company a different way.

I applaud TNA for going with a slow build with Aces and Eights. In today's wrestling environment it wouldn’t have been crazy to think Aces and Eights would have already been unmasked, beaten and sent out of the company by this time. While the patience has been commendable, TNA has been almost too patient. If there had been a reveal or some type of major action fans might still be interested in the group. When the same thing happens week after week, the segments get boring and trite.

I will be in attendance in Phoenix on Sunday. I am expecting a solid show from a wrestling standpoint. I think TNA has turned a corner the last few months and has the best national promotion of the three major companies. However, I will be waiting for the ending of the tag-team match to see if we get advancement or if TNA sticks spinning their wheels for another month.

What do you think of the Aces and Eights story? Share your thoughts on our Facebook or Twitter pages.

Aces & Eights: Does No One in TNA Care?

Aces & Eights attack
Photo from Impact Wrestling

By Chad Smart
@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter

During my sabbatical over the last month something odd has happened. WWE has gotten (imo) very stale and repetitive while TNA has gotten focused, entertaining and, dare I say, good. Watching the July 19 episode of Impact, there was reason for all the matches happening and the matches were given time to tell a story. Also, the booking of the outcomes of the matches made sense and made the Bound for Glory series seem like a big deal. I am at a point where I look forward to the following week’s episode of Impact. That is something I don’t think has ever happened during Impact’s 8-year history.

While I’m enjoying the current TNA product, there was one problem I had with the events that transpired on Impact. No, I’m not talking about the AJ Styles/Claire Lynch storyline. I am giving TNA a pass on that for being the one lame story being told. Until it takes up 30 minutes or more of the show, I’m content with pretending it doesn’t exist. The problem I have is the attacks by this new mystery group, Aces and Eights.

Over the past couple weeks, Aces and Eights attacked Sting and Hulk Hogan. They made their one attack and that was it. On the last episode of Impact, A&8s attacked Kurt Angle at the beginning of the show then rushed the ring during the main event to attack both Austin Aries and Bobby Roode. While I appreciate a good gang beat down, my question is where was the rest of the TNA roster to stop the attack?

Bobby Roode isn’t the most popular person in the TNA locker room so it could be stated the rest of the roster couldn’t care less if Bobby got attacked. Austin Aries is the World Champion and the guy who has helped elevate TNA over the last eight months. Doesn’t he have any X-Division buddies who would want to help him out when seven-eight guys are attacking him? Even forgetting the rest of the roster, where was TNA security?

They strike again
Photo from: Impact Wrestling

The attack and non-response scenario has been happening for the past few years in wrestling and is something that has bothered me. Whenever a guy is getting beat up how come no one ever comes out to help? Is no one watching the show on a monitor in the back? If attacks are going to happen, and last for more than 30 seconds, someone should at least attempt to make a save even if they end up getting laid out themselves.

I’ve read some possible theories about how A&8s are able to enter and leave the Impact Zone and who is behind the group. If these rumors pan out, I will be interested to see how the story plays out. Right now I don’t get an nWo vibe from the group so I won’t complain about that. Though I do get a Swarm/Shard/17 vibe from the group and their possible reasoning for attacking. Maybe someone in TNA is an avid Chikara fan.

Whatever happens, I just hope TNA has a long term plan in place and tries to keep the story simple and logical. That’s really all I ask for in my wrestling storylines. They can also end the AJ Styles/Claire Lynch story at any time in the next week. It’s really not that interesting.

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