X Marks the Spot

Austin Aries, new TNA Champ
Photo courtesy: Impact Wrestling

By Drew Robbins
@NGPDrew  on Twitter

TNA is never going to be the WWE.

For most of its history, TNA has been a company operating in ignorance of this fact; they’ve aimed their content at the same audience, tried directly competing with the WWE and its flagship program, and, in a move that is inarguably the most notorious of all, hired a consortium of wrestlers that were either well past their prime or were from an entirely different era altogether.  Last night at Destination X, the company’s latest pay-per-view event that annually aims its glance at the roster’s brightest young superstars, TNA fell victim to none of these expected tropes and instead shifted its focus elsewhere:  inward.

In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve never much cared for TNA; if a company can’t envision itself as anything better than a generic-brand clone of its top competitor, then, in my eyes, why should I picture it any other way?  Last night, though, I couldn’t tear myself away from what was suddenly a unique interpretation of the medium that couldn’t be seen anywhere else. 

Destination X was not aimed at the middle of the demographic, didn’t offer itself up as direct competition to the WWE and its brand of wrestling, and the only superstar in the spotlight that was past their prime was Kurt Angle, a grappler who, even after years of wear and tear suffered in the ring, is still better than most on his worst day.  Destination X was instead aimed at crafting a new image of the company that wasn’t a replica of anything else on the market, and, in that vain, it was a rousing success.

Rubix gets some air
Photo courtesy: Impact Wrestling

The event wasn’t perfect by any means thanks to a few hiccups in storytelling and a few matches that felt like ho-hum filler used only to best utilize the three-hour timeslot, but it was an unquantifiable amount of steps in the right direction for a promotion that has spent much of its life walking backwards.  TNA successfully highlighted a burgeoning focus on the independent scene’s most talented members and did so in a way that was unlike the WWE or any other federation across the globe.

At Destination X, TNA defied expectations and became what it was always meant to be:  TNA, a brand defined not by its competition but by its own vision of how wrestling should be. 

The Curious Case of Austin Aries

Austin Aries, X Division Champ
Courtesy: Impact Wrestling

By Chad Smart
@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter

In early days of TNA, one thing that set them apart from WWE was the X-Division. Carrying on the tradition of WCW’s cruiser weight division, TNA allowed the wrestlers in the X-Division to go out and wow the crowd with their high flying, fast paced matches. There were times when TNA was doing weekly pay per views where X-Division matches would main event shows. Slowly as TNA became a bigger promotion and moved from weekly pay per view to an afternoon slot on Fox Sports and finally a prime time slot on Spike the X-Division took a backseat and would come across as an afterthought.

Currently in TNA, Austin Aries has revitalized the X-Division. Aries won the X-Division title in September 2011 and is the longest reigning X-Division champion in TNA history. Given there have been 53 champions in TNA’s 10-year history, with the belt changing hand on average 4-5 times a year, Aries’ reign is something to brag about. In fact, Aries is only roughly 50 days away from holding the X-Division title for the longest amount of days.

After Slammiversary last week a teaser video for TNA’s next pay per view, Destination X aired. The video focused on Austin Aries and he proclaimed himself to be main event. At first glance, I figured Austin would defend the X-Division title in the main event of the show as TNA has tried to make Destination X a pay per view to highlight the X-Division. It looks like TNA has other plans. To start this past week’s episode of Impact, Aries defended the title against Zema Ion and Chris Saban in an Ultimate X match. It seems even with Vince Russo gone; TNA writers and management don’t understand the purpose of gimmick matches. Had the three competitors been in a heated feud the match could have been necessary but I don’t know the last time Zema Ion was on Impact and I believe this was Chris Saban’s first match back from injury. Sad to note that during the match Saban tore his ACL and will be back on the shelf for some time.

Hogan lays down the lay
Photo courtesy: Impact Wrestling

Aries won the Ultimate X match then started to cut a promo about how good he is and how he’s the main event. I have to admit I only got bits of the promo as I was listening to From the Rafters Radio, which unfortunately airs at the same time as Impact. After Aries talked for a couple of minutes, Hulk Hogan made his way to the ring and congratulated Aries for being the champion. Hogan then offered Aries a match at Destination X against Robert Roode for the TNA World Title. However, there’s a catch. If Aries wants the World title shot, he has to vacate the X-Division title. Aries is supposed to give his answer this week on Impact. Now I know I mentioned a couple blogs ago how Kevin and I try to jump the gun and wait until we know all the facts before commenting on something so I’m going to try my best to look at this strictly from what’s been presented and not guess how it’s going to play out.

So lets breakdown the current situation as it stands. Austin Aries has made the X-Division title mean something. Much like Robert Roode’s current run as World Champion, stability coupled with quality matches establishes the titles as something other than props. If and when Aries loses the X-Division title it should be something memorable. Aries’ defeat could be used to elevate another wrestler into the upper echelon of talent or create a storyline where the loss of the title causes Aries to snap and go on a rampage of destruction until he regains the title. The longest running X-Division title reign shouldn’t end with the champ simply handing over the title.

One of Hulk Hogan’s reasoning for asking Aries to hand over the title was because he couldn’t have one wrestler holding two titles at the same time. Why not? I’m guessing the Hulkster doesn’t pay attention to the Knockouts Division. If he did he would have known Gail Kim held both the Knockout Title and Knockout Tag Titles at the same time just a few months ago. In addition, AJ Styles was both X-Division and Tag Team Champion at the same time in TNA’s early days. In 2007, Kurt Angle held all the titles at the same time after he defeated Samoa Joe to win Joe’s X-Division and Tag Team Title. So there is certainly a precedent for TNA wrestlers to hold more than one title.

Aries, Bully Ray, & Bobby Roode
Photo courtesy: Impact Wrestling

My other hesitation for this proposed match with Robert Roode is if it goes through Aries will become a sort of sacrificial lamb. Right now the big money match for the TNA Title is Robert Roode vs. James Storm. That is the match that should be built up for the next four months in the lead up to Bound For Glory. If Roode holds the title until then, he will have been champion for almost a year. So if Aries gets a title shot, while the match could be exceptional, I don’t feel there’s any chance of Aries winning the title. With no realistic shot of winning, unless TNA hot shot’s the title to Aries then back to Roode in a month or two, stripping Aries of the X-Division title is pointless. Instead Hogan should have gone back to his match with Ultimate Warrior and claim if Aries wins the World Title then Aries would be forced to vacate the X-Division title in the way Warrior vacated the Intercontinental title after winning the World title from Hogan.

I hope TNA has something planned for Impact other than Aries handing over the title or being beaten for the title in an impromptu match. I will reserve my final judgment until I see how the story unfolds. Right now though, based on history I’m anticipating being let down. I guess with low expectations there’s no way to be disappointed.

What do you think? Should Austin Aries vacate the X-Division title or should he keep the title and continue to be the cornerstone of the X-Division? Share your thoughts on Facebook or Twitter.

TNA's New Motto: Those Who Fail To Learn from History End Up Repeating It

By Chad Smart

@ChadSmart on Twitter

Before I get into the meat of this blog, let me say for the record, I am looking forward to the Destination X pay per view and think it could be one of TNA’s best pay per views of the year from a wrestling standpoint. Want to make that clear because what I’m about to write will most likely come off as more TNA bashing.

The Destination X pay per centers around the X-Division. TNA is bringing back the 6-sided ring as well as bringing in past X-division stars and new competitors to fill out the card. 

The semi-main event is a match between Rob Van Dam and Jerry Lynn. RVD and Lynn had a series of matches that set the standard for pre-X Division action back in the original ECW during the late ‘90s. Again, this show should be really entertaining for the in ring content, but I question the reasoning and long-term effect of the show.

Photo from Impact Wrestling

TNA didn’t really explain why the 6-sided ring is being used. AJ Styles simply said they should bring it back for one night only. During the first two years of TNA’s existence there was no 6-sided ring.  All the matches took place in the standard wrestling ring. This means the 6-sided ring isn’t needed for the matches and its only purpose is as a special attraction to gain interest in the show.  That’s not a bad thing necessarily however when the show is over and the regular ring comes back for Impact and the next pay per view, will anything be gained from using the 6-sided ring?

While I’m excited to see some new X-division talent (or at least new to TNA) get the chance to shine on pay per view, are these guys going to stick around after the pay per view or will they follow in the footsteps of Randy Savage, Test, Rikishi, and Chyna? Guys are brought in for one or two shows and then get shown the door once Destination X is over due to the X-division being pushed to the backburner again.

Then you have the RVD vs. Jerry Lynn match. I admit I was a huge ECW mark from 1997-2001. Still think the best show I’ve attended live was ECW’s Heatwave ’98 pay per view. Last year when TNA did the ECW tribute show Hardcore Justice, RVD and Lynn were supposed to wrestle until Lynn suffered an injury while training for the match.  Yes, the series of matches in ECW between Van Dam and Lynn are legendary. Yes, the matches paved the way for many current X-division wrestlers. Does the match need to take place? I guess no match NEEDS to take place, but in my opinion this is another example of TNA trying to live off another company’s glory instead of making their own history.  After Destination X will Jerry Lynn stick around or ride off into the sunset?

Destination X should be worth the cost of the show, which can rarely be said for most pay per views these days. My biggest opposition to the show is it feels like a tribute show some local independent promotion would be putting on instead of the number two promotion in the country. I’ll take back any criticism I’ve laid out if after Destination X, TNA keeps a solid focus on the X-division and keeps the returning and new guys around utilizing them as more than bodies on Explosion.

Check our Facebook page for updates throughout the day. Follow on Twitter for daily commentary. Watch our colorful cast of characters on YouTube. 

Positive Review of Impact Wrestling

Photo from impactwrestling.com

By Chad Smart

No, it’s not April Fool’s Day and I’m not joking. The 6/16/11 episode of Impact Wrestling was actually entertaining and didn’t have me pulling my hair out in frustration. Was it perfect? No, but then every show has room for improvement. Impact was a huge step up from the last time I watched and has me interested in next week’s shows. As a disclaimer though, I caught an online repeat at 11pm that didn’t include commercials. Maybe the lateness of watching the show, or the fact I didn’t have to sit through 4 minute annoying commercial blocks that can cause me to lose interest in any show skewered my perception. Whatever the case, I figured since I’ve spent months criticizing TNA, it’s only fair I also give them praise when I like the show. Onto my review of the show.

From impactwrestling.com

I started watching towards the end of the Mr. Anderson/Gunner promo. Since I didn’t have to sit through an extended promo (which has become stale http://my123cents.blogspot.com/2011/06/wrestling-format-best-if-used-before.html) my annoyance level was kept to a minimum.  The Mr. Anderson character doesn’t do anything for me. I think he’s quickly entered John Cena territory as far as being repetitive and juvenile on the mic. Mr. Anderson being champion doesn’t make me interested in any upcoming title matches either. I haven’t seen enough of Gunner to really have an opinion. From reading the results over the last few weeks it seems someone in TNA is really high on Gunner and is trying to make him a star. I have no problems with TNA using homegrown talent and making them the focus. That’s something I’ve been begging them to do for years. Though Gunner doesn’t really look like a star. He looks like generic indy wrestler template #3. But I’m willing to give TNA the benefit of a doubt and see if they can continue to focus on Gunner or if they get distracted and forget about him after a month.

From impactwrestling.com

The Bound For Glory Series is an interesting concept. Since every match counts (TV and house shows) I’m curious to see if the numbers are correct or if there will be some creative accounting done to ensure a specific wrestler wins the tournament. Most of the top tier guys don’t work house shows while the wrestlers who do house shows don’t wrestle at every show. Will we see some guys kept off of TV for a few weeks to keep their numbers low?  Or am I looking for a fire when there isn’t any smoke?  The bigger question will be if TNA can actually stay focused on this until Bound For Glory. How long did the rankings system last before it magically disappeared?

From impactwrestling.com

While I’m not really a fan of ODB or Miss Jackie, I do like the idea of them coming in and attacking Velvet Sky. Curious to see if they go after other “beautiful” knockouts as well or if they only feud with Velvet before disappearing again. The beat down was one of the most intense I’ve seen from women’s wrestling. It’s stuff like that that will separate TNA from WWE.

I’m a sucker for good comedy, which is why I enjoyed the Eric Young challenging, and beating Jason Hervey segment. It came out of nowhere and was kept short. Still don’t understand why EY goes from wacky character to serious wrestler on a weekly basis, but this week was entertaining. Don’t understand why Matt Morgan wouldn’t want to be TV champion though.

Destination X pay per view could be good if they let the wrestlers go all out and don’t overbook the show. Hopefully this will lead to the X division being more than an afterthought. It was interesting to see Kid Kash back in TNA given his history with the company. Would have liked to seen some interaction between Jimmy Rave and Christy Hemme for continuity’s sake. I’m not a huge Austin Aries fan but I can’t deny he has presence and has a solid fan base. The 3-way match with these guys was a great reminder of how good the X-Division can be when given the chance. Curious to see next’s week match with three new stars to TNA.

Samoa Joe and RVD put on a good match to kick off the Bound for Glory series. It’s a shame these two have been put on the back burner for no apparent reason.

The main event was all right. As I said earlier, Anderson doesn’t interest me and Gunner is still too new for me to get excited about. With Kurt Angle being the number one contender will Gunner hang around long enough to get a title shot he deserves after beating both Anderson and Sting while they were champ?

From impactwrestling.com

The street fight between Jeff Jarrett and Kurt Angle was something different. I don’t think there’s been a televised street fight since Eddie Guerrerro had one in 2002 or 2003. (I don’t remember his opponent and don’t have time to look it up. Sorry) I liked how they had the rest of the guys out there watching. Though I don’t know why they didn’t have Taz and Tenay doing commentary. Wait, did I just say I wanted to hear TNA commentary. Something must be wrong with me. Actually the commentary on the show wasn’t intolerable. Maybe TNA is starting to come around.

Overall, I was entertained by more than I was annoyed by while watching Impact. Hope this is a new direction TNATNA. 

We’re on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Tell your friends.