Impact Wrestling LIVE 5/31/12

[Mr. JL]

WOOO

TNA World Heavyweight Championship: Lumberjack Match
Bobby Roode vs "The Icon" Sting

[Mr. JL]

Pretty good match so far... Sting with a cross body over the top to the floor

[Mr. JL]

Woops.. Sting wins but apparently this was a non-title match

[el bobbo]

This is going to be the "Hulk Hogan" show. Fuck it.

[Mr. JL]

Hulk Hogan out.. now books Sting vs Bobby Roode FOR the title at TNA Slammiversary PAY PER VIEW

[Mr. JL]

This is going to be the "Hulk Hogan" show. Fuck it.

What has two thumbs and doesn't give a crap?

Hulk Hogan

[Mr. JL]

Trying to vote at the TNA website for the tV title challeger and its not working. GO TNA
Isn't that supposed to be one of the main sticking points to this new production style??

[Damndirty]

Is the one playing Abyss' brother Abyss himself?

[el bobbo]

Is the guy with the glasses Abyss?

[el bobbo]

Is the one playing Abyss' brother Abyss himself?

hahaha.

[Mr. JL]

Is the one playing Abyss' brother Abyss himself?

I think so. I haven't followed TNA recently but sure looks like him.

[Mr. JL]

Austin Aries versus Chris Sabin

Sounds great to me

[el bobbo]

The first two segments were pretty watchable.

I just don't know how biased I am right now because of the whole Big Show push crap though...

[Dukelorange]

I think so. I haven't followed TNA recently but sure looks like him.

All this time I was thinking that was Penn from Penn and Teller...

[Damndirty]

He does look Penn, doesn't he?

[Damndirty]

Aries vs. Sabin... oughta be a pretty good match. Like the dinosaurian hoodie, kinda like something Brodus would wear.

[Mr. JL]

Pretty sweet little match right there

[Mr. JL]

Hulk Hogan and Taz handshaka!!! Tazmaniac Running Wild Again Brotha?

[Mr. JL]

All this time I was thinking that was Penn from Penn and Teller...

I have no idea who that is

[el bobbo]

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/Penn_Jillette_headshot.jpg

[Damndirty]

They're two Las Vegas illusionists who do alot Skeptic programs and shit. Penn's heavyset, has long hair in a ponytail, and wears glasses and a business suit.

[Damndirty]

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/Penn_Jillette_headshot.jpg

Yes, like that!

[erickman]

i wondered who they would get to replace flair

[Mr. JL]

Holy shit... that does look like the guy

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Why don't you just talk about tna in front of a mirror? You'd accomplish almost the same amount of attention.

[Mr. JL]

This Gutcheck thing with Brother Love, Al Snow and Taz is boring me alot

[Mr. JL]

Why don't you just talk about tna in front of a mirror? You'd accomplish almost the same amount of attention.

Cuz then my fiance might seriously reconsider saying yes to me. And my cats might be upset that I'm taking over their bathroom.

[el bobbo]

I'd bang Dixie Carter.

[Mr. JL]

By the way she is walking it looks like someone may have beaten you to it.

[Damndirty]

This Gutcheck thing with Brother Love, Al Snow and Taz is boring me alot

I like it, it makes the show seem less hoaky, gives more of a backstage glance at how new talent is handled.

[Damndirty]

Dixie looks like she could pass for Brooke's mom!

[St. Jimmy]

HEAT.

[erickman]

hall of fame damn

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Girl People < People Power.

[Mr. JL]

Dixie is dislusional if she believes Brooke Hogan is going to do anything.

[Damndirty]

Heard Brooke's a big time slut, so I think she will do anything.

[Mr. JL]

I'm kind of hoping they have RVD face Devon and defeat him for the TV title.

[erickman]

Dixie is dislusional if she believes Brooke Hogan is going to do anything.

it will get us to want karen back

[Mr. JL]

Heard Brooke's a big time slut, so I think she will do anything.

AJ Styles wants a threesome with Dixie and Brooke. It all makes sense now.

[el bobbo]

I was waiting for a "NEPOTISM" chant.

[el bobbo]

CHRISTIAN!!!

[erickman]

I'm kind of hoping they have RVD face Devon and defeat him for the TV title.

i kind of hope rob-e wins the vote, last week rvd and hardy lost out on going for the tna belt this week they lose out on the tv belt.

[Mr. JL]

Pretty funny TNAW hypes up Christian Cage.

[el bobbo]

Both the Dudleyz look in fantastic shape these days. Kind of like reverse aging.

[el bobbo]

Pretty funny TNAW hypes up Christian Cage.

Probably just because they own the footage.

Remember when WWE showed Brock Lesnar beating a bunch of TNA guys in promos a month or 2 ago?+

[erickman]

yep make hardy tv champ see if he can defend it every week.

[St. Jimmy]

WCW Thursday Night!

[el bobbo]

jesus

[St. Jimmy]

this is how you please your fans.

[St. Jimmy]

I know I voted for bullshit run-in ending.

[Mr. JL]

Yeah that was a pretty stupid ending.

[el bobbo]

It's just TV, hopefully they stop doing this stuff at PPVs

[Mr. JL]

I hope they have something better for RVD than looking sad that he was not chosen for the tV title match.

[St. Jimmy]

who said TNA was watchable? i want them tried in the hague.

[Damndirty]

Compared to the same stupid shit WWE's been pulling lately with it's predictability, I agree that TNA is now watchable.

[Mr. JL]

How not to book Rob Van Dam...

-Book as a lumberjack for the opening match
-Have him standing around not getting voted for TV match

[Droford]

hasnt been that bad of a show, as for the Robs interfering in the tv title match, they did that last week too. E wants his titke back obviously

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

TNA has already done enough for me to never watch it again.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Let's go Red Sox! Get that tying run!

[Droford]

bruce vs big johnny

[erickman]

hasnt been that bad of a show, as for the Robs interfering in the tv title match, they did that last week too. E wants his titke back obviously

yep it helps that fued for that mid-card belt

[el bobbo]

it's not trending.

[Droford]

team him with austin Aires ... hollywood assholes

[Immortal Moose]

Dammit I forgot about this gonna start watching now.

[Mr. JL]

I'd mark out if Taz fucking suplexed the fuck out of him and locked in the Tazmission

[Droford]

gonna get choked out

[Droford]

al snow only voted yes to get tazz to rip him lol

[Damndirty]

Well, Joey's out.

[Droford]

i liked him more than the last guy they said yes to

[Damndirty]

I miss Sharkboy, where'd he go to after leaving TNA?

[Droford]

what ever happened to Murphy ?

[Mr. JL]

Who is Murphy?

[el bobbo]

They need to show more Christy.

[Droford]

Who is Murphy?

Gunner and Murphy were tna security/tag team early on

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

She's a pretty shit ring announcer, but she's hot.

[Damndirty]

Daniels looks like Maynard from Tool.

[Nicky Fives]

She's a pretty shit ring announcer, but she's hot.

she doesn't botch as much as Lilian.....and she looks better......

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

They cant even afford handcuffs?

[Mr. JL]

This show started off good but went downhill real fast.

[Damndirty]

Who's finished?

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

David Sahadi?

[Damndirty]

Well, I guess it wasn't as bad as their shows were in the past.

[Mr. JL]

Well, I won't be watching next week. I gave you another chance TNA and you blew it.

[Droford]

show seemed to flow better live i guess...it wasnt bad

[el bobbo]

This was more interesting than Raw.

-The Sting v Roode scenario w Hogan making very little presence felt was good.

-The Bully Ray v Abyss stuff was somewhat comical and makes for a somewhat interesting storyline.

-The TV title can actually be entertaining if they keep big name guys involved in it week in and week out.

-The last segment shows that TNA might actually care about their tag titles and not disregard them to filler matches. Although the Dixie/AJ crap is meh.

-I did my laundry when Brooke Hogan was about to come out in order not to cringe (with all of the Knockout talent they have, why bring Brooke in unless it is complete nepotism).

-The Gut Check segments at first were boring, but the live segment was kind of interesting.

With all the crap that's shoved down our throats on Raw, why not give this stuff a slight sliver of a chance?

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>lol it's so obvious that they were planning a surprise party for Dixie's husband or something like that in that conversation rather than discussing an affair

"Don't let him know you're coming!"

Well no shit.</font>

[Dukelorange]

It's a start... It could have been worse, it was okay.... It's not an alternate to Raw though...

[Mr. JL]

This was more interesting than Raw.

-The Sting v Roode scenario w Hogan making very little presence felt was good.

-The Bully Ray v Abyss stuff was somewhat comical and makes for a somewhat interesting storyline.

-The TV title can actually be entertaining if they keep big name guys involved in it week in and week out.

-The last segment shows that TNA might actually care about their tag titles and not disregard them to filler matches. Although the Dixie/AJ crap is meh.

-I did my laundry when Brooke Hogan was about to come out in order not to cringe (with all of the Knockout talent they have, why bring Brooke in unless it is complete nepotism).

-The Gut Check segments at first were boring, but the live segment was kind of interesting.

With all the crap that's shoved down our throats on Raw, why not give this stuff a slight sliver of a chance?

I thought it started out real good but then dropped off the face of the Earth.

[DLVH84]

Daniels and Kazarian rules.

[Damndirty]

It's a start... It could have been worse, it was okay.... It's not an alternate to Raw though...

Getting closer, not there yet, but it's on its way, especially if they drag this Big Show heel thing out long enough, and also, Orton's suspension.

[Mr. JL]

I don't know how anyone even watches WWE Raw. I cannot sit through an entire episode of Raw. I don't think I have sat through an entire episode of Raw for over 5 years, at least. It's embarassing.

I'll watch bits and pieces. Or if I think I'll enjoy a match or promo I'll download it or catch a replay and skip through to the part I want to see. I just can't sit through an entire episode of Raw, its awful.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Damndirty:

You just want any competition that you'll just jump on anything even if its horrible. It's horrible. It's not getting there unless if "there" is cancellation/bankruptcy.

[el bobbo]

Getting closer, not there yet, but it's on its way, especially if they drag this Big Show heel thing out long enough, and also, Orton's suspension.

I remember saying it was getting closer about 2 years ago.

I honestly hope for the best, but I am keeping a very skeptical stance on the whole thing. I will watch again next week.

The Knockouts division has so much talent that having Brooke Hogan come in to do whatever it is she will is an insult to the entire female roster.

The entire show gave me a couple of angles to believe in. The James Storm promos were pretty damn believable ( a beer drinkin' family guy who wants to come back to regain his honor really resonated with me).

We will see...

[el bobbo]

I don't know how anyone even watches WWE Raw. I cannot sit through an entire episode of Raw. I don't think I have sat through an entire episode of Raw for over 5 years, at least. It's embarassing.

I'll watch bits and pieces. Or if I think I'll enjoy a match or promo I'll download it or catch a replay and skip through to the part I want to see. I just can't sit through an entire episode of Raw, its awful.

If I DVR'd Impact tonight, I could have skipped a ton of shit and whittled it down to an hour.

[Mercenary]

Show wasn't bad, but the camera angles always moving....yikes!

[Droford]

If I DVR'd Impact tonight, I could have skipped a ton of shit and whittled it down to an hour.
like commercials lol

[St. Jimmy]

Aries/Sabin was fine, everything was shitting in a hat and wearing it.

[erickman]

I'd mark out if Taz fucking suplexed the fuck out of him and locked in the Tazmission

is taz able to wrestle, it looked like they were setting up a joey taz fued, if he can i would'nt mind taz wrestling again.

[Mr. JL]

is taz able to wrestle, it looked like they were setting up a joey taz fued, if he can i would'nt mind taz wrestling again.

Taz is too fat to wrestle. He can waddle behind someone and do the Tazmission, but thats about it.

[Rollermacka]

I thought it started out real good but then dropped off the face of the Earth.

I thought it started of really well, I got my bathroom break when Dixie came out, and AJ vs Danels always have great matches (they've been going back and fourth for 10 years and I still thought it was a good Impact main event) The Dixie storyline is stupid, but other than those little bits an overall solid show.

[Mr. Nerfect]

* Why did they put Sting over Roode? Ugh. Yeah, it was non-title; but why the fuck would it be non-title anyway? That sounds pretty stupid to me. At least Roode should go over Sting cleanly at Slammiversary. But that literally seems like a step forward after a step back.

* I was pretty interested in the Ray vs. Joseph Park stuff, but I'm not sure if I enjoyed the route it took this week. I think we should have gotten Park going super-crazy on Ray and revealing that he has a monster side to him, too.

* Advertising Crimson but not having him wrestle was a smart move.

* Austin Aries and Chris Sabin sound like they did the most they could with their time. JR would enjoy that. Apparently Aries was meant to defend the X-Division Title against Samoa Joe at Slammiversary, but they have apparently removed that match from their website due to an incident with Joe at the show. I don't know if it's worked or not, but I hope it is, because Aries vs. Joe would be sweet and there's really no one else to challenge Aries now that he beat Sabin.

* The Gut Check stuff sounds interesting. As I said, I think TNA Gut Check could eventually become its own show when TNA gets their shit together and starts building momentum. Wait, did I say "when TNA gets their shit together?" I say that like it's actually going to happen. I'm fully of the belief that Alex Silva should come out for a match next week, and get absolutely decimated by "Porn 'Stache Whiplash" Joey Ryan, with Ryan out to prove that he deserves a contract far more than Silva.

* TNA having a Hall of Fame is...interesting. "Macho Man" Randy Savage should be the first guy they put in -- I could see it getting them a lot of good will.

* Christopher Daniels is so fucking good as a heel. He plays his current role to perfection. I'm thinking that Daniels & Kaz vs. Styles & Angle should probably be in th in-ring main event at Slammiversary. Try and show people that you care about the Tag Team Championship, even though you literally only have two or three teams at the moment.

* Jeff Hardy winning the TV Title vote doesn't surprise me, and The Robbies getting involved makes perfect sense. Hulk Hogan should have barred outside interference or something, though, since it was utterly predictable. Devon and Robbie E. have literally been feuding since like March or something, though, and it's getting old, even if it does make sense. I'm not entirely happy with the TV Title scene, and I think that we should have gotten Bully Ray vs. Jeff Hardy and someone else challenging and beating Devon for the title this week, but whatever.

* No Garett Bischoff on the show is a good thing. The guy just needs more polish.

[Damndirty]

I remember saying it was getting closer about 2 years ago.

I honestly hope for the best, but I am keeping a very skeptical stance on the whole thing. I will watch again next week.

The Knockouts division has so much talent that having Brooke Hogan come in to do whatever it is she will is an insult to the entire female roster.

The entire show gave me a couple of angles to believe in. The James Storm promos were pretty damn believable ( a beer drinkin' family guy who wants to come back to regain his honor really resonated with me).

We will see...


I hope for the best too, simply because I want the two federations to butt heads like the good ol Monday Night Wars.

Brooke is a pretty confusing factor. It would've been better for her to be a wrestler than a manager, and she could be a bitch heel who threatens that if she doesn't get her way, she can tell her daddy.

I think if they did more promos like his, it would really have a positive effect on the company.

[Wolfpack423]

This was more interesting than Raw.

-The Sting v Roode scenario w Hogan making very little presence felt was good.

-The Bully Ray v Abyss stuff was somewhat comical and makes for a somewhat interesting storyline.

-The TV title can actually be entertaining if they keep big name guys involved in it week in and week out.

-The last segment shows that TNA might actually care about their tag titles and not disregard them to filler matches. Although the Dixie/AJ crap is meh.

-I did my laundry when Brooke Hogan was about to come out in order not to cringe (with all of the Knockout talent they have, why bring Brooke in unless it is complete nepotism).

-The Gut Check segments at first were boring, but the live segment was kind of interesting.

With all the crap that's shoved down our throats on Raw, why not give this stuff a slight sliver of a chance?

Yeah, I have actually liked TNA better this year to be honest. Impact was good this week. RAW was absolutely terrible, except for the stuff with CM Punk, AJ, Daniel Bryan and Kane. There's been some decent to good matches in WWE, but I've just liked what's been going on in TNA better this year.

I actually like the AJ/Dixie thing. I want to see where it goes. Angle/Styles vs. Daniels/Kaz and Sting/Roode should be good at Slammiversary.

[Damndirty]

I think the situation with WWE and TNA is the story of the tortoise and the hare (TNA the tortoise, WWE the hare). WWE is so confident with itself that it never saw that TNA's getting ahead, and when they lose the superstars that are significant to their ratings after using rediculous storylines over and over again, WWE all of a sudden falls way behind, and TNA is on top.

[Mr. Nerfect]

The thing is that the WWE is actually losing ratings. Many think that blame lies on CM Punk and Daniel Bryan being given time to wrestle, but Alberto Del Rio, Santino Marella, Big Show and Brodus Clay also did pretty poorly for them. You can't really gauge how good a person is at drawing in the WWE based on their abilities or how entertaining they are, any more. There's no "finger on the pulse" there. If TNA can take advantage of this, and put on consistent programming and work on getting more and more people to watch without turning away any viewers -- they could theoretically gain ground against the WWE.

Now is as good a time as any for them, anyway.

[Damndirty]

I think it has something also to do with Cena's lack of appearances or wrestling too. I'm not the biggest Cena fan out there, but I'm not blind to his contribution to ratings.
You're right, this is the time TNA needs to not be fucking around, and so far, they have been screwing up much less than normal, and WWE has been screwing up more by sticking to what they overdo the best.

[#1-norm-fan]

WWE is just so established as the go-to brand. The business lives and dies based on how they are doing. I just can't imagine a situation where TNA could legitimately compete. I don't know. WCW had the luxury of coming up with WWE during it's boom periods. If TNA put on perfect shows week in week out, I still think it would take years upon years upon years before there could even be talk of them catching up.

[#1-norm-fan]

I think it has something also to do with Cena's lack of appearances or wrestling too. I'm not the biggest Cena fan out there, but I'm not blind to his contribution to ratings.

I love the fact that Cena isn't there week in week out. It's amazing for his character. Keep him off of TV, bring him out for a dark match so the live crowd gets to see him. Unfortunately, they don't have that next guy who can draw while Cena isn't constantly on TV.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I think it has something also to do with Cena's lack of appearances or wrestling too. I'm not the biggest Cena fan out there, but I'm not blind to his contribution to ratings.
You're right, this is the time TNA needs to not be fucking around, and so far, they have been screwing up much less than normal, and WWE has been screwing up more by sticking to what they overdo the best.

The thing is, while Cena does seem to have a negative impact on ratings when he is not there, ratings and PPV buys were slipping with Cena in the driver's seat, too. The man is not so much of a draw in the sense of a Rock or Austin, in that he's a plug. If he's in there, ratings will stay where they are, but if he goes, then they go right down the drain.

And unfortunately for the WWE, Cena has poured so much of himself into the WWE that you have to really think about how much the guy has left. He's suffered some pretty serious injuries during his career, his personal life has suffered and he's 35 years old. He's been a very special asset to the WWE, but they've tried so hard to make it the "John Cena Show" that when they try anything new there is a complete rebuke.

The more I think about it, the smarter I think the WWE is smart for keeping the WWE Title off Cena. It would be far better business and make far more sense than it does having the current WWE Champion in mid-card feuds, but long-term it benefits the WWE, because people that are watching because of Cena are also getting used to seeing CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and Sheamus in the title picture. What we're seeing is sort of like what we might see if Vince McMahon got to turn back the clock and put the WWE Title on guys other than Hulk Hogan all of the time, and if he could have had Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels holding the WWE Title in an era where Hogan was still the story.

It's a marathon for the WWE at the moment, I believe. They know that the guys they established for this era don't have the time left that they thought they did. Edge retired last year, Orton is showing himself to be unreliable, Cena cannot be "the guy" forever, Mysterio has also been unreliable, Del Rio has said that he only has a few years left, Henry is hurt and talking about retirement, Big Show is getting up there in years, Brock Lesnar isn't likely to be with the WWE in a year's time, Chris Jericho could come and go when he pleases, Christian is also getting older and has racked up injuries, etc.

When you look at it, about the only main eventers you really have are CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and Sheamus. I guess one could make cases for Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger and The Miz, as well. Cody Rhodes is very, very young and will no doubt get there, and there are guys like Dean Ambrose and Bo Rotundo in developmental. But I think the WWE is aware that very soon they'll need to transition into a new era -- if by new era you only mean the guys at the top will need to survive without Cena and Orton and not completely tank the ratings.

[St. Jimmy]

I wouldn't buy the next ppv. Putting Kane in the WWE title match totally shit on that idea.