TNA PRIMETIME iMPACT! Talkback (11-23-06)

[Sigma]

Angle to answer Joe, Styles & Daniels vs. Naturals and much more

This Thursday night on “iMPACT!” on SpikeTV, the wrestling world will feel the aftermath of the “Genesis” Pay-Per-View event!

NEW NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION “THE MONSTER” ABYSS TO APPEAR!
On Sunday night at “Genesis”, Abyss became the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion, defeating Sting by disqualification to earn the gold! This Thursday night on “iMPACT!”, the new world champion is scheduled to appear along with his devious manager James Mitchell! Will Sting be there this Thursday night? Will he address his actions during the match that got him disqualified?

THE LAX STRIPPED OF THE TAG TEAM TITLE – TO RELINQUISH CHAMPIONSHIPS ON “iMPACT!”
Also at “Genesis” TNA management director Jim Cornette dropped a bombshell on The Latin American Exchange when he announced he was stripping them of the gold! According to Cornette, the LAX are expected to be in attendance this Thursday night to turn over the championships! The question is, will Konnan, Homicide and Hernandez comply with the orders? Tune in to find out!

KURT ANGLE PROMISES TO ANSWER SAMOA JOE REGARDING A REMATCH
Samoa Joe’s epic win streak came to an end on Sunday night on Pay-Per-View as he was defeated by Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle! What will be the fallout from the bout on “iMPACT!” on Thursday night? Samoa Joe asked Angle for a rematch, but the Olympic gold medalist left the ring without giving “The Samoan Submission Machine” an answer! TNAwrestling.com has learned that Angle will indeed give his nemesis an answer this Thursday night on SpikeTV!

AJ STYLES & CHRISTOPHER DANIELS VS. THE NATURALS
TNAwrestling.com has learned that this Thursday night, AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels will join forces in what will be their final bout as a tag team! On "iMPACT!", Styles and Daniels will battle another former NWA World Tag Team Championship duo in Tne Naturals along with manager Shane Douglas! Will it be a successful end to the tandem of Daniels and Styles, or will we see more tension between the two TNA stars?

THE VOODOO KIN MAFIA – “THE WAR STARTS THIS THURSDAY”
After beating Kazarian, Bentley and Devine at Sunday’s Pay-Per-View, The Voodoo Kin Mafia – BG and Kip James – announced their war against VKM would begin this Thursday night on SpikeTV! What do the Voodoo Kin Mafia have planned? Will they fire the first shot after their recent visit to Stamford, Connecticut? Watch “iMPACT!” this Thursday to find out!

All this and much more this Thursday night on “iMPACT!” on SpikeTV - don't miss the aftermath of "Genesis" as TNA begins the road to the December "Turning Point" Pay-Per-View event!

[VCXZX]

I had no idea the Sinister Minister was a Billy Joel fan. He must have a soft spot for LI.

So the Naturals had no entrance. I'm getting a little tired of BOTH promotions giving many wrestlers the shaft of not having their entrance on TV.

[James Bester]

I have to admit, watching Eric Young wrestle in a turkey suit against Robert Roode was freaking hilarious.

[VCXZX]

Once again, if the Coach was around, Robert Roode wouldn't be treated as a joke.

at Nash singing Kumbaya.

at senshi acting disgusted. Very funny Paparazzi Productiions. Not like DX and now VKM with the lame skits.

What a waste. Only a little more than 5 minutes on a much-hyped 1st match between the Cap'n and Sting. They needed more time.

Ending was weird with Tyson tomko showing up. And no it wasn't several years, Tenay. Only a little more than 1 year. Hopefully we get "Tomko give me a Beat." More disappointment with whatever end to the match there was.

Impact was more watchable tonight. They still have a lot to improve though.

[hobbyfan]

Missed the first minute or two blacking out while watching football on ESPN. Cage dressed as Sting? Not original, but he deserves better than this.

I swear to you, Vince Russo owns a velcro dartboard, and uses it to determine who gets pushed from week to week. After all the work that was done for the Naturals and Robert Roode, they job. The Nats go over Team 3D last week, but lose to AJ Styles & Christopher Daniels in the latter team's last match (for now). I don't like the idea of Styles turning heel, either, if that's the direction they're taking.

Eric Young wrestling in a turkey suit and beating Roode. Silly, funny, but too short. Poor Traci Brooks. She deserves better than being stuck with a JBL wannabe.

Voodoo Kin Mafia in Stamford? This angle is already DOA.

6 months ago, people wanted nothing to do with any of Team Canada. Now, Eric Young & Petey Williams are faces. Whodathunk? Williams & Kurt Angle vs. LAX next week? Should be fun, but of course we'll get LAX v. AMW again at Turning Point. That's a lock.

Sting-Cage could've been the best match on the show, had it been given more time. In fact, none of the matches stood out, because too much time was given to the lame VKM skits. Thanks, Russo, for ruining the show again!

Travis "Don't call me Tyson" Tomko now joins Cage in TNA. What a shock. I can see Tomko-Rhino in the immediate future. Russo doesn't think Travis is a good first name for a heel, so Tomko becomes a 1-name guy. For someone "not under contract to TNA", Cornette sure knew a lot about Tomko, and he should, since he helped mold Tomko in OVW (as Travis Bane). BTW, Tomko debuted in WWE in the spring of '04, and left a good six months or so after Cage did.

I didn't bother commenting on Paparazzi Prods. in my Usenet report, and it's just as well, because unlike most of you, I see it as a waste of space. 'Nuff said.

[Tapout]

I am more than annoyed at Road Dogg and Billy Gunn trying to steal an ounce of credit for the success of D-Generation X. Say what you will about what HHH and HBK are doing now, but the only reason those two even got the spot in DXv2 was because everybody knows that X-Pac could not in any way, shape, or form do what Shawn Michaels did in or out of the ring.

Kevin Nash rules. As long as he stays out of the ring. And why were Styles, Daniels, and Sabin exempt from the "mandatory" X-Division meeting?

[EinBebop]

Maybe we're missing the point of VKM. The James boys declaring war on DX for doing lame comedy skits, climaxing in an attack on "the Target? seems like satire to me.

[The Penguin]

I dunno, maybe I just don’t appreciate Italian opera, but the music on both the Genesis opening and the video at the top of the show just didn’t work for me.

Better to “laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints.” James Mitchell is awesome and was the only real highlight in the chaos that was the opening segment. I like Christian, but this didn’t do it for me.

Not sure what was with having the promo for Raven’s new group basically in the middle of a match, but I did like the feel of the vignette.

You’d think The Naturals could beat a team on their way out “never to team again” but apparently not. Did Rhino ruin A.J. having a moment or what? Not sure why he was there, but I’m even less sure why Styles got made.

So LAX is going to sue Cornette and TNA now? This whole story is so hit and miss it’s almost worrisome. I did find it an interesting move that they managed to keep Petey Williams a proud Canadian whole still respecting America. They kept some of the integrity of the character there.

The mutual respect was almost palatable between Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe. I fail to see who either of them was really threatened by, but since they basically made a non-aggression pact I suspect people will go after them so they prove how much respect they have.

I typically write my comments during commercials as the show goes and I typed this right after Eric Young appeared behind the broadcast booth early in the show…
So Eric Young is now the goofy guy that comes out and doesn’t wrestle and will eventually be called out by a mid-card heel and win through some mistake or freak accident. Sounds great.
…and then around a half hour later it already came true. So Roode yelled at Traci again—this is going nowhere.

Kevin Nash is almost always funny, but I wasn’t quite sure what was supposed to be going on there.

Wow so now Tomko is in TNA?! I can’t say I fully understand that one. If it helps Christian then I am all for it, but I was just surprised and not “OHMYGOD this is so shocking!!!” surprised.

I wasn’t feeling B.G. and Kip for most of the show, but I was pretty entertained when Kip led them to *a* Target and there was something surreal about the two men standing on the hill above WWE Headquarters. This still feels like pathetic copying to me. VKM ( ) is so outraged at DX ‘ruining’ what they built up ( ) and they apparently fight back by copying DX?

[James Bester]

I guess it was an okay iMPACT!. Nowhere near as good as the 2-hour special but still decent.

For the final team-up with Styles and Daniels, that sure was a short match. And why did they have to squash the Naturals? The booking in this match had no logic whatsoever. And the Styles/Rhino feud also makes no sense. Rhino barely even knows Styles and Daniels and goes out to hold their hands up just randomly? If was in Styles' position, I would also find it strange that a guy I barely even know comes out to congratulate me on a random match. I always thought Rhino was the kind of guy who only looked out for himself. Eh, whatever.

And TNA Central? Geez, give me a break. It's a one-hour show. You have plenty of time to advertise your dvds and live events through commercials and your website. There's no reason to take up half a segment with advertisement, especially with Jeremy Borash.

The strange thing about the LAX segment is that it went from terrible to awesome in just three minutes. The Cornette/Williams part was boring as hell, then LAX attacked and brawled with AMW, causing the segment to get slightly better, Angle ran out and took out LAX to make it great, and then Joe came out to confront him and it became awesome. I'm glad Angle is starting to actually gain a character now with his defending of AMW, and I'm extremely glad Joe will get another shot at Turning Point and most likely finally go over Angle. The LAX/Williams and AMW feud, however, is going nowhere. If I was Russo, I would team Young and Williams against LAX and put on a five-star match, but of course Russo will do the opposite and continue this dull feud with AMW.

The Eric Young match was as great as it needed to be. Like I said earlier, watching Young defeat Roode in a turkey suit was hilarious. Much better than the DX-crap we have to endure on RAW, along with the VKM crap we now endure on iMPACT!.

I guess it's nice that Tomko's back, but you'd think TNA(or Russo, sorry) would care more about Cage and Sting's first match. That was way too short.

I won't even get into the VKM segment. It was just as unfunny and immature as the DX crap on RAW.

Right now, the only feuds headed in the right direction are Christian vs. Sting vs. Abyss and Angle vs. Joe. Otherwise, I'm kind of worried for TNA now. Whoever thought up the idea of re-hiring Vince Russo right when TNA was headed toward the top needs to get a big punch in the face.

[Jin Kazama]

I'm not sure how keen I am on Tomko showing up.

Yeah, it'll really help the Christian character. That back-up factor really does help him. But I wish they would have put someone already on the roster in that position. They have limited time on-air as is, so adding more and more to the roster doesn't help. Plus, imagine of they put, like, Bobby Roode into that spot. Fans would actually take to him, I think, since he was never really known for his personality anyway.

I like that they're showing they have history together, but I just don't think Tomko was the right choice.

[VCXZX]

Here's some proof that Kurt Angle is slowly growing more insane by the minute, from Inside Pulse:

Kurt Angle reportedly told Chris Sabin that he was a great worker but looked to dirty and didn't stand out. He later made the suggestion that Sabin start a new gimmick in which he would be like Pig Pen from Peanuts and have food and dirt all over him. The general consensus was that perhaps Angle's contributions to the booking team should be limited.

THat's one of the most hilariously insane things I've ever heard. That makes Vince Russo's ideas look logical by comparison. And that's hard to do.

Here's more on Angle's presence being a detriment to TNA, from pwinsider:

alot of the wrestlers backstage in TNA are upset with Kurt Angle. For those who dont know before Angle left ECW for TNA he was reportedly acting as if he were an agent and telling people which spots they should do ect. Well now apparently he is doing the exact same thing in TNA and many people backstage are taking exception to it namely Jeff Jarrett. One person described the situation as if Angle was walking around in the backstage area both at the Philly show and Genesis PPV as if he owned the place and was giving out finishes, asking people what spots they were planning on doing, and what points they should hit on in promos. Now there are really two sides to the coin on this situation as alot of the younger workers in the company are okay with Angle trying to help them out because obviously hes Kurt Angle, while alot of the veterans who have been wrestling alot longer than Angle or in TNA alot longer than Angle think hes completely out of his mind. It is being reported that Jeff Jarrett doesnt know what to make of Angle's actions and some say is threatened by Angle and many are worried that this situation could come to ahead and the two could have a confrontation or power struggle backstage. Obviously Jarrett is the minority owner of the company and TNA has been his baby since day 1, but the company is still owned by Panda Energy and TNA has never been as popular as it was until Angle jumped to the company. Regardless this is a situation that might develop and come to ahead in later months.

I don't know what to make of this, to be honset. This is the same sort of stuff he pulled when he was with ECW, and that didn't fly then. If TNA was run more compentatally, Angle would be on a tighter leash.

[James Bester]

Great, so now we could potentially have two Jeff Jarretts in TNA. This one of the major problems. Dixie Carter shouldn't be giving so much authority to wrestlers in the company. This is why Jeff Jarrett has held the NWA World Heavyweight Title on way too many occasions and why Angle may do the same.

[VCXZX]

So I'm watching the Impact encore and I'm still baffled as to why the X-Division came out afterwards and witnessed the argument between Rhino and Styles. And then when Styles walked to the back, they all vanished.

TNA really has to improve their editing. It looks like hacks directed and edited this without much knowledge as to how to correctly edit and direct their shows. I mean its taped, but do a better job, OK?

[Tapout]

So I'm watching the Impact encore and I'm still baffled as to why the X-Division came out afterwards and witnessed the argument between Rhino and Styles. And then when Styles walked to the back, they all vanished.

During the match Tenay mentioned that that was Styles & Daniels last match as a team. Why the X-Division had to come out to witness it, or even moreso why Rhino had to congradulate them I'm not sure. But then again, I'm all for anything that leads to a Rhino/Styles match.