Devaluating the Titles: A World Championship Just Can't Catch A Break

I had asked this question in a previous column, but it bears repeating again. Remember when titles actually meant something in Pro Wrestling? It seems like ages ago, and it's just not with WWE. TNA has been guilty of this also, and when the opportunity came for them to do something about it, they completely flushed it down the toilet.

From the start in TNA, they had control over the NWA World Heavyweight and Tag Team Titles. They didn't want the Board Represented Champions to be their Champions on PPV, so they vacated the titles. It's a shame seeing as how they stripped Dan Severn of the belt to give to Ken Shamrock, when fans had been wanting to see them meet since 1998. To my knowledge, Severn never had a chance to appear in TNA at all. What's even more of a shame is the fact that they vacated the World Tag Team Titles, held by the Shane Twins (fans may remember them better as The Gymini.) Why, you ask? They worked for TNA right off the bat, although someone thought it would be hilarious to dress them in bodysuits and masks, call them The Johnsons, and make a bunch of dick jokes.

So they wanted to form their own identity and establish their own stars and own Champions. Well that's fine and all, but the wrong thing to do if you're leeching off the lineage of the NWA World Title. Honestly, who could blame them. They got more out of the deal, than the NWA did. They had complete control over the booking of the belts. They didn't have to worry about booking workers from other NWA Promotions, just the Promoters themselves (Jim Miller, Bill Behrens, Bert Prentice, Rich Arpin, etc.) Their contribution to the NWA was advertising show dates on a ticker during their PPVs, and even that didn't last long.

The NWA didn't make this any better for themselves. The NWA North American Championship was still controlled by the NWA Board, and they wanted the belt back when Champion Quinn Magnum was unable to make defenses because of injury. As a result, Magnum dropped the title to Paul Atlas (I should mention that I was a stablemate of Atlas at the time and did a run-in on the match) who, as talented and deserving as he was, was used as a Transitional Champion to drop the belt to a TNA guy. Bringing him in to job to Jorge Estrada at that year's NWA Anniversary Show was cheaper than Fed-Exing the belt (and that is a shoot.) They showed a 30 second highlight video of the show and made mention of Estrada winning the belt, but was it ever shown or defended on TNA?

Before the deal, NWA Affiliates would bring in the Board's Champions for shows on occasion. After TNA kicked off, who could afford to bring in Jeff Jarrett for an Indy appearance. To my knowledge, there was only one instance of this where Jarrett defended the belt on an NWA Virginia Card. Hell, the World Title Matches wouldn't even take place on the NWA Anniversary Shows. When Raven was the Champ he dropped the belt to Jarrett on a non-NWA card in Ontario. Actually, to this day, it still follows, as the finals of the NWA World Title Tournament took place on an IWA Puerto Rico card.

Back to what this column is really about, post NWA/TNA split. Despite the fact that Kurt Angle won the NWA World Title in Christian Cage's last defense (the night that the NWA announced the split) the title was held up due to a controversial finish. Okay, fine… Who wins the title when they decide a new Champion? Kurt Angle. Okay, then what was the point of vacating the title in the first place? Then comes the match where all titles were on the line and Samoa Joe, already the X Division Champion, wins the Tag Team Titles. Instead of Angle and Joe becoming the Tag Team Champions, Joe holds both belts on his own and doesn't defend them until the next PPV match with Kurt Angle. I cannot begin to describe how big of a problem I have with one man holding a Tag Team Title on his own. WCW was infamous for this, as they did this numerous times. Heck (edit) I would have been happy with Samoa Joe and Judy Bagwell as the Champions. Okay, not really, but still…

Next month Kurt Angle beats Samoa Joe in the match that everyone was sure was made just so Joe could finally win the big one, but instead we have Kurt Angle holding the World, Tag Team, and X Division Titles all on his own. He's then booked to defend them all at (insert PPV Name here.) Did Angle or Joe even defend any of these titles in the last two months leading up to this? I get that they were looking to do something unique by having Angle defend 3 different Championships in 3 different nights, and hopefully draw some interest to the event, but they backed themselves into a corner so far that the only direction they could go is down.

Match one of the night: Kurt Angle and Sting defending the Tag Team Titles against Ron Killings and Pacman Jones. Why was this match made in the first place? I'll save the fact that they had to release 3 guys to pay for Pacman's Salary for another rant, but why when you have a solid Tag Team division with numerous worthy contenders? Why not LAX, Team 3D, MCMG (edit) Triple X, The Steiners, VKM, or Shark Boy & D-Ray 3000? (Okay, my timeline's off a bit on the last one) Now I didn't see the actual PPV itself, and this is going just by reading the report of the show, but Killings wrestled the match himself for the team. Angle turns on Sting, lays him out with the Angle Slam, and Pacman gets tagged in and pins Sting. Great…

First professional match ever, and you go over on two of the biggest names in wrestling history, one of them you get a clean pinfall on without having to break a sweat or take a bump. This may not necessarily end up being the case, but not having to pay dues usually leads to guys getting massive egos. I guess time will tell with that. It's not like Sting gave the rub to Pacman because it didn't help his credibility by being able to beat the legend. He was just in the right place at the right time. If anyone should have gotten the rub from Sting, it's Christopher Daniels. All this match accomplished was getting the titles off of Angle & Sting, which they shouldn't have been on in the first place. It's nice that Killings at least got something out of this, but hopefully we can get the titles on a real team sometime soon.

Match two of the night: Kurt Angle vs Jay Lethal for the X Division Title. Lethal gets the upset here and rolls Angle up when he attempts an Ankle Lock. This is good for Lethal, as it is certainly the biggest win of his career. However, he didn't have the momentum, desire, and emotion going into the match as he did when he was chasing Sabin for the belt. His momentum was gone when he lost the belt to Joe one night after the initial title win. So the only purpose of him losing it was to do the stupid storyline with Angle getting all the belts. Hopefully Lethal can use the win over Angle to project himself even further. I really like the Black Machismo gimmick and I want to see him do well.

Match three of the night: Kurt Angle vs Abyss for the World Title. He's already 0-2 at this point, and having him lose the belt to Abyss here would be the best thing for the Title's credibility. Does it happen? Of course not. Angle makes Abyss tap out. So we're supposed to believe that Kurt Angle is still the best wrestler in TNA because he's the Heavyweight Champion of the World, yet he lost two matches in the same night prior to retaining that title. The announcers put it over as he kept the one that mattered. I don't think so. All it means to me is that Jay Lethal should have been the one challenging for the World Title and not Abyss. It would have been a little more believable and credible if Angle couldn't get the job done against Abyss but was able to retain the X Title over Lethal. I know Angle is their new top dog and they're content on pushing him to the moon, but they just derailed his momentum by jobbing him out prior to the Main Event. Sure, you could argue that this is similar to Bret & Owen Hart at Wrestlemania 10 prior to Bret beating Yokozuna for the World Title, but I'm sure Lethal isn't going to get a World Title shot because he pinned Angle.

While it was a breath of fresh air to see someone other than Triple H with the WWE Title, fans are now tired of John Cena being shoved down their throats. The same can be said about TNA. While it's nice to see someone other than Jeff Jarrett at the top of TNA, the fans are soon going to start resenting Kurt Angle as their Champion. And the sad thing is the victim in all of this, is the TNA World Title. Not a good sign going into a two hour timeslot, now is it? More on This Story...

It’s All About the Wrestling: Building a Better Tomorrow

TNA is in a spot right now I don’t envy. Their World Title is vacant and they are having a King of the Mountain match at June’s Slammiversary. This in itself isn’t a problem; the crowning of a new champion is always exciting for fans. The problem is that TNA is overflowing with main event talent. While the WWE struggles to fill their main events due to a massive rash of recent injuries, TNA could go weeks without having to use the same two guys in a main event. On the surface this seems like a good thing but it actually places TNA in a bind.

TNA has an opportunity here to advance their brand and build it for tomorrow all at the same time. Having Angle, or Sting, or Jarrett, or even Christian win the title places TNA in a holding pattern and they won’t be growing. The time is ripe for a new champion. The time is ripe for Samoa Joe to hoist the belt in the air and carry this fed on his back like he has been groomed to do.

I myself am not a big Joe fan but one cannot deny his immense talent. If TNA wants to advance their brand beyond, they need to do something new. They need to tell the old brood (Angle and crew) that now is the time of Joe. Now is the time of Styles. These guys are TNA wrestling. Let them carry the load. Allow the veterans to work with younger up and comers building for a better tomorrow while also making your mid-card stronger.

Admittedly two of the big guns have already begun doing this. Sting recently had a long feud with Abyss and is now set to feud with Christopher Daniels. Jeff Jarrett recently began working with Robert Roode and “Showtime” Eric Young. These guys showing an ability to step away from the main event only strengthens TNA.

I’m not suggesting that these big guns stay out of the hair of the champion’s hair either, because they need to be showcased as well. Just not all at once. Now is the time TNA, now is the time to move forward, move forward and build a better tomorrow.

I would also like to extend my deepest sympathies to Jeff Jarrett and his children as they cope with the loss of his wife and their mother, Jill.

As always you can e-mail me with your questions, comments and flames at pwp.chris@gmail.com. I’ll catch you next week.

More on This Story...

Scorekeeping: Sacrifice

TNA’s Sacrifice pay-per-view took place this past Sunday and it needed to continue the momentum built up by TNA over the last few weeks of good Impact shows.

Opener: Chris Sabin vs. “Black Machismo” Jay Lethal vs. Sonjay Dutt

If there is something that TNA has done well over the last two pay-per-views it is open the show with a very good match. It was a little odd that despite having two X-Division matches on the card they led off with the championship but the move was one that quickly brought you into the show. All three competitors were flying all over the place with insane high impact moves, surprisingly Chris Sabin retained the X-Division title. B+

Mid-Card: Robert Roode vs. Jeff Jarrett

Staying out of the main event circle and working with up and comer Robert Roode, Jeff Jarrett got his biggest crowd ovation in a long time. It helped that the storyline for the match was actually well fleshed out, something a lot of the matches in Sacrifice benefited from. Both Roode and Jarrett put on a very well wrestled match, with Roode getting the overall win. “Showtime” Eric Young came out to Jarrett’s defense after the match receiving quite the crowd pop as well. C+

Mid-Card: Christopher Daniels vs. Rhino

Christopher Daniels has had a massive transformation from a couple of months ago. He is still the great wrestler he was but much like AJ Styles he has had a personality shift, unlike Styles I don’t think it suits him. His opponent Rhino has feuded extensively with Daniels’ former partner, Styles, so I knew what to expect going into this match. As expected Rhino had the large size advantage but being the lumbering fool he is allowed for Daniels to get the slip on him and win the match via shady means. Much like Rhino’s matches with Styles, Rhino extracted revenge after the match. C

Mid-Card: Basham and Damaja vs. Kip James

Early in the show they showed a clip of the Outlaws (err… VKM) getting attacked by Basham and Damaja and Road Dogg was rushed to the hospital with a head injury making this a handicapped match. Billy held his own against Christy Hemme’s clowns for a good while but eventually succumbed to their greater numbers. Lance Hoyt came out to defend the Bad Ass after the match had been decided. C

Gimmick: Texas Death Match

Last month at the Lockdown pay-per-view James Storm and Chris Harris were involved in one of the worst matches I have seen in my life, the Blindfold Cage match, so I was really apprehensive about these two squaring off again in another gimmick match. Much to my surprise these two put on one of the best Hardcore matches in recent memory. The blood was flowing, there were tables, there were chairs, there were beer bottles. The two were a bloody mess by the end but unlike last month when the chants of boring and “Fire Russo” were flooding the speakers this time only chants of “TNA” and “This is awesome” filled the crowd. Harris got the win after smacking Storm over the head with a bottle but I don’t think it would have mattered who got the win because the match was that good. B+

Mid-Card: Jerry Lynn vs. Tiger Mask vs. Alex Shelly vs. Senshi

This match introduced TNA to Japanese sensation Tiger Mask. I personally think this match, while note being anywhere as good as the X-Division Title match, should have led off the night. Like most matches involving the X-Division this match was filled with crazy moves and lots of highflying action. Tiger Mask had some great moves but looks only slightly less ridiculous than Shark Boy. I hope they aren’t planning on pushing his character too far as it doesn’t really fit well with TNA’s overall persona. Jerry Lynn got the win by rolling up Alex Shelly. C+

Mid-Card: Team 3D vs. LAX vs. Scott Steiner and Tomko

I don’t like three-way tag matches. I particularly don’t like three-way tag matches for championships but I can see why they wanted to do it this way because Team 3D and LAX was getting old. I have said recently I like the teaming of Steiner and Tomko but it seems like that dysfunctional pairing has come to an end as the two could not get along during the match and it turned ugly afterwards. The match itself was OK, it was nothing special but nothing overly good about it either. The best thing about the match actually took place after the match when Steiner and Tomko arguing over their defeat, after Tomko was pinned by Brother Ray, went to blows and Rick Steiner came out to help his brother. I’m hoping Rick is around for a bit as the Steiner Brothers are one of my favorite tag teams of all time. C+

Mid-Card: Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles

Pitting these two against each other is never a bad idea. Problem was I don’t remember anything memorable from this match. It was well wrestled but then again when isn’t a match with these two well wrestled? I honestly just don’t remember anything special about this match. C

Main Event: Christian Cage vs. Kurt Angle vs. Sting

I had some problems with them pitting these three against each other as I felt it was time for a solo championship. After watching the other two titles not change hands during the show I felt that Christian would retain which was what I wanted anyway. All three put on a fantastic match but the ending knocks it down a peg. Sting has Christian pinned, Angle has the ankle lock on Sting and the three count for Sting comes in a moment before Sting taps out (to a new referee). Somehow though Angle gets the title. I’m sure they will address the situation on this weeks Impact but the ending left a bad taste in my mouth. B

Overall TNA put on an entertaining show. Score wise Sacrifice comes in just short of Lockdown with a 2.61, although unlike Lockdown the matches were consistently good but there was less great moments. The biggest difference I saw was the storylines actually playing well into almost every match, which is a big improvement over past TNA shows. More on This Story...

It's All About the Wrestling: Double J, The Macho Man, Showcasing and Sacrifice

One of the great things about being a fan is that we can change our mind when the wind blows. A few weeks ago I wrote an article entitled “Two Words, One Man”, which heralded the dreaded return of Jeff Jarrett. The entire article was about how I despised him. My hatred for him was not born out of his being a heel character because I have never liked Jeff Jarrett. That did not change when he returned from his self-imposed hiatus to become the fifth member of Team Angle at the TNA Lockdown pay-per-view. That did not change when he gift-wrapped a title shot for Sting at the Lockdown pay-per-view. It did not even change when he cut a heart felt in ring promo after Lockdown. No, I hated Jeff Jarrett but something happened and now I can’t help but like the guy.

Sure his storyline for the upcoming Sacrifice pay-per-view is a little weak but it is good to see Jarrett helping to push to promising young guys, Robert Roode and Eric Young, instead of pushing himself. Double J’s tenure with TNA has been pretty much been Jarrett himself pushing the Jeff Jarrett agenda. This new willingness to help make the overall product better is something that can be respected and appreciated. And boy was that guitar shot to Ms. Brooks sweet.

While Jeff Jarrett has a long history in both TNA and wrestling in general, one young TNA star doesn’t have any legacy to pull off of so he has adopted a fantastic gimmick, all the while putting on a tribute to one of the best wrestlers ever. I am speaking about Jay “Black Machismo” Lethal. Lethal is quite the promising young star and has recently been highlighted in TNA’s X-Division because of his new Macho Man impersonation. I’ve heard many people complaining about the gimmick, calling it stupid and the like, but really the gimmick was stupid when the great Randy Savage did it.

My only complaint with Lethal is that he doesn’t pull off the flying elbow drop quite as well as Savage did. The real Macho Man seemed to be able to suspend himself in mid-air as he came in to drop the elbow, an even more impressive feat when you look at his size. Lethal though is much, much smaller, yet he seems to fly twice as fast towards his awaiting prey. Regardless with a little more work, and maybe a valet, Lethal could really take off with this gimmick. It’s nice to see TNA showcasing some of their young talent.

Black Machismo though isn’t the only one TNA should be showcasing, they should be featuring their X-Division more and not in goofy gimmick matches that make little to no sense either. What TNA needs are more matches like the Alex Shelley/Chris Sabin vs. Black Machismo/Sonjay Dutt tag match from the last Impact. From the fantastic teamwork to the insane moves, this match had it all. It had everything wrestling fans truly want, because it was real wrestling. If TNA wants to bring in more fans they need to showcase these types of matches on a more frequent basis.

Recently Brother Ray (of Team 3D or the Dudleys, take your pick) said that TNA seemed to be trying to hard and should maybe take a “less is more” approach. I have to totally agree with him. In the recent months TNA has been trying to fit as many of their stars on Impact, in the short amount of time they are allotted each week. Not enough story and not enough wrestling equals a less appealing overall product. If TNA could give us a tag match like the one from this past Impact, the product as a whole would be better for it

If the overall product is better, the buy rate for their pay-per-views will be better and that is where TNA needs to make up ground. Sure they don’t have the install base that WWE has but because of this they need to up the percentage of people who watch their product and also buy their pay-per-views. The upcoming Sacrifice pay-per-view should be a something good for those that do buy TNA pay-per-views though.

This Sunday (Mother’s Day), TNA will put on the Sacrifice pay-per-view. All three championships will be on the line. Unfortunately all three championship matches will be three way dances so TNA will be flexing their gimmick muscle yet again. The X-Division championship will be up for grabs as Chris Sabin defends his title against both Jay “Black Machismo” Lethal and Sonjay Dutt. The NWA tag titles will be on the line as current champs, Team 3D battle against former champs LAX and the dysfunctional team of Scott Steiner and Tomko. While Christian Cage must defend his world championship against both Kurt Angle and the Icon, Sting. The most interesting match to me though is the mid-card bought between AJ Styles and Samoa Joe. Both these guys exemplify what TNA is striving to be and I expect this match to be the best of the night.

As always you can e-mail me with your questions, comments and flames at pwp.chris@gmail.com. I’ll catch you next week with a score sheet for Sacrifice and another It’s All About the Wrestling. More on This Story...

TNA: Wasted Opportunity

Wasted Opportunity. That is what TNA should have called Impact last night. Now don't get me wrong, I thought Impact was very good last night, one of the best of the year thus far. TNA did a lot of things right last night. Most importantly they got the wrestling right. Yeah, there were three crap finishes but the matches before the finishes were actually really good. The promos didn't run on too long and were funny and entertaining while advancing the story lines but they primarily focused on the wrestling.

But they missed an opportunity to do something which just isn't done much anymore. They missed the chance to have a major title change hands on prime time television. For too long now, both in the WWE and TNA, title changes have been reserved for pay-per view events. Yeah, every once in a while a belt changes hands but it doesn't happen often and when it does the fed plays down the title change. Last night TNA had a great opportunity to do something special and advance the storyline going into the Sacrifice PPV. Yet they screwed the pooch.

Do I think Sting should be holding the number one contender's slot when it is pretty apparent they want him working with the younger guys to help them get over? No. But they made their bed at Lockdown by having him get the win, so why not advance your storyline in a positive manner? I mean they set it up perfectly. Angle and Sting attempt to settle their differences the old fashioned way. Christian and gang interferes, brutalizing Angle. Cornette then books the title match for the main event that very night.

By having Sting win the belt on Impact would turn some heads. But instead they take the well worn path and have Angle interfere allowing Christian to keep the belt. This sets up their triple threat match for Sacrifice, which leaked only a couple of days after Lockdown. But if Sting had won the title the triple threat match could still have been had and I think it would have been much better. Bear with me a moment longer and let's say Sting won the title. Sting offers Angle the title shot based on the events from Impact. Christian complains he should get his rematch. And poof, there is your triple threat match and it comes off of a nice gesture to the fans as well but instead we get more of the same. What a waste.

On a side note, the man who boils my blood, Jeff Jarrett got his largest crowd pop in years when he came out to help Eric Young and the guitar shot on Ms. Brooks was priceless. If they plan on having Double J work with the younger stars, much like their plan for Sting, then I think even I may be able to stomach him. More on This Story...

Two Words, One Man

As I said in my article last week, I like TNA. I really do. I enjoy it much more than anything Vince has put out in the last few years. I enjoy the personalities that TNA has produced, I enjoy the athleticism that TNA delivers, and most importantly I enjoy the actual wrestling that takes place on TNA.

There are a few things I don't like about TNA though and last nights Impact had more than its normal share of them. You see normally I let the things I don't like about TNA slide. I mean really the half-developed story lines I can forgive because they only have one hour of TV a week so it really isn't much of a shock that the story lines are a little half cocked. As long as the wrestling is good who cares.

Don West and Mike Tenay I can forgive for being complete and utter tools because.... OK really I can't forgive them, so I just ignore them instead. The commercial breaks mid-match I can forgive because that's what pays the bills. Last night was a different story though. Last night all these things annoyed me.

Why, Chris? Why did these things annoy you more than anything last night? Oh TNA Prophet, why are you annoyed going into one of the biggest pay-per-view events in the history of TNA Wrestling?

Well since you so very much want to know, I'll tell you. My problem is two words. Two words that form one man. And those words (and that man) is Jeff Jarrett. Double J put me on annoyance level 10.

In possibly the worst kept secret in recent TNA history, even worse than Kurt Angle coming to TNA, Jeff Jarrett returned to the ring last night, interfering in the AJ Styles / Samoa Joe match on the side of Team Angle. Yes, Jeff Jarrett is back and he is the fifth member of Team Angle for the Lethal Lockdown match, joining Angle, Sting, Joe and Rhyno. Not only is Jarrett back, but he very nearly ruined Impact for me last night and has seriously soured my mood going into Lockdown on Sunday. Jarrett's return had everything I don't like in TNA rolled into one.

Over the course of the final 15 minutes of Impact everything I dislike about TNA reared its ugly head and then Jarrett topped it all of like a cherry on a sadistic sundae. Don West and Mike Tenay made numerous inane statements throughout the AJ / Joe match, then in the middle of the match they cut to commercial only to return and show me something, via replay, that I didn't miss because it aired before the commercial break. Then with Joe on the verge of winning, Christian's Army (by the way, how hokey can you get? Why don't they just paint red crosses on their chest. I mean really they already have Sir Galahad.) enters the Impact Zone and of course out comes Team Angle to fend them off.

While a ridiculous melee is going on at ringside, Jarrett's terrible entrance music plays and he walks out of the tunnel, enters the ring, looks at Joe, looks at AJ and then smacks AJ over the head with his guitar. Jarrett then proceeds to make Joe smell his hand, flashing his five fingers directly in Joe's face, solidifying the half cocked Lethal Lockdown storyline as completely moronic. All this happens with the inane commentary of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum screaming like the Korean's have launched a nuclear missile strike.

I was quite excited for Lockdown on Sunday but now, after these events, well not so much. Thanks Double J. Glad you are back. When are you leaving again? More on This Story...

I Like TNA

There, I said it, not that I was holding it in.

Every Thursday night, I park myself in front of the television (sometimes at differing times) to watch my favorite hour and only hour of wrestling programming each week. Go on, ridicule me. Mock mercilessly. I'll take it gladly. Because while Impact may not boast "Total Nonstop Action" (despite its name), this is the best wrestling on TV. You will mock me and say WWE puts on a better show but I shall strike you down like the inglorious bastards you are.

TNA is more Extreme than ECW (a brand that is a disgrace to the original name) and implements better storylines into four hours of monthly programming than the entire WWE does in 20. TNA does all that and puts on a better monthly pay-per-view than WWE does. A McMahon vs. Trump feud? This is what Vince feeds his followers? I'll take a Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle feud any day of the week. I'll even add an extra day to the week, just so I can take it again.

By the way, I'm Chris and I'm one of the new writers here. As you may or may not be able to tell, I am slightly slanted towards TNA. This slant mostly came after a couple years of, outside of Wrestlemania, being away from wrestling all together. News hit me that Sting was about to get a push to win the NWA World Title and I sat down to watch the drama unfold. Yes, I am a big Sting fan and you can hold him directly responsible for my renewed interest in Sports Entertainment. Regardless, I started watching TNA religiously at its ever changing date and time. What caught my eye though was the quality of the matches, and I'm not talking Sting's matches here either (I'm such a mark for him that I would watch him wrestle a ham sandwich and would find it entertaining as long as he put said sandwich in the Scorpion Deathlock). No, instead I was introduced to the likes of AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Chris Sabin and Samoa Joe not to mention a host of other X-Division stars. These guys were doing things that I hadn't seen, well some of it since never.

Not only that but TNA had a host of big names stars in addition to Sting, including Christian Cage, Jeff Jarrett, Scott Steiner, The Dudleys (under the guise of Team 3-D), The New Age Outlaws (in the guise of the James Gang, since changed to the ridiculous Voodoo Kin Mafia) and Raven (once again being grossly under-used). This was like a dream fed for me, some of the best from WCW and the Attitude Era WWE, the only thing that was missing was Chris Jericho and I would cream my pants.

But enough about the roster because this is about wrestling and TNA did it better than anything I had seen coming out of WWE. It seems sometime around the end of the Monday Night War Vince forgot that one of the W's in WWE was for wrestling. TNA doesn't even have a W and I was getting more wrestling and better quality out those matches than what Vince was producing up the coast.

Let's not even start on the PPV quality. On second thought let's. What TNA really excels at is their PPVs. Given three hours uninterrupted to play with, they make a real wrestling fan like me smile. Sometimes it even brings a tear to my eyes. I watched Genesis on November 13, 2006 and while it didn't quite live up to the two previous TNA PPVs I had watched (No Surrender and Bound for Glory), when compared, head to head, with WWE's November 26, 2006 Survivor Series TNA takes the cake. Nothing on the WWE card compared to Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle. I know, I was there in the Wachovia Center struggling to stay awake with the rest of the crowd. I myself am more pumped up for TNA's Lockdown PPV, taking place in a little over a week, than I was for last Sunday's Wrestlemania. The more I think about Wrestlemania, the more I am disappointed.

Sure TNA needs improvement but some of the fun is seeing what sticks and what doesn't with them. I mean really Elevation X was a complete joke but something the WWE would most likely not even attempt. At least TNA took a chance, something the WWE seems unwilling to do. Cena, Undertaker, Lashley? WWE these are your champions? Christian Cage has more charisma than those three do in his left finger and is arguably a better wrestler than all three.

As I said improvement is needed, as well as a two hour show, but overall TNA gives more in it's limited time than either RAW, Smackdown or ECW. Oh and before you go on about how ECW has the same amount of time TNA does, please know your role and shut your mouth. ECW has the same amount of time to prepare for, at best, a couple of PPV matches not an entire card, so it's nowhere near the same.

Anyway those are my two cents. I like TNA and I'll obnoxiously tell you about it. More on This Story...