TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 26th June 2008

After missing last week’s iMPACT I was looking forward to seeing what was happening in TNA this week after hearing good things about their UK tour.

Good Points

Brother Ray getting good promo and mic time

I think TNA are really starting to use Brother Ray well giving him time to get over his heel persona. Although his best performing days are behind him its great to have him around one of the main event scenes to drive and add heat to a storyline.

Good use of Karen Angle

Great to see TNA really using Karen well and developing a feud between her and The Beautiful People as a little side storyline to play off the main Kurt and AJ thing is great thinking.

More guys getting time

It was good to see both The Guru Sonjay Dutt and Matt Morgan getting good TV time. Sonjay has had to hang around for months with not much to do but now that the storyline with him, Jay Lethal and SoCal Val has come to a head he is finally getting his rewards. Good to see Matt Morgan being given promo time hopefully this means they are actually going to commit him in to a proper feud soon.

Bad Points

Again no Samoa Joe in ring action

When Angle is injured TNA really need Samoa Joe to step up with more in ring action. To build him as the main event star they need to have him performing week in and week out and if they are building a PPV on him they need to give him the chance to help attract PPV buys through the weekly shows.

Poor Main event

To have Booker T and Nash headlining an iMPACT is terrible, it’s like we have warped back to WCW in 1999. Don’t get me wrong Booker deserves a push but to put him in there with Nash is the wrong move. WE maybe bad at the moment but I bet they are laughing when they see that as a main event.

Overall

Ruined by the main event and the lack of TNA made guys around the main event scene at the moment. Besides from that very good in places.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 27th June 2008

It was the first Smackdown after the draft and the last Smackdown before the PPV so it had potential to be an explosive Smackdown especially with raw mainstays HHH and Good Ol’ JR making their debuts.

Good Points

An exciting main event picture

The show started well with HHH cutting his first promo in Smackdown only to be cut off by Edge who reminded him whose house it was. Batista was thrown in to the mix and took down Edge to leave both HHH and Batista in the ring but it is the Edge and HHH feud which I am most looking forward to over the next few months. HHH later made the save for Batista after The Family set upon him.

Push for Umaga

Was great to see Umaga in the main event of the show against Batista. After doing diddlysquat on Raw for months this move to Smackdown seems to have already invigorated him as he aligns himself with the heel faction The Family.

Rey Mysterio leaving speech

It’s not often after a draft that a superstar gets the chance to say goodbye to their fans so it was nice to see Rey being given the chance. This was well done and classy by the WWE and I thought it was a fitting end to his Smackdown tenure.

Bad Points

Crazy Booking

After their heated rivalry of years gone to put Edge and Matt Hardy in a throwaway match was a bit stupid and then to have Finlay and Hornswoggle who in the supplemental draft got moved to ECW beat up and coming Smackdown team Hawkins and Ryder made no sense. Add all of this to the under use of MVP Smackdown’s creative team just needs to start thinking sensibly for once.

Kozlov

Another week another boring Kozlov match which does nothing to build him. Are we just going to have him going a year beating no name wrestlers on the slowest push ever.

Overall

Even after the draft Smackdown still has nothing going on in the undercard / midcard as it continues to be a top heavy brand.

WWE Raw Review - 23rd June 2008

Instead of my usual style Raw review this week I am going to talk about the draft movements in detail that took place on Monday night.

From Smackdown to Raw – Rey Mysterio

Not surprised by this one Rey has done anything he possibly can on Smackdown and his highflying style will fit well on Raw. Being on Raw will also give him time to develop his character and persona which has never really been done well on Smackdown.

From Raw to Smackdown – Jeff Hardy

Again not surprised by this one after the drugs violation when Jeff was on a main event push on Raw this could be seen as some sort of punishment. Also Jeff Hardy’s body is worn down so I think Smackdown will be an easier gig for him. The fans love Jeff but has terrible mic skills and no character so I think he will fit in better at Smackdown.

From ECW to Raw – CM Punk

A great move to push CM Punk. However CM Punk struggles in five minute matches so he will never get the chance to show his full potential on Raw. I think he would have been a better fit with Smackdown.

From Smackdown to ECW – Matt Hardy

A great draft for ECW. I think Matt is a great fit for the brand and takes the US title with him. Shame the Hardy Boys reunion on Smackdown only lasted five minutes but for once I think Matt will have the chance to be the star he deserves to be on ECW.

From Smackdown to Raw – Batista

Batista needs freshening up as his character and work has been stale for some time. With Batista wanting to take time off I think this is another way of WWE convincing him not to take time off. Due to his cross promotional work as of late the only feuds out there for him at Raw are Cena and Orton when he returns.

From Raw to Smackdown – Umaga

Again Umaga needs freshening up. After a run in the main event when he first came the last 6 – 12 months have seen him rarely used in a major PPV feud. I think Umaga has the chance again for another main event run at Smackdown.

From ECW to Raw – Kane

Not a biggee, the only interesting thing about this one is that he still the ECW champion.

From Raw to Smackdown – Mr. Kennedy

Again not another biggee just another sign that Mr. Kennedy is going round in circles as he returns to where he came from. Annoyingly this may cut short his programme with Burchill.

From Raw to Smackdown – HHH

This has been rumoured for some time. With Smackdown going on to a new network and WWE wanting to start off strong and with Stephanie expecting their second a lighter schedule for HHH makes sense. Also HHH has been on Raw forever so it’s nice to show that nobody is safe in the draft and this could open up some interesting possibilities for him.

Commentator Draft – Michael Cole and JR change places

This was one of the most shocking drafts of the night JR and the King have be an institution on Monday nights and now its going to be Cole and The King. Michael Cole has called all but two Smackdown’s but again with Smackdown going to a new network and the chance to reunite old friends Foley and JR it makes sense.

Overall

Mainly good and interesting decisions by the WWE creative team. From a creative point of view I don’t think they should do a draft before a PPV as the week before a PPV should be used to build the matches not confuse them with draft moves but I understand from a promotional point of view as the draft is a way of getting viewers to tune in and then buy the PPV.

As far as the title picture is concerned this is what I think will happen. HHH will beat Cena and his title will be the Smackdown belt where as Edge will lose to Batista with that belt becoming the Raw title and start his raw career off with a bang. If not Cena will beat HHH and Edge will beat Batista which is equally as possible.

No Blogs and Reviews this week

Hey guys

Sorry but due to a hectic schedule this week there will be no reviews until raw next Monday. Hope you all have a fun week watching and talking our favourite from of sports entertainment. I will be attending the NOAH European Navigation event in Coventry this weekend so hopefully see some of you there and remember you can read my exclsuive NOAH content and articles in the build up to the event by going to:

www.thesun.co.uk/wrestling

TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 12th June 2008

After a mediocre at best Slammiversary it was time to see if TNA could deliver with a strong iMPACT.

Good Points

Great build for tag team feud

TNA did a great job of building a feud between the team or Roode & Storm and LAX. First Storm and Roode cheated to get the win and the belts then the ref reversed the decision and started the match over. Then LAX picked up the win but it was after that when Roode and Storm got LAX handcuffed to the ring posts and started strapping them mercilessly which has put the real fuel on this fire.

Good develop of the Karen / Kurt storyline

Karen was confirmed as a signed talent to TNA meaning Kurt Angle could no longer hit her. This meant that Kurt was going to get a female wrestler to do his dirty work for him. It wasn’t until the end of the show that with surprise Awesome Kong cam down to knock Karen out. Wonder what’s going to happen next?

Abyss is back on iMPACT

Great to see Abyss back on iMPACT and after beating on Scott Steiner at the PPV I assumed he would stuck in a feud with Scott but Abyss made his presence felt on the main event scene as he cleared house after the AJ vs Angle main event.

Bad Points

Build up for World Cup

There was a big too much time given to the upcoming X-Division tournament with many wrestlers featuring in preview matches for the tournament that the crowd had never seen. This as a viewer took you out of the action for lengthy spots during the two hour show. I know they have to build it but should build more steadily over a longer period.

Dropping the ball with Kaz

After having Kazz win in the best match on iMPACT last week to secure a shot at the champion on iMPACT this week I was disappointed to se this match out first. They should have main evented this match an made it something special so they could push Kaz. With so much going on in TNA right now I think Kaz just got lost in the shuffle.

Overall

A superb show. I love the pace of TNA shows they always have me feverishly scribbling notes in order to keep up. They’ve got some good feuds already set for the next PPV so am looking forward to see how they develop.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 13th June 2008

With some good feuds building on Raw I was wondering how Samckdown this week were going to continue to build Edge vs Batista and what other feuds they were going to develop for Night of Champions.

Good Points

Good build for Edge and Batista

I’m really looking forward to this at Night of Champions as they are building this feud well. This week Vickie got Batista to sign the contract for the match without realising that he signed on a clause which said he had to beat the Great Khali tonight to get his shot at Edge. Seeing Batista continuing to overcome huge obstacles is continuing to build his position and is start making the fans believe he can beat Edge at Night of Champions

Continuation of non wrestling segments

Was good to see a lot of backstage stuff and in ring interviews. Not as much as last week but better than most weeks on Smackdown.

Finally Kozlov gets some mic time

After weeks of wasting time with Kozlov the WWE creative team finally started the ball rolling on his character. As the interviewer tried to interview him backstage he delivered a tirade in his native language which no one could understand. This leaves great scope for them to bring in an interpreter or for other ways they could take his character.

Bad Points

Not enough feuds for Night of Champions

So far the only two matches we have on the Smackdown side for Night of Champions is Edge vs. Batista and Matt Hardy vs Chavo which Chavo announced this week on Smackdown. All the matches at the PPV are going to be title matches so they need to set in stone a tag team title match and the new Divas Champion match.

Too many guys getting time on the show that yod don’t see on PPV’s

Smackdown this week gave TV time and matches to Mark Henry, Tommy Dreamer, Chuck Palumbo, Deuce & Domino and Jesse and Festus. Now when was the last time you saw these guys on PPV or actually do something meaningful on PPV? Smackdown writers need to invest in guys they are actually going to use at PPV.

Overall

Smackdown needs three strong feuds to hold the show together whereas it currently has only one. The entertainment factor has gone up they just now need to more thoughtful and careful with the time they have each week.

TNA Slammiversary 2008 Review

After some very entertaining editions of impact I was looking forward to TNA’s biggest show of the year Slammiversary. I was looking forward to Angle vs. Styles and the King of the Mountain match especially. TNA have invested a lot of time in promoting these two matches but hopefully the rest of the card could provide some good entertainment.

Good Points

The Return of Abyss

After many weeks of Abyss promos being run on impact Abyss finally made his return to the TNA ring by attacking Scott Steiner, Petey Williams and Raka Khan leaving them all laying in the middle of the ring. Abyss was sporting a new outfit and a new attitude. Looks like TNA are just slowly putting him back in the mix with the Steiner feud but hopefully he will make his way back up the ranks shortly.

Two brilliant matches

The two best matches of the night weren’t the two main events. These honours went to Petey Williams vs Kaz and team 3D vs. LAX. As good to see a great tag team match as we rarely get one these days on WWE programming and Petey Williams underlined why he is one of my favourite wrestlers in TNA.

Push for Samoa Joe

Although the match was a shocker it was good to see Samoa Joe’s push continued as he won the honour of being the first champion to step in to a King of the Mountain match as champion and walk out with the belt. It was very obvious that Samoa Joe was going to win but it needed to happen.

Bad Points

Terrible use of Moose

The new muscle for the Beautiful People debuted on Thursday’s edition of impact knocking down everyone in her path and then three days later she is getting beaten up and losing in her match teaming with the Beautiful People against ODB, Gail Kim and Roxy.

Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles

After some of the most heated segments ever on impact in recent weeks this match fell in to the Booker T / Robert Roode trap of have no intensity in the match. TNA are doing well at building intense storylines on impact but it just seems recently that these intense storylines have been ruined by less than intense pay paer view matches. When this happens it undoes all the good work that has been one before it.

King of the Mountain

The match had nothing we hadn’t seen before and did little to keep the viewer hooked. If you are not going to do anything new in the match then you need to have an excellently worked out match in the ring which didn’t happen.

Overall

I’m glad I don’t have to pay for TNA PPV’s. The problem with developing good storylines on impact is that you have to deliver them on PPV”s which they don’t seem able to do.