Bound For Confusion.... Captain Obvious looks at TNA's latest PPV offering

After Bound For Glory, many of the TNA fans were left asking one simple question......"What the hell?"

After weeks and weeks of being promised the arrival of "THEY", fans were hoping for something that would be groundbreaking and change the landscape of wrestling. Could it be a group of new performers or the return of someone old? What was this group going to do that could hopefully spark a new excitement in the company and hopefully propel them more towards the number one spot and help slow this painful downward spiral they have been on since the arrival of the Hogan-Bischoff regime. Instead we were granted the "privilege" of seeing the next installment of a wannabe NWO style group.
TNA has more talent on their roster than any other professional wrestling company in the world. They have a great blend of in-ring workers and guys who can cut promos. They have the best collection of female wrestlers in the world also. Yet, time after time, we as fans are let down with the fake promises of something different and innovative. We don't want the same old recycled storyline of 1996 and the redesigns of groups that are better left to memories of days gone by. We want to see some of the younger stars get a chance to shine on their own accord and not be left to swallow the crumbs of the guys who should have been off screen years ago.
If you want to see what TNA should be all about, then just go back and watch the very first match at BFG. The Motor City Machine Guns and Generation Me showed a glimpse of what tag team wrestling should be all about. They had a solid storyline leading into the show. The did great mic work leading up to it further selling the storyline. Then they went out and put on an amazing match to finalize the angle. They were innovative with their moves and that alone was almost worth the entire PPV price. The rest of the show was solid with old and young performers alike putting on solid matches. Even EV2.0 (the worst stable name since The Oddities) even worked a solid match despite their age limitations.
Then came the main debacle; the triple threat match between Jeff Hardy, Kurt Angle, and Mr. Anderson. Why this match had to be the debut of "They" still baffles me. Hardy and Angle had done back to back great matches and adding in the ever improving Mr. Anderson would have been a great match. But what we got was the mind numbingly slow return of Hollywood Hogan and crew in tow. Then we had Jeff Hardy turn his back on his legions of tween age fans and attacked Angle and Anderson. The only upside to this is with Bischoff and Hogan as the mouthpieces for this group, I won't have to listen to Jeff cut a promo for a while.
The confusion now comes due to the fact that we already have one heel stable with faction that TNA has spent the better part of 6 months building up. Now, are they relegated to mid-card status to make way for "They" (OK, "They" is officially the worst faction name ever). Do guys like AJ Styles and Matt Morgan get pushed back again for The Double Jeffs. Or do we see another rehashed storyline and watch these groups merge into one giant conglomerate reminiscent of the NWO when it had like 400 people in it. And who do we have to stand up to this Wal-Mart heel group. DO we get the return of rafter hiding Sting? Does Mr. Anderson become the savior of TNA? Does EV 2.0 pull out another series of matches when most of them are so broken down they are duct taped and glued together just to make it through a show? Or is now the time to make Samoa Joe the franchise of this company and put him on a one man crusade to vanquish the evil that is "They"? Only time will tell, but for TNA, time may be running out.

"Captain Obvious" Sam Dent

You can find the Captain on facebook at Facebook.com/TheCaptainObvious and be sure to check out his wrestling company New Era Wrestling at wheelhouseradio.activeboard.com

Looking Back: Dragon Gate USA - The First Six PPV's By Shaun Nichols

For sheer match quality I don't think there is any other wrestling company who can compete with DGUSA that does not have the benefit of weekly TV to aid their PPV product. Much like when ROH used to do the PPV the shows are taped and shown on a two month delay, now like ROH they are dipping into the iPPV market also with Go Fight Live on October 29th. Like the ROH internet shows it's priced at $14.99 (approx £10) and I would recommend anyone to order the show especially if you can connect your computer/laptop upto your TV otherwise it is a hard watch. The show stays on the GFL website for quite a while if you can't watch it live.
Now lets have a quick look at the first few shows which took the group from July 2009 upto the Wrestlemania weekend.
Open the Historic Gate - Without TV it is obviously impossible to build up feuds, however what Gabe was able to do was take advantage of the fact that a lot of ROH fans were pretty annoyed that after three consecutive years, ROH did not book Dragon Gate wrestlers for their Wrestlemania double shot. So fans were aware of Shingo, CIMA, Yoshino, Doi and Dragon Kid etc. Every match is at least ***stars and the main event which saw Naruki Doi (who was Dragon Gate's main man last year) defeat the already well known and appreciated Shingo in a ****1/2. To complement the main, the Young Bucks were made into a key players by going over CIMA & Yokusuka in a **** match, Dragon Kid bested Yoshino in a fine example of one the longest running DG feuds and the fine wrestlers from Chikara utilised every move known to man in an attempt to steal the show. In short a great debut. Rating 8.5/10
Open the Untouchable Gate - Or in Friends speak: The one with Brian Danielson. This card is easily labelled as a two match card with Doi solidifying his position beating Danielson in a ****3/4 classic, and Davey Richards also putting in a great performance against Shingo in a match I would give ****1/2. There is also the start of Chikara vs. Kamikaze USA although it would take time to be fully aware of it. Jimmy Jacobs debuting in a quickly forgotten angle where he tries to recruit the Young Bucks. The second chapter of Yoshino vs. Dragon Kid also features. The PPV succeeds because both dream matches exceed all expectations. Rating 9/10
Open the Freedom Gate - This is the title tournament to crown the DGUSA champion, surprisingly absent from the tournament were Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Shingo and Dragon Kid as they were put into a tag match. The four qualifying matches all had different themes which I wasn't really buying. The tag match is the best match of the show and mirrors what was happening in Japan as we begin to see Yoshino get pushed deservedly. The title came down to BXB Hulk and YAMATO who met in the first match of the first show. This time Hulk gets his revenge and becomes the first DGUSA champion. A decent tournament hindered by the fact that four of the biggest stars were not entered in it without a decent explanation. Rating 8/10.
Fearless - The first show that really seemed to concentrate on pacing the show and beginning to push storylines that would run for the next few shows. Shingo makes the move from face to heel on this show after the main event. We see the start of the Brian Kendrick vs Jimmy Jacobs feud which runs until the sixth PPV. Speed Muscle (Doi & Yoshino) confirm that they are the top tag team when they convincingly beat both the Bucks and Shingo/YAMATO. Again its Yoshino who really does come out of this show as the big star. Before this show there had been some major changes in Dragon Gate relating to which wrestler is in each faction which the commentators somewhat try to explain. Hulk makes his first US title defence against Dragon Kid in the main. No blow away matches on this show but the show probably flows better than the first three and as I have said before I don't think the crowd helped especially in the main event. Rating 8/10.
Open the Ultimate Gate - New wrestlers arrive, Jon Moxley makes his in-ring debut for the group as does Paul London in the second stage of Kendrick vs Jacobs. Jimmy Jacobs is now a clear babyface. Paul London is completely wacky which means that he is entertaining but don't expect great wrestling from him. After the match we get Teddy Hart trying to kill himself sadly he fails. Among the highlights are the Warriors (including GAMMA) beating the Bucks (on their way out) & Jack Evans, Hulk picking up a major victory in his career against fellow World-1 member Naruki Doi which wasn't as good as I hoped. Yoshino is still rising like a phoenix when he picks his third straight victory by forcing Shingo to tap in a very good mach. The weakest show so far but certainly not a bad one. Rating 7/10
Mercury Rising - The second DGUSA show of Wrestlemania weekend and our boys bounce back. The main event of Warriors vs World-1 is one of the best matches anyone can see in 2010 and is exactly what you would hope for in a classic DG six man tag. We send the end of the Kendrick-Jacobs feud when one of them loses the pinfall in a loser must leave DGUSA match. The Bucks putting over QuackSaw on their final night. More annoyance from Teddy Hart, Tommy Dreamer wrestling which wasn't as bad you may have thought. Shingo getting his first win in DGUSA and YAMATO defending his Open the Dream Gate title against Yokosuka in a great match that the live fans didn't really react to. DGUSA definitely produced a stronger second WM weekend show and was the best show since OTUG PPV. Rating 8.5/10.
I would also recommend catching the Dragon Gate PPV's from Japan where you can see DG's finest do battle in front of 8000-10000 fans in really entertaining shows that typically run for approx 4 hours. Especially the World Kobe show from July which as one of the most great hair vs hair matches between Shingo vs Hulk.

Still Real To Us Podcast Show #34

On this episode of The Still Real to Us Show: ”The Champ” Jeff Peck and Eric Gargiulo start off this week's show by discussing the recent WWE RATINGS TROUBLES, including the WWE SUMMERSLAM BUYRATE and what is the main reason for these problems in the WWE! We then look into the recent happenings with the CENA/NEXUS angle and if it's something that we are enjoying watching! We then wrap up this week's show by discussing wha ONE THING we would CHANGE in the WWE, TNA and ROH!

Download the Podcast – HERE!

WWE Hell In A Cell 2010 'As It Happened' By N£O

Well, we're off and running and we start with the match that everyone is undecided about Morrison vs Miz vs Bryan.
We start, obviously with the two faces pairing off against the Miz especially as the Miz comes down with a microphone and makes his declaration clear that he is going win back the US title... But in this writer's opinion (and remember this is as it happens so I am speaking and writing this actually as I watch) I think tonight he will cash in his briefcase. I don't think they can stretch the money in the bank angle much longer..... So I think he has to cash tonight and in a way I hope he does so maybe Morrison and Daniel Bryan can carry on with their little feud because I think they pair up quite well and as I watch Brian has got Morrison in a single leg Boston/chicken wing submission. Bring it on!

Bryan does 'cattle mutilation'......brilliant!!!!

Now Bryan picks up the Miz and then they proceeded to kick each other quite hard in the face, it's clear that the animosity between these two is probably quite real. Miz kicks Bryan square in the face but Bryan kicks Miz back even harder, then Miz does it again / then Bryan does it again now then not pulling any punches with those shots......
Morrison comes back into the fray, here it comes - Starship pain starship pain are right on Miz his right thigh and Miz us to roll out another little break Morrison are twisting Mike Kiota the ref is just literally a spectator at this moment.
Now Miz went for a crappy arm bar and now Morrison and the Miz are in the crowd don't know where Daniel Bryan is probably having a rest hopefully ready to finish off and win the match and now Mike Kiota is right there.
They are bathed in red lights and now Miz has got a rear naked choke on Daniel Bryan. Now they're all fighting on the stairs.......

Now they are fighting on the ramp, Morrison is doing his Spiderman thing, wow it's pretty impressive but I'm bit annoyed that we have to keep being reminded that his impressive training is hardcore???
Here he goes what is Morrison going to do?
Oh he's going to come completely commit suicide and Miz takes the brunt of it. Obviously Mike Kiota has relayed to the booking team that they need a break because they show the replay three times now Morrison has got The Miz and is crawling, scraping, trying to get away but here comes the Texas Cloverleaf but is turned over. If you notice The Miz is tapping but uh oh here comes Riley and throws Morrison and then Bryan stunts Riley into the cameraman now only one of two things is going to happen........ either Bryan retains or Bryan retains and there we go. We can't call it the Crossface......... It's called the Labelle lock (?) and Miz is squirming, squirming, tap you bastard tap tap tap then now he tapped, Bryan retains Neo was right all along....:P

Let us talk about Randy Orton, and Sheamus.
In this writer's opinion, it could only have ended in the Viper retaining the title. If the WWE wants to keep the prestigious WWE championship as a prestigious WWE championship, then it would have been silly to give it back to Sheamus after Orton only holding it for just over two weeks. It was a good match. I am typing this while watching the Edge, Swagger, Del Rio angle, so I have actually already have watched the match so I won't even insult your intelligence and pretend that I am typing or speaking into my speech recognition that I'm watching it at this moment.
Needless to say, Orton retains, in a typical Hell In The Cell match which did go back and forth but was the result ever in doubt?
No, No, no.
After the Edge, Swagger and del Rio nonsense Edge beats Swagger, which does nothing to promote either superstar, Edge is on a side angle with the GM laptop, and I don't even know what they are doing with Swagger, I don't think even they know.......

Cena vs Barrett.

What a match! I actually genuinely enjoyed this match, I think the stipulation that Nexus was not allowed to interrupt this match helped the flow perfectly, because I think if they had got involved in a physical way, it would have been a farce. Barrett is clearly able to ride with the best of them and Cena has improved greatly, and added some good basic moves to his repertoire which I think he needed to do to be taken seriously, which the WWE universe seems to be doing right now. If you are lucky enough to have SKY+, try pausing or slowing down the patented Cena leg drop that he does to Barrett, not only does Cena reach nearly 15 to 20 foot in the air but the leg drop hits Barrett square on the shoulders, and Barrett's head smashes into the canvas!! Good stuff Johnny boy!
Not so sure that I am that surprised that Cena lost, I think the reluctant Cena / Nexus angle will run for quite some time possibly all the way to Bragging Rights and beyond, and I think they have also opened up some good angles with the two fans that did the run in, that led to Cena's loss. Not quite sure who the first 'fan' was but I believe the second one was Husky Harris......

Don't wanna talk about the women's match if ya don't mind!!!!!! Again, complete waste of air time.

Now I am watching my favourite wrestler of all time, The Undertaker (Mark Calloway) versus Kane (Glen Jacobs) for the World Heavyweight strap!
The inclusion of Paul Bearer, in the last few broadcasts, has really made this a trip back in time, and if you read my other post on the Wrestling'slasthope blog you will know that I think this is the swansong for the Brothers of Destruction as 'Taker is probably coming to the very end of his career, although if Flair's TNA persona is anything to go by 'Taker may be around for another 20 years!!!!!!!
I am really looking forward to this one even though it will probably be just a slobber knocker, it'll be cool anyway........

* * * * *

IT NEVER ceases to amaze me as I watch the 'Taker / Kane match, how wrong someone who has been watching the undertaker the nearly 30 years, sorry no that's an exaggeration, I've been watching wrestling for 30 years, I've been watching 'Taker since the Hogan angle in the 90's, but it never ceases to amaze me that I can be so wrong. I just naturally assumed 'Taker would win in the cell and did not see the swerve turn that makes perfect sense now of Paul Bearer turning on the Undertaker and becoming presumably, Kane's new manager.
Not quite sure about when the lights went out and he shone the light from the urn that was a bit crap, but as cartoon wrestling goes it doesn't get much better than that. Even though I can see through all the Marvel comic style action, my four-year-old will absolutely love it. Bring on Bragging Rights and looking forward to RAW tonight, to see if Cena will be wearing the yellow N........?

N£O out x 04/10/2010 for wrestlingslasthope.com

John Cena To Turn Heel?

There is a lot of talk of WWE turning Cena heel leading up to Wrestle Mania next year the cons of the turn would of course be the hit to his merchandise sales as it's no secret, Cena has been booed by the male teen/adult fans for ages now but with WWE going the PG route I think it shows they don't really care for the small minority of 'smarks' that boo Cena. As for the pro's, I really can't think of any. I think they should stick with what has brought them to to the dance because I don't think a heel turn would be like Hulk Hogan's was back in 96 despite the majority of us 'smarks' wanting a return to the attitude type era of wrestling we saw in the late 90's. WWE should stick with Cena has their marquee babyface because unlike WCW back in 96 when Hogan turned they don't have a Sting or Randy Savage to lead the charge, some may think Randy Orton is being well-recieved as a babyface but he is not Cena-esque in that role and though I'd rather watch an Orton match over a Cena one any day of the week.

Please leave comments on this subject, I'll be interesting to read the views of other fans.

By Stuart Rodgers

Hart Dynasty - A Missed Opportunity?? By Shaun Nichols

Over the last few weeks, the Harts have become less and less relevant characters on WWE television. Their 2 on 1 cage match against Jericho was designed to purely give the company a way to get Jericho back into the main event. As the PPV in question was 'Night of Champions' you may wonder why the tag team champions not only had not been announced on the card but were used as jobbers with a man advantage against a man who was leaving a couple of weeks later.
The efforts to redeem the tag titles last year by using Jericho, Big Show, DX and the Miz was a worthy one, however time as proven that the tag team titles were only becoming important because they were being held by wrestlers who the fans saw as geniuine WWE stars. As soon as the talent moved on to new feuds, the tag titles became pointless. Held by wrestlers that the fans didn't care about, worse still the champions were faced by challengers that the fans also didn't care about.
When the Hart Dynasty made the debuts on Smackdown they were immediately hindered by the fact that they blatantly lacked charisma. With Natalya acting at valet/manager things could have been worse but not majorly so. Bret Hart's return last January gave them a bit of a rub with the fans warming to them and without anybody hardly noticing they turned babyface.
A cameo in the diabolically bad Bret vs Vince match at Wrestlemania at least got them a PPV appearance but not a lot more. However opportunity was about to knock, the WWE made to call to take the titles off ShowMiz and give the belts to the Harts. This was done in an angle where Teddy Long forced the champs to face four challengers in a gauntlet match when Miz wouldn't shut up. The final challengers were the Harts who quickly pinned the tired champions in a title switch which did the new champions absolutely no favours.
The Hart Dynasty would have benefitted from having a long feud with opponents who could have helped them to get over with the fans. Outside of the odd appearance on Raw by Bret the fans were still fairly cool about the tag team champions. On Raw they teased Jericho & Miz challenging for the titles so could win the belts and go to Smackdown to get their revenge on the Big Show who had knocked both men out in previous angles. That feud would have been a major step forward for the Harts who would have got plenty of TV time and PPV time where they would have been able to use their wrestling ability to get over more strongly with the fans. Sadly Chris Jericho moved away from the picture immediately and Miz lost the US title to Bret in a silly and pointless angle and then spent several weeks battling with R-Truth over the title when Bret immediately vacated it. The Hart Dynasty were left as the men standing in the cold.
The Uso's were brought in to challenge the Harts however this failed as nobody had the ability to connect with the fans. Neither team were able to conduct strong interviews, what we had with a string of sneak attacks which saw thousands in attendance checking out the merchandise stand. Within weeks the Uso's were but on the back burner but the WWE had largely forgotten about new challengers for the tag team champions and the Harts rarely got to appear on PPV events.
The booking of the Harts at the NOC PPV was a clear sign that the WWE have given up on them in their current format. I do not see any point in David Hart Smith turning on Tyson Kidd, as the heel Davey would need to be strong on interview which is something that like his dad he is horrendous at. The WWE seem keen to keep Natalya as a face as she is the current contender for LayCool's Women's Title. Maybe they could hook Davey with a manager who could talk for him as there is nothing wrong with his in-ring ability. Maybe he could convince Vicky to leave Dolph for him.
The Harts would have fared far better if they have been given a programme with Jericho & Miz especially if they had been booked as the eventual winners and they had wrestled a couple of times on PPV in 15 minute plus matches. The only other option that the WWE could have opted for would have been to turn the Harts against Bret, an attack on 'Uncle Bret' followed by a passionate promo stating that they are better than any of the earlier Hart wrestlers. That they resented Bret interfering on their time in the WWE, that they agreed with Vince over Montreal etc would have got the Hart Dynasty over as dastardly heels and with the tag titles they would have stood a decent chance to get the fans to react to them. In the end the WWE did neither and as a result the tag team titles lost all importance when ShowMiz dropped them and the Hart Dynasty have also failed to make the impact that a lot of people would have liked to have seen.

The Still Real To Us Podcast (30/9/10)

On this episode of The Still Real to Us Show: ”The Champ” Jeff Peck is joined by Captain Obvious! The guys start off this weeks show addressing the latest CENA heel turn rumors and if it could happen this SUNDAY! Then we discuss THE MIZ and if he is living up to his "IT FACTOR" potential! We then sit in front of our FANTASY BOOKING PLAYBOOKS and try to fix the WWE by discussing what they need to do to improve the TAG TEAM DIVISION before we finish this week's show with our predictions for the WWE HELL IN A CELL PPV!

Download the Podcast – HERE!