Interinactivity: July 7th, 2011 – Impact Wrestling, Destination-X, WWE, ROH, Eric Bischoff & Gunner
by Blair A. Douglas on July 7, 2011

Welcome to “Interinactivity”.

As many of you may be aware, last week I completely lost my shit when watching another Emmy-winning episode of TNA Impact Wrestling. That was the last episode I plan on watching for a long, long time. Here’s my official position on the reason:

I understand that there is a TNA PPV coming up which is probably going to be very good, AND it will feature the guys that should be main-eventing every TNA PPV. The problem is, that this will change absolutely nothing in terms of where the company is headed. Let’s take a look at the focal points of this PPV.

AJ Styles is main-eventing this PPV. AJ Styles has recently lost matches to Bully Ray, Matt Hardy (who couldn’t even show up to events on time for 4 months) and last week, he lost to Gunner in one terrible move. Christopher Daniels is also main-eventing this PPV. He recently returned to TNA, only to be jobbed out to everyone and their dogs, also including Gunner. Samoa Joe is going to be in a prominent position for this PPV. Samoa Joe has been losing matches for 2 months straight, many of them BFG matches to guys like D-Von who are NEVER getting near the title picture of that tournament… and he lost to Crimson, who nobody cares about. Kaz will be facing Joe, but Kaz has been losing to Abyss, even when he has Kendrick on his side, it doesn’t help, Abyss just flattens them both while reading his book. Rob Van Dam will be wrestling at the PPV, after losing multiple matches to Sting and Ken Anderson. Jerry Lynn is returning to TNA for this match, and the only reason he doesn’t have a string of losses to report over the last few months is that he hasn’t been in TNA. Generation ME will be on this PPV. Generation ME’s last Impact Wrestling appearance featured both of them getting beaten single-handedly by Matt Hardy, and subsequently pinned by Eric Bischoff, who is not a wrestler. Alex Shelley will be in this PPV, and Alex Shelley has barely been on Impact in the last couple months, mostly because his partner, Chris Sabin, who would have been on the PPV as well if he hadn’t been crippled by yet another guy who can’t wrestle, and Shelley were jobbed out to Mexican America, who also have yet to win any feud ever. Amazing Red loses to everyone. Kendrick loses to everyone. Sangriento is not a real person. Suicide is also not a real person. Williams was getting over okay, until they tossed him back into yet another racial stable. Shannon Moore is a waste.

And these are JUST examples over the last couple months, in the interest of saving space. Everyone knows these dudes have been booked as inferior, almost all the time, for years, with the EXTREMELY ODD exception of them putting the belt on AJ, then taking it off a month later and jobbing him out for the next year. Like, JIM NEIDHART has a CLEAN Impact win over Jay Lethal. JIM THE ANVIL NEIDHART. In 2010. Over Jay Lethal.

So, I guess what TNA is trying to tell me is that AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe, Kaz, Rob Van Dam, Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Generation ME, Amazing Red, and Williams, all really, really suck. They MUST suck to lose to guys like Gunner, Crimson, Morgan and Anderson. So why would I want to watch a PPV with these guys as the focal point, when they apparently suck? Does it even matter if the PPV is good (and it WILL be good), if the guys involved are presented as jobbers by the company they work for? I equate this PPV to what would have happened if WWE had run a PPV utilizing only the stars of that “Velocity” show they had a few years back. Sure, Shelton Benjamin may win the main-event of that PPV, and is an amazing wrestler, but if he’s going to eat one move and get beat by Vladamir Kozlov the next night, should I really bother caring?

No.

So, fuck it. I’m not going to pay to watch those guys look like losers. I’m not even going to do it for free anymore. It’s always been the hope of a LOT of people that the persistence of guys like AJ and Daniels will pay off. I hope for their sakes, that one day it does. At the beginning of TNA, the X-Division was supposed to be used to eventually elevate these guys. That’s what they said. It seemed to make sense. 5 years later, they were still in the X-Division, although at least on occasion they were main-eventing the PPV’s, and they weren’t being jobbed out to guys like Matt Morgan. Now it’s 5 years after THAT, and we’re even worse off than we were 5 years ago, and absolutely no farther than we were at the beginning. Just another day in TNA.

So, the X-Division is like the WCW Luchadores. They’ll have good matches, but in terms of the overall show, they don’t matter. At all. So let’s see what else TNA has to entertain me with. They got this Knockout Division, how bad could that be? Well, it turns out it’s pretty fucking bad, actually. The storylines are like a Dr. Who episode that takes place on a Jerry Springer set located inside a strip club in Arkansas. Not gonna watch that. What else do they got for me? The comedic stylings of Eric Young… HAHAHAHAHAHA. The only thing funny about that is the idea that anyone would tune in specifically to watch that. We got British guys against Spanish guys… nope. We got this Immortal gang… who’s in it? Flair is gone, Hardys are gone, Jarrett is gone… so we got Bully Ray, Scott Steiner, and Abyss. Nope, nothing there. Who is in the TNA main-event picture? That can’t be bad, right? We got Ken Anderson and Sting, and soon, we’ll have Gunner, Crimson, and Matt Morgan. So… basically, with Sting being the one exception, and Sting’s best years are long gone, we have an exact blueprint of the WWE main event.

Actually, it’s worse than that. WWE have John Cena and Randy Orton as the ONLY important people on that show. While a LOT of people are sick of Cena and Orton, at least the kids enjoy them and they sell an ASSload of merch. NO ONE enjoys Gunner, and NO ONE is buying a Matt Morgan t-shirt. At all. Nothing against the guy personally, but the way TNA is doing this whole Gunner thing, you could shove a fucking magnet up his ass and drag him through Fort Knox, he’s NOT drawing any money. So when they realize that, he’ll fall down the card, then quietly quit or be released, then maybe they’ll give the belt to AJ! That’s what we’ve been waiting for!

… except that’s happened before. So then AJ will have the belt, until Matt Hardy returns, or until TNA is finally able to get their hands on a guy like Shaemus after HE continues to fail to draw money, then Shaemus will get the ex-WWE-failure treatment (see: Matt Morgan and Ken Anderson) despite the fact that NO ONE will cheer or buy anything related to the guy, and AJ will lose the belt to him within 2 months of his debut, to whatever shit move Shaemus is using as a finisher now. Then when that doesn’t work, maybe TNA will bring back Murphy and give HIM the push. Then, repeat. Always repeat.

HOLY SHIT, was that depressing. I saw a grassy field in my mind, and I just about laid down and took a nap. But I’m back!

The point is, I hate watching Impact and it’s long past the point of being funny anymore, so I give up. What I do enjoy doing is the Q & A “Interinactivity” portion of the article, and I see no reason why I can’t continue to do that, right? I sure hope so, because I never asked anyone’s permission. I guess they can always just take it down if they don’t like it. I’m sure when they brought me on originally, they never thought my recaps would be like a long Scott Steiner promo, and they let me work without a net on that, so this should be a piece of cake, right?

Interinactivity

Steven Gepp: Another site actually said last week’s Impact was one of the best in a long while, so there are still people out there who haven’t been found and locked up yet.
Blair: There are TONS of people that will tell you that Impact right now is the best it’s ever been, no matter when you ask the question, even though their ratings and their buyrates remain the same or worse. I find a lot of these commenters tend to compare WWE to TNA, from people who obviously just hate WWE right now for one reason or another, and feel compelled to take one side or the other, because heaven forfend that it’s possible for both companies to either suck or be good at the same time. These people also tend to do this while supporting guys like Gunner. That’s the part I find most amusing. ANYONE who thinks that Gunner is some radical alternative to what they show on WWE should be tied up and shot with a ball of their own shit. He’s the BLUEPRINT for a current WWE main-eventer.

Patrick Spohr: While Bischoff was certainly not the only factor in WCW’s demise, the company was starting to decline before Time-Warner stepped in. Bringing in Warrior and a failure to properly oversee the bookers (and failing to push young talent) were one of the many failures of Bischoff and crew. Did Time-Warner hinder his ability to produce the show? Sure. Was he and his staff making the kind of smart business choices that would have benefited the company before Time-Warner stepped in? I don’t think so. This is all a very unscientific, of course. All we have to go on are the backstage stories from the people within the company. In regards to TNA, I believe he’s listed as an executive producer with booking powers. I’m not sure of the extent of his power, but he’s in a position of some creative power as an exec producer.
Blair: While this may be a bit naïve, I’m not sure any wrestlers can be counted on for an accurate viewpoint on how good a job Bischoff does, because I don’t think most wrestlers know everything that his job specifically entails. What he does is probably a LOT more complicated than they realize, and also likely a lot more difficult. It’s a lot more than just determining match outcomes and storylines, I imagine. And I imagine TNA is as chaotic a work environment, if not moreso, than WCW was. And until it’s officially proven that it’s Bischoff alone making the choices that people question, I have a hard time assigning blame to only him. Russo is there, Hogan is there, Jarrett is there, and Dixie is there. Didn’t Angle have his hands in there too at some point?

Joseph Hargrove: I have to admit, the only good thing was the return of Low Ki. Other than that, godawful show IMO. As for ROH, I watch when I can and I loved the Kings of Wrestling. Too bad they split when it was getting good. Good luck to them. Sara Del Rey is still the best female wrestler in the world(Even better than Mickie or Tara.)
Blair: Low-Ki is tremendous. It’s sad to see them put him in a division they clearly regard as inferior when it isn’t. But I do hope that both he and Aries get contracts if that’s what it is that they do want, because both dudes work hard. Kings Of Wrestling are tremendous as well, and WWE is a big payday for them compared to what I imagine they make in ROH, and while I wouldn’t enjoy seeing them jobbed to Santino and Kozlov or Nexus, if it’s what they wanted, then good for those dudes. Sara Del Ray is awesome too, but that kind of just continues the point. Would I be happy if she went to a bigger company and got paid? Yeah. Would I have ANY interest in seeing her lose to Kelly Kelly’s one terrible move? No. That would be painful along the same principle that makes Impact unwatchable for me.

DC: Though Steiner had the line of the night when he said to Abyss (who was reading Art of War): “Hey, what are you reading, a porno?”
Blair: I would watch Impact all day long if it was just Steiner, Bully Ray, Iron Sheik and New Jack doing unscripted shoot promos. I seriously would. By the way, didn’t Steiner return to TNA a few months ago SPECIFICALLY to combat Immortal? Wasn’t he one of the dudes who had Crimson fucking mace Abyss in the back?

CB: By the way, Sting (Darth Ledger, HA!) is a worse Joker than Arnold was Mr. Freeze. It really is brutal to see, along with Hogan having broken ribs that magically heal by mid-broadcast.
Blair: Those wounds were only emotional brother, only emotional!!! Y’see, it’s like this, CB! The Hulkster just needed a bit of time after Sting force fed him those pills, brother! The Hulkster knows that Sting is a terrible Joker, dude! But you’re not watching Impact for the Stinger, brother, you’re gonna watch Impact to see if this rib-breaking drug-rape will bring the Hulkster back to ALLLLLLL his Hulkamaniacs, dude! And WHATCHA GONNA DO, when WWE won’t call YOU back, brother?!?! Well I’ll tell you what the Hulkster did, brother! I went out and exploited a clueless company for money by making vague promises to a huge wrestling mark whose Dad owned Panda Energy dude, and now I perform in front of as many people as it would take to pack a bingo hall in south Philly that I wouldn’t spit on if it were on fire, dude!!! I’m just waiting for Knobbs to pass a physical and he’ll be BACK on your TV screens, CB, you Hulkamaniac!!!

Rich: Well, if Blair Douglas is leaving the TNA Impact reports… Then don’t let the door hit you on the rear end on the way out! Hopefully, InsidePulse can find somebody who like wrestling and does not compalin about every little thing. It would a nice change of pace for once!
Blair: I’m going to miss comments like this. By the way Rich, I didn’t complain about everything, as I said the Ki stuff was good. Also, the article you’re looking for is already on Pulse, and it’s written by MC Brown. He’s insane, but he’s good people. Check him out.

Mike Gojira: Oh yeah, Jarrett sucks.
Blair: Show some respect, people like you who complain about AAA World Champion and TNA founder Jeff Jarrett are what caused the financial collapse of ’08. Plus, the dude makes more money than you do, so, he’s better than you are.

WaterDrip: I can pick tons of things I’d consider to be “odd moves” regarding current ROH, but, this doesn’t seem like something that would crack the list. 1. Are they even doing exclusive contracts? That doesn’t seem to be the case. 2. They’ve been pretty irrelevant to what happens with the company, so far, right? They seem like they’re just better business in the sense of booking dates in advance. And, is there any company aside from DGUSA that they don’t want their wrestlers going on? And, from that standpoint, they’ve certainly been successful, right?
Blair: Drippy!!! If it’s ONLY DGUSA that they’re preventing guys from going on, then yeah. But I heard it was ONLY ROH they were allowed to work. If that’s not the case, then great. I say it’s hard to get behind only because I don’t imagine ROH pays that well, and it would prevent guys from making livings IF that’s the case. And yes, booking dates in advance is good. I wish they’d come to where I live, I’d dig seeing it live.

WaterDrip: And, Ki over Danielson strictly on ROH stuff? The only way Ki gets into that conversation is with the heel stuff in ’04-’05 and I say as much as I love the dude, he wasn’t in a class with Danielson and Punk. Ki always struggled with pacing and match storytelling compared to those two.
Blair: I actually prefer Punk over Ki and Danielson in terms of the full package. And Danielson is tremendous, and he and Ki both have moves that look like they hit HARD, which I love, I just think Ki’s are better, that’s all.

Corey Yuen: All I have to say is this: Hulk Hogan made more money than anyone in ROH will see in their lifetime. Jeff Jarrett makes more money than anyone in ROH will see in their lifetime. Plus he has a big house, a beautiful wife. So, ROH can be childish and curse and yell their expeletives abiut TNA; I though ROH fans were better than that but they are a wannb be ECW fanbase. But really, ROH will always be minor league wrestling. end of discussion.
Blair: Wow, there’s a ton I could pick out of this. But, I’m going to just pick the best part out – TNA fans fucking LOVE to yell shit about how much better TNA is than WWE. And it’s not. Never has been. At all. That’s not saying WWE is awesome, that’s just saying that TNA is garbage. And those same TNA fans are willfully ignorant to the fact that if TNA just tried to be themselves, it would be much less painful and people probably wouldn’t even compare the two all that often. But TNA are the ones forcing the issue, TNA are the ones pretending that putting billboards outside WWE headquarters is an edgy and exciting move, and TNA are the ones that try all the time to say how much better they are, even though EVERY attempt to compete with WWE has failed, and failed swiftly, embarrassingly, and usually pretty humorously. Catering invasion? Joke. Undertaker ripoff video? Bigger joke. Monday Night War 2? The biggest, funniest joke so far. “Wrestling Matters”? That actually lasted LESS time than Monday Night War 2. So if ROH is the “minor league” to TNA, then fine, but by that logic, TNA is fucking wicket-ball compared to WWE.

Okay, I can’t resist, one more thing – having Karen Angle Jarrett as your wife is not something you brag about. Karen Angle Jarrett was Kurt Angle’s stripper, whom he then married. So basically she was Kurt’s prostitute. So by the transitive property, Karen Angle is a whore… AND she fucked around on Kurt, so she wasn’t even a proper whore. Also, it’s possible that she may have been attractive at one time, I don’t know because I never saw her until a few years ago, but right now she is not attractive, at all. She hasn’t aged well.

The R: This show was better than usual but not great. Interesting how Sting reinvented himself during the Monday Nite wars, he took on a “Crow” inspired look. Now it looks as if he’s going with a “Joker” inspired look. Not bad if he is booked right. Three way dance with LowKi, JYang and MBently was decent. Obviously it was LowKi’s vehicle to get back in, he looked sharp and showed why WWE signed him in the first place. Too bad his personality/attitude didnt mesh with WWE. I am glad to see JYang new gimmmick. He did a good job of reinventing himself with the Elvis/Vegas look and his pose after a supermove gets his new persona over. He looked good as well. Im not too familar with MBently this is my first time seeing him but I can see potential. I liked that move he got from SuperNova, simultaneous DDT/Stunner. Knockouts must have gotten a new make-up person because all them looked good. I liked Ms.Tessmacher’s “ass move” in the corner. I wouldnt mind her doing that to me. Tara’s standing moonsault to pin and Tajiri’s “Tarantula” were well executed. Angelina Love looked sharp and her tweeked persona with Winter was smart. I liked her variation of the “Code Breaker” as well. Their double team move on MJames looked sharp. Also MRayne looked prettier than usual and this match furthered her deal with Tara. MJames looked good as well, I liked her “Gore” on Winter after she pinned MRayne. Her reversal into neck-breaker on ALove and her flying DDT on Winter were on point. Im not sure if it was the format of the match but I wonder if these Knockouts took the same “wrestling pill” ARiley and Miz took on RAW.  It was good to see JLynn but who knows if he can return into the form that brought him into prominence he established in ECW and the chemistry with RVD. The idea of a “Four Corners” match with RVD, AJ, CDaniels and JLynn gets my attention no matter which banner its under. By the way, BLesnar performed the “F5″ better than anyone so far. Im not sure they know what to do with RTerry. I did find it funny in the main event that when Steiner did his elbow drop then rolled off to do his push-ups the ref was moving his head in unison while asking Steiner what was that. Nice little subtlety to a signature move. Im not crazy about KAnderson’s finisher, he needs a new one. For all his faults, I’d rather hear MTenay call a match than MCole anyday.
Blair: Damn. This is a bit much for me. I handed this one over to my man Swayze.
Swayze: The show was horrible. Not good, not okay, not anything close to that. It was horrible, which is typical for TNA. Every iMPACT is horrible. The ‘Joker’ thing is stupid. Watching him rape Anderson was creepy. This won’t work. Fans who say ‘if it was booked right’ are goofy. Of course something will work if it’s booked right. But TNA never books anything right. That’s what TNA is all about. Try to keep up. The three way dance was the first real TNA match TNA has put on since Bischoff and Hogan arrived. Jimmy Yang used to do that gimmick in TNA. Matt Bentley used to be Michael Shane, cousin of Shawn Michaels, and was in TNA all the time. He was horrible, but they kept pushing him over Sabin and Kaz for some reason. Fans of TNA know this. Fans who watch whatever the fuck this show is now are just WWE fans who are upset with WWE. Nothing the knockouts do is ‘well executed’. That’s just retarded. Also, Angelina talking now is admitting everything in this date rape time traveling ghost in a mirror storyline is stupid. However the ‘fix’ for it is equally stupid. Stupid is the opposite of smart. I doubt TNA knows what to do with Rob Terry either. They could release him, but he could probably sue for that stupid chairshot deal. Maybe that’s why they keep him around. It’s certainly not because he’s talented or has fans or anything. And…you know what? I’m done with this comment. This dude needs to get his own blog or something. Why the fuck did he write all that? It’s like the opposite of the shit Blair writes. Was Blair supposed to read that and go, “Oh yeah, everything I wrote was wrong. This guy is brilliant. My life is a lie?” Fuck this guy. I can get people being like “You’re awesome Blair” or “Fuck you Blair.” But what the fuck was the point of that comment? Is he like “No, this Blair guy is all wrong. Let me leave a comment here telling him how it really is.”

Ernie Lupica: I don’t understand Blair’s side of this. I mean, it’s pretty simple: If you do not like a specific product, then why review it? Makes no sense. If the show is terrible than just stop reviewing, that’s all. No melodrama needed. I do not know what Blair wants in a TNA Impact show? If you read the reviews from other fans, on other istes, the consensus is that last night’s episode was very good. What more can you ask for? Ring of Honor for all their worth, they are still an indy league that has a small percantage of fans. I know they had a large number people by their IPPV’s but that’s still a small percenatge. And not everyone wants wrestling on their shows. You do need some personality and entertainment to the wrestling. WWE is not a wrestling company, they are an entertainemnet company. I rather watch The Rock cut a promo or Hornswoggle wrestle a match than watch a 4-star ROH classic. that’s just me.
Blair: Gojira responded to this and said that he was with you up until that last sentance. I’m the opposite – I was lost UNTIL the last sentence. You would prefer to watch Hornswaggle than a 4-Star match. That’s cool. That’s your preference. I don’t totally understand it, but that’s your opinion, so I can appreciate what you’re saying. As to whether you’re in the majority though, I don’t know about that, but that’s another story. So to answer your question as to what I want on Impact, obviously it’s different than what you want. Which is cool. And as to why I’d watch a show I hate, let me be the first to say that you’re absolutely right. Now, if the question is why I wanted to do TNA ORIGINALLY, it was because I thought that A) there was promise in the product and that it was on the way to eventually getting better, and B) that it would be bad enough in the interim that I could find some humour in it. Which is what I did, and I tried to make the best of it and find positives where I could. There’s a shelf life on that though, and the product is actually now much worse than when I started, which is disappointing, because they’ve squandered a few opportunities to make it better by elevating guys that no one really cares about and burying the guys that people do care about, and putting those same guys in a division that is booked as inferior when everyone knows it isn’t. That’s just my opinion. I’m not a huge ROH mark. They’re certainly not at their peak right now.

Daniel Gianni: General consensus is that TNA is improving. I don’t watch the show and I want to take Blair’s side on this but I’m not sure anymore. Maybe its the 10%er situation expounded by EB. what if 90% of the audience is enjoying the product.? Is Blair’s hissy fit some sort of Wrestling reviewer worked shoot ala CM Punk. Hmmmm.
Take a look at this review
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/754794-tna-impact-wrestling-review-and-thoughts-63011
Blair: I’m not saying that whole 10\90% thing is bullshit, because it isn’t. It’s common sense that people who don’t enjoy ANY product will be more vocal that the people who do enjoy it. But, if 90% of the people watching Impact really liked it all that much, then a LOT more fucking people would be buying TNA PPV’s, and that Impact rating would be increasing over time. And obviously, that isn’t happening. And yeah, I have people Twitter these fucking Bleacher Report reviews to me all the time. They’re a joke. They like EVERYTHING. If the show is good, they love it. If the show is terrible, they love it. If the show was pre-empted for a week, I think they’d kill themselves.

Swayze: Hahaha! Bleacher Report! Nobody takes Bleacher Report seriously! TNA is not improving. It’s about as bad as it’s ever been. TNA iMPACT sucks. It’s always sucked. The Wednesday ppvs were great. But they don’t do that anymore. They just do horrible TV and weak PPVs that are way overpriced. The only correct move now is not to watch. They know what they need to do to improve. Stop watching and they will. The end.
Blair: DO they actually know what they need to do to improve? I think I might doubt that. And, are those the same Wednesday PPV’s that featured Jeff Jarrett getting his ass kicked by Toby Keith or some shit? I kid, the Wednesday PPV’s WERE much better, but they had no promotion, and not many people bought them, which is a problem, so I understand why they needed to do regular TV. What’s a shame is how bad they suck at it. Fist pump!

Tank: What a waste of space. You lost me at your intro. I think we have enough sites full of WWE mark rants about how great WWE is and how much TNA sucks. And to all you TNA haters in the comments, just stop watching or caring about TNA impact and spare the rest of us of your inane opinions.
Blair: This is what I’m talking about. This dude thinks I love WWE because I think TNA sucks. Why is it not possible to dislike both? I really don’t understand that concept. Tank, you know it’s not an ACTUAL war, right dude? At all. Or at least, if it is, you don’t live in either country. Anyway, Gepp responded to this better than I could ever hope to.
Steven Gepp: How great WWE is? Seriously? Do you read this site at all? When one promo by one guy can generate more buzz than anything else for a long time (at least since Rock/Cena was announced) and we ignore the ‘wrestling’ at WWE to concentrate on it, you know we are not blind adherents to all things ‘E. The fact of the matter is we love wrestling. Not WWE, not TNA, but that strange entity called professional wrestling. By and large we seemed bored/jaded with WWE and confused/disbelieving at TNA. Some of us support our passion for this sport through the indies (EXW, ROH, Riot City Wrestling to name 3 supported at Pulse), some through the old shows and videos, and some through going to WWE and TNA house shows (often better than the televised products). The fact of the matter is on television WWE and TNA are all we have, one through market dominance and one through sheer bloody-mindedness. Until a genuine option comes along that advertisers will get behind, the public will support and that offers fans of pro wrasslin’ what they want, it’s all we’ve got. So, yes, we will crap on it from a great height. Sorry, but that’s life.

B Brown: Everyone writes their honest opinions on whatever subject they choose, which again is the best of what we can ask as readers. Whether we like those opinions shouldn’t really matter that much, but if it does then I can write a great Impact recap: “Impact rocks.” Now I have to go wash my hands.
Mike Gojira: Use holy water. It gets the stains out.
Blair: No, it doesn’t.

So there you have it! That’s the article. I had fun. And I didn’t have to watch Impact. Everyone wins. Next time, I’d like to do some stuff about WWE as well, or anything really. I’m not saying don’t talk about TNA, but I’d like to get some diversity in here. So leave a comment or Twitter something I can respond to at www.Twitter.com/BlairADouglas.

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who had such nice things to say on last week’s final Impact recap, or any of my recaps really – that stuff was really cool to read and I appreciate it.

This has been “Interinactivity”. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!


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Blair A. Douglas

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  • Cynical Bastard

    It’s too bad that you won’t be doing the TNA recap anymore. I know, I know, health issues.

    The thing that got me to stop watching in the ago was much the same reason I don’t watch now and the reason you’ve retired.

    They either still have, have once again, or have had at some point some of the most amazing wrestling talents alive. Punk, Ki, Styles, Joe, Daniels…

    All wasted. I don’t even have the benefit of fantasizing what WWE could be like if it had performers of their caliber anymore either. Ki was in purgatory until he asked for his release, and Punk has chosen not to renew his employment, after not being utilized to his potential.

    So… whether they draw money or not, I’m going to have to hope I can catch some ROH at some point, since apparently neither TNA nor WWE know how to book talent.

  • CB

    Blair: Good to see Interinactivity lives even though the Impact reports are gone. Who knows, maybe it will be The Simpsons to That Being Said’s Tracey Ullman Show!

    To change things up a bit, and since I just can’t stomach Impact this week after I went to TNA’s live BaseBrawl show in Coney Island last weekend. You know, the show where Ric Flair — who was advertised as a special guest main attraction — was backstage and yet NO-SHOWED the live crowd anyway. Seriously, that happened.

    I do have a WWE-related question and comment, however. I’m sure you either heard about or saw the Cena-Vince exchange on the Fourth of July episode of Raw. In case you didn’t, the crux of the matter is this: WWE turned what was one of the most buzzed about moments in a long while (Punk’s promo and all the unpredictability that came with it) and essentially screwed the whole thing up by having Vince tell Cena he’s fired if he loses to Punk at the PPV.

    Oh, and not only that, WWE also confirmed to GLAAD officials that CM Punk’s contract is legitimately expiring on July 17th, following Punk’s gay slur incident with fans in Australia.

    So basically, in a nutshell, WWE went from making MITB a must-see PPV filled with intrigue and turned it into just another run-of-the-mill event where “anything can happen” will be exactly what doesn’t happen, where Super Cena will either save the day or John will be fake fired for the second time in MONTHS.

    And therefore, I think WWE is actually worse than TNA, in the sense that the company has a freaking monopoly on the business, has amazing production values, and has the ability to actually take chances … and yet they just recycle the same stuff over and over and over again.

    Merch sales or no merch sales, it’s getting extremely boring out there in WWE land.

  • Daniel Gianni

    Blair, I dig the white clothed meditation profile pic. Bet that’s the way you go to your happy place.
    Just wanted your thoughts on who you feel can make it in the WWE from the current ROH roster. I know that the roster is much weaker today than the heydays with Punk,AJ,Low Ki,McGuinness and co but do you see anyone there who could fit the WWE’s superstar mould.
    Since wrestling skill doesn’t matter that much compared to their so called “IT factor”, is there someone who can ascend to the mainevent like CM Punk managed to (albeit with much difficulty). The ‘E likes people who’re good on the mic and being able to put on great matches is a bonus. I felt Nigel McGuiness would have been perfect, shame how his career played out….

  • Wally Kovacs

    On the subject of suggesting that haters just stop watching … I would assume that would devestate TNA, as odds are something like a quarter of the audience is hate watching it.

    And that is where the 10% thing does sort of fail. You can say “90% of the people watching like the show, and 10% complain”. Of course, that’s because most of the people that hate the show or don’t like it very much, just don’t watch it. And the 90% like it ‘enough’ to not bother complaining, but presumably not enough to regularly buy PPVs, etc.

    So, if the status quo is fine, continuing the leave the 90% contented is a good idea (which is sort of the M.O. of the WWE, but they at least have a large enough 90% to make good money off of them). For a company like TNA though, it might be smart to try to go after more people. Not necesarily trying to please the 10% (hell, they are already watching), but there just may be some people not watching at all that agree with the 10% who haven’t quit yet.

  • Joseph Hargrove

    On the subject of Destination X, I really like the Fatal 4 Way contract match because it has Jack Evans and Low Ki. From what I remember, Evans is the longtime friend of Teddy Hart hence why his affiliation with the Hart Family. Should be good on Sunday.

    As for Punk, I don’t know if you have seen it but there is a video out now from the WWE’s tour of New Zealand. Let’s just say Punk gets a painful sendoff thanks to Cena and Co.

  • jimmy

    good article Blair, glad your still doing inter-activity but will you still be reviewing destination x? it should be watchable.

  • ernie lupica

    Hey Blair, it’s Ernie Lupica. Firts, after watching Imapct last night, did you notice that the fans are starting to cheer Crimson? They are starting to cheer him. Although I am alittle wooried about the knee brace he was sporting last night.

    But I have to take you to task on something you said last week in your final Impact report. You said that ROH’slast IPPV was the better than anything that TNA has produced in the past 3 years.

    Now, the past 3 years, I will go back from Julu 2008, and form the top of my head, I am going to list the best matches that TNA produced during that time period:

    AJ Styles vs Kurt Angle – Hard Justice 2009
    Desmond Wolfe vs Kurt Angle – Novemer 2009 PPV
    Desmond Wolfe vs Kurt Angle Final Resolution 2009
    AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels Turninig Point 2009
    AJ Styles vs Kurt Angle – TNA Impact January 2010
    Kurt Angle vs Mr. Anderson Lockdown 2010
    Motor City Machine Guns vs Beer Money best of 7 series on Impact and ppv.
    Any and all Motorcity Machine Guns’ matches for TNA in 2010
    Jeff Jarrett vs Kurt Angle Lockdown 2011
    Whew! That took awhile and from the top of my head withou no mresearch.

    Blair, can you honestly say that ROH’s ppv was better than ANYTHING TNA produced in the past 3 years???

  • ASgurl

    Blair, great work, and I am more in love with Swayze now than ever.

    Here’s my contribution for next week, and it will be timely since the PPV in question will be next Sunday – the CM Punk thing – work or shoot? And what’s your opinion on it?

  • WaterDrip

    “But I heard it was ONLY ROH they were allowed to work.”

    I don’t think this is the case at all. I see ROH dudes booked on all sorts of random cards.

    “And Danielson is tremendous, and he and Ki both have moves that look like they hit HARD, which I love, I just think Ki’s are better, that’s all.”

    Well, OK, if you’re judging by, Ki doing better at making his kicks and strikes look hard, yes, Ki DOMINATES Danielson in that category. That’s a small part of the equation to me.

  • limodriver

    The best part of the knockouts handicap match:

    In the middle of the match, Tenay pissed all over it by speculating that ODB and Jackie might not honor the stipulation. If the stipulation isn’t enforceable, why have the freaking match? And then, predictably, as soon as the match is over, ODB declares that she won’t be abiding by the stipulation.

    Not to mention the inherent absurdity of someone not under contract with TNA continuing to show up in the Impact Zone every week and getting physically involved with an actual under contract knockout.

  • jader

    Ernie – were those events all on the SAME show? No. I think Blair meant in terms of an overall show.

    Blair – question for next week – what WWE guys do you think COULD do well in TNA?

  • CB

    jader: Allow me to answer that question. I say NO ONE in WWE can do well in TNA. At least, no one in WWE can end up being a bigger star in TNA.

    Case and point 1: Jeff Hardy. Hardy was the TOP FACE on SmackDown!, was WWE Champion, had an amazing feud with CM Punk, and then came to TNA. What has he done in TNA? Pissed it all away.

    Case and point 2: Hulk Hogan. Remember when Hogan was going to save TNA, remember the move to Monday nights? How’d that work out?

    You want to say a guy like Ken Anderson and maybe a guy like the Pope have done better in TNA than they would have in WWE? Maybe. But I bet both of them would trade in their TNA affiliations if WWE promised them a big push.

    Let’s look at it the other way around, guys who left TNA for WWE.

    R-Truth – better in WWE (yes, he started in WWE, but did a lot in TNA before going back)

    Christian – what’s better, being an almost-top guy in TNA and getting the title for a little while, or being the almost-top guy on SmackDown! and getting the title for 5 days, then embarking on a run as a top heel against WWE’s #2 face?

  • FDSwayze

    Every PPV produced by ROH over the last three years is better than everything, EVERYTHING, TNA has done over the past three years. Easily.

    Hell Ernie, those matches aren’t even the best from TNA. Those are garbage compared to AMW vs. Triple X Cage Match 1 and 2, Low Ki vs Daniels vs Shane vs Sabin Ultimate X, the FIRST Daniels Joe AJ triple threat and the three matches leading up to it, Sabin vs Juvi Ultimate X Cup, any match from AJ vs Lynn, the AJ Lynn Ki ladder three way, the Raven AJ #1 contenders match. TNA used to do some really cool stuff. Now the best they got is Angle vs Jarrett? That’s pathetic. And yes, ROH tops stuff like that without even trying.

    And ROH is boring! Also, ASGurl is better than all of you. FIST PUMP!

  • Patrick Spohr

    @Jader
    I’ll jump in with CB on this question. The problem is that the guys who could POSSIBLY benefit from a switch to TNA, guys like Danielson, Evan Bourne, and/or Cody Rhodes, are also guys that TNA won’t push. What TNA looks for in main-event guys is pretty much the same thing the WWE does: big, imposing guys. That’s why TNA has spent so much time pushing guys like Gunnar, Crimson, and Morgan, because they want that kind of guy in the main-event. If any of the WWE’s cruiserweights moved over to TNA, they’d face the same problem the rest of the X-division: they won’t get pushed or utilized properly (look at Brian Kendrick).

    The only guys that could get a good push in TNA if they left WWE are mid- to upper-mid-card guys, and they have no reason to leave. John Morrison, even if he went to TNA and got a good push won’t: a. make the same amount of money that he would in the WWE, and b. won’t get the same amount of viewers. There’s no incentive there. Christian and Chavo left because they weren’t really being used, and didn’t see any push coming in the foreseeable future. We’ll wait and see what happens with Chavo, but things didn’t work out all that well for Christian in TNA, so he came back. I’m sure if Vince got on the horn tomorrow with Anderson and gave him an offer, Anderson would jump right back to the ‘E.

    @Blair
    I’m not saying that Bischoff is all to blame, of course. But he’s one of those guys who’s in a position of power in TNA, to some extent. As an Executive Producer, I’m sure that all possible talent acquisitions and possible storylines and pushes have to cross his desk for approval. What I’m saying is that Bischoff doesn’t bring much to the table as an on-screen talent, so he should just drop the act all together and work behind-the-scenes.

    Since you don’t watch much, if any, WWE programming, I won’t ask your opinion about them. Instead, I’ll ask you this: with the Sinclair Broadcast Group purchasing Ring of Honor and slated to air 1-hour episodes of the show a week, will this add up to anything for RoH? Sinclair has had some financial problems, and the stations they own are mostly in small to mid-market cities. They have stated they will offer the program on syndication which will allow other broadcasters to air the program, but do you see anyone biting on this offer? Or do you think broadcasters will balk at having another wrestling program on that will compete against TNA and WWE?

  • Rhett Davis

    Ok my question for you Blair is what are your feelings on multiple world titles (WWE/World) and should the midcard titles (Intercontinental/United States) become obsolete?

  • Patrick Spohr

    Actually Blair, here’s another question for you:
    When Flair made his scheduled appearance at the TNA event at Asbury Park, he made a few interesting comments, according to the news sites. Maybe we could get your opinion on these:
    1. Flair claimed he wasn’t aware that he was scheduled to appear at TNA’s Basebrawl in Brooklyn, though he did appear at a VIP autograph session that day. What the hell do you think happened here?
    2. Flair told the crowd at Asbury Park that he was on a mission to win the TNA World Title. Do you think this is Flair just joking around, or do you think they’d actually push him into the title picture? If they did, how badly would that angle backfire on them?

  • DC

    Blair, great job as usual! I’m not sure if you saw the CM Punk/Vince/Cena segments from Raw on Monday (which, were amazing in every way) but if you did, I’d like to get your thoughts about a specific part of that segment. I read an article that echoed my sentiments as I was watching the part where the crowd starts chanting “We want wrestling!” and Vince yells at them “I DON’T GIVE A DAMN WHAT YOU WANT”… the article stated that THIS was the defining moment of the new generation of wrestling. Punk’s immediate response of “That’s the problem Vince! You don’t care about what a crowd wants in 2011, and MY problem is that I care too much!” was billed as his “MOMENT”, and not just his “Austin 3:16″ moment. What are your thoughts about this? Do you believe that Punk had his “defining moment”, just days before he (supposedly) leaves the company? Also, as a supplementary question, what do you feel is the best ending to this angle? I personally feel that ANYTHING they do BESIDES having Cena beat him Sunday and restoring the status quo will be great and revolutionary. Keep up the good work my man!

  • James Alsop

    I’m going to bust pop a cultural taboo here and say that I think Sting as TNA champion will be the best move for Impact Wrestling moving forward. There isn’t a single other wrestler in the company who can convincingly hold the belt right now. Jeff is out for who knows how long, Flair is washed up, and as Blair has so rightly pointed out, internet darlings AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe have been made to look so much like jobbers lately that it’ll take a significant period of reparation before any of them look like potential champions again (and for more on Samoa Joe, check out this week’s Keynotes and Keyholds…!).

    TNA want Sting to be the crazy Joker? Fine. Let him be the crazy Joker. What makes Joker so dangerous in the Batman comics is that he’s dangerous beyond belief. So make Sting look dangerous. If Sting is portrayed as an unbeatable fighting champion, one who never loses, and holds that belt for a few months – maybe a year – it will only increase the prestige of TNA’s watered-down top belt. And let’s face it, the TNA product won’t take too much of a hit in the long run, will it?

    If Sting is built up to be invincible, and then some plucky up-and-comer like Joe or AJ (or even, God forbid, Gunner) has a classic slow-burn rivalry with him that builds and builds to the up-and-comer defeating Sting in an epic crescendo, it would be magnificent.
    I’m dream-booking now, but imagine if Sting, after being unbeaten for eight months came out and said how “I’m unbeatable; it’s my curse! Won’t somebody – anybody – beat me?!” And then imagine if that person were a renewed, rebuilt AJ. And then imagine how much better things would be if somehow TNA kept AJ and Sting apart for an entire year prior to the championship match?

    Essentially, the value of Sting is not in who he beats while he is champ, but in who beats HIM to become champ.

  • James Alsop

    (While the value of Anderson is currently ZIP.)

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