The second thing I need to mention is Sting’s return. It was a great surprise for Sting to show up after there were rumors he might leave the company and the heel turn added a lot of intrigue to the situation. It will be interesting to see exactly what they do with Sting as a heel, but in typical TNA fashion, they found a way to shoot themselves in the foot. Hogan leaked that Rob Van Dam would be debuting with the company so it was no surprise that RVD was the mystery opponent for Sting after Sting turned heel, but the way the “match” was booked was ridiculous. RVD pins Sting in literally ten seconds and then Sting attacks RVD with a bat while Hogan tries to get to the ring so TNA makes Sting look weak by having him get pinned in ten seconds and they make RVD seem irrelevant because the focus of the segment was Hogan and Sting instead of the wrestler that just signed with the company. How does the segment showcase the return of Sting or the debut of RVD?

Moving on, why does Eric Bischoff get more air time than anyone? I mean is it REALLY necessary for him to be on TV as often as he was this past week on Impact? Speaking of which, another thing you have to wonder is why are Hogan’s friends and family getting more TV time than some of the wrestlers? Who let Bubba back in the building? Wasn’t he fired after Awesome Kong knocked him out? Regardless, Bubba is an idiot and should NOT be on TV. He contributes NOTHING to the show and should be fired again. Along with that, Brooke Hogan and another random Hogan supporter shown in the crowd and backstage. Is this how TNA plans to compete with the WWE? Are people really going to tune in to Spike TV to see Brooke Hogan’s reaction to Hulk getting beat up? If Brutus Beefcake is the next to show up then Spike TV should just do the right thing for wrestling and cancel Impact.

It was all terrible Hogan related booking on Impact though because you had the three way dance for the X Division title with a promo before the match to give some background to the X Division, which was a good decision if they plan to actually feature the division as a whole on Impact. The match was a really good fast paced match and judging from a few of the things TNA announced, such as an X Division show next week before Impact and also the Destination X PPV this month, it looks like TNA might actually invest the time to try to push the division, which is a good decision considering how much underutilized talent there is in the X Division.

Okay, back to take two of the tag team main event and even the second time through, I still don’t understand what TNA was trying to do with the match. Flair, who asked “what is TNA?” on an episode of WWE 24/7 Legends of Wrestling before he asked for his release from the WWE, looked completely desperate in the ring on Impact after watching the tag match, he should have stayed retired. More specifically, the tag match didn’t showcase AJ and Abyss, which would have been the logical situation in my opinion, but rather featured Hogan and Flair, while AJ and Abyss were in the secondary spots of the match. It’s also funny that TNA announced it would “stay with the match until the conclusion” but just as Jeff Hardy was climbing to the top rope for his signature swanton bomb, the show ended and the TV audience didn’t get to see the move. As far as Jeff Hardy goes, he is awaiting trail on felony charges and TNA is going to give him TV time, but what if Hardy gets convicted of the charges and is sent to jail? Isn’t it basically a waste of time to feature him on TV until it’s known weather or not he will be convicted during the trail? Besides that, it’s also been reported that Hardy has not signed an official deal with TNA so why are they giving TV time that isn’t officially signed with the company?

In conclusion, I’m not trying to bury TNA here and with the all talent that they have it would be cool if they could book a good alternative to the WWE, but it just didn’t happen this past Monday. Despite all the changes, to the ring, the roster, and the arena, it seems like nothing has really changed with TNA because you still have great matches and terrible booking, which has been TNA’s problem for five years. From what was reported, the Impact rating was a 1.0, which isn’t terrible considering they were going head to head with Raw, but at the same time they certainly didn’t get anyone to change the channel from Raw to Impact so it doesn’t seem like the move to Monday is anything to major in terms of more viewers for TNA.

Until next week

That’s My Story and I’m Sticking To It

Dr. Wrestling

If you have comments or questions e mail me drwrestlingallpro@yahoo.com

 Last week fans and press gathered at the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden to hear Hogan’s big announcement and before the conference concluded, Hogan was standing next to TNA president, Dixie Carter. Along with Hogan, his business partner that is promoting the Hulkamania Austrian tour, Eric Bischoff has also reportedly signed with the company. This package deal brings together two of the main forces that contributed to the wrestling boom of the 90s and it will be extremely interesting to see what they bring to the table a decade later, especially Eric Bischoff. Speaking of Bischoff, it’s been well documented that one of the major criticisms of his time in WCW was that when it came to creative decisions, he is one of the main figures that are blamed for running WCW into the ground. However, as far as the business side of the pro wrestling industry in terms of marketing, Bischoff could be very valuable to TNA, considering that TNA’s “marketing” consist of Don West rambling about the newest T shirt/DVD package. In my view, Bischoff could help TNA expand their audience and market the product to a broader demographic, which is something TNA hasn’t done so far in its existence. As far as storyline, I don’t think it would be wise for Bischoff to get involved but considering his background in marketing, Bischoff could really help TNA improve their marketing plan working behind the scenes for the company.

 Now onto Hogan, as I said, he is without a doubt the most recognizable pro wrestler on the planet, but the reason I don’t know if his involvement with the company will benefit TNA is because of why exactly Hogan is recognizable today as opposed to ten or twenty years ago. No longer is Hogan known as the muscle bound wrestler clad in red and yellow, but rather a tabloid and media circus, which is something I don’t think many fans are ready to cheer for or rally behind. From Nick Hogan putting someone in a coma to the all too publicized Hogan family disputes, it seems as though Hogan’s trademark “say your prayers and take your vitamins” image has been completely tarnish and quite frankly, I don’t see how Hogan can repair it. Will the fans accept the “all American” hero back after all the controversial comments and stories? I doubt it and the evidence can already be viewed, considering that Hogan’s debut on Impact last week garnered a 1.3 rating, which isn’t a major difference than the show’s usual rating. Although you have to consider that Hogan signing with the company was announced only a few days before the show aired so maybe that effected the ratings? Regardless, from what I read, Hogan does not make an appear on Impact this week, which doesn’t make sense to me because if TNA signed Hogan, why not feature him as much as possible so that fans that don’t usual tune in to TNA can watch the show and get to see some of the great TNA talent?

So, why exactly did Hogan decide it was time to finally sign with TNA? I think it’s a combination of a few different reasons. Obviously, money had to play a major factor in Hogan signing with the company and you also have to consider that the WWE probably wouldn’t sign Hogan again at this point anyway because in many respects he is damaged goods and I doubt the WWE would want to be linked to any of the controversy surrounding Hogan. But what did Hogan himself have to say when he was asked about TNA in an interview last week?

Here is what he told Time Magazine: “When I woke up and realized I should be my own man and be responsible for being happy, I realized I still have a lot to contribute to the wrestling business,” Hogan said. “And jumping into TNA and being a part of that company is huge. I have a chance to give back and help these young wrestlers who don’t understand the business and the art form.” Hogan explains how the business has changed dramatically since the 1980s. “The business moves so much faster now,” he responded. “It used to be if Andre the Giant and I had a feud, it’d probably play out six or seven months later at a big event. Nowadays, if Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan have a feud at 9 o’clock, it’s usually over by 9:30. It’s a story-telling art form to create emotion and drama and I just think a lot of that is lost.”

Hogan contributing to the business? Hogan giving back to the business? If he is serious, then I say…IT’S ABOUT TIME…BROTHER! This is the same Hogan that refused to job to Randy Orton a few years ago and was “injured” until he was booked to pin Orton and this is also the same Hogan that has been known for not wanting to do the job, even when it seemed to be the right thing to do for business so I’m skeptical that Hogan will actually give back to the wrestling business, but if he does, it will be a step in the right direction for TNA. In theory, Hogan would be teaching exactly what TNA needs because they have a lot of great talent but not many great moments so Hogan teaching the younger generation story telling would really help TNA.

In conclusion, Hogan will without a doubt always be a draw and will get some fresh eyes to view the TNA product but if that translates into an bigger fan base or if the fans will actually rally Hogan for another wrestling come back remains to be seen. Regardless, it will defiantly be interesting to see what happens in the next few months with Hogan in TNA.

Until next week

That’s My Story and I’m Sticking To It

Dr. Wrestling

If you have comments or questions e mail me drwrestlingallpro@yahoo.com

When I read that “The Franchise” Shane Douglas was returning to TNA, I was very, very surprised, considering that  Douglas has voiced his opinion about the misdirection of the company since his exit over two years ago, but I also thought it was cool because as an overall talent during his twenty plus years career, I always thought Douglas was underrated in some respects. However, Douglas has done himself no favors over the years as he’s burned many bridges when he’s decided to pick up a microphone. During the former ECW champion’s last run in TNA, Douglas become a manager for The Naturals, which was an angle that I really think could have worked if TNA wouldn’t have put the brakes on it before it even got a chance. Speaking of The Naturals, They were a very talented young tag team but got zero T.V. time when TNA started to sign more “superstars” such as Team 3D, Scott Steiner, and others. Following the failed storyline with Naturals, Douglas become an agent for the company until he left the organization to deal with problems with pain killers. “The Franchise” has since been able to overcome that, which is great because he’s contributed a lot to wrestling and doesn’t get much recognition for it. Plus. I’ve met Shane on a few different occasions and he’s always been very polite to the fans. In my view, there’s a few reasons Douglas doesn’t get much recognition these days, During the early stages of his career when he was signed with WCW, Douglas was more of a high flyer but underneath the glass ceiling in WCW, his career didn’t exactly flourish in the early 1990s. During his first run with ECW, he was one of the main reasons the promotion began to become more than just another independent wrestling show, but most fans didn’t get to see it because of ECW’s limited T.V. exposure at the time. Eventually, Douglas had a six month run in the WWF after he signed with the company in 1995 but after being involved in a debacle of a storyline with Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels, He really wasn’t given much of a push, which Douglas claimed was due to Shawn Michaels refusing to job to him for the IC title. When he resurfaced in ECW in 1996, Douglas become one of the most hated heels of the decade and used his great mic work to get major heat from the “smart” ECW crowd. After leaving the land of extreme, he had a lackluster run in WCW, which was probably due to the company falling a part and even when Douglas debuted in TNA in 2003, the company was only on weekly PPV with a very limited audience. Basically, the point I’m trying to make here is that it seems like Shane Douglas was just never at the right place at the right time for his talents to be used to their fullest potential. As I said, when I read Douglas was coming back to TNA I thought it was cool and was looking forward to see his match against A.J. Styles last week on Impact until I saw Shane walk down the ramp. The veteran, who is now in his 40s was wearing a T shirt and looked to be considerably heavier since his last appearance on T.V. Still, being in the ring with A.J. can make it possible to have a good match but that just wasn’t the case for Douglas. He looked extremely winded just minutes into the match and the pace was slowed several times. Saying Douglas is past his prime would be an understatement and based on his match last week, I doubt TNA will use Douglas beyond his current storyline with Daniels, which I think is actually a good angle. It keeps Daniels busy for now and relevant for TNA’s next PPV. As for Douglas, it would seem like there wouldn’t be plans for his after this current storyline anyway, despite his lack of ring work but if for some reason TNA decides to keep him around, Douglas could be great on the mic for the company. Only time will tell but it doesn’t seem like there’s much of a future for “The Franchise” in TNA.

Another former ECW champion, Raven made his return to the promotion a few weeks ago and as of now, it appears as if he will be the leader of another Flock type stable with Stevie Richards and Daffney, which I think is a really great idea for Raven. The Flock type stable as been a staple of Raven’s career and he’s made it work wherever it’s been formed. Each variation is able to stay fresh and not look like a cheap rip off because of Raven’s great ability as a performer to portray the cult leader type of character. In my opinion, Raven didn’t get a chance to really get over as much as he could have with last two runs with the company. More specifically, Raven won the NWA world title in a king of the mountain match in 2005 and really could have done well for the promotion but dropped the title to Jarrett less than a month and a half later. Raven doesn’t seem to have the in ring ability to be in the same spot now but there’s no question that TNA dropped the ball when he was champion four years ago. More recently, Raven was the leader of the serotonin stable, which again I think had potential to be successful but they would only be booked on T.V. for a few weeks at a time and than you wouldn’t see them again for another 2-3 months so I’m not sure how TNA expected the stable to get over. I’m interested to see if TNA really gives the newest “flock” a chance to get over because I think it could create some good T.V. but as is the case with TNA most of the time, just because something has potential to work doesn’t mean it will get a chance on T.V.

Former WWE Women’s champion, Victoria, who is now known as Tara made her TNA in ring debut last week and of the stars mentioned so far in this column, I think Victoria has the best chance at being successful. I say this because she  can still go in the ring and she proved it by having a good match on Impact. I’ve said it for years, Victoria was VERY underrated and underutilized in the WWE so hopefully TNA offers her the chance to be the star that she deserves to be with all her hard work in the ring. She’s also said recently that she wants to start training for MMA so it will be interesting to see where that could possible take her career.

I didn’t plan on it but I’m going to briefly discuss Bobby Lashley’s status with TNA. I was in attendance live at Lockdown in Philadelphia when Bobby Lashley made his shocking TNA debut but he’s only been seen once since than for less than thirty seconds on an episode of Impact. Lashley confirmed in a radio interview recently that he still hasn’t actually signed a deal with TNA and you have to wonder why would TNA bring in Lashley without a contract signed? Yes, it does get them some buzz around the company that he showed up but if a deal with Lashley can’t be reached, it makes TNA look bush league for not being able to deliver on Lashley being on the TNA roster after he made a surprise appearance on a PPV. Besides that, it’s been two months since Lockdown and with no sign of Lashley on TNA T.V. in two months, you have to wonder, what was the point of TNA even having him show up? He didn’t do anything other than walk out on the stage so as of right now, Lashley served no real purpose appearing in TNA. That being said, I just don’t see Lashley being involved in pro wrestling in the future. He lacks charisma and let’s be honest here, how many great Lashley matches have you seen? However, I do think that Lashley has a very bright future in MMA and with a fight with Bob Sapp in less than two weeks, Lashley could really start to climb the ranks of MMA if he defeats Sapp. Lashley’s undefeated record so far in his MMA career really shows how much potential he has to be successful in the sport, which is why I don’t think you will see Bobby Lashley back in TNA anytime soon.

Until next week
That’s My Story and I’m Sticking To It
Dr. Wrestling

If you have comments or questions e mail me drwrestlingallpro@yahoo.com

Santina/Vickie Guerrero isn’t exactly what I would consider extreme and since it won’t be much of a match anyway, I’m not going to discuss it too much. Hopefully, this one is kept short because while it could be an entertaining comedy match, it could also really slow the pace of the show if it goes too long. As for a winner, I’ll pick Santina because I can’t really see a heel winning a “hog pen match.” Okay, enough said about this one.

CM Punk/Umaga in a strap match should be a decent match but it’s tough to pick a winner here. It would seem the WWE isn’t directly giving Punk any type of push but rather just keeping him in the picture, which I would think it a tactic to make Punk’s title shot more unexpected. However, the WWE might also not have any real plans for Punk to get a title shot in the near future so the money in the bank title shot might not have any effect on the outcome of the match at Extreme Rules. Considering that Umaga won at Judgment Day and the match is technically a “Samoan” strap match, I’ll pick Umaga to get the victory.

The U.S. title match should be a very good match but I expect Kofi to retain the title since he just won it this past week on Raw. With the winner already being predicted, I want to take a few minutes to discuss these for very different wrestlers in this match in terms of their overall role in the WWE. When he started in the WWE, MVP’s ring work was suspect and hine sight would probably show that the T.V. time he received when first stepping in a WWE was due to his gimmick rather than his ability to have good matches. However, in recent months MVP has been involved in better matches, which is why I think he’s played more of a role on Raw in recent weeks. Although, with MVP no longer the U.S. champion, I wouldn’t be surprised if his role on Raw was scaled back slightly for a few weeks. Matt Hardy was able to have a successful heel turn in the feud with his brother Jeff, however, at this point Hardy appears to be lacking a feud to cement his heel character on Raw. Weather or not a feud for Hardy is in the works isn’t known at this point but I’d think Kofi could have some good matches with Matt if the WWE choose to go that route. Speaking of Kofi, the U.S. champion has taken another step forward in his career and I’m really interested to see which direction his title run goes. Kofi has the athletic ability and the charisma to be a star so it would seem like it’s really only a matter of time until he develops into a main stay in the WWE. However, since we are talking about the WWE, they can put the brakes on a push at any moment so at this point, it’s a wait and see scenario if Kofi is used to his full potential in the future. I’ve mentioned many, many times that I think William Regal is one of the most underrated wrestlers in WWE history and I think his sporadic T.V. appearance over the last few months tell the same story. Hopefully, Regal’s involvement on Raw the past few weeks and his PPV appearance at Extreme Rules is a sign that Regal will be used on a more regular basis on WWE T.V.

The ECW title match is intriguing because the outcome of the match could quite literally determine Tommy Dreamer’s future in the WWE. Would it be great for Tommy to finally win a major title in the WWE? Sure, it would. Will it actually happen? Probably not. Dreamer’s “retirement” could consist of his seeking other opportunities outside the WWE or it could simply be Tommy going back to the office job he had before the ECW brand was started in the WWE back in 2006. Dreamer has stated on WWE.com that if he doesn’t win the ECW title at Extreme Rules that he would in fact leave the WWE but that could just be for story line purposes so at this point, it’s really unknown if Dreamer would actually leave the WWE completely if he doesn’t win the title at Extreme Rules. That being said, it really would be great for Dreamer to win the title, not only for all the heart he puts into every match but there’s really a lot the WWE could do story line wise with Dreamer as champion. Hopefully, Dreamer sticks around the WWE in some role and just because I think it would be cool, I’ll pick Dreamer to win the ECW title.

The John Cena/Big Show submission match is one I’m not looking forward to, but than again when is a Big Show match ever worth looking forward to? Also, didn’t we just see this match three weeks ago? Wasn’t that match three weeks ago not that great to begin with? If you haven’t guess by now, I’m not a fan of the Big Show and in my view, the WWE is putting Cena ia a feud with him simply to keep Cena busy until the time is right to put Cena back in the main event picture, which is why I’ll pick John Cena to get a win here.

The IC title match should be a really good match and even though Jericho didn’t win the title at the lasts PPV, I’ll predict that he wins the title here because it would validate his position as a main star on Smackdown. I’ve also mentioned before that a title isn’t going to effect how over Rey is with the crowd so I don’t think it would hurt his status on Smackdown to drop the title. Speaking of Rey, he deserve a lot of credit for all the strong performances that he’s had so far this year and it would appear that Rey is back to delivering solid matches every time he is in the ring.

The Ladder match for the World Heavyweight title should be great but the winner in this one seems very obvious with Edge retain the title. Just as I mentioned before, I don’t think the WWE will put the title back on Hardy. There have been rumors for the past two months that Hardy could be leaving the company and also you have to remember that Hardy has two wellness policy violations, which have to play a role in the WWE’s decision for the outcome of this match. Jeff Hardy has a major fan following and is currently one of the WWE’s most popular stars so it does match sense to put him in a title match, but while the WWE has Hardy in a main event spot on a PPV, it doesn’t seem like they will have him win the title.

The WWE title match is a steel cage match and while I never expect much from a Batista match, I think this one could be decent. That being said, just as I explained for Judgment Day, there’s no reason to put the title on Batista because of how much time the WWE has invested in Randy Orton’s main event push so I’ll pick Orton to retain the title.

On another note, I’d read that this week marks eleven years since The Junkyard Dog’s death and Jim Ross mentioned on his website how great a performer JYD was back in the day. I’d also like to take a moment to mention some thoughts about JYD. JYD was one of the stars that had a major presence in the ring and along with that JYD was one of the best “good guys” that you would see in the ring. As J.R. mentioned, Junkyard Dog wasn’t the best technical wrestler but you know JYD was a great performer from the crowd response and also that he was able to remain a “good guy” throughout his entire career without it being stale because you just couldn’t have a heel JYD. That being said, it’d be nice if JYD’s career is remembered by the fans for years,

Until next week
That’s My Story and I’m Sticking To It
Dr. Wrestling

If you have comments or questions e mail me drwrestlingallpro@yahoo.com