Saturday, June 11, 2011

WrestlingNerd Presents: TNA Slammiversary Rundown

What is up wrestling fans, I am the WrestlingNerd bringing you another PPV rundown. Today, we do a rundown of TNA Slammiversary. It has been a while since I have done one of these, so I will give you an idea on how I do things on here. I will rundown every match that is on the PPV card and also break it down into who should win, who creative will pick, and I will finally throw in my final prediction for the match, but my predictions generally don't mean anything. The buildup to Slam has been there, but there has also been some awkard buildup to the show as well based on the storylines that TNA has going around. Well, let's begin the rundown.

Mickie James vs Angelina Love for the KO Championship
Some of the worse buildup I have even seen to a match, and to a storyline that makes no sense. You would figure with Winter brainwashing Love that she would use her as a bodyguard to do her bidding, but instead it's the zombie chick who is getting the title shot and not the mastermind of the whole thing. As I wrote in one of my Impact reviews, that would be like Frankenstein's monster controlling and telling Dr. Frankenstein what to do, which would be the total opposite. Since the creative staff wrote for Love to get the title shot, this is basically TNA's way of telling Winter she is not championship material and they have no faith in her to carry the KO division if she won the title. While I will admit her ability isn't up there with that of Tara or Mickie, she is decent enough to make it work. I also don't really see the appeal with Love that much, especially when she has more make up on her face than Bozo the Clown. Don't get me wrong, she is a decent talent, but it just seems like she is always getting championship and title shots every so often. Also something I have mentioned in my Impact reviews, I don't really care for this whole storyline between Winter and Love since it is overly silly and really just comes off as stupid. Come on, she is brainwashed and not ONE person in that company can find a cure or send her to the hospital for help? Yeah I know, more wrestling logic. Not only that, but it also doesn't seem that Mickie cares she has a match coming up against Love. Definitely one of more lazier ideas put together for the PPV and a match I really can't get invested into.

Who should win:
Imagine Love holding the title while still acting like a statue? Looks and sounds stupid right? I think Mickie should win the match.

Who creative will pick:
Creative will either kill the zombie storyline or keep letting it grow. Based on how THIS creative staff does things, I would assume they will continue this storyline and thus Love ends up taking the title.

My final pick:
It isn't really set in stone as who will win this match. Since I cannot stand this zombie storyline, I am going to hope Mickie wins and then she uses a Harry Potter magic wand to reverse the spell on Love and then she attacks Winter. Again, sounds stupid right? Well, that is only because it is.

Crimson vs Samoa Joe
Well, at least there is actually a story with this match and it actually makes sense. Basically, it seems that Joe has become a little jealous of Crimson because he has been labeled the blue chipper and there was a point where he was asked to be that guy and.......well needless to say, Joe certainly has had his ups and downs with the company since. Joe also wants to be the guy who ends the "winning streak" (I write it like that because Crimson has probably only had like ten matches since debuting with the company) because Crimson is trying to chase something Joe acomplished back in the day. I really like this Crimson because he really has a good look that can go pretty far in professional wrestling. He has all the tools, grea look, decent in ring ability, good size, and just seems to have the "It" factor. It really depends if he can cut a decent promo, and if he can do that, he could be the next big thing in pro wrestling. So, it kinda seems like TNA is on the right track with Crimson by having him go over midcard talent (Joe fans, your going to have to come to grips that Joe is basically a midcard player and not a main eventer anymore) and building him up slowly but also making sure people are taking notice. The rivalry hasn't been built up in the best possible way, but it's easy to follow and I think people have a little bit of interest in this match.

Who should win:
Crimson needs to win to keep up the momentium.

Who creative will pick:
I don't think TNA will keep this rivalry going after the PPV, so Crimson is probably on their minds.

My final pick:
I have to pick Crimson to win this match since everything seems to point his way at the moment.

James Storm and Alex Shelley vs British Invasion for the Tag Team Championships
I know I said this earlier in the rundown, but one of the worst buildups to a title match I have ever seen. The Brits made one appearance, and it was via commentary. Do they even care they are getting a title shot? When did they get a title shot? Heck, do they even KNOW they are getting a title shot? Yeah, needless to say, the continuity for this one is all over the place. I have no idea where they are going with all of this at the moment and I even wonder if the Robert Roode injury is legit or just kayfabe. This could be an opportunity for Shelley to turn on Beer Money and maybe start a program with them, but that would be odd since it would become a two on one deal. I am sure the quality of this match will be decent, but don't you think you would be more interested in this match if the Brits actually showed up to confront the challengers? Damn, Eric Bischoff has so much of an ego that he has wrote himself into the X Division feud and also this deal between himself and BM, because as you all know, Bischoff appearing on tv equals ratings.... I almost wondering if TNA just flips the ratings chart upside down just to make themselves believe they are doing well?

Who should win:
I am not even sure who should win or not. This buildup to this match is about as productive as the Virtual Boy.

Who creative will pick:
I think creative has something up their sleeve for this match, at least that is what I am hoping for or else it would make this whole match a complete waste of time.

My final pick:
This one can go eitherway. I just flipped a coin and it appears that I am going with the Brits to win this match.

Matt Morgan vs Scott Steiner
You know what is strange about this feud? When the feud started, it was about trying to determine who deserved a title shot more between the two, but since Angle and Jarrett get the #1 Contender match, it almost makes this possible title confrontation to just a regular feud. Did Morgan and Steiner just forget about the world title? Anyway, this rivalry has almost become just a regular good guy/bad guy feud or really just a feud for Morgan to show he can hang with Steiner since he has been critizing him a lot. I am not sure about this one. This match would have been better if it was at the last PPV because the buildup at that point was decent, but TNA hasn't put enough time nor energy to make people care about this feud one month later. In other words, this feud as almost become a stick of bubble gum after you have chewed it for a while, it has just lost its flavor compared to what it originally was. Now, to be fair, the rumor going around is TNA and Steiner have been at a standstill in terms of contract/money talks, which is why this feud's stock has fallen. Still, it doesn't change the fact that the majority of people have probably lost their interest in this little rivalry.

Who should win:
Morgan is the up and comer while Steiner is the vet, so the vet should help put over the young talent....

Who creative will pick:
However, in TNA Land, they feel the need to have the veterans always win. Come on, this company's champion is 52 years old. That is just crap.

My final pick:
It is hard to tell if this is the blow off feud or if this will be a lenghty feud. I am going to pick Morgan for the time being since it would be kinda ridiculous to keept his feud going.

Abyss vs Kaz vs Brian Kendrick for the X Division Championship
Well, I have to admit this is one of those storylines that is at least keeping me interested in Impact. Basically, Bischoff was trying to rid the X Division and sent in the monster (who is a smart enough monster to read the Art of War, which is odd and cool) to take over the division and destroy it. I know most people don't like this storyline since it is crapping all over the X Division, but at the same time, the X Division hasn't done anything to get me interested in what they bring to the table for a while. With Abyss running a muck, I have become curious to see how this is played out. Both Kaz and Kendrick have decided to be the two main guys to fight for the division. The storyline is still in the early stages, so Abyss needs to win this match. If anyone else wins this match, it instantly ends the storyline and the X Division goes back to being an after thought in TNA.

Who should win:
Abyss needs to win to continue the storyline since this storyline is still fresh.

Who creative will pick:
This creative staff is stupid enough to have one of the other two guys win to kill this storyline.

My final pick:
I am going to pick Abyss to win, and hopefully TNA can find a way to make this storyline more interesting.....I hope.

AJ Styles vs Bully Ray in a Last Man Standing Match
This sadly might be the best feud going on in TNA. The world title feud hasn't had good buildup this month while Kurt and Jarrett has been going on since the dawn of time. This feud is also simple and it is mainly about revenge and respect. Bully took Styles off of tv and now Styles is trying to get back at him, that's all. Why can't TNA have more storylines that are easy to follow and not overcomplicate them? Heck, this feud is also featured some decent dialogue between the two, and I think it is the feud in TNA that I am the most interested in at the moment. Even though I have slammed Bully in the past, who the hell would have thought you would be seeing Bully near the main event? If you would have told me that was the plan, I would have called you insane, but Bully has done well with the gimmick. The gimmick is pretty basic, but yet refreshing in pro wrestling because he is a bully. I like the concept of the character, but I am still not big on Bubba playing the character and it should be used on somebody who didn't perform during the 90s. I am not sure how the quality of the match will go since it is a LMS match and those are either hit and miss.

Who should win:
Really, it can go either way, but since this is most likely the blow off feud, Styles should get the win.

Who creative will pick:
There is a chance this fued will go on afterwords. And yes, this creative staff is stupid enough to possible have this feud going into 2012 and ending in 2013. Let's hope that isn't the case.

My final pick:
This is a tough one since it can go eitherway, so time to flip another coin. I guess I am picking Styles to win this match.

Kurt Angle vs Jeff Jarrett in a #1 Contender's Match
Oh, Jesus tap dancing on a pogostick Christ, do I REALLY have to rundown this match again? You know what, f*** it. I am NOT going into detail on this match again because I have talked about this rivalry enough in the past. To sum it up, Angle and Jarrett have been feuding since October of last year and the feud as gotten so stupid that is has involved MMA, Karen Jarrett, a former wrestler and now a current pornstar in Chyna, custody papers, and s*** falling from the sky. Even the Looney Toons would say you have crossed the line with the slapstick going on with this garbage. TNA is billing this as the Final Battle. Well, I really hope it is because I am sick to death of this feud and it needs to die. Angle's gold medal is on the line for this match, yeah?

Who should win:
Please.....PLEASE let Angle win the blow off feud and just move on.

Who creative will pick:
If creative makes Jarrett win via cheating to continue this crap, then I am personally going to have to make a trip to Orlando and tell the staff how I REALLY feel about their product.

My final pick:
I am picking Angle to win just so this ends the feud. If TNA values the sanity of wrestling fans, they will hold true to calling this the Final Battle.

Sting vs Mr. Anderson for the TNA World Championship
Back a few months during the buildup for the LD PPV match, Sting and Anderson were really at each other's throats. The rivalry was really there, which is why at the time I felt the buildup to that match was done decently because you can sense the tension between Sting and Anderson. Fast forward two months later and clearly something has changed. The tension between the two doesn't really seem to be there and it's turning into more of a cartoon more than anything else. Think about it. Instead of Anderson attacking Sting or insulting him, all he is doing to fuel this rivalry is to dress up like old school Sting. Last I checked Anderson, but simply pretending it's Halloween isn't going to completely build up the tension. This is supposed to be for the world title and thus it should be the main focus of the show, but instead it is taking a backseat and you almost forget Anderson and Sting are fighting for the world title. Plus, it really isn't doing any favors when Eric Young of all people is looking more threatening than anyone else during this whole confrontation. This is more of an example of TNA being lazy and not showing any creatitivity since they are having Anderson doing the same thing by doing the old school Sting look. It would be BEYOND stupid if TNA actually had Anderson compete in this match with the Sting get up. Sometimes, TNA needs to really grow up. At least the buildup to this match was done better in the last episode of Impact, but that show ended with Sting murdering Anderson. THERE IS A MURDERER RUNNING AROUND IN TNA!!! Anyway, I am also not expecting much out of the match considering that Sting has looked really bad in some of his title defenses and just seems to be pulling a John Cena by winning in the final minute of the match. To be fair, Sting is battered after years of competition, but that is even more of a reason that Sting shouldn't be a full time performer and should be a part time wrestler.

Who should win:
I would much rather see Anderson with the hardware than Sting since it is almost getting sad to see Sting perform at the level he has been lately.

Who creative will pick:
The winner to the Angle/Jarrett match will effect who will win this match and hopefully the creative staff is actually thinking ahead for once. It also seems TNA is preping Sting/Hogan, which should get a wonder turnout in the Springfield Retirement Home.

My final pick:
I am going to pick Anderson to win the title. I think they need a change at the top of the helm and I think Anderson getting the title is the best route to go in. I love what Sting back in the day, but seeing him out there is almost kinda sad. Of course, your probably wondering how Anderson will win if he is dead? Well, I am sure TNA will pull something out of their ass. I mean, they have done that in the past.

And that is going to do it for the rundown and I hope you enjoyed it. Overall, the card has potentional, but some of these matches didn't have good buildup and I wouldn't be shocked to see this PPV drag or suck. TNA pulled in about average work with their last PPV, and if they can do that with this card, it will at least be a step in the right direction. Then again, everytime this company takes a step in the right direction, they take like 4-5 steps back. Tell me what you thought of my rundown and what YOU think will happen at the PPV. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time.

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