Preview: TNA Destination X 2010

Had you asked me two weeks ago, I would have told you that TNA was on course for another disaster like January’s Genesis.  Little time to plan, selling for the ratings rather than the PPV buyrate.  I was thinking that Destination X was going to be awful as a result of Impact building up to its debut on Monday nights.  Well, I was wrong.

Destination X is advertised as a spotlight for the X-Division, though in its previous four years, there really hasn’t been any more focus for them than any other PPV.  It’s really more of an excuse to bring out the Ultimate X Match, which can be both very good and very bad, depending on the circumstances.  Let’s not forget the year the ‘X’ kept falling off of the chain until they finally called the match.

But enough history.  Let’s run down the card.

TNA World Championship Match
AJ Styles(c) (w/ Ric Flair) vs. Abyss
AJ Styles turned on Kurt Angle at Genesis and took Ric Flair as his mentor.  Ever since, he’s been pretty much a dick to everyone.  The two called out Abyss after Hulk Hogan gave him his WWE Hall of Fame ring, which Abyss seems to believe holds the power of Hulkamania within it.  Since getting the ring, Abyss has been coming out to Hogan’s old WCW theme, using his speaking patterns (brother) and even Hulking up at opportune moments.  In this, the feud of Hogan vs. Flair continues without either man having to compete.

But this is really just a way to fill time.  D’Angelo Dinero was named #1 contender for next month’s PPV, so Styles and Flair banged up his ankle to keep him away while this program went down.  Dinero has been occupied with Desmond Wolfe, while Hogan and Flair took the spotlight to launch Impact on Monday nights.  And it actually hasn’t been too bad of a program, and certainly more entertaining than it probably had any right to be.  But after this show, the Dinero program begins again, so there’s no way that Abyss will be leaving with the title.

On the Road to WrestleMania: 3/19 SD

This week’s Smackdown opened again with a Rey Mysterio/C.M. Punk confrontation. However, there were some twists:

1) Punk has a “No Contact” stipulation: if Rey touches him before WrestleMania, the match at WM 26 is off

2) Rey will face Luke Gallows later in the night. If Rey wins, then Rey makes the match at WM a Street Fight; if Rey loses, then he must beat Punk at WM or join the Straight-Edged Society.

This segment was just as intense as last week’s. Great buildup leading into WrestleMania. As for the rest of the show…

WWE bans chair shots to the head

Striking an opponent with a metal folding chair is a time-honored tradition in professional wrestling.  The great equalizer, it’s a sure-fire way to get an advantage over an opponent and to get heat from a crowd.  And now, if done carelessly, it can lead to a suspension.

In an age of growing concerns over the lasting effects of concussions, the WWE has updated its wellness policy to include the following:

The WWE penalizes through fine and/or suspension the following:

• The intentional use of a folding metal chair to “strike” an opponent in the head.
• Any blow to the head that is deemed an INTENTIONAL act

Those are not prop chairs that are being used.  Go find a folding chair and check the weight.  Getting hit in the head will do some damage.  Bret Hart had his storied career ended by a concussion (though not from a chair).  Chris Benoit (who was known to take chair shots to the back of the head) was found to have severe brain damage after his murder/suicide of his family.

This is a fantastic move by the WWE, and definitely a far cry from the days of a hardcore division that fought in arena hallways with whatever weapons they could find.  And perhaps this will make chair shots less frequent and therefore a bigger deal when used.  When sold right, a chair shot to the back or jab to the stomach can grab just as much heat, and with time, fans will forget that guys like Mick Foley could shrug off numerous shots to the head.

Follow that one, TNA.  Please.

“Big” Night For The Rookies – NXT 3/17/10

The night opens up with CM Punk and Darren Young in tag action against Matt Hardy and Justin Gabriel.  As each team makes their way to the ring our host Matt Striker fill us in on more NXT details.

According to Striker, in two weeks the Pros will cast their first votes of the season. What does this mean. Who knows, they didn’t tell us any more than that. So maybe someone will be sent home or maybe these votes add up over the season’s entirety. Will just have to watch and find out.

Stone Cold: Raw 3/15/10

Stone Cold Steve Austin opened up the show hyping the Bret Hart/Vince McMahon match at Wrestlemania, and the contract signing tonight.

Shawn Michaels asks Austin if he thinks he can beat Undertaker at Wrestlemania.  Austin says he thinks he can, but he won’t.  Michaels talks some more about proving everyone wrong, and sending a message to Undertaker by beating Chris Jericho tonight.  Of course, Jericho shows up and disagrees.  Jericho tries to weasel his way out of the match, but Austin sends him to the ring.

At the beginning of the contract signing, Austin demands that Stu Hart be inducted into the Hall of Fame.  McMahon is fine with this because it means that all of the Hart family will be there.  Hart also demands that their match at Wrestlemania be No Holds Barred.  Vince is fine with this as well.  Austin announces that the match is final, and leaves.  Before he gets to the back, Austin points out that Hart has one more thing to say.  The camera comes back to the table to show Hart’s cast sitting on the table.  Hart reveals that the injury was all a stunt aided by Cena.  Hart hits McMahon with the cast a couple times, and finally has the upper hand against Vince.

Rest of the show.

• Big Show def. John Cena by pinfall. Fine match.  Cena was able to connect with his leg drop from the top rope even though Big Show was not doing him any favors by standing in the middle of the ring, and standing pretty upright.  Batista came out to provide a distraction.  Cena kicks out after a chokeslam, but goes down to Big Show’s right hook.
• Sheamus beats up Evan Bourne. It was supposed to be a match, but Sheamus gets a cheap shot in, hitting Bourne with the mic, then the bicycle kick, then the Celtic Cross.  Sheamus then cuts a promo about how he looked up to Triple H, and hyping Triple H’s accomplishments.  Sheamus comments on how he was supposed to be defending his championship at Wrestlemania, but Triple H ruined that.
• Maryse def. Kelly Kelly by pinfall. Really quick match.  Kelly Kelly got in a bit of offense, then Maryse dropped Kelly Kelly face first into a turnbuckle, then hit Kelly Kelly with the DDT to get a pin.  Post match, Maryse beats up on Kelly Kelly until Gail Kim and Eve run out for the save.  Then, Team LayCool comes out and beats up on the three face divas.
• Shawn Michaels def. Chris Jericho by count out. This was the type of match you’d expect Michaels and Jericho to have on Raw.  Fast paced, plenty of action.  As Michaels goes for Sweet Chin Music, Jericho rolls out of the ring, and gets counted out.  Edge then comes out, and beats up on Jericho, guiding him back to the ring in order to hit him with a Spear.
• Triple H def. Randy Orton by DQ. This was a pretty good match.  On the outside, Orton hit Triple H with a DDT while his feet were on the steps.  In the ring, it looked like Triple H was going to hit Orton with the Pedigree in the same way that Orton does his DDT, but he didn’t.  After Triple H hits the Pedigree, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase run in and knock Triple H out of the ring so that they can beat up Orton.  Triple H comes in and attacks them, only to be attacked by Sheamus.  Sheamus stands over Triple H’s body.
• Hall of Fame inductee: Gorgeous George.
• Batista def. Kofi Kingston by pinfall.  A little on the quick side, but still a fine match.  It might have been shortened by Batista getting busted open with a kick to the face.  Batista controlled most of the match, with Kingston getting a few moves in here and there.

Closing thoughts.

• There was an awkward moment at the beginning when Austin left after Cena came out, and during the Big Show’s entrance.  It was odd because nothing really happened.
• Poor Evan Bourne.  A week after winning a spot in Money in the Bank, he’s back to being cannon fodder for Sheamus.  At least it was a cheap shot that started it, and not Sheamus pounding him cleanly.
• Finally, Hart gets the upper hand on Vince.  To me, the payoff was worth the frustration experienced last week, when Hart looked very weak.  For story purposes, Hart had to see the injury to Vince so that he would be overconfident, and want to be in a match at Wrestlemania.

Is that direction I see?: Impact 3/15/10

It’s Abyss vs. AJ Styles going into Destination X, as you may recall.  But really, up until now, this has been a feud between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair, with the others doing the work that two guys surrounding the age of 60 might have trouble with.  This show, though, began shifting the focus from the elders to the actual participants.  AJ Styles thinks that the thought of a ring giving Abyss magical powers is completely ridiculous (join the club).  He also reminded Abyss that the two have had great matches in the past, but Styles always ended up the winner.  Abyss responded with a Hulk Hogan impression that was both horrible and amusing at the same time.

After last week’s show, a non-title match was made for AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy (with full Vampiro face paint).  Styles wasn’t impressed with Hardy either, and Hardy responded with some kind of gibberish about demons or shadow monsters or something.  I sure it sounded cool to him.  To even the odds, Hogan named Abyss the ’special enforcer’ for the match.  It ended pretty much how you would expect it to – the ref got taken out, Hardy got the Swanton off and Abyss counted the pinfall.  Flair and Styles beat on their opponents after the bell (the sixth post match beatdown of the night) but Abyss began Hulking up and ended up chokeslamming Flair through the ramp.  That’s a 62 year old man there.

As for the rest of the show…

TNA Webmatch: Jay Lethal vs. Rhino

Rhino?  Jay Lethal?  I remember these guys!  Rhino has been out since the first Hulk Hogan episode of Impact where he was beaten backstage by the Band, and Jay Lethal’s been MIA since he and Consequences Creed were demolished by Bobby Lashley (remember him?) who didn’t want to work for the company.  Before he did.  Before he got fired.  Whatever.

Neither guy has any kind of storyline, so TNA fans do what they do best – cheer for both guys.  When the crowd gets going back and forth with their chants, Rhino gets louder response, but then the same fans cheer on Black Machismo to break the bearhug.

Anyway, nothing special from these guys.  Perfectly fine match with Rhino picking up the win with the Gore.

The Spear… Broken?: 3/12 SD

Only 2 weeks and change until WrestleMania and the intensity of the Smackdown superstars have cranked up a notch. So has the insanity of some superstars (Straight Edged Society, etc.). Here are the details:

Turmoil, Teamwork & A 450 Splash – NXT 3/9/10

The night opens up with R-Truth and David Otunga vs. The Miz and Daniel Bryan. Truth and Otunga’s problems from last week seem to be settled. As for Miz and Bryan…well. Miz reminds Bryan he’s 0-2 and has done nothing to earn his dream of being a WWE Superstar no matter how much the fans love him. That being said Miz said that if Bryan didn’t pull his weight and  lost their match tonight he’d personally see to it that Bryan would never make it in the WWE.

I think we all can see where this is leading.

Raw 3/8/10

The show opens with a confrontation between Shawn Michaels and Undertaker.  Michaels claims to see fear in the Undertaker’s eyes.  The Undertaker sees desperation in Michaels.  Michaels, claiming that last year he would have accepted any type of victory (count out, DQ), says he doesn’t want that this year, and proposes that the match be a no-DQ and no count out match.  Undertaker accepts.

John Cena admits that Batista has had his number, and he has never beaten Batista.  So, Cena’s solution to fix that is to beat Batista.  In another segment, Batista gives his word as WWE champion that he will not interfere in tonight’s match between Vince McMahon and John Cena.

As the match is about to start, McMahon states that the match is going to be a handicap gauntlet match.  In reality, what this actually meant was that McMahon would have someone come out, they would beat up on Cena, and then leave.  McMahon would try to pin Cena, fail, and call someone else out.  McMahon called out Vladimir Koslov, Drew McIntyre, Jack Swagger, Mark Henry (who did attack Cena, but would not use the ring bell), and finally Batista.  Kofi Kingston came out to try to help Cena, but Batista eventually got the better of him.  McMahon pins Cena for the victory.

Rest of the show.