TNA News

[Head Booker]

Credit: thefightnetwork.com

New promotional material sent out for TNA's ECW-themed August PPV has a new name for the show - Hardcore Justice: One Last Stand. A new commercial for the show features fans chanting "ECW." It will be interesting to see how WWE reacts, if they do at all, to TNA using the ECW name to promote their product.



Credit: F4WOnline.com

- TNA Wrestling officials are trying to put together a match between Rob Van Dam and Jerry Lynn for next month's Hard Justice PPV, which would renew one of the most memorable rivalries in the history of ECW.

- Thursday's episode of Impact scored a 1.09 cable rating, with 1.44 million viewers. Viewership was slightly down from last week's 1.45 million figure which was the highest rated episode since the move back to Thursdays

[Sean Locke]

They want ECW back so bad they're willing to take a lawsuit for it. I wonder have they tried to buy it from Vince.

[Head Booker]

I wonder...even though I don't think there is...if there is any legal ramifications havin' fans chant "ECW"...other than that I don't foresee TNA employees i.e....commentators to continue usin' the initials...it's just like when Hall and Waltman came in...they were publicly bein' called The Wolfpac for a few weeks before they became The Band...

Tate

[Sean Locke]

But a commercial of Fans chanting "ECW" is an advertisment of them recognizing tommy dreamer and company as ECW which is a brand owned by someone else. The wolfpac thing is pretty small compared to this. Even though they really wouldn't need a commercial, because i'm pretty sure every fan watching is saying that it's an ECW invasion.

I doubt they'll let it to make it to TV.

[Rob]

Sounds like a tricky thing here. Yes, TNA could get in trouble for using the chant footage, but the fans decide to use it and it can't be proven that TNA was seeking that reaction in particular. Doubt there'll be a lawsuit though as the case wouldn't be strong enough to get anywhere

[Head Booker]

The following is from PlatinumChampionshipWrestling.com:

We at PCW want to congratulate our own AUSTIN CREED on the recent signing of his WWE developmental contract! Congratulations Austin!


Austin Creed aka Consequences Creed...

[Sean Locke]

SPOILER: Click to show

-- According to Jerry Lynn's official website (http://www.jerryfnlynn.com/), he will be working the August 8th TNA Hard Justice PPV against Rob Van Dam. This is the rumored main event that the company has been trying to put together.

Source: PWinsider.com

I didn't know whether its a true spoiler or not so I put tags on it anyway. Kind of an update to the first one.

[Icon Lord Sean "Magic" Fiery]

I'm loving TNA right now... BUT!!! I wish they would work on their matches or the mics under the ring. I keep watching these matches and WANT to love them as much as I do the rest of the program, but there's just no "impact" feel to the moves. Everything is too obviously "soft" (basically a blatant avoidance of real-looking contact) and any slam to the mat just isn't crisp... It's more bounce and enhanced bass. Really the only disappointing quality that has bothered me this past month that I have tuned into Impact. Yes, their jumps and sparkle are nice looking, but the end result leaves me feeling cheated because I can see the "fake" factor of it all. Atleast in WWE they have the stronger crisp and real feel during their matches.

Other than that, it's my only complaint... But that's kinda a big thing they should work on because that's THE business right there. Hopefully Hard Justice lives up to the hype. If they get Sabu to join in, I'll definitely watch this event... Free of charge on my PC

[Head Booker]

Credit: F4WOnline.com

Sources indicate that in a recent meeting with TNA President Dixie Carter, Paul Heyman emphasized he didn’t believe in drastic changes, bur rather the way to go is with new talent as the key stars while using a few veterans to give them credibility, not unlike how he used Terry Funk in the original ECW. Ironically, Heyman did not support the idea of an ECW invasion when it was brought up, yet Carter went ahead and did it anyway, plugging Tommy Dreamer into the role that essentially would have belonged to Heyman (both on-screen and behind the scenes).

Heyman is also said to have told Carter to her face that of the older legends they have under contract, she could keep one and get rid of the others, and she didn’t seem to understand why. Carter has been loyal to the stars of the past and has been resistant to giving anyone the authority to hire or fire people. This includes Vince Russo and even Jim Ross, back when they were making a serious play for him.

While the Heyman deal is cold, it is nowhere close to being dead. TNA sees Heyman’s asking for points in the company as merely a negotiating tactic and is still hopeful a deal can be reached.

[Head Booker]

Jul 22, 2010 21:26:05 GMT -6 Sean Locke said:

SPOILER: Click to show

-- According to Jerry Lynn's official website (http://www.jerryfnlynn.com/), he will be working the August 8th TNA Hard Justice PPV against Rob Van Dam. This is the rumored main event that the company has been trying to put together.

Source: PWinsider.com

I didn't know whether its a true spoiler or not so I put tags on it anyway. Kind of an update to the first one.

Jerry Lynn's Work Schedule

seems to confirm what you saw Derrian...

[Head Booker]

Link to the Hard(core) Justice website... www.hardcorejustice.com

[Head Booker]

Article from bleacherreport.com about Tommy Dreamer, WWE and TNA...spoilers due to length..

SPOILER: Click to show

Disclaimer: This will not be one of the more fundamentally written, stylistically sound articles you read. This column is likely to lead to several tangents, rants, diatribes, etc. You have been warned.

Who is Tommy Dreamer, and what has he ever accomplished? Tommy Dreamer is a jobber. He is a fat boy with a lot of spirit and no talent.

He is a lucky SOB that Vince McMahon granted the opportunity to work for the world’s biggest company for half a decade and grow in name recognition, all while putting money in his pocket in the short-term and now long-term as well.

He was (correction) Scotty Flamingo, I mean, Raven’s lackey, traveling up and down the East Coast, getting his brains beaten in on a nightly basis.

Even during his oft-romanticized feud with Raven that 1990s ECW fans wax poetic on where he finally got his victory, it wasn’t Dreamer that was the draw—it was Raven.

Nobody paid money to see Ronnie Garvin; they went to see Ric Flair and hoped that he would finally get his comeuppance from the gritty Garvin. And to a couple thousand fans in the Eastern Pennsylvania region, Raven and Dreamer were Flair and Garvin.

And ultimately, we had the great payoff. Fortunately for ECW, the belt wasn’t on the line because they had learned from stories like Flair/Garvin. They knew who was the draw.

They knew Dreamer played his role, but that didn’t mean he was a champion. Even the diehard Philadelphia faithful wouldn’t buy Dreamer as a champion or title contender.

Dreamer is nobody, but when Paul Heyman brought his boys over to WWE, he talked them into signing him. And Dreamer was good at his job. He took a beating like few others.

He ingratiated himself to the crowd as the everyman, the underdog. He was the Brooklyn Brawler. He was Barry Horowitz. At most, he’s a pudgy 1-2-3 Kid-era Sean Waltman with a goatee.

Now, flip on to the TNA main event and we are forced to watch an old, broken down never-was pour out his heart about how much he loves wrestling while standing next to a cast of broken-down old men, of which only Mick Foley has ever accomplished anything inside a wrestling ring.

As for the others, let me take this to bullet points.


Stevie Richards

Most recently, “Dr. Stevie” is the ECW version of Val Venis. He always had a ton of talent, was over with the crowd, and was versatile.

For some reason, he never got a chance to go during his prime. His greatest accomplishment, which he coincidentally shared with Sean Morley, was appearing on the greatest wrestling PPV of all-time, Wrestlemania X-Seven, during the Right to Censor storyline.

Since then, Richards has never really done much and is merely hanging on at this point. He’s lucky to have a job and will probably be trying to sell autographs in strip malls a few years from now.



Raven

If he could have stayed sober, he could have been something. His character was great.

We haven’t seen a character give the crowd or another wrestler as good a mind f—k as Raven until CM Punk came along. Raven could have been a draw, but he couldn’t keep his personal life straight.

Much like Richards, the only thing he’s ever done is with a few hardcore championships and appear on WM X-Seven.



Rhyno, or is it Rhino?

He's a great low-card worker. He can get over with the crowd on his raw power, but he could never cut a promo or be a top guy.

He had a great run as the third-wheel of Edge and Christian during the legendary tag team feuds of the early 2000s. He had a few nice runs in TNA, winning the belt, but never drew any money.

He tried to develop Jesse Neal, but he couldn’t get him over. Now Neal’s future is being entrusted to Shannon Moore. How’s that for a slap in the face? Shannon Moore > Rhino.

Fact is, when looking at these names, the only reason they stand before you today in a TNA ring is because at one time or another, Vince McMahon gave them a contract.

He gave them screen time, involved them in a legit feud, let them showcase their skills on a PPV, and put some money in their pockets.

With the news coming of other names that will be appearing at the newly dubbed Hardcore Justice PPV, they are just more names of former ECW stars that got a run on WWE before being too old, broken down, or stupid to keep a job.

There are plenty of ECW originals who had significant roles in their success in Philly during the 1990s that aren’t being brought in by TNA in an effort to attract their fans.

Sure, you can have Foley, Dreamer, Raven, Richards, Taz, Rhino, and RVD. Go ahead and bring in Sandman, Jerry Lynn, and Sabu.

What about Mikey Whipwreck, Axl Rotten, and Amish Roadkill? Oh wait, none of these guys ever did anything in WWE. They have never been attached to a mainstream audience.

This isn’t a “One More Stand” for ECW to show their fans how great they were; this is an ill-fated money grab by TNA that doesn’t have any confidence in their product to draw viewers.

I loved some of the lines from Dreamer’s promo Thursday night, most notably that Ric Flair is doing for Jay Lethal what Terry Funk did for him and Mick Foley.

Indeed, Foley was Funk’s protégé and borrowed heavily from his moveset as he developed the Cactus Jack character.

Funk put him over in some hardcore matches, they bled profusely, and it helped Foley catch the eye of WWF to catapult his career to Hall of Fame standards.

But what did Funk do for Dreamer? Sure, you could say he paved the way for hardcore wrestling, which Dreamer picked up on because he is incapable of having a true, technical match. He didn’t make him a star.

What Flair is doing for Lethal is nice. It’s given Lethal something to do, but while Foley’s character was his own and borrowed from Funk, Lethal’s character is clearly doing an impression of Flair in a humorous manner.

AJ Styles was dubbed the “Next Nature Boy,” not Lethal. And while Flair is putting Lethal over nicely, it’s completely different from what Funk did for Foley.

Lethal may have used the Figure Four on Flair, but it’s not Lethal’s move. He doesn’t pattern his style after Flair; they are completely different wrestlers.

This is just an example of how Dreamer was talking out of his ass during this promo, and an example of one of the tangents/rants that I promised would occur during this column.

This entire storyline has been a jumbled mess from the beginning. Last week, ECW invaded.

They ran in, beat up TNA’s resident monster, decimated their roster as they ran out of the locker room, and Dixie was left crying because she invited them and we were supposed to believe that ECW was here to take charge.

Now, one week later, we have no real explanation as to why we had the brawl last week, there was no animosity toward the ECW originals, and we have a lovefest to close out the show.

In two weeks, they have lost me completely on where this storyline is going. They are here to make sure that ECW and the heart of the company isn’t forgotten.

Great. That sounds like a good storyline. ECW invades and beats down today’s TNA stars. They lay down the law and say that they are old school, gritty, hardcore, and while the rest of these new chumps are flipping around and calling themselves the future, ECW is here to make sure nobody forgets their history.

Foley cuts a promo with a barbed wire bat in hand and says, “You want to cross the line? Here it is,” as he draws a line in the ring with the bat. “We’ll see you on the other side and find out what you are really made of."

BOOM, you have a motive, you have clear battle lines, you have a feud.

Instead, we have a bunch of people feeling sorry for Tommy Dreamer for not having talent and being lucky he has a job—one that again I’d like to reiterate is only his because WWE raised his profile over the last few years and made him more famous than he ever was in ECW.

If Dreamer is legitimate in his claims that he sees a lot of ECW in TNA (which is an absurd thought, but I won’t go there right now), then he needs to follow his own words.

ECW wasn’t about bringing old curtain jerkers back to the ring and having them put on poor garbage matches. Aside from Terry Funk, ECW was about young stars coming up, making a name for themselves, and getting to the next level.

ECW was never going to be a national brand. They were never going to compete with WWE.

And if Dreamer says he sees ECW in TNA, than what he means is that this is where young future stars cut their teeth in order to secure a contract that sends them paychecks from Stamford, Conn.

If TNA sees itself as a place where young stars can shine, then let’s see it. Let’s see these new faces rise up the card and draw money with compelling television.

Let’s see Jay Lethal, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and Desmond Wolfe fill up arenas, not high school auditoriums. This hasn’t happened, and I don’t see it changing anytime soon.

Instead, we’ll get RVD, Jeff Hardy. and Mr. Anderson main eventing each month, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I’m a big fan of all three.

Unfortunately, this isn’t what ECW would have done. This is more along the lines of WCW, who would pick up those wrestlers they could get from WWF and push them to the title.

If TNA wants to be like ECW, develop a diehard cult following that can change the industry, and drive Vince McMahon to adjust his business model, we need to see some major change.

We need to see the roster cut down to size—a move that Dixie Carter has been resistant to making.

Let me see what names should be eliminated immediately if TNA thinks they can really save some money and make a name for themselves by putting on great matches and being a true, edgy alternative to WWE.

Here we go: Chelsea, Christy Hemme, Daffney, Jesse Neal, Jimmy Hart, Kevin Nash, Orlando Jordan, Raven, Rhino, Rob Terry, Sean Waltman, Shark Boy, Stevie Richards, and Tommy Dreamer.

Of course, those that are still listed on the roster that are reportedly no longer with the company include Scott Hall, ODB, and Christopher Daniels.

What’s left is a roster that could do some damage if properly booked and promoted.

TNA has changed direction in a desperate attempt to gain mainstream acceptance for the last seven months. The worst thing that could have happened was on Jan. 4, 2010. The show that drew the biggest numbers the company had ever seen set them up for failure.

Instead of bringing in the big names like Hardy, RVD, and Anderson, pushing the young talent and developing something strong and cohesive on Thursday nights, they jumped too fast into a failed “war” on Monday Nights and are only now beginning to recover the audience they lost.

Now, after they correctly fired Scott Hall and appeared to begin some correct steps, such as booking the tag division, letting RVD be a strong champion, and letting Kurt Angle be a bad ass, they pull this ECW Returns garbage.

TNA has been about great in-ring performances, something that it has legitimately delivered to a greater degree than WWE for several years.

Aside from Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, and some CM Punk matches, WWE has had nothing in the ring to compare their matches to that Angle, Styles, Joe, and Daniels have put on.

But now, instead of using that as their M.O., they are having a “hardcore” movement, a style of wrestling that died out.

I keep sitting, waiting, hoping, praying that TNA will turn it around and develop into competition for WWE. With stunts like this and jokers like Tommy Dreamer, I’ll be waiting for a long, long time.

[Sean Locke]

I kind of agree with some of the things he's saying. I hope they actually have some feuds to build up to the ppv and not just have matches because they want to show some old ECW stars wrestle again. I didn't like that they just ended the show with Tommy Dreamer talking about taking everything to the extreme and everybody just shaking hands in the ring, but i'mma wait until next week and see if they have a couple of wrestlers against this and start attacking the ECW stars.

Something else has me confused though when abyss was talking about they told him to do all this stuff was he talking about ECW or someone else. When TNA came on they made it look like he was talking about ECW.

[Icon Lord Sean "Magic" Fiery]

Which makes no sense because they jumped Abyss... I hope "THEY" is someone else...

Still, such a Raide/Rebellion ripoff atoryarch I swear these companies steal our material!

[Rob]

I couldn't read it all. The writer of that "article" is an arrogant, jumped-up little mark trying to act like a smart. That shit right there is why I stopped reading Power Slam, because people like that act as if they know fucking everything. He's putting his opinions across as irrefutable facts rather than what they are- his opinions.

So he didn't like Tommy Dreamer. Big deal, the guy still helped to put over an awful lot of people, same with Richards. What a condescending prick.

This is why people who write magazine articles on wrestling/wrestlers aren't taken seriously. Just another smark who can't admit that he knows fuck all about the business.