The Official Weekly LIVE iMPACT Wrestling Thread!

LeeJM

gnfnrhead wrote: »

Am I the only one thinking TNA have something big planned for January 5th since they arranged a PPV only three days after? Nobody is going to buy a PPV with two hours worth of build unless they pull out something amazing during those two hours.

No idea what it could be but they must be confident. Or delusional. One of them anyway.

Even if they do they will just have messed it up by January 19th!

I predict in the first two weeks Eric Young will turn face only to turn heel again. Mike Bennett and Maria will debut as faces only to turn heel and form a stable. Dixie Carter will be on tv ALOT! EC III will win the World Title tournament and then somehow lose the title a week later in order to turn face. Matt Hardy will cry on tv. And then turn heel. The Beautiful People will turn face or maybe heel again. Oh I nearly forgot Bobby Roode, he wil give a passionate promo about TNA being real wrestling, best fans etc... and then turn heel! Cos you know SWERVE

gnfnrhead

A decent debut on Pop but they really should have done so much more. Beer Money reunion was nice and the debut of Bennett went over well but nothing else really stood out. Opening with an authority figure talking in the ring was a terrible idea and likely made a bad first impression. No reason they couldn't have sent someone like Manik and Tigre Uno out to have a fast paced match to make the show look different than Raw.

The World title matches were predictable but sometimes predictable is the right way to go. This was one of those times. I doubt it will happen, but hopefully that's the end of Matt Hardy in the title picture. Have EC3 turn on Tyrus for abandoning him and run with that feud instead. Not thrilled with Bennett looking for the World title straight away. Was hoping they would establish him then bring in Taven as his partner. The two of them and EC3 would make a nice group. Throw in someone like Jessie Godderz then to act as the young guy.

Kong joining the Dollhouse was random as hell. Can only assume it's due to her bad back so she needs to be protected. The mystery partner thing was a waste of time when it turned out to be one of the other two Knockouts on the roster. They really should have brought in someone new even if only short-term. Likewise with the Bram return. Ended up being a let down considering how much emphasis Roode was putting on the any company part of his promo.

A decent show but it needed to be more. The PPV looks like a waste of time too with the exception of the Beer Money reunion. I haven't seen any mention of a rating yet but I'd be curious to see how they did.

spektorfive

Was trying to watch it tonight but could not get a link. Look at it Sunday when it's on Challenge. Shocked they brought Bram back. Wasn't he in heavy legal trouble? Thought it be someone a company would want to stay away from.

gnfnrhead

spektorfive wrote: »

Was trying to watch it tonight but could not get a link. Look at it Sunday when it's on Challenge. Shocked they brought Bram back. Wasn't he in heavy legal trouble? Thought it be someone a company would want to stay away from.

All charges were dropped so he's good to go. He will always carry the accusations with him though, regardless of how true they were.

Furious-Red

So was Storm being in NXT just a quick stint?

spektorfive

The story I heard was that Billy Gunn was the one (no pun meant) who was behind them getting Storm. When Billy was fired, storm lost his main supporter.

Blue_Dabadee

Quite a similar experience to his former AMW tag team partner. I hope WWE produces a 3-disc DVD of James Storm.

gnfnrhead

Furious-Red wrote: »

So was Storm being in NXT just a quick stint?

WWE offered him $100,000. TNA offered him $250,000. Not hard to see what made the decision for him.

gnfnrhead

This week's show is what they should have done for the debut. A far better episode with two very good matches (Roode vs Young and Angle vs Galloway), a Jeff Hardy match, a debut, X-Division and Tag Champions in action, an improved Knockouts match, no Dixie Carter, set up a World Championship match for next week.

Why didn't they do all that last week instead of the decent but routine show we got?

gnfnrhead

The main event was really good and the ending came across so much better than the spoilers would have you believe. Show is worth watching for the last 30 minutes alone. A few segments throughout the show build it a little so it isn't completely out of the blue.

Furious-Red

TNA's response to the AJ rumours

AJ Styles has always been synonymous with TNA and TNA synonymous with AJ Styles. AJ helped build the foundation of IMPACT WRESTLING, and his phenomenal body of work lives in our rich history - something we are very proud of.

In the last few weeks, rumors have swirled about AJ Styles, his future and TNA Wrestling. Fans have asked for the status and wrestling media have made numerous inquiries.

For the past several months, AJ and TNA were involved in serious discussions to bring him back home to TNA. Creative discussions escalated and two additional wrestlers, Drew Hankinson and Chad Allegra, were enthusiastically added.

These discussions culminated on December 14th in Nashville, Tenn., where all attended a meeting at Dixie Carter's home. A handshake and written deal between AJ, Drew, Chad and TNA was agreed upon and signed by all. Start dates were determined, creative decided, merchandise designed and plane tickets purchased.

Over the Christmas holiday, and after the lawyers finalized the long form agreement, all communication with TNA stopped.

AJ's lawyer contacted TNA and stated the wrestlers had changed their mind and would not be honoring their commitment to TNA.

Machismo Fan

More details from PW Insider:

Since TNA released their statement regarding AJ Styles, Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows earlier today, PWInsider.com has been hit with a number of queries from readers, so here is some background on what happened between all sides, where the issues lie and what might happen going forward.

Based on conversations with a number of sources over the last several hours, it appears TNA began discussions with AJ Styles sometime in November 2015 in regard to bringing him back to the company. TNA had more money available to them to sign talents with Kurt Angle's deal expiring and a number of TV deals, most notably India and the UK, bringing the company greater rights fees when January 2016 hit, as well as the new deal with Pop TV, all of which insured the company was going to be a stronger position financially then it had been in recent years.

TNA wanted Styles back bad. The feeling was that when Styles left, the company had lost their "Sting" in terms of a talent who was so strongly branded to them, he was the embodiment of the company, as Sting once was to World Championship Wrestling. The belief was that Styles' return, coupled with the new TV home, would be a nice one-two punch to show the audience that things were finally turning around. Styles' return would give them their "homegrown top guy" back and kick off the first quarter of the year with a strong storyline that would generate attention for the company. For those wondering, at no point during these discussions was Styles under contract to New Japan Pro Wrestling.

We are told that TNA had daily discussions with Styles in November and December and that the idea of bringing Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson was tossed out there. The pair were looking to leave New Japan for a number of reasons, including, allegedly, unhappiness over money the Bullet Club was making over merchandising as New Japan pretty much has a license to print money with that stable. Gallows was not under contract to NJPW. Anderson was and still is.

An angle was created that would have seen Styles return and then eventually, once Anderson was free and clear from his NJPW commitments, he and Gallows would have come in as well.

The discussions moved forward to the point that all three gathered with TNA President Dixie Carter, Vice President John Gaburick and others for what was termed a "summit" at Carter's home in Nashville, TN on 12/14. The group met all day and according to one TNA source, "It could not have gone better as a meeting." That day, creative storylines were locked in, a logo for the group was finalized and start dates were locked in, with the idea that Styles would start in January 2016 and the others would follow when the storyline dictated. It was said to be a major part of TNA's creative for the first half of the year.

The trio were presented with a contract to sign. The trio met privately and came back with some requested amendments, which TNA agreed to. Styles' deal was said to have been "at least" a three year deal with an option for one additional year at the end. I have no confirmation on the length of the deals for Gallows and Anderson.

At the end of the day, TNA sources claim (and are adamant) that Styles, Gallows and Anderson, as well as TNA officials all signed agreements that would bring Styles home and bring Anderson and Gallows into TNA as a team. There were no lawyers involved, just the principles and at the end of the day, AJ Styles had returned home and the Bullet Club members were coming to TNA.

So, what happened?

Well, as often happens in life, once lawyers get involved, it all goes to hell.

The story that has made the rounds is that once Styles' agent/lawyer Bill Behrens learned that Styles (and perhaps the others) had signed an agreement without Behrens' involvement and supervision, he did not have a positive reaction. TNA sources, as you might expect, support this story, noting that Behrens was against the deal after he learned about it and that Styles' deal could not be ratified without his involvement.

Communication between Behrens (who, it should be pointed out, worked for TNA in its earlier days) and TNA began. Longer form contracts were being drawn up by TNA attorneys as the Christmas holidays hit, leading to the obvious delays as businesses shut down for that season.

In the meantime, TNA purchased plane tickets for Styles to come to Bethlehem, PA for the final day of tapings for the Pop TV debut episodes. One story we have heard is that Styles was going to secretly come to shoot pre-tapes at a hotel that would then be inserted into the show, with the idea that TNA would shock the world when the shows aired and out of nowhere, here was the return of Styles - sort of a play on the surprise announcement that Kurt Angle had signed with the company going forward.

From there, Styles would return to the TNA ring at the end of January during the UK tour. I am guessing he would have been one of the final Kurt Angle opponents, because logically, that would make the most sense. We are told Styles even suggested some British talents that the company should take a look at, including Will Ospreay.

But, then, according to TNA sources, they never heard from Styles, Anderson or Gallows again. Texts and calls were not returned and suddenly, the storyline that had been laid out to help kick off 2016 and thunder into the new TV home was non-existent.

The company would later hear from Bill Behrens that the deals would not be going forward, which according to TNA sources, was mind-boggling, because in the company's mind they had already signed these talents to come in. It was especially mind-boggling in the case of Styles, because since he left, there was a feeling that he was the one "TNA Original" the company couldn't live without in the eyes of some fans, so TNA went and finally brought him back into the nest, only to see him disappear before their very eyes after they thought he was locked in.

As the beginning of 2016 came, word began spreading that Styles, Anderson and Gallows had given notice they were leaving New Japan. In the case of all three, the word was they would eventually, once legally and medically cleared to do so, sign with WWE.

It was branded in some circles as WWE targeting New Japan and raiding them. It was never a raid on New Japan. The reality is that the trio were already one foot out the door from New Japan, only before they put that foot down in TNA, someone, somewhere on either their side or WWE's, started communications and the trio, like Bugs Bunny, made a left turn in Albuquerque and instead negotiated deals to go to WWE. WWE didn't raid New Japan - they instead swooped in and smartly, prevented TNA from bettering their company and in the process, bettered WWE.

TNA sources remain adamant that they have, to date, not heard from Anderson or Gallows personally but that Styles did later have communication where he, according to one TNA source, stated he was going to do what was best for his family. We are told that frustration over being iced out when it came to communications from the trio and having signed them only to see them back out of the deals, coupled with the feeling that they had "done the right thing" only to get fleeced, led the company to release today's statement.

PWInsider reached out to Bill Behrens and he declined to comment on the record, but it should be noted that The Fight Network in Canada reported the following: "The LAW spoke to the management for A.J. Styles and they stated to us that no contract was ever signed or finalized by any of the parties." After that was reported, PWInsider.com again reached out to Behrens for comment but as of this writing, did not hear back. If and when we do, we will update.

So, here is where things stand. We have one side claiming there was an agreement and the other, if Fight Network is to be believed (and I have no reason to discount their reporting) claiming there was not. The only way to be sure exactly what was signed and whether it was a legally executed contract is for TNA to produce the actual document featuring all the signatures from the parties involved. Thus far, that has not yet happened and it may not happen unless the company decides to pursue the manner from a legal standpoint - more on that in a bit.

Did TNA sign talents to binding, legitimate deals? Are they simply blowing smoke out of bitterness and frustration? It's impossible to definitively say so without looking at the deals but if Styles, Gallows and Anderson did sign an agreement last month in Nashville, what did they did sign, why did they sign it and what happened to make them instead head towards the waiting arms of WWE? Did they have buyer's remorse? Did old, angry feelings stemming from TNA's reduced contract offer to Styles years before bubble back up? Did WWE simply make a better offer? Was WWE tipped to what was going down and went predatory? Did someone from the talents' camp (or one of the talents themselves) play an old school trick out of the Monday Night War and use TNA's deal as leverage to get an even greater deal for them from WWE? These questions can't be answered today. They may or may not even be answered in the days and weeks to come...and some may never be answered.

Now, as far as the most asked question we have received, whether TNA intends to pursue legal action, we are told that no decisions have been made. TNA opted to make today's statement because there was a feeling that the company had been wronged when they tried (and believed they accomplished) something to better the company and make fans happy, only to end up burnt. One source noted that the company didn't want to be a "patsy" and give the appearance they let their "Sting" just walk into WWE without at least letting people know they wanted and tried to get him back. TNA executives wanted what they feel is "the truth" out there for the masses.

And of course, and this is just my opinion, they timed it for the Royal Rumble weekend on the off chance the ripple effects of it might see WWE blink and change their plans.

As I wrote earlier today, the TNA statement seemed "carefully worded" and certainly could be seen as a shot across the bow warning that legally, there may be more to come. Whether that happens or not rests in the hands of the lawyers, which truth be told, is how all the chess pieces ended up in these positions on the board to begin with. Time will tell what, if anything, the next move will be...and whether New Japan or WWE get involved in what could easily turn into a far muddier situation.

LeeJM

The company is laughable. Firstly if anything was signed it would have been a "letter of intent". Secondly unless Karl Anderson had a clause in his NJPW contract allowing him to negotiate with other companies within the last 5 months of his contract, the dumb sh*ts just admitted to contract tampering! Thirdly, Jerry McDevitt would eat them for breakfast. Fourth, surely a contract situation as big as the f*ckin Bullet Club would necessitate that their lawyers work over Christmas to get this mega deal done??

Seriously who will ever wanna do business with this joke of a company now? "WAA WAA we met with them first" thats basically their statement. If the BC used TNA to get a better WWE offer then well done BC! Thats the best bit of business seen in this industry since Sid got his last WCW contract. I'd love to see them try make this a legal situation, chances are WWE would counter sue over something and TNA would be well and truely f*cked.

LeeJM

.

DM_7

TNA offered them a deal.

They got a better one elsewhere.

Hardly worth all the (one sided) fuss.

Stereomaniac

LeeJM wrote: »

He left WWE of his own accord due to something Michael Hayes said to Kristal. Lashley threatened to sue if he didnt get an immediate release and with Hayes well known rep within the industry of being a massive racist WWE didnt really have any choice.

I always thought that he burned his bridges with them because he said in an interview how disappointed he was with his WrestleMania XXIII pay for his match against Umaga, saying he deserved main event pay. Did that every happen?

LeeJM

I remember hearing he wasnt happy about his pay off but I dont think that was the reason he left. It may have been 1 of the reasons he wasnt happy though.

gnfnrhead

The Hardcore War match this week was a lot of fun. Seven very good wrestlers and Abyss in a Lethal Lockdown style match without the cage.

Trevor Lee must have signed with TNA full time for them to give him such a dominant win over Uno. Only a handful of matches and he has already held two out of four titles. Shame the terrible crowd didn't really react to him. The Bethlehem crowd is worse than the old Universal Studios crowd. Thankfully the UK shows are next, after that they need to stay away from Bethlehem. It's cheaper for a reason.

The only bad thing on the show was Maria suggesting she might wrestle. Not the promo, just the idea of her trying to wrestle.

gnfnrhead

The Hardcore War match this week was a lot of fun. Seven very good wrestlers and Abyss in a Lethal Lockdown style match without the cage.

Trevor Lee must have signed with TNA full time for them to give him such a dominant win over Uno. Only a handful of matches and he has already held two out of four titles. Shame the terrible crowd didn't really react to him. The Bethlehem crowd is worse than the old Universal Studios crowd. Thankfully the UK shows are next, after that they need to stay away from Bethlehem. It's cheaper for a reason.

The only bad thing on the show was Maria suggesting she might wrestle. Not the promo, just the idea of her trying to wrestle.

spektorfive

About an hour into the latest "One night only" PPV The Rivals.

We start with the American Wolves. Not in tag team but against each other. Because there rivals? maybe.

Eddie & Davy start slow and do the whole respect thing. It almost a house show style match. It does pick up towards the end. Eddie gets a quick roll up on Davy for the pin. Afterwards Davy & Eddie hug so this match will never be mention again and is not setting up a split for the Wolves. Yeah pointless match.

The commentary team is Jeremy Borash & Josh Matthews. They found it hard to make this event seem important (which is fair enough as it not one bit important.) During this match they got in to argument about who had the most twitter followers between Eddie & Davy.

Up next is Eric Young Vs. Chris Melendez. Remember that feud from a year ago? That was never that hot or great? Here is again for no reason.

They showed a recap video of the feud. Now normally a recap video last a few minutes highlighting the main points and getting you hyped for the action.

But this is TNA One night Only and we got time to kill. The recap video starts from May 2015 when Young and Melendez where in eight man hardcore match. Also seen in this video is MVP, Kenny King & Low Ki who no longer work in TNA and didn't need to be in this video at all. They show the finish of this match and Young taking the fake leg of Melendez. It then cuts to weeks later with Dixie Carter in the ring with Young and a bunch of other wrestlers.

It took me a second to figure out. But this was shortly after Young joined GFW and GFW lost. This was there where of explaining why Young wasn't fired. With him telling Dixie "You know I have an Iron Clad Contract, you can't fire me." This leads to Dixie calling out Melendez to get revenge on Young while the TNA locker room hang around the ring Lumberjack style.

They show highlights of the match and Melendez getting the pin and payback on young for taking his leg.

All in all this recap video took almost ten minutes and cut through three different story-lines and showed you Melendez & Young fighting loads. So I was really hyped for this match.

It was very slow and boring. The two highlights being Melendez who legit served in the army (It's how he lost his leg) bring up the fact he might have post traumatic stress disorder but this was good thing as it made him a bit crazy so Eric Young better watch out.

The other being the finish of the match. Melendez had Young in a full nelson. Young pushed the ref out of the way. I assume he was suppose to low blow him while the ref was not looking, turn around and hit Melendez with the pile driver for the win. So Young pushes the ref out of the way and goes to kick Melendez and misses. His foot ends up hitting his shoulder. Young goes for it again and still does not hit balls but gets some more shoulder. The ref is turning around. Melendez act like the rouge kick hurt him and Young hits the Pile driver for the win.

Machismo Fan

Moral of the story is to never ever watch a One Night Only show.

gnfnrhead

I watched them at first but it very quickly became obvious they are essentially house shows. ONO only exist for one reason. They are contractually obliged to provide a PPV a month for several markets. The contract doesn't say it has to be a worthwhile PPV, just something to fill three hours. ONO is a very cheap and easy way of doing it. TNA PPV's have never gotten good buyrates so it's a waste for them to put much effort into them. I haven't watched one in I don't know how long.

gnfnrhead

Decent show but nothing spectacular. Main event seemed rushed. Should have given them some more time as they went for finishers pretty early. The extra time would have improved the match but it was still good.

I didn't know this but Bram is 215 lbs. He's a Junior Heavyweight! He is almost the exact same weight as AJ Styles but always seems far bigger on screen. Not an important fact, I just found it bizarre he is a Junior.

gnfnrhead

Decent show but nothing spectacular. Main event seemed rushed. Should have given them some more time as they went for finishers pretty early. The extra time would have improved the match but it was still good.

I didn't know this but Bram is 215 lbs. He's a Junior Heavyweight! He is almost the exact same weight as AJ Styles but always seems far bigger on screen. Not an important fact, I just found it bizarre he is a Junior.

511

Anyone know what Odarg The Great's theme is called?

I know he uses Madonna's Like a Prayer, but this had no lyrics and sounds similar.

beakerjoe

Its just a tna rip off theme:

CastorTroy

Meant to say after last week's that EC3 must have felt that missed dive from the top turnbuckle to the outside the next day. Looked sore

Stereomaniac

When is their next pay per view? I've missed the last couple of episodes of Impact with work.

Angron

One Night Only: Jokers Wild 4 on the 4th of March.

Stereomaniac

Is that another one of the ones that's already been taped a few weeks or months in advance?