Hot Threads: Tyler Black Heads To WWE, Play Football With ZAH, HardCORE Justice, ECW vs. Star Trek, and More
By Mike Johns Aug 11, 2010 - 12:20 PM
Did you know that World Wrestling Insanity has a Message Board? Yep. We’ve done got us one of them there fancy
Message Board, where you, the random, unnamed wrestling fan can go and vent your frustrations. From WWE’s Family Friendly Direction, to ROH’s Production issues, to whatever stupid stunt TNA is running with this week, the Insanity Message Boards is your place to speak your mind. You can also interact with fellow Insanity Readers, as well as the Insanity Staff. We even have an E-Fed, if you’re into that whole “Role-Playing” thing, so feel free to stop on by and join in the fun!
In the meantime though, here’s a taste of what you’re missing –
Did you hear about current Ring of Honor Champion Tyler Black being signed by WWE?
Here’s what some of our readers think of the signing –
TheGreatWhiteDope: son of a bitch...and Davey is leaving in December...........
Austin Aries won't get a third reign.......Well, it's Roderick's time or it is finally Hero's time......Hero first double champion in ROH history. Lets do this.
They really need to set up a 4-way match for the title. Richards, Black, Strong, Daniels.....Or Hero replacing Richards or Strong
ZAH:
The awesome thing about ROH is that they're NEVER overly predictable. This should be fun (much like when Punk left).
TheMaverickMJ: I'll say, I really didn't expect this coming. I figured Black didn't have WWE's "look" and wouldn't have stood a chance. Oh well...
And, for reference to what I'm about to say, the current pick 6
1. Roderick Strong
2. Christopher Daniels
3. Kevin Steen
4. Colt Cabana
5. Chris Hero
6. Davey Richards
So, let's be honest, here... Davey (Richards is) the easy pick, especially since he's got the upcoming big title match with Tyler, and, that ROH is likely to give Davey a run before he leaves. In fact, I was pretty much figuring this would happen either way.
Other possibility? Claudio ends up in the Pick 6 somehow, gets a shot, and takes the belt. Possibly over fellow King, Hero. A bit off the wall, but you do need a guy who's going to be around for the long haul, too. If Davey's leaving in December, and Daniels more or less waiting out TNA, they could go this route.
If Roddy gets the belt and keeps Truth Martini as a manager, I may have to quit watching ROH for a while. Seriously. Not because Roddy isn't good enough, but because the HOT is F'n 1980's BS and is just really embarrassing for a product that wants to call itself the future of wrestling. And, sadly, Roddy can't cut a promo to save his life, which means ROH is going to be running with this until they smarten up and reunite Roddy with Austin Aries and his clique.
Chris Hero? Um... I'd probably buy Sara Del Rey as ROH Champ before Hero, and while i LOVE me some SDR, there's no reason or excuse to make her ROH champ at this point.
Kevin Steen? Yeah. This is ROH. They aren't that desperate....
And then there's Colt. They could always run with Colt. He's well liked, works all right, been with ROH almost forever (outside of a vaca to WWE)... they could go with him. He's old school enough to make Adam Pearce happy.
Or, the really whacked possibility of a THIRD A Double run. I mean, it's not completely impossible. He is likely the most over property in ROH today, even more so than Tyler, really. Once again, not impossible.
TheGreatWhiteDope: I am so curious, what don't you enjoy about Hero?
btw, I like the WWI boards a lot. Only wrestling forum online where people discuss things and it doesn't turn into a huge flame war. Always enjoyed that.
TheMaverickMJ: It's not a "not enjoy"... it's a "don't think he'd be credible enough as champ". BIG difference. But, then again,. I've never been all too impressed with Tyler Black, either. Black's always been a bit of a spotmonkey to me, while I just don't see Hero as a strong follow-up. He comes off like Justin Credible to me. Can catch a decent enough amount of heat, but just doesn't have the in-ring of his Tag Partner, nor does he seem like he'll ever go beyond ROH, which, to me, doesn't make him Top Guy material.
Claudio has it. SDR has it. But I just feel Hero's role here is a Heat Magnet, and little else.
TheGreatWhiteDope: I think in-ring Hero has it though. Granted I always felt the ideal time to put the belt on hero was when he was with Larry Sweeney. The combination was just TOO perfect.
TheMaverickMJ: Is it possible Tyler Black might be going out a heel? Just a thought.
TheGreatWhiteDope: becoming the Golden Boy, getting the title, and leaving to WWE just as he was about to have a long reign...I think they'll be on him hard. They'll want to boo.
The Fall of Black has arrived
Well, it’s August.
You know what that means… Yep – FANTASY FOOTBALL w/ZAH
ZAH: You are cordially invited to play some fantasy football with ZAH. Seating is limited.
Currently Playing:
ZAH, Aaron Wood, TheGreatWhiteDope, Eaglesfn345, Timpossible, Average, and J.D. Mayfield.
You get a chance to see TNA’s Hardcore Justice?
Here’s what some of our readers thought of TNA’s most recent PPV –
R.D. Lee: I would have put Joel Gertner, Mick Foley and Tazz on commentary.
F*ck lame ass Mike Tenay.
Canadian Bulldog: Why did they just dedicate an entire segment to Joey Styles.... a WWE employee?!?!
The Chosen 1: You're saying that like they're not dedicating an entire night to ECW... a WWE product!!
I'm really just surprised they haven't just taken 30 minutes out the show to tell the audience to remember to mail $20 to Vince McMahon personally after the show.
JohnnyRebel: I bought the show and I'm glad I saw it. Was it worth the $34? No way. The lame impact zone crowd didn't help. I really felt like a high school reunion football game. People just going throw the spots and emotions.
shooting:
It was a good PPV for who they had. Apart from Sabu, RVD, Dreamer, Raven, Foley and Sandman there weren't any well known names there. Plus apart from RVD none of those are really good workers now.
There was only a few problems with the PPV like the dancing in the first match killed the match etc but for what it was it was ok to goodish. If only they had more time to bring in the bigger named ECW wrestlers then it could of been an ONS but it got nowhere near the level of ONS.
Canadian Bulldog: Hey, it was a fun little reunion show, and there was nothing wrong with the two main events. I was even getting into RVD-Sabu by the end of it. Were the prelim matches great? No, but no worse or better than most of TNA's monthly PPV offering.
The only thing I'd say is that it reminded me WAY more of Hardcore Homecoming than it did One Night Stand. ONS had outside involvement from WWE guys, which is what made it modern. Aside from Dixie Carter being brought in the ring at the end, there was very little crossover.
Not that it's necessarily a terrible thing (for example, had Hogan or Nash interfered in one of the matches, ECW fans would have rioted)... but it was just difference than WWE's reunion show.
ZAH: So basically I didn't miss much of anything.
James Guttman: This whole thing has been pretty stupid. I know that sounds basic, but everytime I try to think of ways to explain it, I go back to "it's so f**king stupid."
Why? Well, forget that it's been ten years since ECW was around. Forget that Vince McMahon owns it and did all he could to water it down since 2006. Forget that TNA barely included anyone from its roster on the show, alienating their loyal staff in favor of guys who couldn't get booked elsewhere (no offense intended, but if they could be with WWE, they would be.) What gets me the most is that the couldn't even use footage of the original ECW for video packages. There could be no teary eyed looks back other than by using quotes from ECW Originals. It leaves your audience wondering what you're talking about when you show classic stars and leaves them with no options but to seek out the footage...that WWE owns. It makes no sense at all. Zero. The only people who truly get this show are the hardest of the hardcore ECW fans. So there it is. They book a show for a tiny cult audience just over half a year since Hogan and Bischoff were brought in so they could appeal to the mainstream. My head hurts.
The bottom line here is that the only possible reason for all this to have happened is that someone convinced Dixie that she'd win over the Internet smark commentary crowd by catering one show to them. They know that journalists and radio hosts or whatever they pretend they are get all gooey for ECW nostalgia so they throw them this bone hoping they'll shut the hell up when things go back to Total Nonstop Normalcy. Sadly, I think they might. It's as if Obama was tired of being nailed by right wing pundits so, for one week, he brings in the surviving members of the Reagan adminstration to pretend like they're still in power with him.
Now, imagine the right wing pundits bought it and left him facebook messages like, "THANK YOU, Obama, for reminding me why I'm a politics fan!"
That would never happen. It happens in wrestling, though. It makes me throw up a little in my mouth. I just want a solid future for a business I love instead of the same bullshit that died a decade ago being beaten repeatedly until there's no money left in it. This is the most open-ended form of entertainment and they act as if everything good has been done already. If you have millions of dollars to sink into a wrestling company and the only ideas you have are crap from 1999, you should think of a different investment.
Unless, of course, you're not here for creative output or long term success, but just to convince your friends that you're a big star. In that case, do your thing, Glamour Shot. It's going wonderfully so far.
TheMaverickMJ:
The ONLY person who's become a star since last summer in TNA?
Dixie Carter.
That's not a coincidence.
Aaron Wood: Yeah, for someone who has stated on record she didn't want to be a TV character, she certainly has racked up the TV time, huh?
The Chosen 1:
Rhino & RVD should have fought... Just sayin.
I thought the BW2.0 and Al Snow segment was funny.
I thought that as a stand alone show, without remembering it's TNA, it was pretty fun to watch. Whether its been 10 years or not, the guys on the show last night could GO. And some of the matches last night were really fun. No reason to shit on it just for the fact that its been a decade since they closed, I don't see people complain about Star Trek reunions at conventions just because it's been decades since the show ended. Reunions every so often aren't that bad, and as long as the guys aren't broken down and in slow-motion, I don't see why they can't do this.
BUT! The fact that TNA did it is really ridiculous. The problem is that TNA was in NO POSITION to do a show like this. TNA has no direction and no credibility or anything. TNA should be focusing 115% of their attention on making THEIR product successful, not giving valuable TV and PPV time to a company that doesn't even exist anymore, which is LITERALLY owned by their competition.
James Guttman: This example doesn't work. If the ECW guys stood on a stage and took questions for 2 hours before signing autographs, no one would complain about their age. That's not what happened. A star trek reunion and having the cast of Star Trek film all new missions are different things. People might pop for it at first, but they'd still wonder why a 60 something year old guy is the pilot of a spaceship with other old people surrounding him. Even then, they could get away with it more than wrestling can because it's completely accepted as a scripted program and there's little physical activity involved in shooting special effect lasers.
The Chosen 1:
Well yeah, I know it's very different, but as I also said quite a bit of the guys last night could still GO. Don't get me wrong a bunch of them are just broken down and old, Axk Rotten looked horrible, needs to just hang it up, but 2 Cold & CW were still really good out there, Dreamer & Raven actually had heat and was a good brawl. For the most part it wasn't at all like when you watch Kevin Nash and Hogan slow motion fight... If the whole show was like that then there would be a case against that.
At the end of the day, most of the guys who wrestled... are still wrestling. It's not like they've all just dropped off the face of the Earth since ECW closed. If they are still wrestling, then why not wrestle at an ECW reunion show.
TheGreatWhiteDope: -*Mike Tenay looks at program sheet on desk* "If Joey Styles was available I'd give this position to him." *Looks back at program sheet* "Tonight I am not an announcer," *Looks back at paper* "I'm a fan."
Aaron Wood:
TheGreatWhiteDope: -TNA stars talking about moments they remember but footage of can't be seen. So they describe it in graphic detail. If someone hasn't seen the footage they now get to see it via WWE. Isn't it counter-productive to talk about things that make your fans check out the competition?
TheMaverickMJ:
LIGHT SABERS?! THEY'RE USING FUCKING LIGHT SABERS?!
Aaron... you still got that room set up for me in the Asylum?
And this, folks, is just a taste of what you're missing on the Boards. Why don't you come by sometime and check it out for yourself, eh?
Mike Johns, imbued with special, shameless self-promotional powers the likes of which haven't been seen since the height of DX's self-fellatious babyface run in 2006, is a contributor to WorldWrestlingInsanity.com, as well as ClubWWI.com. He also produces and records original music under the name 'SaviorSelf.07.05.98' as well as remixes and mash-ups of far more popular songs under the name 'TMJ'.
You can contact Mike via e-mail at TheMaverickMJ@yahoo.com
You can also follow him on the various Social Networking Sites.
