Accepting a bribe is bad, but giving one out makes you great.....

[JJYanks121]

Tonight on Impact, we got to see the resolution of the "screwjob" finish from last week. Throughout the broadcast, we saw Angle apologize to Hogan for spitting on him and being warned to watch his back, and we saw Earl Hebner admit to screwing Kurt AND trying to play off that he was the one to screw Bret Hart too. In this admittance, Earl fessed up by saying he took a bribe from Ric Flair and was proud of it. Due to this admission, he was suspended indefinitely by Hogan.

These are great steps, except they left out the most important one.....CONFRONTING THE CHAMP AND MANAGER!!! It was revealed that AJ's manager, Ric Flair, took money out of his pocket and fixed a match. The referee who TOOK the money is punished but NOTHING is done to Ric or AJ? Is this something they will address next week or merely a huge oversight in booking?

My guess is, they just forgot and "punished" AJ by having to wrestle at the next PPV......a horrible punishment for a champion to actually have to work. Shouldn't he have been stripped of the belt? Perhaps had to fight that night against huge wrestlers? Unless next week, either is punished, this seems to be a major storyline flaw and it's not the only one on the show.

Thoughts on the HUGE missing piece of the story? OK or utterly stupid?

 

[Schizophrenic]

JJ I can see where you are coming from an dbeing a bit confused. What I get from it is that AJ having to not have his 30 days off is the punishment and that he will wind up having to defend the title against Joe at the PPV. They should have put that out there blatanly but that's what I am guessing. Just have to wait and see next week I suppose. Im glad they have reasoning behind the screwjob so that people can stop bitching about not having any reasoning behind it and Im sure there is more to the story in the coming weeks with Hebner. Perhaps where he will be in Flair and AJ's pocket and allowing AJ to get more wins until being ultimately fired or HAVE to count AJ's shoulders to the mat then Flair can fire him from their services.

 

[JJYanks121]

Shouldn't Flair be punished though? Bischoff went in to talk to the "Nature Boys" and made them cancel their vacation but didn't give a reason why. It may or may not have to do with their actions regarding the screwjob. However, wouldnt' it make more sense to remove Flair from the equation for bribery? In real business, bribery is grounds for firing, but in TNA it is not. Seems a bit weird to me. Bobby Lashley is fired simply because Bischoff doesn't like him, but Flair is kept around while being outed for bribery. That's what doesn't make sense to me.

 

[TellMeWhy]

To the threadstarter I think you're looking a bit too much into this. You're basically doing math & science on a wrestling program for crying out loud. I sure as hell didn't notice the little thing you picked up. You gotta be some type of critic or something because I think you're nitpicking or paying a little bit too much attention to detail that might not even matter so much. But to answer the question, it looks as if Hogan/Bischoff tried stop Flair's contract but as Bischoff explained, it was too late for that process to happen. So as a result, Bischoff seems to be punishing them by stopping their 30 day vacation.

 

[RasslingFanatic]

Tonight on Impact, we got to see the resolution of the "screwjob" finish from last week. Throughout the broadcast, we saw Angle apologize to Hogan for spitting on him and being warned to watch his back, and we saw Earl Hebner admit to screwing Kurt AND trying to play off that he was the one to screw Bret Hart too. In this admittance, Earl fessed up by saying he took a bribe from Ric Flair and was proud of it. Due to this admission, he was suspended indefinitely by Hogan.

These are great steps, except they left out the most important one.....CONFRONTING THE CHAMP AND MANAGER!!! It was revealed that AJ's manager, Ric Flair, took money out of his pocket and fixed a match. The referee who TOOK the money is punished but NOTHING is done to Ric or AJ? Is this something they will address next week or merely a huge oversight in booking?

My guess is, they just forgot and "punished" AJ by having to wrestle at the next PPV......a horrible punishment for a champion to actually have to work. Shouldn't he have been stripped of the belt? Perhaps had to fight that night against huge wrestlers? Unless next week, either is punished, this seems to be a major storyline flaw and it's not the only one on the show.

Thoughts on the HUGE missing piece of the story? OK or utterly stupid?

I can see what you are saying, but what do we get if Hogan confronts A.J and Flair on this show? Well, we get more backstage segments.

Now all night Flair and A.J references not having to work for another 30 days. So the revenge is forcing A.J to defend his belt before the 30 days. I know that is weak, but it is the best I can come up with at the moment.

Now your comparison to Lashley is wrong. Lashley was fired because he asked for his release. What makes Eric such a good heel in that case is that even though Lashley admitted he was wrong etc, he still sent him home.

 

[JJYanks121]

I can see what you are saying, but what do we get if Hogan confronts A.J and Flair on this show? Well, we get more backstage segments.

Now all night Flair and A.J references not having to work for another 30 days. So the revenge is forcing A.J to defend his belt before the 30 days. I know that is weak, but it is the best I can come up with at the moment.

Now your comparison to Lashley is wrong. Lashley was fired because he asked for his release. What makes Eric such a good heel in that case is that even though Lashley admitted he was wrong etc, he still sent him home.

.....except that Hogan and Bischoff are faces, right? Yea, it confuses me too as to whether we should like or hate them. The theme of the show is basically that confusion.

As for the above poster who asked if I am a critic and accused me of nitpicking, yes I am a critic and yes I am nitpicking. The reason is that I'm not the lowest common denominator. It's not exactly a small detail either. Believe me, I could point out other details, such as Mick Foley showing up even though he was fired last week, but it paled in comparison I think. I watch any show hoping that the stories follow an actual line. This is a case of simply shoddy booking and missing a huge piece of the puzzle. Intelligent fans will catch on to this sort of thing if it becomes a pattern. That is my concern. If it was an oversight, get it fixed!

 

[smarktown]

Hogan and Bischoff have slight tension between them, as is heavily alluded to when Hogan tells Bischoff he's being too stiff and needs to drop it a notch. Hogan is the "business man trying to grow business" as a babyface while Bischoff is playing classic Bischoff as a heel.

 

[Schizophrenic]

I see where you are coming from but let me see if I can TRY to come up with something for any problems you may have JJ. Again not saying this is what they are doing but just what I can think of at the moment.

AJ/Flair: Yeah Flair bribed the ref. The ref got suspended. Even though Flair's contract can not be terminated by Bischoff & Hogan, he should at least be suspended. Wouldn't be surprised to see that happen but yes you got me there. I do think that Flair and AJ's punishment will be their cancelled vacation and AJ being forced into matches for the belt. I also have a feeling at AAO, Flair will be banned from ringside due to this situation. I see where you are coming from and that got me a bit confused as to why AJ and Flair wouldn't get an immediate punishment, maybe they are having Eric hold the cards close to the chest until he is ready to reveal.

Bobby Lashley: Firstly I hope the guy is gone. His head and heat is in MMA, not wrestling he shouldn't be there. Good ridance, best of luck in MMA. Back to the topic at hand. Bobby did ask for his release and was granted it. Even though Bobby is trying to repent for what he did and said Eric still fired him, making Eric the heel which I believe is what they are going for and will eventually show and brings me to my next point.

Hogan/Eric: Heel or Face?: I do believe that Hogan and Eric have realized that when it comes to TNA (Real and kayfabe) they are heels. TNA fans dont want them but they are there, so why not play off that? It seemed to me tht that's where they are going with Jarrett trying to go from the bottom up and Eric putting any and every road block in his way. The idea of Hogan and Eric as face and Foley & Jarrett as heels has been tossed (if that was even an idea to begin with) and it looks like Eric will be Heel with Jarrett & Foley being a face and Hogan being torn in between (as shown by Hogan telling Eric he was kind of harsh and needed to chill out). I also think "The Band" is in Eric's pocket (again just a guess considering they have YET to get OFFICIAL TNA contracts and are always being tossed out.

 

[TellMeWhy]

.....except that Hogan and Bischoff are faces, right? Yea, it confuses me too as to whether we should like or hate them. The theme of the show is basically that confusion.

As for the above poster who asked if I am a critic and accused me of nitpicking, yes I am a critic and yes I am nitpicking. The reason is that I'm not the lowest common denominator. It's not exactly a small detail either. Believe me, I could point out other details, such as Mick Foley showing up even though he was fired last week, but it paled in comparison I think. I watch any show hoping that the stories follow an actual line. This is a case of simply shoddy booking and missing a huge piece of the puzzle. Intelligent fans will catch on to this sort of thing if it becomes a pattern. That is my concern. If it was an oversight, get it fixed!

Mic Foley showed up because Hogan convinced Eric to give him a 2nd chance because he's never worked with him and claims Foley can be an asset. How do you miss that? If you're going to pay attention to details, then pay attention to everything.

And my friend, this is prowrestling. You're doing CSI on a program where a huge chunk of the audience is mostly beer drinking fans and people that may live in trailers. You just look silly. Only people looking for errors to write about in their columns that they get paid for will find something so small to nitpick about. I watch to be entertained. I'm sorry but if you watch from a fan perspective to catch any minuscule detail, then you might as well quit prowrestling because there are holes in almost all prowrestling angles.

As for the face/heel argument, I can understand if you're confused about this and you're a new TNA viewer. So long as Russo is booking, the lines will be blurred as to who is the face/heel. Hogan/Bischoff are portrayed as face/heel regarding the circumstances. Russo believes, no one in real life is all the way good or bad, so that's how it'll be with those 2, especially Bischoff.

 

[JJYanks121]

Mic Foley showed up because Hogan convinced Eric to give him a 2nd chance because he's never worked with him and claims Foley can be an asset. How do you miss that? If you're going to pay attention to details, then pay attention to everything.

And my friend, this is prowrestling. You're doing CSI on a program where a huge chunk of the audience is mostly beer drinking fans and people that may live in trailers. You just look silly. Only people looking for errors to write about in their columns that they get paid for will find something so small to nitpick about. I watch to be entertained. I'm sorry but if you watch from a fan perspective to catch any minuscule detail, then you might as well quit prowrestling because there are holes in almost all prowrestling angles.

As for the face/heel argument, I can understand if you're confused about this and you're a new TNA viewer. So long as Russo is booking, the lines will be blurred as to who is the face/heel. Hogan/Bischoff are portrayed as face/heel regarding the circumstances. Russo believes, no one in real life is all the way good or bad, so that's how it'll be with those 2, especially Bischoff.

I agree that we all watch to be entertained, but I'm not going to dumb myself down just to accept things as they are. I wouldn't do that for any show on television and wrestling should be no different. I am an educated person and I live my life as such. The fact that I've always enjoyed pro wrestling and now have a much greater understanding of it doesn't mean I should revert back to my child and teenage years to be naive again. I want to watch a show where plotlines develop over time and things tie together to form a cognizant story. Major plot holes don't sit well with me because I don't want my intelligence insulted. I think any educated viewer would feel the same.

As for Mick Foley, it was a little confusing. In fact, I would argue this Hogan/Bischoff dynamic is a little confusing. Like I said though, I wasn't as perturbed about that as I was the Flair situation. In regards to that, bribery is pretty illegal and the worst punishment we'll probably see is banishment from ringside. You can talk about how Flair signed his contract before Hogan and Bischoff (which isn't true but for storyline purposes let's go with it) and thus they can't terminate it, but that's not true. Anyone who breaks the law in any business can be terminated at any time. That stipulation exists in any contract people have ever signed to work in large companies. Bribery is illegal and Flair should be fired. It's possible to do that and then find a way to bring him back later, but it just doesn't make sense to punish Hebner and not Flair. I'm sorry, but i'm not going to just accept it for enjoyment purposes. I cannot enjoy a story that doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Schizophrenic]

JJ, totally understanding ya. Not going to come here and tell you that you are nitpicking a miniscule detail, god knows everyone will be soon claiming IT will be the death of TNA, but I just gotta say. It's the world of professional wrestling where the rules of everyday life are thrown out the window. And hell if Martha Stewart can get away with that kind of bs with a few days in jail, so can Ric Flair......then again who here will disagree that Ric Flair is 1000X better at ANYTHING than Martha Stweart, unless it's making glitter covered pinecones.

 

[scorpioking1026]

Here is my take on the whole Flair/AJ/Hebner bribery and punishment debate.

1) Easy E stated that Flair's contract was signed b4 he and hogan took over. But do we know what kind of contract he signed? Wrestler? Manager? Announcer? No, not yet. But what if he is in "bed" with Dixie Carter as well? Meaning he is a part owner of TNA. That would explain why Flair didn't get suspended and why he was not only able to buy off Hebner so easily but gain the upper hand in the power struggle for TNA by gaining the services of the world champion, AJ Styles. Why would Flair do this? Cuz he thinks he is more deserving than Hogan and hates the fact that people put him on a higher pedestal than himself. So he did a Shane McMahon--remember when he swooped and bought WCW under Vince's nose? Similar kind of deal

2) If you don't fully understand the power struggle in TNA, let me try to expalin to you.

Hogan: He is trying to do things the right way, hence the investigation into the screwjob, the refusal to join the Band. In this way he is a face. When it comes to Jarret, he comes off as a heel only because he feels Jarret was running the company to the ground, aka the whole Karen Angle thing. That would explain why Hogan went out of his way to do the right thing by Kurt.

Easy E- Sure the whole idea is suppose to be that its Hogan and him running the show but Eric is a power hog. He wants the NWO days to return, hence the Band beating up Foley.

Jarret-He wants his stroke in the company back

Foley- The same as Jarret

So to recap that is Flair, Hogan, Easy E, Jarret, and Foley all fighting for power over TNA. I've mentioned this once b4 in another thread, it is my believe that all of this is leading up to a War Games scenerio especially considering that Lockdown is the next PPV after Against All Odds. Who would fight in it? Don't know yet but Flair has AJ, Hogan has Kurt, E has the Band, and then there is Jarret and Foley(possibly to team up). Don't be so quick to hate the direction the show is going, especially since its just getting started.

 

[RasslingFanatic]

.....except that Hogan and Bischoff are faces, right? Yea, it confuses me too as to whether we should like or hate them. The theme of the show is basically that confusion.

As for the above poster who asked if I am a critic and accused me of nitpicking, yes I am a critic and yes I am nitpicking. The reason is that I'm not the lowest common denominator. It's not exactly a small detail either. Believe me, I could point out other details, such as Mick Foley showing up even though he was fired last week, but it paled in comparison I think. I watch any show hoping that the stories follow an actual line. This is a case of simply shoddy booking and missing a huge piece of the puzzle. Intelligent fans will catch on to this sort of thing if it becomes a pattern. That is my concern. If it was an oversight, get it fixed!

It is obvious Hogan is a face and Eric is a face only as a front.

Look at it this way. Eric books a match for Hall and Waltman, but Hogan send them home, yet they were able to get into the building this week? Hmmm...

On the Live Monday Show, Eric says there is a communication issue and Nash says, 'loud and clear.'

Eric fires Foley, but Hogan says he is an asset?

To me is is obvious and it has been since day 1. Eric is holding Nash, Hall and Waltman off, as he uses Hogan to have power to take advantage of TNA. Well eventually they well turn and feud against Hogan. Hogan will have Foley, Kurt and Sting on his side.

Now, was Hogan in the locker room with Flair and Styles? No it was just Eric, who told the camera man to follow him. Hogan did not say anything about Flair.

I understand what you are saying about attention to detail, but you are in my view taking it too far. Would wrestling be allowed to happen in the U.S.A where the object is too make someone bleed? Or where you can use a Ladder?

 

[JJYanks121]

Here is my take on the whole Flair/AJ/Hebner bribery and punishment debate.

1) Easy E stated that Flair's contract was signed b4 he and hogan took over. But do we know what kind of contract he signed? Wrestler? Manager? Announcer? No, not yet. But what if he is in "bed" with Dixie Carter as well? Meaning he is a part owner of TNA. That would explain why Flair didn't get suspended and why he was not only able to buy off Hebner so easily but gain the upper hand in the power struggle for TNA by gaining the services of the world champion, AJ Styles. Why would Flair do this? Cuz he thinks he is more deserving than Hogan and hates the fact that people put him on a higher pedestal than himself. So he did a Shane McMahon--remember when he swooped and bought WCW under Vince's nose? Similar kind of deal

2) If you don't fully understand the power struggle in TNA, let me try to expalin to you.

Hogan: He is trying to do things the right way, hence the investigation into the screwjob, the refusal to join the Band. In this way he is a face. When it comes to Jarret, he comes off as a heel only because he feels Jarret was running the company to the ground, aka the whole Karen Angle thing. That would explain why Hogan went out of his way to do the right thing by Kurt.

Easy E- Sure the whole idea is suppose to be that its Hogan and him running the show but Eric is a power hog. He wants the NWO days to return, hence the Band beating up Foley.

Jarret-He wants his stroke in the company back

Foley- The same as Jarret

So to recap that is Flair, Hogan, Easy E, Jarret, and Foley all fighting for power over TNA. I've mentioned this once b4 in another thread, it is my believe that all of this is leading up to a War Games scenerio especially considering that Lockdown is the next PPV after Against All Odds. Who would fight in it? Don't know yet but Flair has AJ, Hogan has Kurt, E has the Band, and then there is Jarret and Foley(possibly to team up). Don't be so quick to hate the direction the show is going, especially since its just getting started.

Well stated and I like the way you are trying to think ahead, but looking in the present, Jarrett basically accepted being a roster member like everyone else, so I'm confused how not standing up for himself will lead to him being a part of the power struggle. It seems more evident it will be a Hogan/Bischoff thing with perhaps Foley involved and I'm not sure how Ric Flair will fit in, though if he is actually sleeping with the true boss, I would certainly be intrigued, but if it's Hogan vs. Bischoff, I don't think Flair fits in there. That's why I think it was simply an oversight.

 

[scorpioking1026]

Jarret has to start at the bottom according to storyline his stock in the company means nothing, Dixie is the majority share holder aka the Boss. Jarret did try to confront Hogan and Eric with his lawyer, realized that wasn't the best solution so he has to climb the mountain and become "King of the Mountain" once again.

Flair has control of AJ Styles, the world champion and the face of TNA, so yeah he is part of the power struggle. On the 1/4 show Eric was hyping up AJ big time, going so far as to set up the AJ/Kurt match that night. But badda-bing...Flair gets involved (he actually talked to AJ that same night) helps AJ do a complete 180 and now Flair is on top.

I don't know how long you have been a fan of wrestling but to fully understand how Flair is a part of this you have to know the whole Hogan vs Flair rivarly.

 

[JJYanks121]

Jarret has to start at the bottom according to storyline his stock in the company means nothing, Dixie is the majority share holder aka the Boss. Jarret did try to confront Hogan and Eric with his lawyer, realized that wasn't the best solution so he has to climb the mountain and become "King of the Mountain" once again.

Flair has control of AJ Styles, the world champion and the face of TNA, so yeah he is part of the power struggle. On the 1/4 show Eric was hyping up AJ big time, going so far as to set up the AJ/Kurt match that night. But badda-bing...Flair gets involved (he actually talked to AJ that same night) helps AJ do a complete 180 and now Flair is on top.

I don't know how long you have been a fan of wrestling but to fully understand how Flair is a part of this you have to know the whole Hogan vs Flair rivarly.

I completely understand the Hogan/Flair rivalry, to the point that I remember the "real world's champion" angle from WWF in the early 90s. I was like 7 so I don't remember all the details but I certainly remember it then, and I remember them feuding a little in WCW, and as an adult, I have read both of their biographies as well as other publications that discuss in length the backstage personalities of both men and how they play into each other. What I am insure of is if Bischoff basically becomes the heel man in charge and Hogan opposes him, will Flair be an ally of Eric? That would be weird given THEIR history. Keep in mind WCW under EB liked to keep Flair down and they certainly had problems. Thus, for them to be allies now would be weirder than Flair and Hogan to be allies. That's where it gets confusing. Of course, it's confusing because I know the history. I'm sure not everyone does and will just accept whatever sides people take as it will be new to them. If that is the case, I'll just have to see it play out and judge the seemingly large story then.

 

[RasslingFanatic]

Well stated and I like the way you are trying to think ahead, but looking in the present, Jarrett basically accepted being a roster member like everyone else, so I'm confused how not standing up for himself will lead to him being a part of the power struggle. It seems more evident it will be a Hogan/Bischoff thing with perhaps Foley involved and I'm not sure how Ric Flair will fit in, though if he is actually sleeping with the true boss, I would certainly be intrigued, but if it's Hogan vs. Bischoff, I don't think Flair fits in there. That's why I think it was simply an oversight.

The storyline is that Hogan was trying to make an example. By making Jarrett start from the bottom how can anyone else get a big head and think they don't have to, if a part owner is doing it.

As explained by, 'scorpioking1026', Flair has power based on his relationship with the Heavyweight Champion. When the Champion and those associated with the Championship have stroke within the company, it gives an extra added importance to the belt, in my opinion.

 

[Dre Guevara]

of course giving out bribes makes U great, I know this isn't wrestling related, but look @ R. Kelly, he bribed his way outta going 2 prison, now everybody thinks he's the G.O.A.T.
same thing with Rod Blagojevich, whom I think Vince should have as a guest host on RAW.

 

[Prince Punk]

Wow... Talk about a bunch of TNA ****s! You guys are seriously saying the threadstarter is nitpicking and that he is paying too much attention to detail? Incase your slow, have a hole in your head or are just plain ******ed... THAT IS WHAT A STORYLINE IS!!!! A bunch of detail placed in such a way that it makes since and flows smoothly. As I know some of you are the same special children that say fans of the WWE are stockholders and eat what ever Big Vince feeds us, (I'm up for giving the strange stories a chance does not mean I think its all good) what pray tell do you think your doing with TNA! Hell we might be eating crap but your either going down on your knees for Russo or just bending over for him... seriously "most wrestling fans are beer drinkers or live in a trailer park." I read that line from someones post... ARE YOU SERIOUS!!! It's ok for their writing to be total sh*t because the people they are aiming for are inbreed ******s (seriously you should cut some branches from your family tree mate sounds like your heading towards the way of mental yourself) I don't find that to be an argument. The thread starter makes a valid point those are serious writing flaws that should have been addressed right there in those segments and it would have helped all of those involved get their characters/persona's over instead they came off looking half witted! I don't mind giving them a chance I'm excited for another company to come up and challange the E but so far all I have seen is shotty writing and a distruction of everything that made TNA (aka 6 sided ring, great tag division, amazing X division) They sold out and are changing what they are let them do what they want but do not defend any of their ******ation as a way for them to reach their redneck viewers as that is total Nonstop Bull Sh*t!