Impact Support Club House

[It's Damn Real!]

I thought the Abyss feature was smart. If you can't have someone enter the ring through the ropes, have them come from beneath. This was the first time we saw Abyss use that weapon on camera and at least the main event ends the Corporate World Champion and supposed Corporate monster characters.

Question is, who will be the man to end his World Title Reign?

No idea. I'm not sure TNA have that planned out yet, to be honest. Right now, the focus seems to be on making sure Magnus gets over as best he can. This actually reminds me a bit of the initial rise of Bobby Roode, which went on for what, eight, nine months? Might have even been longer. I honestly don't recall.

 

[Dirk]

Magnus can't go on to have mediocre to average main-events for nine months...

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Maybe not, but they're trying as best they can to get him over now, so I can't see them cutting the legs out from under this until they're sufficiently convinced he can't run with the ball.

If I had to guess, if they see this as a failure, Joe will end his reign within the next few months, likely before Bound For Glory. If not, they may carry him straight through to BFG, where he'll drop it to whoever the winner of the BFG series is.

 

[Dirk]

I wouldn't put it so strongly as to say Magnus is a failure. MEM and him being champ did a lot to make me care for him, but with EC3, MVP and Willow (not to mention Lashley) doing their stuff, booking Magnus in what SHOULD be the main-event feels like a big letdown.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I wouldn't count out MVP as a long-term option to dethrone him, also.

 

[Lowdown]

I can't begin to say who will dethrone him, but Magnus needs to get a clean win at some point. He's talented enough on his own, and yes he could be more over. I just think he needs to go on his own. Hell even in a street fight or something.

 

[Dirk]

I LOVE MVP's theme! They should skip the "Impact in 3...2...1" part of it post-match, though. I've read somewhere that it's his own voice on the track, but I'm guessing Dale Oliver did everything else?

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

I don't feel MEM did much for Magnus at all. His initial push at the beginning to middle of the BFG series is what started getting him cheered louder. Frankly, when it was getting closer to the end and it was more obvious Styles was going to make a comeback, he started faltering.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I can't begin to say who will dethrone him, but Magnus needs to get a clean win at some point. He's talented enough on his own, and yes he could be more over. I just think he needs to go on his own. Hell even in a street fight or something.

Well, that depends. The problem is that you guys want him to be a clean heel, but he's not. They're pushing this whole "paper champion" thing. It's similar to the rise of Bobby Roode back in 2009 or 2010 — whenever it was, when he was winning every match by smashing a bottle over the back of the head of his opponent late in the main event.

The only difference I see is that Roode had better matches, as he's a better wrestler, period, and so when he cheated, it felt big. With Magnus, he's mostly getting smacked around in his matches outside the Hardy ladder match, and not really putting in too much work, only to have someone come in and save him.

 

[Danger Burger]

I can't begin to say who will dethrone him, but Magnus needs to get a clean win at some point. He's talented enough on his own, and yes he could be more over. I just think he needs to go on his own. Hell even in a street fight or something.

Even without a 'clean' win per say, I think winning for himself by dastardly means (low blow, etc) would do a lot for the guy. By the end of the Lockdown match I was more hot for Abyss than Magnus.

 

[Dirk]

Well, that depends. The problem is that you guys want him to be a clean heel, but he's not. They're pushing this whole "paper champion" thing. It's similar to the rise of Bobby Roode back in 2009 or 2010 — whenever it was, when he was winning every match by smashing a bottle over the back of the head of his opponent late in the main event.

The only difference I see is that Roode had better matches, as he's a better wrestler, period, and so when he cheated, it felt big. With Magnus, he's mostly getting smacked around in his matches outside the Hardy ladder match, and not really putting in too much work, only to have someone come in and save him.

What you're describing here reminds me of the Miz's run as WWE champ. Luckily Magnus isn't half as annoying.

 

[Lowdown]

Well, that depends. The problem is that you guys want him to be a clean heel, but he's not. They're pushing this whole "paper champion" thing. It's similar to the rise of Bobby Roode back in 2009 or 2010 — whenever it was, when he was winning every match by smashing a bottle over the back of the head of his opponent late in the main event.

The only difference I see is that Roode had better matches, as he's a better wrestler, period, and so when he cheated, it felt big. With Magnus, he's mostly getting smacked around in his matches outside the Hardy ladder match, and not really putting in too much work, only to have someone come in and save him.

Is there such a thing as a clean heel these days? I'm just saying that he could get a clean win against another main event guy every once in a while. The angle I get; but another difference in you Roode comparison is while he did cheat to win, more often than not it was only him and not a bunch of backup like Abyss, EC3, etc. I wouldn't mind an occasional lowblow or foreign object from Magnus. A clean win wouldn't hurt every now and then, and neither would a Ric Flair-esque win.

 

[Cereal Killer]

Magnus can't go on to have mediocre to average main-events for nine months...

What's wrong with his matches? I think they've been pretty good and get better and better. As said by the Prez, the interferences have been in every match to make him look like a paper champion in every way. When the match at Lockdown started, I thought that there as no way anyone could interfere and the match was Joe's. No one could enter through the ropes. No one did. Where did the interference arrive from? From under the ring. He'll always find a way. His character is developing beautifully and he's playing a great heel.

If I had to guess, if they see this as a failure, Joe will end his reign within the next few months, likely before Bound For Glory. If not, they may carry him straight through to BFG, where he'll drop it to whoever the winner of the BFG series is.

The winner of the BFG Series could be MVP. It could be a situation where Magnus has taken out ALL competition in TNA until the Investor "participates" in the dilemma and enters himself into the BFG series. Although, to make himself seem very legit and not just a man in a suit, he's going to have to be that strong one in the Series, equal to Crimson, Roode, Joe and also Magnus in the past.

Well, that depends. The problem is that you guys want him to be a clean heel, but he's not. They're pushing this whole "paper champion" thing. It's similar to the rise of Bobby Roode back in 2009 or 2010 — whenever it was, when he was winning every match by smashing a bottle over the back of the head of his opponent late in the main event

The problem with Roode was that he wasn't being called a paper champion and was considered to be the next top star, however, he had to cheat in EVERY match. As I had explained, it's a different and an appropriate deal with Magnus but a bad idea with Roode. How can we take him seriously in his matches if he wins most by cheating? How do you think the casual fans would view him?

Is there such a thing as a clean heel these days? I'm just saying that he could get a clean win against another main event guy every once in a while. The angle I get; but another difference in you Roode comparison is while he did cheat to win, more often than not it was only him and not a bunch of backup like Abyss, EC3, etc. I wouldn't mind an occasional lowblow or foreign object from Magnus. A clean win wouldn't hurt every now and then, and neither would a Ric Flair-esque win.

I know this is off topic but...if I walked down the streets of LA with a blue or red t-shirt on, am I likely to get shot?

 

[It's Damn Real!]

What you're describing here reminds me of the Miz's run as WWE champ. Luckily Magnus isn't half as annoying.

I wouldn't know. I quit watching WWE around that time. As an aside, I remember arguing with someone here years back about the Miz when I said that the Miz is so bad he makes me change the channel. He was trying to tell me that that's what he's supposed to do. That I was supposed to hate him that much. Like I didn't know what kayfabe was, or what my role is supposed to be as a viewer or audience member. I had to tear into him quite a bit in explaining the difference between heel heat and "X-Pac heat" — the latter of which is not actually a good thing. When I literally change the channel, how is that guy doing his job? Shouldn't his job be to make me want to see him get beat up so I tune in again week-after-week? He did the opposite. Made me tune out.

Is there such a thing as a clean heel these days? I'm just saying that he could get a clean win against another main event guy every once in a while. The angle I get; but another difference in you Roode comparison is while he did cheat to win, more often than not it was only him and not a bunch of backup like Abyss, EC3, etc. I wouldn't mind an occasional lowblow or foreign object from Magnus. A clean win wouldn't hurt every now and then, and neither would a Ric Flair-esque win.

When I say clean heel, I mean a guy who tends to win "on his own". You see that a lot with power house heels like Abyss or Awesome Kong.

I agree that the biggest difference between Magnus and Roode right now is that Roode wrestled 90% of his matches "clean" before he, not someone else, used a bottle or otherwise to cheat to win. Very Eddie Guerrero like.

Magnus, on the other hand, wrestles like 20% of his match clean, tends to have a lot of run-in interference, and then eventually wins via whatever other means of dirty interference occurs. He never looks like an actual threat. It's like a reverse Crimson, who used to just get beat down for like 9 minutes straight, then hit his finisher out of nowhere and continue the lucky streak.

 

[DarksideEric]

Magnus, on the other hand, wrestles like 20% of his match clean, tends to have a lot of run-in interference, and then eventually wins via whatever other means of dirty interference occurs. He never looks like an actual threat.

This is why I can't get behind Magnus in the least despite me having a love for bad guys.

I don't care if the villain has henchmen, but the villain should be able to be viewed as a threat by themselves.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

This is were having a roster of guys were the majority can be portrayed as potential world champs is a problem, there is no depth in the midcard for Magnus to defeat. Bobby (and even Bully to an extent) suffered from the same problem. To give the English man some credence, he needs conclusive victories over the likes of an EY or a Ken Anderson (Bobby managed to get clean wins over both Ken Anderson and RVD [in a ladder match to boot] during his reign).

 

[Lowdown]

I know this is off topic but...if I walked down the streets of LA with a blue or red t-shirt on, am I likely to get shot?

I'm going with no. But it also depends on the neighborhood you're in. I'm no authority, mind you, yet L.A. isn't as crazy as it was when I was little. Plus there's a lot of Dodger and fake Clipper fans, and I haven't heard much about them getting hassled.

 

[Dirk]

What's wrong with his matches? I think they've been pretty good and get better and better.

I don't have a problem with the character, just the matches. Let's agree to disagree, then - I thought the Dixieland match was good (partly because Hardy makes near-suicide look cool), but have gotten worse from there on.

 

[Dirk]

I wouldn't know. I quit watching WWE around that time. As an aside, I remember arguing with someone here years back about the Miz when I said that the Miz is so bad he makes me change the channel. He was trying to tell me that that's what he's supposed to do. That I was supposed to hate him that much. Like I didn't know what kayfabe was, or what my role is supposed to be as a viewer or audience member. I had to tear into him quite a bit in explaining the difference between heel heat and "X-Pac heat" — the latter of which is not actually a good thing. When I literally change the channel, how is that guy doing his job? Shouldn't his job be to make me want to see him get beat up so I tune in again week-after-week? He did the opposite. Made me tune out.

I've heard that X-Pac heat used to be called "Bossman heat" before X-Pac.

 

[Whap Me Jungles]

I've heard that X-Pac heat used to be called "Bossman heat" before X-Pac.

Then X-Pac got worse go-away heat than Bossman...

 

[Cereal Killer]

This is why I can't get behind Magnus in the least despite me having a love for bad guys.
I don't care if the villain has henchmen, but the villain should be able to be viewed as a threat by themselves.

I get what you're saying. His character is an excellent bad guy but you won't be able to take him serious in a Bound For Glory main event match. While the face is usually expected to win, it would be better if it felt more unpredictable and more towards the even side.

I don't have a problem with the character, just the matches. Let's agree to disagree, then - I thought the Dixieland match was good (partly because Hardy makes near-suicide look cool), but have gotten worse from there on.

What is it that you haven't you liked about the matches?

 

[Dirk]

What is it that you haven't you liked about the matches?

How they compare to the other matches on the card, but not only that; that AND it's for the most important title in the company. You know, what it probably is, is that my expectations are too high.

Abyss's giant paw coming out of the canvas was pretty cool, though. How long mustn't he have stayed under there? I suppose the lights go out at some point and he sneaks in there, all stealthy guerilla gorilla style.

 

[DarksideEric]

I get what you're saying. His character is an excellent bad guy but you won't be able to take him serious in a Bound For Glory main event match. While the face is usually expected to win, it would be better if it felt more unpredictable and more towards the even side.

I'm not even fully sure I'd take him seriously in any main event, I just figure 30 people are going to come out and interfere 5 minutes in.

I don't see him as an "excellent bad guy," I see him as one of those skinny kids that hides behind bigger kids while shouting "WHAT?! WHAT?! SAY SOMETHING NOW!" And that's in no way an "excellent bad guy."

Granted I've not watched for a couple weeks, but that's the taste he left in me.

 

[Papa Pillman]

Abyss's giant paw coming out of the canvas was pretty cool, though. How long mustn't he have stayed under there? I suppose the lights go out at some point and he sneaks in there, all stealthy guerilla gorilla style.

There were actually reports that came out in the days after the event that said that they didn't sneak Abyss down during the event(presumably to be sure no one caught on and it didn't give a way the surprise) so instead he spent hours under the ring waiting to execute the story.

 

[Cereal Killer]

I don't see him as an "excellent bad guy," I see him as one of those skinny kids that hides behind bigger kids while shouting "WHAT?! WHAT?! SAY SOMETHING NOW!" And that's in no way an "excellent bad guy."

I'm not sure if you dislike him in a way where you think he's always getting away with things or in a 'X-Pac heat' way, but using the President's protection against every viable competition and defeating them gets him a lot of heat and hate. At the same time, I agree with what FitFinlay said with giving him opponents like Mr Anderson, Bully Ray and mid-carders so we can still see him wrestle and believe that he's worth something at least, to pay for that losing streak he had before defeating Sting at Bound For Glory, which also shows he's (in some sense) a worthy World Champion.