Slammiversary XI — Sting v. Bully Ray (C) — TNA World Heavyweight Championship

[It's Damn Real!]

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Slammiversary XI
Sting v. Bully Ray (C)
TNA World Heavyweight Championship

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[YOUTUBE]p2vWqqvXjog[/YOUTUBE]

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All discussion here.​

 

[MrPlatano1989]

Somehow I actually wouldn't mind seeing this match. When is the event?

The event is about a month from now on June 2nd! TNA's 11 year anniversary show! I cannot wait! This whole Aces & 8's storyline started last year with the group attacking Sting and sidelining him from a chance at the BFG series. Flash forward one year and we get to see Sting vs the president of Aces & 8's for the title! So much build up between these two men! Bully used the sh!t out of Sting for over 6 months and made him look like a fool. He even tagged with him at last years Bound For Glory so that A&8's can gain access. This main event has a great thing going for it! Can't wait to see the crowd and energy once their entrances start! I'll be screaming from my house like im there lol

 

[The Golden Boy]

No No No. It should end up a 3 way for the title since Matt Morgan didn't tap or say I quit. He took the Scorpion Deathlock until he passed out. That right there shows he has the heart and desire to be on the top of the mountain as JJ would say.

 

[Ovaltine]

First: TNA is finally promoting Sting as a 15 time champion.

Second: Hasn't Sting headlined Slammiversary for the past 7 years? I really wish WCW was still around. It would be interesting to see how they would have portrayed Sting at this point in time.

Third: Aces and 8s has run its course. As much as I like Bully Ray I'd like to see Sting (or anyone) put an end to this angle. Too bad for Bully Ray- he rules.

 

[HBsam31]

This will be an entertaining match. I like it because I think Bully will go over, and what a win it will be going over a legend like Sting. I am sure there will be a lot of outside interference, but I really think Bully should go over clean in his first ppv defense.

 

[Lowdown]

No No No. It should end up a 3 way for the title since Matt Morgan didn't tap or say I quit. He took the Scorpion Deathlock until he passed out. That right there shows he has the heart and desire to be on the top of the mountain as JJ would say.

Now that you mentioned him, I see Morgan playing a factor in this somehow. But they can't keep turning to Sting in these "TNA vs whoever" wars. He's the main guy for the task, but it's the same ol story. Sting will give a valiant effort, but Bully retains.

 

[Super Crazy]

Bully Ray will retain. I had a friend tell me yesterday that he felt Bully Ray is getting stale and uninteresting, I disagree. However, if you do feel he's stale, what better way to freshen him up than having him beat one of the all time greats when it counts most?

I really feel that TNA needs to stop turning to Sting as their savior in ever single storyline. I really feel as though AJ is being built to be that guy who plays the Sting role in this storyline. Bully Ray will go over Sting, probably not cleanly.

 

[JASONIGHTMARE]

What makes you think TNA won' t change the match there are 2 possibilities Aces and Eights either injure STING cause he is a threat to Bully Ray and the Word title and replace STING with " BluePrint" Matt Morgan or they can change it to a triple threat match including Matt Morgan vs STING vs Bully Ray . Many possibilities with this route TNA can have Matt Morgan replace D Lo Brown as their new member as well

 

[JASONIGHTMARE]

I can see in TNA leading to SLAMMIVERSARY STING will be injured by Aces and Eights to make room for Matt Morgan to step up to the plate and challenge Bully Ray since they are teasing the fans and trying to swerve us onto that direction

 

[Mitch Henessey]

As much as it pains me to say it, it's too soon for Bully to lose the title. TNA spent so much energy and time building the Aces & Eights storyline, and the moment of Aces & Eights falling, and their leader being taken out by the courageous savior shouldn't happen now. Maybe later down the road, but not at Slammiversary.

The shock factor of Bully turning on Hogan, Brooke, Sting, and the rest of TNA wore off after Lockdown. And more importantly, it wore off quickly. When you look at the big picture, Bully screwing over Hulk was his allure as champion. But once that wore off, Bully started losing his luster as champion.

Sting being the courageous hero, who saves the day is too obvious for the finish at Slammiversary. I expect a run-in from some Aces & Eights members, or some other sort of screwy finish, so Bully can walk away with the title.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

This match will probably be solid all in all, but I can't say it holds any interest for me. I've simply seen TNA do this too many times. TNA is under siege by an invading force or unstoppable enemy, there are no strong younger challengers on the roster and Sting rises up from the ashes to defend & save TNA from the invader.

If it comes down to a choice between Sting or Morgan, I'd take Morgan.Morgan has a great look, a great physical presence, he's genuinely an athletic big man, has demonstrated overall solid ability in the ring and has legit personality. Morgan is someone who has seemed on the cusp of stardom time & time again, but for whatever reason, TNA has just never pulled the trigger. They had an opportunity to this past Thursday and, again, they didn't go with it.

I expect Bully Ray to retain and, as I said earlier, it'll probably be a solid match. But I just don't have any real spark of interest to see Sting, yet again, cast in the role of white knight. If Sting does wind up winning the title then, in my opinion, it's a shit move that doesn't accomplish much of anything.

TNA could go the route of having Aces & Eights "injure" Sting so that Morgan can be put into the match in his place. However, in my opinion, the damage has already been done. Sting already made Morgan tap out, so substituting Morgan for Sting won't increase Morgan's stock or make him look any stronger of a challenger to Bully Ray.

I just hope this isn't all leading to Hogan somehow challenging Bully Ray for the title at BFG. I'm sure some will flip out over Hogan wrestling for the strap at BFG but it interests me even less than seeing Sting go after it. At least Sting is still in good enough physical condition to put on decent matches.

 

[SuperTaco]

This match will probably be solid all in all, but I can't say it holds any interest for me. I've simply seen TNA do this too many times. TNA is under siege by an invading force or unstoppable enemy, there are no strong younger challengers on the roster and Sting rises up from the ashes to defend & save TNA from the invader.

If it comes down to a choice between Sting or Morgan, I'd take Morgan.Morgan has a great look, a great physical presence, he's genuinely an athletic big man, has demonstrated overall solid ability in the ring and has legit personality. Morgan is someone who has seemed on the cusp of stardom time & time again, but for whatever reason, TNA has just never pulled the trigger. They had an opportunity to this past Thursday and, again, they didn't go with it.

I expect Bully Ray to retain and, as I said earlier, it'll probably be a solid match. But I just don't have any real spark of interest to see Sting, yet again, cast in the role of white knight. If Sting does wind up winning the title then, in my opinion, it's a shit move that doesn't accomplish much of anything.

TNA could go the route of having Aces & Eights "injure" Sting so that Morgan can be put into the match in his place. However, in my opinion, the damage has already been done. Sting already made Morgan tap out, so substituting Morgan for Sting won't increase Morgan's stock or make him look any stronger of a challenger to Bully Ray.

I just hope this isn't all leading to Hogan somehow challenging Bully Ray for the title at BFG. I'm sure some will flip out over Hogan wrestling for the strap at BFG but it interests me even less than seeing Sting go after it. At least Sting is still in good enough physical condition to put on decent matches.

I agree with pretty much everything you said, except Morgan didn't tap, he passed out. I would still much prefer to see Morgan face Bully, and go over him, but that probably won't happen.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

This match will probably be solid all in all, but I can't say it holds any interest for me. I've simply seen TNA do this too many times. TNA is under siege by an invading force or unstoppable enemy, there are no strong younger challengers on the roster and Sting rises up from the ashes to defend & save TNA from the invader.

If it comes down to a choice between Sting or Morgan, I'd take Morgan.Morgan has a great look, a great physical presence, he's genuinely an athletic big man, has demonstrated overall solid ability in the ring and has legit personality. Morgan is someone who has seemed on the cusp of stardom time & time again, but for whatever reason, TNA has just never pulled the trigger. They had an opportunity to this past Thursday and, again, they didn't go with it.

I expect Bully Ray to retain and, as I said earlier, it'll probably be a solid match. But I just don't have any real spark of interest to see Sting, yet again, cast in the role of white knight. If Sting does wind up winning the title then, in my opinion, it's a shit move that doesn't accomplish much of anything.

TNA could go the route of having Aces & Eights "injure" Sting so that Morgan can be put into the match in his place. However, in my opinion, the damage has already been done. Sting already made Morgan tap out, so substituting Morgan for Sting won't increase Morgan's stock or make him look any stronger of a challenger to Bully Ray.

I just hope this isn't all leading to Hogan somehow challenging Bully Ray for the title at BFG. I'm sure some will flip out over Hogan wrestling for the strap at BFG but it interests me even less than seeing Sting go after it. At least Sting is still in good enough physical condition to put on decent matches.

Have you ever posted anything in the TNA section where you didn't say this at the beginning? It's fine that you don't find it thrilling but after reading the same first sentence for a while it makes me wanna knife rape my brain.

Now then, this match should be good for Bully. I'm thinking Bully's going to win but, man, I'm smelling a TNA. I have the bad feeling that they'll have Sting win. TNA seems to panic when the ratings take the slightest dip and they do stupid shit, which usually involves a very unnecessary title change in the middle of a very important storyline.

Either way, I expect the match to be fine but I just know we'll get some shitty finish. It's just a gut feeling that I have. Could be wrong. Hope I am.

 

[LSN80]

I don't have a problem with Sting being used in this role, as long as Bully Ray walks out champion, and does so having won clean.

I'd venture as far as to say that they had to do this match. Simply, it's the only logical choice. While the entire locker room, theoretically, has a beef with Ray and Aces and Eights, it's personal for Sting. He vouched for Ray, only to have Ray do the very thing Hogan was wary of, with Sting eventually convincing him otherwise. People are disappointed that Morgan lost to Sting, or that a younger star wasn't given the shot, but where else could they go? You get a rejuvenated Sting in a revenge angle against the guy who stabbed him in the back. The only other person they could book in this role at this point would be Hulk Hogan, and that's not going to happen.

Following this, however, the next time Sting should wrestle should be Bound For Glory. I didn't like the "taking my ball and going home" angle with AJ or Storm, but it could be very apropos here. Sting convinces Hogan to lift his suspension, supports him in naming Ray #1 Contender, then loses to him trying to right the wrong. Make Sting look as huge a threat as possible, vowing revenge....only to lose clean as a whistle.

This is an incredibly important title defense for Ray. Other then his TLC/FMM match against Jeff Hardy, this is Ray's first straight up title defense. I don't know the shelf life for Aces and Eights, but if there's any plans on keeping them 'strong', Ray needs a clean win here. No disqualification, no run-ins, just a straight up victory against Sting. Ratings are down with Ray as champion, which worries me that they're going to accelerate the end of Aces and Eights sooner then necessary.

Ray has been, for me, the most interesting champion since AJ Styles. While I don't think Ray or this angle are built for a long title reign such as Roode or Styles in recent years, he needs the belt until Bound For Glory for this to come off successful. Bound For Glory marks a year since the bikers were official TNA members, and it should, as TNA's biggest PPV of the year, mark the date of their demise as well.

Slammiversary is just a stop along the way, and Sting a stop-gap challenger. I'd go with AJ Styles myself-TNA is the "House That AJ built", isn't it?- but that's thoughts for another time. Ray needs this.

 

[KettleFace]

This match makes the world of sense storyline wise, but that match on Impact between Sting & Morgan was one of the most embarrassing things I've seen in this business in quite a while. It was such a poor match, and I know this is a petty thing to say - but why does Sting insist on competing with a shirt on now? I guess it's probably because he won't be in great shape these days, but it just looks so tacky.

Bully Ray to retain. Please.

 

[Papa Pillman]

I think this was the predictable booking. The same as I feel AJ battling for the gold at BFG is the predictable booking. And the same as I saw Morgan being predictably teased as the darkhorse. I said as much about three weeks ago in a thread about what we wanted to see at Slammiversary...

What I think will happen: I think this all sets up for Sting. Sting will finally get back into Hogan's good graces enough to be able to position himself into the match. I would expect that Bully retains, and ultimately all roads lead to Styles claiming the belt at BFG. I wouldn't count out Morgan entirely though.

With that said though, predictable isn't always bad. The predictable booking for last year's BFG would've been Roode retaining his belt until he dropped it there to Storm. And I have seen many people claim that that would have been the match they preferred see headline that event last October, predictable or no. The storytelling just set up for it too well, and throwing the curveball seemed to be changing things up just for the sake of it, which may have been the wrong decision.

This is months of booking continuing to come together. Starting with the way the Bully was set up for this role, and taking into account Sting was the first A&8s target the night after last year's Slammiversary, and the fact that he lead the frontline(no pun intended) charge, him getting back into Hogan's good graces for the shot makes the most sense. As does his losing while we build to AJ, who lost his ability to challenge for the belt until BFG, to be set up in the role Sting played as the Crow versus the NWO. And all the while we continue to be teased with Morgan, who has been narrating Hogan's follies for months, who could be logically inserted anywhere into this story arch.

Sometimes things are predictable when they have been built logically, nothing is wrong with letting them play out logically as well.

 

[Notorious718]

As much as I don't like the Aces & Eights, I really hope Bully Ray retains the title. I have absolutely zero interest in seeing Sting hold the world title yet again. I expect the match to be passable but I don't see how this won't end with some overbooked outside interference.

It was mentioned earlier, there is a possibility that Morgan might try to somehow bully his way into the match making it a triple threat (using the fact that he didn't tap out this past Thursday as some sort of justification). That would be cool. At least it would give Morgan a spot on the pay per view even if he ends up not winning.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

If Sting insists on covering up his body now, then for fucks sake TNA make him a fully bodysuit like MVP used to wear, he looks terrible wrestling in a t-shirt!

Anyway, back to the match...I can't see Bully dropping the title so soon and I don't think he will. He worked so hard to get to where he is now, it would be a shame for TNA to throw that away and if they are persisting with this Aces and Eights angle then Bully needs to hold on to the title.

Plus, I have 0 interest in seeing Sting with the belt yet again

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The stipulation added to this match might look a little confusing on the surface.

On one hand, Sting never getting another shot at the TNA World Heavyweight Championship could certainly point to Bully Ray getting the win. At the same time, however, Sting is the guy that TNA frequently goes to and puts into the top spot of challenger or champion. He's obviously considered a money player in TNA, so the idea that Sting might not get a shot in the future suggests, at least to me, that TNA might be more interested in "taking chances" on younger names with less star power or the stipulation simply won't be enforced.

I don't see Ray dropping the title. He's the only guy worth anything in Aces & Eights and he's easily the top heel in the company. He's not dropping the title until BFG, at least. The added stipulation of Sting never getting another shot only reinforces the notion. The match is No Holds Barred so I don't really see any genuine way for TNA to squirm out of the stipulation. As a result, I simply don't see the stip being enforced unless Sting is planning to retire soon, thereby meaning he'd never get another shot by default.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

Really hope Bully wins. Stopping Sting from competing for the world title again, hell of a stipulation! A victory over Sting would be a great thing for Bully.

 

[Skairipa Matrix]

I'm going with Bully Ray here. The added stipulation just seems like TNA's way to try and throw the fans off and get them thinking Sting will win.

I hope the stipulation gets enforced because I just don't have interest in seeing Sting chase the champ anymore. But I see the stipulation simply being forgotten about by the beginning of 2014.

Anyway my pick is Bully Ray with the hopes this doesn't turn into a massive brawl between Aces & Eights and TNA.

 

[The Roadie]

Hi all. The way I see it is this.
As others have said , its personal for Sting nad it makes sense for the storyline for him to be in this match.
I think he'll lose & we'll see Sting become more of a background guy, a mentor type to younger guys coming through in future.
I think Sting loses wills et up the Morgan storyline even more with Morgan again saying "Yet another Hogan Mistake" and Hogan will put Mogran in the BFG series & he'll come through to win it, thereby getting the next challenge against Bully.
Morgan will win the belt finally to end the Aces & Eights domination.
Just my random thoughts.

 

[Glenn21]

Since it's a 6 days left before it's Slammiversary XI I'm still in the middle off this situation , i wouldn't mind if both off them win , i wouldn't mind Sting to win since i'm a "Stinger" since i follow Wrestling and i would enjoy a last Title run , even if it's for a few weeks , But then again , it's Bully Ray and "he never walks alone" , they can do so much in this match that it can go either way , they can both go out in a count-out if they can't get up , Bully Retains but Sting Didn't lose so the Stipulation wouldn't work , Sting wins and Bully get's it back a few weeks later to be Champ at BFG and lose it there to Who ever wins the Series , Or Bully wins , Sting loses and goes away for a while again ,,Either way , it's TNA , they did some weird things Before

 

[Rellim]

Am I the only one who thinks Sting being in the main event again is insane? I mean, I don't watch TNA that much, but I swear every time I see a result Sting is returning or being put in a world title match. I love Sting, but he is over fifty years old, there is no need for him to be in a world title match anymore IMO. Have him play more of a background role.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Looking at things, I see no real way Sting wins the title. I'd be thrilled if Ray went over Sting with little to no help. It'd only further solidify his run by going over another top star, even if Sting is well into his 50s. Ultimately, whether Ray wins clean or not, I think the most important factor is Ray keeping the title.

Given that this match is, if I'm not mistaken, no holds barred, I expect it to have a massively overbooked finish. It's been the M.O. for Aces & Eights to interfere when they see a member in serious trouble, so there's no real reason to believe that would change for Slammiversary. As a counter, I think there'll be TNA guys pouring out of the locker room resulting in a big brawl around ringside with all kinds of confusion taking place. Whether he comes down as part of the initial group or a little later, I think Hulk Hogan will come down and try to interfere on Sting's behalf only to wind up costing him the title somehow. I could see Hogan going all Superman and taking out anyone that gets in his way before getting into the ring and unloading on Bully Ray for a bit. Eventually, some A&E members break away and manage to gain the upper hand on Hogan while Bully Ray is down, maybe in the Scorpion Deathlock or after having been given the Scorpion Death Drop. Sting has the match won but sees Hogan getting the snot kicked out of him and goes to help, leaving Ray alone to recover. A member of A&E manages to break away and gives Ray the hammer as Sting manages to save Hogan's bacon. Sting goes back to Ray, only to eat the hammer and Ray scores the win.

The aftermath results in the tension continuing to mount between Hogan & Sting as Sting blames Hogan for costing him the match. Thusly, Sting can't challenge for the title again, if TNA enforces the stipulation. Eventually tensions reach a point in which Sting thinks he should be running things and challenges Hogan for a match at BFG with the winner getting the spot of GM of Impact Wrestling. I'm actually hoping that this especially doesn't go down but if Hogan wants to wrestle at BFG, he'll wrestle.