"They" Are Revealed; Fourtune Turns on Immortal!

[Mr_Ratings]

Look, I'd like nothing more than to see TNA succeed and provide actual competition for the WWE, but blindly supporting mediocre angles have nothing to do with it. Yes, Smackdown was pulling a 1.7, but that's their B show. The TNA A show isn't even fucking with them. By comparison, Detroit 1-8-7 is pulling on average a 1.0 rating and is considered as "Sure to be canceled at season's end" even though it garnered much more viewers in the beginning. At TNA's best, it pulls between 1.0 and 1.3, only one time garnering a 1.5, yet it gets multiple chances to rectify since it's on a small time cable network.

I really just don't buy this idea that TNA is doing something remarkable with this angle. It's basically the same angle as the Wolfpac splitting from the NWO, only with about 1/8 of the viewership. This was around the time where WCW started losing in the ratings battle and eventually lost the war. TNA hasn't even started to compete, yet it already seems to have thrown in the proverbial towel. Angles where 75% of the roster is involved rotating between 2 or more factions are historically failures, yet TNA seems to think they can defy logic. I'm getting the feeling that they'll be wrong again with this clusterfuck.

I really dont see this as another Wolfpac storyline. That storyline took months where as this was out of the blue ( or a month depending or your view of whether this happened or not cause of certain circumstances )

Look its only TNA's eighth year... They still got their training wheels on. WWE was struggling to compete with NWA in its 8th year too. Todays wrestling fan is too fickle, expecting too much way too fast. It takes decades to develop a competitive wrestling fanbase.

WWE supporters need to understand that and give TNA some support... I mean if theyre true wrestling fans... If not then theyre just WWE fans so to each their own.

WWE has their down spots too... But TNA gets so much more negative press. If that hornswoggle shit happened in TNA, it would be a fucking shitstorm. Posts upon posts of people ragging on it, videos too. And Mark Madden ( amongst other respected columists, except for a select few who like it ) would trash TNA harder than theyve ever trashed it before.

Not to mention all the negative press that Hogan and Flair got for wrestling in TNA when theyre old. While the WWE has Bret vs Mcmahon, the possibility of Sting vs Taker, and Jerry the King Lawler getting 2 WWE title matches in 2 months. And people are praising the WWE for that. Make it a even field and give TNA that same respect.

And I'll admit I do like some things about WWE and hate some things about TNA. I hate that TNA has taken the main event focus off the X Division, give them the same respect as the heavyweights. I HATE the Shore ( doesnt everybody ), and their womens division isnt what it was.

And I like CM's Nexus, along with the Corre. Cant wait for the CM/Randy Orton feud. Should be epic. Daniel Bryan is a ring machine. But most of all I like the possibility of a debuting Sting in 2 1/2 weeks. And I swear if he feuds with Taker I will seriously mark the fuck out.

Btw I also like the Fortune/Immortal budding feud.... They better not fumble the ball on this one lol.

 

[Mr_Ratings]

I regulary bash WWE on here only for the fact that most fans let them get away with the bullshit they do pull. The stuff that those same fans bash on TNA for. Both companies have major negatives and both companies have major positives.

 

[MrHashasheen]

Mr. Hashasheen, nearly the exact same thing happened. It was a mirror reflection you could call it. How do they not cancel out? Abyss was playing Immortal messenger and saying they are coming when Abyss was looking at the head of Immortal right in the eyes in the middle of the ring. Hogan tried to say it was "Flair and his band of idiots," but Abyss and Hogan were in on it all along.

The exact same thing happened with this new they. Crimson tried to throw us off saying they are coming but the exact same thing happened. A.J. was being choked out by Crimson with the they message when A.J. Styles turned out to be part of they, just like how Hogan turned out to be part of the original they.

Its the same problem with both. You can't justify the beat-downs that occurred by saying they were to throw us off the truth.

Anyway, its obvious this was a quick plan B, which shows, but like I said before, it was good for a quick recovery.

 

[Post]

I think that TNA can really get more out of having "They" being Fourtune as opposed to others that were speculated (like MEM).

There are some holes in the story, like why the hell would Steiner and Angle want to help out AJ and Beer Money. But maybe those will be addressed in the future.

I am a big fan of AJ and Beer Money. Not so much Kaz, but I will admit he has been growing on me lately.

I am excited to see where this goes, and happy that Fourtune has broken off. Now, my only question is what is going to happen with The Nature Boy?

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I thought that swerve was great, Russo actually impressed me here.

If the MEM suits were just a trick to fool us into thinking the Mafia were about to return, then that was excellent thinking by TNA. After we saw Booker T and Kevin Nash arrive back in the WWE, everyone thought the MEM storyline was going to completely flop and then they swerve us with this...brilliant!

I thought it was carried out well, but I would have liked to have seen Fortune come down to the ring with Immortal initially, as it would have been even more surprising.

AJ was excellent on the mic too, which is great to see. I much prefer Styles as a babyface, it just suits his character better. Well done on this TNA, now please keep up the good work!

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I liked how the turn was handled as well as AJ's promo after he turned on Bischoff and Hogan. I do not think that AJ has ever cut a better promo than the one he cut on "Immortal". However I do think that the turn was a touch too soon. It could be that Russo had planned for MEM to come back but that plan was foiled by Nash and Booker T signing with the WWE. This looked more like plan B to me.

What will be interesting to see is that who will be the top face of TNA now. The momentum is firmly with Anderson but AJ is one of the most respected figures in TNA. I would not be surprised to see the crowd cheering Styles louder than Anderson and it would be interesting to see who eventually takes Hardy down. With Fourtune turning face the face-heel equilibrium has shifted again and I think that the Immortal faction will be looking to recruit a few new people. Perhaps Bully Ray and Pope will come in as the new tag team.

 

[Optimist Prime]

It's kind of unfortunate because I think MEM against "Immortal/Fourtune" would have been great. But perhaps they can still do that (without Nash and Booker) and have 3 factions...two of them heel (though hating each other) and MEM facing one another. That would be exciting (or more exciting, IMO, than not having that happen). Although, if this was a spur-of-the-moment and reactionary decision - it was a very good spur-of-the-moment and reactionary decision. Much better than some of the alternatives that were available to them on such short notice anyway.

You have to take it for what it is...not compare it to what it was supposed to be. And we don't even know for sure if it was even supposed to be MEM or anything else for that matter...so all of that technically was just communal reinforcement at best that set a non-existent bar with anything else to either meet that bar or fall significantly short.

And lets not forget that this storyline doesn't begin and end on the same night. Anything can happen over time to improve or hinder the storyline. Who would have thought that when Scott Hall and Kevin Nash came onto the scene that the NWO would be made and turn into the greatest storyline in the history of wrestling? Nobody. And that didn't all happen in one night...it took time like anything else.

 

[EStreet]

Some thoughts I have after all of this:

1. Which side will RVD and Nature end up - in a great booking decision they left both of these guys off the show last night as they are both "Hogan-Hires" that now fall in between the factions with the storyline shaping the way it has. RVD has been after Hardy but now he is the enemy? Flair led heel-Fortune, now does he flip with the troops, I hope he doesn't because his recent run of promos have been the only thing worth watching the last few months. Leaving him to talk against Steiner could be A-Mazing.

2. How does Crimson fit into this as he wasn't a Pre-Hogan TNA guy? Don't ignore that after AJ's promo.

3. Also address the Crimson choking of AJ a few weeks back, i have no problem with it happening because it was a big swerve, just don't act like it didnt happen.

 

[SpecialFNK]

After seeing Abyss stumble onto the stage with Janice or whatever embedded in his back, TNA solidified itself as a joke of epic proportions.

what was wrong with that? I thought it was great. Abyss walking out but Immortal in the ring didn't know something was wrong. then he falls to the ground with HIS weapon in his back.

Believe me, Russo would gargle Lawler's balls if he could get him. Lawler is a bigger draw than anyone on his current roster.

no one can really believe this can they? Jerry Lawler? so Jerry Lawler could go to TNA and draw more than anyone currently in TNA? highly unlikely.

if your just here to hate on TNA you might as not even be here.
reminds me of WWE fans who will never give TNA a chance regardless of what they do.

Ok, I get it. TNA planned the MEM return without booking the talent. So they try an angle of a face turn that totally makes sense...

unless...

You try to figure out why Crimson attacked AJ 2 weeks ago, telling him that THEY were coming.

Abyss did the same thing to Hogan before he went on to talk about the first "THEY" coming at 10/10/10, and then it turned out the two of them were actually together the entire time.

regardless of what the speculation was going into this Impact whether it was MEM or not, it doesn't matter. what did happen is great for TNA.
if you have any negative thoughts towards AJ and Fortune turning on Immortal, then you simply just do not want TNA to succeed. and if you say otherwise your full of it.
you had a young core of TNA originals/long time wrestlers turning on the heel stable. these young talent are the future of TNA and having them turn on the heel stable is putting TNA in the right direction going forward.

ratings take time. regardless of who TNA brought over or could potentially bring over, it's going to take time for TNA to get the new viewers. it's not going to happen over night. IMO it's kind of stupid to judge TNA vs WWE based on ratings, when there are so many WWE viewers that have no interest in even giving TNA a chance.

 

[RD_21]

Its the same problem with both. You can't justify the beat-downs that occurred by saying they were to throw us off the truth.

Anyway, its obvious this was a quick plan B, which shows, but like I said before, it was good for a quick recovery.

I don't think you need to justify the beat downs. People were bringing up the same thing for Abyss-Hogan and I had gripe with their argument too.

We know that those guys don't hurt each other for real, they fake. Sure we are suppose to believe it's real but if they can fake that good, why couldn't they fake it to take suspicions away from them?

We won't know for sure if it's plan A or B and I wish the angle would have unfolded before the rumble so we would know for sure, but oh well.

 

[shattered dreams]

Is this really happening? TNA is getting criticized for not paying older names and putting them in a prominent spot and instead putting AJ Styles in that spot in a more face like role. Haven't people been bitching for months that they should do exactly that? Shit happened and they made the best of it. Why focus on the shit when the future is exactly as supposedly desired? It is pretty clear there were some oddities in the Nash and possibly Booker T situation. To me it sounds like TNA decided that if they were not on board then their attitude and pay was not helping anyone. They then turned it into something that is way better. So they took a negative and made a positive. What is to complain about? They teased a story that you would have bitched about and instead had to go a route that you might actually like. How terrible ...

 

[SpecialFNK]

there is something I find really funny, and it comes from WWE fans.

Nash and Booker. if TNA did bring them back to reform MEM, you would have had so many WWE fans saying how stupid it was to bring back more OLD former WWE wrestlers. they show up at the Royal Rumble, and all of a sudden they are gold! people talk about the pop they received. that pop could have been the same for any former WWE wrestler returning that they haven't seen in a while.

why are people going crazy over Kevin Nash and Booker T? Booker hasn't even been in TNA for awhile, and even when Nash was in TNA in 2010 he wasn't that good. both these guys are no longer needed in TNA.
whatever TV time would have gone to Kevin Nash and Booker T, is MUCH MUCH MUCH better used on other wrestlers like the younger talent.

 

[ScruffDog]

Now I'm going to start by saying I love Fourtune being faces. This was well done by TNA, and I'm so glad they didn't bring in the MEM. My only problem is now the war between Immortal and "They" is way to one sided. Let's think about this for a sec, so "They" may be only Fourtune but they have aligned themselves with a lot of people who joined them in the ring at the end on impact.
So the fight is

Immortal
Hogan, Bischoff, Rod Terry, Gunner, Murphy, Jerrett, Jeff, Matt, Abyss.

"They"
AJ, Beer Money, Kazarian, Angle, Steiner, Crimson, Anderson and most likely RVD

So what team do you want to be on? For this to be a more interesting rivalry Immortal need at least one more big guy to join there team, because right now they don't stand a chance again this newly formed alliance.

 

[Dizzy]

Look, I'd like nothing more than to see TNA succeed and provide actual competition for the WWE, but blindly supporting mediocre angles have nothing to do with it. Yes, Smackdown was pulling a 1.7, but that's their B show. The TNA A show isn't even fucking with them. By comparison, Detroit 1-8-7 is pulling on average a 1.0 rating and is considered as "Sure to be canceled at season's end" even though it garnered much more viewers in the beginning. At TNA's best, it pulls between 1.0 and 1.3, only one time garnering a 1.5, yet it gets multiple chances to rectify since it's on a small time cable network.

1. You want TNA to succeed? Stop lying to yourself because you've embarrassed yourself in this thread.

2. TNA drew 2.1 million million viewers last week. God knows that means it's gonna get canceled right?

3. B show or no B show, Spike TV is not as popular as USA or Syfy. Until they do or TNA moves to a bigger network, they will not challenge Raw in viewership.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

there is something I find really funny, and it comes from WWE fans.

Nash and Booker. if TNA did bring them back to reform MEM, you would have had so many WWE fans saying how stupid it was to bring back more OLD former WWE wrestlers. they show up at the Royal Rumble, and all of a sudden they are gold! people talk about the pop they received. that pop could have been the same for any former WWE wrestler returning that they haven't seen in a while.

I can't speak for other WWE fans but my dislike of the whole second coming of "They" has nothing to do with Nash or Booker T. I find the idea of yet another faction war in TNA a lackluster idea no matter if it's the MEM or the random character change of Fortune. I'm just really burned on on them because TNA does them over and over and over again, especially one that's this lopsided. Aside from Jeff Hardy, Immortal has nobody even remotely interesting as far as the wrestling side of the faction goes. As for Nash & Booker T, the only real problem I've had with them is that they were given huge pushes in TNA at the expense of younger stars. TNA used their younger talent to elevate Nash & Booker instead of vice versa. At the Royal Rumble, that didn't happen. Both came in, gave the crowd a great nostalgic moment, did their thing for about 3 minutes each and were eliminated by Mason Ryan & Wade Barrett. Of course it's not exactly as big of an impact as it would be beating either of those men for titles, but it suited its purpose. Two young guys got the better of two legends.

 

[MisterRob]

there is something I find really funny, and it comes from WWE fans.

Nash and Booker. if TNA did bring them back to reform MEM, you would have had so many WWE fans saying how stupid it was to bring back more OLD former WWE wrestlers. they show up at the Royal Rumble, and all of a sudden they are gold! people talk about the pop they received. that pop could have been the same for any former WWE wrestler returning that they haven't seen in a while.

why are people going crazy over Kevin Nash and Booker T? Booker hasn't even been in TNA for awhile, and even when Nash was in TNA in 2010 he wasn't that good. both these guys are no longer needed in TNA.
whatever TV time would have gone to Kevin Nash and Booker T, is MUCH MUCH MUCH better used on other wrestlers like the younger talent.

I’m not a fan of illogical writing and random swerves, that’s why I don’t like the second incarnation of “They”. I wouldn’t have liked it if MEM had come in, and although I do think Fourtune is a much better option for this, I still don’t like the silly plot holes and the rushed turns.

But, that being said, in the case of your comments about OLD former WWE wrestlers? It’s all about context. These old veterans, far past their prime, come into TNA and are pushed as the top stars and pushed in prominent roles. That’s the difference, because WWE used them for one nostalgic moment and now what roles are they in? Booker T’s going to be a commentator for Smackdown. No one knows about Kevin Nash but he sure as hell isn’t going to be put in a top position as a wrestler, and he certainly isn’t going to be given WWE’s top championships. The difference is how they’re used, and that’s EVERYTHING. WWE got it right, TNA never does.

Now I'm going to start by saying I love Fourtune being faces. This was well done by TNA, and I'm so glad they didn't bring in the MEM. My only problem is now the war between Immortal and "They" is way to one sided. Let's think about this for a sec, so "They" may be only Fourtune but they have aligned themselves with a lot of people who joined them in the ring at the end on impact.
So the fight is

Immortal
Hogan, Bischoff, Rod Terry, Gunner, Murphy, Jerrett, Jeff, Matt, Abyss.

"They"
AJ, Beer Money, Kazarian, Angle, Steiner, Crimson, Anderson and most likely RVD

So what team do you want to be on? For this to be a more interesting rivalry Immortal need at least one more big guy to join there team, because right now they don't stand a chance again this newly formed alliance.

It’s simple: More illogical, random, unexplained swerves! It’s Vince Russo! I call it right NOW. Scott Steiner’s going to turn and join Immortal. There’s going to be other random swerves too. I bet Mr. Anderson will turn and join Immortal, too. Just watch. I wouldn’t be surprised if, despite being screwed for his title, getting almost killed by Abyss, and feuding with Jeff Hardy recently, Rob Van Dam will turn and join Immortal. And I’ll laugh my ass off at the ridiculousness of it all when it happens.

Quote me on that.

 

[SpecialFNK]

I've only watched TNA since the start of 2010 so I don't know what TNA was doing before then, but in 2010 Kevin Nash didn't really seem like he had much of an effect. in 2010 I don't think he was really being pushed.

as for a new stable/faction in TNA. you had to know this was going to happen. not because it's what TNA does, but because it was going to take a stable/faction to take down the current stable/faction of Immortal.

as for right now it's not really a new stable. despite "THEY" are coming, "THEY" turned out to be Fortune who was already a stable. I doubt Angle/Steiner/Crimson become part of Fortune.

I could also see Steiner turning heel. I think that would fit him better anyway. he just seems like the type who could be hated. I don't know when they do it, but Steiner could say it's all about the money and Bischoff/Hogan offered him a sweet deal. I would say eventually hopefully sooner rather than later Fortune and the faces are going to take down Immortal. how long of a future does Steiner have in TNA? if he is with Immortal and they are taken down, it could be a way for TNA to exit Steiner from the company.

 

[LitasRevenge79]

Please. Hey when is your book coming out? How to be a IWC mark 101? I loved to hear all you have to say about being a blind mark who doesnt ever think for themselves and takes what people who arent associated with any company say as fact. Fancy lights and Rock music arent what make a wrestling show great, bro.

derr...I guess if you want people to lay off the dirtsheets, why even signup for Wrestlezone in the first place? It basically IS a dirtsheet itself. Then in regards to the MEM...there is this tidbit I found in another thread...

Regarding his recent TNA departure, Sean Waltman asks Kevin what TNA was thinking planning out this big Angle (the "They" storyline) without having the core guys under contract. Nash admits to signing with TNA in early-January, but after watching a few of the storylines unfold, including the segment where Angle dominates all members of Immortal and Abyss falling over on top of the entrance ramp, he decided there wasn't any reason for him to return.

Shortly after watching that edition of Impact, Nash and his wife both decided that going back to TNA wasn't in his best interest. Follow that with a call from WWE's John Laurinaitis (Executive Vice President of Talent Relations), the decision to back out of of his TNA contract and return to the WWE was an easy one to make.

I mean, I don't necessarily hate what TNA is trying to do, but it certainly does kind of ruin the element of surprise when people read updates constantly and hear "Nash and Booker are at the Boston airport!!" Then you watch a live event that night, 1/30, then its kind of process of elimination. You know those two won't be in the THEY angle after that!! Its not a mark saying it, its a matter of fact. Even after reading the above quote. Nowhere in my gut do I hate what TNA is doing, I just don't understand, and probably because I admit, I'm only a fairweather fan. Do I care? No. Because there are better things to do, and I can always just catch up with the spoilers, and it really isn't that big of a deal to me. Besides, the more people complain and bitch and go back and forth, its always going to be SO hot and cold on something like this, people will get so worked up over nothing but a stupid angle of all things. So does that make me a mark because I read the dirtsheets? Okay then, I'm a mark, but then again, so is everyone else who logs on to the mainpage. Its the pot calling the kettle black. So I'm a mark, big deal. But the whole THEY thing, I guess its to be expected from some company TRYING to be bigger and better than another company. I don't blame them, its like a little sibling trying to dress up in their older sibling's sexy clothes and get mixed reviews. Which is what this thread is causing. No matter what, the THEY storyline will get attention, whether good or bad.

 

[Nate DaMac]

1. You want TNA to succeed? Stop lying to yourself because you've embarrassed yourself in this thread.

Yeah I'm totally embarrassed. Even though not one person has come back at me with any form of fact and I've quite thoroughly crushed at least 3 people here, I'm embarrassed. Get a clue.

2. TNA drew 2.1 million million viewers last week. God knows that means it's gonna get canceled right?

Not that impressive.

3. B show or no B show, Spike TV is not as popular as USA or Syfy. Until they do or TNA moves to a bigger network, they will not challenge Raw in viewership.

It's very easy to blame the poor ratings on the network, but that's complete bullshit. Maybe they could maintain a decent rating if they didn't have an ABSOLUTE SHIT booker. If they didn't rely on shock angles that continuously fail to deliver, such as the one last night. No matter, I'm watching Smackdown now, the legit wrestling program.

 

[srchmast]

There has been 10 pages worth of "they" and not one mention of a crucial fact:
Spike executives wanted MEM back (by Lords of Pain.com) The angle began when Spike told them to do the angle. TNA has to follow what Spike tells them because they can't afford Spike dropping Impact. I'm sure Russo had Immortal vs Fortune in mind for down the road but due to Nash and T showing up at the Rumble it all had to be rushed.
For those that criticize TNA for booking angles with people that they haven't singed here is a time line on Nash's situation:

• Nash signs a contract knowing that MEM is coming back in early January.
  
• On January 10 TNA tapes the Impact for January 20 which involves Abyss getting killed. Also Crimson announces that they are coming on Feb. 3rd
  
• On January 11 (the next day) Impact tapes for January 27 which has Steiner returning.
  
• Somewhere between January 10 and January 31 Nash decided that he did not want to be part of the angle and he would rather go back to the wwe.

Honestly I'm glad that the MEM angle fell through as I didn't want TNA to focus on "legends" when the have other young up and coming stars ready to take the spot.
Did I loved the direction they took? No, but there was only one other faction that they could've brought: A returning British invasion with Magnus Desmond and Williams. If you take a look at the TNA roster (http://www.tnawrestling.com/roster/superstar-roster) there are no other options as the whole roster is being used in some way or another. Regardless the fortune turn was the easiest and more direct way to go as they would have had to explain why Angle asked the British invasion to come back.

I am at peace with how the angle turned since the MEM not coming back is a blessing in disguise for TNA.

 

[fenfool]

I thought it was a great angle. I didn't really want to see MEM back, I think the route they took was more interesting. I have to say, I'm glad Fortune split from Immortal. Forget the hype, the 'they' stuff...TNA was trying to promote Fortune as a faction, but also made them a part of another faction, basically making them indistinguishable from the rest of the group. Fortune is essentially an attempt at being Four Horsemen 2011, and making them faces in the crowd of Immortal wrecked what should have been a good angle. I know Bischoff and Russo are very faction-happy, and have been trying to recreate the nWo in everything they do, but Fortune could really work. I like Styles as a face MUCH better than as a heel, he makes a good main-event leader. Beer Money are obviously a very over tag team...we'll see how they function as faces, because their style is really designed to work as heels. A tweener-like attitude might be best for the whole group. Kazarian hasn't really been used well for a while, but putting him back in the X division is where I think he can really shine. Add Flair on as a manager/mouthpiece, and this becomes a very interesting group to watch. I'm looking forward to seeing where they take them...I hope they don't rush anything, and just allow the group to develop. Having the tag & X titles gives them a great start. I'm curious to see where they take the involvement of Steiner, Angle & Crimson...I hope they don't add them all to Fortune, four wrestlers is a perfect number, and more and some members will really get lost in the shuffle.

I'm actually looking forward to seeing iMpact next week, I haven't really been this interested in TNA since the arrival of Hogan and Bishoff. Here's hoping they run with it!

 

[Dizzy]

Yeah I'm totally embarrassed. Even though not one person has come back at me with any form of fact and I've quite thoroughly crushed at least 3 people here, I'm embarrassed. Get a clue.

Because nobody cares. Your like a wall. Your tired reasons to post here and bash TNA is like watching paint dry. I understand it's your opinion and all but c'mon son. Your not greater than anyone here, you need to realize that.

Not that impressive.

Of course not. Since It's not WWE right? lol. I'm sure you must have eaten that number of viewers up when Smackdown used to draw them on MyNetworkTV.

It's very easy to blame the poor ratings on the network, but that's complete bullshit. Maybe they could maintain a decent rating if they didn't have an ABSOLUTE SHIT booker. If they didn't rely on shock angles that continuously fail to deliver, such as the one last night. No matter, I'm watching Smackdown now, the legit wrestling program.

Um no it is not complete bullshit. You have no idea what effect it is. WCW and WWE has always been on a top 10 cable or basic TV channel.


It failed to deliver? That's funny considering everyone has not complained but smarks like you. Your defending a show that booked a DIVAS match in a World Championship match. And you complaining about booking?

Lawler main eventing Raw and a PPV with the Miz? That is total awful booking. Nobody here is saying Russo is good, but he certainly has his good booking at times. That is far from good booking on WWE's part.

You need to go back the WWE section instead of wasting your time here.

 

[Notorious718]

I'm a bit mixed on this. Once again, we have a case of "they" being in TNA all along as opposed to "they are coming". While I guess I'm okay with the fact that the MEM didn't return and that Fortune turned face, I felt strangely underwhelmed by the execution (and I didn't even read the spoilers). To quote the Joker, "and kinda like the kid who peeks at his Christmas presents, I must admit, it's sadly anti-climactic." However, I will give TNA credit where credit is due. They were backed into a corner with Nash and Booker T in WWE so I won't hate. On the bright side, we got a Fortune face turn and arguably the best promo out of AJ in quite some time. He absolutely killed it on the mic. So while I personally feel the execution could've been better, I'll give props to TNA for coming up with this on short notice.

 

[mrbooker]

You know whats funny how wrestling fans trully do not know what they want, if you back track im sure you would find at minimum a couple of hundred post saying "TNA has no action" "TNA is focusing on all the old guys" "TNA is putting over stars from WWE over their own."

And im sure people will come out with the same generic "we want good booking, not shit booking" well what is "good booking" the booking on impact THIS WEEK is no worse the the booking on raw THIS WEEK. Imagine if Tazz was headlining a PPV against Mr. Anderson.....

personally i have no problem with this angle whether it was palnned or put together last second, TNA have been teasing AJ styles turning for over a month, combine that with the fact the TNA is swerve booking im not to surprised it was made to look like it was MEM.

People who say Crimison choking out Aj is a pot hole, it really isnt its a mirror of Jeff Hardy and Abyss from august and september.

Is a great booking hell no but the way I look at is TNA finally has the right guys in the right position in the pecking order which atleast is something positive

Fortune, Angle, Anderson and then Jeff Hardy and the rest of Immortal, Instead of the nonsense they were booking with Hardy vs Matt Morgan over and over only to have Morgan vanish in thin air after he was getting over with the crowd.

Now the only thing i hope tna does not do is go with Immortal vs They straight up every week......its stupid and makes no sense "They" have Fortune, Angle, Steiner, and Crimson. With that said they should book it like a wrestling show just because Fortune turned doesnt mean they only have to face Immortal every week.

their are still some damn good performers on the roster like Doug williams, Samoa Joe, Pope, MCMG, and some decent ones like RVD, Matt Morgan, jay lethal etc...

And with Fortune holding the gold it makes it so that faces on the roster can still come after, attack, or feud with them since its all about the gold.

 

[TheMaskedNewton]

There has been 10 pages worth of "they" and not one mention of a crucial fact:
Spike executives wanted MEM back (by Lords of Pain.com) The angle began when Spike told them to do the angle. TNA has to follow what Spike tells them because they can't afford Spike dropping Impact. I'm sure Russo had Immortal vs Fortune in mind for down the road but due to Nash and T showing up at the Rumble it all had to be rushed.

Yup. That's the most important fact that somehow people have not cared enough to refer to. TNA was doing the whole 'They' angle for MEM only on Spike TV's request. They (I'm really getting afraid of using this word) started teasing 'they' while they were/may be still negotiating deals with the MEM stars. They had Angle and Steiner already in their belt and the denial by Booker and a simple no-communication from Nash just broke the entire MEM-They angle. What they did in the aftermath was the only best thing they could have done. So I really like their move of turning Fortune on Immortal.

However, I also remember having read through news pages during the time when Nash-Sting-Angle all had left last year, that TNA had already planned to bring them all back during the early 2011 period. In case this is a fact, TNA really messed up with their contracts. They should have renewed their contracts right then and there even if they were not to be shown on the tv. There was no need to wait for the return period to actually arrive for signing their contracts!

And one more thing, continuously teasing something does not amount to shock value. A sudden thing amounts to a shock value, something which has not been for-seen already. Even if the MEM was coming back with Booker, Angle, Steiner and Nash, it would not have amounted to a shock value after such continuous teasers as it was already expected. It was obvious!

This did not happen when WWE teased a video of 2-21-11 because there is a room for speculation in that case. Sting's presence is not obvious, rather it is debatable. Not comparing WWE and TNA, just pointing out the difference in impact that one teaser has viz-a-viz another.