World Title Vacated; Tournament to Determine New WHC at BFG

[Bobby B]

My God I'm not sure they could've done a worse job with this if they tried.

1) - Why a tournament? They're lame, and TNA seems to do them all the time. Personally if you wanted to booked these sort of people in the hunt - maybe have a King of the Mountain match at No Surrender?

2) - Where was Abyss and AJ? Rob Terry (who hasn't beaten AJ Styles in weeks) is in the tournament, but AJ isn't. And Abyss was Number 1 up until his defeat last week... So much for the top 10 rankings.

3) - Make it feel special! - you've got to drag this out for nearly 2 months, and you jam 4 matches in the first show? How on earth are you going to keep interest in this tournament.

4) - No heels? - Anderson, The Pope, Angle and Hardy. All faces - great job TNA.

This has done nothing for my interest going forward. Neither the fact that Kurt Angle still has the whole retirement thing in place, which essentially means he can't lose.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

This weeks iMPACT is still to air in the UK but I've already seen the results so I'll give my thoughts. The idea of a tournament isn't a bad one, in fact I love tournaments so the idea is there but is the execution? Well, first off why is Jeff Hardy progressing? Now it's been said over & over again, but he is just not in the right shape, physically or mentally, to be anywhere near the title picture. Besides, why didn't Abyss interfere and take Hardy out? Surely that would have more sense and had someone else progress (I would probably have booked Morgan vs. Hardy and had Morgan go over). Next Kurt Angle, I like everyone is wondering, why is he in this tournament, when he's supposed to be taking out the top ten contenders? I like that storyline and I don't understand why TNA abandoned it to have Angle in this tournament. The one saving grace of that situation may be that he and Anderson may wrestle again on PPV which I would be fine with.

They booked Anderson correctly so I've no complaints there. The Pope going through is also fine BUT it does raise another question, why are there four faces in the semis? Surely it would have made sense for at least one heel to progress? Right now TNA needs a heel to be in the main event scene and unless they're going to turn someone, it isn't happening. I also find it odd that there waiting until Bound for Glory to have the final, that means they're going two months without a world champion. Do they really want to wait around that long? I don't know but it does mean that they can try and give this tournament a solid build. Overall, the concept's there but the delivery is failing (for the most part).

 

[bigflo82]

I understand all of the flaws ppl are pointing out about this tourney but, it could be much worse. Anyway, I have a feeling that Kurt Angle will lose to hardy. Why i say that is because we have seen pope vs angle and anderson vs angle already on ppv. Is one of those really gonna be the ME for their biggest show. I hope not, you need something bigger. If they go with pope/anderson vs hardy that can work either way. Pope can win and be elevated or we can see anderson and hardy which already has a story behind it. they can't lose with either. As for angle, I think he goes back to the wwe. Notice how they are now say if he loses it his last tna match not that he was retired for good

 

[twentytwo]

I watched TNA last night for the first time in awhile and I can easily say it's back to reading the spoilers and forgetting it's even on come Thursday's for me. They really, really, really fucked this thing up imo.

- No Abyss. I'm not much of a fan but for the good of TNA he needed to be in this thing. He was just the no.1 contender, and he injured the champ, but he doesn't make the tournment? Huh?

- No AJ. So there are 8 guys who are ranked higher than the TV Champion? Huh?

- After the show I went to TNA's own fucking website for explanations to these things. Believe it or not, this was the Top 10 listed on their very own f'ing website:

1- Abyss
2- Jeff Hardy
3- Mr. Anderson
4- Samoa Joe
5- Jay Lethal
6- AJ Styles
7- Hernandez
8- Pope
9- Kurt Angle
10-Rob Terry

This is why TNA is a god damn joke. This is why people rip on this shit. This is why it's justified, and nobody - nobody - should ever get twisted up and try to defend it. I watched last night because I was hoping and expecting to finally see some home grown talent get some real love now that this whole ECW abortion angle is over. But instead we get 4 ex WWE guys advancing, and the ECW guys have ful time contracts for some reason.

 

[Ferbian]

I haven't been following the ranking system, however I'm guessing Jeff Hardy is the next in line for Kurt Angle? As well as Mr Anderson being above Jeff then? If not, would it not in fact ruin every little thing going on for Kurt Angle in the past few months or so with the top 10 rankings storyline?

I'm all for Kurt being included in this, I want him as the champion because I love him as champion. Much like Triple H - Doesn't need it, but god damn do I love that gold around their waist.

I'm not sure who's gonna walk out victorious, but I can't really see anybody but Anderson or Angle becoming champion. Pope isn't reaaally there yet, and Jeff, well it's Jeff. He's a draw and all, but there's better choices for champions right now, and Anderson / Angle are just two of them.

Interesting concept nonetheless, I have to admit though I would've much rather seen Matt Morgan proceed than Pope, not that I don't like Pope, but I sure as hell think Matt is one of the underrated underutilized ones in the TNA roster.

Time will show who stands tall, but I'm counting my money on Angle or Anderson.

 

[hatehabsforever]

Vacating the world title was a poor idea in my opinion. If RVD needed time off to be with his ill wife, as I understand it, that's perfectly acceptable. Have him lose the match, get pinned 1-2-3 in the middle of the ring, making the victor look better in the process. Whoever ends up winning the title via this tournament (which we all know will definitely be Angle over Anderson) doesn't end up looking as good winning it in this manner.

I really don't get a lot about this tournament. How did they determine who the 8 people in the tournament were? Why was Styles, alleged the best in the world and the best guy inTNA, not even in the tournament? Why have four faces in the tournament? Why have this long drawn out affair when we all know the end result will be Angle wearing the gold again, which I have no problem with, just not in this manner?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'm sick of tournaments in TNA to be quite honest. They have them far too often and so casually that they mean about as much as gimmick matches do. TNA stretching this tournament out for 2 months doesn't necessarily make all that much sense if all the matches are mostly going to be what we saw last night. If most of the matches are going to be 3-5 minutes tops, then just have a two week tourney and be done with it. Have an elimination match featuring the top 5 contenders for the TNA title at the next upcoming ppv or on iMPACT! since they like giving so many title matches away for free anyhow.

Besides that, it's fairly obvious that Kurt Angle is ultimately going to be the one to win the title. If Angle loses a match right now, he retires. He ain't gonna retire, so it's just one more link in this dull and unnecessarily long and drawn out angle.

 

[justinsayne]

1. There isn't a heel that's in the Semi's. I mean, come the fuck on, TNA, how did you fucking manage this? Not only that, but you've picked a list of wrestlers in which only Mr. Anderson at this point can turn heel. Hardy makes an atrocious heel, Angle will never get boo'ed in the Impact Zone ever again, and Pope is just too likeable. You've basically made it out to be that Mr. Anderson is the only forseeable "heel" to come out of this on top, which just makes for a tournament with no story, no intirgue, and overall just boring.

A.) Hardly anyone ever gets boo'd in the impact zone ever

B.)It's a tournament, part of the fun in tournaments is that you get to see matches you normally never would (i.e. face vs, face, heel vs, heel)

2. All of the advancers are not anywhere near the "youth" movement of TNA.

Umm ok, I imagine you consider AJ to be apart of the youth movement, he's 32 yrs. old, same age as Pope & Jeff Hardy, & Anderson is only 34, most guys don't retire until they are well into their 40'/50's, hell some guys never really fucking give it up (Flair, Sting, Angle, Hogan, Nash)

As a matter of fact, none of the TNA originals won, and even worse, they all jobbed out wo wrestlers more tied to WWE.

I would say the only one that really ever makes me think of WWE is Jeff, and that's only because he's exactly the same, Anderson has been given a new name and been able to shine more in TNA than he did in WWE (largely due to the fact that he's been able to stay injury free for a change), Angle has more than established himself as one of the faces of TNA, & Nobody remembers Pope from his WWE run, mainly cause they refused to do anything worth a shit with him, TNA has turned him into one of there major names, TNA gave him the gimmick and a stage needed to showcase his talent

Pope beats Morgan

Pope is more over, and is closer to being ready for a title push than Morgan, it makes sense for him to go over Morgan, who still after being given chance after chance after chance has yet to prove himself as a ME talent, much less worthy of a WHC push

Lethal loses to Anderson,

Lethal is nowhere near ready to ME the biggest PPV of the year, Anderson is

Hardy beats Rob Terry,

Hardy is more over, though he sucks, he doesn't suck as much as Rob Terry

and Angle beats Doug Williams.

Dude, do I really need to justify this to you?

What does this say about the sad state of affairs for heels in TNA, or for originals?

If anything it either says TNA would rather put their biggest names in postion to ME their biggest PPV or TNA should have chose better "TNA originals" for thsi tournament than Williams & Terry, prolly shoulda replaced them with guys like AJ & Joe

 

[The Holy One]

I for one am a fan of tournaments when they are used sparingly. I have no problem with this although I would have like to see RVD dropped the title rather than vacate it but again putting the title up in a tournament is not a bad way to go. I don't have an issue with the guys who advance even though I disagree with the people who were in the tournament to begin with like Terry and Williams. It will be nice to see how fueds will develop out of the tournament b/w Angle and Hardy/Pope and Anderson. Also to put the finals on the biggest PPV of the company really adds a lot of significance on the belt. I think this is a great move by TNA.

 

[shattered dreams]

I can't help but wonder if the Samoa Joe situation left him out of this group of 4. Sure seems like him being in there instead of Pope would have made more sense based on recent booking. Anyway, seems like TNA was dealing with a few less than ideal situations so they had to make the best of it. In spite of a few nitpicks that I am not surprised the IWC chose to focus on, I think they have something decent set up. Angle will beat Hardy. If he doesn't then I might quit watching TNA because Jeff Hardy is looking worse than ever in the ring. I just hope Angle can coax a good match out of him. Sure looks like they are building to Angle-Anderson revisiting their rivalry from a different angle in the main event at BFG. Seems like a good idea to me and I can all but guarantee you it will not be as simple as Angle wins and nothing else of meaning happens.

 

[Tenta]

A.) Hardly anyone ever gets boo'd in the impact zone ever

Duely noted

B.)It's a tournament, part of the fun in tournaments is that you get to see matches you normally never would (i.e. face vs, face, heel vs, heel)

But a good tournament needs heels. I'm all for face vs. face matches, but a whole tournament worth of faces going over. No, no. I just don't buy that. Heels are needed to keep things interesting

Umm ok, I imagine you consider AJ to be apart of the youth movement, he's 32 yrs. old, same age as Pope & Jeff Hardy, & Anderson is only 34, most guys don't retire until they are well into their 40'/50's, hell some guys never really fucking give it up (Flair, Sting, Angle, Hogan, Nash)

Perhaps youth movement was the wrong term. I mean more new faces at the top of the card, who we haven't seen around before. If you're really in the business of making new stars, as TNA claims, you should be using your names to get over some guys. I'm ok with some names getting through, but really, does TNA need a Jeff Hardy titlre run?

I would say the only one that really ever makes me think of WWE is Jeff, and that's only because he's exactly the same, Anderson has been given a new name and been able to shine more in TNA than he did in WWE (largely due to the fact that he's been able to stay injury free for a change), Angle has more than established himself as one of the faces of TNA, & Nobody remembers Pope from his WWE run, mainly cause they refused to do anything worth a shit with him, TNA has turned him into one of there major names, TNA gave him the gimmick and a stage needed to showcase his talent

But they're all ex-WWE names, and you know the drill. Perception is 9/10ths of the law. Or some shit like that

Pope is more over, and is closer to being ready for a title push than Morgan, it makes sense for him to go over Morgan, who still after being given chance after chance after chance has yet to prove himself as a ME talent, much less worthy of a WHC push

How has Morgan received a chance? He had a hot feud with Kurt Angle, and after that, what have they done for Matt Morgan? Hernandez? Pardon my excitement

Lethal is nowhere near ready to ME the biggest PPV of the year, Anderson is

Well, the good thing is because TNA has a ridiculous two month wait for the ME of BFG, we have time for him to lose. And, maybe, at Bound For Glory, to Matt Morgan, who may be the best heel in TNA, if you ask me.

Hardy is more over, though he sucks, he doesn't suck as much as Rob Terry

Dude, do I really need to justify this to you?

Not really, but as everyone's said, it's obvious at this point how this tournament will play out, and that does not make for compelling TV

If anything it either says TNA would rather put their biggest names in postion to ME their biggest PPV or TNA should have chose better "TNA originals" for thsi tournament than Williams & Terry, prolly shoulda replaced them with guys like AJ & Joe

I think that's more my point, and Hell, if not Samoa Joe, why not Abyss? Plenty of names are deserving of the shot, but no, TNA has decided to give us a tournament filled with people going over that don't need it.

 

[hman24]

People keep bringing up TNA using former WWE talent. WTF? How is their use of Elijah Burke and Anderson any different than WWE using Stone Cold Steve Austin back in the day? I don't think anyone in the 90s sat around and said, WWE needs to be building home grown talent, not pushing this former WCW/ECW guy. I can understand complaining about Hardy, but Burke was on WWECW and while Anderson did main event briefly, he only held 1 title his entire time there and that was the U.S. title. These guys may not have started in TNA, but they are building their careers there and in Anderson's case, may not get another chance in WWE for quite a while. Abyss or AJ would be the only two homers you could give the title to that would look legitimate in a main event slot, but both are involved in another storyline. People complain that TNA drops their story lines too much but then want to stop a storyline to give someone the title. As far as Lethal... NO. Just NO. I can't even make that begin to make sense.

 

[shattered dreams]

But a good tournament needs heels. I'm all for face vs. face matches, but a whole tournament worth of faces going over. No, no. I just don't buy that. Heels are needed to keep things interesting

I would argue some of the intrigue is in which of these guys is going to resort to heel tactics and maybe even a full heel turn at the end. Pope started as a heel in TNA and I think the character was more heel in the past development. Angle has spent much of his career as a heel and has never played it this straightlaced, there is something fishy about that. Anderson, self-proclaimed asshole with strong heel history, something fishy about his actions as well.

Not really, but as everyone's said, it's obvious at this point how this tournament will play out, and that does not make for compelling TV

Well, there are a lot of people assuming that ... there is a saying that comes to mind. If you really think all that is going to happen is Angle is going to win a face-face matchup then I can understand the skepticism. However, I think people should wait until that happens because if there is no twist on this then I will be shocked. Then again HBK-Taker headlined the most recent wrestlemania in an obvious outcome match and while I found it disappointing to a degree, many seemed to find it at least compelling.

I think that's more my point, and Hell, if not Samoa Joe, why not Abyss? Plenty of names are deserving of the shot, but no, TNA has decided to give us a tournament filled with people going over that don't need it.

Depends on what you are trying to make. I think TNA is trying to make a legit main event star that could potentially become a draw. Sure all 4 of those guys are over but do they really gain much by having more guys just over? Neither Pope or Anderson have ever won the big title and advanced to that next level. I go back to wrestlemania. Look at the 3 biggest matches. Not one person in any of those matches needed to go over. Sometimes the big PPVs are about having the big names battling the big names. That is just a reality of the business side. I think either Pope or Anderson could definitely benefit from taking that last step to the top or if Angle wins with a twist it could be a great story helping the entire product get over.

 

[King Patrick Star]

First and foremost, the TNA Top 8 consists of, in no particular order, Angle, Hardy, Anderson, Dinero, Morgan, Lethal, Terry, and Williams?? That itself should have been explained and stretched out over the next few weeks before No Surrender.

With Angle vs. Hardy and Anderson vs. Dinero at the next PPV, I think, with some interference from everyone else NOT involved in this match, one of, if not both of the Semi-Final matches will end in some kind of Draw setting up a Triple Threat or Fatal Four Way match at Bound For Glory. I do see Kurt in the BFG Main Event, but with who is the question.

If this were to happen, and say Anderson pins Hardy, would that count against Angle and make him retire?? Angle could then turn Heel, restart his climb up the TNA Top 10, starting right where he left off, with the number 4 contender, with the World’s Greatest Tag Team to “help” him along the way.