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The Specialists
TNA Sacrifice Preview by Wilkenfeld: 39 wrestlers, and no signs of any clunkers May 10, 2008 - 10:32:04 PM
I, for one, am excited for Sacrifice. For one thing, I just really like tournaments (there's a reason the NCAA became the college basketball championship to watch). The three non-tournament matches, while chaotic, all have the potential to be really great. Unless Matt Morgan & Kip James get stuck with opponents too weak to carry them, there really shouldn't be a bad match on the card. Rachael just pointed out that with 39 wrestlers scheduled to appear on the show, the fact that nothing looks dreadful on paper already speaks to the depth of the roster.
Samoa Joe (c) vs. Kurt Angle vs. Scott Steiner TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match
Where We've Been:
Before Lockdown, Scott Steiner announced that he was planning to cash in his Feast or Fired title shot at Sacrifice. Originally he seemed happy to have the strongest competition possible, though for the last couple weeks he's shown a certain amount of disdain for Samoa Joe. Anyhow, Joe won a brilliant battle at Lockdown and the title. Angle, focused on his rematch with Samoa Joe, accidentally disrespected Steiner. Big Poppa Pump retaliated by costing Angle his rematch, and Jim Cornette re-retaliated by putting Angle in the match at Sacrifice.
Where We're Going:
The Angle-Joe feud has been incredible, but needs a breather. Though it occurs to me that regardless of who wins this match, next month is Slammiversary and all three will likely be back for King of the Mountain. There really doesn't seem much point in taking the title off Joe now, when it's his first title reign and no one has ever retained in the King of the Mountain anyway.
Both Picks: Samoa Joe.
Gail Kim vs. ODB vs. Rhaka Khan vs. Roxxi Leveux vs. Angelina Love vs. Velvet Sky vs. Traci Brooks vs. Christy Hemme vs. Salinas vs. Jacqueline Makoeover Battle Royal
Where We've Been:
The women have consistently proven to be one of TNA's biggest draws, so this month they're getting a gauntlet culminating in a ladder match. The loser of the ladder match will have her head shaved, unless that loser is Gail Kim (who won immunity on this past week's Impact), in which case the runner-up will have her head shaved. Part of the story here is that Jim Cornette is going crazy, and part is that the women's title is one of the more coveted belts in professional wrestling right now—the winner will get a shot at it.
Where We're Going:
At some point, in some future, someone has to be able to put up a competitive fight against Awesome Kong. Gail Kim has a couple wins against her, but that's about it. ODB is massively over, and Roxxi has been picking up crowd support over the last couple of months. We haven't seen much out of Rhaka Khan yet, and she is large enough that they could try to bill her vs. Kong as a battle of monsters.
Daniel's Pick: Gail Kim. They'd be crazy to let this get to a ladder match without her in it, and presumably the runner-up will have motivation to help her win.
Rachael's Pick: ODB.
Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley vs. Curry Man vs. Consequences Creed vs. Jimmy Rave vs. "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal vs. Kaz vs. Johnny Devine vs. Shark Boy vs. Sonjay Dutt TerrorDome Match
Where We've Been:
This match is supposed to be the pinnacle of Cornette's craziness: it's a dome with a hole on the top, such that the only way to win is to escape. The winner will get a shot at the X Division Championship. Petey Williams claimed that title a few weeks back with an Edge-esque use of Steiner's other Feast or Fired title shot. There's no real back-story to any of these feuds, unless someone remembers that Sonjay Dutt has been awkwardly interfering with Jay Lethal's relationship with SoCal Val.
Where We're Going:
Ignoring the obscenely stupid name, this gimmick actually has a lot of potential. First, all ten athletes who will be in the ring are very good to great, and I really wouldn't mind any of them winning. I'm a bit worried that it sometimes takes TNA a couple of tries to get their wackier gimmicks off the ground—Ultimate X got off to a rocky start, and Elevation X still hasn't found its groove (though that concept might be fundamentally flawed anyway). With proper storytelling during and after the match, this could be used to stress how much all these people want just a shot at the X Division Championship.
Daniel's Pick: Curry Man. He's over and awesome.
Rachael's Pick: Chris Sabin. It's pretty similar logic actually.
Deuces Wild TNA Tag Team Championship Tournament
Where We've Been:
A few weeks ago, Kaz and Eric Young won the tag team titles when Eric Young came out dressed as Super Eric. AJ Styles complained that that constituted outside interference, and when Eric Young refused to admit that he actually is Super Eric Cornette became so infuriated that he vacated the titles. He announced a tournament to determine the new champions. Established teams Team 3D and LAX qualified along with old friends Rhino & Christian. Tomko was mysteriously "injured" in Japan, and so AJ Styles, desperate to find a partner, struck up an unlikely alliance with Super Eric—those two also qualified. Finally, eight singles wrestlers will be "randomly" paired off to form the remaining four teams. Sting has already been paired with "Cowboy" James Storm, and Matt Morgan with Kip James. Still awaiting partners are Booker T, Robert Roode, BG James, and Awesome Kong.
Where We're Going:
This could play out a whole host of ways, which makes for lots of fun. Putting Awesome Kong in the tournament was a bold step—her winning it would be even bolder, though given TNA's stance on violence against women I don't see how she could ever defend the title on Spike TV. LAX have aligned with Hector Guerrero, and hopefully he's a good enough mouthpiece that the best tag team in the world can finally get back the support of TNA management. AJ Styles & Super Eric have been at the center of this picture since the start, so it would be logical to finish with them as well. And of course, it's rarely wise to bet against the Stinger. In short, the field is wide open, and most of the possibilities look good.
The only announced match so far is James Storm & Sting vs. Team 3D, for which I pick James Storm & Sting. I have no idea who'll win the whole thing, so I'll just pick LAX cause I think they should. Just for kicks, here's how I would let the brackets play out:
Quarterfinals:
"Cowboy" James Storm & Sting defeat Team 3D
BG James & Awesome Kong defeat Christian Cage & Rhino
Super Eric & AJ Styles defeat Booker T & Robert Roode
LAX defeat Matt Morgan & Kip James
Semifinals:
BG James & Awesome Kong defeat "Cowboy" James Storm & Sting (possibly with help from a heel-turning Booker T)
LAX defeat Super Eric & AJ Styles (possibly with help from Kaz and/or Tomko)
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