|
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE - 6/18 TNA IMPACT: Kong is still a heel, James Storm's hilarious math, numbers back up TNA's tag team dominance
Jun 19, 2009 - 1:45:49 AM |
By Curtis Shanks, Torch specialist
Welcome to the TNA Impact edition of Under the Microscope. We're here to review all those little observations and tidbits you may have missed. This is not a detailed recap of the show, but a review for those of you that saw the show but didn't actually "watch" it.
After last week's show, we know that Booker T had some internal bleeding, Shane Douglas ran out of spray-on tanner, and ODB & Cody Deaner are just not that funny. But what else is there to notice? Let's see what we can spot. Cue the opening pyro.
We get some King of the Mountain hype right off the bat this week, as Foley calls out his four challengers to add to the cluster-mess already in the ring. As A.J. Styles makes his entrance, Mike Tenay touts the fact that Styles has more KOM experience than any other participant, Jeff Jarrett included. This Sunday will be the fourth KOM match Styles has competed in, breaking his tie with Christian Cage for the top spot in KOM experience.
Jarrett will compete in his third KOM match this Sunday, but has earned the KOM moniker by winning the first two he was in. If he can persevere at Slammiversary, he will have three wins in the match while nobody else will even have two. Along with Styles, Cage, and Jarrett, Samoa Joe will join the three-plus club this Sunday. Joe was an unsuccessful challenger in 2007, but followed it up in 2008 by becoming the first man to retain the title in a KOM match.
Matt Morgan is still adamant about earning a spot in the MEM and calls out the Mafia's godfather, Sting. Sting's reason for excluding Morgan from the stable is because of the fact that he has never been a World Champion. Morgan argues that the only reason that is the case is because he has never had the opportunity. Well, Matt, you're right. Since his TNA debut in August 2007 there have been a total of 27 World Title matches in TNA - none of them involving Matt Morgan.
Morgan doesn't have a World Title on his resume, but there should be plenty of room if he ever needs to add one. Since his TV debut almost six years ago in WWE, Morgan has not held a single title in either promotion he has wrestled for. He did taste success before his national TV debut, as he is a two time OVW Hvt. champion, defeating Nick Dinsmore (Eugene) and Elijah Burke for his two reigns.
We looked at the TNA face/heel entrance tunnel system last week, and a few of the interesting conundrums such as Mick Foley and his new personal security. But there was another interesting instance this week. Awesome Kong was the dominant, remorseless heel when she debuted in the company, but has strayed from that character since her battles with the Beautiful People. Kong has been heavily cheered, tagged with the faces, and feuded with the heels. But Kong still makes her entrance from the right tunnel - the heel side.
Raven and Daffney will face off against Abyss and Taylor Wilde this Sunday in a Monster's Ball match. The match is not suitable for airing on Impact, but not because of the level of violence that may occur. Spike TV still has their ban on man-on-woman violence, so a match of this sort would be hard to book for television. This rule has been enforced since TNA debuted on Spike, but an interesting question has arisen because of a recent WWE storyline.
What about Santina in a match? If the character was on Spike TV rather than USA, would they allow her/him to perform a move on a female wrestler? It's obvious to everyone but the announcers the character is actually a male, Santino Marella, but the persona is still portrayed as a female. Makes me wonder if fake woman-on-real woman violence would be a loop-hole that would get past the Spike TV censors. Looking at the males on TNA's roster, it's a question I hope we never have to answer.
One thing missing from wrestling promotions these days is recognition of the past. It can be a good thing, as you don't want to remind the fans of a face run of a heel wrestler you are trying to get over. But it is nice when the past is recognized rather than simply forgotten. It was a great touch by TNA to acknowledge the past between So Cal Val and Jay Lethal during their backstage segment. Something as serious as an engagement would not be forgotten by them in less than a year. The man Val chose over Lethal was not mentioned for obvious reasons, as Sonjay Dutt is now an ex-TNA employee who has since made his return to ROH.
After a beat down on 3D last week, Beer Money failed to return the favor and make the save on the team they supposedly share mutual respect with. 3D demand an explanation for their whereabouts, and get a simple explanation. Beer Money had just won $100,000 for winning the tag tournament, so they were celebrating. James Storm responds with a hilarious quote. "You know how much $100,000 will buy? 43,126 bottles of beer, three strippers, two bottles of whiskey, and a midget."
I can't do the match for you since I am unsure of the price on a couple of those items, but the math is easy to compute for my personal tastes. An 18-bottle case of Coors original runs me $18 even, so I'd be set for life with 100 grand. Of course, if you've attended a professional sporting event, you'll know the math works out a little different there. By my calculations, 100 grand at a sporting event should get you roughly 22 drinks.
Numbers crunched harder than an unprotected chair shot to the head: TNA loves to tout their tag team division. With the 3D tag team tournament, we've heard all sorts of quips from the announcers and the talents themselves about how their tag team division is superior to WWE's. Looking at all the TV matches this year, it is obvious TNA puts more stock into their tag match-ups than WWE does.
So far in 2009, we've seen 117 matches on Impact, 28.2 percent of them a standard two-on-two tag match. Of the 363 matches shown on WWE television this year across their four shows, only 18.7 percent have been a two-on-two contest. With less tag matches, WWE is obviously leading the way in simple one-on-one match-ups. They've given us that 67.2 percent of the time, compared with only 50.4 percent on TNA television.
TNA has clearly backed up their assertion of tag team dominance by giving us more tag matches. But judging by their roster size, it may be their only option in order to keep everyone fresh. There have been 87 different WWE roster members to compete in a match so far this year. With six - and on a few occasions seven - hours of TV to present each week it's been a lot easier to fit guys into a match than it has in TNA. TNA has only two hours of TV a week, but we've already seen 58 different talents compete in a match this year.
Curtis Shanks is a self-described wrestling nerd. Who else understands what Matt Striker is talking about all the time. Feedback is welcome, as comments, suggestions and questions can be sent to Curtis at curtisshanks.torch@gmail.com or in the comments section below.
Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.
For more BREAKING NEWS on WWE, TNA...
VISIT OUR AFFILIATE -
PROWRESTLING.NET
For UFC & MMA NEWS & BLOGS:
VISIT OUR SISTER SITE - MMATORCH.COM
Upgrade to PWTorch VIP:
DETAILS & SIGN-UP INFO (rates now as low as $2.99/month)
| More Recent The Specialists Articles |
 3/18 WWE Superstars Hits & Misses: Kane vs. Benjamin, WrestleMania Recall, Christian, Tatsu, Henry vs. Swagger, Regal, Ryder |
| 3/16 WWE NXT Hits & Misses: Wins/Losses, Gabriel & Hardy vs. Young & Punk, Still No Format Explanation |
| ABSURDITY OF IT ALL - TNA Impact: Where's Samoa Joe?, How Did The Nastys & Spike Get On TV?, Destination X - "Wait, It's This Sunday?" |
| ABSURDITY OF IT ALL - WWE Raw: USA Network Censors Stone Cold & Blood, Mega Legacy Explodes, Stone Cold Gives John Cena The Ring? |
| 3/15 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Sheamus, Triple H vs. Orton, Legacy, Contract Signing |
| 3/12 WWE Smackdown Hits & Misses: Punk Sings, McIntyre in MIB, Truth vs. Miz, Highlight Reel |
| GARDNER'S KEY MOMENT OF THE WEEK: TNA needs to re-evaluate its marketing strategy vs. WWE Raw after March 8 ratings results |
| VALENTINO'S MAGIC, MEMORIES, AND MANIA: Top 10 Shawn Michaels matches - vs. Undertaker, Bret Hart, Razor, Triple H, Flair, more |
| 3/11 WWE Superstars Hits & Misses: Marella vs. Ryder, The Sleeper, MVP & Christian vs. Carlito & Guerrero |
| ABSURDITY OF IT ALL - Sting To Rampage Other Van Dams, NXT Rookies Power Rankings, Why WWE Isn't Marketing Mr. 1.9, Fear Edge's Love Tackle |
| 3/9 WWE NXT Hits & Misses: Miz - Bryan, Chris Jericho, Justin Gabriel |
| 3/8 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Undertaker - Michaels, Legacy vs. Orton, McMahon vs. Cena |
| ABSURDITY OF IT ALL - WWE Raw: Everybody's Favorite Oily Psycho Randy Orton, Triple H Stars In "WrestleMania Mid-Card Match," Jack Swagger A Very Excited Toddler |
| ABSURDITY OF IT ALL - TNA Impact: TNA's "Yes Blood" Policy, Bischoff To Inject Steroids Into X Division, Brooke's "24" Audition, Sting Is Still Beating Up RVD |
| ABSURDITY OF IT ALL - Monday Night Countdown: Five Reasons You'll Check Out Impact, Court-Ordered Wrestling Matches, Stone Cold Salvages Bret-Vince Wreck |
| GARDNER'S KEY MOMENT OF THE WEEK: Overview of WWE NXT after two weeks |
| 3/5 WWE Smackdown Hits & Misses: McIntyre's Streak, Ziggler vs. Benjamin, Gallows vs. Mysterio |
| ABSURDITY OF IT ALL - TNA Impact: Abyssmania Rages On, Heel A.J. Styles Promotes Video Game, N.J. Nets Tix More Valuable Than X Title, Hogan's Greatest Enemy Revealed |
| ABSURDITY OF IT ALL - WWE NXT & Superstars: Carlito Kills Household Plants, Knox Needs Hogan, WWE Tries To Get Hip With NXT |
| 3/4 WWE Superstars Hits & Misses: Kingston vs. Guerrero, Blood Rule, Jericho vs. Goldust |
(c) 1999-2010 TDH Communications Inc. - All rights reserved. |
