Changing Names won’t IMPACT TNA’s Product

by Ryan Andrews

As of May 12th, TNA will become Impact Wrestling. Apparently, the higher-ups think that a rebranding will breathe new life into their product and attract wrestling fans that feel WWE is moving away from its core product by shortening their name (and in doing so, dropping the word “Wrestling”). Unfortunately for TNA, I feel that their product will remain the same thanks to their writers (specifically Vince Russo), their ignorant-to-the-business-owner (Dixie Carter), and of course their over-the-hill your-prime-ENDED-over-a-decade-ago talents (starting with Hulk Hogan, and of course the list could go on forever).

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In Hulk Hogan we Trust !?

I talk to a lot of casual wrestling fans. They watch TNA and get excited when they see the Hulkster on their screen. Once they listen and realize he is a heel who is trying to run the company for his personal gain, they change the channel. Hulk Hogan as a heel is not entertaining television in 2011.

The NWO days of 1996 are long gone. Hulk Hogan is way into the twilight of his career. At 57 years old, he can barely move and wears a back brace. If you saw him on American Idol, he could barely throw a punch. The majority of TNA’s fans are “smart” fans. They know all of this and will have zero faith in a Hogan vs. Sting program, which seems to be the direction they are going in.

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NXT Invasion is the talk of the Town!

On Monday night May 17, 1993, at the age of 12, I was marking out like a kid on Christmas because Marty Jannetty had just returned from a four month sabbatical. He got in the ring and challenged Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental title.

When Raw came back form commercial Razor Ramon made his way to the ring to wrestle someone Howard Finkel called “The Kid”. Having no interest in seeing Razor destroy a jobber, I went into the kitchen to make a sandwich. When I got back into my room I saw the fans in the Manhattan Center jumping for joy as they saw that jobber beat Razor Ramon.

The next day at school everyone was talking about the wrestler now called the 1-2-3 Kid coming out of no where to pin “The Bad Guy”. At that point I said to myself I will never miss a big time moment like that again.

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Thoughts on Batista vs. John Cena @ Wrestlemania 26

This year’s WrestleMania has been set the main event: Dave Batista will defend the WWE Championship against John Cena. Despite receiving a boatload of criticism for their work in the ring, they are two of the business’s most prominent stars today. While the internet fans may prefer Edge vs. Jericho or Undertaker vs. Michaels to receive the honors, fans of the WWE universe will clamor to this match-up as it will be up to Cena and Batista to bring home the goods. Continue reading “Thoughts on Batista vs. John Cena @ Wrestlemania 26” →

Is Jose Aldo The Answer To The Problem?

The featherweight division has a new king, and his name is Jose Aldo. His takedown defense and fierce striking were all he needed to wrestle away the WEC crown from the very game Mike Thomas Brown. At only 23 years old, the Brazilian sensation has shown the poise and maturity of a grizzled veteran.

Like many before him, Aldo has been labeled a “can’t miss prospect” by fans and media. Is Jose Aldo any different from the other fighters who have carried that tag? Jose Aldo has only been a professional fighter for five years, and with a record of 16-1, he has gained a reputation of finishing first and asking questions later.

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Hulkamania has arrived in TNA !?!?

It’s official folks. Hulk Hogan has signed with TNA wrestling and will be invading your television screens on Thursday nights. This, without question, is the one move TNA needed to make an attempt at becoming a serious player. Hogan is the biggest name in the history of the business. He is the first name people think of when they hear the term “professional wrestling”. TNA wrestling over time has developed into a not so quality product. I know there are some hardcore TNA fans that love the product with a passion. Some have even told me their pay-per-views are “equal to Wrestlemania in every PPV”. TNA has some of the best wrestlers in the world but their booking is awful. I compare it to SNL. They have some great talent on their cast. But the show hasn’t been funny in years.

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UFC 104 thoughts: Where is Shogun’s Belt?

Posted on gerweck.net

UFC 104 from start to finish was a great night of fights. Sadly, the event will mostly be remembered for the horrible judge’s decision that gave Lyoto Machida the nod to retain the Light Heavyweight Title. Every time I watch a close fight, I always get nervous when I hear the play-by-play team keeping repeating, “If you want to be the champion, you have to beat the champion.” It right away tells me that winning on points is not enough. You better destroy the champ if you want to win the title. I don’t know how all three judges scored the bout 48-47 in favor of Machida. There is no way Machida won three rounds. I scored the bout 49-46 for Shogun. The only round I scored for Machida was the third. The second round was very close and could have gone either way; however, I thought Rua did just enough to edge it out.

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Review of Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler”

Darren Aronofsky’s critically acclaimed movie “The Wrestler” has wrestling fans and movies goers alike talking up a storm. Randy “The Ram” Robinson, played by Mickey Rourke, is a down on his luck independent wrestler who is looking to re-capture the glory he reached as one of the sport’s top attractions in the 1980’s.

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Rousimar Palhares is looking for his own breakthrough

Saturday’s UFC 88 event is headlined by Chuck Liddell as he takes on the undefeated Rashad Evans. Rich Franklin will also compete as he moves back to light heavyweight for one night only against wrestling powerhouse Matt Hamill. One fight that is not getting much attention involves former Pride welterweight & middleweight champion Dan Henderson. Henderson’s opponent, Rousimar Palhares, is getting less attention despite the hype about his potential in the division. Palhares made his Octagon debut at UFC 84 in May. He dominated the highly regarded Ivan Salaverry and is looking to impress once again and take out the war-tested veteran in Henderson.

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New Blood, New Battles, and Possibly New Life for the IFL.

Posted on gerweck.net

Thanks to my good friend Ticketmaster, I will be in attendance for the IFL’s New Blood, New Battles show at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT. Friday’s nine bout card has hardcore fans interested not only because of the three title fights but because the IFL’s changes have fans wondering if it is too little too late? With the IFL’s stock currently at $0.05 a share and their shows not drawing strong attendance figures, one has to wonder if the International Fight League is on its last leg? For now, though, let us look at the fights that will be on hand this Friday night. If you cannot attend this Friday, you can watch the event live on HDNet Fights at 8:30pm EST.

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