Friendly Competition 7.15.07
Posted by Sam Caplan on 07.15.2007
There were no dickheads this week, and I really didn't learn anything from either show, yet I still find plenty to talk about! GO ME!!!
Hello folks, me again. What a great week it's been...my best friend and his wife just came back home after a year and a half in New Zealand, and I've been having a great time hanging out with them this week. Not just that though, I've been in a great mood in general, and actually enjoying watching both ECW and Impact went a long way toward contributing to my good mood. So let's go check out a big chunk of why I'm feeling so great at the moment, shall we?
ECW On Sci Fi Results 7/10/2007
Matt Striker opens the show with his classroom setup in the middle of the ring and brings out one of his most peculiar students ever, the Boogeyman. Striker presents Boogeyman with a fishbowl full of worms, then starts teaching us about their reproductive systems before bringing out Big Daddy V (aka Viscera/Mabel without a shirt and wearing Abdullah The Butcher pants), and BDV kicks the crap out of Boogeyman.
Up next, Elijah Burke defeats Balls Mahoney, and then we're treated to a history video of Tommy Dreamer (featuring all clips from the old ECW). After the commercial, Punk wins a really good competive squash over Stevie Richards. Backstage, The Miz gets hit on by Extreme Expose (apparently Brooke has a crush on him), then comes out to face and defeat Nunzio in another good match.
After Extreme Expose does their dance, it's main event time as ECW World Champion Johnny Nitro took on Tommy Dreamer in an Extreme Rules match. Dreamer's an expert at these kinds of matches and they had a great match, but Nitro was impressive as well, hitting a twisting press off the guardrail onto Dreamer on the floor. The brawl continued back into the ring where Nitro picked up the win after giving Dreamer a drop toehold onto a chair in the corner.
TNA Impact Results 7/12/2007
Abyss opened up Impact with a hard fought victory over Lance Hoyt, after which he brought out a bag full of broken glass. Before he could do anything with it, though, Basham ran out and saved his teammate from Abyss, leading to an outside the ring brawl with VKM. Abyss instead turned his attention toward Christy Hemme, but before he could get his hands on her, he was attacked from behind by AJ Styles and Tomko. However, the lights went out and when they came back up, Sting was in the ring and he cleared the ring with his bat. Sting grabbed the microphone, but instead of telling Styles and Tomko himself, he handed the microphone off to Abyss, who told them that at Victory Road, it would be their doomsday.
Backstage, Christian Cage introduces his fourth partner who will join he, AJ Styles, and Tomko against Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, and Team 3D in the main event, then we go back to the ring for a three way match between the members of Serotonin. I refuse to call them by those stupid names, so it's Matt Bentley, Johnny Devine, and Frankie Kazarian. Kazarian pins Bentley to win the match and becomes the final entrant into the X-Division match at Victory Road. To his dismay though, he gets backjumped by Raven and has the crap kicked out of him by Serotonin. Just to add insult to injury, Raven blows his nose on a rag and wipes it on Kazarian's face.
Kevin Nash hosted a debate with Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin having a meeting of the minds with Bob Backlund and Jerry Lynn. As you might imagine, it totally broke down into a physical battle, so instead we go back to the ring for the main event pitting TNA/IWGP World Champion Kurt Angle, X-Division Champion Samoa Joe, and TNA World Tag Team Champions Team 3D against Christian Cage, Tomko, AJ Styles, and Robert Roode. Kurt Angle spent the entire match on the ring apron until Samoa Joe had Styles up for the Muscle Buster, at which time he tagged in and clipped Joe from behind as he delivered the Muscle Buster, then covered Styles to steal the win for his team.
We Are The Champions
ECW World Champion: Johnny Nitro (Champion Since 6/24/2007)
TNA World Champion: Kurt Angle (Champion Since 6/17/2007)
TNA World Tag Team Champions: Team 3D (Champions Since 5/13/2007)
TNA X-Division Champion: Samoa Joe (Champion Since 6/21/2007)
People Who Impressed Me This Week
Abyss: I think it's great the way TNA took a character who'd basically been doing the same schtick for four years and made the fans really care about him. Just goes to show what gradual character development can do.
Lance Hoyt: The guy's been a non-factor for a couple of years now, but made himself look like a player with a strong showing against Abyss this week in what was really Abyss's big moment. I have the feeling that Christy Hemme's stable is going to work out well for everyone involved.
Nunzio, Stevie Richards, and Tommy Dreamer: They both showed that they still have what it takes to make a match look competitive even if they are going to be designated weekly jobbers.
Johnny Nitro: That twisting press off the guardrail was really cool, and a totally insane move to try in a WWE environment.
CM Punk: Everything he did this week looked really good and crisp, he's developing into a much more solid worker over the last few months.
Vital Social Issues N' Stuff With Stuart
It's nice to see that they're finally booking Kurt Angle in a manner he's truly suited to. I have to be honest, I never really cared for Kurt Angle, insane shooter who just goes in and kills everyone. I mean, it was cool to see for a couple of weeks when he first came in to work Joe, but right now it's really gotten old. I love Smug Kurt who holds himself above everyone else because flat out, it's just far more entertaining. Kurt Angle is full of personality, and I always thought that making him a one dimensional character who just says "AAAAAAAAARGH I'M GOING TO CRIPPLE YOU" wasn't giving him the chance to live up to his potential. I like it better when he still says he's going to beat everyone, but is completely full of himself and gets a good laugh out of anyone who thinks they can compete. This is the Kurt Angle I always found most entertaining in WWE and the Kurt Angle that I think belongs at the top of TNA.
* * *
Now don't get me wrong, I've really been loving the great matches that have been on TNA the last few weeks, but one of the problems I'm seeing now is that they've spent so much time concentrating on the main event that there has been minimal development of midcard and undercard storylines. Now, I understand that this is largely because they're caught in the difficult position of trying to put on quality matches to sell the PPVs while still having enough time left over to develop the undercard feuds, but while they've done a WONDERFUL job of building up the main event, I probably couldn't tell you why half the undercard matches are even happening. Seriously, I totally forgot why Chris Harris was wrestling Christian Cage until they ran the video package reminding me. I didn't even realize half the matches they announced were happening at the PPV. I've been holding back on joining the proclaiming masses by saying this, but TNA really needs that second hour bad if they want to have enough time on their shows to fully flesh out their storylines. Until then, what's their other option? Go back to the three minute matches and butchered main events so they can cram everything in? They need that second hour like yesterday.
* * *
I love Rhino's promos. First he gave us the "came from the mean streets of Detroit" angle and we ate it all up. Then he gave the "wife took the kid and ran off the Europe leaving me all alone" angle, and again, we ate it all up. Now, despite what some naysayers have said about the angle, he's given us "I'm a recovering alcoholic who flipped out because somebody gave me that first drink and that's terrible for me" interview and I don't know about you, but I thought it was great. I seriously think that Rhino can give an interview about getting a hangnail and make the fans care about it. How Rhino is not a main eventer right now with his wrestling skill and ability to tell a story is beyond me. If they don't end up giving the title to Joe for some reason, I can think of far less worthy people to knock off Angle than Rhino.
* * *
Anyone else feel like it's time to stop the CM Punk vs Stevie Richards matches? Don't get me wrong, they're great matches and all, especially this week, but by this point we all know that Punk's going to win every single time out. Right now Stevie Richards is like Punk's personal jobber. I really feel like if they keep doing this match over and over, Stevie's got to win eventually. Actually, it's a perfect build, Punk just keeps beating Stevie over and over until finally, Stevie gets a fluke win and BAM, instant program. They can then continue having these great matches every week, but now everybody won't know for sure who's going to win. After Punk beats Johnny Nitro for the title one of these days, they can even give Stevie a short run with the title just to shake things up for a bit and have Punk do another chase for the title.
* * *
I'll tell you what though, even if they never do an angle like that with Stevie, you can definitely see WWE's new philosophy of using ECW as a televised developmental territory well at work this week. Stevie's a guy who's been used by Vince McMahon as an example of a guy who's a complete worker, and I think we all have to admit that Punk's been looking a lot better than he had been after working against Stevie so much. But I also thought that the Miz had a better match than I ever believe him capable of against Nunzio. For a guy who's really a reality TV star turned wrestler, he really looked like he knew what he was doing in there and came off as more of a serious wrestler than I've ever seen out of him.
* * *
However, the most important match of the week as far as I'm concerned was the main event between Johnny Nitro and Tommy Dreamer. Let's face it, at this point all the ECW Originals are jobbers. That said, Tommy Dreamer is the most important of these jobbers because he's the only one that the fans still take seriously. Unlike guys like Balls Mahoney and Nunzio, Dreamer's a guy the fans want to see win and still think has a chance of getting it done despite how much of a jobber he's been portrayed as for years now. Even better, he can still bring it in the ring, especially in plunder matches like this week. We all joke about how the video package of Dreamer they showed consisted entirely of moments from the old ECW, but I think it's a great way of showing the fans "Hey, look what this guy can do" so that they'll accept him as a credible wrestler. I think if they did the same kind of video packages for guys like Mick Foley and Ric Flair, people would take them a little more seriously as well. This also makes Nitro look better when he beats Dreamer, especially with Joey Styles driving home "He just beat Tommy Dreamer in an Extreme Rules match!"
Links To Stuff You Can Read
Finally, a Briscoe-free edition of the Independent Mid-Card! This week it's SHINGO vs Ricky Reyes.
This week, Julian Williams takes a look at The Top Ten wrestler acquisitions.
Mike Minotti continues his quest to book the next six months of every WWE Title, this time with THE WWE Title in Can They Be Champ?
Buy Or Sell returns! In WEEK THIRTEEN, it's Sam Berman going at it with Matt Adamson.
Finally, it's my requisite self-pimping, as I take a look back at the career of former WWF Champion Yokozuna in That Was Then.
* * *
And that's it for me this weekend. I'll be back in seven for yet another edition of YOUR favorite column and mine...FRIENDLY COMPETITION. So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish!
