Wrestling’s 4R’s PPV Edition: TNA Hard Justice (2007)

TNA Hard Justice Podcast~!

It is time for another post PPV podcast adventure, with the wife and myself. This week it is the TNA Hard Justice PPV; a horrible PPV with dumb decisions, dumb angles, poorly booked returns, asinine debuts and a special mix of Russo-Riffic-Ness~! I’ll also rant on some emails issues and lay down a special offer to you if you really hate me. We’ll move onto the DEAR CHRISTI segment for some question fun and after that, the shit hits the fan in regards to young Sonjay Dutt and the lack of my wife’s T-Shirt. An hour of fun just for you!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD~!

If that doesn’t work, copy and paste the following link into your browser and you’ll be fine: http://www.sendspace.com/file/gsm8zh

How the 4R’s of wRestling Work!

Here is a quick explanation of the 4R’s. I will take the 4 main shows (5 if I go RetRo) of the week: TNA Impact, WWE Raw, ECW on Sci-Fi and WWE Smackdown. If we have a PPV, that show will get a special PPV edition of the R’s all to its own. I then group my feelings on the shows in various categories: The Right, the wRong and the Ridiculous. The Right is stuff that worked very well: a great promo, a great match and so on. PuRgatoRy is a section between the right and wrong. It shows equal traits from both sides that cannot be ignored and need discussed. It is not a bad place per say, as things can get remedied or go the wrong way the very next week. The wRong is what it sounds like: bad matches, bad or boring promos and so on. The Ridiculous is stuff that had no right on TV: Stupid angles, Diva searches and so on. And there is always a possibility of a 5th R, which is as bad as they come, unless you are TNA. They have a special R all of their own, the 6th R; the Russo-FN-Riffic~!

This column is supposed to be analytical, and at the right time very critical of the shows, it was the whole reason it was created. This is not a “mark” column, nor a “smark” column, I cannot speak for Geoff, but my goal is to analyze the show from many different fronts, reward the good and call out the bad. There are also occasions where I will bring out a 5th or even a 6th R to the column, so beware of those~! I will not apologize for my opinions, they are as they are, whether very positive or negative.

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TNA HARD JUSTICE 2007~!:size=36>

The Matches:

–Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt defeated XXX and The Motor City Machine Guns @ 15:50 via pin *** MATCH of the Night

–Kazarian defeated Raven @ 5:41 via pin **

-BAR ROOM BRAWL: James Storm defeated Rhino @ 13:15 via pin **

–LAX defeated VKM @ 5:50 via pin ½* TRASH of the Night

-HUMILIATION MATCH: Robert Roode defeated Eric Young @ 9:31 via pin **

–Chris Harris defeated Dustin “Black Reign” Rhodes @ 4:50 via DQ *

–The Steiner Brothers defeated Team 3D @ 11:00 via pin **

-DOOMSDAY CHAMBER OF BLOOD #1 CONTENDER’S MATCH: Abyss, Martin and Sting defeated The Christian Coalition @ 10:51 via pin **

-WINNER TAKES ALL MATCH: Kurt Angle defeated Samoa Joe @ 18:34 via pin to become champion of the universe **¾

The Right:

The Opening X-Division Tag – The opening of the Hard Justice PPV was the best part of the show, and even that was way below expectations due to the change to a three way tag match. Team PPV Filler (Dutt and Machismo) was added to the bout of XXX vs. The MCMG’s. Dutt and Machismo are fine, but I was big time hyped for XXX vs. The MCMG’s. But we don’t always get what we want, so I rolled with the punches. Everyone worked really hard, they got the right amount of time and in the end the crowd was hyped and it did its job as an opener. I do have to say it was a bit disappointing because it broke down into the cliché, meaningless X-Division match where they just started whipping out spot after spot, with almost to rhythm; but the match was still fine stuff and a very good way to kick off the show. Some are very confused as to why Machismo pinned Daniels, but I actually understand why. First of all they didn’t want to job the MCMG’s again. They realize that they have done that enough and that they need to keep them strong. Also, they know that they will eventually have to do something with the X-Division title. Daniels is the #1 contender, but machismo has never got his rematch. Having him defeat Daniels, through miscommunication in this tag gets him back in the door and I am sure that they will most likely either fight for the title or be a major part of the people involved in the final decision for the new X-Division champion. So I am good there. It is just a shame that this was the best thing on the show; that’s not a knock, but it just all went downhill from here.

Serotonin Explodes – First of all I would like to say that Raven went out there tonight and showed me what was what. Last week I had a column where I laid out what five TNA people I would cut from the roster. In regards to raven, I said: This one is a hard one for me to make. I think that Raven has a lot to offer any wrestling company, but just not as a wrestler anymore. Since his medical problems, Raven looks more like an overweight AIDS patient than a pro wrestler. This isn’t his fault, it isn’t like he just got fat and out of shape. He has medical conditions that are making it near impossible to maintain proper and healthy weight. That being said he needs to go as an active in ring performer. On Impact last week he didn’t look good in his match and I was still behind what I said, he had nothing to offer. Now I don’t know what lit the fire under his ass, I don’t know if he is just feeling better or I pissed him off, but he showed me. Raven went out there and easily looked better than he was in over a year. He looked quick, motivated and was pulling shit that a man in his condition shouldn’t have. Victory Rolls, assisted dives and such, he did a damn fine job out there at Hard Justice and his match with Kazarian was a fine bout. This is nothing that we will remember at the end of the year or even next month, but it was fine all things considered. A fine match that Kazarian won, with a dropkick of all things, but he got the win and there is some more drama in Serotonin now as Raven hit Martyr, and my dreams of Shazarian reuniting are that much closer. This was fine stuff.

The Steiner Brothers vs. Team 3D – Even though it was not only a few months late, yet 8-years too late, we finally got the match; The Steiner Brothers vs. Team 3D. The promos building up to the match was absolutely great, and have been some of my favorite parts of Impact. But I knew that the match could never live up to hype and anticipation, I readied myself for that as I think a lot of people did. I will say that this was a fine bout, not doubt there. Ray and Devon sandbagged a bit, and were generally sloppy. Rock and Scott, both in their mid-forties out worked and out hustled 3D in this match, which is amazing as it is surprising. Rick hadn’t looked great, but he stepped it up and it was good stuff. Scott, who most feel came back way to early worked very hard and not only took a Doomsday Device, but once again busted out the FRANKEN-FN-STEINER 2K7~! He is a great man. Where the feud goes from here I am not sure. I would have assumed that 3D wins, setting up a few more matches and possibly involve the titles. I hope that they don’t drop it out right, because the promos have been great and I really need to see if the Steiner Brothers have one more night of magic and if they can make it so with a motivated 3D.

Purgatory:

DOOMSDAY CHAMBER OF BLOOD #1 CONTENDER’S MATCH – First of all I would like to thank TNA for doing something right, and that was NOT making this match the main event of the show as it was planned. That would have been a colossally stupid move. So they had the match, and the first half of it was all outside of the ring. I know they did this because the ring would be cramped with all of those guys. They brawled and it was fine stuff, and when they got into the ring, the heels were able to trap Abyss and Martin while Sting was stuck on the floor. The heels had the advantage, and Sting actually did something smart as he found wire cutters and climbed the cage to cut his way into the match. We had brawling, blood and Cage escaping, leading to AJ eating a black hole slam into the glass for the pin. Abyss wins in the end, and while he didn’t get revenge on Cage, he did get vindication by winning the match and earning a title shot. Other good things are that they stayed away from the obvious booking moves. #1 was the Coalition helping Cage win the match; that was a popular choice. #2 was Sting winning the match, which did not happen. #3 was the debut of Judas Mesias to kick off the Abyss feud. That did not happen, but will next month I figure. Those are all good things that happened, being too predictable is bad, ala the main event. But in the end this is another TNA match where the stipulation means absolutely nothing and Jim Cornette looks completely ineffective as the authority figure. The goal of the cage match was to keep people in, and again that was totally blown away as Cage was able to escape. The match was also very rushed and lacked drama, and violence. It wasn’t horrible, but it was lackluster, and in the end totally did not live up to the hype that they tried to put into it. It just came off lame.

The wRong:

The Humiliation Match – For seemingly the 32nd month in a row Eric Young and Robert Roode battled in a form of a grappling match. As they have had the last few months, they had a fine bout. They work very well together, the crowd is in into both of them and reacts to the stuff that they do. So they had the bout, Roode wins via Shenanigans and Eric is to be tarred and feathered. In the end this is another TNA match where the stipulation means absolutely nothing. Let’s skip the fact that the feud should have been over months ago when Eric won his freedom. We’ll skip that, but they had the stipulation that the loser gets humiliated. Roode cheats and wins the match, now as much as I like seeing Eric win and Roode and Brooks getting their comeuppances, the fact of the matter is that Eric should have been humiliated. Instead, they bullshit yet another stipulation, which is lying to the fans, which breaks trust which leads to lack of trust and that leads to NO BUYS! This is such a frustrating company.

LAX vs. VKM – LAX faced off with VKM in out worst match of the night. What a sad statement due to LAX’s involvement, as they are great men. VKM suck and need released. First of all they sandbagged as usual and made it difficult, especially for Homicide who sold like a champ for them, A PROFESSIONAL~! Secondly, Kip James raided Torrie Wilson’s closet and wore her tights, go away dude, go away. VKM won when the Voodoo Queen used powder of lamb testicles to blind Homicide and I was pissed. But Hector Guerrero ran to the ring and told the ref of the powder, showed him the evidence and there was a RESTART~! So they did the restart and LAX wins quickly. They have a stand off with Hector and then leave, teasing that they will join and or turn on him. Why did we need a restart? Why couldn’t LAX win clean? Are we really protecting VKM, really TNA, really? Asinine booking here, LAX went from the hottest act in the company to meaning nothing, like most things in TNA.

TOO MANY MATCHES – Let me start out by saying that I appreciate the fact that TNA PPV’s go to 10:50pm religiously. I also appreciate the fact that they feel they need to make sure people get their money’s worth by putting on 8-10 matches on every PPV. TNA, listen up. Stop trying to put everyone on the card for every show! NINE matches are not needed. Cut back, stop trying to get everyone on the damn show and use your time more effectively.

The Ridiculous:

Harris vs. Rhodes – And here we go with the latest version of Goldust. Don’t try and argue it, all this was, was Goldust on a bad day, fat, wearing silver and black. He came out bat down Harris for 5-mimutes, shoved refs down and got DQ’d. After he had bloodied Harris, he handcuffed him and then used his short cane with a spike and hit Harris when FINALLY the X-Division goof troop made the save. Good timing guys. And that is why this sucked. If this was a new character, a new guy, it would have been acceptable, but it was the same old shit and it suffered for it. Add into it the fact that the crowd hated it with a passion and it came off as a horrible segment. I am so glad that they are elevating Harris. Oh wait… Anyway, Russo got his dream of trying to do Goldust out of WWE.

Pacman and Killings – This was Ron Killings big return. The former two-time NWA Champion, who had been gone for months with a knee injury came back with NO hype, NO build and with nobody giving a flying fuck. Add into the fact that Killings was a face when he left, and came back and was a HEEL for no reason and no explanation hurt things. So did this sound familiar? Good, because I wrote this for the Slammiversary R’s. Ron Killings was back for this PPV and he was pissed, pissed because PACMAN was here in TNA and that he would make this publicity stunt go to hell. Later in the show Mike Tenay was in the ring and introduced PACMAN to the crowd. PACMAN proceeded to show that he had NEGATIVE charisma. This guy was horrible out there, like a stone, pathetic, and a waste of money. Ron Killings would come out, which the crowd loved. Did I mention that they hated PACMAN and chanted, “He’s a bitch?” Yeah, they did. Killings called him out, but then said he had his ass protected because his contract said he can’t touch or be touched by anyone. PACMAN then called him on and as Killings charged the ring, only for the “police” to tackle him. THIS SUCKED. Later on they shot backstage and PACMAN was laid out, beaten up and bloodied. Tenay sold it like it was a big deal, asking who would do this and what about the contract. Yes indeed, who would do this indeed. It got worse as during the Doomsday Chamber of Blood Match they CUT AWAY from the match, yes, CUT AWAY from this #1 contender’s match to show PACMAN being rolled into an ambulance, looking relaxed as he collected his latest check. THIS SUCKED. I hope that this is the last we’ll see of PACMAN in TNA. I hope that they can use the mainstream media hype that they got here and push Ron Killings back towards the top. They can use this to rocket him and maybe, just maybe they will snag a few extra viewers and people buying the PPV, which is the most important thing. Overall I hated this. PACMAN is a void of charisma, the fans hated it and it was just a bad execution of a bad idea. Go away PACMAN, go away.

The RUSSO-‘FN’-RIFFIC:

The Bar Room Brawl – And here we move onto another ridiculous. A month after a good match and a tremendous post match angle, making Storm the most hated man in the company they go this route, in traditional Russo fashion. They set the stage where Rhino is a recovering alcoholic and that his father was one. He lost everything due to his alcoholism and Storm reminded of this when he poured beer on him. So they have this great angle last month and this month they go to a “Bar Room Brawl.” I almost would have preferred that they had it in a bar because the cheap bar set was trashy. Tenay discusses that Rhino wasn’t in the building, and then he shows up for the match, beats down Storm and then proceeds to drink the beer and such. Apparently Rhino was late de to being on a bender, turn in that sobriety chip brother. From this point on the commentary sucked as they played up that he was getting drunk and out of it. I will say that Storm’s beat down was awesome, but I in no way liked this. They took a hot angle and totally Russo-fied it. Will Rhino show up to Impact drunk this week? Will be fall off the Impact-o-tron-a-meter ala Hawk? This sucked a big old dick, and I hate saying that because I was digging the feud.

Angle vs. Joe – Here it was, winner takes all and becomes the Champion of the Universe. For the most part Joe and Angle have had really good matches, and I had figured that both men would go all out here for a true classic. They started slow as Angle was upset about his wife, but when she came out he got a fire lit under his ass. The match picked up, great counters went to near falls went to other great counters and the drama was building and heading for a tremendous climax, if done well. It was a great, great match for 17:25, but then, TNA was able to take a match that for 17:25 was heading towards match of the year status and greatness, and flushed it all down the shitter. They are possibly the only company I know that can do this. We have a ref bump, Karen gets up, and she has a chair and goes to hand it to Joe and then backs off and smiles. HA HA HAAAA YOU FAT ASS, IT WAS A TRICK ALL ALONG! Angle then gets a low blow and chair shot and gets the cover to become CHAMPION of the UNIVERSE~! He then celebrates with his not-so-estranged-wife and the fake boyfriend, and THAT is the image that closes out show. THIS IS THE STUPIDEST COMPANY IN THE WORLD. And I do not say that because Angle won, I say that because they did a LAME angle to build to the match, a MATCH that didn’t need a wacky angle. It was Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle for every title in the stratosphere; it was the best vs. the best, and the Hard Justice hype special really showed that they didn’t need the wacky build. But they did the wacky build, and even worse they went with the Russo-Riffic ending with the obvious swerve. Seriously, we could not come up with something better, to maybe push people already in the company? Like my idea of Angle recruiting XXX to help him win the bout and screw Joe that way. Then on Impact Angle calls them out, gives them velvet hoodies and awards Daniels the X-Title since he is the #1 Contender and Shi and Elix the tag titles, for their diligence and help. Nope, instead they do the tried and true Russo swerve that isn’t a swerve because we have seen it coming and have seen 8,970,000 variations of it since 1996.

In closing, I would like to say to Vince Russo, Dutch Mantel, Jeff Jarrett, Kurt Angle and Dixie Carter: You are running this company into the ground and killing my enjoyment of a company I once loved. None of you know what the hell you are doing and this PPV and the build up to the PPV was a perfect example of it.

Finally, to Samoa Joe, I am sorry to say that you’ve been…

Closing Thoughts:
I did not like this PPV. It had bad booking, a bad debut, a bad return, mediocre to bad matches for the most part, and in the end not worth my money. Overall I will go with a 4.0 out of 10 and do NOT buy this PPV kids. DO NOT give them your money and stay away because it’s a bad one.

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2007 PPV Rankings:
–WWE Backlash 8.5
–ROH Respect is Earned 8.25
–WWE WM XXIII 8.0
–WWE Royal Rumble 8.0
–TNA Slammiversary 7.5
–TNA Victory Road 7.4
–TNA Sacrifice 7.25
–TNA Final Resolution 7.0
–TNA Lockdown 7.0
–WWE One Night Stand III 6.5
–WWE New Year’s Revolution (RAW) 6.0
–WWE Great American Bash 6.0
–TNA Against All Odds 6.0
–TNA Destination X 5.5
–WWE Judgment Day 5.5
–WWE Vengeance 5.0
–WWE No Way Out (SD) 4.0
–TNA Hard Justice X 4.0

2007 TOP PPV Match Rankings:
– (WWE Royal Rumble) Last Man Standing WWE Title MATCH: Cena vs. Umaga ****¼
– (WWE Backlash) Last Man Standing World Title MATCH: Batista vs. The Undertaker ****¼
– (WWE Backlash) WWE Title MATCH: John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton vs. Edge ****¼
– (TNA Sacrifice) Texas Death Match: Chris Harris vs. James Storm ****¼
–(ROH Respect is Earned) Mark and Jay Briscoe vs. Matt Sydal and Claudio Castagnoli ****¼
– (WWE Royal Rumble) The Royal Rumble Match ****
– (WWE WM XXIII) WWE TITLE MATCH: John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels ****
– (WWE ONS III) LADDER MATCH: The Hardy’s vs. TWGTT ****
– (TNA Slammiversary) King of the Mountain Match: Angle vs. Harris vs. Cage vs. Joe vs. AJ ****
– (TNA Destination X) NWA Title Match: Christian Cage vs. Samoa Joe ****
– (TNA Lockdown) Lethal Lockdown (Team Cage vs. Team Angle) ****
– (WWE WM XXIII) Money in the Bank III ***¾
– (TNA Final Resolution) 30-Minute Iron man Match: Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe ***¾
– (TNA Victory Road) Match of Champions: Joe and Angle vs. Team 3D ***¾
– (TNA Victory Road) Ultimate X ***¾
–(ROH Respect is Earned) Bryan Danielson and Takeshi Morishima vs. KENTA and Nigel McGuinness ***¾

2007 PPV MVP AWARDS:
This is a little added deal here, as I feel that there are some other things that should be mentioned from the PPV’s. Not every PPV will have one, it just depends on who I think steps up and deserves some extra recognition.
–Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker: A Rumble to Remember – WWE Royal Rumble
–JBL: Solo Commentating – WWE No Way Out
–AJ Styles and Rhino: Elevation X – TNA Destination X
–Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker: “They still got it!” – WWE WrestleMania XXIII
–AJ Styles: Almost Dies for his Craft – TNA Lockdown
–The Main Events: “We can step up.” – WWE Backlash
–Harris and Storm: Redemption – TNA Sacrifice
–Matt, Jeff, Shelton and Charlie: “Taking a Risk.” – WWE ONS III
–Jeff Jarrett: “Thank you Jill” – TNA Slammiversary
–Christopher Daniels: The Ultimate X reunites XXX – TNA Victory Road
–Ring of Honor Makes Major PPV Impact – ROH Respect is Earned

READER FEEDBACK~!

From Jeremy –

First of all I have to give my props to the best wrestling site on the net. Bar None! As a longtime wrestling fan your crew does a great job of covering the entire wrestling Universe. Now on to Hard Justice!

3 Team X-Division Match: After watching the opening match tag contest I actually had high hopes for this show. If TNA just centered the entire X-Division around the 6 men in the 3-way tag match they’d have ready-made feuds for the next 3 years! All 3 teams really brought their A-game but I feel the wrong team went over here. After this fine little contest however this PPV took a huge turn for the SUCK.

Raven-Kaz: The Kaz-Raven epic feud payoff match only lasts 5 minutes? They should have done this gauntlet style with Kaz facing Martyr and Havoc to earn a shot at Raven. With this company’s fascination with such matches I was shocked they didn’t. I thought Raven tried really hard here but its obvious his best days are behind him. Kaz needs better opponents STAT!

Rhino-Storm: Not much difference than their last ppv match. I seriously wonder if these guys can do anything more than the usual TNA brawl match. Brawl through the crowd for the opening 5 minutes, use weapon shots, outside interference. Rinse, wash, repeat. Like Kaz earlier, Storm needs some new opponents.

LAX-VKM: Tie for TRASH OF THE NIGHT! VKM has ZERO business being anywhere near a major wrestling company. They have no heat, no wrestling talent and most of all no desire to improve! These guys are truly fucking terrible. LAX needs a feud with XXX or the MCMGs to rescue them from the boring shit that is VKM.

Eric Young-Robert Roode: JUST END IT NOW! These guys are also in dire need of new opponents and should not wrestle each other for at least the next year.

Chris Harris-Dustin Rhodes: TRASH OF THE NIGHT CO-WINNER! Why in God’s name is a homegrown TNA talent reduced to fighting it out with yet another ex-WWE over the hill bum? In yet another Russo-esque gimmick? He looked like La Parka wearing blackface! Yet another guy that should be in the unemployment line.

Team 3-D vs. Steiners: Tag team dream match my ass! The only miracle in this match was that neither over the hill, washed up team was injured. These two teams belong on a Legends of Wrestling PPV not a company that’s motto is “We Are Wrestling”. The usual same old shit from these 4 dinosaurs.

Hell In The Cell 6-Man Tag Team Bloodbath.
Russo 6-Man Clusterfuck. This is just another fine example of this company trying to get everyone on their roster onto a ppv card. While I applaud the effort of all guys in this match it was your basic overbooked mess. Wasn’t the entire point of this being Abyss going for revenge on Christian? I didn’t see him doing everything in his power to get his revenge on the Instant Classic. Why in the bloody Hell is Styles jobbing in a match that involves Tomko and another useless WWE reject Test?

Main Event Championship of the Universe: SWERVE! Nice way to completely turn a MOTYC into a Russo soap opera. The wrestling was fine for what the booking allowed. Once again TNA’s hottest prospect chokes in the big match.

This was all in all one of the worst shows of the year in my opinion. I score it a 4 out of 10.

From Trevor –

With my interest in TNA waning the past few months, I took a chance
and ordered Hard Justice last night due to it (in my eyes) being a
pretty stacked card. Boy was I wrong.

I was most excited about the “winner takes all” match and that’s what
made me buy the PPV. In the end, we got a stupid (and obvious)
swerve that wasn’t needed at all. Isn’t all the gold being on the
line important enough in its own right? In the end, they buried
Samoa Joe and painted themselves into a corner…why would I pay for
yet another rematch (presumably at Bound for Glory) when Joe has been
made to look like an idiot?

Why was Andrew Martin brought in? The guy is yet another WWE castoff
that will translate to zero buys. This was evidenced when he hit the
ring and the crowd went quiet…much like when Rhino sat on the
toilet in a previous match. Why not have a TNA original in that
spot? With his previous involvement with Sting, TNA had plenty of
time to elevate The Fallen Angel into that spot, much like they
turned Abyss into a friend of Sting. Missed opportunity?!? And why
didn’t Christian Cage win the match? Last time I checked, escaping
the cage and touching the floor means you are the winner…more of
TNA’s “creative” rules that ends up making things overly convoluted.

Sure there were some highlights like the opening match, but, it’s
pretty sad when the most entertaining point during the PPV were Kip
James’ tights! Those were awesome!

While I credit TNA with getting me interested in wrestling again a
couple of years ago, they have slowly killed my enthusiasm during the
past several months. For every step they take forward, they take two
backwards. The best way I can describe it is that they try so hard
to be unique and involving, that they give me a headache and end up
in me NOT wanting to part with $30 again next month.

Thanks for letting rant and thank you for your excellent columns.

From Dan –

Just read the results: TNA sucks! They blew the finish to every match. When everyone and my mom can book better than them there is a huge problem. Joe is dead, LAX is cut off by the fucking Old Age Outlaws, AJ and Daniels JOB again!!! Rhino jobs, AGAIN! EY and Roode fight AGAIN. Seriously, where does this promotion go now…They have Angle vs. Abyss for No Surrender…dum dum dum…lets see…that match was given away on free tv months ago with Abyss jobbing cleanly so where is the threat here? And worse, we already know the ending…Abyss hits BHS, Judas Whatever hits the ring and destroys him, and Angle retains. Everyone knows that…and that’s after the most obvious Russo-swerve ending ever at this ppv. Isn’t there anyone who can stop his awful booking: Jarrett, Dixie Carter, anyone…His ppvs are jammed with excess crap, too many matches, blow off blood feuds getting only 10 minutes and nearly everyone has a shitty finish.

Count them: Final Resolution: we had a 10 minute Abyss/Sting/Christian title match

Against All Odss: A Russo-style overbooked mess of Angle/Christian

Destination X: One great Christian/Joe match thankfully not fucked with

Lockdown: The WarGames cage match

Sacrifice: another 10 minute triple threat which goes off the air with no clear winner and Angle somehow becomes Champ

Victory Road: The match of champions, AKA another screw job match with no real value

Hard Justice: A blatant and ridiculous screw job in a match that should have been the MOTY

No Surrender: An obvious screw job finish when Judas interferes.
TNA = shitty ppv main events

And where do they go from here with the main event scene: Joe is buried, Abyss will go into his feud with Judas after the next ppv, Sting will probably squash AJ leading to another shot for Sting who no one wants anymore, Rhino is done and buried, they refuse to push Chris Harris who is now is a pointless heatless feud with Golddust II, Christian is still the unbeaten champ who cannot get a rematch…just like last year…and AJ and Daniels effectively get no reward for their years of hard work by getting to be JTTS in the company they helped build.

This company is so infuriating…I stopped watching WWE due to a combo of having no one to root for and the Benoit thing and I was really loving TNA for awhile, but after this, I just don’t think I can stick with them. They are like 1998 – 2000 WCW where they would book what they wanted just because without a care of the fans.

From Haz Matt –

I’ve been a major proponent for TNA the past year or so, and quite
frankly, it embarrassed me tonight that I recommend this promotion as a
wrestling alternative.

Hard Justice was an excellent example of what TNA is doing wrong, and
what they are not doing right.

Firstly, how do you have eight tag teams in Triple X, the Machine
Guns, Dutt & Lethal, Serotonin, LAX, Voodoo Kin Mafia, the Steiners
and Team 3-D, and not have the tag team titles defended? While the
match of champions was an excellent concept, it has essentially
brought the tag division to a standstill.

Secondly, the X-Division championship will most likely be pushed
aside. With Kurt Angle holding every belt, how will the belts be
distributed? Abyss will most likely get his title shot in one month,
but how long will we have to wait for Christopher Daniels to be given
his opportunity earned at Victory Road? Or will it wait for the tag
team situation to be resolved?

Thirdly, TNA needs to stop hemorrhaging money before they’re too late.
Hiring an NFL player who has been suspended for misconduct was not a
very wise business move at all. Hiring a former superstar who is using
a gimmick so similar in appearance to one trademarked by his former
employer that it will most likely be contested in court is a waste of
finances. Additionally, hiring former WWE personalities like Andrew
Martin for the sake of having a big name brings implications that TNA
is incapable of making it’s own stars.

Fourthly, some feuds are not working and need to be brought to an end,
or, if they are working, have run their course. Chris Harris vs. Black
Reign should have never happened, as Chris Harris could have been used
for the third man in the Chamber of Blood match instead of Andrew
Martin. Rhino vs. James Storm is just getting redundant, and I’m not
entirely sure if Roode vs. Young has actually ended or not. There is a
significant lack of clarity on the part of the booking committee.

Fifthly, much like Gen 13 #1 killed gimmick covers in the comic book
industry, a gimmick with no substance will be easily made transparent.
The Chamber of Blood match was horribly disappointing, and the outcome
was very anti-climatic. (I was actually expecting James Mitchell’s new
monster to cost Abyss the match and send Cage into the title match.)
None of the gimmick matches paid off, and TNA needs to go back to what
worked in their initial years: wrestling. Lots of wrestling.

Sixthly, and most importantly, realize that fans can spot a throw-away
pay-per-view, and that curiosity will only gain so much revenue for
the company.

From Jason –

OK, let’s see if I understand this. They won’t fly in Hemme and Hoyt for the PPV because they have to pay a suspended NFL player who isn’t allowed to wrestle? This kind of WCW like booking is going to run TNA into the ground.

Match of the night: The three way tag match to open the show.

Trash of the night: (tie) VKM/LAX and Dudleys/Steiners (Do you see a pattern here)?

I hope all is well, and Larry, feel the power of Steely McBeam, the world’s most hated mascot.

From Nathan –

-XXX (Daniels and Senshi) vs. The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin vs. “The Guru” Sonjay Dutt & “Black Machismo” Jay Lethal (****) Match of the Night

-Raven vs. Frankie Kazarian (***)

-BAR ROOM BRAWL: Rhino vs. James Storm (**1/2)

-LAX (Homicide y Hernandez) vs. The James Gang (BG and KIP James) w/Roxxi
Levreaux ½*(Dual Trash of the night)

-HUMILIATION MATCH: Eric Young vs. Robert Roode (**)

-Chris Harris vs. Dustin “Black Reign” Rhodes ½*(Dual Trash of the Night)

-Team 3D vs. The Steiner Brothers (***1/2)

Pacman Jones vs. Ron Killings battlerap/promo (TRASH OF THE SUMMER)

-DOOMSDAY CHAMBER OF BLOOD #1 CONTENDER’S MATCH: Andrew Martin, Sting and
Abyss vs. Christian Cage, Tomko and AJ Styles (**1/2)

-WINNER TAKES ALL THE TITLES: Kurt Angle (IWGP and TNA World Champion) vs.
Samoa Joe (TNA Tag Team and X-Division Champion) (***)

Russo Mania was running wild on this PPV. The first two opening matches were
fantastic but then it ALL nose-dived from there. PacMan Jones and Killings
was one of the WORST things I have ever seen in TNA. It was a complete waste
of ppv time. The Doomsday chamber of mediocrity was the disappointment of
the night as it was just one big cluster fuck. And THEN we get to the main
event. In a night of FUCK FINISHES we get this garbage. Who didn’t see that
swerve coming, seriously who didn’t. Everyone saw this coming a mile away
and it was absolute track. FUCK YOU TNA you did a fantastic job of BURRYING
your roster so that Angle could be on top. Angle must suck Jeff Jarrett’s dick
better than his wife ever could. 6/10 for me and two thumbs down. I am done
with TNA.

Thanks for joining me for this special edition of the 4R’s, and don’t forget to check out the regular edition complete with all of the other shows from the week!

For more interesting information on wrestling, check out Bryan Alvarez and Figure Four Weekly Online and Mike Campbell over at SPLASH MOUNTAIN!