Wrestling’s 4R’s Tuesday Edition – 12.09.08: TNA Impact, WWE Smackdown and TNA Final Resolution Reviewed!

Posted by Larry Csonka on 12.09.2008

It’s the Tuesday Edition of the 4R’s, and I am sorry to say that Al Snow couldn’t make it this week….

How the 4R's of wRestling Work!
Here is a quick explanation of the 4R's. The column will run TWO times a week. On Tuesdays I will discuss TNA Impact and any PPV's, while my partner in crime Jeremy Thomas discusses WWE Smackdown. The column will run again on Friday's, covering WWE Raw, with Jeremy Thomas as well as ECW on Sci-Fi by myself. If there is a PPV that weekend, I will also run the RETRO R's of the show from the year before as well as address some comments when time permits. I will 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, my goal is to analyze the show from many different fronts, reward the good and call out the bad. I will not apologize for my opinions, they are as they are, whether positive or negative.

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In HD where available…


By: Larry Csonka

iMpact! 12.04.08:

The Right:

THE MAIN EVENT MAFIA SPEAKS: You know, TNA really isn't giving away much in terms of wrestling on Impact lately, but I will say that the promo work has been pretty damn good. The opening segment on Impact this week was a perfect example of this. While Rhino has done a good job speaking for the Frontline, Ray in on another level as far as mic work goes and if he will be a permanent part of this group, he will be an asset to them because of that. The start of the show was a strong man up speech from Ray. It was nothing groundbreaking, but it was well done and Ray has a ton of fire when he gets rolling. After the video opening, the MEM hit the ring. Nash gave 3D credit for pulling one on them, and out of the kindness of his heart, the MEM gave 3D 60-seconds to change their mind and join the group. 3D answered the call, but not to join the MEM. Ray was great here as he explained that they were with the Frontline, that they were going to be AJ and Joe's partners and Final Resolution and that the MEM have RAPED every company they have ever worked for. Part of me questions when they start with the insider mumbo jumbo, "You broke the code of the boys" and shit like that due to the fact that it turns some people off, but it does fit. The Frontline then came through the crowd in a show of unity with the fans. Angle tried to talk down to them, but Rhino promised to rip him in half and use Sting as an example tonight. This was a strong segment to open the show. It focused on the company's main angle, it hyped the PPV main events and the main event of the show for that evening.

KURT ANGLE SPEAKS: All through out the show they played into the fact that this could be Kurt Angle's last Impact appearance. They had a top five countdown of Kurt Angle's greatest moments in TNA, and Tenay and West were effective n putting over those moments as well as remind us that the match with Rhino WAS for Angle's TNA career. Angle would come to the ring for some interview time, and once again this was good mic work. Angle did a good job of hyping his PPV match, co-main event, as well as what it will mean if he wins that match. That of course is the rematch he wants with JJ. He promised to defeat Rhino, cripple Foley more than he is and then to take JJ's company and his family. JJ's simple response of, "over my dead body" worked here as these two have good heat and have been pretty consistent with their feud. I could do without the constant reminders of Jill Jarrett and the family stuff, especially since they are using the family deal with AJ and Sting. It comes off as to much.

Non-Title Match: Sting © vs. Rhino: Overall this is a good main event. As usually it was short, around 6-minutes, but it had good intensity. The blood fits the feud, and while blood doesn't always make or break a match, the image of Rhino covered in blood but overcoming the odds is a good visual. Now, we can argue all day that it could have or maybe should have been someone else getting the win over Sting. Actually Joe getting a win over Sting would have been great for the angle. He had him beat but got screwed, and due to that he ISN'T allowed to challenge Sting for the title because of the no rematch stipulation. But I will say that Rhino basically pinning Sting clean is big in terms of the feud. We all know Rhino is losing to Angle, but he has had a nice run to the PPV and between some good wins and promos has reestablished himself. Also, heading into the PPV the Frontline needed to have some momentum, and this gets them that. The last PPV saw the MEM dominate and clean sweep the event, so the Frontline needed something to give them some hope.

puRgatoRy:

ODB'S ANGLE: We'll file this under "no buys, but entertaining." I have said it before and I will say it again, ODB is not everyone's cup of tea but most of the time I find her very entertaining. While this segment, on this show or ever will never do anything good for ratings or buys, I was oddly entertained. I don't know if it was the constant censoring of Roxxi, or the fact that ODB worked in Charmin, DEEZ NUTZ, and the rusty trombone into the same segment. I just can't completely hate on this segment. Also, this segment changed ODB vs. Sharmell to ODB, Roxxi and Wilde vs. Sharmell and the Beautiful People. Upgrade.

BEER MONEY GETS ABYSS DRUNK: Once again, we'll file this under "no buys, but entertaining." Now James Storm and Robert Roode getting Abyss drunk won't make people buy the PPV, but dear lord was this shit funny. Storm riding the beer cooler, Roode kissing Abyss' ass and filling him with booze, the fact that they whored out Jackie, Abyss asking if he was still a virgin after he got a kiss from her, telling Lauren that it meant nothing. And of course the beat down we all knew was coming. I just can't hate this. I love Beer Money.

TNA Legends Title STREET FIGHT Match: Booker T wanted to put his Legends Title on the line, and with the way he previously dismantled Booker and add in the fact that he cannot challenge Sting for the World Title, Samoa Joe seemed to make the most sense for this challenge. What I hated is that this was a title match, and it was also one of THREE matched to go to a commercial in the middle. BULLSHIT. Overall it was a pretty good match as Booker looked more motivated than usual. Although that's really not saying much because he is unfortunately coasting a lot these days. The MEM winning through nefarious means works and works well, but damn, Joe's been made a BITCH, he needs to win sometimes to keep that bad ass persona. As I said above, Joe getting a win over Sting would have been great for the angle, better than this anyway.

The wRong:

22:10: I'd like to think we all know the drill by now. TNA is supposed to be the alternative, they try to be different, and they claim to be the wrestling promotion. So I am their conscience, their wrestling stopwatch. Each and every week I keep track of the time of wrestling on the show, and discuss it here. The in ring time is like a yo-yo here lately. This week we only got 22-Minutes of in ring action, and it was really a joke when you have matches getting three minutes. I have said it before and I will say it again, TNA really does need to streamline things. They need to cut down on some of segments, add a bit more ring time and remain focused on the goal, which is building the PPV and trying to SELL that PPV. Failure. Simple failure.

Christy Hemme and AJ Styles vs. Amazing Kong and Scott Steiner: In a way this was one of those things I tend to like. What I mean is this. You are on the last show before the PPV, and you need to hype the major feuds. AJ vs. Steiner is part of the MEM vs. FL feud, and Hemme is challenging for the Knockouts Title. Also, they have credited AJ with training Hemme, so making a mixed tag hypes these feuds at the same time without sacrificing one for the other. The match got a bit over 5-minutes and I would say that this match had its moments, but I would be lying. It wasn't the worst thing I have ever seen, but it wasn't that good either. Steiner is still struggling since the injury and looked VERY slow next to AJ. Now a lot of people look slow next to AJ, but Scott is very slow right now. Hemme is trying, but the fact that AJ worked 85% of the match shows that they didn't have confidence in her at this point to work TV. So of course she is getting a title shot on PPV. The pin on Kong was weak as hell too. An assisted tornado DDT that took 45-seconds to set up. Yeah, slay that monster.

Consequences Creed, Jay Lethal and Eric Young vs. Sheik Abdul Bashir, Jimmy Rave and Sonjay Dutt w/SoCal Val: I was much more upset about this match Thursday night, but have calmed a bit about it. That being said, I still didn't like it. First of all, the match was the definition of an Impact special. It was 4-minutes of guys working hard to try and give us something to enjoy, but not having enough time to do anything worth while. This was also some ass backwards booking. Don't get me completely wrong, it DID make sense with the Bashir/Young/Sewell deal, but still, there was a better way to do it. They had Bashir, THE HEEL bail, and make it a handicap against the heels. That makes no sense, and then the heels got the advantage anyway. What? The good guys did win, Young and Bashir brawled and Young ended up with the title to tease Bashir. The thing is this, THAT didn't work. Young wasn't screwed out of the title. He basically cheated and won, got caught and had to give it back.

The Ridiculous:

The Beautiful People Meet "Sarah Palin" While I had some love for the ODB and Beer Money stuff, I can't say the same for the antics of two of my favorite ladies, The Beautiful People. They did this whole Sarah Palin deal, they teased that she was coming and of course, as we all expected we got an impersonator. They tried to play it up that they thought she was the real deal, while Kip and everyone else knew. And in theory that's cool…except for the part where none of it worked and it was NEVER funny. Not even a chuckle, not a smile, this sucked. Shit like this will kill the Beautiful People, who have been awesome in their roles.

The 411

It certainly wasn't the worst go home show I have ever seen. Some have bashed this show as complete shit, but that is far from the truth. They worked rather hard to push the company's main angle, the Frontline vs. The Main Event Mafia as well as the other main event, Kurt Angle vs. Rhino. While hype for some of the other stuff was either lame and or not good, I did enjoy the hype for "the money matches." Don't get me wrong, these co-main events aren't going to draw hundreds of thousands of buys, but they are the main matches for the PPV, and they deserved most of the time because of that. The promo work continues to be strong on the shows as well. While we're not getting a lot of wrestling, less than 1/3 of the show is wrestling at least the mic work, which is mainly about the main angles, is good. It wasn't great, but it was an acceptable go-home show due to the fact that they did focus on the main angles so much.

SHOW RATING: **¾

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By: Jeremy "NOT LARRY CSONKA" Thomas

WWE SmackDown 12.05.08

The Right:

WAIT…THE BIG SHOW HAS AN ENVIRONMENT? The Big Show had a pre-taped message for the Undertaker, telling him that while the Dead Man won in his environment, they were in Show's environment tonight with the steel cage. Um…pardon my potential lack of knowledge, but since when has a steel cage been Show's environment? Let's see, he cost Vince McMahon a Steel Cage match when he debuted, lost to Booker T in a cage match in 2002, lost to JBL in a Barbed Wire Cage Match at No Way Out 2005, and then lost a handicap Hell in a Cell match AND got Vince's head shoved up his ass at Unforgiven 2006. Oh, and he lost the ECW Title to Bobby Lashley at December to Dismember before retiring for a couple years. In fact, the only cage match I can find him ever actually winning in the ‘E was against Luther Reigns and Mark Jindrak. But hell, who needs continuity? He then proceeded to show us a video package of all the ways that Show's kicked the snot out of Taker during this feud. The video package was okay, and Show's delivery was typically good. He does that cool, intense promo type pretty well. So despite the factual inaccuracies, I can comfortably put this in the Right, if only by a touch.

MVP vs. HURRICANE HELMS: MVP was out to address his recent losing streak or, as he put it, his "bad run of luck." He can no longer buy really nice stuff for his loved ones and his entrance sucks now, but they can't take away all the things that are him. This was a pretty good promo by MVP to try and get himself over past his losing streak. He wanted to get some vengeance though against Helms for his Hurrapops, and then out came Helms to a new entrance, a new look and a shockingly huge pop from the fans. Shane looked good, and even got a chant from the crowd early on before they got down to it and put on a good little match. It may not have been breathtaking from start to finish, but Helms looked really sharp coming off a year's injury and both of the two got some good offense in. The Shining Wizard at the end wasn't the best Helms has ever given, but other than that it was good stuff. Of course, it's no secret that I'm not a fan of the MVP losing streak and that continued tonight, but Helms needed a win to mark his return so I've got less issues with it here then I normally would. This is, much like the Big Show promo, a marginal Right, but still a Right. Nice to see you back, Shane.

THE DAY-GLO WARRIOR & THE GAME: THE HONEYMOON'S OVER: Okay, so let's start by saying that Jeff's make-up needs to start getting better. This was at least a step up from the grayish-black smear it was last week and had some definition, but it just looked odd. He got interrupted from his walk down the back by ‘H who told Jeff he was just an obstacle to him now, and Jeff was all "Yeah, well it takes one to know one!" I gotta say that Jeff is finally learning how to step it up on the mike. This wasn't great stuff like his promo against Taker, but it was short, sweet and intense, and the H-Man played it off nicely. Jeff's really picking it up with his character and that gets points from me.

GAUNTLET TAG MATCH NUTTINESS: We got the entrances first for ‘H and Day-Glo; it still amuses me that Jeff gets a bigger pops then ‘H. Their first opponents were Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder, who really need to get back as Edge's flunkies if they want to keep their jobs through the new year. Hell, I'd forgotten they even still had jobs now. This was the typical "tag team partners that do not get along" story with H-Man and Hardy just beating the shit out of their opponents while showing each other up, though I'll certainly admit that the spot where Jeff forced ‘H to break up the pin by going up for the Swanton was pretty sweet. This first part with Hawkins and Ryder was short and sweet, they got beat, and we moved on.

Moving on meant, luckily, that we got treated to the greatest entrance in professional wrestling today. While Jeff and Hunter were arguing, down to the ring came Miz and Morrison, and by the time we came back from commercial ‘H was fully in control of the Chick Magnet. The action here was actually quite good, and Morrison and Miz once again got some solid offense in against the guys who are facing Edge for the strap at Armageddon, which is a continued sign of good things to come for the duo. Miz was great on the apron shouting encouragement to Morrison, and MnM 2.0's typical tactics worked just as well against these two as they have against others. I really think that have some great things planned for Morrison, and that has me very hyped as I think he's capable of serious stardom in the ‘E. Of course, the story here wasn't Miz and Morrison winning, it was Jeff and ‘H's rivalry, and Day-Glo even got some boos when he was thumbs downing the Game. That shows how much credit the ‘E and Jeff should get for getting fans to buy into this; he's been practically boo-proof to date. In the end, the "partners" exploded, and it resulted in a count out win for MnM 2.0. I would have liked to see the old miscommunication results in a pin, but this was perfectly fine too and it delivered a good first-hour sub-main event match that pushed things along and made Miz and Morrison look good.

After the match, we went back to see how much Edge and Miss Chipmunk loved what had just happened. We found out that next week we were going to see Day-Glo vs. ‘H one-on-one. How much you wanna bet the Game gets his win back? The Champ and the Chipmunk were about to get it on when Jeff came in all pissed. Edge said that he wasn't the person who took out Jeff at Survivor Series, it was the Game, who promptly came in and got attacked by Jeff. Refs and Security came in to break it up, prompting Edge and Vickie to start going at it. Eww. This was a nice way to really build heat between them and make Edge look smart, as both ‘H and Day-Glo had been called in by Edge (thus the "You wanted to see me?" they both gave). While my bile was rising at the make-out session at the end, I'm pretty sure that's what they were going for, so points to them.

THE BIG SHOW vs. THE UNDERTAKER: We finally got down to the main event of the evening, and like most of Taker's matches on SmackDown as of late this had the "big match" feel to it. They took the time to do the full entrances, and Show did some good stuff in the cage while waiting for Taker; testing the cage and such. Show started off with the quick flurry of punches before slowing down; we got a botched spot early on with Taker trying to roll out of the way of the Vader bomb and taking the big guy's knees awkwardly to the back. A lot of people thought this was dull in the early moments and it was slow; it was certainly nothing like their work in this feud to date. I thought that for a TV match it was actually nicely paced and built up to a really satisfying conclusion. The top-rope leg drop was a crowd-pleaser and it was all damn good from there. They did the requisite competing choke-slam spot, and Show got his Big Punch in before Taker made Show tap to the Hell's Gate. This should end the feud once and for all, and it was a good way both to do that and to send the crowd home happy. It's not like losing a feud to Taker hurts anyone's credibility after all.

puRgatoRy:

EDGE vs. KUNG FU NAKI: After getting the opening video montage that recapped the Beat the Clock drama from last week, Vickie the Chipmunk came out with Stone Cold Edge. Seriously, shave that man's head, leave the vest and beard on and put a pair of knee braces on him and you'd have the toughest SOB in the WWE. They were locked arm in arm as they came down for this match, featuring the feared number one contender....KUNG FU NAKI! Number One Contender, Number One Announcer, same diff. Naki came out tough right out of the gate; I'm not sure what the idea of giving him so much offense during the match was, but it was sort of fun to see the plucky underdog face get some offense on the champ before he became Crazy Edge and speared the living crap out of him. There was nothing wrong with this match and Edge's facial reactions were as great as ever; it was simply too short and meant too little for it to be really good.

After the match, Miss Chipmunk got on the mike to drum up some cheers for the champ and booked Day-Glo and ‘H in a Tag Team Gauntlet match that would keep going until they lost. Vickie's voice still drives me nuts, but somehow, impossibly, her "Excuse me!" catchphrase is actually catching on. This was sorta kooky booking, and it would have been a hell of a lot nicer to hear Edge giving the promo then Vickie, but she did a relatively alright job this week, and I loved Edge giving her the "take a breath" motion. So decent stuff all around, though it certainly wasn't without its problems, and thus it drops right into puRgatoRy.

MICHELLE McCOOL vs. MARIA: This was a non-title match stemming, presumably, from Maria and Michelle's altercation after the six-diva tag last week and Maria's Butterfly Title aspirations. Now, I get that Michelle's the less hot lady in this match and we want to make the MyNetworkTV viewers happy with as much eye candy as possible, but really, we had to have the champion come out first and cut off her entrance completely? The only reason I can imagine for them doing this is because Michelle may not have gotten the reaction they wanted from the crowd on the way to the ring, not that I'm sure what reaction that would be considering her current slow heel turn status. Maria of course got the uber-pop, and hot damn. I'm not usually a fan of copper coloring in clothing, but on Maria it really works. They got right into the match, and kudos to the girls for playing it off as being really pissed at each other; to call Maria anything other than a poor wrestler would be a lie, but she did a great job of selling the emotional aspect of the match. That's a good thing, because the match itself…well, it was as good as we could expect, which is not to say it was good. I give Maria all the credit in the world for trying, but she is the Stacy Kiebler of the current WWE. Very hot in an almost wholesome way and very spunky, but no matter how hard she tries she's never going to be good in the ring, and Michelle's not bad but she's not going to carry the girl to an even three-star non-classic. They had a couple decent spots like the splits moment, but that inside cradle was just ugly as hell. I could complain about the fact that they're putting Maria over Michelle, but hey, at least they've got a feud going with the ladies, right? The storyline is good and I'm actually somewhat enjoying that; Michelle's doing the turn a lot of justice, and Maria's playing off her well. It would just be nice it were possible for the in-ring work to live up to it.

MATT HARDY v s. CHAVO GUERRERO: Gee, another non-Title match. Does anyone actually DEFEND these things anymore? This was sold by JR and Tazz as more nepotism on Vickie's part, which at least made sense as to the reason behind it. Matt and Chavo have worked together before of course, and while the match was pretty smooth it kind of paled when compared to their previous matches. This is certainly not to say it was remotely bad, they've just done better. They didn't seem to be as into it as they usually are, though the crowd loved Matt as much as they always do. However, this wasn't here to give the two a match; it was to allow Vladimir Kozlov to come down and beat the shit out of Matt. I like the continuity tie, and Kozlov certainly picked up the match; I'm curious as to where this will go. Are they going to make Hardy vs. Kozlov for Armageddon, or was this just feeding the ECW champion to Vlad to get him on the show? If it's the former then that's a match that could be quite intriguing; if they were just feeding Matt to him, then I'm not pleased. Since I'm not sure and the match was so-so, this goes firmly in the middle of the road column.

The wRong:

KHALI KISS-CAM: Yeah, you all know how I feel about these things. Forgive me for sounding like a broken record, but if these segments don't lead to something more important I'm not interested. This one, at least, was somehow less annoying to me than most. I mean sure, this was completely silly and there's no reason for it when we've already got Khali firmly established as a face now. But the Christmas tie-in with the mistletoe at least works a little better, and hell, Khali got to kiss Eve, so I guess he's finally getting SOME sort of pay-off for all the previous segments. However, even that was a mixed blessing as the "Jingle Bells" mix that she came out to was ear-rendingly annoying. I can't bitch about this so much that I'm gonna call this ridiculous, but that we got this silliness and didn't get a single appearance by THE Brian Kendrick does piss me off just a bit.

The Ridiculous:

DID YOU KNOW?: Still don't. And still don't care either.

The 411

This wasn't as good of a show as SmackDown has aired in recent weeks; it was certainly a step down from last week's awesome show, and for the first time in a while Raw finally topped its blue cousin in terms of quality. This isn't to say the show was bad; we had great stuff in the first- and second-hour main events, it was great to see Helms back and sharp and I like where Jeff vs. ‘H vs. Edge is going. It just wasn't as good as it's been, not that there's anything wrong with that.

SHOW RATING: **¾

Comment Time With Jeremy!

Sarcastic; adjective
1. To use sarcasm in speech or print

Sarcasm; noun
1. harsh and/or bitter derision or irony
2. stating the opposite of what is true for the purpose of taunting and/or humor

Used in a sentence:
Kane was being sarcastic when speaking about his "love" for WWE fans on Monday's episode of Raw.

Posted By: Guest#8014 (Guest) on December 04, 2008 at 11:44 PM

If you say so, Guest. He didn't seem sarcastic, and Kane is pretty good about making it clear when he's being sarcastic or not. The sarcasm wouldn't make a whole lot of sense considering Kane was differentiating himself from Jericho in the segment. But it's a possibility, albeit a small one in my opinion. Thanks for reading!

When was Kane ever the best big man? During his tenure he has always had taker, lesnar, even umagas better.

Posted By: WTF (Guest) on December 05, 2008 at 03:12 AM

Well, we're talking opinion here Mister F, but I always thought that Taker was suffering pretty seriously in match quality around 1999, 2000 or so, and Kane was really stepping up his game then. I also thought he was probably the best big man in the ‘E around 2004 or so, once Lesnar left. These days I think he's lost his desire, and he's not getting any younger either, but there was a time I was a HUGE Kane mark, which is why it's sad to see how much he's lost. I'm sure a lot of people will disagree with me on whether he was the best at those times, but there you have it.

The Shawn/JBL segment was fantastic mic work, with a great reason for them to feud rather than just "I don't like you". Be objective here, Larry - with all the talk of Shawn's family this year, and with each man's reputation, this is a totally logical storyline. And it's clearly gonna be a lot more subtle than JBL getting Shawn to get him drinks and run errands. I can't believe you put it in Ridiculous.

Posted By: Ian (Guest) on December 05, 2008 at 05:24

Hi Ian, I'm Jeremy Thomas, not Larry Csonka. So it's going to be more subtle then JBL making Shawn another Virgil? Okay, if you insist. Frankly, I don't put any faith in the ‘E when it comes to angles like this that we've seen before, because we've seen that whenever they rehash a storyline, they don't really stray much. I also don't like that this backstory to the feud has obviously been whipped up out of nowhere to give two people a reason to feud when they don't need to. When I say "Keep It Simple, Stupid," I mean simply that. They don't need to come up with a backstory and bring personal life into this in order to make it work as a feud. It's very simple; two guys don't get along because of things that have happened in the ring and just outside of it, so they fight. This stinks SERIOUSLY of "Well, we made HBK/Jericho personal and it worked; let's do it with HBK/JBL!" The problem is that financial straits storyline seems rushed and pointless, and they simply don't need to do it to let JBL and Michaels feud. I'll say it again—K.I.S.S.

First of all, Santino is a comedy figure, so of COURSE he's going to look like a goof! That's his job! And he's great at it! I can't tell you how many times my friends and I have watched him and laughed our asses off.. And the backstage segment with Goldust was priceless! You really don't have a funny bone do ya?

I think Steph's "Adamle" should've stayed in the right column, because that's what a performer does! When you screw up, you cover it well! HHH has done it, Heenan has done it, HBK, Rock, etc.

Posted By: Spyke (Guest) on December 05, 2008 at 08:23 AM

Spyke, Spyke, Spyke…read closer, my friend. I actually didn't give the "doing the splits" bit a negative rating, so there's no reason to call me out on it this week. The backstage segment with Goldust was silly and a pointless way to spend a minute and a half. Believe me, I love a good comedy moment, and Santino's delivered a lot of them that I've praised. This Goldust bullshit isn't among them. Regarding the Adamle moment, I am aware that a lot of legends have screwed up and covered nicely; I would have called them out on the screw-up too. Everyone's human and everyone makes mistakes, but I'm still going to call them on it.

Shouldn't it be Mrs. Palin-McMahon-Helmsley?

Posted By: AlexXx (Guest) on December 05, 2008 at 07:41 AM

Technically, yes, but that's too many damn characters to type, and I blather on enough as it is without needing to pad my word count. Besides in storylines she's just McMahon again, so on-screen it would be Palin-McMahon. You make a good point though!

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~TNA FINAL RESOLUTION 2008~
By: Larry Csonka

The Matches:

FEAST OR FIIRED: Homicide, Hernandez, Jay Lethal and Curry Man all win briefcases @ 13:00 ***

ODB, Roxxi and Wilde defeat Love, Sky and Sharmell @ 7:00 via pin *½

X-DIVISION TITLE MATCH: Eric Young defeated Sheik Abdul Bashir to become the NEW X-Division Champion (FOR ABOUT A MINUTE) @ 9:00 via pin **½

KNOCKOUTS TITLE MATCH: Christy Hemme defeated Awesome Kong @ 6:00 via DQ *½

TNA TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Beer Money defeated Matt Morgan and Abyss @ 11:00 via pin **½

Kurt Angle defeated Rhino @ 14:00 via pin ***

The Main Event Mafia defeated the Frontline @ 22:00 via pin ***½

The Right:

FEAST OR FIRED…SRLY: While I am not a fan of the concept and all of the multi-man matches on TNA PPV, I have to say that this worked well as the opener. They all went out there and did their thing, we got cool spot, tosses and dives that kept the crowd into it. They had great spots where different people got their time to shine, like Sharky, Rock and the Guns. They also gave the crowd a chance to be happy as Hernandez, Curry Man, Homicide and Lethal all got cases. All faces. The ending was actually quite awesome as the Guns took everyone out, grabbed the case and as they celebrated, Lethal DOVE in and stole the case, and made it to the floor; giving him official possession of the case. The after match stuff worked well as Lethal got to open his case, and it was a tag title shot. This enraged the Guns, and should add more to their constantly developing characters. This was actually good stuff and a fine way to kick off the show. I think most know how they want the cases to go for this. Curry Man gets fired so Daniels can come back, but then we have LAX. Hernandez getting the world title shot seems to simple, so I would like to see him get the X-Division Title shot and Homicide get the world title shot, to mix things up. I will close by saying that all of these multi-man matches on TNA PPV need to stop, because they are all blending together.

ANGLE vs. RHINO: While this was no Angle vs. Abyss match, Angle and Rhino had a perfectly acceptable match here at Final Resolution. They didn't have the advantage of all the plunder like last month's match, but what I appreciated is the fact that they had a wrestling match. They didn't brawl around the building, there weren't a bunch of tables and chairs and bullshit, they had a match. They got a good amount of time, they worked hard and overall I really have no complaints. As far as the "AL SNOW" surprise, I really didn't mind. Unfortunately we should all know by now that 99% of announced wrestling surprises either suck or don't live up to the hype. I never got my hopes up, and while they initially announced a former world champion and changed it, again I never got my hopes up. Also, while it is years later, the explanation works. Foley has mocked Snow for years, on TV, in his books, so of course Al agreed to help out Angle just to finally get one up on Foley. Lackluster surprise, agreed. But it worked well enough and if they needed someone that can work a match, Snow can do that for them. With the rumors of Foley returning to the ring, I could see them pulling Angle and Snow vs. Jarrett and Foley at Genesis.

THE MAIN EVENT MAFIA vs. THE FRONTLINE: Easily the best match of the night was the main event. Much like WWE, when TNA puts on a 6-8 Man match with star power, they usually deliver and this did. It isn't a MOTY or anything like that, but it was good. Everyone worked hard, I thought Steiner looked better than he has since his return as he was bumping great for everyone and things seemed to click well. It was good, but just lacked a little something to make it great. Thankfully they didn't pull the swerve, that was a nice that they resisted that. Joe looked to have the match in hand as he went for the Muscle Buster, but Nash jacked him in the balls and that allowed Sting to retain the title. With the ending as it was, I really think we're heading for a double turn with Joe and Sting. Joe has been continually fucked and now defeated by every member of the Main Event Mafia. He has taken the brunt, he can't get a title shot and AJ is being treated like the golden child. And then you had the MEM celebrating in the ring, but Sting leaving the ring and walking to the back. His head held low and then looking at the title, ashamed that he is keeping it by any means. Maybe realizing that he didn't deserve to win the title in the first place. Maybe realizing that he shouldn't have retained against AJ, and maybe that he should have lost here. The ending was spectacular and really stood out, especially on such a mediocre PPV.

puRgatoRy:

SIX LADIES TAG: The six-ladies tag, while not a great match, ended up being what it needed to be. They had a 7-minute match, where the deal was that Sharmell didn't want any part of ODB, no matter what her trash talking said. Roxxi and Wilde worked hard, Love was fine as usual and Sky actually stepped up and did well. What they did overall was on in the ring, but this was more about angle than just a match. The end saw ODB chase Sharmell to the back. Sharmell has escaped for now, but you now it isn't over. And that worked, especially with the Frontline vs. MEM angle. Wilde got the win, countering a cross body, and besides the average bout, that is one of my complaints. First of all, if the faces were going to win, would it have killed them to have Roxxi pick up a win? Wilde is always picking up the wins, while Roxxi looks like the hardcore jobber queen. Seriously, they need to have Roxxi snap and go heel at this point to try and salvage her.

TNA TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: The tag title match was one of those matches that wasn't bad, but at the end of the night felt like the same old shit. They did the big brawl at the beginning, BEFORE the bell rang. After that Beer Money wanted to bail, but when the bell rang and the threat of the titles being stripped was announced, we finally had out match. They got a good amount of time, and the work in the ring was good. Watching Matt Morgan, a GIANT of a man not only play Ricky Morton but also do the diving Ricky Morton roll into the hot tag was odd as hell. Beer Money takes the win after Storm uses the KNUX on Abyss. His throw of the KNUX to the back was a solid 50-yards. Sign him up to play with the Lions. Unfortunately the problem here is that they have allowed Beer Money to fall into the same formula match. They have a set of opponents, they have a good to great match, the faces look like they will win, Storm gets a beer bottle, knux or some weapon and they get the win. It works to a degree because they have the heat, but it comes off as the same old thing. And on a show that was transitional and felt like the same old, that isn't a good thing.

SUICIDE'S DEBUT: I don't have a ton to say here. Suicide debuted, people bitched that they used a zip line deal, he took out Sabin and Shelley and got a good reaction. With the game tanking and having been already out for so long the original plans to hype the game via the character are dead, but I am interested to see what they do with him. And yes, either they got Low Ki under the hood or Kaz is doing a great job of looking "like Low Ki."

The wRong:

BASHIR vs. YOUNG: We will file this under good match, and sound booking in theory. After the shenanigans that was the first X-Title change for Young, he got a rematch here on this PPV. Also to lay into the whole thing was Shane Sewell as the official. He was on the last chance policy due to getting involved so many times. So the story is a good match, Bashir constantly bitching at Sewell and him keeping his cool. The finish saw Young hit a sunset flip, but Bashir hold onto the ropes. And as we have seen through out the years, when the heel grabs the ropes and the ref sees it, he kicks the hands off. This led to Young getting the pin and the title. We are all good up to this point. The after match was GREAT as Bashir went wild, took out Young, and then busted open Sewell with a title shot. Shane Sewell busted out a Puerto Rico blade job for this shit and it was GREAT! The reason it worked was that Sewell didn't do anything wrong, but it was enough for Bashir to snap because it looked as if he got screwed. But now the belt is held up and we're going to have a tournament. By doing this they have further devalued the title that once made this company stand out from everyone else. Although I shouldn't be surprised, the X-Division and the title have really been the shits for about 2-years now. Unfortunately all of the great work they did was ruined as they fucked with the title for the second time in just a few weeks. BULLSHIT I SAY!

HEMME vs. KONG: I will not be shy when I say that I haven't been a fan of the recent Christy Hemme push. But it is what it is, and we got the match here on the PPV. In many ways it wasn't horrible and Hemme has improved. She did much better than I expected. But they did this all wrong. In theory the booking was right, but it happened too soon. Hemme here should have put up a good fight, be able to survive Khan and Saeed but fall to Kong in a valiant effort. Then you give her a win on Impact over Khan and then back to a rematch. And THEN they could have one what they did here, which was the DQ as Saeed gets involved and gets Kong DQ'd. This could lead to Kong on the rampage, her turning on Saeed, another one on one with Hemme where she gets to look good but lose again and Saeed revealed to be Cheerleader Melissa. The addition of Khan with Kong and Saeed causing the loss and always losing when paired with Kong fits for this to happen. In my opinion it was an average match with bad booking that hurt the overall presentation.

The Ridiculous:

USING PPV TO SELL TV: I have said this time and time again, but I HATE when TNA uses PPV in order to sell their TV. Sure coming out of a PPV you want interest in the show, but that is the thing. The events of the PPV should be what get people curious. You shouldn't intentionally book a bunch of angles that will resolve on TNA. This works into this whole, "obvious transitional show" deal. First of all they did the same thing, basically, as last year with the Feast or Fired Briefcases. Now they did open one on the show, but we have to turn into Impact to see the "final resolution" of the match. And then they did the deal with the X-Title. The ONCE AGAIN overturned the decision, and now we will be getting a tournament on Impact. Next there was the deal with the Guns and Foley. Instead of something happening on the show, we got a promise that Foley will deal with Shelley, on Impact. Finally they did more junk with the Palin angle. I love Dafney and I hope she gets a job and all, but again, why are we working so hard to sell Impact? I though the goal was to sell PPV's.

The 411

This was the definition of a transitional show. In all honesty it felt like an edition of Impact. What I mean is that it was building to another episode of Impact that is eventually leading to an important show down the line. It was far from BAD, but it also wasn't worth spending money on. As I have said before, TNA knew that due to a poor economy, a history of the December PPV doing poorly and the fact that the de La Hoya vs. Pac Man boxing event was the night before that they were going to do a poor buy rate. It was not a horrible show, but it also was not a great show. It was just there, and in a year where PPV has been really good that places it near the bottom of the list.

SHOW RATING: 5.5

2008 PPV Rankings:
Over the last few weeks I have been going back through the PPV library and columns, and have made some adjustments to the scored to reflect that. There were some ties I broke, and a few places I changed. Compared to 2007, 2008 has been a MUCH better year for PPV.

-ROH RESPECT IS EARNED II {9.1}
-WWE WRESTLEMANIA {9.0}

-ROH RISING ABOVE {8.9}
-ROH UNDENIABLE {8.8}
-ROH DRIVEN {8.7}
-TNA TURNING POINT {8.6}
-ROH TAKE NO PRISONERS {8.5}
-WWE NO WAY OUT {8.4}
-TNA BOUND FOR GLORY {8.3}
-WWE UNFORGIVEN {8.2}
-WWE ROYAL RUMBLE {8.1}
-TNA LOCKDOWN {8.0}

-WWE CYBER SUNDAY {7.9}
-TNA VICTORY ROAD {7.8}
-ROH NEW HORIZONS {7.7}
-TNA SLAMMIVERSARY {7.6}
-TNA HARD JUSTICE {7.5}
-WWE NO MERCY {7.4}
-TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS {7.3}
-WWE SUMMERSLAM {7.2}
-TNA NO SURRENDER {7.1}
-WWE BACKLASH {7.0}

-TNA DESTINATION X {6.9}
-WWE ONE NIGHT STAND IV {6.8}
-TNA FINAL RESOLUTION {6.7}
-WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS {6.6}
-WWE GREAT AMERICAN BASH {6.5}
-WWE JUDGMENT DAY {6.0}

-TNA FINAL RESOLUTION {5.5}
-TNA SACRIFICE {5.4}
-WWE SURVIVOR SERIES {5.0}

2008 TOP PPV Match Rankings:
-(WWE WRESTLEMANIA 24) CAREER THREATENING MATCH: Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels *****

-(WWE UNFORGIVEN) UNSANCTIONED MATCH: Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho ****½
-(WWE SUMMERSLAM) HELL IN A CELL: Edge vs. The Undertaker ****½
-(WWE WRESTLEMANIA 24) WORLD TITLE MATCH: Edge © vs. The Undertaker ****½
-(ROH NEW HORIZONS) Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black ****½
-(ROH TAKE NO PRISONERS) ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Tyler Black ****½
-(ROH RISING ABOVE) ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Austin Aries ****½
-(ROH RESPECT IS EARNED II) ROH TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: The Age of the Fall (Jacobs and Black) © vs. Bryan Danielson and Austin Aries ****½
-(ROH DRIVEN) ROH TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: The Age of the Fall (Jacobs and Black) © vs. STEENERICO ****½
-(TNA LOCKDOWN) TNA WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kurt Angle © vs. Samoa Joe ****½
-(TNA VICTORY ROAD) (World X Cup Semifinal Elimination Tag Match) Curry Man, Alex Shelly and Chris Sabin vs. Puma, Yoshino and Milano Collection AT vs. Rey Bucanero, Averno and Ultimo Guerrero vs. Williams, Dux and Kozlov ****½

-(ROH TAKE NO PRISONERS) Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries ****¼
-(ROH UNDENIABLE) GRUDGE MATCH: Austin Aries vs. Roderick Strong ****¼
-(WWE NO WAY OUT) RAW ELIMINATION CHAMBER ****¼
-(WWE NO MERCY) WORLD TITLE LADDER MATCH: Chris Jericho © vs. HBK ****¼
-(TNA HARD JUSTICE) LAST MAN STANDING MATCH: Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles ****¼

-(TNA BOUND FOR GLORY) Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett ****
-(TNA TURNING POINT) FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE: Kurt Angle vs. Abyss ****
-(TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS) TNA WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kurt Angle © vs. Christian Cage ****
-(TNA FINAL RESOLUTION) TNA WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kurt Angle © vs. Christian Cage ****
-(WWE ROYAL RUMBLE) The Royal Rumble Match ****
-(WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS) WWE TITLE MATCH: HHH © vs. John Cena ****
-(WWE NO MERCY) WWE TITLE MATCH: HHH © vs. Jeff Hardy ****
-(WWE CYBER SUNDAY) LAST MAN STANDING: The Undertaker vs. The Big Show ****
-(WWE ONE NIGHT STAND) TLC: The Undertaker vs. Edge ****
-(WWE GREAT AMERICAN BASH) Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels ****
-(ROH RESPECT IS EARNED II) FIGHT WITHOUT HONOR: Erick Stevens vs. Roderick Strong ****
-(ROH DRIVEN) ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Roderick Strong ****
-(ROH NEW HORIZONS) ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Claudio Castagnoli ****

-(TNA TURNING POINT) TNA TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Beer Money © vs. The Motor City Machine Guns ***¾
-(TNA No Surrender) (Ladder of Love Match) Sonjay Dutt vs. Black Machismo Jay Lethal ***¾
-(TNA VICTORY ROAD) (Full Metal Mayhem – Six-Man War Match) AJ Styles, Christian Cage & Rhino vs. Kurt Angle & Team 3D ***¾
-(TNA SLAMMIVERSARY) TNA X-DIVISION TITLE MATCH: Petey Williams © vs. Kaz ***¾
-(TNA FINAL RESOLUTION) TNA NO-DQ WOMEN'S TITLE MATCH: Gail Kim ©vs. Awesome Kong ***¾
-(TNA LOCKDOWN) LETHAL LOCKDOWN: Team Cage vs. Team Tomko ***¾
-(TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS) HARDCORE STREET FIGHT: Team 3D and Brother Devine vs. Black Machismo and the Motor City Machineguns ***¾
-(ROH UNDENIABLE) ROH WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Jay & Mark Briscoe © vs. The No Remorse Corps ***¾
-(ROH RISING ABOVE) ROH WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH - 2 of 3 Falls: Jay & Mark Briscoe © vs. The No Remorse Corps ***¾
-(ROH RESPECT IS EARNED II) ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Go Shiozaki ***¾
-(WWE CYBER SUNDAY) WWE TITLE MATCH: HHH © vs. Jeff Hardy ***¾
-(WWE NO WAY OUT) SMACKDOWN ELIMINATION CHAMBER ***¾
-(WWE WRESTLEMANIA 24) WWE TITLE MATCH: Randy Orton © vs. John Cena vs. HHH ***¾
-(WWE BACKLASH) WORLD TITLE MATCH: The Undertaker © vs. Edge ***¾
-(WWE WRESTLEMANIA 24) MONEY IN THE BANK LADDER MATCH: Chris Jericho vs. MVP vs. John Morrison vs. Carlito vs. CM Punk vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. Shelton Benjamin ***¾
-(WWE JUDGMENT DAY) HBK vs. Chris Jericho ***¾
-(WWE SUMMERSLAM) John Cena vs. Batista ***¾

2008 PPV MVP AWARDS:
This is a little added deal I started last year, 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.

-ROH RISING ABOVE: Nigel vs. Aries (Stealing the Show)
-TNA FINAL RESOLUTION: Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong (Making us Care about Women's Wrestling on the National Stage)
-ROH UNDENIABLE: Strong vs. Aries (The Grudge is Settled)
-WWE ROYAL RUMBLE: John Cena Shocks the World (No One Saw it Coming)
-TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS: Black Machismo Saves the X-Division (He is a Superman)
-WWE NO WAY OUT: Taker Eliminates the Competition (Elimination Chamber MVP)
-TNA DESTINATION X: Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong © vs. ODB (Stepping up Again)
-WWE WRESTLEMANIA XXIV: Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels (Thank You Flair)
-TNA LOCKDOWN: Angle vs. Joe (Great Build, Great Delivery)
-TNA SACRIFICE: Roxxi gets a Haircut (And makes the ultimate sacrifice…)
-ROH TAKE NO PRISONERS: Tyler Black (Becoming a Star at 21)
-WWE ONE NIGHT STAND: The Undertaker (You Crazy Fuck)
-TNA SLAMMIVERSARY: Kaz vs. Petey (Stealing the Show)
-WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS: HHH (Silencing the Critics)
-TNA VICTORY ROAD: Alex Shelley and Yoshino (Stealing the Show)
-WWE GREAT AMERICAN BASH: Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels (The Art of the Story)
-ROH RESPECT IS EARNED II: Tyler Black (Stealing the Spotlight …Again)
-TNA HARD JUSTICE: AJ Styles and Kurt Angle (Last Man Standing)
-WWE SUMMERSLAM: Hell in a Cell (Edge and Taker do it again!)
-WWE UNFORGIVEN: Unsanctioned (Jericho and Michaels Deliver Again)
-TNA NO SURRENDER: Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal (Making Chicken Cordon Bleu out of Chicken Shit)
-ROH NEW HORIZONS: Tyler Black and Bryan Danielson (Just Doing What They Do Best)
-WWE NO MERCY: HHH, HBK, Jericho and Hardy (Hey ROH New Horizons, Great Idea, Double Main Event Delivery)
-TNA BOUND FOR GLORY: Angle vs. Jarrett (You Don't Want Any Part of This Pain…)
-WWE CYBER SUNDAY: The Undertaker and The Big Show (The Big Guys Can Go)
-TNA TURNING POINT: Angle vs. Abyss (They're Going to be Sore in the Morning…)
-ROH DRIVEN: Steen and Generico (YOU FINALLY DID IT BOYS!)



And I'm out of here!