wrestling / Columns

Wrestling’s 4Rs: The Right, Wrong and Ridiculous of Impact & Smackdown

January 19, 2015 | Posted by Jack McGee

How the 4Rs of wRestling Work!
Here is a quick explanation of the 4R’s. The column will run TWO times a week. We will group our 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 needs 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 and so on. And there is always a possibility of a 5th R, which is as bad as they come. 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, our goal is to analyze the show from many different fronts, reward the good and call out the bad. We will not apologize for our opinions, they are as they are, whether positive or negative.



By Jack McGee
Smackdown 1.15.15

QUICK MATCH RESULTS:
* Daniel Bryan defeated Kane via disqualification (13:00)
* The Miz, Damien Mizdow & Alicia Fox defeated The Usos & Naomi via pinfall (5:00)
* NON-TITLE MATCH: Natalya w/Paige defeated Nikki Bella w/Brie Bella via submission (2:00)
* IC TITLE MATCH: Bad News Barrett defeated Sin Cara via pinfall (3:00)
* Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose defeated Kane, Seth Rollins & Big Show via pinfall (18:00)

THE RIGHT:
The Miz, Damien Mizdow & Alicia Fox defeated The Usos & Naomi: Last week the Usos defeated Goldust and Stardust and Miz and Mizdow to retain the titles, but Miz and Mizdow did not take the pin. Also they have been working the Fox vs. Naomi dynamic, which was included here well. They had a fun little match, it was enjoyable and Miz picks up the win to ensure the title shot at the Rumble. I also expect more from Fox and Naomi, so overall this was a fine, but short match, and the booking made sense to me. No issues here.

Heyman and Rollins Talk: This was a very good week for the evolution of Seth Rollins. At times, I have felt that his promo work has been repetitive and lacking. On Monday he took a big step forward when he stepped up to Paul Heyman, and on Thursday he did it again. What is there to say about Paul Heyman? The man is great, he gets it and he delivers week in and out. They all aren’t homeruns, but he’s easily the best promo guy in the business and always gets my attention. I felt that Rollins again did very well, and they are doing a good job building the layers and teases to Heyman going with Rollins. And for those that think it is completely out of the question, Heyman has turned on Lesnar in the past (to go with Show). This was a great segment, and I hope that they pay it off with Lesnar actually questioning all of the bullshit Heyman is delivering in order to keep his ass safe.

Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose defeated Kane, Seth Rollins & Big Show: If WWE does one thing right, it’s usually the six-man tag match. Usually no matter who they put in there, they have a good match and this was another example of that. I liked the match, which was set up via the Teddy long method of booking, and Daniel Bryan got the hot tag, which is always fun. Bryan getting the clean win was also the right call his first night back. Also, as much as I do not want to see more Kane vs. Bryan matches, I felt that overall the booking makes sense. Bryan was “taken out by Kane” in storyline, which means that Bryan wants revenge and still has issues with the Authority. Triple H is back to fucking with Bryan, and they also set up the Bryan vs. Kane rematch for next week; giving fans a reason to tune in with the stipulation added regarding the Rumble. It’s not perfect, but it worked and makes sense.

puRgatoRy:
Daniel Bryan vs. Kane: Daniel Bryan vs. Kane kicked off the show this week. Overall I felt that the match was fine. They worked well together, and I thought Bryan did well in his return. He wasn’t nearly as crisp as he usually is, but he’s been away for 9-months, which is to be expected. For as much as I am not a fan of Kane these days, he does work well with Bryan and Bryan knows how to sell Kane’s offense well. But one thing I really hate is a match like this that goes 13-minutes, you’re getting invested, and we get hit with the DQ finish. I get why they did it (to book the main event and the rematch for next week) but if you’re going to do the DQ, cut off some time so that I don’t feel that I wasted my time. Here’s an idea, GIVE THE EXTRA TIME TO THE LADIES SO THAT THEY CAN ACTUALLTY WORK A REAL FUCKING MATCH! But I digress…

Little Interviews Hyping The Rumble: During the show, they did several short interviews with some of the stars appearing in the Rumble match. Wyatt, Ambrose, Show, Kane and Reigns all did some talking about why they think they will win the big match on January 26th. I appreciate the interviews to build up the PPV, but overall I felt that they ended up being throw away segments in that they really weren’t all that good. I didn’t think that they were bad, but I felt that they were extremely average and didn’t feel that they had a ton of passion behind them.

THE wRong:
Bad News Barrett defeated Sin Cara: Following last week’s loss to Sin Cara, Bad News Barrett defended the title this week against the man that defeated him. They did another short match, Barrett got the win and we continue with the 50/50 booking that WWE loves so much that exists to now allow anyone to become a star. Barrett never should have lost last week, just days after winning his title, and no I did not care about the half ass, “Barrett told the App that he celebrated too much and took Sin Cara too lightly”. That was a lazy excuse, done after the fact. Barrett should have ran through Cara last week, and then should have ran through another goof this week. While the way he won the title was dubious, they did hype that he never lost the title due to his injury. Let him look strong against guys like Sin Cara and such, so that when Ziggler does come back, Barrett looks strong, but we all know that Ziggler had beat him prior to getting screwed out of the title. Then people may actually care about the program. Also, last week commenter “J-Mo” stated “C’Mon, man. Ziggles is under the hood. First day watching the product?”. That made way too much sense man, which is why I knew that it wouldn’t happen. Congratulations, you join the club of people smarter than the 30-member WWE writing staff and Vince McMahon.

THE Ridiculous:
Natalya w/Paige defeated Nikki Bella: Last week I discussed the booking of the Divas and wrote the following:

“The booking of the WWE divas division continues to be a complete joke. How are they supposed to put on anything resembling a competent match in 85 seconds? How are the crowd supposed to ever get emotionally invested in these ladies when they are working 85 second matches? It’s horrible and a complete embarrassment that they are still treated this way, and that the WWE brain trust is completely happy booking them this way. They are on TV and that all that matters, because they only serve to be an 85 second commercial for Total Divas. Remember, we have to promote Total Divas at all costs, forget the women in the ring; they get AN HOUR OF TV TIME on Sundays on E! FUCK YEAH that’s the real push. What bullshit.”

Substitute 120 seconds for 85, and you have my feelings for this week. I wish that they actually cared about women’s wrestling.

The 411:

I was not a fan at all of last week’s show. It simply was not good, and was not worth anyone’s time to watch. This show was certainly an improvement, and felt as if it had some actual life to it with the return of Daniel Bryan to the ring. Many of the basic problems still exist (50/50 booking of secondary champions/not caring about the women) but overall I felt that the show was fine. Hell, anything would be appreciated after last week’s effort.

Show Rating: 6.0

As a reminder, I will be going by the 411 scale…

0 – 0.9: Torture
1 – 1.9: Extremely Horrendous
2 – 2.9: Very Bad
3 – 3.9: Bad
4 – 4.9: Poor
5 – 5.9: Not So Good
6 – 6.9: Average
7 – 7.9: Good
8 – 8.9:Very Good
9 – 9.9: Amazing
10: Virtually Perfect

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By Jericho Ricardi
Impact 1.16.15

QUICK MATCH RESULTS:
* Samoa Joe def. Kurt Angle at 6:00 via submission (Kokina Clutch)
* The Hardy Boys def. The Wolves at 10:00 via pin (Super Twist of Fate)
* Eric Young def. Bobby Roode at 10:00 via pin (Piledriver on a chair)
* The Beautiful People def. Taryn Terrell and Brooke Tessmacher at 2:00 via pin (Sky rolls up Brooke)
* Low Ki def. Austin Aries at 7:00 via pin (Ki Crusher) to win the X-Division Title

THE RIGHT:
Matthews and Taz taking us behind the scenes: This was an interesting intro, where Josh Matthews ran down the various changes in presentation for the show. He noted “dynamic lighting that puts the focus on the matches” and while I appreciate what they’re going for, I still think that we live in an era where the crowd needs to be lit. This would have been fine in the 80’s, but the crowd is now almost as big a part of the show as the wrestlers. Also, dynamic lighting opens the company up to people who want to trash them with “it’s dark because there’s nobody in attendance” nonsense. Then again, it lets the rest of us make Chrono Trigger jokes.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic
“Hey, no one here. This must be…the End of Time.”

Beat Down Clan ain’t nothing to mess with: It’s good that MVP’s group finally has a name, and they went over strong tonight by winning all of their matches. I do question having their leader lose to Kurt Angle last week in an impromptu, unnecessary match, but whatever. A lot of people are saying that BDC is a stupid name, and they’re not wrong. Thing is, you’re supposed to not like these guys, so if you think that their group is annoying and has a dumb name and MVP doesn’t deserve to be anywhere near the title… then they’re doing their job. I will, however, echo my worries last week that the BDC will pretty much overshadow The Revolution as the big heel clique. Hopefully both groups can manage to simultaneously be presented as threats going forward. Or, at the very least, Storm’s group can quietly rise while the BDC and the Good Guys are locked in combat. Hopefully the company has a plan. I’d like to see a Wyatt Family Vs. Shield dynamic at some point with BDC taking on The Revolution.

Majin Eric Young: They explained the EY turn the way I figured they would – he isn’t part of the BDC, but he has issues with Bobby Roode. These issues were well explained and made sense, as he cited continuity that we may not remember offhand. For instance, the way Roode didn’t immediately offer EY a title shot when he won the title, despite that EY had done that for him. Attention to detail like that goes a long way in winning audience trust for the company in general. EY’s new look and new music were good touches, as well. I’m not thrilled with EY turning heel when he was so liked by the fans, but it could be argued that he didn’t really have anything else to do as a good guy.

New Music: The BDC have great new music. EY has a great new heel-ish theme. The rap that seems to be opening the shows now is really catchy and atmospheric. Hopefully they’ll continue to introduce more catchy new themes, given how largely forgettable TNA wrestler themes have been for the most part.

Hardys Vs. Wolves: These two teams left it all in the ring. Match of the night, without a doubt. Good job by the announcers emphasizing that the Hardys have won every major tag team title in the business aside from the TNA Tag Team Titles, and the buildup to their match with the Revolution is off to a good start.

EC3 hijacks the cameras: This segment had a lot of potential, especially if Ethan had continued to hijack the show. A lot of people seem to have an issue with Ethan feuding with Borash, but it makes sense given than Ethan is currently injured. At least they’re keeping him on TV at all. Great job by the man himself as always, threatening to take pensions away if the staff made him angry. The One Percenter is the douchey heel that wrestling needs.

Low Ki Vs. Austin Aries: Another snappy match with these two. I wasn’t happy with the interference or the odds being stacked against Aries, but again, that’s the point. Aries played this perfectly, with a completely different demeanor from what he had last week. Rather than showing up for an honorable duel, he showed up totally on guard, with the look of a man walking into a lion’s den.

Knockouts: I’m not keen on the idea of Brooke Tessmacher (the most shapely woman in wrestling) getting pinned by The Beautiful People in her first match back. Honestly, I thought that by now she’d be the company’s signature female. …but at least the champion didn’t get pinned. That said, all in all the Knockouts scene landed in The Right for this episode. Neither good or bad, the tag match was… there, and Awesome Kong’s decimation of TBP afterwards was a treat. AK Vs. Havok is going to be a clash of the titans the likes of which we’ve never seen before in mainstream American women’s wrestling, at least not with personalities as compelling as these two. Like I said last week, I just wish it were over the title.

The final segment: I’m glad they didn’t drag out the Lashley/MVP tension for weeks and weeks. We got confirmation of what we already thought we knew, that Lashley doesn’t appreciate MVP and the BDC trying to lord over him when he’s the champion. I for one welcome Lashley to the side of good, as he was in my view one of the best wrestlers of 2014. Certainly the most well-booked champion in American wrestling, improved by leaps and bounds as a wrestler, and put on some great matches (especially with Roode). I’m amazed that he didn’t get any representation in the 411 Wrestler of the Year Awards, but that’s my fault for not participating. The only downside to Lashley? He still can’t talk (and shouldn’t)…but he kinda had to tonight. My sole complaint about the closing segment is that EY was there. The wrestlers and announcers kept pushing that EY isn’t part of BDC and only allied with them because he despises Roode… so why was he out there with them every time they came out? I get the story that they’re trying to tell, but don’t confuse people.

puRgatoRy:
Joe Vs. Angle: Remember when this was the biggest match the company could possibly put on, and the feud resulted in their biggest buyrates in history? Yeah. Now it just sorta gets thrown out there with no buildup. Matter of fact, this is the second week in a row where Kurt Angle – who should be a HUGE DEAL the times that he wrestles – went out and wrestled with no buildup or fanfare. It’s encouraging that Samoa Joe got the win (I was certain he wouldn’t), but they should be using Angle sparingly at the moment. At the very least, hype him a week in advance. This isn’t just from a standpoint of me wanting the company to make good business decisions (I’m not a shareholder). It’s from the standpoint of me wanting time to get excited as a fan. Make us wait for stuff, TNA. Also, it may not have much bearing on this show, but I want to re-iterate that Angle defeating MVP last week was counterproductive to the max.

Eric Young Vs. Bobby Roode: This match was fine and EY winning put him over strongly, but why did they just throw this match out on Impact? Why not build to it for a little while, give us a story, and make it mean something? They had a perfect opportunity here to tell an emotional tale as Roode tries to communicate with EY but ultimately has no choice but to get revenge on him for his bastardly actions. Instead it was like they went through a month or more of story in one night and I don’t know where it goes from here.

Dual-Screens: We didn’t really need to see the announcers as often as we did. Or the guy opening the door to Lashley’s room, only to find it empty. I get what they’re going for with the realistic/MMA type aspects of the show now. It’s what Paul Heyman suggested they do a couple years ago. But don’t take focus off of the matches like this unless something catastrophic is happening backstage.

Backstage stuff in general: The jury is out on most of the show’s new style. It’s a bit early to be making any strong assessments, but so far it feels very fresh. I particularly liked James Storm’s promo with Koya, which instantly made Koya interesting. However, did we really need to see Manik bringing the cameraman in to shoot the promo? No. We also didn’t need to see Dave Lagana giving cues to Taz and Matthews. The backstage/reality focus of the show could be a cutting edge thing moving forward, but we don’t want to waste people’s time either. Less seeing the TNA staff setting things up, more of the other stuff. Backstage skits that don’t look staged made this feel more like a regular TV show than a wrestling program has felt in ages. I don’t know if that’s necessarily a good thing or not. Then again, I’m so indecisive that I chanted “Let’s go Cena Cena sucks” at RAW 900.

THE wRong:
Lashley Speaks: Lashley shouldn’t speak. Ever. He’s in the Roman Reigns category of “let this guy speak with his fists rather than pigeonhole him into a speaking role meant for somebody else”.

The Lighting: I talked about this a bit already, but I’m not on board with the dynamic lighting. I know it’s a stylistic choice and something that New Japan and ROH have done effectively. However, I feel like TNA isn’t the kind of “pure wrestling” show as those guys. It’s skewed more towards the Americanized over-the-top entertainment of things like WWE/ECW. And the crowd is super-important in those cases, as it is in TNA. You could have the rowdiest Manhattan crowd ever, but if the viewers at home can’t see them, it’s a waste. As a part of that rowdy crowd, I think they made a mistake here.

THE Ridiculous:
NOTHING

The 411:

Good show, with the focus on the Beat Down Clan (ain’t nothin’ to mess with) as it should have been. They got wins across the board, while Storm’s previously ascendant heel group was nowhere to be found. I’ll take a wait and see approach on the development of these stories. At this point I’m hoping for a three-way faction war to erupt by spring, or something equally exciting.

Most of the main players in the Knockouts Division right now are playing well-defined roles: TBP as clueless, narcissistic teenagers trapped in adult bodies, Gail Kim as the pure wrestler, Awesome Kong as the unstoppable force, and Havok as the evil unstoppable force. Taryn, on the other hand, is starting to fall by the wayside in terms of personality and character development, and Brooke needs to play some catch-up on reminding people of why they should care. Some repair-work on the two of them is needed, and a feud over the title (while Havok and AK are occupied with each other) might do the trick. Too bad Tessmacher lost momentum tonight.

As far as next week goes, I’m not happy to see Feast or Fired return. It’s an interesting concept, but the fact that one of the four winners gets fired makes it impossible to cheer for anybody you like to win the match. It seems like they only bring this match out when someone is leaving the company; my guess is Magnus since he has barely been around for a while as is.

Looking forward to seeing Koya’s debut, and the show did a good job this week in making me want to tune in and see what happens next.

Cheap plug time, support this site and this column by sharing it with your homies. Also, support my site Coronajumper.com by reading my musings on video games, including TNA Impact for the PS2/PS3. Featuring gratuitous Rebel.

Show Rating: 7.0

As a reminder, I will be going by the 411 scale…

0 – 0.9: Torture
1 – 1.9: Extremely Horrendous
2 – 2.9: Very Bad
3 – 3.9: Bad
4 – 4.9: Poor
5 – 5.9: Not So Good
6 – 6.9: Average
7 – 7.9: Good
8 – 8.9:Very Good
9 – 9.9: Amazing
10: Virtually Perfect

The 957th edition is over…

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Well that seemed uncalled for…