The Lava Flow - TNA Against All Odds
The Lava Flow...Random thoughts from Mauro Ranallo
Hey, at least I didn't make you wait as long as Axl Rose did to deliver "Chinese Democracy". I know it's been awhile since I last contributed to the blogosphere but beginning tonight,I will try to contribute to this website on a more regular basis.(Hey,it's not like I have a daily one hour talk radio show and 3 weekly half hour television shows to prepare for!). My latest blog features my written thoughts while watching TNA's latest PPV offering. Enjoy!
Someone in TNA creative is a huge Phil Collins fan. Last month it was "Genesis". Tonight it's "Against All Odds"...The Pyro display pins Don West to begin the show..Alex Shelly defends the X division title against Eric Young to get things started...Shelly should get a major singles push. He has charisma, talent and is proficient on the stick... Young has been neutered by his last persona (Super Eric/Scared of pyro Eric)...fantastic near falls...the out of ring antics were unnecessary...I wonder what Shelly thinks about West mentioning that he stole a page from Jay Lethal's playbook with the "Lethal Combination"...Weird finish. I didn"t like it. Seems like it was botched. Young just turned towards the referee for no reason allowing Shelly to schoolboy him for the pin
David Sahadi does a great job with TNA features.
Scott Steiner vs. Petey Williams...match ups like this inspired the appellation of AJ Styles' finishing move: "Styles clash"...It looks like a luche libre match (El Hijo de la Padre Grande vs. Mini-El Hijo de la Padre Grande..."Steiner's boring!" And "You still suck!" chants at Scott Steiner...Main Event Mafia must have taken umbrage with the chants as I lose the ppv feed for at least a minute. (Wouldn't be due to a problem in Mr. Rogers' neighborhood would it?)...Williams has been watching tapes of Chris Jericho as he executes the "codebreaker"..."Steiner Recliner". Apt name since his performances these days put one in a state of repose...Steiner pulls out the "Steiner Screwdriver" (piledriver) for the win...Steiner on the stick is like a child playing with matches..."Samoa Tyson" appears on the Rent a Center model of the WWE Titantron.
Mick Foley is TNA's Willie Nelson although I don't know if Foley is as environmentally friendly as Nelson
Wow that Sting promo backstage was like Baskin and Robbins' latest flavor, "Veryvanilla"
Brutus Magnus vs Chris "Hey Pigpen!" Sabin...Magnus' gimmick sucks but he has a decent look and is adequate on the stick...Crowd shows disdain for Magnus with chants of "Fire Russo!" and "Boring!"...Doesn't Russo just produce backstage segments?...Second match where finish was poorly executed. Sabin on top turnbuckle for what seemed like a Sergio Leone scene and Magnus oversold referee's push into the ropes crotching Sabin leading to the spinning samoan drop called "Tormenta" and the pinfall.Fans feel like they were being "tormented".
Hey Brother Ray, WWE legal on line one! (He said "Dudley" on a TNA telecast. Bad boy!)
Awesome Kong vs ODB (yeah you know me!)...ODB hairstyle brought to you by Medusa (and I'm not talking about Miceli) I guess if you look straight into her eyes you turn into "Stone" cold Steve Austin...If Awesome Kong delivered her finishing move to Stacy Kiebler,would it still be called the Implant buster?...Kong wins a forgettable brawl.
Shane Sewell vs Booker T for the Legends title...Sewell's ring attire is fantastic! He really stands out from the "audience"...All's well that ends Sharmell!...George Hackenschmidt vs. Frank Gotch got off to a faster start...Sewell's ref jersey has a number 27 on the back. Too bad he didn't enter the Royal Rumble...from the "This has nothing to do with this match but it's more interesting" department: Kurt Cobain,Jimi Hendrix,Jim Morrison,Brian Jones and Janis Joplin all died at the age of 27...when I was writing down this factoid, Booker with Sharmell's assistance,pinned Sewell
Cue AJ Styles appearance...the Legends title is bigger than Styles...Styles says when he grew up he didn't watch Silver Spoons. I miss that Ricky Schroeder sitcom...
Styles is livid that Michelle McCool stole his finisher...Styles vs Booker T coming soon!
LOL (laugh out loud for those of you new to the blogosphere) I am chuckling at the fact that WWE gave Matt Morgan a stuttering gimmick...I wonder how Morgan would do in MMA.
Matt Morgan vs Abyss...they take it to the crowd...Chris Jericho: " At least security in the Impact zone know how to keep the marks away from the boys!"...Morgan doing a good job of shilling his "Blueprint" tee (he wore it the whole match)... Talk about "Near-agra falls"!...I can't believe Rudy Charles wasn't nominated for an Oscar...flat finish with Abyss struggling to deliver a Black Hole Slam on Morgan leading to the pin...!" ...Abyss has passed his best before date.
Kurt Angle said "shit". Sums up the pay per view so far.
Another great feature, this one putting over Lethal Consequences tag team
Beer Money Inc vs Lethal Consequences...West commits gimmick infringement when he pulls a Ranallo (Rude beer float)...funny double team spot (Rude was in the tree of woe. Creed and Lethal ram Storm's crotch into Rude's face)...Some people think pro wrestling is homo-erotic...Beer Money show plenty of beer guts (and nefarious tactics)en route to a title retaining victory.
Sting vs Kurt Angle vs Brother Ray vs Brother Devon...this is the main event that is gonna draw a "Heroes of Wrestling" type buyrate...West with a not so subtle shot at WWE when he asks guest commentator Mick Foley,"What's it like to commentate without someone yelling in your ear?"...Sting pins Brother Ray following the Scorpion death drop...Only fitting that Sting won since paying 40 bucks to see this in HD really stung! While there was nothing overtly awful about the event, it just came across as an Impact episode with more, and not necessarily better, wrestling. Maybe I should have caught the Grammys instead. I know what Phil Collins was watching.
