WWE Great American Bash

Last Sunday's Great American Bash was already a tough sell, when you consider that Smackdown has a roster decimated by injuries and talents raids. But when you throw in the atrocious booking and storylines that have held back so many talented wrestlers from showing their full potential, not to mention have resulted in a world champion who can never win and then it's hardly surprising that the GAB was not expected to break it's habit of being the worst drawing pay per view of the year. However things were looking better during the build thanks to the return of Batista and Ken Kennedy as well as the development of guys like Mark Henry, Bobby Lashley and Fit Finaly into a strong role on the brand in their absence. Unfortunately things were to take a turn for the worse when one of those few positives, Mark Henry, would injur his knee just 6 days before the show and require the main event to be completely re-booked. But that's not all. Just when things looked like they couldn't get any worse, WWE's wellness program flagged up several wrestlers with health issues and as a result Bobby Lashley, The Great Khali and Super Crazy were all told they were unable to compete on the show.


This makes judging the Great American Bash something of a tricky task. On paper, the card was not great to begin with and these last minute changes meant that two of the top angles had to be rebooked, as well as two of the main undercard matches. As a result, the show had an incredibly disjointed feel and some of the matches just made no sense whatsoever. However, as a long term move for the company this can only be regarded as a good thing as it means that the Wellness program is taking effect and doing some good, as in days gone by, talent would have been expected to work though these potentially dangerous health issues and beyond without any time-off to recover.

Therefore as it came time for the show to start, it could have gone one of two ways. If we were lucky, the powers-that-be in WWE would have completely thrown out large chunks of the card and we could have at least gotten an interesting wrestling card with some entertaining matches on it. Instead they tried to fudge it as best they could and paper over the cracks with, what they no doubt saw as clever little plot devices. Unfortunately this left a lot of the casual fans who had no idea what was going on and left the rest of us shaking our heads with bewilderment as they flipped from real-world to kayfabe on a minute to minute basis (Lashley was announced as having elevated liver enzymes and this was part of an angle, while Khali and Crazy were just pulled from their matches with no reason given) and ended up as a complete mess of a show which was definitely not worth the now increased price of $40.

Despite hard work from all those involved, none of the matches really managed to get out of second gear. Kendrick/London and Kash/Noble had a solid tag match, but it lacked the high flying or great wrestling that all 4 men are capable of. Finlay and Regal had a decent enough match, but when both men are heels and the whole storyline for the match was supposed to be them teaming up against Bobby Lashley then it just doesn't work. (Not to mention the whole leprechaun gimmick just isn't funny). I was hoping for a repeat of the fantastic Benoit vs. Finlay match from a couple of months ago here, however with the shoddy booking this was just never going to happen and the crowd, unfortunately turned on these 2 talented workers who deserve better.

By the time we reached the cruiserweight title match between Matt Hardy and Gregory Helms, it was going to take a miracle to rescue this show and unfortunately for the two men involved here, this match typified the evening when it comes to the shambolic nature of WWE right now. Despite the build for this match being based around Psicosis and Super Crazy's feud as a result of the break up of the Mexicools, Crazy was pulled from the match before it was even announced and Matt Hardy (who was originally in line for a match with Mr Kennedy) was put in his place. With Hardy and Helms' history coming up together in the Carolina indie scene, you would have thought this could have been a show-stealing match. However when the commentators point out that Matt Hardy is actually too heavy to be a cruiserweight (despite being a former CW champ) then the match loses all meaning and effectively all purpose. In the end, these two went through the motions and the final match that could have saved the show was over and things could only get worse from here on in as the Divas and Punjabi Prison matches were still to come.

However before we get there, I'd like to take a minute to address what was perhaps the biggest problem of the whole show, that being the commentary. When Michael Cole and Tazz were behind the commentary desk, they were the best in the business. Even when the show was wretched they would do their best and at least made it no worse than it already was. However JBL is just horrid as a colour man and did more damage than he did good throughout the entire show. Whether he was trying to get himself over at the expense of the talent, constantly contradicting himself, or just plain repeating the same tired old cliches again and again, Bradshaw was just terrible - which in turn put Cole off and dragged him down as well. If Bradshaw is going to continue, he needs to work out just what his announcing character is going to be and stick with it. One minute he was JBL the heel wrestler, then he was John Layfield the retired wrestler and the next he was the annoying goof who you get stuck behind you at a show who makes crass and irrelevant comments through out the show, ruining it for all those around him. On a weak show, to have an inexperienced announce team just made the whole thing that much more painful to watch.

With that off my chest, we come to the final third of the show which, despite being the most affected by the talent cuts, ended up as perhaps the most entertaining (with the exception of the Diva's match which was just wretched!). By having Big Show substitute for Khali in the Punjabi Prison match, it at least meant we were in for a good brawl as Show has been on a roll since moving over to the ECW brand. Lots of blood and plunder made this a pretty decent big man match, however overly complicated rules and a goofy finish with Taker and Show falling through the cage wall prevented it from being better than many people had ever thought it would be.

Batista vs. Kennedy was a glorified squash, which put Batista over as a monster as a result of the DQ finish. Screwy finishes are often dangerous territory to get into when you want both men to come out of the match unbeaten, however the bloody nature of the match meant that Batista came out of it as a total monster, while Kennedy was not completely humiliated as a result. Unfortunately his generally poor performance in the ring (combined with a really underwhelming entrance) did that for him and there is still a long way to go with Mr Kennedy before he becomes a genuine main-eventer.


So by the time we got to the main event, it was something of a relief that the men involved were not horrible workers and that this might actually have the potential to be half decent. Ignoring the fact that Booker has earned himself a title shot, despite loosing to Bobby Lashley at least 3 times on TV, the King Booker gimmick has given a new lease of life to the 5-time WCW champ. Finally getting the main event push he should have had back in 2001, this match also saw WWE finally pull the trigger on the Chavo Guerrero heel turn as he cost Rey the match by nailing him with a chair, allowing Booker to get the pin and the belt. Although this will lead to a resurgence of the 'Eddie-storyline' which has been the main focus of Rey's underdog title reign, at least this allows Rey and Chavo a main event level program and their matches have always been very strong. It's just a shame that both men have had to be given this push as a result of Eddie's death. I could go on for ages about how insensitive this is and how it belittles Eddie's legacy as well as blurring the line between reality and 'wrestling reality' to the point that it is no longer there. However this is the direction they have chosen to go in and I just hope that both men are able to get a modicum of success out of this without tarnishing their relationship with the remaining members of the Guerrero family who are not caught up in the WWE circus.

Overall verdict: D+
"A weak card, made worse by the medical issues. Putting aside the positives that the implementation of the Wellness program is going to make to the life of the wrestlers, this was a poor show, which lacked any really memorable moments (perhaps with the exception of Booker's title win). With such a state of upheaval going into it, this either could have been a straight wrestling show with some fun matches on or a half-baked mish-mash of half finished angles and incomplete storylines. Unfortunately, WWE's constant obsession with blurring the lines between reality and the WWE world, meant we got the latter and so despite some strong work from all involved, the show lacked any kind of real entertainment that would elevate it above an average episode of Smackdown."

Looking back at Generation Next

This weekend saw the final match of one of Ring of Honor's most succesful stables, Generation Next as they teamed against the new generation of Davey Richards, Jerelle Clark and Irish Airborne (Jake and Dave Crist).

Generation Next was formed in the Spring of 2004 and originally comprised Alex Shelley, Austin Aries, Roderick Strong and Jack Evans. These four had all worked together on various east coast indies, as well as making a name for themsleves in CZW, IWA Mid South and on ROH undercards. However they had yet to breakthrough on to the main ROH roster, but that was until 5/22/04 and the the Generation Next show in Philadephia.


With TNA prohibiting many of it's big name stars like AJ Styles and Chris Daniels from working ROH after the 'Feinstein scandal' earlier in the year, ROH needed to create new stars and so booked a show based on the idea of allowing the next generation of ROH superstars to get a foot on the ladder. The original plan for the Generation Next show was to have 4 singles matches featuring young up and coming talent, which the fans could then vote on to decide which match they liked best. However, Shelly, Aries and co. decided to hijack the show and take their spots by force rather than rely on earning the fans approval. In the course of their first show, GenNext would target the Christopher Street Connection, Izzy, Dixie and Hydro of Special K as well as John Walters, Jimmy Rave and the Briscoes. The match which resulted from them taking on this final foursome would go for 40+ minutes and would go down as one of the very best multi-person tag matches in the company history and is still regarded as an all-time classic ROH match. GenNext had arrived and no-one was safe.

As ROH re-established itself following the departure of the TNA talent, GenNext would become the backbone of the company and the building blocks which booker Gabe Sapolsky would use to re-build ROH as a force in independent wrestling. As the first new generation of talent to come through ROH's doors since it's inception in 2002, it was up to GenNext to take on the mantle of those early ROH mainstays like AJ Styles, Chris Daniels, Low-ki and Bryan Danielson and keep the company going. While it was Samoa Joe and CM Punk who were gaining all the plaudits for their 60 minute matches, it was GenNext who were keeping the undercard from going stale by having great match after great match. In their first year they feuded with everyone from ROH Pure Champion Doug Williams, to the Second City Saints of CM Punk and Colt Cabana, to legendary figures such as Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat. Despite being arrogant heels, GenNext would earn the respect of the ROH fans thanks to their phenomenal matches and it would only be a matter of time before they would become crowd favourites.

As 2004 drew to a close, it would be a crucial time for the group. From the beginning their mantra had been that they would stick together as a group, only until they had secured the top spots in the company and with it, the championship gold that would give them the power they craved. So, as Austin Aries earned himself a world title shot against Samoa Joe at Final Battle 2004 it was make or break time for GenNext. Despite Shelley achieving strong support from the ROH fans, it was Aries who had risen to the top thanks to his epic matches with Bryan Danielson, including a 75+minute 2/3 falls match in August. With a world title match which he believed was his for the winning, Aries turned on Shelley at Final Battle and ejected him from the group. He would go on that evening to get the upset win over Samoa Joe and end the longest championship reign in ROH history. With the gold and the power secured, Aries persuaded Strong and Evans to join him and the second phase of GenNext's existance would begin.

As a result of Shelley's behaviour towards the ROH roster during his time in GeNext, he struggled to find any allies for his pursuit of Aries and the World Title and so would have to go it alone. Building to a world title match at Manhatten Mayhem, Shelley would struggle in vein to compete with the group he had started. As Shelley persued the world title, Aries would undergo a gruelling schedule of title defences as he tried to establish himself as a champion in his own right and get out from under the shadow of Samoa Joe's epic championship reign. Despite strong title matches against Colt Cabana, Homicide,Bryan Danielson and James Gibson, Aries would ultimately lose the belt to CM Punk and be faced with a much more potent opposition for the remainder of 2005.

Having failed to earn the repect of the ROH lockeroom, Shelley decided to go back to what made him succesful in the first place and joined up with the Embassy of Jimmy Rave and Price Nana. Proclaiming that he hadn't 'sold out' he had in fact 'bought in', Shelley aligned himself with a group who were on the rise after many months of being a mid-card comedy act. Thanks to Rave's feuds with AJ Styles and CM Punk, the Embassy were close to over hauling GenNext's position as the top heel faction in ROH and so Shelley saw his oppurunity to get his revenge. The ensuing matches between the two factions would see both sides recruit new additions to the group to sustain the increasingly violent and bloody encounters between the two factions. For GenNext they would recruit up and comer Matt Sydal as well as form a short term alliance with AJ Styles, while Prince Nana would recruit the monster Abyss as his enforcer as well as bring in part-time members like Spanky. The feud would culminate in a bloody Steelcage Warfare match in December of 2005 and would see the members of both sides secure their positions as genuine top players in ROH as a result of this match and feud - as well as Generation Next becoming the top babyface stable now that the Second City Saints had gone on hiatus with the departure of CM Punk to WWE.

As 2005 became 2006, new ROH commissioner Jim Cornette would look to put a greater emphasis on the tag division in ROH and so, despite Evans and Strong being the tag team of choice for GenNext, it would be the team of Aries and Strong who would finally secure tag team gold for the group. Roderick Strong had been the break out star for ROH in 2005 as a result of some phenomenal singles matches against AJ Styles, CM Punk, Matt Hardy and Bryan Danielson (as well as winning the 2005 Survival of the Fittest, deafeating Aries in the final). However it was his teaming with Aries that would cap-off his phenomenal run and cement his spot at the top of the card once and for all. At the time of writing this, the pairing of Aries and Strong have become the longest reigning tag champs in ROH history, putting on some outstanding matches against the likes of the Briscoes, old rivals the Embassy, the Rottwielers as well as Cima and Doi of the Dragongate promotion in Japan. However, perhaps the most unlikely opponent they would have to face would be their own stablemate, Matt Sydal. Despite earning his GenNext stripes in the war with the Embassy, Sydal was persuaded to side against his teammates by his mentor AJ Styles which would lead to an outstanding tag team contest that would headline the Fourth Anniversary show in March of 2006.


Despite the possibility of a GenNext split developing as a result of Sydal's desire for gold, (he would also go on to team with Samoa Joe against Aries and Strong) the group approaches this weekend's final match as strong as ever. All four members have been courted by the DragonGate promotion in Japan, while Strong and Aries have also worked for TNA alongside Alex Shelley. As all 4 current members of GenNext return for one last match it will be interesting to see what will happen to these guys now that they are no longer grouped together under the GenNext banner. Will Sydal and Evans attempt to set up a rival group or will another band of young up and comers rise take on their title of the new generation? Certainly their final opposition of Davey Richards, the Crist Brothers and Jerelle Clark could more than take on the mantle. However would they have the success that the original four members have gone on to achieve? Who knows. Certainly, when GenNext was formed in 2004, no-one knew just how succesful these four would go on to be. As the spectre of TNA and other promotions such as Dragon Gate pulling talent away from ROH looms once more, this time it is the likes of Shelley, Aries and Strong who will be the ones making way for the new generation. Lets hope that the next generation of talent who comes along and takes their spots will achieve the kind of long lasting legacy that the original four have. If they do, then ROH is in a very strong position in the months and years to come. And you know this..................man!

TNA Victory Road 2006

Over the past months, TNA has lost a lot of it's sizzle and this month's Victory Road pay per view was a prime example of this. After a strong showing last month, Victory Road lacked that blow-away match or angle that the fans would talk about and at the end of the day failed to elevate itself above average in all respects.


The main problem with the show was the return to the Jeff Jarrett vs. Sting angle which they have building on ever since Sting debuted at the end of last year. One of the strong plusses for TNA is that they have never been afraid of a a long build for a feud and that is something that seperates them from WWE and their hotshotted angles. However, one thing WWE is often good at is reading fan reactions and changing the product accordingly - Edge winning the belt at New Years Resolution when the fans turned on John Cena for example. With Sting and Jarrett, the problem is not that this feud won't deliver a strong angle and match, it's that this is not the feud that the majority of fans want to see at the top of the card in TNA. The over whelming support at Victory Road was for Samoa Joe. So with Joe being lined up in the main event and with a potential number one contedership in his sights, this was the moment TNA could have given him that one last push into the main event of TNA and helped create a major star. Instead, Joe was an after thought who, when you looked at it logically did not really belong in the main event as he had not been involved in the controversy at the end of the previous month's show. It also devalued Joe's unbeaten streak by putting him in another position where he didn't get pinned but didn't win either. When looked at alongside Joe's previous 'non-wins' in 3 ways against AJ/Daniels and Senshi/Dutt then Joe is all of a sudden not the unbeatable monster he is booked as. If they wanted to end the run then Senshi or Chris Sabin should have taken the X title off him. But now that he is supposedly in the NWA title picture, Joe should not be being put in a position where he is not viewed as a top guy, because he is their star of the future and they only have one shot at getting this right.

They are having similar problems with Christian Cage and this show did no favours for Captain Charisma at all. Considering this was the man who was screwed out of the title at the end of the last show thanks to Jeff Jarrett's sheanigans, you would have thought that Cage would have been a man on a mission. Instead he came off like a wuss who, when Sting broke up his potential winning pinfall, didn't even retaliate. For all the promos where he says how much the title means to him, if he doesn't act that way in the ring then his words ring hollow. He had a similar problem with the Abyss feud where he should have been looking to pummel Jim Mitchell and Abyss for interfering in his personal life but instead was happier sitting down and giving an interview. The arrival of Sting has affected Christian more than any other TNA wrestler and if they're not careful could waste a valubale oppurtunity to take advantage of a big-name former WWE superstar.

This underwhelming main event put a damper on what was an otherwise solid show. The problem with the whole show was the lack of any real blow away moment. Team 3D had a decent brawl with the James Gang and Abyss, the Naturals storyline with Shane Douglas developed and Senshi and Frankie Kazarian had an entertaining enough X Division title match - although the surprise return of Kazarian was a real anti-climax after his unceremonious deaparture at the end of last year. The highlight of last month's show was the tag title match between AJ Styles and Chris Daniels against America's Most Wanted and they attempted to repeat the success this month with a 6 person tag featuring Gail Kim and last month's problem solver Serelda. The only problem, was that what made the match so good last month was the angle involving the women as well as the 'last chance' nature of the storyline. Unfortunately this was missing this time around, and despite adding in the tease of an AMW split, this match failed to find the top gear that last month's encounter build to so well.

Ironically, for a company that has prided itself on wrestling over entertainment, TNA has managed to hit on 2 angles which have provided for some unexpected comedy moments and they ended up as the real highlights of the show. The Kevin Nash angle with the X Division initially seemed like a car crash waiting to happen as the 'big-man' attempted to destroy the little guys as we have seen so many times on WWE TV. However thanks to the inclusion of Alex Shelley as Nash's sidekick it has made the whole angle much more entertaining. So much so that the whole idea of Nash killing the X Division is pushed to the back of your mind as he is almost parodying his WCW persona and comes across as the deluded veteran trying to make his name at the expense of the younger stars. By including Shelley and his lackey Johnny Devine, it has allowed the opposition of Chris Sabin and Jay Lethal to get heat away from the veteran Nash and on to Shelley who plays the chicken heel that he has perfected in ROH as party of the Embassy. This allows the younger guys to work around Nash's limitations (that he cannot move in the ring because of his knackered knees) and instead allows him to cut the kind of entertaining promos that were the real reason the nWo was such a big draw in WCW.


Another faction that has often come under a, perhaps, unfair amaount of criticism has been Team Canada. This most recent angle has seen the dissolution of the group who were originally set up during the Nashville-era as a way of filling out the first World X Cup. A mainstay of the TNA tag scene, they have often suffered from a lack of personality and as such have been involved in predictable feuds that would invariably end up with Coach D'Amore and his hockey stick getting involved. However as they have broken up it has allowed for the development of Eric Young as one of the best characters in TNA. The goofy younger memeber of the Team who always went against whatever heelish antics they were up to, Young has become a fan favourite and his mis-treatment by his former team mates during the angle which played out at Victory Road helped get the fans behind him more than ever before. Eric Young is the character Eugene could have been in WWE if they hadn't rushed through the who story in a matter of weeks and over-pushed it to the point the fans hated it. How they handle him will now make or break the character, but after this show, they have a character that the fans engage with both in and out of the ring and that is a valuable commodity for a fledgling company like TNA.

Overall verdict: C-
"Lacking that one stand-out match or angle, Victory Road had that empty feeling of potential unfullfilled once it had come to an end. It was entertaining and nothing was worthy of being fast-forwarded, however there is nothing to go back and watch again. At a time when TNA need to be drawing fans in and keeping them interested in their product, this show could have put off more people than it brought in as the crown jewels that TNA has at it's disposal were not give the chance to sparkle in this instance."

The best promo of the new ECW

This week saw, without a doubt, the best promo of the new incarnation of ECW. So who was it by?

Paul Heyman? No.

CM Punk? No.

RVD? Dear god no!

It was actually done by Rhino on this week's edition of TNA Impact. In 3 minutes the last ECW champion made the brand seem more important and relevant than 4 weeks of TV on Sci Fi. Perhaps even more than the whole One Night Stand pay per view, Rhino vocalised just what ECW meant to the world of professional wrestling. In short, it represents everything that WWE is not and that is why WWECW will never succeed. It can't. The rebel promotion can never exist under the corporate umbrella of the company it is rebelling against. It's even more difficult to be rebellious when being controlled obssesively by the man who is single handedly responsible for much of what is wrong with the wrestling business in 2006.

So it is left to TNA, the little promotion that could. After 4 years of struggling to make a name for itself, many felt the arrival of ECW could spell the end for TNA as they were instantly relegated to 4th palce in the wrestling fans brand consciousness. However it seems TNA are looking to put up a fight and good for them. By being the rebel promotion that WWECW can never be, then perhaps they can find the viewers that WWECW has alienated. Certainly the reception they got in Philadelphia would suggest the fans are willing to give TNA a chance and with them putting on a strong wrestling show in the ECW arena, they did a better job of earning those fans loyalty than WWE did when it ran in the Arena.

So thank you Rhino, for saying what needed to be said. This is perhaps the most important moment in your career, let's hope you are finally allowed to be given the oppurtunity to succeed at the level you deserved ever since ECW closed in 2001. And let's hope that this is finally the storyline that can help make TNA go from glorified indie to genuine competitor for WWE. It was one hell of a way to start it.

ECW Dream matches

There's been a lot of negativity surronuding the ECW brand since it started (a lot of it coming from yours truly) but now that we pretty much know how the brand is going to be handled and what it is going to comprise of, what matches/feuds would you like to see?

For me the obvious one is Sandman vs. CM Punk. Punk could come out and be the first to avoid Sandman's weekly beatings and start a feud based on Punk's straight edge beliefs vs. Sandman's drunken antics. Punk has the potential to be the new Raven for this ECW generation and what better place for him to start than feuding with one of Raven's top rivals.

Next up I'd love to see Big Show vs. Tommy Dreamer done properly. Dreamer was the heart and soul of the old ECW and Big Show personifies the new ECW with it's strong WWE links. Dreamer could defend the honour of the old ECW and as long as he was given some offence and allowed to look like a legit threat against Big Show this could really work. Dreamer doesn't even have to win any of the matches, book it like the Raven vs. Dreamer feud and constantly have Dreamer screwed out of the win.

Sabu vs. Test. Hardly a dream match, but I think Sabu could get a lot out of Test and could give the big man the same kind of credibility that he has with his feud with Cena.

The FBI vs. Kendrick/London. Anything to give th FBI something to do! Plus Smackdown has has very little to do with the ECW crossover thus far and Kendrick and London could have some great matches with these (plus they only have one set of rivals of Smackdown since the Mexicools have been split up).

Jazz vs. Trinity. Both women can go in the ring, so why not let them?

Justin Credible vs. Balls Mahoney. Two guys who've been give the short end of the stick hus far in ECW. So why not put them together and see what happens. The cane swining credible against the chair swinging Mahoney has a lot of potential with both men being much ebtter workers than WWE has allowed them to be thus far.

Is Big Show the greatest world champion ever?

Well, his record will certainly say that because by winning the ECW heavyweight title from Rob van Dam on Tuesday night he became the first man to win the WWE, WCW and ECW heavyweight titles. Surely that makes him the greatest champ of all time? As a WCW champ he was held back by Hogan and co. As WWF champ he was almost torpedoed by an horrific angle with the Big Bossman. As WWE champ he had some awesome matches with Brock Lesnar, but suffered from the exit of Paul Heyman from the Smackdown creative team and so no here he is as ECW champ.

Benefitting from his close relationship with Paul Heyman as well as the drugs bust by RVD, Show has earned himself the enviable position of being a triple world champion. After years of unfulfilled potential perhaps now is finally the time the big man can make a name for himself. Certainly he is not the obvious choice as ECW world champion, however with the strong rodter of babyfaces that make up the new ECW roster, this actually allows for more options for the top title. Feuds with Sandman, Tommy Dreamer, Sabu and retunring RVD will make for more interesting TV than matches between existing ECW talent which we have seen before and which will never be as good as they were 10 years ago. So with this new dawn for ECW, perhaps it is time for a new breed of champ to take over the reigns in ECW and with time, perhaps Big Show will live up to his reputation as the first triple world champion in modern wrestling history.

ROH Supercard of Honor

Forget the ridculous title, this show could not have been called anything else but a supercard. Featuring one of the most loaded line-ups ROH has ever put together this show was the centre piece of the Wrestlemania triple shot weekend and features 3 matches that, come the end of the year, will be very high on every ROH fans match of the year list.

The match everyone is talking about is the Dragon Gate 6 man featuring members of the Blood Generation faction facing off against long time rivals Do Fixer. This is the match that Dave Meltzer gave 5 stars to, the match Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com referred to as a wrestling orgasm and as such, who am I to disagree. A match with this much hype rarely lives up it, but every now and again an exception to that rule comes along and this is just such an occasion. Featuring some of the most high flying, innovative wrestling the US will ever see, this is a phenomenal match. ROH fans are notriously fickle, but anytime you have so many spectacular spots that fans begin a 'please don't stop' chant, you know this has to be something special. Not even the now all too common 'this is awesome' chant could truly get started as the fans were constantly being dazzled by spectacular combination after spectacular combination.

However for many ROH fans, that was not even the best match of the night. Amongst the hardcore of ROH fans, the main event, pitching Bryan Danielson against Roderick Strong is being talked about as one of the best main events in company history. The third part of their hard-hitting series, the previous two matches have seen Strong elevated from tag team specialist to bonafide main eventer, as well as becoming one of the company's top babyface. These compliment each other perfectly as the arrogant heel champion is taken on by the ultra-white mean babyface challenger who is inevtably underestimated by the champ. However, adding an extra dimension to this feud is the arsenal of hard hitting moves that Roderick Strong brings to the table. In a lot of ways Strong is a traditional babyface in pursuit of a belt, however he also has some of the most intense chops and backbreakers in the business which gives him a real edge and creates for a fantastic dynamic. Despite going on at well past midnight, this match lasts almost to the full 60 minute time limit draw and in a lot of ways ROH were very sensible not to go the full 60 minutes with this match. The appeal is in Roderick taking Dragon to the limit, however he has to win at the end for the feud to work. Unlike Joe vs Punk a draw is noe considered precitable, but ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky has managed to keep this feud fresh and interesting despite Strong losing all their one on one encounters to date.

So there you have the media's choice and the fan's choice, however there is one other sleeper match which was almost lost in the mix on this weekend of stellar matches. That match is AJ Styles and Matt Sydal vs. Austin Aries and Jack Evans. On paper this looked a filler match as both teams treded water between Dragon Gate matches. However with the calibre of talent on offer and the new found resurgance of tag team wrestling in ROH, this match could well be as good, if not better than the Dragon Gate match. Managing to eclipse the Aries/Strong vs. Styles/Sydal match from the Fourth Anniversary and putting together a phenomenal match involving 4 of ROH's most exciting and innovative talents. The climax of the match with Styles clashing Evans on the floor, only to have Aries hit a suicide dive on Styles before Sydal hits a beautiful shooting star press on Jack Evans who had been dumped in the ring by Styles was one of the most electric finishes to a match I have ever seen proves once and for all that ROH does not need to rely on wrestlers from overseras to provide the spectacle for their shows. They allready have the talent to put on the kind of matches that personify Dragon Gate's style and as such nit is no surprise that guys like Strong, Evans, Sydal and Aries are in demand in the Orient.

Compared to these three matches, the remainder of the card could be seen as weak, however that would be unfair. There's a fun opener with the Embassy of Alex Shelley and Jimmy Rave taking on Caludio Castagnoli and Jimmy Yang. The ROH vs. CZW feud continues with Adam Pearce vs. Necro Butcher which is the inevitable brawl. Also there is a fantastic Shimmer women's match and a very 3 way match pitting Chris Daniels, Samoa Joe and Jimmy Jacobs who was deputising for the injured BJ Whitmer which doesn't make perfect sense in terms of storlyine continuity, however Jacobs excels himself and makes the most of his oppurtunity .

Overall verdict: A-
"A few weak matches and a lengthy 3+hours running stops this from being the first ROH show to get an A+ from me, however it is a darn fine call. The Dragon Gate 6 man, the world title match and the tag match are three of the best matches you will ever see and as such eclipse the rest of the card (which in itself is not poor). A lot of new ROH fans will watch this show as a result of the hype and I cannot think of a better place for them to start. This show features everything that is great about independent pro wrestling and is the perfect calling card for the ROH product."

ROH Dragon Gate Challenge

With the wrestling business being so competitive right now, Ring of Honor has managed to differentiate itself by bringing in some of the top talent from Japan. Whether it is the like of Kenta Kobashi or KENTA from Pro Wrestling NOAH or in the case of this show, the stars of the Dragon Gate promotion like Cima and Dragon Kid, it helps add to ROH shows and makes them feel more important than being just another average indie show.

So with 3 shows in 3 days over Wrestlemania weekend this March, ROH brought in 6 of the stars from Dragon Gate and put on possibly the best run of shows that the company has ever run and so quite rightly this comprises the core of the Milestone Series. Dragon Gate developed from the ashes of Ultimo Dragon's Toryumon promotion and is in many ways the Japanese equivalent of ROH. Based around high impact tag matches between rival stables, Dragon Gate fuses the best of the junior style of Japan with the lucha style of Mexico, and prides itself on being the cutting edge of wrestling in Japan, just as ROH is fast becoming in the US.

The weekend started with Dragon Gate Challenge in Detroit on the Friday and was headlined by a series of matches featuring ROH stars taking on the stars of Dragon Gate. Jimmy Yang started the show for ROH taking on Ryo Saito, while later in the evening AJ Styles and Matt Sydal took on Dragon Kid and Genki Horiguchi of the Do Fixer faction. Then, in the rubber match Generation Next of Jack Evans, Roderick Strong and Austin Aries took on the Blood Generation faction comprising Cima, Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino. All 3 of these matches really showed the fans what to expect from these Dragon Gate stars and, perhaps with the exception of the Yang vs. Saito match, would exemplify the high impact, innovative wrestling that the Dragon Gate stars would bring to ROH. Fortunately fo the health of ROH as ao company in it's own right, the ROH guys more than held their own against the stars from the Orient and produced the kind of matches that on any other show would have been matches of the year. (Not to mention earning themselves future bookings for Dragon Gate in Japan) So good were these matches over this weekend, that everytime one ended and the crowd had finished chanting 'this is awesome' another match would eclipse it and create yet another gold standard for the ROH fans to judge future matches by.

As well as the Dragon Gate stars, there were a number of important matches for current ROH stars. Samoa Joe and Chris Daniels faced off for what was billed as their final series of matches in ROH and the Friday saw the pair face off one on one for 'the last time'. Unfortunately because this feud was delayed from earlier in the year when Joe was out with a staph infection, this lacked a lot of the drama that 2 ROH legends who have been feuding for over 2 years should have garnered. I also think the Dragon Gate tag matches as well as Joe and Daniels' work in TNA also over shadowed them and, despite having some technically very strong matches, they failed to deliver the kind of matches you would expect from men of their ability.

The other major feud that would develop through the weekend would be Colt Cabana vs. Homicide. Another feud which was delayed in reaching it's climax by an injury, however by having Colt Cabana taking on Homicide in his own home territory of the mid west, it made for a real slow boiling feud that would culminate in a fantastic match at the end of the weekend. For this opening night though, a falls count anywhere match was the opening chapter of this weekend long feud and so perhaps it is unfair to say it was a dissapoint becasue looking at the bigger picture it was just the start of something really strong. However as match on it's own it didn't really go anywhere and lacked a strong finish.

In other matches the Embassy of Jimmy Rave and Alex Shelley took on ROH champion Bryan Danielson and a partner of his choice. Danielson arrogantly chose Delirious, believing he could win with any partner, even someone who has never won in ROH and this set-up an interesting story for future shows between Dragon and Delirious when the masked man lost the match for his team. The show also saw BJ Whitmer and Jimmy Jacobs escape serious injury when they fell from the top rope attempting a power bomb in a real must see/car crash type moment and the ROH vs. CZW feud also continued with appearances from Chris Hero and Necro Butcher who confronted Hero's former best friend Claudio Castagnoli.

Overall verdict: B+
"Running three shows in three days was a huge gamble for ROH and this debut show would set the tone for the weekend. Featuring a great mix of strong wrestling, some crazy brawling and some truly staggering, innovative wrestling from the Dragon Gate stars. This is often the forgotten show of the trio because of the two that would follow it, however that is perhaps unfair, as this is just as strong a show from top to bottom as any show of that weekend and in fact any show in ROH's history. A perfect place to start for any new fan looking to get into ROH and a must have for any true ROH fan."

Random ROH thoughts

1. Although everyone has been raving about the Dragon Gate 6 Man match at Supercard of Honor, some of the tag team matches involving ROH guys are just as good if not better. On any other weekend Strong/Aries vs. Blood Generation, Styles/Sydal vs. Do Fixer, Aries/Evans vs. the Briscoes and Styles/Sydal vs. The Brsicoes would be raved about as matches of the year.

2. Despite being a disappointing champion, Austin Aries might be the top babyface in ROH right now. The fans just love him and his work is more than keeping up with his popularity.

3. Does anyone hit a hot tag better than Roderick Strong?

4. There will never be another Samoa Joe in ROH. He truly is the heart and soul of the company. Having him involved in the ROH vs. CZW feud really shows that it is something the fans should care about and not just a mid card feud.

5. Bryan Danielson might just be the perfect world champion. You love to hate him because of his supreme arrogance, but also love to watch him wrestle (whether it be him stretching someone like Jack Evans or getting a beating from Roderick Strong).

6. Samoa Joe vs. Bryan Danielson will be all kinds of fantastic when it happens. The slow build is just whetting the fans appetitie right now.

7. Colt Cabana vs. Bryan Danielson going for 2/3 falls in Chicago in August could well see the first title switch of 2006. Cabana has been on such a roll this past year, he deserves to be champ.

8. Who thought BJ Whitmer would become a top level guy? Whether it's his sacrificial lamb role in the ROH vs. CZW feud or his crazy rivalry with Jimmy Jacobs, a BJ Whitmer match is no longer a reason to hit the fast forward button.

9. Davey Richards is the next big ROH star.

10. Now that TNA have their X Division rankings system which concepts will they steal from ROH next? Let's hope it's not a talent raid and a ban on TNA guys working ROH.

ECW returns to Philapdelphia

In principle it seemed like the obvious thing to do, take ECW back to the city where it was born. Not just that though, take it back to the very bingo hall where it all began. After all, TNA and countless indie companies from ROH and CZW to IWA MS and 3PW had all relied on the lure of the Viking Hall faithful to give their show credibility, so why shouldn't the rightful owners of the ECW legacy?

If only it was that simple. Bringing WWECW to Philly is like adding petrol to a still simmering barbecue - on a windy day!! This was too volatile and unpredictable a mix for WWE to ever expect to control and as such they got burnt. Whether it was the boos for WWE defectors like Kurt Angle and Big Show or the rejection of bastardized version of ECW favourites like the theme tune-less Sandman and the forgotten Tommy Dreamer. WWE have been fortunate thus far by running their TV in venues populated by WWE fans watching Smackdown or by running in venues like the Hammerstein Ballroom where they put the ticket price up high enough that they could keep out the riff raff. If ECW is going to be a lasting concern, then they are going to have to run the traditional ECW markets where fans are going to be less accepting of a neutered version of their hardcore icons and so WWE will have to work hard to try and get those fans to be loyal as it is those dedicated fans who are willing to spend the money that will stop ECW from being another XFL.

The only plus side of this show was the debut of CM Punk and the return of Stevie Richards. The ECW faithful embraced Punk as one of their own in a way that Angle and Big Show never will. Punk is the ultimate outsider as a result his straight edge beliefs and his 'king of the indie' reputation. But isn't being an outsider what ECW was all about. If any of the New Breed of ECW are going to make an impact it is Punk, so let's hope this is continued on to TV on Sci Fi this week and we don't see him fed to Big Show or dressed as an alien only to be caned by the Sandman.

TNA Slammiversary 2006

As I outlined in my preview thoughts, this was possibly the most important show since TNA debuted on Spike TV and fortunately they managed to take all of their strengths and score a positive result with nearly all their matches. After a week, or is it perhaps a month, of mised oppurtunities by WWE with the relaunch of the ECW brand, TNA managed to reverse the trend of their past few months worth of their pay per views and put on a show with loads more plusses than minuses. However, perhaps more importantly they put on a fun show full of great wrestling, not the ego trip of a 60 year old man who likes to exposed his backside on national TV.

The show started off with an all out brawl between the James Gang and Team 3D. Putting these guys on first was a great way of building on the buzz from the Philapelphia house show as well as giving the middle finger to WWE by using the one duo the new ECW could really have done with. Although the match started slowly, it built well with both teams working hard. Where TNA go with the James Gang next is a mystery as the glow on their star is certainly dimming. However the former Dudleyz really showed that they are still a potent force when given the chance and should be the team which TNA use as the backbone of their tag division. But more of that later.

After this high impact start, TNA brought the crowd down with a long winded Jeff Jarett promo and then followed it up with the only poor match on the card as Rhino took on Bobby Roode and Scott D'Amore in a handicap match that was way too long and far too meanigless for all but the most dedicated Rhino or Roode fan to care about. For the past two shows this was where the show began to sag and never really got it's momentum back. However fortunately this was not the case tonight. On the plus side though, Rhino got the win and hopefully he will return to the main event picture before too long. Roode did his part well, however the Team Canada/Scott D'Amore gimmick has gotten tired and desperately needs a rest from TV.

The state of the X Division at Slammiversary was a matter of hot debate going in as a result of the often ludicrous Kevin Nash vs. Chris Sabin storyline. However they counter balanced this well by putting on a 6 man X Division match that would determine the top 6 contenders to the X title involving exciting young guys like Senshi, Jay Lethal and Alex Shelley. Not content with simply raiding ROH's talent, they also stole their top 5 rankings system for this match, however thanks to the fact that this match was given plenty of time to shine, all but the most ardent ROH fan could find reason to complain about it. All 6 men got enough time to do their moves and get over with the fans and by putting it on just before the Nash vs. Sabin match which had the potential to do so much damage to the X Division, they managed to show off just what the X Division was all about to the point that you almost forgot what a stupid angle the Nash one is.

Speaking of which, the Sabin vs. Nash match itself was a lot better than many of us dreaded, with Sabin getting lots of offence in before Alex Shelley interfered and cost Sabin the win. In wrestling terms this makes sense as Nash is the heel and Sabin needs to chase his win against the bigger name (not to mention it opens the door for a Sabin vs. Shelley feud), however that doesn't stop you from wondering just what the whole point of this feud is at times.

Having said that though, the quality of matches which preceded and followed it meant that the mood could not be brought down by this goofy angle. Following this X Division action came the X Division Dream Team of Chris Daniels and AJ Styles taking on NWA tag champs America's Most Wanted. After a couple of early meetings that were close to good, but not quite, both teams brought their A-game and put on one of the best tag matches in TNA history. This was quite simply an amazing match with tons of high flying action from Styles and Daniels, some great heel tactics from the champs and a really strong story that involved Daniels and Styles bringing in a 'neutraliser' to eliminate the unwanted influence of AMW's valet Gail Kim. Unlike at Sacrifice where this match had the potential to steal the show but fell flat, this match not only stole the show, but did so on a card which had 2 other really strong matches on it. If you watch one TNA match this year, make sure it's this one as this is tag team wrestling at it's very, very best.

Speaking of must-see matches, the bout most people were expecting to steal the show at Slammiversary this year was Samoa Joe vs. Scott Steiner. Just as AJ and Daniels are being moved out of the X Division so a new generation can succeed, so it is that Joe has begun his slow but deliberate progress towards being a top heavyweight star for TNA. After teaming with Sting against Jarrett and Steiner last month, Joe continues his ascendancy and his run of taking on the big guns of TNA. In a lot of ways Joe and Steiner are a very similar pair of characters and as a result the build to this match has been fantastic. TNA has gotten more out of Steiner in a handful of promos than WWE did in 6 months and Joe's promo skills have been greatly underated. This old school feud based on simple hatred and a search for respect suits both men's volatile, monster like nature and although this was not a mat classic, this had a great 'big match' atmosphere with Steiner looking better than he has in years. Although still slow in the ring, Joe covered up his weaknesses with some great selling and in return Steiner took enough of a beating that the win seemed believable without him looking a push over. By the time Joe hit the quick powerslam for the three count, both men had given their all and proved to the fans that they both deserved their resepctive positions on the card.

By this point, not even the convoluted nature of the King of the Mountain match could stop this from being a thumbs up show. However before we got to the main event we were introdced to TNA's new face of management, the one and only Jim Cornette. Although only an on-air character at the moment, Cornette brings an element of credibility to TNA. Not to mention being one hell of a talker. Just as he did to ROH earlier in the year, Cornette makes a great authority figure and will hopefully allow more things to make sense in TNA.

Unfortunately he arrived too late to stop the ridiculous King of the Mountain match from closing out the who. I could go on for hours about what a stupid concept for a match this is. I could go on for pages and pages about what ridiculous booking it was to have Christian put his belt up in a match where he didn't have to be pinned to lose it and that no previous champ has defended his title in, however that is a rant for another day. TNA have made this match important to the fans and it has become something of a signature match for them, whether that is right or wrong. As far as the match itself was concerned, all the men involved worked really hard (as you would expect from the likes of Christian Cage, Ron Killings and Abyss) but the match lacked a clean and decisive finish, which is something TNA have developed something of a habit of relying on as a way to get their fans to watch Impact. However despite this lack of a clean finish, TNA did manage to create a memorable climax to the show, with the fans peppering the ring with garbage as Jeff Jarrett climbed the ladder to his hollow victory. Whatever the merits of Jarret winning is debatable, however, thanks to a strong undercard, this show managed to save itself from being a turkey and has built some interesting angles for the next few weeks of TV.

Verdict: B+
"If TNA can continue to put on shows as good (if not better) than this then they have a chance of putting up a fight against WWECW. With at least 3 matches worth going out of your way to see, this is one of TNA's best shows of 2006. The tag match is worth geting the show for alone! However with strong X Division action and a great hard hitting match between Joe and Steiner this is what a TNA show should be all about - 3 hours of quality wrestling entertainment and not a zombie in sight!"

Watching live, on tape?

After watching far too many mediocre WWE pay per views at 1 am on a Sunday night on Sky Sports, I decided to give up watching wrestling 'live' back in 2004. Instead I'd use the safety net of the internet and make sure the show was worth watching before investing three hours of my time. However as time went by, wrestling began to lose some of it's magic. The surprises became inevtiable and the shocking became passe. As WWE's product became worse and worse I did not feel I was missing out. However as TNA has begun to improve leaps and bounds, something was missing in the viewing experience - the genuine experience of not knowing what was about to happen.

So with TNA approaching it's 4th anniversary and the Slammiversary pay per view, I decided to revive some of that magic and try a little experiment and watch it as if it was live. Admittedly I chose Slammiversary on purpose as it had a card that, on paper, I knew should not dissappoint and boy did it live up to expectations. The good matches were still good and probably would have been just as good had I known the result. However the main difference was in the average matches. Where in previous months I would have fast forwarded, I found myself actually wanting to see what happened in the Bobby Roode vs. Rhino. OK, so it was still pretty poor, but at least it did not have the crushing inevitability of a match I already knew was bad.

So will this affect my wrestling viewing habits? I doubt it. Alas, TNA's output is as inconsistent than WWE. On the plus side, their product is consistently good rather than consistently bad. However until both WWE and TNA improve their product to the point that the shows are worth making the effort for, then I think I'll keep my internet based safety net for just a little bit longer.

TNA Slammiversary preview

With Slammiversary approaching this weekend, TNA are facing, arguably, the most important moment in their history since they debuted on Spike TV last year. With WWE positioning ECW as the new third wrestling brand in North America, TNA has lost it's comfort zone and will have to work hard to prevent itself from losing ground to WWE just as they seemd to building some momentum. After the car crash that was ECW's debut on Sci-fi, TNA need to capitalize on this and put on a genuine alternative to WWE that ECW failed to make the most of this week. So here are the 5 things I think TNA need to do at this weekend's pay per view to make the most of ECW's failures.

1. Action not promos
ECW's TV show started with a 10 minute promo. As did Raw. And Smackdown. How does that make ECW different to WWE TV? Answer, it doesn't!! So in order to make themselves different from WWE, they need to put on the X Division guys, give them 15-20 minutes and let them tear the house down. Start the show strong and give the fans a really strong wrestling show.

2 a). Make the most of new stars
Despite promising fans a 'new breed' of ECW talent, the ECW show focused on WWE stars and older ECW names like Sabu, Mick Foley and Terry Funk. The problem is, that all 4 of those men are over 40 and hardly the future of the business. On the flipside, TNA have Chris Sabin, Jay Lethal, Alex Shelley and a whole host of other new names that are under 25 and can put on a fantastic match if give the chance. Add to that established talent like AJ Styles, Chris Daniels and Senshi and you have the kind of exciting action that WWE buried in a battle royal this week instead of giving the chance to shine.

2 b) Samoa Joe
In a side note to this point there is, perhaps the most important name not mentioned thus far, that TNA need to make a big deal about this weekend. That man's name is Samoa Joe. He is their future star and their next great homegrown star. He is being brought up into the heavyweight division where he is more than holding his own and his match with Scott Steiner has the potential to be the match everyone is talking about on Monday morning. Just so long as Joe is given the win and Steiner plays his role as star-maker. Joe is the antithesis of the WWE mould of muscular big men who can't wrestle a great match and would have been a natural fit for ECW back in the day. However in 2006 he probably would have been given a stereotypical gimmick like Umanga onn Raw, instead of being given the chance to shine as he is in TNA. Future matches between Joe and Sting, Christian Cage and Jeff Jarrett are should earn TNA some hefty buyrates and make for some great marquee matches. However, they need to continue to build Joe up to make sure that they get as much hype and buzz coming into those matches as they can. Slammiversary is the start of that build.

3. Allow the former ECW stars a chance to shine
Tommy Dreamer was the heart and soul of ECW. He was the star of last year's One Night Stand and occupied a prominent position at this year's show in the semi-main event. So what did they do with him this week on the TV debut? Put him in a battle royale with a bunch of jobbers. The same with Justin Credible. Former ECW champ, punked out by Kurt Angle in a matter of minutes. TNA have on their roster the most dominant tag team in ECW history in the Dudlez/Team 3D. They have the best talker the company ever had in Raven and they also have the first and last ECW champs in Shane Douglas and Rhino. TNA need to push these guys and remind any ECW fans not happy with the WWE's vision that these guys can work in an unrestricted environment on pay per view this weekend and every Thursday night on Impact. At the TNA house show, Matt 'Spike Dudley' Hyson tore up a WWE contract, which at first seemed like a very daft thing to do considering the state of the business. However in hindsight it looks like one of the ballsiest moves a wrestler has made this year and as such he and the other ECW alumni should be rewarded for pinning their colours to TNA's mast.

4. Have clean finishes
Terry Funk and Sabu managed to finish a match bleeding and wrapped in barbed wire at ECW's Born to be Wired. Tazz and Bam Bam Bigelow finished a match when they went through the ring. So why did Rey vs Sabu end in a no contest at One Night Stand? ECW fans were quite justified in their 'bulls**t' chants as this was not what ECW was about. At the same time, TNA have been very guilty of over-booking their shows in recent months and that needs to stop. Clean wins and losses do not hurt a wrestling promotion (just ask any Ring of Honor fan) and they need to address this sooner rather than later. Hopefully the arrival of Jim Cornette as the new face of TNA management will help reverse this trend and bring a good 'old-school' mentality of sensible, logical booking with clean wins and losses. If they establish that, then when they do want to do a screwjob finish it will mean more as the fans won't have seen it on every show - at least not every TNA show! They'll probably still see it on Raw and Smackdown every week!

5. Respect the intelligence of your fans
Zombies? Aliens? Vampies? OK, so wrestling can be a bit corny and hokey. But when the rest of the show was bad, this just came across as the icing on the case and became a calling card for anyone who wanted to ridicule ECW and wrestling in general. Part of ECW's success in the mid 90s was in providing an alternative to the high camp of the Ultimate Warrior or Papa Shango in the WWF. TNA need to avoid this like the plague and put on the kind of exciting, athletic wrestling that helped the business boom in the late 90s and made wrestling cool once again.

Was ECW better off dead?

Being an ECW fan has been something of a rollercoaster ride over the past week and a half. I've wanted to sit down and write this column for the past few days, but each time something has happened that changed my mind. I have gone from cautious opitimism, to genuine excitement about a new brand to complete and utter bewilderment at just what the powers that be thinkg ECW should be.

The week began with the WWE vs. ECW special which I finally got to watch this weekend. After having done a decidely average job building up ECW on Raw on Smackdown, this was the moment it really felt like they might do something interesting with this brand. John Cena and Sabu had a really fun match while the product as a whole just felt really different and exciting. The build to last year's One Night Stand pay per view was decidely erratic but in the end the show was very entertaining so I could only assume that the same would happen this year.

It's just a shame that One Night Stand really didn't deliver the kind of exciting alternative product that it did last year, or that it even managed to with the WWE vs. ECW special. For everything that was great; Terry Funk being a crazy bastard one last time, the first half of Rey vs. Sabu or John Cena's interaction with the ECW fans. There was also the nonsensical and down right baffling. Orton vs. Angle was not looking good on paper, however for it be given almost 15 minutes was an insult to the ECW fans that paid a lot of money to see an ECW show, not a Smackdown one. The fact that Rey vs. Sabu ended in a no contest - this is Sabu the man who managed to finish matches with broken jaws and lacerated arms wrapped in barbed wire, yet he was done in by a DDT through a table? I don't think. Plus, JBL, announcing he was the new voice of Smackdown. Really, who in that crowd cared?!

When all was said and done, this show has almost many plusses as minuses and at least it was something different, so hopes were high going into the debut of ECW on Sci Fi. But that was all to change over the 60 minutes that this abomonation of a show was on. In one night, ECW was emasculated and not even on love TV because the new network was too scared by the pay per view and wanted to keep them under control. This was more of an advert for WWE's Vengance pay per view than it was for the new show. The ECW talent were made to look second rate to the WWE 'superstars' and the few moment ECW guys were allowed to shine were in contrived scenarios that just them look like the bingo hall workers WWE has always stereotyped them as being. Sandma and a zombie was never going to be good, but without his siganture entrance and without anything else of note to counter balance this moment of MacMahon inspired stupidity it summed up what was a truly awful hour of TV.

The weekend of One Night Stand, two of ECW's strongest characters in the final months, Matt 'SPike Dudley' Hyson and Rhino, voiced their disgust at WWE brining bakc ECW and Hyson went so far as to tear up his WWE contract. What seemed like a moment of impetuousness that may have cost Hyson a lucrative pay deal has now become one of the most ballsy, pragmatic decision anyone has made in wrestling so far in 2006. We can only hope that in the coming weeks and month, ECW is give the chance to create a genuine alternative program. However after that first week of ECW's resurrection, you can't help but with that it had stayed dead and buried in that Philly bingo hall wear it was concieved.

Has Ring of Honor gone too far?

First it was crazy brawls. Then it was no-roped barbed wire matches. And now it's Cage of Death? What the hell is going on over at ROH Headquarters?

Gabe Sapolsky announced today on the ROH newswire that the 6/24 Death Before Dishonor show would feature a Cage Death of Death match as the ROH vs. CZW 'war' reaches a new peak. Upping the ante from ROH's equivalent match, Steelcage Warfare, CZW owner John Zandig is reported in the newswire as demanding CZW choose the stipulation and they want this CZW signature event instead.

When the ROH vs. CZW feud started in November, it seemed to be all about ways that wrestlers who were never deemed 'good enough for ROH', like Chris Hero Super Dragon and Necro Butcher would finally get the chance to work for ROH - arguably the US's top independetn wrestling company. On the flipside it also meant that CZW and ROH could co-exist in the Philadelphia indie scene, running double headers together without having to resort to any of the petty feuding that there was during 2002. However as time has gone on, this feud has moved away fomr being about ways to get Hero and co regular work in ROH and has taken on somewhat of an ironic twist. ROH, the pure wrestling company, has been dragged deeper and deeper into increasingly more violent matches, while CZW's 'pure wrestlers' have been the ones spearheading the charge for their preferred company. Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli would never be regarded as atypical CZW wrestlers, and they have been allowed to develop in this feud. While brawlers such as BJ Whitmer, Adam Peace and Ace Steele have represented ROH and found strong niches for themselves in the company as a result.

So, as is so often the case when something like begins to gather steam, many of the inital loyalties and ideologies of those that follow both companies has been put to one side. ROH talent was supported by CZW fans during the recent Best of the Best tournament in CZw. While ROH's 'pure fans' are chomping that bit for more blood and violence. But is this such a good thing?

Sure this feud has helped gain more interest in the Philly indie scene than there has been in years, and both companies are benefitting from it right now. However, when all is said and done, will ROH have done itself more damage than they have good? By going down this ultra-violent route have they raised the bar so high that future shows will fail to live up to these heady heights. Or will fans expect this kind of violence and bloodshed from all their future feuds? As for the fans, sure it might bring in some CZW fans who were sitting on the fence about whether they should like the 'opposition. But once they have given the CZW fans their fix of violence and brutality, will they remain to watch more wrestling based shows that ROH has built it's name on, or will they return to their ultraviolence with CZW.

One of the most significant missing elements from this has been ROH commissioner Jim Cornette, who's anti-hardcore promos in the early days of this feud were some of the best ROH has ever put on video. But where is he now? Set to debut on TNA as their new face of TNA Management, while in ROH storyline terms, he is nursing an injured knee coutesy of CZW. ROH need his calming voice and rationale in these circumstances as I believe that ROH might have bitten off more than they can chew with this feud. As much as it was about the ROH fans mocking CZW at first, for putting on ultraviolent matches that have nothing to do with 'proper wrestling' could you not argue that, in attempting to keep up with their Philadelphia neighbours and attept to secure the same crowd that fuelled ECW in it's heyday, that they are doing exactly the same. That they have lost sight on what really matters to ROH fans and that is pure wrestling, not garbage filled brawls or Cages of Death. Perhaps ithe most ironic part of this whole sordid affair is that the show will be called Death Before Dishonor, and with this ultraviolent match as the main event, perhaps ROH has finally managed to come up with the ultimate dishonor - to itself.

TNA: Where did it all go... right?!

After a decidely lacklustre TNA Sacrifice show, I was all geared up to write a column about where I thought TNA was going wrong with it's product and what they needed to do to resolve it. That was all until they released their ratings for Impact this week, and they are actually going up (especially among their target demographic of young males aged 18-25). Clearly they can't be doing everything wrong after all!!

So instead of bitching and moaning about what I don't like about the TNA product (you can probably work most of that out from my Sacrifice review) I thought I would look at just what is making TNA actually succeed! So here are my top 5 reasons why I think TNA's rating is slwoly on the rise.

1. The Sting Effect
One of the great names of WCW, but perhaps more importantly the only big name from that era not to have been tarnished by a run in WWE. Since WCW and ECW closed in 2001, wrestling viewership across the board has declined, so where have they all gone? By bringing in someone like Sting, TNA have gone after those former WCW fans who didn't like the way their guys were treated in WWE and it looks like it has paid off. Although there is often some debate about whether the arrival of Sting has taken the wind out of the sails of NWA Champ Christian Cage (and I believe it has) at least they have kept Sting out of the title picture and used him as an assett, when the temptation would have been to give him the belt as soon as he arrives. By having strong NWA championship feuds for Christian as well as a strong main event level feud involving Sting and Jeff Jarrett, then it gives the viewer 2 reasons to buy the pay per view, rather than just the one. It also means Jarrett has been kept out of the title picture and so when he finally gets his one on one rematch with Cage people might actually want to see it, rather than assume it is Double JJ pulling poilitical strings.

2. Bringing in the right big names
During the build to Sacrifice I really thought they had lost their minds when I heard the names Buff Bagwell, Rick Steiner and Lex Luger linked to TNA. I could feel flash backs to the early days of TNA when they brought in the ageing Randy Savage who wrestled as if in slow motion. However, unlike Savage, these guys were brought in for one shot deals only as a nostalgia gimmick and to TNA's credit, that is one of their strengths. They are very selective about who they bring and that really helps them from turning into the WCW knock-off that they so easily could. Even Savage seemed a good idea at first, as he still has plenty of name recognition. It's just a shame that that was all undone the minute you saw him in the ring. For every Sting or Scott Steiner who are brought in, there are a dozen other former WWE or WCW names that they could have brought in and haven't. By cherry picking these big names, and backing them up with strong workers who were under-used in WWE (like Christian Cage, Rhino, all three former Dudley Boys and even Raven) they establish a strong mix of 'names' as well as having a product that is about more than a trip down memory lane. Even the acquisition of former WWE diva Christy Hemme was a great choice as she has main stream media appeal thanks to her appearance in Playboy, as well as an individuality that the current identi-kit WWE Divas just don't have.

3. The X Division
Ignoring the current Kevin Nash silliness and the fact that the champ didn't defend his title on the last pay per view, the X Division is one of TNA's crown jewels. Heck, the fact that the champ of this ultra-atheltic, no limits division is a 280 pound Samoan with a less than perfect fiugure should tell you that this is something different to WWE. As long as Vince and co restrict their cruiserweights and treat them as a joke or fodder for bigger men, then TNA have an edge. Sometimes they don't seem to treat this assett as well as they should - part of what made last year's run of pay per views so exciting was having the X division main event pay per views, which they don't any more. However they do at least have one really great athletic X Division match on every show. They are also determined to bring in new stars and establish them in that division, rather than rely on the same names month in and month out. As guys like Jay Lethal, Alex Shelley and the retunring Senshi are brought in, they help provide the next generation to feud with the established stars like Joe, AJ, Styles, Sabin, Dutt and Williams.

4. Fast paced action
One of the main criticisms that is labelled at Impact is that they have to cram so much into one hour of TV that they don't have enough time to dedicate to getting over their wrestler's characters. However on the plus side, by only having one hour of TV a week, it means they have to make sure everything is kept at a high pace to fit everything in. Compare an episode of Raw or Smackdown with Impact and you get as much wrestling with TNA (if not more) in one haour and don't get the constant replay packages and commercials that blight WWE TV. TNA do as good a job of developing their feuds and character in one hour as WWE do in 2 and as such they have turned one of their negatives into a positive. If they could just get another hour of TV, then who knows where that would take them. I just hope it would not see them copy the WWE format and undo what is one of their key-strengths.

5. Doing things the opposite to WWE
They don't give good wrestlers stupid gimmicks. They don't rely on outdated sterotypes. They don't ignore storyline continuity. They don't have ref bumps in every world title match. They don't try and court controversy to get ratings. They don't use their TV as adverts for their film division. They don't treat tag teams as second rate. They don't treat cruiserweights as fodder for telentless giants. They don't have 20 minute HHH promos. They don't have Vince's bare ass on TV. They don't have midgets. They don't stop people from going out and having good wrestling matches. They don't call their wrestlers 'superstars'.

ROH Best in the World

The title of an ROH DVD can range from the logical (Joe vs. Punk 2, Steelcage Warfare) to the ridiculous (Death Before Dishonor, This Means War). It is with much relief then that ROH continues it's Milestone series with 'Best in the World' a DVD that, thanks to the main event, more than lives up to it's name. The top match features ROH Champion Bryan Danielson, teaming with ROH legend Samoa Joe against Pro Wrestling NOAH's multiple tag team champions Naomichi Marufuji and current GHC Junior Heavyweight champion KENTA. With talent like this, how could they call this show anything other than 'Best in the World' and boy does it live up to that title.

The undercard for the show is solid, however with a main event as good as this then it pails into insignificance in comparison. It's shame then that no-one told Jack Evans, Roderick Strong and the Briscoe Brothers this, as they put on a match that damn near steals the show. A simply outstanding tag team match pitting the returning Briscoes (who don't seem to have missed a beat during their self-imposed sabbatical), against 2 members of Generation Next. Before Strong and Aries teamed up to become the top tag team in ROH, Evans and Strong were the GenNext tag team of choice and this familiarity means they are in perfect synch with each other through out. These two compliment each other fantastically as the hard-hitting Strong contrasts the high flying Evans and the two put together some truly innovative double team moves - including a Phoenix splash/Ode to the Bulldogs finisher which sees Evans springboard from the top rope, off Jay Briscoe who is on Strong's shoulders onto Mark on the canvas.

After that, the main event had a fair amount to live up to, but with talent like this there was never any doubt whether it would. Bryan Danielson is really finding his feet as the arrogant champ who is neither heel nor face, just the best technical wrestler in the world. Meanwhile Joe is well... Joe. The heart and soul of ROH who just gets more over with every show, these fans just love him! The exchanges between Joe and Kenta are up there with the very best matches in ROH such as Joe against Kobashi and Joe vs. Low-ki in terms of intensity and hard hitting action. After their ROH debuts at Final Battle 2005, Kenta and Marufuji were able to show much more personality this time around, with Marufuji showing off more of his high flying, while Kenta was able to heel it up, much more than he was against Low-ki back in December.

As a result of all these men playing their roles so perfectly in this match it makes for a great spectacle and builds fantastically to the crescendo of KENTA pinning world champ Danielson. Although the match is supposed to be the best of ROH against the best of NOAH, this match is all about Joe and Kenta, at least in the eyes of the fans. Their exchanges build in intensity and Dragon and Marufuji are left almost as secondary elements to this budding rivalry. Kenta is set to return to ROH action in the summer with a three way match against Joe and Danielson, however it is the prospect of a one on one match with Joe that is whetting the appetite of the majority of ROH fans.

Overall verdict: A-
"Even without the Briscoes/Strong & Evans match, this would be a must-see show. The main event is something really special with all four men putting together one heck of a match. The undercard is solid, enough with some entertaining matches, but it is the two tag matches that seperate this from the average and mean it's well worth a watch."

WWE Judgment Day 2006

In the year 2000 WWE was at the peak of the Attitude era and part of the reason they were going through such a purple patch was the consistency of their pay per views. Each and every show had great matches and dynamic angles that kept viewers coming back for more. Not every show featured classic matches, but perhaps more importantly, very few shows had any really awful matches either. In 2006, the opposite is the case and WWE is the very model of inconsistency. Instead of having to endure the odd poor match, fans are searching desperately every month for the few good matches that manage to sneak through the WWE [un]Creative process.

Therefore it is with some pleasant surprise that we find Judgment Day 2006 to be a show which not only features more good matches than bad, but overall comprises a pretty entretaining three hours of wrestling. Perhaps it is the fact that WWE executives have other things on their plate with the ECW relaunch or perhaps it is the fact that the brand is so decimated by injuries that they feel they can do nothing more than put on a simple wrestling show. Sure it wasn't perfect, but compared to some of the garbage that has been put on single brand pay per views in the 12 months, this was a real throwback to the days when Smackdown was under the helm of Paul Heyman and the matches were what drove the show.

The show starts off with 2 fantastic matches, with Paul London and Brian Kendrick deafeating MNM for the tag titles and Chris Benoit and Fit Finlay having the kind of old school brawl that makes you remember what is so great about professional wrestling. The only downsode to either match is the fact that the tag title match ends with the supposed split-up of MNM as Melina turns on Mercury for costing her team the win. With any luck this will be a shortlived blip, as MNM are too good as a unit to be split up and with them at the heart of the Smackdown tag division, there is always hope that tag team wrestling may not die off completely in the US. London and Kendrick should be more than adequate replacements though, however it ultimately depends on the quality of their opposition as to how well they get on. A feud with Funaki and Scotty 2 Hotty would ruin them, but matches with the Mexicools and Kid Kash and Jamie Noble should provide the kind of matches that people want to watch.

As for Finlay and Benoit, what more can be said. Two ring veterans pounding the hell out of each other for 20 minutes. Fantastic! The addition of Finlay to the Smackdown roster has added something that was sorely lacking in this day and age, an old-school brawler. It's just a shame that WWE can't realize that what makes Finlay so appealing is that he is a throwback to the good old days of wrestlers who were tough and could fight, not pantomime characters. That's not to say everyone on the Smackdown roster should be like FInlay. However with UFC becoming an increasingly important opponent in the ratings wars, WWE could do with having a few more 'credible' wrestlers on their roster to over come the preconcpetion that 'pro-wrestling is fake'.

After that, the women's match and cruiserweight title matches were fairly pedestrian. However most importantly they weren't bad, which is important to remember. The only downside was the lack of excitement in the cruiserweight match. These guys are really suffering as a result of the ban of high-flying moves like the 450 and Shooting Star Press and when compared with the high-flying exploits of X Division stars like Sonjay Dutt or Chris Sabin, Helms and Crazy look decidely average. At least they made it on to the show though!

Following that was Kurt Angle and Mark Henry. After years on the sidelines, Mark Henry has finally come good, just as his contract is set to expire. However is it possible to have a bad match with Kurt Angle? Kurt bumped like crazy and put Henry over like a million dollars, yet still managed to get his heat back at the end by putting Henry through a table with a vicious angle slam, followed by an even more vicious chair shot once the table didn't break. Angle deserves to be champ at this point and I can only hope they are saving the one-on-one match with Rey for Summerslam, because those 2 are absolute dynamite in the ring together.

Bringing back the King of the Ring has certainly helped give Smackdown some focus over these past few weeks, and the final has a real feeling of 'Best of the Rest' rather than the 'Best of the Best'. However both men have used this oppurtunity to really cement thier places on the Smackdown roster. After an initially shakey start, Bobby Lashley has really begun to become a guy people want to see win. He is still pretty green, but working with established stars like Booker and Finlay will help him no end. As will not winning things straight away. By having Booker go over, not only have they helped revitalize the career of a guy who has never been given a fair chance to suceed in WWE. But they have also given Lashley the chance to work his way to the top and go through more experienced veterans and learn along the way. The involvement of Finlay in the outcome of the match means that their feud is not gone either, and so when Lashley does make it to the top of the card he will have established rivals lined up for him to face. He is also establishing himself in the eyes of the fans as someone who has earned their spot, not been handed it because of a catchphrase or a gimmick and so, unlike John Cena, Lashley is being put in a position where the fans will be behind him, not against him.

After that came the only real turkey of the evening. But even that was entertaining for how bad it was. The Great Khali is a freak of nature that's for sure, however this guys belongs nowhere near a wrestling ring. He is just horrid! The only plus-side to this match was watching just how good Undertaker is at making even the most horrible freak-of-the-moment look good. This was car-crash wrestling at it's very worst, but strangely entertaining nonetheless.

So that brings us to the main event. I could rant for hours about how badly WWE are treating Rey as champ, but at the end of the day, are we surprised? Rey should at least be facing opponents he could be having good matches with, not facing big brutes who beat him up for 10 minutes and then he gets a fluke pin on them. However this is the path WWE have decided to go and so that is what we are getting. As a match it was not horrible and JBL plays his role as abullying heel so well. It's just a shame that this did not feel like a main event and certainly wasn't a 5 star performance from either man. However at the end of a show with no truly awful matches on it, this did not break the pattern and so in the end you found yourself in the slightly novel situation of not hating a WWE show and feeling like you had wasted 3 hours of your life.

Overall verdict: B-
"Two really fun matches to open the show and nothing horrible. For a single brand pay per view this was surprisingly good, I just hope they take all the plusses from this show like good wrestling and clean finishes and use this as a blueprin for future shows. Unfortunately I won't be too surprised if we get more goofy angles and screwy finishes instead. This is WWE after all."

Thoughts on the new ECW

So Vince Macmahon has finally announced the worst kept secret in wrestling. We are going to have a 3rd WWE brand as the powers that be in Stamford Connecticut have decided to bring back ECW. Now this is a subject that will inevitably bring out strong opinions among the always vocal online wrestling community as ECW was a promotion that many people held dear to their hearts. After all, this was the promotion that helped mould the WWF and WCW boom periods in the late 90s by putting on the kind of innovative TV and matches that the big 2 would see and re-package for a mainstream audience. Whether it was the antics of a pre-Stone Cold Austin, the crazy brawls featuring the Public Enemy and the Dudleyz or the high flying matches from cruiserweights like Rey Mysterio or Eddie Guerrero. ECW was an alternative to the campy antics of WWF stars like the Ultimate Warrior or Papa Shango and provided an product that more mature fans who liked the maverick attitude and intelligent, non-patronising storylines and angles.

So here it is, about to be brought back, only this time under the corporate umbrella of WWE. In the press release announcing it's return Vince MacMahon has claimed WWE have been the guardians on the ECW legacy over the past 4 years, keeping the 'cult-like following of ECW' simmering away thanks to the release of DVDs and the One Night Stand pay per view. Well, what did you expect from the man who every Monday massages his ego on international TV by molesting divas or out-figthing men half his age. You didn't think he would credit the fans would he? But it's them, not Vince who have kept ECW alive - just as they were the ones who helped ECW succeed in the first place.

Vince has always been a contradictory character for ECW. He exists both as it's biggest threat, but also one of it's biggest helpers. In the 90s, it was the constant threat of WWF dollars stealing away top talent that caused the concern. Whereas in 2006, it is the potential impact he could have on the creative direction of the company that worries fans more than anything. After all, this is a man who has a tendancy to publicly humiliate anyone who disagrees with him as well as booking himself in a wrestling match where he was supposed to be facing God. However with Vince taking a personal interet in this pet project and seeing money, we can only hope that he will see fit to allow those people that understand ECW (Paul Heyman and Tommy Dreamer in other words) rather that attempt to implement his own idealogy on the brand and that is where Vince can help the feldgling brand. Just as he did in 1997 when he guarnteed ECW's first pay per view and brought ECW talent on to Raw to promote it.

Vinces greatest help to ECW is his money, but as is so often when you have a moneyman with ideas, it's whether or not those ideas interfere with the direction the company should go in. It's difficult to say no to the man with the cheque book (and if that man is Vince Macmahon, the most powerful man in wrestling, it will be doubly so). With Vince in charge we will never see controversial angles like the Sandman/Raven feud where Raven crucified Sandman and stole his family, but is that such a bad thing? Controversy in WWE skates a fine line between shocking shockly awful. At least he seems to have appreciate that ECW cannot be filmed at the same time as Smackdown and Raw and cannot have the same production values. The mention of bringing in new names to create a new generation of ECW also bodes well, however I have a feeling we will never truly know what will happen with the new ECW until we see it on TV and see just what parts of the old ECW has been kept and what have been updated for a new generation of fans.

TNA Dream matches

With TNA becoming increasingly stale as the approach their 2nd anniversary on pay per view, it's time they took advantage of some of the dream matches they have available to them. Let's take a look at the top dream matches/angles TNA could put on pay per view and help get them out of the creative rut they are currently in.

1. Sting vs. Samoa Joe
TNA's biggest homegrown star of the pay per view era vs. the man who helped earn TNA their slot on Spike TV. The build has begun for this after the tag match at Sacrifice 2006 and this has the potential to be TNA's biggest drwaing match of all time. The question is how soon do they go this feud. Is Joe ready to hold down his end of a main event angle and should the NWA title be involved to give this match even more prestige?

2. Chris Daniels/AJ Styles vs. AMW (6 Sides of Steel)
The best match at Sacrifice which could have been a truly great match if it had a clean finish. Chris Daniels and Elix Skipper had one of the best matches of TNA's short history when they faced AMW at Turning Point '04 and AJ Styles is a much better worker than Skipper has ever been.

3. End Samoa Joe's unbeaten run and create a new X Division superstar.
Joe vs. Senshi will be a dream match if their previous battles in ROH are any evidence. However my personal favourite for choice to end Joe's reign would be Chris Sabin. Sabin is a man who has been given a generous push over the past 6 - 12 months, however he needs that big win to help cement his position as a big-time X-Division star. (Alas I have a feeling that a pyrrhic victory over Kevin Nash may not quite achieve this based on Nash's previous record of putting over smaller men.)

4. Christian Cage/ Jeff Hardy vs. Team 3D
Four of the unsung stars from WWF's most succesful period in 2000/2001. The TLC matches are modern classics, so why not make the most of that reputation and put these four men in the ring one more time. Pairing Christian the work horse with Hardy the spot-mahcine means that the teams will not be unbalanced by the lack of Hardy and Cage's regular partners. Perhaps it's time to make Matt Hardy once again regret his decision to re-join WWE by putting on the great match that should have been his in TNA.

5. Senshi takes over the X Division
Despite the fantastic matches they put on, the Joe/AJ/Daniels feud created a gulf between the the established X Division guys and those challenging for the title. Who better to undo that gulf than Senshi/Low-ki. Established X Division talent like Chris Sabin, SONjay Dutt, Petey Williams and Jay Lethal were not around for Ki's first run in TNA, so pairing them up with the newly debuted Senshi would create fresh match ups thaty could relight the fire under the X Division. Senshi also has the one thing that a lot of a X Division guys don't have, a well-rounded personality. Perhaps his honourable martial arts based persona can help make more out of some of the 'blander' X Division characters.

6. Rhino vs. Scott Steiner
The last ECW champion vs. one of the last WCW champions. Rhino is a strong enough worker that he could cover the gaps in Steiner's ring ability and these two power houses could have a very strong, brawling feud that would be a dran sight more entertaining than forcing The War Machine to try and get good matches out of Bobby Roode!

7. Sting vs. Abyss
The two masked men of TNA. If Sting is genuine about wanting to help TNBA create new stars then Abyss is one man who could do with a touch of the Stinger magic. A mic battle between Sting and James Mitchell would also lead to some fantastic interviews.

8. Team 3D turned heel
Put simply, the former Dudley Boyz just aren't as entertaining without the fan baiting insults. They would need a strong babyface team to work against, however a bit of vindictiveness and edge is just what these guys need to get them out of their current rut.

9. Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Chris Daniels
TNA's most critically acclaimed match from the past 12 months. After the anti-climax of their Ultimate X match this match was given a break, however this is a feud which TNA could quickly return to down the line to guaruntee a strong outing. Especially seeing as each man has one win over the other. A cage or ladder match could provide the fitting climax to this epic feud.

10. More indie talent brought in.
Guys like Alex Shelley, and Jay Lethal have had some success. However guys such as Roderick Strong, Austin Aries, Colt Cabana, Matt Sydal, Jack Evans, Jay and Mark Briscoe, Jimmy Rave and Prince Nana offer even more to the TNA product and should be given the chance to convert strong independent reputations into more mainstream exposure.