The Death of the WWE

[Tarheels.]

It's about time this is back. How many times have you tried this?

Regardless, I read it every single time you do it because I just love the concept. Great stuff.

[Guest Put You On The Game]

Now dat's cool!

[Cole]

Awesome, I had a feeling it was him and still I was on the edge of my chair reading that chapter. Reading that really made me think about real TNA events and how I wish they were going, I mean...I was once a huge supporter of the company, now I can't follow the storylines or the plot as well as the next guy.

Reading that really put me in the Impact Zone, I felt like I was watching something on TV.

Awesome job, looking forward to more for sure.

[CDuffy26]

This is one of the few times that I didn't want to read ahead to find out who the mystery man was, and let me tell you the way you wrote it it paid off. I was originally expecting Orton, but Carlito pays off and makes a huge impact in his TNA debut. Now dats' cool!

[Donaldoholic]

Sheer Brilliance sums this story up. I'm loving it. It was really hard scrolling down and trying not to spoil it for myself, and I managed not too

One thing I hope for in the future though, is a bit of Shelley push. But it matters not if that isn't planned.

Keep up the really good work.

[Guest Larry the Mole Man]

First off: I love the writeups. They're easy to read, and do read like a book (Y)

TNA being the focus is absolutely amazing. It sounds like stuff I would expect TNA to book and I see big things happening. I was expecting someone bigger to debut but Carlito coming was, in a sense, bigger than someone like Orton because it's unexpected. Good stuff so far, I'll be reading.

[noblefreakv2]

Looks good, and ...

John Cena jobbed clean to the Great Khali and lost the WWE Title. The haters can bleat about his reign being too long at the time all they like, because they were about to endure something far worse.

I lol'd here. Cena's not great, but he's better than a cheap attempt to emulate Andre the Giant.

Edited May 24, 2007 by noblefreakv2

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

Something that I just thought of - have you actually played out several years in the game, or are you just crossing your fingers that people who you claim will be "big parts" of the war don't wind up injured/rehabbed/retired?

[Chris the Human]

Something that I just thought of - have you actually played out several years in the game, or are you just crossing your fingers that people who you claim will be "big parts" of the war don't wind up injured/rehabbed/retired?

Edited May 25, 2007 by Misanthrope

[Guest Senka Surakei]

Carlos Colon © vs. Rhino for the TNA Heavyweight Title

I don't see his run ending so soon, and I do see it being VERY CHEAP. Haha.

Kurt Angle vs. Christian Cage

More of a hope, I want Cage to TAP OUT. Haha.

Sting vs. Christopher Daniels in a City of Angels Street Fight

If Sting wins, that could potencially throw Daniels into a huge fit of rage, and take his cool to a homicidal maniac kind of thing. If Daniels wins, I don't see the feud brightening up as much.

Team 3-D © vs. The Steiner Brothers vs. Motor City Machine Guns for the TNA World Tag Titles

No way the Steiner Brothers are getting it, and Team 3-D would win if it's tables, but I doubt Motor City Machine Guns are over enough to get it... So I'll go with 3-D retaining.

Sean O’Haire vs. Chris Harris

I really don't carish about this, but I'll go with Sean O'Haire due to him being uber and rawr rawr ness.

Samoa Joe vs. Homicide

Homicide's got it, just to shoot him up, because at this point anyone who beats Joe gets over a lot. Plus, it'll probably be an interference.

Sonjay Dutt © vs. Jay Lethal for the X-Division Title

I see Jay Lethal attacking an interfering Nash, because he doesn't want to hurt his former partner-ish kinda thing.

Voodoo Kin Mafia & Trish Stratus vs. Basham, Damaja, and ???

Hopefully, Trish gets the kick for the win to the woman in the match. Gail Kim? Or, Amy Dumas, since she's out of the thing with AJ Styles and Jarrett, that's it! AMY DUMAS! HAHA! I WIN.

And, again, the WWE's offering:

(Great American Bash was, traditionally, an absolute fucking stinker from the WWE. In fact, in 2005 and 2006, it had been voted PWI's Worst Event of the Year. That's all wrestling and MMA promotions, not just WWE).

WWE Great American Bash

The Great Khali © vs. Ric Flair for the WWE Title (Ric Flair retires if he loses)

The Great Khali, Ric Flair goes to SD?

John Cena vs. Umaga

Don't care.

Santino Marella © vs. Shelton Benjamin for the Intercontinental Title

Because Santino Marella is completely stupid, and Shelton Benjamin is so much better.

Cade & Murdoch © vs. Paul London & Brian Kendrick for the WWE Tag Titles

Murdoch, drop Cade, repackage, and show your technical skills dammit! I don't want their tag team to continue, so possibly a face turn for one of the Cade and Murdoch, and feud, and have Cade get hit by a bus

Edge © vs. Kane for the World Heavyweight Title

KANE. FUCKING. KANE. NOW. KANE. If that wasn't intimidating enough... KKKAAANNNEEE!!! I'd watch the PPV just for this match probably.

Batista vs. Mark Henry

Uh oh, where's Kennedy isn't he supposed to be in this match? Oh wait, that was last year ;D Henry wins to continue the feud.

Chris Benoit vs. King Booker in Match 3 of the Biannual Best of Seven Series (Benoit leads 2-0)

Wait, again? I see Benoit winning, and then Booker going on a winning streak due to illegal moves.

Bobby Lashley © vs. Randy Orton for the ECW World Heavyweight Title

Hmm... I see Orton winning this, but that'd dent Lashley quite a bit. hmm... who knows?

[GCCWolverine]

Just a small nitpicking - but you wrote Colon's name and finisher several times in the four-way where you meant Rhino, I think.

[tenaciousg]

Carlos Colon © vs. Rhino for the TNA Heavyweight Title

If Carlito's going to be a major player in this, why would he lose the title barely a month after winning it? I can see a cheap-ass victory.

Kurt Angle vs. Christian Cage

Simply because I abhor Angle. He's a great wrestler - I can't say he's as bad as Khali... but he's lost 'it'.

Sting vs. Christopher Daniels in a City of Angels Street Fight

Just to see Daniels get a tad more demented before he finally gets his win over Sting.

Team 3-D © vs. The Steiner Brothers vs. Motor City Machine Guns for the TNA World Tag Titles

Hail Sabin and Shelley! If the MCMGs are gonna be the restorers of TNA's tag division... what better time than the present... diary... time... thing?

Sean O’Haire vs. Chris Harris

I mark for O'Haire. I see O'Haire dominating, and then bloodying Harris before scoring the win.

Samoa Joe vs. Homicide

Because despite Homicide's awesomeness, he's not as pushed as Joe in TNA - I could see Homicide getting DQ'ed due to LAX inteference... but I can't see a Homicide pin/submission win.

Sonjay Dutt © vs. Jay Lethal for the X-Division Title

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH Yeaaaah! I can see Nash interfering against Lethal's wishes, to help Jay win.

Voodoo Kin Mafia & Trish Stratus vs. Basham, Damaja, and ???

Again, for no real reason other than I hate VKM with a passion. Trish is good, but she kinda contradicts VKM's beliefs, no?

WWE Great American Bash

The Great Khali © vs. Ric Flair for the WWE Title (Ric Flair retires if he loses)

Since Khali's reign is supposed to be worse than Cena's... and since this is the DEATH of the WWE, I can see Khali abso-fuckin'-lutely dominating Flair, making his 16 World title reigns look like shit in the process.

John Cena vs. Umaga

Like I said before... DEATH of the WWE. Cena goes over, and I'd be thinking it'll be a clean win this time.

Santino Marella © vs. Shelton Benjamin for the Intercontinental Title

Because Benjamin's the shit, and Marella's character, while innovative, shouldn't have a title that's supposed to be as respected as the IC title belt.

Cade & Murdoch © vs. Paul London & Brian Kendrick for the WWE Tag Titles

I could see London and Kendrick being put down for no reason, kinda like Punk vs. Snitsky.

Edge © vs. Kane for the World Heavyweight Title

Sadly, while Kane is an awesome guy IRL... quite frankly, he's not the best in-ring worker; Edge is hitting his stride. Perhaps Kane'll appear on RAW and fail in a Unification Match vs. Khali?

Batista vs. Mark Henry

Whoever wins, we lose. I'm predicting a draw due to set destruction... or tabling o' doom.

Chris Benoit vs. King Booker in Match 3 of the Biannual Best of Seven Series (Benoit leads 2-0)

We'll see Booker get the next three falls, allowing Benoit to win the last two to win THIS BoS.

Bobby Lashley © vs. Randy Orton for the ECW World Heavyweight Title

I said it twice, I'll say it again - DEATH of WWE. Lashley's too green for the belt, so he keeps it.

Edited May 26, 2007 by TenaciousG

[K.O.T.W]

And to think I was coming to EWB to re-read the version of this diary you started a few months ago.

I'll be reading!!

[Guest Put You On The Game]

TNA Victory Road

Carlos Colon © vs. Rhino for the TNA Heavyweight Title

If Vince Russo's gonna get fired, this is the way to do it.

Kurt Angle vs. Christian Cage

Russo will look for another ass backwards move here.

Sting vs. Christopher Daniels in a City of Angels Street Fight

There's no way that the superior worker (as far as work ethic is concerned) will go over Sting under Russo.

Team 3-D © vs. The Steiner Brothers vs. Motor City Machine Guns for the TNA World Tag Titles

Russo will probably put two old has beens over here.

Sean O’Haire vs. Chris Harris

so that O'Haire can be built up.

Samoa Joe vs. Homicide

Homicide ain't on Joe's level as far as overness is concerned.

Sonjay Dutt © vs. Jay Lethal for the X-Division Title

Russo will probably do a Nash run-in here.

Voodoo Kin Mafia & Trish Stratus vs. Basham, Damaja, and ???

Russo will obviously put VKM and Trish over here.

And, again, the WWE's offering:

(Great American Bash was, traditionally, an absolute fucking stinker from the WWE. In fact, in 2005 and 2006, it had been voted PWI's Worst Event of the Year. That's all wrestling and MMA promotions, not just WWE).

WWE Great American Bash

The Great Khali © vs. Ric Flair for the WWE Title (Ric Flair retires if he loses)

Why not have Ric Flair "retire" and then wrestle the next night?

John Cena vs. Umaga

This could be a key factor in Cena's future breakdown

Santino Marella © vs. Shelton Benjamin for the Intercontinental Title

Shelton can't cut a promo for shit.

Cade & Murdoch © vs. Paul London & Brian Kendrick for the WWE Tag Titles

Obviously the talented workers will go over here.

Edge © vs. Kane for the World Heavyweight Title

A good way for the WHT to lose image.

Batista vs. Mark Henry

Big Dave could go on a career slide perhaps.

Chris Benoit vs. King Booker in Match 3 of the Biannual Best of Seven Series (Benoit leads 2-0)

Benoit will win here, then King Booker will win the next four.

Bobby Lashley © vs. Randy Orton for the ECW World Heavyweight Title

Just to further bury ECW.

Edited May 26, 2007 by Put You On The Game

[tenaciousg]

EDIT: Misanthrope = AWESOMENESS.

Damn my slowness in telling Game! >_>

Edited May 26, 2007 by TenaciousG

[Chris the Human]

Style Over Substance

The reviews of TNA's Victory Road and the WWE's Great American Bash from July 2007 provided a distinct contrast between the attitudes of both companies. From a workrate perspective, Victory Road was a tremendous success for TNA. O'Haire vs. Harris was a wonderfully bloody brawl, the X-Division title match between Dutt and Lethal further highlighted the division's attraction, the three way tag match was a classic, Angle vs. Cage was a clinic, and Samoa Joe vs. Homicide lived up to all of the hype it had following the pair's clashes in Ring of Honor.

Great American Bash, however, was headlined by a series of big man vs. big man bouts, and it's only real selling point was the Ric Flair vs. Great Khali match. Would Flair win and begin his seventeenth title reign? Or would the Khali train roll on and leave fans without their beloved Nature Boy? Then there was the small matter of the potential return of former WWE Champion, Brock Lesnar, who had been off WWE screens since a forgettable Wrestlemania XX with Goldberg to pursue a career in the National Football League.

It was a poor career decision on Lesnar's part, compacted by the fact that his WWE contract had a no-compete clause that would prevent him from working for any other wrestling or MMA company until 2010. Like any good American, Lesnar took the WWE to court over it and managed to win his freedom - embarking on a fairly successful run in Japan before Vince McMahon came knocking again. With Shawn Michaels having retired and a swathe of top tier performers out injured - McMahon forgave Lesnar's past indescretions and would rush him straight back into the main event scene to ammend a slip in the ratings.

Marketted as the potential final match of Ric Flair's storied career and as the night Brock Lesnar would make his return to the WWE, the Great American Bash did an impressive 1.99 buyrate - a vast improvement on Vengeance's 1.96 and well above the 0.79 that Victory Road would draw. TNA had made a gamble by placing their event in direct competition with the WWE's, though, so took a great deal of confidence out of coming out stronger than they had at the previous month's Slammiversary. Not only did they draw .11 of improvement in terms of buyrate, but they did it when fans had the choice between the Great American Bash or Victory Road. It was a huge 'victory' for those within TNA who really believed they could challenge World Wrestling Entertainment.

"Of course we were overjoyed," Dixie Carter wrote, "Not only did we improve on the previous month's buyrate, which was proof positive that we had broadened our audience, but we did it when people could choose whether they wanted to see Flair vs. Khali or Carlos Colon vs. Rhino. We didn't win the night, but we won a battle within the company. There were those (at Panda Energy) who wanted to cut and run, but seeing such an improvement in so short a time was all the convincing they needed to stay on board".

"Shit yeah we noticed," Mick Foley revealed in an interview for the Fall of the One Ring Circus DVD, "How could we not? It had been a long time since anyone had the balls to stand up to Vince and the WWE - so of course we all stood up and paid attention when they (TNA) did it. In hindsight, maybe Vince would have done well to pay attention too, but he's a stubborn guy, y'know? He didn't think that the WWE would ever be threatened again".

But a day when Vince would be made to pay attention was still some way off. In the mean-time, he was more than pleased with turning in what was arguably the greatest Great American Bash since the event's resurrection.

The night opened with Chris Benoit making it 3-0 in his feud with King Booker which, as we joked in the last chapter, seemed to have become some kind of annual event. Not only had they embarked on a best of seven feud in the previous year, but they'd also had the same feud in WCW. This time it was entirely pride on the line, and Benoit forced Booker to tap out to the Crippler Crossface to take a seemingly unassailable lead in the rivalry.

(79/83/72)

With Lance Cade having picked up an injury in a house show prior to the event, the WWE bookers were forced to make a last minute change to their proposed match (which would have been Cade & Murdoch defending the WWE Tag Titles against London & Kendrick). Who did they pull in, you ask? The Hardy Boyz to give London & Kendrick a shot at some kind of title and give the fans a dream match? The Highlanders or Cryme Tyme - both of whom had received modest Raw pushes of late? Chavo Guerrero and Gregory Helms?

Guess again.

The WWE instead offered the fans a non title affair between London & Kendrick and Val Venis & Viscera. Remember how we referred to people being 'Heat guys'? Well, these two epitomised Heat guys. The match did not go down well with fans, but from a workrate perspective, was arguably the most impressive match of the night - thanks largely to Venis carrying Viscera's obese ass for the entirety of the short match. Now here's the killer. Venis and Viscera won. Two guys who hadn't graced Raw outside of joke segments in months were put over (CLEAN!) the tag team who had, until losing the titles a few months earlier, held it for 334 days to finish at fourth on the all time list for title reigns with the belt.

The pair was understandably disgruntled, despite having been booked to lose the originally scheduled match, and it wouldn't be long before both were requesting releases. London, in particular, had endured a frustrating time in the WWE that had seen his movelist restricted and his singles career confined almost entirely to Velocity (the defunct Smackdown equivalent to Heat).

(74/71/77)

Fans then got to see a rehash of Cena and Umaga's feud from earlier in the year, which saw Cena go over Umaga clean with an FU for the pinfall. After finally taking the gold off Cena, the company's #1 merchandising drawcard, it seemed something of a backwards step to shift Cena into a midcard level feud with Umaga. But without the belt around his waist and with McMahon reluctant to turn Cena heel to revive his character - Cena was mired in a no man's land that would ultimately inspire his early retirement.

(78/84/66)

Santino Marella's reign as Intercontinental Champion will go down as one of the lowlights of the belt's storied history. Marella had made his debut during the WWE tour of Italy, and won the belt from Umaga on his debut after Lashley (who had been feuding with Umaga at the time) interfered on his behalf. So, not only was the belt tossed onto a worker with absolutely no credibility or name recognition, but it was done in a way that did nothing to establish him as a genuine contender. In fact, prior to Lashley's intervention, Marella had been beaten from pillar to post by Umaga and had gotten in only token offence - much as a nameless jobber would in a pre show squash match. Following the win, Marella made a total of four defences of the belt on episodes of Raw (two of them coming against perennial jobber, Chris Masters) - and Great American Bash would be the Italian (kayfabe) champion's first PPV defence.

Rather than build him up going into the match with some solid victories over fellow midcard level performers like Johnny Nitro, though, the company instead have him lose his three matches heading into the event (once against Shelton Benjamin, once against Benjamin and Charlie Haas in a tag match alongside comic relief character, Eugene; and a third squash match against The Great Khali). So, fans were understandably unenthused about the prospect of him defending the title against Shelton Benjamin, who had been in the doghouse with the company himself for his lack of charisma and perceived laziness in the ring. What resulted was the lowlight of the evening, with Marella getting a win by DQ after Charlie Haas interfered on his tag team partner's behalf.

(67/65/69)

The ECW Title was to be defended next, with Lashley to defend against Randy Orton. The ECW 'experiment' that the WWE tried between May 2006 and December of 2007. The 'brand extension' that had seen the rise of Raw and Smackdown as two separate entities had been a result of a top heavy WWE roster, and after the success of ECW One Night Stand PPVs in 2005 and 2006 - the company made the natural decision to reintroduce ECW as a third 'brand' of the WWE. It was something of a collosal failure. Not only was ECW seen as the third string show to which workers seemed to go as punishment, but after Kurt Angle's release and Big Show's retirement - the company was left with no top tier talent. Bobby Lashley, then a Smackdown midcard staple, was rushed to ECW and became the champion - but his reign never managed to reach any great heights, despite a high profile feud with Vince McMahon that saw him as one of the main events at the year's Wrestlemania.

The ECW Title, once held by such legends as Terry Funk, Rob Van Dam, Raven, Rhino, Mike Awesome, and Taz had been held by Big Show, Bobby Lashley, and Vince McMahon since its resurrection.

The main criticism the revived ECW drew was that it wasn't 'extreme' at all, and that was epitomised by the match that Lashley and Orton had at Great American Bash. No weapons and no genuine brutality. Even the fans at ringside couldn't seem to get interested, and the only real reaction of the night was when Lashley speared Orton and pinned him for the 1-2-3 as part of Orton's continued punishment for his backstage attitude problems.

(74/79/63)

When you market a pay-per-view around something as huge as Ric Flair's 'retirement match', you'd think that said match would take pride of place on the card. You have the greatest champion in professional wrestling history putting his career on the line against the unstoppable monster that you've spent months building up for the most prestigious title in the company - it makes sense that it headlines the show.

But 'WWE' and 'sense' didn't often go hand in hand.

Instead of getting to go out on the high his career deserved, Ric Flair's WWE career ended with two matches remaining on the card and would largely be forgotten in the aftermath of Brock Lesnar's 'shock' return to the company. The feud, started after Flair had attempted to save a handful of WWE Divas from a Khali beat-down, had managed to capture the imaginations of fans in a way none of the many younger, more marketable contenders could have. Fans wanted to see Flair hold that belt one more time and they wanted to see him do it by beating a guy who, so far, nobody in the company had been able to beat. It had all the makings of a legendary feud followed by the courageous babyface win - but instead Ric Flair ended his WWE career on the end of a one sided squash that saw him lose clean to The Great Khali.

It could be argued that it made sense that the company keep their unstoppable monster 'unbeaten', but in the grander scheme of things, wasn't Ric Flair's career worth more than a nine minute squash match that saw him get in next to no offence? Couldn't Flair have lost it admirably and bowed out in style? Won it by DQ but still retired?

(65/75/45)

Following the loss, the audience gave Flair a standing ovation that lasted a full ten minutes. As a result, the booking team had to cut short the remaining two matches on the card (which was probably a good thing in the case of Mark Henry vs. Batista). The Great Khali, in a mark of respect, coolly left the ring without ceremony - allowing the Nature Boy to bask in the love of the crowd he'd been entertaining since 1972. Flair, who had been angered by Vince McMahon's decision to send him out on such a low, then embarked on an unscripted promo that went down in history.

"Thankyou," he began before breaking down into genuine tears, "Thankyou. I want to thank each and every one of you. I want to thank the kid who scraped together his pocket money in 1972 to come out and see me. I want to thank the single mother who took her kids to see me in 1995. I want to thank everybody who is here tonight! For thirty five years I've been doing this and it's been one hell of a ride. One hell of a ride! Woooo! All of the limousine ridin', jet flying, kiss stealin', wheelin' dealing... Wooo! You know, I was supposed to come out here tonight and pay my dues. That's what Vince said. "Pay your dues, Ric". That's what he said to me! Well, you know what, Vince? You can kiss my ass! You and all of your lap dogs can come down here and kiss my ass! Fire me, Vince! Fire me! I'm already fired!"

It continued in that vein for another six minutes, with Flair literally tearing strips of everybody in the WWE booking team (including long term friend, Paul 'Triple H' Levesque), bearing a striking resemblance to the infamous promo he'd cut on Eric Bischoff during his WCW tenure. It really is impossible to translate the emotion of that moment for a wrestling fan onto the page. If you saw it, you'll remember it for the rest of your life. The Nature Boy, who had doubtless been a part of your definition of professional wrestling since you were old enough to talk, was in that ring with tears streaming down his face as the fans applauded his every word.

Eventually the geniuses backstage cut off the mike, and Flair's music hit to signal an ignoble end to his WWE career. As a mark of respect, many fans spent the entirety of the practically awful Batista vs. Mark Henry match chanting Ric Flair's name. Flair would be dragged into court for his actions, but it seemed only fitting that the greatest entertainer in the business' history go out by stealing the show. Flair's promo is the sole reason that the 2007 Great American Bash was the highest selling DVD of the year - even though WWE management cut everything out after he started to embark on a tirade against the WWE.

Flair had been a perfect company man. Some might say he over-reacted (and a great many did), but wrestling was Flair's life. He was a man who never refused to put a young buck over and, in fact, had made a name for himself by doing just that. But when he announced his retirement, he'd expected a tribute match or one final 'dream match' to wow the fans. What he hadn't expected, was to be asked to do the job to a man who, with all credit to him as a person, epitomised just what was wrong with the industry at the time. Flair's career ended in a way that was an insult to his legacy.

(90)

Understandbly, the Mark Henry vs. Batista match was shit upon by the crowd. When they weren't chanting Flair's name, the audience were roundly booing both competitors in a painfully slow, plodding match. Batista picked up the 1-2-3 with a sloppy spinebuster, and the fans couldn't have cared less.

(69/76/54)

Batista's celebrations were cut short by the arrival of Brock Lesnar, who blindsided the former champion and F5ed him for good measure to mark his return to the company. It should have been a huge moment but, like the match that precluded it, Lesnar's arrival was met with a foul tempered crowd who booed him (as was expected) and then booed Batista when he 'courageously' fought back against the monster.

(74)

And the main event. Edge, who later expressed absolute rage at the treatment of Flair, started his match by breaking his heel persona to do a Nature Boy strut to the adoration of the crowd. The move would see Edge punished by WWE management in the aftermath of the highly controversial show, and threw the dynamic of the match into disarray as fans found themselves cheering for Edge against the monster, Kane. Although the short tribute was his sole piece of 'good behaviour' in the match, fans chanted his name for much of the match and cheered when he was able to drop-toe hold Kane into the exposed turnbuckle and nail him with a Spear for the 1-2-3.

(81/87/69)

Edge found himself as something of an unexpected babyface amongst people at the arena and watching at home, and the WWE would have done well to run with it. After all, Flair's emotional goodbye was a perfect foil for Edge to turn face and go on a rampage against those who had sent his hero out of the business. But it's already been said that Vince is a stubborn overlord, and that holds true here. Edge would lose the title the following night on Raw, and would never again hold a major title in the WWE as a result of his actions (and, if stories are to be believed, his choice to call Triple H a 'conceited cunt' in the show's wash up).

OVERALL: 77%

BEST SEGMENT: Flair’s Farewell

WORST SEGMENT: Santino Marella vs. Shelton Benjamin

MOTN: Venis & Viscera vs. London & Kendrick

BUYRATE : 1.99

ATTENDANCE: 20646

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Victory Road 07

The show was a rousing success in many ways. The buyrate was tremendous, the attendance was good, and the event was largely well received. The controversy surrounding Flair's speech and Edge's breaking character had fans talking about WWE events like never before - and it was an ideal opportunity for the company to capitalise. But instead, they compounded the lose of Flair by burying Edge on the following night's episode of Raw and sweeping the entire affair under the rug. In a move of collosal stupidity and arrogance, McMahon booked Edge to drop the belt to Brock Lesnar the following night - rushing the gold onto a guy who had been off fan's television screens since 2004 and taking it off a man who had however unintentially endeared himself to the fans on the previous night.

Victory Road was a good deal less controversial or ground-breaking, and it might be argued that Vince Russo's sacking as head booker following the event was a direct result of the WWE event gaining so much press (Flair's unscripted promo was shown on several nationally syndicated news programs), but others argue that it was a long time coming. While Victory Road was a success in many ways, it's lack of 'marquee matches' was seen as indicitive of Russo's inability to create stars.

The event's free pre show match saw Jerry Lynn defeated Austin Starr, Shark Boy, and Senshi in a four way X-Division exhibition match - Lynn pinning Starr after the Cradle Piledriver.

(63/60/82)

The night officially opened with Chris Harris' clash with Sean O'Haire. Harris had rocketed up the ladder in the eyes of fans following his brutal Texas Death match against James Storm at Sacrifice, and the clash drew an impressive reaction from the fans as the courageous Harris tried to become the first man to stand up to the monster that was Sean O'Haire. Like all monster pushes, though, O'Haire's needed a first up 'victim', and that man was Harris. O'Haire picked up the win following his Apocalypse power bomb.

(69/71/83)

The next match was scheduled to be Basham, Damaja, and Christy Hemme against Voodoo Kin Mafia and Trish Stratus in her TNA in ring debut, but Hemme's injury on an earlier Impact taping saw the company have to rush in another female competitor. While Gail Kim and Jacqueline 'Ms. Tennessee' Moore were on the books, both were seen as aligned with other workers (Chris Harris and James Storm, respectively) and so somebody from outside the company was brought in. It turned out to be Japanese joshi, The Bloody, a gothic, vampire styled female worker who showed a great chemistry with Stratus in the match. In fact, The Bloody and Stratus put on more of a show than the two experienced tag teams they were paired with - and The Bloody made a winning debut when she was able to pin Stratus following Dragon Superplex to her smaller opponent.

"The original plan was for Trish (Stratus) to pin Hemme," Russo revealed, "And that would lead to a one on one confrontation to establish a women's division. But with Hemme out, I had to come up with another way to get the division going. Eventually we'd have brought in top line female workers from all over the world".

That did end up having, as many will know, but plans had to be put on hold and this left the company with Trish Stratus on the books and with no clear plan for her following the match.

(60/67/68)

The highly anticipated City of Angels Streetfight between Christopher Daniels and Sting was next, with the legend preparing to do battle with the fawning, psycopathic Daniels one more time after their match at Slammiversary. What exactly differentiates a City of Angels streetfight from a regular streetfight was never revealed, and it was another Russoism that fans had come to hate. The match itself was a good, brutal brawl - Daniels showing plenty of intensity as he beat down his 'hero' using any weapon he could get his hands on. The 'holy shit' moment came late in the piece, Sting sending Daniels from the top tier of the stands and through a table at the bottom with a brutal shot from his signature baseball bat. Daniels fell a good fifteen feet before striking the flimsy tables, and Sting was able to make his way down and lock in the Scorpion Deathlock for a submission victory over Daniels. As a bloodied Sting celebrated with the crowd, however, Daniels stumbled to his feet and wiped the blood from his eyes before smiling a madman's smile after Sting. The Stinger looked suitably horrified as he backed up the ramp, while Daniels laughed maniacally in the ring and hugged the discarded baseball bat to his chest.

(72/82/79)

Sonjay Dutt's X-Division title defence against former stable-mate, Jay Lethal was up next - and the two failed to disappoint in a high quality, fast match between two workers with great chemistry. 'Black Machismo' had the upper hand in the early going, but Dutt was never out of the match - the two seemingly putting aside their recent differences to work a good, clean match. The finish looked destined by be a Dutt victory after he had floored Lethal with a tilt a whirl, tornado neckbreaker and scrambled to the top rope - but Kevin Nash interfered, tipping Dutt off the ropes and ending the match with a DQ victory for the champion.

Not satisfied, Nash made his heel turn complete by beating Dutt down on the mat and signalling for Lethal to do the same. Predictably, but no less delightfully, Lethal rejected his mentor's advice and instead came off the top rope with an axe handle to Nash's back. Between them, Lethal and Dutt were able to clothesline Nash over the top rope and leave their former leader looking disgusted as they shook hands in the ring. Dutt and Lethal were on the same page, but Nash looked downright livid.

(56/44/82)

The match did suffer because of its placement, with fans so pumped from the half hour epic that Sting and Daniels had embarked upon that, with the exception of the finish, the match was largely overlooked by those on hand. Another piece of Russo brilliance.

It seems a shame that the best match on the card was scheduled to be a throwaway clash between Samoa Joe and LAX member, Homicide. The plan had always been for Joe to dominate Homicide and come out of the event looking strong in preparation for a feud with Carlos Colon for the title, but the two turned in a ****1/2 match that not only stole the show, but would go on to be one of the contender's for PWI's Match of 2007. Given the constraint of just eight minutes to work with, Joe and Homicide wowed the crowd with a fast paced, competitive match that not only kept Samoa Joe strong, but gave Homicide credibility as a singles worker. Prior to the match, TNA had (believe it or not) no plans to push Homicide as a singles worker, but after it, he would eventually become the superstar that is a household name today.

The finish, originally scheduled to be Homicide tapping out to the Coquina Clutch, was instead changed to a DQ victory for Samoa Joe after Hernandez hit the ring to get involved. While Hernandez was treated to a Samoan Drop for his troubles, Homicide was able to take Joe down with a Cop Killa to get the moral victory and establish himself as a contender on the rise.

(77/78/95)

The match would prove a hard act to follow, but three of the hottest tag teams in TNA did their level best and produced an entertaining three way as Team 3-D successfully defended their TNA Tag Titles against The Steiner Brothers and the fast improving Motor City Machine Guns after 3D had been able to hit their 3-D on Shelley for the 1-2-3. The clash itself had seen all three teams come out looking good, with the Steiners' involvement ending when Shelley and Sabin were able to hit a double slingshot splash on Rick Steiner through a table after Scott had been put down with 3D by the champions. The two remaining teams brawled briefly before the size and strength advantage of the champions shone through.

(72/80/81)

The clash between Kurt Angle and Christian Cage was a largely meaningless match, a filler for two of the company's hottest talents because Russo's team couldn't come up with a more meaningful feud for the pair to be involved in. It was indicative of the company at the time - the booking hindered by a lack of television time to devote to developing feuds and by a top heavy roster that featured a great many contenders and not enough lower tier talent.

While the clash drew by far the most vocal audience reaction, it was a clash that lacked a reason to care - and when Angle was able to make Cage tap out to the Angle Lock, fans were left with a sour taste in their mouths.

"I was stranded," Cage admitted, "After hitting the company and being the so-called 'main attraction' for a while, it felt like there wasn't anything planned for me".

The match did serve one purpose, however, as AJ Styles (lead by Amy Dumas) hit the ring as Angle celebrated to catch the Olympic gold medalist in the back with a missile dropkick before pouncing to deliver a Styles Clash. The eventual clash between Angle and Styles was a mouth watering prospect (that had been delivered awfully once before), and fans were already licking their lips at the prospect. Now TNA just needed to find something for Cage to do.

(82/94/88)

The night's main event saw Carlos Colon making his first PPV title defence of the TNA Heavyweight Title, taking on the man he'd pinned at Slammiversary, Rhino. The two workers didn't have a tremendous chemistry in the ring, but still managed to turn on a match that outshone all three of the WWE's World Title defences on the same day. Rhino dominated for much of the clash with his brute force and intensity, but could never seem to put the wily Colon down for the 1-2-3. Colon made use of every play in the heel book - low blows, dragging the ref into harm's way, attempting to get himself counted out, and trying to introduce weapons into the mix.

"Carlito was a natural heel," Colon revealed in his autobiography Now, That's Cool, "But they (the WWE) always insisted on making me a babyface and blamed me when it didn't work out".

He played the heel to perfection, and as Rhino grew increasingly frustrated with his antics, Colon began to work his way back into the match - capitalising on Rhino's desperation. At one point he played possum to draw the Gore out of Rhino, only to leap frog it and send his challenger into the ring post. At another time, he struck Rhino with a chair while the ref had his back turned and then handed the weapon to Rhino, challenging him to hit him and get himself disqualified now that the ref's attention was back on the match.

Eventually, Colon grew frustrated himself, and came close to getting himself disqualified (and under TNA rules, that could see a title change hands) when he produced his garotte and moved to choke out Rhino. The referee intervened and Colon 'accidentally' elbow him in the face. Referee's are a fragile breed, and this referee went down as if he'd been shot. While Rhino tried to shake him awake, Colon wrapped the garotte around his throat and hit his Career Killer at the same time - a truly brutal image for fans at home and in the arena. The referee conveniently regained his consciousness in time to count the 1-2-3 as Colon escaped with a victory over Rhino.

(73/84/80)

OVERALL: 70%

BEST SEGMENT: Kurt Angle vs. Christian Cage

WORST SEGMENT: Jay Lethal vs. Sonjay Dutt

MOTN: Homicide vs. Samoa Joe

BUYRATE : 0.79

ATTENDANCE : 8549

The event had many positives, not the least of which was the unearthing of Homicide as a singles star and the way in which Colon had made himself one of the most hated men on the TNA roster. O'Haire had turned in a match most big men would have been envious off, Dutt and Lethal's alliance would draw out a response from Nash that would reinvigorate the X-Division, and the foundations had been lain for the introduction of a TNA Women's Division somewhere down the track.

It was an exciting time for TNA, coming off the success of a PPV that had still done great business despite going against its WWE counterpart, and things were only going to get better. The month of August would see a high profile signing, another surprise swoop on a disgruntled WWE talent, and a move behind the scenes that would lift the relationship between TNA and the WWE from a skirmish to all out war.

Edited May 26, 2007 by Misanthrope

[Guest Put You On The Game]

Who did Edge lose the WHT to? Anyway, I thought Edge's childhood idol was Hulk Hogan.

Edited May 26, 2007 by Put You On The Game

[Chris the Human]

Who did Edge lose the WHT to? Anyway, I thought Edge's childhood idol was Hulk Hogan.

Edited May 27, 2007 by Misanthrope

[The Heartbreak Kid]

Misanthrope, you always leave me hanging at the end of your posts. I hate it! But it always makes me come back for more of the juicy diary you have embarked on. (Y)

I can't wait to see who else TNA picks up from the WWE. Should be interesting.

[tenaciousg]

VR was awesome - and GAB, while suckish... sadly seems like something that could actually happen with WWE, down to Flair going unscripted after jobbing to Khali.

Anyway, I can't wait to see who the new signing is... it can't be Edge (who, if you read the beginning of the VR review... it says he lost the WHT to Lesnar?) because he won't have won a major singles title again, and in doing that, that means he'll still be with the WWE for a while.

I could MAYBE see Flair, unless he was legitimately retiring.