The Death of the WWE

[TheArsenal]

Another great jump and a superbly written first show. First shows are sometimes quite hit and miss bt you managed to showcase the company and put on a show that didn't just seem like an exhibition. Can't wait to see this continue.

[chazmers]

Wow! Not only the debut of RVD definitely being a huge shock but Eric Bischoff on the Booking Team is definately going to ruffle a few feathers.

Great Primetime Debut, especially with the Joe, Homicide, Street Fight. Keep up the good work mate.

[MGW]

I do enjoy these looking back on history diaries, a little bit diferent to the standard formula, but always entertaining. The layout is easy to follow, and some of the comments made me laugh out loud (I love Jericho's names for Cage, just as much as I loved the Kirk Angel comments back in 2000). Most of the jumps/signings have been expected ones thus far, but no less effective. Danielson really does deserve to be in one of the big two, and I'm glad to see Homicide get a good singles push.

Never saw Bisch as the "mastermind" behind TNA, expected Heyman to be honest, but it should be entertaining to stray away from the expected. I'd actually forgotten about Van Dam, so he was a nice surprise.

Oh and while I remember, if you still want Input into the Hogan situation, from a purely fans perspective, I'd love to see Macho Man or Warrior take on Hogan in his last match, but seeing as how neither of them would job to Hogan. I'd have said Edge could have pinned the Hulkster in his final match, but you don't have Copeland (I assume), so that's another one out. flair is retired, so that's another good draw gone. The only names I can suggest are Piper and Sting. Niether would hurt by loosing to Hogan, and both would be decent draws, so take that for what it is.

[Venom]

I read through this yesterday and today, and I gotta say that I'm loving it so far. The Jericho and RVD debuts were great. I do have a few pieces of constructive criticism, do with them what you will.

- It might have just been because I was reading through all of the posts at once, but it seemed to me that there were a few too many instances where you described an event as "planting the seeds for what would turn into a legendary feud/character/turn." I definitely understand that it goes with the overall layout of the diary, though, and it's really just a minor complaint anyway.

- It also seems as though WWE is purposely trying to dig their own grave. Flair being snuffed immediately comes to mind, as I really doubt that would ever happen in real life. Also, "The Marine 2" would never have been made with the premise that you described, as it's obvious that it would receive the very reception that you described. It just kinda seems as though everything for TNA is suddenly going right for no reason, and everything for WWE is suddenly going wrong for no reason.

[jalbin]

Okay, so I'm only to page 2... but I glanced through to see if anyone else brought this up.

You had Trish Stratus join the roster only to name her "Patricia Stratus" While Patricia is her real first name, Stratus is not. It's like Strategis or something odd like that. I understand the whole "WWE owning the name" but she's used that name her whole career BEFORE wrestling. It was the name she used while being a model. So just thought I'd toss that out there for you.

As far as this diary goes, you're a very good writer, I really do think you should focus on writing as your career. You did something that I have really noticed anyone else do in these diaries, and that's write it like a book rather than writing up each show and posting "news" about who was released and whatnot. I love that you have a whole story planned out before hand, that really makes this that more interesting. I can't wait to continue reading!

-Jason

[GCCWolverine]

- It also seems as though WWE is purposely trying to dig their own grave. Flair being snuffed immediately comes to mind, as I really doubt that would ever happen in real life. Also, "The Marine 2" would never have been made with the premise that you described, as it's obvious that it would receive the very reception that you described. It just kinda seems as though everything for TNA is suddenly going right for no reason, and everything for WWE is suddenly going wrong for no reason.

[Chris the Human]

OOC: Thanks for all of the comments, praise, and criticism guys - anybody who knows me knows I'm a writer who is motivated and driven by comments, so it's because of all of you that this has lasted

Mixing Things Up

In light of TNA's move to prime time and their growing success in both the ratings and in terms of PPV buyrates, it would have been business suicide of the WWE not to make some changes. And whilst Vince McMahon would never concede that the WWE was 'at war' with TNA until it was perhaps too late, that's not to say that he didn't take steps to ensure his company would remain on top.

The first port of call for the WWE was a draft. After the death of WCW and ECW, the WWE had found itself with an abundance of riches when it came to talent, and so the 'roster split' was designed to make sure talent was utilised. At first the split saw separate Raw and Smackdown rosters, coming together only for the 'big four' (Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series) and the feud over one 'Undisputed Title'. But then it became each show having its own set of titles and then, after the success of two ECW 'revival' shows in 2005 and 2006, the company added ECW to the mix. After the initial flurry of interest saw such big names as Rob Van Dam, The Big Show, and Kurt Angle assigned to the brand - a change in management (which saw Paul Heyman removed from the booking team) saw ECW relegated to a virtual B-Show.

Then the split was blurred further, with individual rosters for each promotion but workers appearing (seemingly at will) on rival shows. The Raw tag team champions were The Hardy Boyz, for example, despite the fact that Jeff was on Raw and Matt was on Smackdown. Vince McMahon, aligned largely with Raw, was ECW World Champion for a period of time during his feud with Bobby Lashley. It was a God awful mish-mosh, and in a rare positive move, the WWE booking team made moves to not only ensure that all three shows were on a similar level, but also that the three shows retained their unique feel. Raw would remain the entertainment brand, Smackdown would be the wrestling based show, and ECW would continue to develop future main event talents such as CM Punk, Elijah Burke, and Marcus Cor Van.

And so it was that, for five weeks during September and October, the WWE would boost their ratings and rejuvenate interest in their product with a series of drafts. On each of the company's three television shows a 'draft' would be announced - ensuring that every episode of Raw, Smackdown, or ECW had a reason to tune in beyond an interest in the programming in general.

During the week of TNA's successful prime time debut, for example, the draft saw Umaga (minus his manager, Armando Alejandro Estrada) go to Smackdown, The Boogeyman go to ECW, and Kevin Thorn move to Raw. The only move of note in this case was Umaga, who would enter into a three way feud for the strap with Brock Lesnar and Batista. Boogeyman's stint in ECW was largely forgettable, and Kevin Thorn's future as a top tier star would be helped greatly by his move to Raw to feud with the likes of Santino Marella, Johnny Nitro, and Shelton Benjamin.

The second week would see Chris Masters move to ECW (and begin the most successful time of his career), Mike Knox move to Smackdown, and Michelle McCool move to Raw to become involved in the fast fading women's title scene. A note on the WWE Women's Title, if I may. While it had never been a title based around workrate, it had enjoyed a boom in the early 00's when the likes of Lita, Gail Kim, Trish Stratus, Molly Holly, and Victoria (amongst others) were all on the books. At this stage in history, however, the only widely respected female workers on the active WWE roster were Mickie James and Victoria - with glorified models such as Melina, Candice Michelle, and Ashley Massaro getting the limelight in light of their good looks and marketability. The fact that Michelle McCool (with all respect to her abilities as a worker) was seen as the 'salvation' of the division is probably indicative of just how far it had fallen. It's no real surprise that the WWE gave up on the strap altogether within the year - instead favouring random cat fights, pudding matches, and bikini battles.

The third round of the draft saw Jeff Hardy join brother Matt on Smackdown (a move which saw sanity returned to the tag division after Raw had had both titles and Smackdown had had none), William Regal moved to ECW, and ECW World Heavyweight Champion, Bobby Lashley jumped to Raw (complete with the title). The last move was a great move for Lashley's career, as he had obviously outgrown the ECW environment, but it was a bemusing decision because it deprived the ECW of its sole title. The decision would not be remedied until the month's PPV, Unforgiven.

The fourth round was a bemusing one for all concerned. Extreme Expose (a glorified Nitro girls rip-off) shifted to Raw to join the women's 'division', Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch followed the Hardyz to Smackdown (moving their tag titles there, creating an exact reversal of the tag scene only two weeks earlier), and Finlay (along with his leprechaun, Hornswoggle) moved to Raw to feud with the big boys.

The fifth week, and the eve of Unforgiven, saw Snitsky head to Smackdown, Deuce head to Raw, and Shelton Benjamin head to ECW. In a series of 'trades' each show also gained a few other talents.

RAW: Paul London, Dave Taylor, Marcus Cor Van, CM Punk, Little Guido, and Trinity

Smackdown: Kenny Dykstra, Mickie James, Jim Duggan, Tommy Dreamer, Balls Mahoney, and Matt Striker

ECW: Daivari, Jamie Noble, The Miz, Domino, Super Crazy, Cryme Tyme, and Candice Michelle

Gone were the high profile transfers (with the exception of Lashley) that had made the 2005 such a collosal draft. In that particular year, John Cena (and his title) had jumped from Smackdown to Raw whilst Batista (with his title) jumped from Raw to Smackdown. This time around, though, the moves were substantially more low key - but obviously had the future in mind. Raw, for example, gained several future stars in the form of Thorn, Punk, Cor Van, Lashley, and Deuce (who would, of course, gain notoriety under the name of Solo Snuka).

Smackdown, which had always had the stronger tag division, gained two titles to feud over (leading into an eventual, long awaited unification bout) as well as the main event draw of Umaga (who had already main evented a number of PPVs during his program against John Cena). ECW, while losing most of its established stars, was also strengthened by a number of the moves. William Regal would enjoy a singles rebirth whilst Shelton Benjamin and the host of cruiserweights would begin to turn ECW into a workrate driven company that produced matches that rivalled TNA's best cards. If Samoa Joe vs. Homicide was the 2007 Match of the Year, Shelton Benjamin's ladder match against William Regal on a December episode of ECW on Sci-Fi was a close second.

The draft, while widely criticised at the time for being farcical, would go a long way towards boosting the WWE's stocks. It not only moved young stars such as Cor Van, Punk, and London to arenas where they could hone their talents, but also turned ECW into a considerably more legitimate and 'competitive' brand, particularly once the ECW World Title was moved back to ECW.

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But while the WWE was being roundly criticised for its draft (the successes of which would not be reaped or celebrated until six months down the track), TNA were continuing their first month of prime time television on the road to a No Surrender PPV that would be headlined by Chris Jericho and Rob Van Dam's first PPV appearances for the company.

The second ever episode of TNA Impact as a prime time entity had a lot to live up to, and would never be as memorable as the one that began it all, but was a top quality show all the same. The night opened with Carlos Colon out in the ring to comment on his running feud with Rhino since debuting in TNA, as well as criticising TNA's latest pair of recruits for coming into the company and expecting superstar treatment. He embarked on an entirely hypocritical tirade about 'paying dues' despite the fact his own debut had seen him win the TNA Title in his very first match. The fans realised this and roundly booed him, and I guess that was the point, wasn't it?

(92)

The rise of the Motor City Machine Guns as a force in TNA kicked up a notch with the pair scoring a victory over the Voodoo Kin Mafia in a surprisingly high quality match. Spare a thought for BG and Kip James (formerly known as Road Dogg and Billy Gunn), two veterans at the twilight of their careers that could probably tell, even at this early juncture, that they were being set up for an eventual release from the company. While their contribution to the company's rise could be debated, it's never a good thing when a legendary career ends with years of working the indies. But not everybody can get a Ric Flair or Hulk Hogan level send-off (although, in Flair's case, maybe that's a good thing), and so it was that VKM did the job here, and did it clean - Shelley pinning Kip James after Shellshock.

(72/80/82)

LAX were out in the ring next, Konnan on the mike to comment on Homicide's recent successes as a singles worker and on his plans for LAX's return to the peak in TNA. The stable had previously held the TNA (then NWA) Tag Titles for a lengthy period of time. But with Homicide now a largely singles worker, Konnan announced that he had gone out to find somebody to partner Hernandez to take on the tag division. That man? Aaron 'Jesus' Aguilera. Last seen in the short lived Wrestling Society X - Aguilera had also enjoyed a brief period of prominence in the WWE as Carlos Colon's bodyguard and the man who 'stabbed' John Cena. Aguilera was another decent big man, and his inclusion would not only give Homicide more freedom to work as a singles worker, but also add another tag team to TNA's fantastic tag division. The only issue that can be raised with the division at the time is that, aside from Team 3D, it was comprised solely of heel teams.

(71)

Rob Van Dam was interviewed next, Mr. Thursday Night giving his first TNA promo to hype the night's main event against Christian Cage. RVD's natural charisma had never been utilised in the WWE, with McMahon and his bookers instead content to portray the legendary wrestler as little more than a laid back, stoner dude. The sole occasion when he was able to cut a promo (at the 2005 ECW One Night Stand PPV) he gave a heartfelt, cutting edge promo that should have laid the foundation for a main event push. Suffice it to say, it didn't. This promo, however, had all the hallmarks of RVD's former, pre-WWE self. He ran down Cage, hyped up the upcoming tag match at No Surrender, and finished by vowing that he was TNA for life. The latter would become a mantra and catch phrase for many TNA babyfaces, playing on their fanbases almost paranoid dislike of the WWE product and all it stood for. In many ways, the TNA fanbase began the war well before TNA or WWE management would acknowledge it.

'World's Worst Entertainment' banners would appear at WWE events whilst 'Totally Needless Air' became a popular sign amongst WWE fans. It was, of course, a reference to TNA's preference towards spot based wrestling, particularly in the X-Division. Nobody ever accused professional wrestling fans of being creative...

(82)

Sean O'Haire's push was renewed in a short, brutal squashing of Shark Boy - another TNA loyalist on the way out with the company. Whilst Shark Boy's cult following was undeniable, he had proven to be largely unmarketable as a legitimate competitor, and with the TNA roster growing seemingly by the week, he was one of several deemed to be surplus to company requirements. Workers such as Simon Diamond, Elix Skipper, Shane Douglas, and Ms. Tennessee had already been sacked in the weeks leading into TNA's prime time debut. The match was forgettable, with O'Haire winning following The Prophecy.

The sole event of note to come out of the match was the long awaited return of Abyss, who had not been seen on TNA programming for several months. The deranged monster had a bone to pick with his former manager, James Mitchell, and so it made sense that he'd make a bee line towards Mitchell's latest monster to start a feud that would never reach any great heights.

(63/65/75)

A hype video would be shown for Sabu next, with the legend of extreme wrestling having agreed to terms with the company following his release from the WWE. The debut would never come, however, with Sabu admitting himself into rehab prior to his debut and the company later deeming him unmarketable as they continued to grow on a global scale.

(57)

Fans were treated to a rematch from Hard Justice next, as LAX (the pairing of Homicide and Hernandez) took on Bryan Danielson and Samoa Joe in another brilliant match between the four workers. This time it was Samoa Joe able to get a measure of revenge for their Hard Justice loss - Joe hitting the Muscle Buster on Hernandez for the 1-2-3 after a twenty minute match that saw plenty of ebb and flow (as well as Aaron Aguilera getting involved with a brutal big boot to Danielson).

(77/80/93)

Sting appeared on the big screen next, the legend giving a near show stealing promo from the shadows of whatever hidden domain from which he always seemed to conduct promos. It was a heart-wrenching promo, with Sting pleading with 'The Fallen Angel' Christopher Daniels to end the madness and return his daughter to him. If Daniels heard, he gave no answer, and so the Stinger's hauntingly melancholy face hung on the big screen for a moment later before fading.

(96)

We returned from commercial to find Sting out in the ring, the Stinger looking disoriented (and a little mad) as he looked for his daughter or Christopher Daniels. It was one of the more forgettable, unintentionally comedic moments in the feud - and was thankfully ended by AJ Styles and Amy Dumas making an appearance to mock the 'old man who can't remember where he put his pills'. This lead to an impromptu match between the cocky Styles and the clearly distracted Sting, who was still able to get his shit together long enough to hit a Stinger Splash on Styles after Kurt Angle had hit him across the back with a chair.

(77/90/80)

Chris Jericho then stole the show, turning an interview conducted by Jeremy Borash into an almost cruel mocking of the man. The same formula had been used before (particularly during the rise of the Rock) and was used to great effect here, the fans really giving it to Borash as Jericho questioned his sexuality and then turned his attention to his new rival, Christian Cage. He talked about Cage (this time known as Amish Cage) not being bitter that he hasn't been able to get the job done in TNA. Despite being a self proclaimed 'Instant Classic', Cage had (in Jericho's mind) managed to be nothing more than an Instant Disappointment. I'm not Chris Jericho, I can't do it justice, go download it.

(99)

The night's main event was an enjoyable clash between Rob Van Dam and Christian Cage, and although the match was upstaged by LAX and Joe/Daniels' earlier offering, it was nonetheless a stirring match full of near falls and finishers missed. The fans were marking out hardcore when Rob Van Dam went up to the top rope for his Van Terminator (which Shane McMahon, in his current WWE run, had shamelessly pilfered for himself) only to be caught mid air by Tomko and fallaway slammed into oblivion. The referee, conveniently down after an earlier bump, managed to come to in time to see Christian Cage fly for the frog splash and a 1-2-3. This, of course, brought out Chris Jericho for the save - but Tomko and Cage, to be partners at No Surrender, made a smart and hasty exit. The night ended with Jericho and RVD staring down Cage and Tomko as the pair backed up the ramp.

(83/95/89)

The show was met with a mixed response. From a workrate perspective it was tremendous, but it also failed to mention or showcase (aside from in passing) any of the three TNA titles. Carlos Colon's brief promo was his sole invovlement in the show, the X-Division went entirely unmentioned, and the only real reference to the tag division was LAX's expansion and a Motor City Machine Guns victory earlier in the night.

"I'll admit that I wasn't a fan of the X-Division when I came on board," Bischoff shockingly revealed, "But I could certainly understand its marketability. I'm the man who brought cruiserweights and luchadores and super juniors to professional wrestling in the USA. Don't forget that. I knew that people wanted to see their matches. My question was over the marketability of the guys in the division. Could Sonjay Dutt or Nicho El Millionaro sell a T-shirt like Chris Jericho or Rob Van Dam could? Could Kaz or Austin Starr sell out a pay-per-view like Christian Cage or Kurt Angle?"

This lack of faith in the division was to be proven wrong, as we all know, with the advent of the likes of Homicide, Alex Shelley, Chris Hero, Jimmy Jacobs, and several others that I won't mention here for fear of spoiling your fun. I write this assuming that there are those who don't remember the turning points, or weren't aware of the shocking debuts. It's for these people that I leave out several bigger names. But you all know who I'm talking about, right? Does November 11 ring a bell? Shhhh!

OVERALL: 78%

BEST SEGMENT: Jericho mocks Christian Cage

WORST SEGMENT: Sabu Hype video

MOTN: Samoa Joe & Bryan Danielson vs. LAX

RATING: 5.43

ATTENDANCE: 4028

The following week's edition of TNA Impact would open with two of the men that had closed it one week earlier, as Christian Cage and Tomko were in the ring to celebrate their 'triumph' over Chris Jericho and Rob Van Dam on the previous week's episode. Despite the usually reliable chemistry between Cage and Tomko, this promo was one of their more forgettable ones, probably due to Tomko being given more mike time. The man was the master of the one liner, but anything more than that tended to come across as bland.

(78)

The new look LAX would get their first taste of in ring action next, as Aguilera and Hernandez paired up to take on a Team 3D still smarting from their defeat at Hard Justice. Unlike the Voodoo Kin Mafia, who were turning in lacklustre matches more often than they were turning in good ones, Team 3D still had plenty to offer in the ring. Despite the relative inability of both Aguilera and Hernandez, this clash was still a good one, and Team 3D predictably picked up the win after a Deadly Device delivered to Hernandez.

(78/76/80)

James Mitchell and Sean O'Haire were interviewed by Jeremy Borash next. That is to say, Borash began to speak only to have Mitchell snatch the microphone from him. He said he had to give credit to Abyss for having the guts to return to TNA after the ungodly beating he'd received when he'd last shown his face. He said that he underestimated Abyss, because he had Abyss pinned for a coward. Now he had him pinned as a fool. Because only a fool would attack his most perfect creation - Sean O'Haire. He described O'Haire as the evolution of the failed experiment that was Abyss, and promised that Abyss' end, when it inevitably came, would be painful.

(75)

Abyss' in ring return was an oddly booked affair, as he stepped into the ring with Robert Roode, who hadn't been on television in quite some time despite having won a high profile feud involving Eric Young and Jeff Jarrett earlier in the year. The two lacked any real chemistry and Roode went over after Sean O'Haire attacked Abyss on the outside. Abyss had been in the process of retrieving a weapon to use on Roode when the interference came, and Roode used this weapon to lay Abyss out for the 1-2-3. His celebrations were short lived, O'Haire demolishing him with The Prophecy before beating Abyss down. Abyss managed to fight to his feet, though, and got a babyface's cheer as he clotheslined O'Haire to the outside and stood tall.

(66/62/70)

The X-Division was brought back into the spotlight after the commercial as Kevin Nash and Next Generation X (including X-Division champion, Nicho El Millionaro) strutted down to the ring in preparation for their clash against Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, and X-Division pioneer, Jerry Lynn. Nash continued to run down the current crop of X-Division stars, accusing them of having no real wrestling ability and being nothing more than a few flashy maneuvres or a catchy gimmick. He said that his three men (Gruner, Matthews, and El Millionaro, for those out of the loop) were the complete package. They could fly, they could work it on the mat, and they could brawl with the best of them. To cap it off, all three were insatiable ladies men and well spoken. Except for Nicho. He only spoke Mexican. And yes, Nash actually said that. He also said that he made a mean taco, which was cause for some backstage disrest. But that was Nash, and he wasn't going to change just because a few 'Mexican jumping beans' (as he had famously called Juventud Guerrera during the initial war) kicked up a stink.

(86)

The match itself was a competitive affair. TNA had long made a habit of using six man tag matches to ensure that all of their talent was getting television time, and though time was no longer at the premium it had once been, the move persisted here mostly out of tradition. Fans had come to enjoy the fast paced, generally short matches that showcased a variety of styles. In this case it was a ten minute affair that saw all six men turn it on before Joey Matthews was able to hit the Virginia Necktie on Sonjay Dutt for the 1-2-3.

(75/70/80)

Homicide was given a rare chance (at the time) to showcase his ability to cut a promo next, and he didn't let anybody down. He also made sure that Spike TV censors earned their money, dropping the F-bomb eleven times during the two minute promo. The general gist of it was that Homicide didn't like Samoa Joe, and thought he was a bad man. Of course, it read something like 'That cocky mother-fucker can suck my fucking dick. Samoan Submission Machine? Fuckin' Samoan bitch, that's what he is".

The fans didn't care if it was riddled with more beeps than a heart monitor. They booed all the same.

(81)

Homicide would follow up his first notable singles promo with the biggest win of his fledgling singles career, getting a pinfall victory over Kurt Angle (albeit with some liberal assistance from AJ Styles) to really launch himself up the ladder.

"I was deadset against it," Angle would later confess, "I didn't think he was anywhere near ready for the rub of beating me. But Eric (Bischoff) insisted that it would pay off in the end, and that I'd get to go over Styles in the feud as a way of undoing any damage done by a loss to Homicide. I agreed".

In hindsight, Angle might have agreed more readily to the decision, since the match he and Homicide turned on was not only another MOTY contender, but because Homicide would eventually go on to be a real war turning star for the company. Angle understandably controlled vast periods of the match, but Styles' intervention (with the old fashioned chair shot after Dumas' distraction) allowed Homicide to get a schoolboy roll-up for the 1-2-3 before Samoa Joe came out to make the save.

(91/90/93)

Next up, Rhino commented on Colon's continued arrogance as TNA champion, and said he wanted a chance to take on Colon where he couldn't run away and hide like the coward he was. He wanted Colon in a steel cage. Short, intense, and to the point.

(83)

The night's main event was a six man tag match between Carlos Colon, Christian Cage, and Tomko against the teaming of Chris Jericho, Rhino, and RVD. Unlike the earlier six man tag, this one was given plenty of time to shine, a twenty five minute clash that saw all involved (except Tomko) getting plenty of in ring time. And that's not to say Tomko didn't contribute - but it was probably best that the other five do the majority of the in ring work. Tomko did what he did best by running interference, although he did produce a memorable moment with a brutal fallaway slam that sent Rhino over the top rope and onto Jericho and RVD on the outside. It was the bad guys' turn to get the 1-2-3, with Carlos Colon gaining a cheeky victory over his World Title rivalry after he'd played possum to make Rhino Gore his own team-mate, RVD. While Rhino tried to apologise, Colon produced his garotte and delivered a Career Killer for the 1-2-3. He was quick to bale, which left Tomko in the ring to bear the payback. The big man first ate a Gore, the a Lionsault, and finally the frog splash as Impact went off the air for a second week.

(88/89/86)

OVERALL: 77%

BEST SEGMENT: Homicide vs. Kurt Angle

WORST SEGMENT: Robert Roode vs. Abyss

MOTN: Kurt Angle vs. Homicide

RATING: 5.41

ATTENDANCE: 4036

OOC: With the shows now longer, I'll be posting them individually or in pairs where possible. This should keep me from burning myself out and cut things down into more digestable, bite sized chunks

Edited June 4, 2007 by Misanthrope

[Number of the Breast]

Alright, I'm gonna post a full reply later on, because I'm loving this diary, but I'll get to that later and just mark out for Hero and Jacobs just now And hopefully before anyone else realises, point out a big spoiler in the show summary for the first Impact (Worst Segment), that you might wanna fix.

Edited June 4, 2007 by Charlie Pace

[Chris the Human]

Alright, I'm gonna post a full reply later on, because I'm loving this diary, but I'll get to that later and just mark out for Hero and Jacobs just now tongue.gif And hopefully before anyone else realises, point out a big spoiler in the show summary for this Impact (Worst Segment), that you might wanna fix

[Venom]

- It also seems as though WWE is purposely trying to dig their own grave. Flair being snuffed immediately comes to mind, as I really doubt that would ever happen in real life. Also, "The Marine 2" would never have been made with the premise that you described, as it's obvious that it would receive the very reception that you described. It just kinda seems as though everything for TNA is suddenly going right for no reason, and everything for WWE is suddenly going wrong for no reason.

Think about what happened with the WWF back when the Monday night wars first began - the writing team thought stuff like Mean Gene and the Gobbedly Gooker dancing around the ring was a great idea, but now it's looked back on as a very low embarassing event. The causes for WCW's death, with repeated squashings and letting politics get in the way with Hogan, Nash, Bischoff, etc. - everybody thought that was alright at the time, only to have the way it turned out be very very different from how it seemed. More recently, stuff like Katie Vick, the new masked Kane - somebody on the writing team thought that would be a great idea, but they both failed horribly.

Since we already know the ending of this story - WWE declining and eventually dying, and TNA growing and eventually becoming the face of wrestling, most of WWE's decisions are going to be seen in this retrospective as terrible. If Vince thought that Khali was going to be this monster heel, he'd do everything he could to make him into a star - including squashing Cena and retiring Flair. If he wanted to continue to push Cena to be a star face, he'd continue along the "Hogan" idea and try to make him into a larger-than-life star on the silver screen. The decisions are stupid, no doubt, but they could be seen to fit Vince's plans and hopes.

Bouncing off that, one thing I'd like to see is little quotes from somebody from the writing team, or maybe even Vince or Shane, trying to defend some of their decisions and explain what was going through their head at the time.

[Kenitys]

Well, nice to hear that WWE will also have good times in the future, because now it really seems that in the TNA in that time almost everything was going really well and in the WWE (almost) everything sucked. Yeah, Vince (and WWE) books often things which aren't anyway in the near of good booking, but there are also always some good things.. So, in the name of reality I'm glad to heart that in the future there will be also something good to say about WWE's booking. The Marine II sounds horrible, man it really does. As does Great Khali's title run too. But as said, this is The DEATH of the WWE so it's understandable that WWE makes decisions like that. Me too would like to see some quotes where the WWE's booking team tries to defend their decisions in some way.

You've also promised to very many wrestlers in this diary so far the place in the main event or the major role of monday night wars. I really hope that you've planned things perfectly well before started to write this, because otherwise something can be forgotten very easily.

That was the criticism. And now I can say that I love this diary, really good stuff, a good idea, and an awesome text. The one of the best English diaries I've ever read. Keep up the good work

P.S. I hope that you understand what I tried to say with this comment, because my English definitely isn't very good.

Edited June 5, 2007 by Kenitys

[Guest Put You On The Game]

The draft was a complete fucking train wreck if you ask me, just like you described One Night Stand.

BTW, I totally marked when you put Homicide over Kurt. That was awesome!

[Chris the Human]

OOC: Thanks again for the comments, guys. This will be a short entry, as I miscounted the number of shows I had before the PPV. This'll just be the third episode of Impact and the PPV cards

Resurgence

In all wars there are pushes and stalemates, victories and defeats. Oh, a war will eventually have a winner, but each battle within the war can go a multitude of ways. Thus far we've painted you a picture of a youthful TNA battering back years of WWE domination with relative ease, but that wasn't always the case, as evidenced by the latter months of 2007. With TNA riding a wave of emotion on the back of their prime time debut and such marquee poachings as Chris Jericho and Rob Van Dam - the WWE counter-attack came as a shock to many within the company.

"In hindsight," Dixie Carter confesses, "We get cocky. We thought we had turned the tide and that we were still under the WWE's radar, but they proved us wrong. We didn't expect them to raid our talent, and we certainly didn't expect that their product would improve after what they'd been dishing out in recent months. It was pure arrogance on our part, and we would come to know it".

October's WWE Unforgiven pay-per-view would not only see two TNA roster members make their WWE debuts, but would also mark the return of two huge drawcards in the WWE - The Undertaker and Triple H. With these two back on deck and the imminent returns of Rey Mysterio and Mr. Kennedy, the WWE was in a position to start the new year as convincing leaders in the fledgling Monday Night War II.

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

The third Impact of the month and the final one before TNA No Surrender kicked off with Sting out in the ring to again plead with Christopher Daniels to return his daughter to him. He announced that, if Daniels couldn't see his way to doing the human thing tonight, he would throw down a challenge to Christopher Daniels for No Surrender. It would be an 'I Quit' match. The loser would leave TNA forever (and in professional wrestling, 'forever' seems to equate to about a month). These feuds had been done before, and it was perhaps a mistake on TNA's part to use the word 'forever' when it clearly wasn't going to be true irregardless of the result. And as far as Sting promos go, it was a flat one.

(82)

The pairing of Bryan Danielson and Samoa Joe paired up again to see if they could create magic without Homicide in the mix, taking on Hernandez and Aaron Aguilera in what proved to be an enjoyable match. The former ROH pairing had excellent chemistry in the ring, whilst it was clear that the teaming of Hernandez and Aguilera had potential. Bryan Danielson continued his impressive run of 'form' for the company, forcing Aaron Aguilera to tap out to Cattle Mutiliation to continue his team's impressive run in the tag division.

(78/74/83)

Alex Shelley, who had been a revelation on the microphone since being given an opportunity, made his way out to the ring next. He would be on commentary for the match between The Steiner Brothers (who had just returned from touring commitments in Japan) against the fledgling pairing of James Storm and Robert Roode. Both men had been in line for main event pushes prior to the change in management, and it's perhaps no surprise that this match would be James Storm's last with the company before making his debut at WWE Unforgiven the following weekend.

"I was frustrated," Storm said in his WWE.com interview, "I'd be told I was in line for a push and then it was taken out from underneath me. People look back at that period in TNA history with rosy coloured glasses. They see the pushes of guys like Samoa Joe and Homicide and they think it was all peaches and cream, man. But it wasn't. For every deserving guy who got the rub, two other deserving guys were ignored. Do I regret going to the WWE? Of course not. I got a good run and when the end came, TNA were gracious enough to let bygones be bygones".

But that's a story for a little later. As it was, Alex Shelley was in the ring to hype up the 'hottest new tag team in professional wrestling' - that being the pairing with himself and former X-Division Champion, Chris Sabin as the Motor City Machine Guns. The pair were already announced as one of four teams in a Tag Mayhem match (a blatant rip off of the WWE's TLC matches) that would feature themselves, Team 3-D, and The Steiner Brothers. The fourth team, to be announced as LAX (sans Homicide) was an odd choice - given the new pairing had yet to win a match on TNA programming.

Shelley would join Don West and Mike Tenay on commentary and provide humorous 'insight' into the match.

(84)

Predictably, The Steiner Brothers had little trouble in accounting for the inexperiencing team of James Storm and Robert Roode. Despite both having extensive histories in the tag team division - it was clear that neither worker's heart was in the match. With Storm jumping to the WWE just days later (and Roode to join him in the company not far down the track) it was perhaps not a surprise, and TNA management could have perhaps avoided the poachings by paying attentions to the sluggish but generally acceptable match. Steiner forced Storm to tap out to the Steiner Recleiner to successfully defend the gold.

(75/73/78)

Amy Dumas, who had really failed to capture the public's imagine since her debut, was out next with AJ Styles to talk about the feud between her client, AJ Styles and Kurt Angle. She revealed that she had been encouraging Styles to go after men who frightened him, because conquering his fears was an excellent way to better himself. With each victory over Angle, Styles was ridding himself of a fear that had been holding him back. Apparently.

(68)

Styles and Homicide's pushes continued to come in the next match, the pair squaring off against Kurt Angle and Chris Harris (another guy whose push to the top had been halted or delayed by the change in booking). Harris, once part of the legendary America's Most Wanted tag team, had been an instant hit as a singles wrestler - but had so far been unable to convince the booking team that he warranted a genuine push. Given the calibre of worker involved, it's no surprise that the match was a success, with Homicide and Styles showing excellent chemistry as a team in picking up a pinfall victory over Angle and Harris. It was Angle who took the fall, Styles rolling him up after Homicide had riled the Olympic gold medalist with a cocky, disrespectful slap to his face.

(85/83/87)

Fans began to roar as the cameras cut backstage to Chris Jericho preparing for his match against Tomko later in the evening, only to have his locker room door flung open as Tomko and Cage (his opponents for No Surrender) hit the room and began a brutal beat down. Tomko bounced his head off a locker and Cage hit the Unprettier onto a (gimmicked) bench. Jericho was left a bloody mess, and the pairing of Cage and Tomko were given some real heat going into the feud.

(92)

The commercial break ended with Rob Van Dam making his way down to the ring. He cut another impassioned promo, calling Cage and Tomko a pair of cowardly dogs who had no place in TNA. He said that beating up Jericho wasn't going to get Tomko out of a match, and he'd better get his ass down to the ring for one hell of a beating. RVD wasn't just going to beat Tomko, he was going to humiliate him. Tomko, with Cage in tow, grudingly accepted the challenge.

(84)

Let it not be said that Tomko was a glorified big man. Looking back through the history books and at the latter days in his career, it's perhaps hard to imagine Tomko as a guy who could turn in matches. But Hulk Hogan had his share of great matches. So did Big Show. The big man's curse is that, irregardless of his skills, he'll always be judged by his physique. While in some cases this is enough to warrant a main event push (see The Great Khali, Batista), in most cases it's cause for a short push and then months (or years) of playing the 'stepping stone' (see Kane). This match was evidence of Tomko's ability to work a good match if the opponent was correct, and RVD did a marvellous job of making Tomko look like a brutal, unstoppable monster by selling like a bastard. He took big boots and press slams, fallaway slams and powerbombs. And he kept coming back. The fans rode him home and when he was able to intercept a chair thrown by Cage, the Van Daminator spelled the end for Tomko. One Five Star Frog Splash later he'd covered for the 1-2-3.

(80/79/82)

The night's main event would see Carlos Colon make a rare televised title defence against none other than Sting, the distracted foe of Christopher Daniels clearly didn't have his mind on the job as Colon taunted him. It was a move designed to show the debilitating effect Daniels' kidnapping of his daughter had had, and Colon played the opportunistic son of a bitch to perfection. Sting looked a shadow of his former self as he was slapped, taunted, and roundly mocked by the champion that everyone was beginning to love to hate. If that wasn't bad enough, Daniels finally came out to answer Sting's challenge at the very moment Sting had managed to show some spirit and sidewalk slam Colon to the ground.

"Sting, you pathetic son of a bitch," Daniels interrupted, "You've betrayed me and you've betrayed the path. Your cowardice and weak mindedness has forced me to take action, and your daughter is feeling the sting of that. You demand a match to win her back? You want me to put my career on the line? I'll do it, you coward. I'll do it and I'll do it gladly. If you can't follow the path, you don't deserve a career. And if you can't follow the path, you don't deserve your daughter either".

To emphasize his point, the big screen flickered to what appeared to be a camera inside a car's trunk. A girl, presumably Sting's daughter (but in reality, developmental talent Sara Del Ray) screamed through a gag as her eyes frantically searched the dimly lit trunk for an escape. Sting went over the edge and rushed towards Daniels, but was caught by Colon as he passed - garotted and punished with the Career Killer for the 1-2-3. Colon celebrated his ill gotten victory as a broken Sting wept in the ring.

(87/92/76)

Colon remained in the ring to celebrate his 'triumph' over Sting, and this only angered the crowd further. But their boos turned to cheers as Rhino hit the ring from behind Colon and waited for the champion to turn around. GORE! GORE! GORE! Colon ate the Gore and Rhino stood tall as Impact went off the air and fans readied themselves for No Surrender.

(88)

OVERALL: 82%

BEST SEGMENT: Cage ambushes Jericho

WORST SEGMENT: Dumas/Styles promo

MOTN: AJ Styles & Homicide vs. Kurt Angle & Chris Harris

RATING: 5.44

ATTENDANCE: 4006

Predictions always welcome, provided you provide some reasoning

Nicho El Millionaro © vs. Sonjay Dutt in a Ladder Match for the X-Division Title

The Steiner Brothers © vs. LAX vs. Team 3D vs. Motor City Machine Guns in Tag Mayhem for the TNA Tag Titles

Abyss vs. Sean O'Haire

AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle

Homicide vs. Samoa Joe in an 30 Minute Iron Man match

Sting vs. Christopher Daniels in an 'I Quit', Loser Leaves TNA Forever match

Carlos Colon © vs. Rhino in a Steel Cage for the TNA World Heavyweight Title

Chris Jericho and Rob Van Dam vs. Christian Cage & Tomko

WWE Unforgiven

Kevin Thorn vs. Charlie Haas

Val Venis vs. Viscera

MVP © vs. Jim Duggan for the United States Title

Melina © vs. Michelle McCool vs. Candice Michelle vs. Maria for the WWE Women's Title

Santino Marella © vs. Paul London for the WWE Intercontinental Title

The Hardy Boyz © vs. The Highlanders for the World Tag Titles

The Great Khali © vs. Triple H for the WWE Title

Bobby Lashley © vs. William Regal for the ECW World Heavyweight Title

Brock Lesnar © vs. The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Title

[tenaciousg]

TNA No Surrender

Nicho El Millionaro © vs. Sonjay Dutt in a Ladder Match for the X-Division Title

Nicho can't lose the title this fast. I can see a lot of NGX interference leading to a NEM defense.

The Steiner Brothers © vs. LAX vs. Team 3D vs. Motor City Machine Guns in Tag Mayhem for the TNA Tag Titles

If Shelley and Sabin are the future of the TNA Tag division, this match should score them the championship.

Abyss vs. Sean O'Haire

O'Haire will win - perhaps by interference from Mitchell, perhaps by DQ... but Abyss will NOT win.

AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle

Angle's supposed to win the feud, apparently - so perhaps this is the feud-ender?

Homicide vs. Samoa Joe in an 30 Minute Iron Man match

Homicide squeaks out a win in the final seconds, and then Joe and 'Cide shake hands.

Sting vs. Christopher Daniels in an 'I Quit', Loser Leaves TNA Forever match

Sting's a legend - he's probably got a big contract, and other than that, he'll probably have no problem putting TFA over.

Carlos Colon © vs. Rhino in a Steel Cage for the TNA World Heavyweight Title

While Rhino is badass-cubed, I can't see him winning this feud against Colon. I can, however, see Rhino get a win that'll keep him looking strong - perhaps a callback to the infamous Cage/Rhino SSoS spot? Colon gets gored through the door for the win?

Chris Jericho and Rob Van Dam vs. Christian Cage & Tomko

The Coalition gets a cheap win. Probably to set up Cage/Jericho at Bound for Glory.

WWE Unforgiven

Kevin Thorn vs. Charlie Haas

Thorn's supposed to become a ME-player? Why says it can't start here?

Val Venis vs. Viscera

Reward Venis's years of service with a loss to the least-talented member of the RAW roster not named Dalip Singh. >_>

MVP © vs. Jim Duggan for the United States Title

Because sadly... I can actually see WWE doing something like this one day.

Melina © vs. Michelle McCool vs. Candice Michelle vs. Maria for the WWE Women's Title

Further bastard(or is it bitching)izing the Women's Division.

Santino Marella © vs. Paul London for the WWE Intercontinental Title

How do you keep the IC title's image in the gutter? Have a somewhat-decent worker with a abhorrent gimmick continue to hold it!

The Hardy Boyz © vs. The Highlanders for the World Tag Titles

THEY'RE ROBBIE! THEY'RE RORY! THEY'RE SUCKY!

The Great Khali © vs. Triple H for the WWE Title

Call me crazy, but I can see Trips using his backstage pull to get the title back and hog it again.

Bobby Lashley © vs. William Regal for the ECW World Heavyweight Title

Untalented... green... not extreme in any sense of the word... PERFECT!

Brock Lesnar © vs. The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Title

The first time 'Taker jobbed to Lesnar, I think Taker was okay. This time around? Taker might be a little hot that Lesnar was resigned and given the title because Edge did the 'horrible, unforgivable' act of supporting Ric Flair back at GAB.

[stephenbutler]

Nicho El Millionaro © vs. Sonjay Dutt in a Ladder Match for the X-Division Title

Nash, Matthews and Gruner will provide interference for the win.

The Steiner Brothers © vs. LAX vs. Team 3D vs. Motor City Machine Guns in Tag Mayhem for the TNA Tag Titles

MCMG will start their rise here.

Abyss vs. Sean O'Haire

O' Haire is Mitchell's new bitch, Abyss will lose

AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle

This feud will continue for longer, bank on it

Homicide vs. Samoa Joe in an 30 Minute Iron Man match

MOTY right here.

Sting vs. Christopher Daniels in an 'I Quit', Loser Leaves TNA Forever match

As said before, Sting won't mind putting Daniels over. I also see Sting's "daughter" defending herself.

Carlos Colon © vs. Rhino in a Steel Cage for the TNA World Heavyweight Title

Colon for a long title reign

Chris Jericho and Rob Van Dam vs. Christian Cage & Tomko

Coalition to win. As they gained heaps of HEAT from Impact

WWE Unforgiven

Kevin Thorn vs. Charlie Haas

Thorn push starts here

Val Venis vs. Viscera

Let me guess, random filler match or crappily booked feud. Either way Vis gets the win

MVP © vs. Jim Duggan for the United States Title

MVP easy win

Melina © vs. Michelle McCool vs. Candice Michelle vs. Maria for the WWE Women's Title

Melina seems to be the "biggest" diva in the WWE so she will win

Santino Marella © vs. Paul London for the WWE Intercontinental Title

Yep. Marella still winning

The Hardy Boyz © vs. The Highlanders for the World Tag Titles

Hardyz will retain

The Great Khali © vs. Triple H for the WWE Title

BACKSTAGE POWERS!!!!

Bobby Lashley © vs. William Regal for the ECW World Heavyweight Title

Vince's fetish for big guys continues

Brock Lesnar © vs. The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Title

Taker for the strap. This is WWE's good month. But expect a shit reign.

[MGW]

Nicho El Millionaro © vs. Sonjay Dutt in a Ladder Match for the X-Division Title

As said previously, Nicho waon't loose so soon, and you seem to have hinted he becomes a bit of a star, I expect a decent run. Plenty of interferance, mabie a debut on Sonjay/Lethal's side and a good match all round.

The Steiner Brothers © vs. LAX vs. Team 3D vs. Motor City Machine Guns in Tag Mayhem for the TNA Tag Titles

With all the comments you've made about them, the push they have and the work rate orentated direction the company seems to be going, they seem a logical choice

Abyss vs. Sean O'Haire

As much as I hate to see Abyss loose, O'Haire is playing the unstopable monster. Should be an entertaining brawl that will lead to a gimmick match next month

AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle

I think you already said Angle was going over here after he lost to Homicide.

Homicide vs. Samoa Joe in an 30 Minute Iron Man match

Tough one to call, but Joe picks up the win. Joe needs to start moving up after this feud 9which has been stellar btw)

Sting vs. Christopher Daniels in an 'I Quit', Loser Leaves TNA Forever match

I can see Sting picking up the win and rescuing his daughter, with Daniels becoming an outside, overhanging threat

Carlos Colon © vs. Rhino in a Steel Cage for the TNA World Heavyweight Title

Still too soon for Colon to drop and Rhino ain;t the man to drop to, should be a brutal match.

Chris Jericho and Rob Van Dam vs. Christian Cage & Tomko

You ain't gonna job Jericho and RVD in their PPV debuts.

WWE Unforgiven

Kevin Thorn vs. Charlie Haas

I believe you stated that Thorn becomes something of a player, so this makes sense

Val Venis vs. Viscera

Again, comments made earlier 9about Morley joining TNA) make me think he gets jobbed out here

MVP © vs. Jim Duggan for the United States Title

You stated there was something of a WWE resurgance, and putting the US belt on Duggan doesn't fit that criteria

Melina © vs. Michelle McCool vs. Candice Michelle vs. Maria for the WWE Women's Title

The new girl on Raw always seems to get the gold, can't see that changing here

Santino Marella © vs. Paul London for the WWE Intercontinental Title

Marella has been a flop (even in you're game) and London is another name I'm sure was mentioned for big things.

The Hardy Boyz © vs. The Highlanders for the World Tag Titles

Highlanders never seems tag title materail to me

The Great Khali © vs. Triple H for the WWE Title

Some politiking from Trips gets him another title

Bobby Lashley © vs. William Regal for the ECW World Heavyweight Title

Regal doesn't seem the type the 'E would put a top level belt on, so Lashley FTW

Brock Lesnar © vs. The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Title

Oh look, Lesnar vs 'Taker, we've never seen that before....oh wait didn't we see it a few times in 2002?

[Kapalua2483]

First stab at predicting in this diary. Gonna call me crazy but what the hell I'm gonna pick who I think.

Nicho El Millionaro © vs. Sonjay Dutt in a Ladder Match for the X-Division Title

I see Sonjay Dutt and NEM pulling out a big match here and the popular pick is NEM to retain. I am going against the grain and picking Sonjay Dutt to recapture the X Division Title. Just because I think it starts becoming a hot potato at this point.

The Steiner Brothers © vs. LAX vs. Team 3D vs. Motor City Machine Guns in Tag Mayhem for the TNA Tag Titles

Steiner Brothers here guys. MCMG are going to be big but not this soon. They need to win a major feud before they get these belts. LAX was just thrown into the match and Team 3D are bland. Steiners are a novelty right now but still good enough to hold the Tag Straps.

Abyss vs. Sean O'Haire

I agree with what those have said before. O'Haire will beat Abyss with probably a distraction of James Mitchell and a Prophecy from O'Haire but Abyss will get a revenge attack before all is said and done.

AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle

It's hard to figure between these two but I believe Angle will use his capital with TNA management to get a win here. He's put over Homicide and Styles this month multiple times. (Homicide once and AJ several). Time for Angle to get a win back. This is going to be probably a three month feud. Angle wins PPV #1. Styles #2. Angle #3. My thoughts anywho.

Homicide vs. Samoa Joe in an 30 Minute Iron Man match

This will be a classic just like their impact match and I suspect will go the full thirty with no pinfalls and no submissions. Homicide has been on a roll but I think Joe pulls it out in overtime (Unless there is no OT and then I saw 30 minute draw with a standing ovation)

Sting vs. Christopher Daniels in an 'I Quit', Loser Leaves TNA Forever match

Daniels wins, sorry Sting fans. This gimmick of Daniels needs to move on past Sting with Daniels as the lone follower on this path. Sting will get his "Daughter" back but Daniels will win the match and Sting will dissappear for a month or three and then get into a feud with someone else. This is the beginning of a major Daniels push!

Carlos Colon © vs. Rhino in a Steel Cage for the TNA World Heavyweight Title

I LOVE Rhino but not against "The Jackal". Colon is not going to lose the belt or a feud to Rhino. He's being built as a long term heel champion I Believe and while it'll look at several times like Rhino might pull out the win. See the Career Killer for what will be the result of this match. Carlos Colon retains.

Chris Jericho and Rob Van Dam vs. Christian Cage & Tomko

Despite common belief. With alot of the heels winning earlier big matches. TNA will send the fans home happy with a Jericho and RVD win over Cage and Tomko. Otherwise it just becomes too many heel wins on the PPV.

WWE Unforgiven

Kevin Thorn vs. Charlie Haas

Thorn, bottom line as the WWE has plans for him and have proven never have plans for Haas.

Val Venis vs. Viscera

please for the love of all that is holy...give Val a win here....(Viscera wins *sigh*)

MVP © vs. Jim Duggan for the United States Title

MVP will win this match and retain otherwise the collective groan from WWE fans will get louder.

Melina © vs. Michelle McCool vs. Candice Michelle vs. Maria for the WWE Women's Title

Candice wins the Women's Title by pinning Melina. No pinning someone else to win the title here. Trying to push the dead women's division. Nice attempt but no go.

Santino Marella © vs. Paul London for the WWE Intercontinental Title

Now I believe that Paul London will win the IC Title here...why? I'm a Paul London mark and that's why quite honestly. Plus the Marella gimmick of getting lucky and rolling people up has to be getting old.

The Hardy Boyz © vs. The Highlanders for the World Tag Titles

Hardy Boyz are going to retain here. I Don't see the Highlanders as the ones to take the straps off this legendary tag team. Good showings from the Scots though.

The Great Khali © vs. Triple H for the WWE Title

Please oh please let Triple H win this Title here...I'm wishing for Triple H to win the belt?...the world must be ending but it wont happen as Khali continues on his monster push.

Bobby Lashley © vs. William Regal for the ECW World Heavyweight Title

WWE continues to let Charisma simply ooze out of the shows by letting Bobby Lashley retain the ECW Title here. Simply because he's a hoss and Vince likes Hosses.

Brock Lesnar © vs. The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Title

Lesnar is one of the new signings and while it makes sense that he would retain here. Notice the placement of it. Khali will win (Nobody wants to see it)(Lashley retains, People are miserable seeing it) If they were smart like TNA at this junction. They send the fans home happy but Vince is still in his state of denial and he has Lesnar go over and retain giving the fans three straight matches to go home and weep about.

Lol I hope I get just a couple right here!

[Venom]

TNA No Surrender

Nicho El Millionaro © vs. Sonjay Dutt in a Ladder Match for the X-Division Title

Nash's group will cost Dutt the match, furthering the feud.

The Steiner Brothers © vs. LAX vs. Team 3D vs. Motor City Machine Guns in Tag Mayhem for the TNA Tag Titles

I think the Motor City Machine Guns will win the titles sometime soon, but the Steiners just got the belts, and it'll be better for the young team if they take the titles after a feud with the champs. Maybe this match will start that feud.

Abyss vs. Sean O'Haire

Because I see Abyss becoming TNA's version of Kane.

AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle

This was tough, since AJ has been on a roll lately, but Angle needs to pick up an important win to retain some credibility.

Homicide vs. Samoa Joe in a 30 Minute Iron Man match

The beginning of Homicide's rise to the top.

Sting vs. Christopher Daniels in an 'I Quit', Loser Leaves TNA Forever match

Daniels will win with the Scorpion Deathlock, no idea what will happen to Sting afterwards though.

Carlos Colon © vs. Rhino in a Steel Cage for the TNA World Heavyweight Title

I think the feud between these two will go a little longer before Colon drops the belt.

Chris Jericho and Rob Van Dam vs. Christian Cage & Tomko

It makes sense to have the two new faces win against Cage and Tomko.

WWE Unforgiven

Kevin Thorn vs. Charlie Haas

Because WWE never gives us a reason to believe that Charlie Haas will ever, ever win a singles match.

Val Venis vs. Viscera

Hopefully the start of a push?

MVP © vs. Jim Duggan for the United States Title

Seems like a throwaway match to continue building up MVP's credibility.

Melina © vs. Michelle McCool vs. Candice Michelle vs. Maria for the WWE Women's Title

No idea why.

Santino Marella © vs. Paul London for the WWE Intercontinental Title

It's weird, because I really can't see either of these guys winning this match. I'll go with who I would prefer to win.

The Hardy Boyz © vs. The Highlanders for the World Tag Titles

Again, no idea why.

The Great Khali © vs. Triple H for the WWE Title

Maybe by interference. You seem to be alluding to a long title reign for Khali.

Bobby Lashley © vs. William Regal for the ECW World Heavyweight Title

Hopefully Lashley is finished with the ECW Title.

Brock Lesnar © vs. The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Title

Again, no idea why, because we don't really know what's been going on with WWE until the actual PPV posts.

[Dynamite]

Nicho El Millionaro © vs. Sonjay Dutt in a Ladder Match for the X-Division Title

He's only just won the title and if they want the X-Division to look credible then they will keep the title on him for a little while more.

The Steiner Brothers © vs. LAX vs. Team 3D vs. Motor City Machine Guns in Tag Mayhem for the TNA Tag Titles

Once again I think that the champions will not lose their titles so quickly however I think that the Motor City Machine Guns will come out looking like strong contenders.

Abyss vs. Sean O'Haire

O'Haire is the monster who can't be stopped and Abyss hasn't been too impressive since his return. James Mitchell will be the different between two even men.

AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle

Its been mentioned before that Angle wins the fued and coming off a series of losses he should turn it all around.

Homicide vs. Samoa Joe in an 30 Minute Iron Man match

I see Homicide just squeezing a victory out of this one to propel himself up the TNA ladder.

Sting vs. Christopher Daniels in an 'I Quit', Loser Leaves TNA Forever match

Daniels gets the win with the daughter betraying Sting and becoming Daniels new manager. This doesn't make Sting look weak, he can take a rest and make a shock return a few months down the line.

Carlos Colon © vs. Rhino in a Steel Cage for the TNA World Heavyweight Title

I don't see Rhino ever managing to become the champion especially as Carlos is becoming more and more popular with the fans.

Chris Jericho and Rob Van Dam vs. Christian Cage & Tomko

They are the two new guys and a win on their PPV debuts really puts them on top and become challengers to the title.

WWE Unforgiven

Kevin Thorn vs. Charlie Haas

You've said Thorn gets a push and a loss to Haas does exactly the opposite.

Val Venis vs. Viscera

Hopefully Venis wins and it seems as though he is in line for a push ... but the WWE continue this fued and the push never happens.

MVP © vs. Jim Duggan for the United States Title

Weird choice in having Duggan as a contender and in his current condition, he isn't champion material.

Melina © vs. Michelle McCool vs. Candice Michelle vs. Maria for the WWE Women's Title

She's new to Raw and there's no point burying her just yet.

Santino Marella © vs. Paul London for the WWE Intercontinental Title

You've said before London was destined for greatness so why not start the push here.

The Hardy Boyz © vs. The Highlanders for the World Tag Titles

Hardys win comfortably i think.

The Great Khali © vs. Triple H for the WWE Title

Triple H uses his backstage power and embarks on an epic title reign at the expense of Khali.

Bobby Lashley © vs. William Regal for the ECW World Heavyweight Title

Regal has only just come on to ECW and it'd seem of too big a push to put the title on him right now.

Brock Lesnar © vs. The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Title

I think Lesnar was only given the title as a punishment to Edge. Also, Undertaker was due for a long reign before his injury so I see them giving it him back.

[tenaciousg]

The way I see MVP/Duggan being built up is just that Duggan's the guy who's known for starting massive "USA!!!" chants - what better champion than Duggan?

MVP, that's who!