Bully! Aces & 8s! Hulk! Brooke! Hardy! Styles! Sting! Finally! Angle Advancement! TNA World Heavyweight Championship!
Well it looks like someone in TNA finally remembered how to write a pro wrestling storyline.
Bully Ray has emerged as the President of Aces & 8s, and he has revitalized the masked group. There is a certain jump in their step, a certain twinkle in their eye. No longer is this simply a group of jobbers who run scared at the mere sight of opposition. No, this is a lean, mean, invading force who have taken TNA over by storm.
Someone is still going to have to explain to me why they have settled for capturing the TNA World Heavyweight Championship instead of going after control over the entire company. But baby steps. At least this is progress.
Bully has turned his back on Hulk Hogan, Brooke Hogan, and the entire TNA family. He has become public enemy number one in the promotion. It's finally a real, tangible step for the angle to take. Now we have a leader, a face for the heels, someone we as fans can take seriously .
The question now becomes where does Bully, Aces & 8s, and TNA go from here.
An invading force is only as good as its opposition. If this is simply leading up to the President jobbing to Jeff Hardy at Slammiversary XI (June 2), then it's all been a waste. Hell, I wouldn't put it past TNA to hot shot the title back to Hardy in the next few weeks. I know this is supposed to be the "new" TNA, and that all the crap of old is in the past.
But, can you honestly say for a second that fear isn't present?
We're going to get Hulk Hogan rattling his crutches saber and demanding justice. Which, fine. The sooner I accept that he will be playing a major role in this whole thing is the sooner I can find inner peace about it.
I said I will accept it, though, not that I will enjoy it.
Brooke Hogan is going to be the damsel in distress with Bully constantly harassing her. However, I'm still holding out hope that she was behind this the entire time and she emerges as the First Lady of Aces & 8s. It's incredibly stupid and should be the type of random booking I hate. I just really want to see Brooke running around in leather, and I do think her and Bully have some chemistry together. In either case, I hope TNA figures out a role for her in all of this besides moping around.
Apathy is a horrible look for her.
Sting is going to run around being a fat, old, hack, screaming backstage because he forgot to turn his hearing aid on. He'll act all shocked that Bully double crossed him, even though literally ever single person told him not to trust Mr. Dudley. Then Sting will demand to fight someone, except he's a fat, old, hack who doesn't even take his shirt off because he's embarrassed of the spare tire he is sporting.
Too harsh? Too bad. Sting can come find me and yell at me to get off his damn lawn.
Then there's the rest of TNA. Hardy is going to get his championship rematch sooner or later. But it remains to be seen if he'll be the face to take down Aces & 8s. It wouldn't necessarily be a bad choice, but I would be shocked if this angle doesn't go to Bound For Glory (Oct. 13). That would mean Hardy is getting title shot after title shot while eating loss after loss.
There's only so many false finishes you can go before it just becomes insulting.
So the rest of the roster will probably be getting a chance. Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Magnus, James Storm, maybe even heels such as Austin Aries, Bobby Roode, or Matt Morgan. Everyone will be going after the top, and it should be fun to watch them all try and fail.
And then there is AJ Styles.
Yes, the man who is banned from receiving a championship shot until Bound For Glory has returned by attacking Christopher Daniels and Storm. No one knows what side of the battle he will fall on. Will he fight for TNA, the promotion that has always been his home? Or could he turn to Aces & 8s as revenge for being disrespected?
Yes, this is pretty much a straight rip off of the guy who used to drop from the rafters. But all that went down in '96. It's been 18 years. A baby could have been born at the start of Sting's "Crow" run, and he would just be old enough to buy a nudie mag.
Don't you feel old as hell now?
The assumption has to be Styles will be the one who finally takes down Aces & 8s. It's simple long term booking, but it's a solid storyline that can be retold. I'm actually looking forward to seeing Styles finally emerge as the face of TNA.
Now it just becomes a matter of booking the next seven months until we reach the climax.
Everything Else! Bullet Points!
- The Tag Team Championships are on the line when Austin Aries & Bobby Roode go up against Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez. Will the heels retain once again? I sure as hell hope so!
- Kenny King will defend his X Division Championship against Zema Ion and Sonjay Dutt. TNA: feel the redundancy!
- Knockouts ref Taryn Terrell has been going above and beyond her duties by attacking Gail Kim the past few weeks. If I know Brooke Hogan like I think I do, this injustice will not stand!
- Matt Morgan will face Joseph Park tonight, and probably will kill him. I am fully looking forward to this.
Hopefully, this has prepared you for the night's festivities. Leave a comment below about what you are looking forward to, and please join the entire CSS Thursday night gang in the live blog TONIGHT!