Hardy! Roode! Sneak Attacks! TNA World Heavyweight Championship!
There wasn't much advancement in the feud between Jeff Hardy vs. Bobby Roode last week (Nov. 22), probably due to the fact it was Thanksgiving here in the States so most fans were probably spending time with their loved ones. What you might of missed was Hardy defeating Gut Check winner Christian York. This was followed by Roode rushing into the ring to lay "The Charismatic Enigma" out. It was your standard heel tactic as we get closer and closer to the pair's championship match at Final Resolution (Dec. 9).
Simple sometimes works out well, and I think it works very well here.
As weird as Hardy has become, he is still a good to great performer in the ring. Roode is an amazing talent who has taken to the main event like E. Coli to room temperature Canadian beef. I don't know how much TNA is looking to complicate the proceedings, but if this is being planned to stretch over multiple Pay-Per-Views (PPV's) things will probably stay simple right now.
Again, simple works in this situation.
If you're not a fan of TNA, then there is little I can say to make you appreciate the show. If you are watching, you know the championship picture is a bright spot for the promotion. A face and a heel, both talented performers, going head to head for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.
Any fan of pro wrestling should be able to appreciate this.
Aries! Bully! Brooke! Hulk! Love! Hate! Rumors! Affairs!
There is something very strange going on in pro wrestling lately. First, TNA had the "Crackhead Claire" saga with AJ Styles, Claire Lynch, Christopher Daniels and Kazarian. Then, that other promotion started its own angle with an AJ. Now, we are back in TNA with Austin Aries calling out Brooke Hogan and Bully Ray for allegedly bumping uglies.
At least this time it should be fun to watch.
Aries and Bully are just awesome to watch. Both are guys who understand pro wrestling and how to get fans to care about what is going on. Brooke is a bit of a wild card. She's not a terrible actress by pro wrestling standards, but she will clearly be over-matched if she goes one-on-one with "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived." It will be interesting to see how TNA uses her.
Then there is Hulk Hogan. This whole thing will just be painful to watch if he comes in and starts chewing up scenery. He has been getting better recently, though, and he shouldn't be too bad, as long as he comes in small doses.
The whole affair business is completely stupid; however, this is pro wrestling. Stupidity fits right at home here as long as everyone is having fun with it. It shouldn't involve date rape and pregnancies. It shouldn't involve slut shaming and painful predictability.
What it should involve is a cast of characters who understand the absurdity of everything, where the storyline is consistent, and no one is quite sure what will happen next.
As weird as it is to write, I am genuinely excited for this angle. Let's see how TNA manages to screw things up.
Everything Else! Bullet Points!
- Aces & 8s took out Eric Young last week. This is sad because a) I love Eric Young and b) Aces & 8s is still a thing.
- Rob Van Dam will be defending his X-Division title tonight against an opponent of Hogan's choosing. Who will it be? No one knows! How exciting!
- AJ Styles and James Storm will be teaming up to face Daniels and Kazarian in some hot tag team action. At the very least, this should be a match to make the show worth watching.
Hopefully, this has prepared you for the night's festivities. Leave a comment below about what you are looking forward to, and please join Nolan, myself, and the entire CSS Thursday night gang in the live blog right here.