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Final Resolution great except for...

AnubisPosted on 01/16/06 at 08:20:27

...Raven's match.  X-Pac?  Excuse me?  This guy hasn't been over in any promotion in years and has no previous connection with Raven.  What the bloody Hell were they thinking?  Would have been better if Larry Zbyszko had just wrestled Raven himself.

On top of that, is Raven really leaving?  There was so much inconsistency in that match, and X-Pac really dragged down the match quality.  While the rest of the PPV was freaking fantastic, they really dropped the ball here.  X-Pac is nowhere near Raven's level, so the match just wasn't believable.  On top of that, why would they do this if Raven isn't leaving the company?
91Posted on 01/16/06 at 18:36:36

I'd be willing to accept that if there was a point to it. Mind you, I wouldn't be willing to accept the supposed suckiness of X-Pac (I haven't seen the match - I wouldn't take one persons opinion alone, but the general consensus on all the reports seem to agree with you) but hindsight is 20/20.
Captain TagonPosted on 01/17/06 at 06:35:18

Anubis, do you even pay attention to wrestling?

Raven and Waltman had a much lauded hardcore match on TNA PPV just a few months back.

And what about the ending of the tag title match?
rey619Posted on 01/17/06 at 07:58:57

I would have hoped for Dreamer or Sandman myself.. was a little let down by Waltman.. I think since Zbyszko screwed Raven, we haven't seen the last of him.

Other things to note (without having seen it, mind you).. not too happy about Styles winning because Shannon Moore punk'd Tanahashi.. now why would he do that? The ending to the tag-team match seems like a unique, dusty finish.. it keeps the feud going.
ZedjaPosted on 01/17/06 at 11:47:13

Since Dreamer works for WWE I highly doubt he'd do anything for TNA while under contract.
rey619Posted on 01/17/06 at 15:21:55

Well.. yeah.. but I would have thought that Sandman had been a better choice.. but I guess they still pay Waltman, so that's why they used him.
Captain TagonPosted on 01/17/06 at 19:52:43

The finish to the tag match does keep the feud going, but that doesn't make it any less dumb.
AnubisPosted on 01/18/06 at 01:15:37

A hardcore match a few months back does not a great feud make.  When I think of feuds he's had, I think Flock, Shane Douglas, Sandman, Dreamer, etc.  Either way, Waltman is a disaster and should not be on television.  You could tell the boos were for Zbyszko and NOT heel heat on Waltman.

I dunno, I though the ending to the tag match was unique enough (not to mention it fit my prediction on the match) that it works.  I'm probably in the minority, but still, given the history behind the match, I thought it was fitting.

As for Styles and Tanabashi, I dunno why they're even bringing Shannon Moore into the company and I especially don't know why they had to have him stick his nose in that match (since obviously it had no place in an angle, as it was lauded as a special match.
CarlzillaPosted on 01/18/06 at 11:01:25

Here's my take on the Tanahashi/Styles match fiasco.

Tanahashi couldn't go over Styles cleanly (despite being the better wrestler...and I'm not being an over zealous puro fan here...Styles is very good, but Tanahashi is better) because Styles just won the MVP and most fans wouldn't buy that ending. Styles couldn't go over Tanahashi cleanly because NJPW wouldn't allow it, having allowed Liger to do a clean job earlier in the year. So this was the only way to have Styles win without burying Tanahashi's future US heat since there are already rumors that he will be making a return to the US in the future.
rey619Posted on 01/18/06 at 14:00:41

Yes, but wouldn't it have made more sense to have Moore clock Styles with the award? And have Tanahashi win it?

Tanahashi is still in the US.. he's actually (believe it or not) taped a match for Xplosion...  :P

And better worker doesn't mean you have to win all your matches.. which is why Simon Dean is a jobber and John Cena main events.
91Posted on 01/18/06 at 20:29:23

On 01/18/06 at 01:15:37, Anubis wrote:A hardcore match a few months back does not a great feud make. When I think of feuds he's had, I think Flock, Shane Douglas, Sandman, Dreamer, etc. Either way, Waltman is a disaster and should not be on television. You could tell the boos were for Zbyszko and NOT heel heat on Waltman.
Whilst the match was bad, so I hear, you can't blame TNA for thinking "Waltman and Raven had a good match a while back, let's have another." Seems like common sense to me. All this proved is they probably shouldn't have a third encounter.
AnubisPosted on 01/18/06 at 22:17:35

On 01/18/06 at 11:01:25, Carlzilla wrote:Here's my take on the Tanahashi/Styles match fiasco.

Tanahashi couldn't go over Styles cleanly (despite being the better wrestler...and I'm not being an over zealous puro fan here...Styles is very good, but Tanahashi is better) because Styles just won the MVP and most fans wouldn't buy that ending. Styles couldn't go over Tanahashi cleanly because NJPW wouldn't allow it, having allowed Liger to do a clean job earlier in the year. So this was the only way to have Styles win without burying Tanahashi's future US heat since there are already rumors that he will be making a return to the US in the future.
I guess you have some good points there, so I can dig that. Agreed on all counts, including the abilities of those involved. Tanahashi impressed me.

Then again, I've always thought that Japanese wrestlers were, on average, better than American wrestlers. AJ Styles may be one of the best (if not THE best) American worker, Tanahashi seems to be in the top twenty or ten workers in Japan, and even the top hundred would be better than America's absolute best.

On 01/18/06 at 14:00:41, rey619 wrote:Yes, but wouldn't it have made more sense to have Moore clock Styles with the award? And have Tanahashi win it?
I wouldn't wanna see Shannon Moore get anything over AJ Styles. Shannon Moore isn't even in AJ's league, man. At least Tanahashi isn't well-known around America; AJ Styles is the most over guy in TNA! This feud should be short and sweet with AJ Styles going over cleanly and quickly.

On 01/18/06 at 14:00:41, rey619 wrote:And better worker doesn't mean you have to win all your matches.. which is why Simon Dean is a jobber and John Cena main events.
Yup. Nova can out-work about 75% of the WWE roster with his eyes closed, lol.

On 01/18/06 at 20:29:23, 91 wrote:Whilst the match was bad, so I hear, you can't blame TNA for thinking "Waltman and Raven had a good match a while back, let's have another." Seems like common sense to me. All this proved is they probably shouldn't have a third encounter.
My main gripes are a) it made NO sense storyline-wise and b) Sean Waltman going over a FORMER NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION RAVEN makes Raven look like a piece of crap, especially since the screwjob was a minor one at that (Waltman was going over Raven strong most of the match anyway, and the only screwjob was Larry ignoring Raven's foot on the bottom rope). This makes Waltman almost look like a contender when he should be in the unemployment line.

I wish TNA would pick and choose which former WWE "superstars" they bring in a bit more wisely. Being a former WWE "superstar" doesn't mean "automatically over".

What about Perry Saturn?  What about DDP?  These guys have history with Raven AND I would have bought them going over Raven.  Waltman going over Raven is just stupid.  That'd be like my little brother going over Goldberg.
CarlzillaPosted on 01/19/06 at 00:52:38

I'm aware that Tanahashi is still in the US, the Xplosion match is supposedly one of the hottest matches ever taped for that show, with the fans really getting behind Tanahashi as he trounced Roderick Strong(chanting his name and even counting his pins in japanese.[despite that fact that pins are counted in english in japan...])

He's also supposed to train with Karl Gotch at some point...he flies back tomorrow though.

From what I've read, Moore was trying to hit AJ with the award and hit Tanahashi on accident. The ending was super lame, and I'm sure that the fan's in Japan will hate it even more, since run-ins just don't happen over there. It should have been worked out better, but with AJ not wanting to do the job, and NJPW not allowing Tanahashi to do a clean job (they are the MUCH bigger company here  ) because they allowed one earlier this year over a big star and haven't got anything in return, this is what TNA came up with...not looking promising in my opinion...but I always have my puroresu, so I'm not super worried about the state of wrestling in the US.

Also, Anubis, while I agree with you that Japanese stars tend to be better in the ring than alot of US stars, I'm not sure the top 100 would be better than the top 100 over here. I'm sure the lists would be pretty intertwined if they where judged together. For every Hiroshi Tanahashi you have a Jun Izumida, just as for every AJ Styles you have a John Hidenriech...
Perverted_IconPosted on 01/24/06 at 22:21:50

Raven is very ill and had to lose this match to explain his absence from the promotion.  The years of steroids and recreational drugs have caught up to him and he has, I believe, thyroid problems.  He's trying to clean up and will return after he does.  Apparently, TNA is very high on him and will use him in an angle about him losing the NWA title when he returns.  (That is what the whole Jackie Gayda/Canada thing is right now.)
Rick GarrardPosted on 01/25/06 at 02:37:56

Raven should come back with a new gimmick.  Perhaps one known as "Captain Rehab".  And he could team with Sean Waltman and Scott Hall as the "Rehab Crew".  That's one thing you have to say about TNA, they sure don't give up on guys that have substance abuse problems.

Perhaps they can throw Marty Jannetty in there with them.  ;)
AnubisPosted on 01/25/06 at 09:40:17

At least Raven and Scott Hall can still work good matches, at least when sober.  Same can't be said for Sean Waltman, that or he's never sober.  LOL.
Perverted_IconPosted on 01/25/06 at 12:29:22

Waltman is twice the worker Scott Hall is at this point.  I love Scott Hall circa the late 90s, but Waltman has had dozens of good matches since the last good Hall match I've seen.
AnubisPosted on 01/25/06 at 21:27:07

Where did you find these matches?  I saw a lot of their late WCW and their WWE work, and Scott Hall was still working better matches IMO.
91Posted on 01/25/06 at 21:31:04

Hall is BEYOND useless these days in the ring. At least Waltman is just about the right side of comprehendable.
Rick GarrardPosted on 01/26/06 at 01:56:09

The last time I saw Hall in a TNA ring, I seriously thought they had hired Wayne Newton.  Hall's THAT out of shape these days.  He gets blown up just walking to the ring.  ;)
rey619Posted on 01/26/06 at 08:47:18

It has been a long while since WCW went out. Maybe Waltman has kept in better shape than Hall.
Snabbit888Posted on 01/26/06 at 18:03:05

Yeah, I haven't seen Hall since his last TNA appearance (which was at least a year or so ago, right?) and he looked round.  He was in awful shape.  e had degraded a lot even since his last WWE run when he met Austin at Wrestlemania.
Tommy BrownellPosted on 01/27/06 at 06:19:56

Ha...I ordered the TNA PPV and my friends and I all winced when we saw Waltman.  He's nothing but gut.

Seriously...he's, like, a beanpole with a belly.