What's so different?

Coffee Table Thoughts: What’s so different?

First, a few words on the life and times of TheMaskedNewton. The guy is busy as hell, slogging in the office for past 5 to 6 months with average daily hours spend going upto 13 hours. Add one and a half hour of travelling a day, and you get the idea of how awesome this phase of life is turning out to be for him.

Here goes nothing.

With all the hoopla about this year’s Wrestlemania, namely, Wrestlemania Play [ ►], I am feeling very confused. Well, normally, being confused is just another second in the life of TheMaskedNewton. But here, it is a bit different. I am confused as to whether or not I should be excited about this year’s annual extravaganza offering by the WWE, Wrestlemania. Or Wrestlemania [ ►].

On one hand, this year’s card feels well – rounded.

We have

1.      BROCK LESNAR vs Roman [I can] Reigns,

2.      The Undertaker vs Bray Wyatt,

3.      Triple H vs Vigilante Sting,

4.      Randy Orton vs Seth ‘the little snake’ Rollins and lastly,

5.      John Cena vs Rusev Pachka.

On the other hand…..

Now I do get it. Not every one of us is looking forward to every single one of those matches. Some are not so excited about Triple H vs Sting, given the not so clear reasoning behind Sting’s actions. Some are not sure whether Undertaker should return to the ring at his advanced age, especially after the stinker of a performance at last year’s Wrestlemania. Damn you pirated version of Microsoft Word, Wrestlemania is a correct word.

Some may be apprehensive of what may become of Rusev once he, or rather, once the freight train that is John Cena goes through him. Some may even feel that Dean Ambrose is more deserving of the match with Seth Rollins but I am sure those are not as rabidly against the match that stands at present.

Almost all of us have a thought or two million on Roman Reigns. Me too. I personally have dealt with the situation by just accepting the way chosen and am ready to give it a chance, in passing. But hey, I am not going to be part of the thousands of folks that will be mowing down the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. And I am certainly not going to be a part of those ‘lesser in number, but more rabid in aggression’ thousands of folks that will be attending the Monday Night, next night.

I can still hear loud and clear boos when he appears on screen, and those fine folks have definitely earned their right to express by way of buying tickets to those shows. Is the machine well prepared with what they are going to get from their audience? We at least have Brock Lesnar in one corner.

To be honest, I am not a big fan of the modern day Beast Incarnate. In fact, I haven’t been down with almost all of the booking decisions in relation to Brock Lesnar. Firstly, I don’t like his matches. Yeah yeah, he has been in UFC for last many years and made a name for himself there. If wresters were to be compared to green grass, for some reason, then he is a lawn mower.

But all of those matches where he is just playing with his doll inside the ring like a sick, twisted child make me yearn for the older days when he used to be wrestler, and not a fighter. He was a Bad Ass back then too. He was a Beast back then too. But his matches were a lot more interesting back then than they are now.

And on the other hand, there is Roman Reigns. I can say there is not much in the arsenal of Roman Reigns. But the guy is quite athletic. If not over the moon excitement, there is at least some intrigue as to what this match will be like. What kind of moves, that we haven’t seen Roman Reigns dish out till now, will be dished out? Whether it will be a fight of strength between the two or will it be a fight of wits? Will Roman Reigns wrestle the same style that he has wrestled so far or does he have more range in his game? As I said, I am intrigued by all of these variables. At the end of the day, or night, he will either confirm our worst fears or will surprise all of us. We will have to see it, to find it.

Anyways, going back to my original topic; the well rounded card.

If you give it a little thought, each of the above mentioned 5 matches can be considered to be a headlining bout in itself. Yes, my dear friends, 5! Like the 5-time, 5-time, 5-time, 5-time, 5-time 5! Like the Bryan Danielson’s ‘I’ve got till 5’, 5. Like the King Kong Bundy’s 5 count, 5.

There is a story involved in all of those matches. Some are basic, some are complex. Some have more layers to it than others. Sting and Triple H has had Triple H and vignettes (and a bit of story). Bray Wyatt and Undertaker have got a purpose (and Special Effects). Randy Orton and Seth Rollins have had an obvious but slowly evolving story (and a delayed return). John Cena and Rusev feud has grown organically. Roman Reigns has had a bumpy road but a determined mind. And Paul Heyman. We can all at least agree that the hype machine that is the WWE has given enough screen time and importance to build up of each of those matches, whether that may be direct or indirect.

Let’s have a look at some of the other Wrestlemania cards and the matches that those cards featured, to get a little perspective of the present card.

Wrestlemania 26. We had Undertaker vs Shwan Michaels 2, and John Cena vs Batista as absolute main events. I am sure the excitement level for both of those matches was much more than the excitement level for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship bout this year. Other than that there was Chris Jericho vs Edge which can be summed up as an IWC wet dream. Triple H vs Sheamus was nothing to get too excited about and Rey Mysterio vs CM Punk, even though a fairly well developed feud, felt more like a mid-card bout. I would say, comparing all of these matches, the present card has a more prestigious aura surrounding its bouts than those of Wrestlemania 26. Randy Orton facing both of his former stooges was an exciting affair that tilts the scale a little bit in favour of Wrestlemania 26, though.

I would say three matches on the Wrestlemania 27 card were very good to great in terms of build and the headlining status, those being Triple H vs Undertaker, John Cena vs The Miz and Edge vs Alberto Del Rio. CM Punk vs Randy Orton was exciting affair but the build to that match had been quite a dud. (I get it, you may feel the same for every single match of the Wrestlemnia Play card too). But none of those bouts can compare to this year’s card. Advantage WM31.

Moving on to Wrestlemania 28, it was all about the Triple Main Event and very little else. It was a Wrestlemania that was one of the greatest ever, but which seemed like it was going to be the absolute greatest ever before the event took place. The reason why it fell from ‘Greatest ever’ to ‘one of the Greatest’ status was because of the deflated audience after the whole ’18 Seconds’ debacle. Triple main event did deliver, though. In spades, none the less. CM Punk vs Chris Jericho was very reminiscent of the Y2J vs HBK bout from long ago. Triple H vs Undertaker was the end of an era bout with ‘on the verge of being diagnosed with heart attack’ Shawn Michaels as the Special Guest referee. I think The Doc is very apt in suggesting that Kane vs Randy Orton was a card enhancing bout. A solid, solid 10 minute bout between the two, but the build to that match didn’t present it as a kind of headlining match that each of the 5 matches listed above do. I would say Play version has got a slight edge over the 28^th version.

From one of the greatest ever to Rematchmania. I guess we have a twin brother, here. The excitement for the Wrestlemania for the 29^th edition might as well have been the lowest of its entire life. People were even less excited about John Cena vs The Rock 2 than they are for the Roman Empire. And they were even less excited about the whole Brock Lesnar vs Triple H extended program that no one was really giving two shits about. Same for Alberto Del Rio vs Jack ‘out of the blue’ Swagger. CM Punk and Undertaker did all their best to keep interest in the said Wrestlemania but I would say Wrestlemania this year wins by a mile here.

From Rematchmania, we go straight to the Roller Coster ride. I guess this year truly represents the alternative road to last year’s Wrestlemania. What if the management hadn’t given up to the audience’s demands? The 30^th anniversary (?) of Wrestlemania had Daniel Bryan vs Triple H, Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton vs Batista, John Cena vs Bray Wyatt (closest to John Cena vs Rusev this year) and Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker in the headlining position. Although it was exciting to see Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker, the IWC had not fully embraced that match. Still, there are 4 of such headlining matches in the last year as compared to 5 this year.

So in all, there is plenty to be happy about this year’s Wrestlemania. First, the number of matches that have been given enough importance are too many this year as compared to previous years. While the number of matches itself is not too big, the number of important/headlining matches is definitely big.  It seems the company has given away the habit of just throwing a match in there half heartedly or just to get people on the card. Those are the matches that are unimportant and hurt the grand feel of Wrestlemania. Some examples are: Shield vs Kane and Outlaws (as compared to say Shield vs The Wyatt Family and also because of the length of time), Team Hell No vs Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston, Mark Henry vs Ryback, Chris Jericho vs Fandango, Corre vs Pre Avengers, Michael Cole vs Jerry Lawler and that match that caused the depush for my favourite wrestler, John Morrison. Those matches were the examples of the worst possible matches on a Wrestlemania card. Even though the talent involved in those matches may not always have been stinker, but the way in which those matches were built or simply the people chosen to be part of those matches was horrible. I am very glad that the company is not giving us the card reducing bouts this year.  

Even though the problem (or solution) of part time stars is something that hasn’t gone away, and is likely not going away anytime soon, it can be said the part timers are being used in a much better way this year. Outside of Sting vs Triple H, both Brock Lesnar and Undertaker are facing the young guns. Even John Cena and Randy Orton are giving the rub to the future stars of the company.  

Apart from the above mentioned five matches, we are also going to have a Battle Royal, which is always a better choice to include the whole damn roster than say a multi man cluster **** of a tag team match. There is this Divas match which seems great on the surface because it will showcase only a few divas; the divas that have actually impressed with their performance throughout the year, to boot.

And then there is this ladder match with some less known, less popular and struggling stars.

Of course the card could have been better. We would have all jumped out of our seats if instead of Roman Reigns in the main event, it would have been Curtis Axel. Lol, no. Daniel Bryan is a modern day mystery, folks. After Wrestlemania 28, after the last year’s bumpy road which saw the exit of CM Punk, after all of this, WWE still hasn’t learned what they have got in their hands.

And it may be slipping out of their hands, just like sand. In this case, they are not trying to squeeze their hands which action leads to the sand falling out. They are simply getting rid of the sand by throwing it away and then rubbing their hands on their pants.

I would have preferred a Dean Ambrose vs Wade Barret match. I would have even preferred a Triple Threat or Fatal Fourway without the use of ladder. I would have preferred Daniel Bryan vs Dolph Ziggler, if we were not going to get Daniel Bryan vs Brock Lesnar in any case.

Still, even with these limitations, I think the present card holds good and has a chance of becoming not only a classic, but a blue print of what a card should be like, from here on. 5 headlining matches. 2 multi man matches. 1 Divas match. 1 possible Tag Team match. 9 matches in all. Average 26 minutes of time for each match. Even after providing for time for entrances, video packages, live performances, there is plenty of time left for the actual matches to ‘steal the show’.

But of course, for this Wrestlemania to become the new blue print of the Wrestlemania, it will have to, just like Roman Reigns, live upto its potential, on the night that matters.

20 New Blood, Steel Cage and Change

Coffee Table Thoughts {20}: New Blood, Steel Cage and Change

New Blood

In the recent times in Impact Wrestling, there has been an influx of new talent. There is enough variety in the talent too; they have come in all shapes and sizes.

We have Alex Silva and Sam Shaw who both are X-Division category with their small frames. They are both young and know the moves that suit this division. After some time on the roster, they will be able to gain experience and get more comfortable both in the in-ring aspects and other showmanship aspects that are associated with the professional wrestling industry. They already have a lot of talent but it is more in the form of potential. I am quite sure that they both will be headlining the X-Division in not so distant future.

We have Wes Briscoe who comes from a legendary wrestling family – his father Gerald Briscoe and Uncle Jack Briscoe were NWA mainstays. He seems to have a good wrestling acumen and a well built frame. He has been inserted in a storyline with Kurt Angle where Kurt is acting as his mentor. This can only point to good things in his future and I don’t think TNA will hesitate in giving him proper pushes from time to time. They need the aura of second generation superstars as their roster is not exactly full of them.

There is Jessie Godderz from the Big Brother who has got the look that chicks fall for and well, one of the hotties is already all over his body. I’m sorry, that’s all I see when I see Jessie and Tara together – Tara and her seductive antics. As far as the intangibles are concerned, he seems to have a good grip of that. He has a great screen presence and knows how to take advantage of every single minute afforded to him. He brings with him the previous success of a reality show so he can bring a lot of media concentration on the company which is in bad need of it. Plus, he seems to be athletic enough and doesn’t seem out of place in a wrestling ring. His look effectively puts him right at the top of the food chain – as a main eventer and possibly as the face of the company. But it is too soon to call on that. Right now I am just happy to see his progress and of course, Tara.

Then, we have Joey Ryan who seems to be some sort of Indy Darling coming up from little feds. Now I know, there are a lot of people who find him obnoxious and over the top but he has developed quite a fan-following in the IWC (who, by the way, also find him obnoxious and over the top). His in-ring ability is good and he has been placed in a tag-team with Matt Morgan. As odd as the pairing seems, it will give him a lot of exposure and he will be able to learn a lot in-ring wise by facing opponents the like of Chavo Guerrero.

DOC, of course is not new to the limelight as he has come from WWE. But he has been thrust into a major storyline in the TNA in the form of Aces and Eights and so far he hasn’t disappointed. He looks believable in his role of an evil enforcer, although, everyone in Aces and Eights is essentially an enforcer only. The storyline with Aces and Eights may have run out of gas and may ultimately be nothing more than a bust but Doc is surely set for a great run in TNA.

Meanwhile, those who have peculiar interest in redheads may not worry, for Taeler Hendrix has been added to the Knockout roster. I am yet to see her matches in more detail but I liked her first match after being added to the Impact Roster when she challenged the then Knockouts Champion! Currently she seems to have been lost somewhere and isn’t presented on television but she will surely be getting some exposure in that division some time in near future.

Have I missed something? Oh Yeah.

Christian York has arrived.

There is this feel good story about him. He has been in this business for about 15 years and has only now been able to reach the big leagues. He was there on the very first TNA show but he was let go afterwards because he wasn’t ready.

But now, he is.

And how!

He is ready to be the member of the Impact Roster and a very prominent one at that. Already, he has fought a former World Heavyweight Champion and the current World Heavyweight Champion. Granted, he lost both of these matches but he put on a showing that assured the fans and the management alike of his ability to become a major player in future.

Although those two matches were high profile matches, I think it was only for testing the waters. He is not going to be placed in the World Heavyweight Championship matches any time soon. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. He has been added in the Mini tournament to determine the number one contender for the X-Division Championship. I would bet my hard earned money to predict that he will win this tournament, and go on to challenge Rob Van Dam, whose respect he has already earned (in Kayfabe).

At 35 years of age, he is not exactly a young man. There are what, about 5 to 7 years left in his career. He is not starting things at the top of the card and he may spend well over a year in the mid-card. But sooner or later, he is going to be too important a part to keep away from the main event.

Look for the big things in his future.

 

Aces and Eights

Not required. That’s what my initial reaction was to the idea of Aces and Eights.

But alas, we have to endure what has been started. Many of us who were excited for this group of thugs have grown bored of their repetitive antics and lack of faces. We had two faces revealed in over 6 months – Devon and Doc. Now there is a third face – Mike Knox from WWE (That’s how he was described when unmasked).

To be honest though, I think the storyline with the Doc was handled pretty well. And Doc has worked well to get that character over as a heel. The reason why they have gone for the slow reveal is (what I think anyway) that they really want to give room to these characters. If all the faces were revealed in a short span of time, we wouldn’t be noticing the character traits of each individual and none of them would be getting the spot light. In the given scenario, Doc has been well exposed for well over two months, audience have come to know him and therefore, he doesn’t need that spotlight that much anymore. Hence, it’s a good time to put the emphasis on Mike Knox right about now. He will be given all the spotlight that one can come to expect and his role will be the major part in the coming weeks.

Speaking of the unmasking, I have to throw some light on the manner in which it was done. Firstly, a Steel Cage tag-team match was held between the team of Devon and an unmasked member of Aces and Eights (Not too difficult to guess who turned out to be Mike Knox of the two) and the team of Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle. While there was nothing negative to say about the quality of the match or how the things were worked around the match – there was one huge eye-catching fault – The Camera Work.

A Steel Cage match is the one where the ring is surrounded by a Steel Cage. There is just one door through which one can enter or exit. There is also an option to climb up that Steel Cage and enter from over that cage and into the ring, which can be a risky move.

Do you know, however, that these Steel Cages also have a large hole in them through which a Camera-man can record all the in-ring action? A hole large enough that even a man the size of Samoa Joe can enter/exit through it? No? What if I tell you that this particular Steel Cage did not have one, but two such holes in it?

And these hidden doors, so to speak, weren’t shown just once or twice but throughout the match! Yes! Throughout the match, on national television on a show that was hyped month long – 1. 3. 13!

I hope that this matter gets brought to the notice of the TNA Management and they take some corrective measures in ensuring that these loopholes don’t get exposed ever again!

Inter-Continental Championship

The year 2012 hasn’t really been kind on the WWE Inter-Continental Championship. We saw uninspired title reigns of Cody Rhodes, Big Show, Cody Rhodes, Christian, The Miz and Kofi Kingston.

Things did seem to be going in the right direction on quite a few occasions but they never really materialised into anything worthwhile. The most important of it all was the potential of a feud between The Miz and Kofi Kingston. There were some good to great matches the two had and it seemed that The Miz was able to get under the skin of Kofi and was forcing him to react – for a while anyway.

But then it cooled off. Kofi won the championship; there were a couple of rematches. And that was it.

In the end of 2012, Kofi found a new challenger in Wade Barret. Wade Barret failed to win the championship at TLC. However, he did win the title on the first Raw of 2013. Well, there was a rematch on Smackdown again and Kofi did not manage to win his title back. To be honest, this is more of the same old, same old here. There is a credible challenger. There are about two to three matches in a very short span of time. Challenger wins it either the first time or the second time. Then there is a rematch. The former champion fails to win back. The winner (and the Champion) goes on to another challenger. It would be far-fetched to even call these shenanigans a feud.

However, there was something that I noticed on this week’s Smackdown that I liked; something that tells me that a change is coming; for better.

First, let me tell as to what all took place on Smackdown. Two separate interviews were conducted by the very talented, Matt Striker. One with the current champion, Wade Barret and another with the challenger, Kofi Kingston. 

This is standard affair, so far.

In his interview, Wade Barret bigged himself up and ran down Kofi Kingston for allegedly attacking him from behind after he had already beaten three different opponents in a Gauntlet match in the Main Event this week. This is a very basic heel tactic to distort the picture and present the facts in a skewed manner. But he did it #LikeABoss. His mannerisms, his voice and his annoying self-belief tells me that Wade Barret will represent the belt in a much better way than any of the former (and talented, I must add) champions that I mentioned above.

Then, in his interview, Kofi Kingston said he is not challenging for the Inter-continental Championship tonight because of what happened at the Main Event. He is challenging for the title tonight because he wanted that title back from the very moment that Wade Barret took it from him. He can’t forget that moment when Barret stood in the ring, when Kofi lied down on his back, and held that title. Kofi Kingston showed emotions. He showed the pain through his eyes. It wasn’t a do-gooder Kofi anymore. He showed a desire to win, a desire to avenge. He showed confidence and determination, but more than all that, a desire.

More so, he brought those emotions in the match. Throughout the match, he kept coming with these emotional outbursts. Once, he had Wade Barret covered in a pin attempt and Wade Barret was able to kick out just in time to save the match for him. Kofi went right on Barret’s face and showed though hand gesture, that he was this close from winning.

The match itself was a great match to witness. It should not come as a surprise to anyone, given the calibre of the competitors involved. It was not a Kofi Kingston match, however. Well, it indeed was a Kofi Kingston match because he dictated the pace and the direction of the match, but it wasn’t a normal Kofi Kingston match. This is because Kofi had toned down his high flying offence. There still were a lot of high flying moves, but the majority of match was fought with ground offence. Kofi came up with many submission moves and even more pinning combinations. He concentrated on winning. Gone were the attempts to cheer the audience by mesmerizing them with his moves. He was purposeful the entire match.

He did not win the match, sure. But he had changed. For the better.

   

Yet Another TNA Column

Coffee Table Thoughts {21} : Yet another TNA column

TNA Tag Team Championship Scene

What we were hoping for

There were many of us who were hoping and praying for TNA to be bold over here. It would have been a hitherto unseen competition between two of the most entertaining acts in the modern history of professional wrestling.

The Bad Influence has been on a roll, entertainment-wise even before it was named as such. With their mere presence, they are able to convert even the worst of the segments and storylines in pure gold.

Even though the Clair Lynch farce of a storyline continued well over a decade, you cannot argue that it was still bearable due to the antics of Christopher Daniels. Alright, may be that was a hyperbole. Wait, where are you going? Please don’t go away, I promise I won’t mention that name again. Promise!

Bad Influence consists of Christopher Daniels and Kazarian, two of the very solid performers that have been in TNA, on and off, for a very long time. There are many admirers of the in ring ability of Christopher Daniels; his matches in the X-Division and against AJ Styles are still talked about to this day. He is no slouch in terms of mic skills either. In fact, he can make you puke by making you laugh so hard. With all that said, he is at the most, an upper mid-card guy in the TNA wrestling.

Kazarian is a solid in ring performer but he is not at the level of Christopher Daniels. He also is solid on the mic but you won’t find yourself get immersed in his promos.

However, when you combine both of them, it becomes a Super Combination. Christopher Daniels definitely leads the team but Kaz is very good in his role as a lackey of Daniels. They entertain in the ring, they entertain on the mic and you are always wondering what they will bring to the table next as they are constantly looking out for more and more things and people to fuck up with.

It’s an unmatched combination.

Or so we thought.

After having lost their world championship opportunities, both Bobby Roode and Austin Aries entered into a love-hate relationship. It followed with constant efforts of one-upping each other. For example, if Bobby Roode came out in his robe, Austin Aries would come out in his robe and wearing a t-shirt inside. Amazing, isn’t it?

As much differences as they had between themselves, they agreed on one thing. They agreed that they were both miles ahead of the rest of the roster. That was enough for them to form a tag team and begin a quest of capturing all the gold that TNA has to offer.

In terms of credibility, surely the team of Austin Aries and Bobby Roode are on a much higher rank than Bad Influence, if we take the individual achievements into consideration. However, as a team, I would argue they are quite on an equal footing. Austin Aries and Bobby Roode is a team of titans, while Bad Influence compensates that in the form of teacher-student kind of relationship. Kazarian is the least entertaining of the four guys involved but he can hold his own against any of them and his partnership with Christopher Daniels has only improved his charisma.

If TNA had been gutsy, they would have gone with a direct feud between these two teams. Let me tell you, if this would have happened, nothing in the weekly dose of wrestling would have been as much entertaining as this.

But alas, it didn’t.

What we got

For now though, they have gone with the 3^rd ranked team in the 3 team division of TNA Wrestling. That being the team of Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez.

In the last episode of Impact Wrestling, we saw an unusual Contract Signing for the World Tag Team championship match. These kinds of things are usually reserved for World Championships.  In the contract-signing, a stipulation was added to make it a best 2 out of 3 falls match. Going further, the heel team of Double A and It Factor went on to add a stipulation that if Chavo and Super Mex were to lose the said match, they will no longer be able to tag along in future. Basically, their team would be dead. This made sense because Hernandez and Chavo had ample opportunities at the Tag Titles but were unsuccessful in capturing them every time they faced against Aries and Roode. There was a need to raise the stakes in order to make them hungrier.

It was interesting to see how it all went down. When the stipulation was suggested by the heel team, it was Chavo who jumped on and agreed to the stipulation without any resistance. He was ready for the challenge, ready to risk it all. But Hernandez on the other hand, was sceptical and wasn’t ready to risk it all. He tried to talk Chavo out of it while Chavo was trying to talk him into it. Ultimately, Chavo convinced Hernandez to sign the contract, although it was clear from the expressions of Hernandez that he was doing it out of compulsion and not on his free will.

This disagreement, however little it was, led me to believe that we were about to see the Mexican team disbanded. I hoped that we would be getting a feud between the two of them. And to tell the truth, I was quite looking forward to that feud. How awesome it would have been if Hernandez would have called out Chavo for using his family name in excess of required and that Chavo is nothing but a self hyped glorified jobber.

In the match itself, there were many moments which could have led us to believe that the Mexicans were about to lose the gold opportunity as well as the right to stay together. Early on in the match, Team Extraordinary got an advantage as Super Mex was disposed off outside the ring while Chavo was rendered motionless inside the ring. They got the early first fall too. It was fitting, wasn’t it? The man who was hell bent on accepting the challenge was the man who got pinned. And that too in such a short time. Hernandez would have all the more reason to get angry.

Chavo, however, was able to get the balancing pin fall soon enough due to the unnecessary mocking and rejoicing of the Aries and Roode that followed the first fall. Soon enough Super Mex was back in action and was on a super strength roll.

Once again there came a point in the match where it seemed that the champions were about to win the match when Hernandez came running from the ramp straight into the ring on to the team of Double A and It Factor. However, both the champions were able to move out of the way just in time to keep Chavo right in the middle of the ring where he would take the crash landing of his own partner.

But alas, it was for nought. Chavo and Hernandez managed to win the match despite all the obstacles thrown at them. It was a beautiful story to see unfold before my eyes.

Here I would like to point out that I feel the wrestling product, that is the in ring product, presented by TNA is different from the product presented by WWE. WWE’s in-ring product seems to be an assembly line manufactured product whereas there’s a lot of difference in every match that TNA presents. Or maybe not. I need to observe a little more trend in TNA matches before I can conclude this. But I do get more entertained by TNA matches than the WWE matches as far as regular weekly television is concerned.

I was looking forward to having to get rid of Chavo and Hernandez as a tag team. I like Hernandez; he’s an absolute beast inside the ring and moves very fast in the ring for someone of his size and mass. But Chavo Guerrero bores me to tears. No, actually he irritates me a lot.

These ill feelings towards Chavo Guererro and this team changed, however, during the course of the match as I was able to comprehend just how solid a talent Chavo actually is. He is not going to win Oscars for his acting ability and he is not going to bring thousands of listeners through his promos (quite the opposite, actually) but he sure is a great wrestling talent. It always feels good to watch those three amigos thrown in any match! After the match and the result, I found myself excited for this team as the champions. I have to give the credit of this change of heart to the match and to the efforts put in by of all the four participants

Where do we go from here?

Now his win points out to an exit from the tag division of Austin Aries and Bobby Roode. Or maybe they will continue the feud with the Mexi-Guererro. May be this is a way of getting the strap from an awesome heel team to some team from Aces and Eights without making this phenomenal team look weak. Who knows really? It would be interesting to see where each of these teams goes from here.

May be Austin Aries and Bobby Roode will start feuding with each other by blaming each other for the loss of tag team straps. Or maybe they both join in the forces to fight against the Aces and Eights.

Meanwhile Bad Influence seems to be getting back in fucking up with the innocent mind of AJ Styles...

What if they go with a completely unexpected route by making Aries and Roode join Bad Influence? That would be an epicity of HAM! Or maybe we will eventually indeed get the feud between Bad Influence and the team of AJ Styles and Bobby Roode? May be they are waiting for a more opportune time? Slammiversary, anyone?