Saturday, January 25, 2014

WWE Builds Storylines, TNA Flames out



The WWE continues to produce the better shows of the Big Two. The Road to WrestleMania begins this Sunday with the Royal Rumble, and the WWE has done a good job of building up the Rumble, and building the storylines and potential feuds for WrestleMania.

TNA, however, hasn’t just dropped the ball, they’ve lost the ball. I can’t put my finger on what TNA is, Pro Wrestling, Sports Entertainment or a bad 1980’s Public Access show.



TNA IMPACT
GENESIS – PART ONE
Thursday, January 16, 2014

I really don’t have much to say about TNA this week. It was really a forgettable waste of time. If not for Aries versus Sabin and the cage match between Roode and Angle, this would have been another one star broadcast.

The only thing that TNA may have going for them is the American Wolves, hopefully they can make an impact.

I don’t know what they are trying for with the ‘Investor’ storyline, but it had better be something good with a payoff. This does make me believe that the TNA Sale rumors were just a work leading to this storyline.

The Main Event between Magnus and Sting became a re-hash of Magnus versus AJ. All of Dixieland’s cronies helped Magnus win, and Sting is gone.

I have said this before, and I will again, this is the worst possible way to build up Magnus. In the end, I think it will destroy Magnus. He hasn’t done anything. Yes, I know he is the bad guy, above the law, but at some point he has to wrestle by himself and prove himself.

For now, TNA is burying Magnus and themselves.

Rating: 2 out of 10.



MONDAY NIGHT RAW
1/13/2014

Another good broadcast of Raw, not as good as last week’s, but still above average.

For a Go Home show leading into a PPV it had the right amount of promos and matches, and everything served a purpose leading into Sunday. Everything that could happen at the Rumble, the matches and the Rumble itself, was set up on this show.

Beyond that, it also set the stage for the road to WrestleMania, giving us a hint at possible storylines and matches for the big show.

A good broadcast like this doesn’t just build to a PPV; it leaves you with questions that can only be answered at the PPV.

Batista versus Del Rio at Mania? If Batista doesn’t win the Rumble.

Can the Big Show beat Brock?

Will Cena get revenge on Orton for attacking his father?

Can Punk win the Rumble coming in at #1?

This broadcast did its job, it made the Rumble must see.

Rating: 6 ½ out of 10



SMACKDOWN
1/17/2014

Smackdown was rather disappointing this week, except for the Main Event, which was a welcome segment.

Like Raw, Smackdown did everything it could to build the Rumble. Every promo had to do with the Rumble and every match included Rumble participants.

Of course, every wrestler was put over by JBL and Josh Matthews as being able to win the Rumble, but I doubt anyone believes that.

The problem was, it didn’t do as good as a job as Raw and every match except for the main event was very poor. It was filled with Squash matches that were not fun to watch. Even the main event, which was the only real match on the show, ended up with a non-finish and a locker room brawl to showcase the potential excitement of the Rumble match itself.

It set up the Rumble, just didn’t get up to the level of Raw. If you didn’t see it, no loss.

Still, far better than TNA.

Rating: 5 out of 10



Fail of the Week: 
TNA IMPACT GENESIS, Part 2.
                        For the third week in a row, Impact’s entire broadcast was the fail of the week. If this continues, TNA will be The Fail of the Year. If this continues, TNA may not last the year.

Match of the Week: 
Alberto Del Rio versus Rey Mystero

Wrestler of the Week: 
Austin Aries, the new X-Division Champion. Will this lead to a second World Title Reign?

Impact of the Week: 
The return of Batsita. Batista’s return is going to have an impact on the WWE not just at the Rumble, but also along the Road to WrestleMania. The impact of his return it going to have some long-term repercussions.

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