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Countdown to TNA No Surrender
By
JON WALDMAN -- SLAM! Wrestling
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There's a certain irony as we approach today's pay-per-view, No Surrender.
Irony you ask? Why's that?
Well, at least in this previewer's mind, there is to be no motivation to surrender
hard-earned cash to take in this pay-per-view.
Again, "why?" is the question that emanates from the masses.
The answer is simple, really. When I went to explore the PPV lineup on Wednesday
to begin analyzing the matches, I only found four bouts announced (three of
which involved Kurt Angle). In TNAland (or Russoville, if you prefer), that's
not even half of the lineup. In other words, I'd be going in, only knowing what
I'd see for about an hour. Not cool.
What worked for Paul Heyman in the ECW days doesn't cut it now, especially
when you have increased PPV events that viewers must choose between (WWE, UFC
etc.). You no longer have the cult following who will accept whatever you dish
out blindly.
If the buyrate comes out being incredibly high, they hey, TNA has proven me
wrong and their format has worked; but if they flounder again, then it's time
for a wakeup call.
Let's look at the card, which was finally announced late Thursday.
NWA World Heavyweight Title - Kurt Angle vs. Abyss
When Abyss won the #1 contendership, I was, well, less than elated. Sure, Abyss
has his popularity, but I was really hoping to see someone new in the title
picture, or at least someone who hasn't been there in a while (read: AJ Styles).
The arrival of Ricky Banderas as Judas likely means that we'll see Angle escape
with the title, likely the only one he keeps at night's end.
NWA World Tag Team Title- Team PacMan vs. Kurt Angle/Sting
Count this as the first title dropped tonight. As much as the "dream team"
of Sting and Angle would be fun to watch, I expect Angle to walk out on this
bout, conserving his energy for individual glory. The big question is whether
or not PacMan Jones will actually wrestle. My bet is that he won't, and instead
we'll get a new member of Team PacMan, which suits me just fine. Of the available
non-TNA roster wrestlers, I'm guessing that we'll get a "call-up"
from the indies. Personally, I'd like to see Human Tornado get his shot, but
I'm betting it's an ROH member.
X-Division Title Kurt Angle vs. Jay Lethal
If Samoa Joe is going to stick his nose in anywhere, it would be here. I'm betting
instead, though, that "Dr. Kevin Nash" asks his boy to lay down for
Kurt, which Lethal will refuse to do. With some help from Sonjay Dutt, Lethal
will go over, leading to Nash vs. Lethal as Big Kev exits TNA.
Samoa Joe vs. Christian Cage
The build here has been strong, but when you take the "people's champ"
out of the title picture, you end up with a lot of dissapointed fans. Cage,
always being a title threat, should make this match interesting, but after all
the abuse Joe has taken, he needs the victory in a big way.
Rhino vs. James Storm
Yet another TNA feud that will never end. I'm really getting annoyed at the
angle. WCW, for all the bad they did, at least knew when enough was enough with
Scott Hall's addiction angle. Storm goes over.
Kazarian vs. Robert Roode
My bet here is that Tracy finally leaves Roode after, of course, Robby wins
the bout and does a post-match number on "The Future"
Chris Harris vs. Black Reign
Who goes to the pay winduh here? My guess this is just another chance for the
former Mr. Rhodes to filibuster until the big blowoff later in the year, if
you weeeeeeel.
It's a clubberin' Tony, but not one that will have a decisive conclusion. Se7en
wins.
10-Team Gauntlet match (Participants: VKM, LAX, Team 3D, Motor City Machineguns,
XXX, AJ Styles/Tomko, Sonjay Dutt/Petey Williams, Raven/Havok, Eric Young/Shark
Boy, Lance Hoyt/Jimmy Rave)
Well, let's look at what we have - Rave being wasted in his TNA debut, a few
seemingly thrown-together teams, some well-established duos that deserve to
wear the gold and a couple you can dismiss right away. It's not beyond the realm
of thought that Russo will want to go back to a racially-angled gang warfare
angle, which would point to LAX winning, but my money is on XXX to go over in
this one.
Visit the SLAM! Wrestling store!
It's back to school time. Do you go old-school
with classic NWA footage, or do you go new school with TNA? Either way, it's time
to use that student loan money. Visit the SLAM! Store now!
-- compiled by Jon Waldman
