Disclaimer: This week I will be announcing Crossfire’s retirement from reporting insider newz, I will talk about how this summer can be the “Summer of Aries”, I will be talking about the disaster that was the AJ/Dixie reveal and my random thoughts on what I saw on Impact will make its return.
Crossfire Newz is GONE, GONE Forever (Read it in Paul Bearer’s voice LOL)
In a mindboggling turn of events, people decided that my Crossfire “insider newz” is legitimate enough to be reported elsewhere and to give TNAsylum all the credit. Now because of those idiots (yes idiots) I have had to call a quits with my source inside TNA headquarters (There is no such person but I’m telling a story here, I just need to make sure people know this is a BS story because who knows maybe TNA officials will think there really is one and an innocent party might get fired) and now there will be no more faux insider newz in my columns. It’s a terrible shame because it was not only fun but I “reported” a few correct bits of newz. The only positive to come out of this is that I proved my point: The IWC is full of sheep that’ll believe anything they read just because the news post starts with “My Sources Tell Me” and that’s why Meltzer and company stay in business. People will take their word on whatever they say without any need of actual proof and treat it as the gospel truth. Once again I apologize to Talon, Phenom, JSO, FK9 and all the other guys who put in the time to make TNAsylum what is today and to have the site be ripped apart on comment boards because some people took my over the top ppv buyrate seriously. Ironically some comments said my 60,000 buyrate number was balogna and then said the real number is 7,000, again those people are idiots.
Booking The Summer of Austin Aries
Austin Aries is getting his first ever shot at the TNA World Title on July 8th 2012 and I’m here to tell you that the smart booking is to have him go over and beat Bobby Roode. The smart booking is to have Austin Aries be the one to end Roode’s 9 month title reign. Now pundits will write this off immediately and call it stupid because they think Roode must not lose on his road to BFG. However these people will also rag on TNA for having such predictable and boring booking for the summer (A few have already done that). Such is always the plight seemingly with WWE (see I am fair) and TNA when dealing with the IWC, damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Anyway back to Austin Aries, YOUR TNA World Heavyweight Champion.
At the end of Destination X, TNA will have 3 months to (for lack of a better term) kill before BFG. 2 of those months will be devoted to the BFG Series where James Storm is the surefire victor of the tournament and has already stated he wants to be the one to end Roode’s title reign. So what better way to throw a wrench into those plans seemingly by giving Aries the title at Destination X. The Main Event picture gets fresh blood and some fresh feuds for a while as Aries has a myriad of fresh matches he can have while Roode has exhausted all options basically over the 9 months. FK9 said last week that a new face ending a long title reign will give them instant credibility that will last awhile so why wait another 3 months and give James Storm that rub when to be honest he really doesn’t need it when you can give a fresh face like Aries that rub. This will give TNA 3 legit homegrown main eventers as opposed to 2 homegrown main eventers.
After losing the TNA World Title, Robert Roode will disappear from TNA for about a month (think Stone Cold’s mini-hiatus in September 2001 after losing at Unforgiven to Kurt Angle.) so Roode in real-life can get a bit of a break and recharge his batteries. It is not Roode disappearing because he lost his smile its Roode having a psychotic break after losing the belt he was so obsessed with that he just disappeared. With Roode gone and Austin Aries as the TNA World Champion, he’ll be a fighting champion to show he is not a coward like Roode. On Open Fight Night he will challenge anyone in the back to a match for his TNA World Title. On Impact he can defend the belt against a few different opponents in what should be ppv-quality main events on Impact: Anderson, Daniels and RVD. (You want to avoid Aries vs. Styles, Angle vs. Aries and Aries vs. Jeff Hardy because those are dream matches that people would pay to see. You also want Aries to get a few successful title defenses in before he loses the belt to Roode at No Surrender) At Hardcore Justice, he would defend the TNA World Title against Bully Ray. (It’ll be TNA rewarding Bully Ray for doing marvelous work while being shunned for the TNA Title picture due to a Heel being champion for so long)
After successfully defending against Bully Ray, Roode returns with a vicious mean streak on the following Impact brutally attacking a TNA babyface and then stating he is entitled to a rematch for his TNA World Title. Roode wants that match to take place at No Surrender which is granted on the condition it’s all or nothing for Roode. Now you got Aries vs. Roode II with GM Hulk Hogan stipulating if Roode doesn’t win the belt at No Surrender, he will not be a part of the BFG ppv. On that same September night James Storm can become the number 1 contender to the TNA World Title at BFG. The intriguing aspect of the story will be: Would James Storm help Roode regain his title in order to get his hands on Roode at BFG? Roode vs. Aries is another stellar match but Aries losing due to a distraction. The distraction being James Storm’s entrance theme getting played and taking away Aries focus on Roode long enough for Roode to get the win. Aries wants to get his hands on Storm the following Impact but Hogan disallows it because he doesn’t want Aries to jeopardize his main event at BFG. Instead Hogan gives Aries a match with Kurt Angle at BFG to see who will become the number 1 contender to the TNA World Title after Roode vs. Storm happens at BFG.
If you book TNA this way, you still get Roode vs. Storm for the TNA World Title at BFG but you also have Aries as a main eventer and future feud with James Storm post BFG and you also get a dream match we pretty much all want Kurt Angle vs. Austin Aries one on one first time ever on ppv. Not to mention a few months of TV that doesn’t seem so pointless due to the end result being so damn obvious. Of course even though it sounds good (I think its good anyway), I’m sure this idea would be trashed by the IWC because you can’t play hot potato with the belt because every title reign should be long. But wait then that means the first few title defenses are predictable because you know the champion will always retain his belt the first few months. But wait we don’t want things that are predictable like that but we don’t want titles to be hot potatoed around either. But wait if TNA doesn’t follow this booking idea then the next few months will painfully obvious and boring because it’s predictable and so TNA will get crapped on because of it. Like I said a few months back, all the rules the IWC fan has is not really rules but rather excuses to bitch about a wrestling company. Damned if you do and Damned if you don’t in the eyes of the IWC.
Why Couldn’t They Just Been Having An Affair?
If you guys remember months ago, I stated that the idea of AJ Styles sleeping with Dixie Carter to get ahead in TNA was a great little storyline. Since the storyline started, TNA has been playing that up pretty well; with Dixie losing her mind when Daniels played the tapes of AJ and Dixie talking, with Dixie's husband believing these allegations, with TNA babyfaces turning their back on AJ and with heels taking shots at Styles. This would’ve been a great opportunity for an evolution in the AJ Styles character. Does he go all John Cena and not let all the taunts from fans and “the boys in back” bother him and continue being the "wholesome" AJ Styles or does he get so frustrated and angry at the way he is being treated that he just turns into a whole other person. That person I speak of would be a violent, angry and sadistic character. Basically you could’ve had AJ turn into Jeff Hardy’s 2010 Anti-Christ like character.
Now instead of doing something like that TNA had Dixie and AJ sneaking around to care for a crack whore who is looking to get clean. Wrestling promoters need to learn that sometimes the “swerve” is admitting to what the babyface is accused of. I mean all we read about was “oh they were planning a birthday party for Serge” or something like that. No one would’ve seen AJ admitting that he did in fact do the deed Daniels has been asserting and that of course is sleeping with Mrs. Dixie Carter. By the way, if they were planning on doing a reveal that AJ and Dixie’s secret was they were helping a drug addict get better why not hire a female wrestler and have her story be that she wants to get off drugs and become a pro wrestler. That’s why she reached out to AJ Styles and Dixie Carter for help because they can help her not only get better but achieve that dream of being a pro wrestler. The only saving grace of that segment was Daniels reaction to what was going on because that in it of itself is very intriguing.
Random Thoughts On Impact
With the Crossfire Insider Newz no longer apart of the column anymore, I decided at least for one week to bring back one of my previous special features in Crossfire columns and that’s my random thoughts on what I saw on Impact the previous week. Here we go:
· We need to see Hogan and Aries interact every week because these two in a verbal debate has made for great TV the last few weeks.
· Why can't Hogan just cite No Surrender 2007 to explain why Aries can’t hold both titles? That’s the night Kurt Angle wrestled 3 separate times and put his health in serious jeopardy because he had 3 different belts to defend. It’ll even show that Hogan is aware of TNA history.
· Thankfully Kurt Angle vs. Daniels isn’t happening tonight. I want that match to get a lot more than 3 minutes when it happens. Say at Destination X perhaps.
· Kurt Angle knows how to make any kind of match entertaining even a 32 second squash match. It’s better than what Ryback, Tensai (or is he still Lord Tensai) and Brodus Clay do during squash matches.
· I hope all these embarrassing squashes early on lead to Rob Eckos ditching the Jersey Shore douchebag character and becoming a more serious competitor. The guy can go in the ring and is being hampered by this gimmick.
· Magnus beating Styles is awesome but AJ lost the match so BOO TNA BOO. The TNA Golden Boy should never job ever. Magnus winning is still fantastic though.
· I want to see that pretty redhead from Gutcheck on TNA TV every week from now on. Oh and Tara looks as hot as ever. I can’t believe that woman is 42 years old.
· Not sure how I feel about Storm taking a commanding lead early on but it is a TNA Original getting the MONSTER push so it’s not that terrible an idea.
· A Mickie James Heel turn is coming, AWESOME.
· My lord does RVD know how to sell DDT’s and Twist of Fates. Wow my neck hurts just watching that sell job.
· Good to see RVD job to Jeff Hardy at least once in his career.
· Why do all local actors/actresses wrestling companies hire suck so damn much? This woman is embarrassing herself out there.
· Thank god for Daniels otherwise this is a candidate for worst segment of the stinking decade. Even with Daniels involvement, I think it’s still a possible candidate for worst segment of the decade.
· Even a bad episode of TNA Impact is still miles better than what WWE Monday Night Raw Supershow is doing these days.
