Falls Count Anywhere

09-28-06

Would you like fries with that?

TNA PPV
OK, I didn’t get to see the whole thing, but thanks to YouTube, I did get to watch a couple of matches and the big announcement. They announced that they’re getting a Prime Time spot, Thursdays at 9pm. Now, if you follow TV at all, that’s up against Grey’s Anatomy and CSI, which combined for 51.1 million viewers last week. That’s a rough time slot, but wrestling is kinda resilient. The Angle thing was a big deal and a little shocking, but there was no reaction compared to the ‘net’s reaction, which was one of absolute shock.

The Christopher Daniels and AJ Styles vs. LAX match was probably the second best match of the last two weeks (I thought that Cena vs. Edge was better), but Christopher Daniels’ dive to grab the belts was amazing and it proves why he’s right there in the running for the Wrestler of the Year.

The Main Event was pretty good too, but it was Jarrett vs. Joe with no title on the line. I don’t get why TNA doesn’t see that Joe is the future. Samoa Joe with the belt gives it legitimacy and allows for better matches. Then again, if Angle comes in, Angle vs. Joe will draw without needing the belt on the line. There’s a lot there to think about.

What I saw I liked, but I didn’t see enough to make a judgment on the entire show.

RAW
Well, it was a lot of fun. I can honestly say that RAW was probably the most fun show I’ve watched in a while.

I love technical difficulties that they play through, and RAW had one to open. It was a darkened arena when Lita got to face Candice Michelle in the tourney for the Woman’s Belt. Lita got to pick the ref and she chose Edge, who speared Candice and allowed Lita to get the pin. Cena then ran in. I guess that program is still going. Things got straightened out and Cena was capping on Lita leading to Lita getting booked against Cena with one hand tied behind his back. This can only go one way.

Yep, Kane's just a big wind-up toy.

Johnny Nitro gets zero respect from the bookers. Here’s a talented guy who has to endure one DQ loss after another. Here it was against Kane when Umaga jumped him from behind. I really think they need to start looking at Nitro as a potential star…or make Melina a bigger deal because she could be Sable-type huge.

I missed the DX gauntlet match (where they fought the Highlanders, Haas and Big Viz and Cade and Murdoch) and the Ric Flair vs. Spirit Squad match. Sorry, I had to eat!

Shelton Benjamin is being depushed far too quickly. He lost to Jeff Hardy. Now, Hardy’s a big star and they could have made this match and the result mean something, but no way should it have gone as long as it did with Shelton jobbing clean. ECW would be a better place for Shelton, but he doesn’t fit that mold either. He’s an exceptional athlete and a good worker. He got pinned with an inside cradle. That just sucks. Free Shelton!

Carlito and Super Crazy beat Randy Orton and Chris Masters. There was almost no response to the match from the crowd. Orton’s not over to the right degree, Carltio’s been nullified with the booking, Masters was never over and SuperCrazy plays better closer to the Mexican border. Masters gave Crazy a power bomb, but he came back and did an awesome flying head scissors before tagging Carlito. Masters went for the Masterlock, but Carlito escaped and hit the Backpack for the win. Orton gave Carlito the RKO from behind after the match to start that feud that will do neither of them any good.

They brought back Eric Bischoff. He plugged his book. I’m actually very interested in reading it because if there’s anyone who has good stories, it’s Eric Bischoff.

The ending was awesome. They had Lita and Cena meet in the One-Hand tied match which Cena won almost immediately with a One-handed FU. It was awesome and Lita took it like a champ. After the match, as always happens in these kinds of matches, Booker, Fit Finlay and Regal came in and beat up Cena. It was a good way to end things since they had Edge announce that he’d be taking his rematch next week in a cage. Nice.

They’re building towards an October 9th show with all three brands. It should be a big deal, and with Cena in against Booker and co., they’ve got a real storyline.

ECW
I’m having trouble getting into ECW of late, but this episode had a couple of things I really liked.

That's quite a splash.

Hardcore Holly vs. RVD set a good tone and it was the best match that ECW has put on to date. They match started slow, which is unusual, but it ended up being really good. The most notable spot was Holly Suplexing RVD through a table and cutting up his back something fierce. It reminded me of stories of Steve Williams needing 104 stitches after a match in the 1980s. The match was good, had excellent give and take and RVD was more on than usual, barely blowing any spot.

A classic exchange ended things. Holly went for the Alabama Slam, but RVD got out. Holly grabbed a chair and RVD gave him the Van Daminator. That allowed RVD to do the Five Star Frog Splash for the win. Good match that was given enough time to build.

CM Punk and Mike Knox are being programmed together, which isn’t a bad idea. Punk just seems to be in a different world than anyone else on the roster.

Francine beat Ariel via DQ. Ariel could be a huge star. She’s got a great look, an OK gimmick and a bunch of charisma. Kevin Thorn’s not very good, but he isn’t dragging her down. We got a catfight early and Francine managed to tear off some of Ariel’s top. Thorn interfered and that led to Balls Mahoney coming out and hitting Thorn with a chair. Ariel is hot.

I stopped watching when Sandman and Big Show had their match. I’m not going to sit through Big Show as ECW champ.

What I saw I pretty much liked.

That’s another week of Falls Count Anywhere. Next week I’ll be back with more!

Talk about today's column in the forums!

Chris Garcia