It's The Survivor Series (Even Though No-One Knows It)

Anyone remember this?

I am self-described mark for the old school Survivor Series. I remember watching the 1987, 1990 and 1992 ones through Blockbuster (yes I know South Park recently joked about that dinosaur) and 1993 and 1994's live on pay-per view on Thanksgiving Eve Night. I love the dynamic of the Survivor Series matches and I love that for years there would be several Survivor Series matches on each show. Of late the most we saw was in 2006, 8 and 9 when you had three each.

Especially with a three week build, I thought it would be the return of the Survivor Series match. Then we saw this:

I was excited at the possibility of the big talents in a Survivor Series match. Then this happens...

It is safe to say I am entirely let down. I was honestly looking forward to the Survivor Series match (and more) but now the steam is taken away from it. Particularly because now it is Dolph Ziggler leading a team against no-one. I am not happy about it. It is safe to say I am not looking forward to my third favorite event of the year.

So here's what I would do.

Firstly I would keep one match as is: Big Show taking on Sheamus with the World Heavyweight title on the line. I feel that there should be one regular match plus there are not enough guys to fit on a six match show at 5 guys on each team for the male matches. Plus length-wise it would most likely run the ppv too long...

The first Survivor Series match I would have is a diva's 8-woman tag. I would have Diva's Champion Eve captain a team with Aksana, Alicia Fox and Natalya take on team captain Kaitlyn, AJ, Layla and Tamina. In an old throwback I would bring back team names. For Eve's team it would be The Heartbreakers and Kaitlyn's team is The Chick Busters. Not much to describe here.

The next match I would have is the Heath Slater captaining his 3MB buddies Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre with Hunico and Camacho to take on the team of captain Santino Marella, Zack Ryder, Jimmy Uso, Jei Uso and Ted DiBiase. It would The Encore vs. The Cobras. This is basically the lower card guys that would not typically get a shot on a pay-per view but would this time. this match would be the shortest of the men's match.

The next match is kind of predictable. I would have Alberto Del Rio and Randy Orton captain teams to face off. Alberto Del Rio would captain the Prime Time Players (Darren Young & Titus O'Neil) and the team of Epico and Primo to take on Randy Orton leading Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara, Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd. It is The Aristocrats vs. The Vipers.

My next to last Survivor Series match will be controversial match. Dolph Ziggler will captain Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow), David Otunga and JTG to take on John Cena leading WWE World Tag Team champions Team Hell No (Kane & Daniel Bryan), Brodus Clay and Mason Ryan. It is The Show Offs taking on The Chain Gang. Now why would I take two guys that are not on the main shows and slot them in? Here's why, if you look at the roster, there are only a few guys not injured (Alex Riley, Mark Henry and Evan Bourne are still out with injury and Jack Swagger is not active) Of the guys remaining JTG best fits Ziggler's team while Mason Ryan is a guy that you can have as a force for a bit until someone gets the better of him.

Last but not least is the original match, Team Foley vs. Team Punk. I would have WWE Champion CM Punk lead a team with Wade Barrett, The Miz, WWE United States champion Antonio Cesaro and Tensai to take on Mick Foley leading Ryback, WWE Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston, R-Truth and Christian. It The Best In The World taking on Team Foley. (I apologize that I cannot think of a team name for Foley that worked for everyone...)

I honestly think these match-ups will be better than anything else WWE will come up with.

Top 10 Gimmicks WWE Should Bring Back for the PG Era and Perhaps Saturday Morning Slam

In September WWE debuted a new show that I personally like. It is a kid's show but I enjoy it. Saturday Morning Slam debuted as a part of The CW's new Vortex Saturday morning cartoon block. To me, it is a throwback to the old days of WWE's original Superstars (of Wrestling) and WWF Mania only 30 minutes shorter. These shows had good action that put over popular talent directed at kids and sometimes had back in the past.

After watching some of these "from the vault" segments with  wrestlers and gimmicks from the past, I wonder why some of these from the 90's wouldn't work today? This is a top ten list of gimmicks from the past kid's era that I think could work in today's WWE. Maybe not the wrestlers due to age, death or any personal issues. BUT, they could always repackage wrestlers into these gimmicks or similar gimmicks.

10) Battle Cat

Brady Boone adopted the gimmick of a masked wrestler who wrestled a fast paced offense. Back then this was one of the most revolutionary wrestlers in WWE as most wrestlers never did handsprings or ranas. I think a Justin Gabriel type wrestler would do well in this gimmick.











9) Killer Bees

Jumping Jim Brunzell and B. Brian Blair were a tag team of athletic individuals who wore black and yellow striped trunks, had yellow high-tops as well as wore masks to confuse their opponents and referees. These two men were two of the best to never win a tag team title. Personally I would make Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel the modern killer bees. That or a similar tag team...







8) Doink The Clown

In 1992 Doink The Clown emerged on the scene as an evil clown. Within a year, he was a good clown pulling pranks on his oppoenents with a midgit clown in Dink. I know a LOT of people hate clowns in wrestling but it is a gimmick that has worked. In Mexico they have had many different clowns from Los Super Payasos to Los Payasos to even Los Psycho Circus. These gimmicks do indeed work, but they can't be at the top of the card.








7) The Jynx Brothers

In 1996 Matt and Jeff Hardy were not known. They wrestled in squashes and the independents. Jeff used a gimmick named Willow The Whisp, basically an American style Jushin Liger in a way. In 1996, Matt too a name similar to Willow to act as a tag team partner for Willow named Ignis Fatuus (Willow's name in Latin.) They got a chance in WWE to do this gimmick but sadly it didn't go anyway. Personally WWE could use a flashy gimmick for two smaller guys like this.


6) Real Man's Man

"He's a man, such a man..." After a few short matches in WWE, Steven Regal dropped the "Lord," dawned a fanel shirt, jean shorts and a hard hat and became a "Real Man's Man." I loved this short lived gimmick though I cannot see Regal back in this role again. To me Regal is too established in the traditional Brit role but we can always give this to another Brit perhaps.









5) Demolition

Ax and Smash, were originally WWE's "response to the Legion of Doom" however they were more than that. Instead of being brutes, Ax and Smash could wrestle and didn't just man-handle and destroy opponents. Their look is scary at times, but I feel that they were one of the best slight gimmicks that can be given to a team who will be married together for some time.
Admittedly, I am a mark for Demolition.




4) The Hurricane

"And they save a hero can save us..." OK there are a lot of superhero movies and television shows out there but only a few crime-fighting wrestlers. One of them is The Hurricane. I always loved the idea of the crime fighter though it was short-lived the last time as he was released rather quickly after the WWE ended ECW (and Hurricane got drunk and fought with Chris Jericho in a taxi...)









3) Los Conquistadores

Two masked "luchadores" that can be portrayed by anyone. You can bring up two developmental guys or you can just end up using two guys that are jobbers to the stars on the current rosters. They would stay in this role...







2) Max Moon

Max Moon debuted in 1992 as "The Comet Kid" but quickly renamed. Unlike rumors, Paul Diamond was Max Moon from day one (on tv and click here for proof.) Moon was similar to Battle Kat by being a very high flying wrestler with a colorful gimmick that lasted about the same amount of time. Unlike Battle Kat, I saw Max Moon when I was growing up. I really enjoyed the look and high flying of Max Moon and I know that this gimmick could have some sort of shelf life in WWE today.





1) The Boogey Man

In 2005 he was coming to get us and we all thought it would be wrestlecrap. But when I first saw him, I was not laughing at the stupidity. I was laughing because the gimmick was awesome. I think this is a scary enough gimmick to be creepy but like Disney's Haunted Mansion, it is campy so it gets the laugh. I rather laugh at Boogey Man than Santino.

An Apology and a RAW Rant

I am sorry for the lack of updates on the blog. I had serious writer's block for a while there and then put it on the back-burner. I have also started to look at jobs.

Watching RAW last night has driven me to want to do the blog again. RAW sucked entirely. Here's a list of comments and questions I have from watching it.

1. It seemed like a slow show. I know the International shows are historically less promos but when  you have a 3 hour RAW it does not work. Try again WWE.
2. I HATE THAT WWE dumped the Team Punk vs. Team Foley Survivor Series match. I will get to the Survivor Series in a blog that will be up either tonight or tomorrow because I have some fantasy booking for that...
3. I liked the possibility of a Dolph-Cena feud but now it is on the back-burner just so Cena could get a title shot, one he gave up? My guess he will finally lose to Punk so Ryback is screwed again...
4. If Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara are a team, why do they get separate ring announcements and why don't they have a team name? Sandow and Rhodes teamed one week before becoming 
5. If Vickie Guerrero is complaining about an alleged affair between AJ and Cena, what does she call what she did with giving title shots to La Familia members whether it was her husband Edge or nephew Chavo Guerrero?
6. If Miz agreed to be on Team Punk and then left because Punk walked out on them because he is afraid of Ryback, didn't Miz expect that?
7. They were in England and Drew McIntyre is Scottish but he wasn't with his 3MB buddies Jinder Mahal and Heath Slater (wrestlecrap here we come) while Sheamus is Irish and was on the show?
8. Primo and Epico must be the Los Conquistadores of the 2010's... except they aren't wearing gold masks and bodysuits.
9. Did anyone else forget Rosa Mendes was on the WWE roster or was that just me dropping the ball on that one?

That is all I got. Thank you for reading. If you have any suggestions PLEASE tell me via e-mail.

I would suggest checking out my friends to the blog twister-rat and dan's video den. I also suggest to check out Colt Cabana's Art of Wrestling Podcast because even if you don't know the guests, it does make you like most of them in the end. Also if you like me like to follow Japanese professional wrestling checkout iHEARTdg.com for Dragon Gate results and Open The Dragon Gate for Dragon Gate Infinity, pay-per views and past content and then there's Osaka Hurricane which does coverage for Osaka Pro. I assure you, Dragon Gate and Osaka Pro are fun promotions.

Top 10 Wrestler Tribute Videos in WWF/WWE and a RAW Rant

Welcome back to the Wrestling Is STILL Fun Blog. I hope you had a good weekend. Alright before I start with this top 10, here are my abbreviation RAW thoughts. It was an OK show, not enough to write full thoughts though.

The Good:
The Punk angle is awesome though Cena has proven to be a liar by hitting Punk with a lead pipe for threatening him. I hope the Ryback-Punk staredown after Punk laid out Mick leads somewhere, preferably a back-up if Cena's elbow isn't ready to go in 5 weeks. There was a great Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston match but that was the only good thing in the ring. As I will do in a longer form blog, I love the depth the tag team division looks to be getting. I will not say anything about the Jerry Lawler segment other than this, get well and take all the time you need, even if you cannot do the same full-length tours anymore, I'll accept you once a month.

The Bad:
Now for the rant so be forewarned. I hope Beth was not written off that way, I know she is leaving but jeez getting laid out by a woman half your size, JEEZUS! She was only Diva's champ what 3/4 times? At least show her class on the way out. If it wasn't for the situation that would happen with Punk later, I disagree with having Ryback crush Miz the way he did, I know Ryback is a monster but still Miz is a big name and a huge step from anyone Ryback has beaten so far. Then we have Big Show killing Tensai and Brodus Clay and what does it do, show that he still is a monster? Big Show was only gone a month, I doubt we'd think he went soft already...


Now to make Wrestling Fun, here is the latest Top 10 list, the Top 10 Wrestler Tribute Videos in WWF/WWE. If you ask me, the WWE should use these rather than RAW recaps to promote talent. Whether it was for little reason think of the various ones for Creed's My Sacrifice, returns from injuries, videos highlighting recent success, promoting a wrestler's character (Matt Hardy's Desire,) a goodbye or a Hall of Fame induction, my opinion is that these videos do more for the fans than people realize. I realize you can't show the surgeries like Triple H's and Kurt Angle's desire videos did but you can show the initial injury. Once again like in other Top 10s, this is based on my ideas. It can be wrong, it can be right the fact is it is my view. I can be wrong and if you think I am, please let me know it.

Now before I am criticized for not mentioning these two videos, I will not include them in my top 10 because quite frankly these two videos are not specific to a wrestler:
Firstly is Creed's "My Sacrifice" which was the first in the series of the then WWF Desire videos. The problem was they did these for at least Steve Austin, Edge and The Undertaker as well as one for the entire roster. I decided to only embed the one for the whole roster. The individual videos do not make this list. If you want to check those out, just click the links.

The next is quite possibly the best WWF/E video of all-time. This was originally made as a plan to pull at Vince McMahon's heart-strings. In January 2002 Vince McMahon and Ric Flair were joint-owners of WWF due to Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon selling off their ownership in WWF so they could fund the alliance between WCW and ECW. This is the first and hopefully last time I talk about the Invasion storyline as is. Vince got tired of the power struggle between him and Flair and decided to bring in the New World Order or n.W.o. who were a group of invaders in WCW that use to work for the WWF including Hollywood Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. To get Vince to stop this, Flair got the production team to create a music video set to Kid Rock's "Lonely Road of Faith" to get Vince to reconsider. Vince did not and we still got the nWo and three good things to come from that, the return of Shawn Michaels, Hogan-Rock and this music video.

Now let's get started shall we,

10) The Rock set to "Alive" by POD

This was a great video that was meant to build to the aforementioned Hogan-Rock match at WrestleMania XVIII. The main problem with this video was that it was a forgotten video. I happen to like it and forgot how good it was until I was researching these videos for this list.


09) Steve Austin set to "Cult of Personality" by Living Colour

In 2012, you recognize this song as CM Punk's theme but not when Austin was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2009, CM Punk still had "This Fire Burns" as his theme music and Austin was a cult of personality. He changed the way WWF fans thought about wrestling. (Unlike WWE, I recognize that the Austin type existed if not only in ECW, elsewhere.) This song and video fit Austin to the t.


08) Kurt Angle set to "Clocks" by Coldplay

In 1996 Kurt Angle injured his neck and then won the Olympic gold medal for freestyle wrestling in the heavyweight weight class. In 1999, he debuted in WWF. In 2000, he won the WWF European, WWF Intercontinental and WWF World Titles. By 2003, his injured neck has taken its toll on the Olympic gold medalist and he went in for neck surgery after WrestleMania XIX. In June he returned to the WWE and showed his trials of returning through this music video set to Coldplay. This was a very fitting song for a man returning from that threatening of an injury. Ultimately, Kurt would need several more neck surgeries over the next year because unlike others (Austin, Rhyno, Edge, Lita and Test,) he did not get fusion.


07) Jeff Hardy set to "Not Enough" by Our Lady Peace

In 2002, Jeff Hardy already established himself as a dare devil and a singles star. The superstar had his various dives and stunts on showcase in a video set to "Not Enough" a song by Canadian band Our Lady Peace. During Jeff's 2008 run for the WWE title, he had a second video set to "Rooftops" by Lost Prophets but I must say this song fit Jeff better.


06) Edge set to "When You're Young" by Three Doors Down

Sadly, sometimes these videos sometimes mean goodbye to a great wrestler. In 2011, Edge retired due to complications from his neck injury from 2003. Edge was one of the most beloved bad guys in wrestling. He was one of the cockiest and cutting edge (no pun intended) wrestlers since the end of the attitude era in 2002. He has held every (male) title in the WWF except for the Hardcore and European titles. He will be missed and this song by Three Doors Down, just puts to music several of his greatest moments during his 12 years in WWF/E.

05) Ric Flair set to "Leave the Memories Alone" by Fuel

In 2008, Ric Flair was set to enter the WWE Hall of Fame and was set to face Shawn Michaels in a career match. To promote this and Flair's career WWE unleashed one of the best videos ever. Flair retired and we thought we could leave the memories of Flair to be his days as NWA, WWF and WCW World Champion. However the problem was Flair would later would return to wrestling and ruined his legacy to a lot of fans including myself. Sadly, this video's legacy is ruined thanks to the actions Flair did after he retired.


04) Mick Foley set to "So Far Away" by Staind

In March 2000, Mick Foley retired from wrestling. Yes, yes, yes I know he has returned in the ring several times after this whether it was 2004 to feud with Randy Orton, 2006 to feud with Edge and then Ric Flair, 2007 for a WWE title shot or in 2009 when we won the TNA World title. This video came back when we really thought Mick was done in 2003. He had just returned to WWE to referee a Hell in a Cell match between Triple H and Kevin Nash. A few weeks later, he was in Madison Square Garden where former ECW talent presented him with the WWF Hardcore title and this music video.


03) Shawn Michaels set to "Tell Me A Lie"

I maybe wrong but I think that this is from the 1995 post-concussion Shawn Michaels suffered after an enziguiri by rival Owen Hart on an episode of WWF RAW. This video built up the fact that Shawn was injured and who knew if/when he would come back. Of course he returned from that because he ended up returning from a few other major injuries including a bad knee in 1997 and a bad back in 1998 that he never fully returned until 2002. If you ask many fans from this era, this was one of the most emotional video packages ever.


02) Triple H set to "Beautiful Day" by U2

May 21, 2001 Triple H had tragedy strike. During a routine break-up of Chris Jericho's Walls of Jericho, Triple H landed on his knee. Wrestlers land on their knees often, however they normally don't tear the quadriceps by doing so. Triple H would be out of action until the 2002 Royal Rumble. By December WWE was hyping his return with one of the most moving songs in the past 12 years, "Beautiful Day." By the time Triple H returned from injury, he was a full-fledged good guy or face getting a hero's welcome in Madison Square Garden on January 9, 2002.


01) Bret Hart set to "Making Some Noise" by Tom Petty

Now I am sure there are some of you wondering what is this and why I did not pick "You Start a Fire." Here is why, I was a Bret Hart fan since WrestleMania VIII when he face "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. At this point he won his second WWF Intercontinental Title. By the time I saw my first WWF live event, Bret lost that but then won the WWF World title from Ric Flair. By the time Survivor Series 1992 came around, WWF was making him a big deal and this video was part of it. This video I remember while "You Start a Fire" I do not actually. This video was then used again prior to the Yokozuna-Bret match from WrestleMania X with new footage spliced in. This video that I put up, is the original edit from 1992.


I thank you once again for checking out my blog. Please check out my friends at TwisterRat Podcast and Dan's Video Den. Dan just did a video cast on Judge Dredd which I must say I enjoyed while the guys at TwisterRat Keith and Allen recently did their 16th show and their first splitshow. Check them out, they deserve to have more followers. If you have any comments pleas post them here or e-mail me at kingmichael87@gmail.com

WWE SmackDown Thoughts for 09/21/2012

This is the WWE SmackDown live thoughts for September 21, 2012. The show opens up with the returning WWE champion, WWE Tag Team champion, WWE Intercontinental champion, World champion, WCW US champion and WWE Hall of Famer Edge. I am so glad he is back and hopefully he returns to WWE more often than twice a year. He announces that he is in Philadelphia because they are the home of the Broadstreet Bullies aka Philadelphia Flyers. Which I will hit the pause button because Edge is a known New Jersey Devil fan, those teams are RIVALS! Anywho Edge also says that he will be on Haven tonight. He is once again a fan of WWE and says how it surprises him that Kane and Daniel Bryan are now the Tag Team Champions. This brings out Bryan who ends up doing the Yes/No fight which I want to see a botchamania video of Rabbit Season/Duck Season dubbed in. Kane enters and Edge challenges Kane to remember the fact that Kane is the Big Red Machine, the man who tombstoned the priest that was marrying Edge and Lita. Kane says he should do something about the history and hugs Edge who has his eyes pop out of their sockets. They offer to Bryan to join in a three way hug but before he could “The Intellectual Savior of the Masses” Damien Sandow comes out and says that the Bryan-Kane saga has gone on too long. I must say to see Sandow being put in with legends and establish characters does nothing but help him become a star that I am so glad to see he is becoming. Sandow took an already great segment and turned it into an amazing segment. This turns into a match between Sandow and Kane which Sandow won by his cross-arm neckbreaker after interference by Bryan. Personally the match was not that good. I feel they could have done better. The return of Edge is brought to you by #Awesomeness while the match is brought to you by #Letdown.

We return and Kane is irate looking for Daniel Bryan and Kane runs into Dr. Shelby. Kane wants his title belt back and is willing to tear Bryan’s goatbeard off hair by hair. Dr. Shelby has a trust exercise and it ends in Kane getting his title back. I must say I like Kane and D-Bry as a team but Dr. Shelby is annoying. This segment is brought to you by #GetridofShleby.

After a video package rehashing the Brogue Kick (Sheamus’ bicycle kick) being banned and reinstated Alberto Del Rio is seen in Booker T’s office justifying the reinstatement of the Brogue Kick. Booker says while it may not have been fair to reinstate it before Del Rio facing rival Sheamus at Night of Champions last Sunday, he will not give Del Rio a rematch unless he proves himself. This segment is brought to you by #Letitend.

It is time for WWE diva action as Gizmo’s mommy Natyala takes on former Diva’s Champion Layla as current champion Eve is ringside. Kaitlyn was supposed to be wrestling Layla at Night of Champions went down due to a sneak attack by Eve. Helen Keller could have seen that. The match was good but short. Too bad there was no Skyade moves done by Layla. Layla wins with her Layout neckbreaker. This match is brought to you by #tooshort.

I would recap the tag team match where former WWE champion Alberto Del Rio and World Heavyweight title Money in the Bank briefcase holder Dolph Ziggler took on former WWE and World champion Randy Orton and World Heavyweight champion Sheamus but it is was the same old match you’ve see from these four. Out of the four, I only really like Ziggler and Sheamus. To me, Orton and Del Rio are boring. And it does not help when you have these four fight on for several weeks in the same matches. Orton and Sheamus won after Orton hit his jumping cutter called the RKO on Del Rio and Sheamus drilled Ziggler with the Brouge Kick. If you ask me, this match has happened far too often of late. Can we PLEASE have new matches. This match is brought to you by #SomethingNewPlease.

Next up is Daniel Bryan taking on former WWE Intercontinental Champion, son of “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, half-brother of Goldust and Grandson of a plumber, Cody Rhodes. This was a very good and very enjoyable match between two athletes that was ruined when Kane interrupted the match to distract Daniel Bryan when he went for the No Lock, a modified crossface submission. Cody won with his Cross Rhodes rolling cutter. This match is brought to you by #RematchPlease.

We come back and WWE Tag Team champions (and rivals) Kane and D-Bry are having a shouting match. All of a sudden Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes are there laughing at them to which they are challenged by the champs for a match. This segment is brought to you by #YesYesYes!

“The Funkasaurus” Brodus Clay and his Funkadactyls Cameron and Naomi are coming to the ring and dance. Brodus is a 360 pound wrestler who dances before and after matches. His opponent this evening is a wrestler with an annoying gimmick where he thinks he is a one man band, Heath Slater. Brodus looked like he could have destroyed Slater but then Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre come to the ring and attack Brodus. Jinder is an Indian-Canadian and Drew McIntyre is the former Chosen One from Scottland. I actually forgot Drew had a job at this point. They triple team Brodus as Cameron and Naomi look on and scream in terror. This match is brought to you by #Interesting.

Now it is time for former WWE United States champion and joke wrestler Santino Marella to take on the man who beat him and current US Champion, Antonio Cesaro. The history between these two is Cesaro won after Santino’s trademark Cobra had eyes for Cesaro’s girlfriend Aksana. Aksana brought Cesaro into WWE and led him to success thus far in WWE. Cesaro has the match won by dominating most of it until Aksana tries to grab the Cobra sleave of Santino as Cesaro hits the ropes. The referee is distracted as Cesaro hits a pop-up European Uppercutt which should have had Santino down. Santino gets a roll up for the win. I would have personally waited a few more weeks so Santino would have been serious. Cesaro is furious and breaks it off with Aksana in Swiss, French, German, Italian and English because he is VERY European. This match is brought to you by #TooSoon.

It is time for the final match of the night, Rhodes and Sandow taking on Kane and D-Bry, THEY ARE THE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS! Three other tag teams surround the ring as Jimmy and Jei Uso, Titus O’Neil and Darren Young the Prime Time Players and the team of Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd are there to watch on. I feel this match made up for the lack of action from the previous singles matches from the evening. These four are some of the best wrestlers on the roster. The match ends in a disqualification after Rhodes uses a chair on Kane but then Kane and D-Bry actually team up together and start to wail on Sandow and Rhodes with the chairs. The other tag teams try to leave but then are brought in and destroyed. I like that Kane and D-Bry seem to be becoming a team. I hope Rhodes and Sandow may continue as a team, I feel they could be money if done right. This match is brought to you by #potential.

This episode of SmackDown was enjoyable and we are at the start of a lot of things that can turn into interesting television for WWE.

Impact Wrestling Open Fight Night Thoughts For 09/20/2012

Hello, thank you and welcome back to the Wrestling is STILL Fun blog. This is the first live (via DVR) thoughts blog on here so bare with me. Blame trying to watch Glee (don't judge) being on while I was watching it for the lateness. Tonight is the September edition of TNA Impact Wrestling’s Open Fight Night from the Impact Zone in a soundstage at Universal Orlando made over to be a wrestling venue that holds roughly a 1,000 fans. The basis of tonight’s show is a series of matches that are based off of one wrestler (or tag team) challenging another to a match that must be accepted. There is also a gut check match where a wrestler is given a chance to prove him or herself against an existing member of the roster. So far we have seen three wrestlers (Alex Silva, Taeler Hendrix and Sam Shaw) pas their gut checks and two (Joey Ryan and Chris Louie) have failed their gut checks.

The show opens up with a re-hash of recent events: the main event for Bound For Glory at Phoenix, AZ in October between Jeff Hardy and TNA Heavyweight champion Austin Aries and Bully Ray’s involvement; the interactions between Al Snow (one of the judges for Gut Check) and Joey Ryan (the first failed Gut Checker); the feud between James Storm and Robert Roode; and Hulk Hogan trying to lockdown the Impact Zone so that Aces & 8’s (a group of bikers who have randomly attacked different people in TNA including Sting, Hogan, Bully Ray, AJ Styles, Kurt Angle, Bobby Roode, D’Angelo Dinero, Aries and Hardy) cannot enter the though they say they are in the Impact Zone. We then see “Shaq Diesel” himself Shaquille O’Neil is in the Impact Zone backstage with long-time friend Hulk Hogan talking about Aces & 8’s and how they gave their calling card the dead man’s hand (the hand that Wild Bill Hickok had when he died, the Ace & 8 of spades and clubs) to Hulk’s daughter Brooke. I am sad he didn’t up a can of Shaq-Fu so Aaron Carter couldn’t come out of obscurity.. I mean the blue. Shaq’s appearance at the Impact Zone is brought to you by #Disapointed

The first two wrestlers to come out are the team of TNA’s grand slam champion “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles and former WWF, WWE and World champion and 1996 Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle who have a shot at the TNA tag team titles held by “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels and Kazarian. However so are the team of former WCW and WWE Crusierweight champion Chavo Guerrero and fromer NWA and TNA Tag Team champion “Super Mex” Hernandez. Both teams earned the right through having one of the members of their teams beating Daniels and Kazarian in singles matches last week. Angle calls out the team of Guerrero and Hernandez for the first match of Open Fight Night. I also like the fact that there are two teams challenging for the titles though due to the recent past between Daniels and Styles, I wish that it was just the teams of Daniels and Kazarian facing off with Angle and Styles. Long story short, Daniels tried to blackmail Styles with a woman who claimed AJ was the father of an unborn baby after drugging him which turned out to be false. Hopefully I don't need to explain this angle further...

The match was very enjoyable, a throwback to the old school WWF Royal Rumbles that were build on the back of a solid tag team based undercard though Daniels and Kazarian made it a no contest after interfering and attacking both teams. Daniels says they are the World tag champions of the World. Hogan comes out with a bat and declares he has 99 problems and Aces & 8’s is his biggest one. He makes a Triple Threat Match with the team of Daniels and Kazarian defend them against Angle and Styles AND Guerrero and Hernandez for Bound For Glory. This match is brought to you by #Nocontest

Al Snow is shown walking and giving his thoughts on the Gut Check tonight who is 18 so he couldn’t rent a car in Florida. He was then asked about recent run ins with Joey Ryan. For those of you who don’t know, Ryan is almost a 10 year pro who wrestled mainly in California and had a chance in a Gut Check in May but failed. Ever since, hehad been a thorn in the side of TNA’s Gut Check continually disrupting matches and evaluations. In recent weeks Snow had enough and asked Ryan to step in the ring and Ryan slapped him before running off. Snow was heading to a meeting as we came back. I am glad they are giving this Joey Ryan angle. I am a fan of Joey and awaiting his debut. This segment is brought to you by #waste

The show returns with Hogan on the phone and apparently Joseph Parks Esq. is on the other line. Joseph Parks Esq. is a lawyer who is the brother of a TNA/Impact Wrestling long-standing star named Abyss. Abyss went missing and his brother Joseph was looking for him and got involved with Bully Ray, the last man who saw Abyss. Any who, Joseph was using his resources to look into Aces & 8’s for Hogan and apparently he had a package for them and was locked out of the Impact Zone due to the lockdown. Hogan said he was coming to the door to let Parks in. This segment is brought to you by #HoganneedsaniPhone5

We return and it is time for the Gut Check and it is Evan Markopolus taking on Doug Williams, a former TNA X, Television and World Tag Team Champion. Markopolus is a 18 year old wrestler from New England with a little bit of experience while Williams has over 10 years of experience in his native England, Japan and America.  This match was a typical new wrestler beatdown but Markopolus was showing some promise which is more I can say then I could with anyone else other than Joey Ryan. Williams beat Markopolus with a modified headlock submission out of a hip toss, despite the fact Markopolus hung in there until that point. I think Markopolus should join the others because he has shown as much if not more than the others who have gotten a chance on the TNA roster through a Gut Check. No Joey Ryan sighting so I am guessing that Ryan will makes his presence felt next week when we find out if Markopolus passed his Gut Check evaluation. This match is brought to you by #JoeyRyan

We return recapping the recent events of former TNA World champions “The Cowboy” James Storm and “The IT Factor” Bobby Roode, former tag team partners and champions as Beer Money Inc. Roode ruined Storm’s chance at winning a shot at the TNA World Heavyweight title by smashing a beer bottle over Storm’s head during a match with Bully Ray. Storm comes out to the ring to be the next person to make a challenge during Open Fight Night. He made a promise to call out Bobby Rooooooooooooooo! last week (watch a recent Botchamania to get this reference.) He makes good on his promise to challenge Roode in “A Man Kicking A Coward’s Ass” match. (His words not mine before you start wondering about that.) Roode comes out dressed in a suit and says he is not prepared for a fight and that Storm will never be as good as him. Roode considers them done and that Storm should fight someone else. Roode is the first man walk out of an Open Fight Night. Roode walks off but is told by Hogan to figure out if he will fight Storm tonight or be gone from Impact Wrestling. Roode is given three minutes to decide. This segment is brought to you by #Cliffhanger

Roode walks back out and still dressed in his suit but he removes his sportcoat, tie, watch and dress shirt. Roode accepts the challenge but is assaulted by Storm on the way to the ring. The match never started and they just fought around the Impact Zone exchanging whips, punches and face slams into parts of the stage and guardrails. After about five minutes they finally get in the ring and the match officially starts. If you love brawls that do not require many wrestling moves, this is right up your alley. They fight out of the right for a long time so I am guessing it is a no countout match. The match ended in a no contest (the second of the night for those keeping score) after both Storm and Roode abuse the referee for the assigned match. The continue fighting after the match was ruled over and right out of the Impact Zone. This is the type of match you do not see in WWE and I enjoyed that You have two guys who flat don’t like eachother. This is a fire that rarely exists in WWE today. This match is brought to you by #Nocontest and #Cantwaitformore

It cuts to Hogan who is still awaiting Joseph Parks who has not been seen by the security Hogan has hired to lockdown the Impact Zone yet. Hogan gets a phone call and it from Aces & 8’s saying that they found Parks. I find this as a waste of time and could have been cut. This segment is brought to you by #facepalm

We return to Austin Aries and Jeff Hardy talking backstage. Aries says that Bound for Glory is not about the way fans see it where it is Hardy having his return from his drug issues and an arrest stemming from it. Aries says it is about him proving to Jeff that he is just as good as him. Aries was not given the chances Hardy had at this point. I like that they are taking this angle with it. Aries is a recent star while Hardy has been made for nearly 13 years now. This interaction is brought to you by #goodbuild.

Tara (the former Victoria) came out to talk about why she turned on her long time friend and tag team partner Miss Tessmacher the TNA Knockouts Champion. She said that she was used by Tessmacher and her new Hollywood boyfriend opened her eyes. She calls out ring announcer and 2004 Raw Diva Search Winner Christy Hemme as not her opponent but her victim. Instead of having a match, Tara abuses her and asks who is her favorite Knockout (what TNA calls their women) is. Hemme responds Tessmacher. Tara gravs Hemme’s hair hard and asks where Tessmacher is now, which she actually comes out (as if she was waiting for that) for the save. This was terrible and I wish I would have seen Tara actually call out one of the few Knockouts in TNA currently whether it was ODB, Gail Kim or Madison Rayne and beat their brains in on this show with only a few matches. This segment is brought to you by #Waste.

Brooke Hogan who besides a target of Aces  & 8’s is the Knockout’s Director of Authority who is disappointed by what Tara did and threatens consequences for Tara next week.  I am sure Tara is shaking in her boots.There is not much to say about this interaction This segment is brought to you by #Melodramatic.

Oh and next week is championship Thursday and the TNA Television title will be decided as Devon, Bully Ray’s former tag team partner and current champion has not been seen on Impact Wrestling for sometime now.  

Hogan walks out with the bat in hand and a purpose on his face. Aces & 8’s have kidnapped Parks. Hogan will enter Aces & 8’s “clubhouse” next week in return for Park’s release. The leader of Aces & 8’s responds and states that Aces & 8’s found that Park’s computer had a lot about them so one of the other members busted it and another smashed Parks in the head. This segment is brought to you by #BadActing

TNA airs a video package talking about Jef Hardy and what the match at Bound For Glory means to him. He says it will make everything that he went through have meaning. So winning the TNA World title again after he lost it to Sting, only to have a rematch in which he was beaten in seconds and was in no shape to be in the ring prior to serving jail time is supposed to give meaning? This video package is brought to you by #HUH?

“The Greatest Man That Ever Lived” and TNA World champion Austin Aries comes to the ring and says that video package proves that the focus is on Hardy and not on him. Aries calls out Bully Ray for a match as Hardy has beaten “a big bad bully” (referring to Bully Ray) twice in the past 10 days (once at TNA No Surrender and then last week on Impact Wrestling.) Bully Ray says that nobody calls out him, he calls everyone out. The match is a brawl for the most part with both men dishing out chops, punches, forearms and kicks with some aerial action from Aries and shouting by Bully Ray. Bully Ray wins after the ref is downed during an attempt at Aries bridging chinlock OF DOOM. Aries lets go but is taken out by the trusty steel chain Bully wears around his neck. Bully Ray has defeated the champion and should be a future title contender and rightfully so. This is easily the best match though sadly only one of two for the night that actually went to a full conclusion. After the match Bully Ray grabs the belt and measures Aries for a shot with the World title belt though he is saved by Jeff Hardy who talks smack with the champion he just saved. This match is brought to you by #HesABully.

Overall, I feel this was an OK show. I would say that there should have either been more matches added to the show replacing slower segments that went to a full conclusion or only one no contest though both were great while they lasted. Hopefully Aces & 8's are revealed soon. I have my guess on who is behind them and I will talk about that later on.

Thank you for reading and please checkout the friends of this blog. Twister Rat Podcast and Dan's Video Den. I am glad to spread the word out about them because they are good.

Top 10 WWE Pay Per View Themes

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Wrestling is STILL Fun blog. Today we will start with the first edition of the top 10 list. This top 10 is based around the top 10 songs done by actual bands that have been used as Pay-Per View themes for WWE events. My criteria is by how the song fits the event as well as how much I enjoy the song. I hope you enjoy this.

10) “Big Time” by Peter Gabriel from WWE WrestleMania XXII in 2006.

This WrestleMania was nicknamed as “Big Time.” When the subtitle for the event is Big Time, it pays off to have the theme for said event share the title. WWE went back 20 years to find this Peter Gabriel song. Unlike the other songs on this it would not chart on the rock charts but that does not mean it is a good song. I personally enjoy the song. The song talks about hitting the big time and leaving the small town that the person singing is leaving. Sounds like the perfect explanation of a guy who left the independent scene at the end of the summer for a WWE deal dressed up as a gangster for John Cena’s entrance at the event. I hear he is considered to be The Best In The World...

09) “Dark Horses” by Switchfoot from WWE Royal Rumble 2012.

The Royal Rumble, a perfect fit for dark horses. When you have 30 wrestlers (women have been in the ring with the men a few times in this event) you will have a dark horse or two. Hell the first Royal Rumble winner was a dark horse in “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan as well as several other winners over the years such as Yokozuna in 1993 despite a late draw was a relatively new wrestler having only squashing guys like Virgil, Bret Hart and Lex Luger in 1994 as Bret had his leg injured in a previous match and Luger was attacked by Japanese wrestlers Tenryu and Kabuki aligning with Yokozuna, Shawn Michaels twice in 1995 when he drew number 1 and again in 1996 returning from a pair of concussions, Steve Austin in 1997 when he drew number 5, Vince McMahon in 1999 when drew number 2, Chris Benoit in 2004 when he drew number 1, and Rey Mysterio who drew number 2 in 2006.  Besides being a fitting song, the song is good. The only reason it is lower is because I got into the song, not by WWE but at the Monster Jam World Finals as they played it for their Young Guns Shoot Out and that is what got me into it and not it being on a WWE pay per view.

08) “Step Up” by Drowning Pool from WWE WrestleMania XX in 2004.

WrestleMania XX the forgotten WrestleMania (Thanks a lot Chris Benoit.) While this WrestleMania is forgotten, don’t let this song be. The first single after the untimely death of front man Dave Williams and it was amazing. Too bad a Drowning Pool line-up never lasted more than two albums. The problem is, it was not that good of a fit for a WrestleMania if you ask me. Great song, bad fit for a WrestleMania if you as me.

07) “I Don’t Wanna Stop” by Ozzy Osbourne from WWE Judgment Day 2007.

SHARON! This Osbourne-Wylde instant classic from 2007 was used for a pay-per view centered around the clash of the titan. John Cena and Great KhalI. Wait, that is more like a flash in the pants. The only thing great about the show was the theme. Oh and the pay per view of the dreaded Punt Kick by Randy Orton. The song is flat out awesome.

06) “Light It Up” by Rev Theory from WWE WrestleMania XXIV in 2008.

This was a kick ass rock song. Sadly it was upstaged by another song that was also done by this band for a different pay per view. Personally this song was better and a better fit for pay-per view. WrestleMania is the Grand Daddy of them All and this was the kick ass rock anthem for the 23^rd annual event held in Orlando, FL. Yes WWE, WrestleMania XXV was NOT the 25^th anniversary WrestleMania, that would have been WrestleMania XXVI the NEXT year.

Sorry for the off-topic rant about the WWE chronologically. It just annoys me. This song really gave the right image for an event of extra ordinary magnitude that WrestleMania. For this, you have my gratitude WWE.

05) “Nothing Left To Lose” by Puddle of Mudd from WWE Royal Rumble 2004.

The forgotten Royal Rumble, the night Chris Benoit won the Royal Rumble from number 1, Shawn Michaels faced Triple H in a Last Man Standing match for the World title and the night Hardcore Holly faced BROCK LESNAR for the WWE Title. I do not kid about that second part. This song worked with all of the matches. Shawn got a second match with Triple H after the Duel in the Desert on Raw went to a draw, Chris Benoit was going for his quest for the WWE title and Hardcore Holly wanted vengeance on BROCK LESNAR for breaking his (freakin’) neck. For each of those men they proved they should have the chance and they had nothing left to lose.

04) “Monster” by Skillet from WWE Hell in a Cell 2009.

In 2009, Undertaker was feuding with CM Punk and so were Randy Orton and John Cena. Their feuds converged into a Hell in a Cell and in that match you do become a monster. Not that CM Punk was not becoming a monster, a monster who wanted to purge the WWE of anyone who wasn’t straight edge. He succeed in August by removing Jeff Hardy from the WWE. WWE matched the pay per view with a song by Skillet that was fittingly called Monster. The song is amazing and made Skillet known among rock fans.

03) “Bodies” by Drowning Pool from WWF SummerSlam 2001, ECW One Night Stand 2005, ECW One Night Stand 2006 & ECW December 2 Dismember.

The main knock against this now classic song is it was used several times over and over again. However, Bodies is quintessential hard rocking song. It was used originally for WWF SummerSlam in 2001, the second pay per view during the WCW Invasion Storyline. It was used again for the three WWE pay per views branded under the ECW name. The song is amazing and you can easily see why it was big. Too bad it had to be released around the time Clear Channel banned over 100 songs including songs that don’t make sense like Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York,” Limp Bizkit’s “Break Stuff,” Van Halen’s “Jump,” Barenaked Ladies “Falling for the First Time,” and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Under the Bridge.” The song should be a sports anthem and can be heard at some arenas and stadiums.

02) “My Way” by Limp Bizkit from WWF WrestleMania XVII in 2001.

This was the second use of a song for a WWF pay-per view and if you ask me, the best use of a song for a video package ever. The video package that WWF put to this song was amazing. It was for the Steve Austin and The Rock who faced off in the main event for the show for the WWF World title. At the time Limp Bizkit was one of the biggest bands in the world and WWF was at the pinnacle of their Attitude era. That WrestleMania was one of the best ever when you look at the build up to them and the card action. And the theme helped make the show important. Important enough that most pay per views ever since have had a song used for it. I am not knocking the old themes that the WWF used for pay per views before this, but once they did I think there was no going back. WWE’s Capital Punishment theme is a PERFECT example of this.

0           01) “Always” by Saliva from WWE Survivor Series 2002

My Way started the fire but this was the best video package I have ever seen for a match. Eric Bischoff was the General Manager of the Raw brand and wanted to one up the use of the Hell in a Cell for the title fight between The Undertakah and BROCK LESNAR at No Mercy by SmackDown General Manager Stephanie McMahon. So Eric Bischoff made the Elimination Chamber featuring World Heavyweight champion Triple H, Booker T, Kane, Chris Jericho, Rob Van Dam and Shawn Michaels. The match was enhanced by the music video set to an amazing song that made Saliva from just another nu-metal band from the early 2000’s into a great band. Too bad Josey Scott left them just this year…

I hope you enjoyed my first top 10 list. If you want, feel free to post your opinions then do so. If you have suggestions for Top 10's in the future, please e-mail me at kingmichael87@gmail.com. Also don't forget to check out the friends of the show Twister Rat and Dan's Video Den.

Introduction/Fantasy Booking #1: TNA X-Division Destination X 2012-Slamiversary 2013

Hello everyone, my name is Michael King and I would like to introduce you to the Wrestling Is STILL Fun blog. For those of you who do not know me, I have been a fan for 20 years now ever since my dad brought home a tape of the 1992 Royal Rumble and I saw The New Foundation take on The Orient Express as well as WWF Intercontinental match between The Mountie and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. Though I wasn’t exactly hooked until seeing WrestleMania VIII when I saw matches such as Shawn Michaels vs. “El Matador” Tito Santana, The Undertaker vs. Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Bret “Hitman” Hart vs. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper for the WWF Intercontinental title and “The Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair for the WWF World Heavyweight title that I became hooked. Over time I have lost interest every once in a while but there would always be something to suck me back in.

I will say that I was born and raised as a WWF fan seeing only WWF shows besides four independent promotions. Now if you are wondering why I am saying what is WWF, it is the WWE under its name that I knew from when I first started watching until 2002 when the World Wrestling Federation changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment and now to the acronym WWE. The new WWE’s bumper that you see before any WWE show is true, WWE has been here then, now and always. Have they been the best, no but they are always there. I enjoyed the WWF product until 1996 and then from 1998 until now. I am not just a WWE fan, I like WCW, ECW, TNA and ROH up til 2007.

I have been a fan during good times and bad. My first WWF show was seeing Bret Hart defend his newly won WWF World Title against Nailz in October 1992 at the Nassau Coliseum. If you ask me, my fandom was capped when I saw Bret Hart 18 years later have his first WWE match since November 1997 at WrestleMania XXVI at University of Phoenix Stadium.

The mission of this blog is to talk about wrestling in a positive light even though sometimes it maybe hard to see a brighter side. I plan to write just about daily which means after I see shows either live or on DVR or on days when there are no shows, when I feel like it. Topics include fantasy booking, top 10 lists and walk-thrus of classic pay-per views. Before I start with my first post, please visit a few friends of this blog, Dan’s Video Den a version of this blog but dealing with movies and Twister Rat a podcast between friends in the Bible Belt and Tornado Alley.

Fantasy Booking #1: TNA X-Division From Destination X 2012-Slamiversary 2013

Today I will start with my first Fantasy Booking blog. Now for those of you who do not know, fantasy booking is looking at a time period in a wrestling and booking it how you would in your opinion. My first attempt is redoing one I did a while back, the TNA X-Division after Austin Aries handed over the X Title so he could challenge for the TNA World Title at Destination X 2012. The X-Division was a division founded in 2002 based on the cruiserweight style though they were originally not set by a weight-limit. This is a reason the 280 pound Samoa Joe won the title several times through out his career.

Now first let me introduce the current TNA talent. Zema Ion, a Pilipino-American wrestler who has been in TNA for a year and injured fellow X-Division talent Jessy Sorrensen. Douglas Williams, a British wrestler who unlike the other guys is more mat-based. Mark Haskins, another British wrestler though he is a high-flyer unlike Williams. Jessy Sorensen, an American wrestler but out with a neck injury due to a moonsault plancha by Ion gone wrong. Kid Kash, an American wrestler known from his days in ECW, TNA where he was a former X-Division Champion and a short stint in WWE

I know four wrestlers does not a division make. (For those of you that cannot speak Yoda, it means four wrestlers do not make a division.) Now like TNA did, I would bring in new talent. Dakota Darsow, the son of Berry Darsow who has been known as Krusher Krushev, Demolition Smash, Repo Man, Blacktop Bully and Mr. Hole In One. Flip Casanova, a high-flying American wrestler. Federico Palacios, the Argentinean wrestler known as Azrieal. Jimmy Yang, the former Jung Dragon, Asian Flyin’ Elvis, Akio and Jimmy Wang Yang from fame in WCW and WWE. Jimmy Rave, the former X-Division wrestler who had the gimmick of a rock star. Kenny King, an American wrestler known from Ring of Honor as a tag team wrestler. Mason Andrews, an American wrestler known from his days in Wrestling Society X as Scorpio Sky. Rashad Cameron, an American wrestler known as Sabian and Blk Jeez in Combat Zone Wrestling. Sonjay Dutt, an Indian-American wrestler long-standing TNA X-Division member though he never actually held the title.

Instantly I would have done the tournament to decide the title similar to the real tournament. It would start with 4 qualifying matches to determine the four new wrestlers who will be in the tournament. The four losers will be in a last-chance qualifier and wrestle Kid Kash right after the match. Three other matches would go on in the first round with Douglas Williams and Zema Ion facing two of the 4 qualified wrestlers and the other two qualified new wrestlers facing off. Do you got that so far?

Good because it only gets better from here…

Then from there the winner of the match with Kid Kash after the last-chance and the winner of the three other winners would face off in an Ultimate X match. Ultimate X is basically a ladder match but instead of climbing a ladder, wrestlers climb a truss at one of the four corners of the ring to get the cable that you would hand over hand to where the cables cross. The title hangs at the crossing and just like a ladder match, the first person to remove the title wins. I would have the four men who ended up in the match stay in the match, Kenny King, Mason Andrews, Sonjay Dutt and Zema Ion. Unlike the real match, Sonjay would win the match and become the champion for the first time.

Over the next two months, I would have Sonjay defend the title against former X-Division talents such as the Kash, Matt Bentley, Rave, Suicide (I’ll get to him soon enough) and Yang at first and at the No Surrender Pay-Per View, I would have Zema Ion win it from Sonjay after using the can of hair spray. After winning, Ion would turn into the cheating bad guy/heel champion beating everyone in his path whether it was a new guy or a long-standing member of the X-Division over the next few months. Defying the odds everytime and defending the title at Bound For Glory in October, Turning Point in November and Final Resolution in December. After this Ion lays out an open challenge for Genesis in January.

Jessy Sorensen would return in the open challenge laid out by Ion. Sorensen will nearly beat Ion but Sorensen would not win the title. I would have Ion escape with the title through a disqualification as titles do not change hands through count outs and disqualifications. Sorensen go through everyone in his path to challenge Ion once again for the X-Division title. This would culminate into yet another Ultimate X match but this time just those two combatants. This is because there is no rules in the Ultimate X match. Sorensen wins the X Division Title in this match in a happy moment.

At this time Suicide is gaining traction because of an ally in Joey Ryan, the man who was denied a chance in TNA after not passing his gut check challenge and raising hell in the Impact Zone ever since. Suicide was a masked gimmick TNA brought in for the end of 2008 to coincide with the storyline mode in their TNA Impact video game. He would use a move called D.O.A. which was a Yoshi Tonic to some and Code Red to others. The move is basically a high impact sunset flip. However this new Suicide will use that more of a quick pin that can with a match but would use classic X-Division finishers to win most of his matches. Suicide would be built up as a contender for Sorensen’s title and he would win but after using the Canadian Destroyer (a flip piledriver) on Sorensen’s injured neck putting him out of action for a few weeks Victory Road. After this Suicide would use the Canadian Destroyer more often.

At this point the rest of the X-Division starts to think that Suicide is a former wrestler who wrestled in TNA named Petey Williams. Petey Williams was a former X-Division champion who in 2009 left TNA after losing a match with the stipulation that the loser of the fall is gone. Everyone is thinking Williams is Suicide. At this point Suicide loses the title to Kenny King who will be crowned #1 contender. Williams is debunked when Williams appears on Impact with Suicide. The hype dies down.

Then Sorensen returns and still thinks it is Williams and challenges him to put the mask on the line if Sorensen puts his hair on the line. However both men also have a claim on the X-Division title due to the rematch clause which means the former champion has a guaranteed shot at the title so Kenny is brought into the mix. The three men will face off in a triple threat elimination match at Lock Down inside of a steel cage. At the same time Andrews, Cameron, Douglas Williams, Ion, Kash, Rave, Ryan, and Sonjay will face off in an X-division escape match also at Lock Down for the future #1 contender to the X-division champion.

The X-Division Escape match is a multi-man elimination match held inside of a steel cage. The main thing is eliminations are by pinfall or submissions until the last two men are in. Then it is a race out of the cage with both feet hitting the floor first to determine the winner. The way I would do this, is Cameron is eliminated first then Kash, Rave, Ion, Andrews and Williams, leaving Sonjay Dutt and Joey Ryan the two remaining men for the escape part. Ryan would then in escape the cage first despite a close race by Sonjay.

In the triple threat match Kenny would be eliminated first meaning that there would be a new champion either way. Now it will be Suicide being unveiled or will Sorensen will be shaven bald? I would have Sorensen win and be the champion. Suicide will unveil himself to be Petey Williams who is then barred from competition in TNA once again.

Coming out of Lock Down, there will be face-offs between Joey Ryan the #1 contender and Jessy Sorensen, the X-Division champion. At Sacrifice in May, we would have Ryan vs. Sorensen. Ryan will beat Sorensen by cheating. Going forward Sorensen had a claim on the title while Zema Ion will be built up as a future contender because the X-Division champion in July has the chance to relinquish the title in order to face the TNA World Heavyweight champion at Destination X. To settle the issue, Ryan would be set to defend the X-Division title in June by virtue of a King of the Mountain match.

King of the Mountain is best described as a reverse ladder match where you must hang the title from a hook by climbing a ladder. The catch is you must pin an opponent to be eligible to hold the title in order to hang it. Whoever is pinned is put into a penalty box for two minutes allowing the other wrestlers to have an easier time to hang the belt and win the match. The match will have five combatants, the current champion, Joey Ryan and former champions Jessy Sorensen and Zema Ion. The other two will be determined by matches as Sonjay Dutt takes on Kid Kash and Kenny King taking on Douglas Williams. Sonjay and Williams win making it Ion, Ryan, Sonjay, Sorensen and Williams in the King of the Mountain match. Ion and Sorensen’s feud reignite because Sorensen said at Destination X in 2012 he would be the man to give up the X-Division title to have a shot at the world title. Ion plans to be the man to ruin this.

At Slammiversary, The King of the Mountain match happens and Ryan tries to not get locked in the box and sneak a pin so he can get to hang up the title easily. However this does not work as if you are not in the action, there is no way to be eligible to hang up the belt. During the match, Sorensen and Ion almost exclusively try to pin eachother to prevent the other man from being able to climb the ladder and hang the belt. At one point they score a double-pinfall and both men are put into the box. Sonjay and Williams also make themselves eligible. However it is down to Sorensen and Ion who fight up the ladder over the title and Sorensen wins out by smashing Ion in face with the belt before hanging it up and becoming X-Division champion. From there Sorensen makes good on his promise and goes for the World Title at Destination X.