Who Needs Hulkamania? A short-form TNA 2010

[Roy Mustang]

I feel your pain trying to book the current WWE women's tag team division and I have FOUR brands to take people from

 

[Leon TrotSky]

Who has two thumbs and needs advice again?

So, it never really occurred to me what Hogan and Bischoff are doing this past year. Where do we think they are? I mainly ask this because there's a chance another wrestling company might try to sign Hogan to achieve a buzz (which has a chance of (1) pushing away homegrown talent and making them available for TNA, and (2) taking in the guys I release)

 

[Chris]

Who has two thumbs and needs advice again?

So, it never really occurred to me what Hogan and Bischoff are doing this past year. Where do we think they are? I mainly ask this because there's a chance another wrestling company might try to sign Hogan to achieve a buzz (which has a chance of (1) pushing away homegrown talent and making them available for TNA, and (2) taking in the guys I release)

I can't see ROH, PWG, CHIKARA, NJPW, etc. getting Hogan so you're probably good there He probably just goes back to WWE making legend appearances instead or tries to run more Australian tours. Bischoff may help with that or do whatever other shit he was doing in '09,

 

[Grimoire Lenin]

Hogan and Bischoff start a company with the backing of Donald J Trump.

 

[Leon TrotSky]

Fuck it, we'll go with that. I'm glad of that, actually, as it will probably keep Trump too busy to do the things he did in the real 2010s

 

[Leon TrotSky]

The Final Road to Bound for Glory 2010​

Strap in.

• Main event is Joe vs. Sting. Sting is now the talisman of the AYUUFATO, which still doesn't have a name. (That will come after BFG.)
• Speaking of the AYUUFATO and feuds that fall naturally into place, Bully Ray is set to defend his title against Devon. Devon achieves this by squashing a local talent in a quicker time, in a Beat the Clock Challenge sort of way. They spit a lot of vitriol at each other over the build, with Bully Ray claiming he was always the weak link in Team 3D and Devon calling him out on leaving his tag partner hanging. It gets so heated that Mick Foley comes out and declares it a Tables Match!
• Kurt Angle, despite not wrestling himself, is in on the action, as WGTT are set to get their title shot against Beer Money. Angle trashes the Originals on the mic for playing dirty, and Shelton gets a couple of promos too because he's Shelton and he's a Cool Fucking Guy.
• And all of that having RVD in X Division matches pays right off, as he's going to appear in an X Division Championship match against Daniels. And the special guest enforcer is going to be one who feels he got screwed: Rob Terry!
• What of Kevin Nash and Jeff Jarrett, the two unattached members of AYUUFATO? What of AJ Styles and Eric Young, the two unattached members of the Originals? I'm glad you asked! They have a match together! It's no DQ!
• In Knockouts news, Velvet Sky is gunning for Daffney's title, and she's really allowed to play up the alpha bitch heel, sending her lackeys against Daffney on subsequent nights. Lacey is dispatched in short order, and Madison in slightly less short order. This will be the third hardcore match of the night! Weapons on Poles!
• We really need to spice things up in the Knockouts tag division, so everyone has been randomly paired off (except for Madison and Lacey, who insist on being together) to face Sarita and Taylor in a Tag Team Gauntlet match! Yes, I am trying to get everyone on the card.
• Bobby Fish is trying to make himself get a contract by beating everyone up, and so Mick makes a match between Fish and Kyle O'Reilly, where if Fish wins, he gets his contract. The caveat: Adam Cole will be at ringside, to prevent any funny business by Fish.
• What about the other two signees from Destination X? Well, Roderick Strong has pissed off the team of Mr. Anderson and Matt Morgan, probably by not being a douchebag, and his partner is naturally Generico! Generico promos partially in cod-Spanish on how he thinks he recognises Morgan as hated Mexican heel El Plano Colosal! Roddy just goes with it, because he needs a partner and the four newly-signed guys from July seem to have formed an alliance of convenience. I wonder what that alliance will be called?
• The go-home features an Originals promo, a match between AJ Styles and RVD that is marred by interference, and a promo by Jarrett and Sting who say that they're sick of the stable's crap. Then several other wrestlers come out with mics to curse the Originals for the work they've done. Since everyone seems to hate Samoa Joe and co., it's announced last minute that the title match at BFG will be... a lumberjack match! Have fun with 20 guys surrounding the ring, Joe!

 

[Leon TrotSky]

Bound for Glory 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Ocean Center - Daytona Beach, FL​

It's a bash at the beach, but without a Hogan heel turn! So, best get right down to it!

Xplosion Pre-Show Match: Okada d. Kiyoshi. This starts out as a friendly match but Kiyoshi starts abusing the Young Lion a little too hard. Okada takes it with a German Suplex and a powerful lariat. Let Okada have a good experience while he's here, so TNA doesn't destroy its relationship with NJPW.

1. Knockouts Tag Team Championship Tag Team Gauntlet - Mickie/ODB d. Sarita/Wilde (c) d. The Beautiful People (Rayne/Von Erich) d. Kong/Roxxi d. Angelina/Hamada d. Raisha/Tara. Order of these matches is: Raisha/Tara d. TBP, Angelina/Hamada d. Raisha/Tara, Angelina/Hamada d. Kong/Roxxi, Mickie/ODB d. Angelina/Hamada, Mickie/ODB d. Sarita/Wilde. The Knockouts division pretty badly needs a refreshing, and there's going to be a few releases after BFG. Anyway, backwoodsy type faces win the titles and this is seen as pretty much a good thing.
2. Strong/Generico d. Anderson/Morgan. We put over our next big thing with Anderson eating the pin. It really hasn't been good for Anderson in this BTB, has it? He's been jobbed out to whomsoever we want to put over. Both faces hit their finishers on him.
3. Television Championship Tables Match - Devon d. Bully Ray (c). This is very hard-fought and even, and has violence befitting the battles of betrayed brothers, but ultimately Bully Ray gets DDT'd through a table. AYUUFATO takes one, and it's not even an Originals opponent they're facing!
4. Tag Team Championship - Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team d. Beer Money, Inc. (c). Beer Money are finally toppled! Angle celebrates with his boys at ringside! We make this fairly even and make both teams look strong. Finish involves Angle tearing a beer bottle out of Storm's hands, allowing a stranded Roode to be a sitting duck for WGTT's finisher.
5. Knockouts Championship Weapons on Poles Match - Daffney (c) d. Velvet Sky. Six poles are decorated by: the ugly stick, brass knuckles, the riding crop, a steel chair, a makeup box, and a metal tea tray. No head shots because I do not want Daffney to get hurt like she did in our timeline. Velvet gets well beaten here. Your time will come, but it wouldn't be right for you to dethrone the new top face of the division after how this has been built.
6. Bobby Fish d. Kyle O'Reilly. Because we'd quite like to get him in on an actual contract, thank you very much. Midway through, Fish lets the referee distract himself with Adam Cole at ringside before delivering multiple low blows, and he doesn't give KOR the chance to recover.
7. X Division Championship - Rob Van Dam d. Daniels (c). AYUUFATO are three for three! Memorable spots mostly include Rob Terry on the outside trying to neutralise Daniels while he avoids Mr. Pay-Per-View. The returning Doug Williams, as well as Magnus, show up to fight off Terry, but the damage has been done as Daniels looks at the lights for the 5-Star Frog Splash.
8. No Disqualification Match - Nash/Jarrett d. The Originals (Styles/Young). The main thing we're putting over on this show is that the Originals seem to have met their match. Jarrett pinning AJ after a Stroke on to a steel chair is very off-brand for me, but I'm going somewhere with this.
9. World Heavyweight Championship Lumberjack Match - Sting d. Samoa Joe (c). And, after six months, Joe has finally been stopped. The lumberjacks don't hesitate to get some strikes in when Joe goes out to their side of the ropes. A match full of classic lumberjack spots, ending in a top-rope Scorpion Death Drop. Joe pinned in the centre of the ring! The Originals are down and out... for now. (Lumberjacks are pretty much every other male wrestler who isn't booked in another match.)

Gonna hiate for a bit while I collect ideas.

 

[Chris]

I would have hated all these old guys winning and I also hate Lumberjack matches so I'm sorry Sky but I can't approve of this payoff

It was a fun read though so I can't complain

 

[Leon TrotSky]

Impact - After the Glory
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Impact Zone - Orlando, FL​

Yes, I'm doing a writeup of an Impact, because big things happen, mostly pertaining to the releasing of talent.

Opening segment has all the old guys (and WGTT) out in suits and sunglasses with every one of the titles. Jarrett takes it upon himself to be a primary mouthpiece for this, and berating the Originals for thinking they own the place just because they've been there forever. He announces that Sting was in on this all along, and he came up with the idea that they're announcing. The Main Event Mafia will be reformed (as a face group), so that no invaders will be able to ruin the company they came up with again!

1. Awesome Kong/Hamada d. The Beautiful People (Rayne/Von Erich). Velvet Sky is absent from ringside as the other two members of TBP are overrun easily by the division's most powerful women. After the match, Velvet comes out and berates both of them for always being the weak links of the faction. Madison looks disappointed but not surprised, but Lacey is utterly stunned. Later in the show, we cut to backstage, where Velvet is seen beating the life out of Lacey with the ugly stick! "Useless! Useless! You've always been useless!" Madison arrives to stop the beating, but too late to stop the third woman being in serious condition. We're writing off Lacey here.
2. Television Championship: Devon (c) d. Tomko. We see Tomko off with one final appearance, where he's putting over Devon. This doesn't last long.
3. Latin-American Xchange d. British Invasion. Magnus is the one who suffers most of the offense and gets Border Tossed. See ya.
4. Bully Ray d. Shark Boy. Give me a Shell... No? I like to have the Stone Cold-esque comedy guy around, but... I really have nothing for him. No one's jumping at the chance to get him, so he'll probably be back for one-offs, but for now, he's being decluttered. Bully Bomb, win. Yep.
5. Daffney d. Raisha Saeed. A lot of these matches are squashes to get ones we're pushing over at the expense of ones we're releasing. Including this one.
6. Jeff Jarrett d. Orlando Jordan. Mick Foley announces this main event just after the opening segment, as an idea Miss Tessmacher gave to him. Jordan gets Stroked. And Stroked again. Jarrett's still meant to be the face, but he's playing with his food a little before getting the pin...

From Bound for Glory to Turning Point​

• Notably absent: any return matches for Originals members who lost their titles. This is never quite explained until later, but out of kayfabe it's mostly so they can have more hype when they are more regularly in action.
• Speaking of the Originals, they have a meeting, and they realise that two men lost a lot more than the others. Eric Young... and AJ Styles. The other members successfully lobby Mick for a match: loser must leave the Originals.
• The World Title shot is won as the result of a battle royal by Doug Williams. Sting comes out and admits he didn't expect this... but he's been itching to beat him up ever since the altercation at Slammiversary!
• As for the Tag Titles, Nash announces he's cashing in his Feast or Fired (he still has that, remember?) for a friendly match against WGTT, with Jarrett as his partner.
• The X Division is being lit up by "Mr. Thursday Night", as he continues to call himself, and a four-way for the Number 1 contendership is won by Amazing Red.
• TV Championship and both Knockouts championships get return matches, with Daffney-Sky, Bully Ray-Devon, and Wilde/Sarita-Mickie/ODB happening at Turning Point.
• We pit Abyss vs. Rhino in a match that's not No DQ, but will probably get nasty anyway... Storyline is that Abyss is here to make the master of the Gore careful what he wished for when he sent Abyss to the world's most messed-up hospital all those PPVs ago. "If it's a Monster you want... it's a Monster you'll get!"
• You'll notice no Jeff Hardy or Pope. Pope's working Impact, being a strong upper midcard guy and getting a few commendable matches with Eric Young, while Hardy... I guess I'll just put him on leave for a bit to sort out his drug issues, preventing a Victory Road 2011 situation.

 

[Leon TrotSky]

Turning Point 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Impact Zone - Orlando, FL​

Xplosion Pre-Show Match: D'Angelo Dinero d. Daniels. These guys are working Xplosion? This show is STACKED.

1. X Division Championship - Rob Van Dam (c) d. Amazing Red. The original flippy guy and the future of flippy guys face off. I'd say they bring the best out of each other, but it's the 5-Star Frog Splash that takes this, and not the Red Alert.
2. Knockouts Tag Team Championship - Mickie/ODB (c) d. Sarita/Wilde. Sarita and Wilde are oth going to be turned heel as a result of this match, because the Knockouts division is too face-heavy at the moment. So, they go for an unnecessary post-match beatdown after losing. Mickie and ODB can just barely fight them off.
3. Television Championship - Devon (c) d. Bully Ray. No tables, just two guys bringing their fists to each other. It's hard-fought and very even, but we have to hand this one to Devon.
4. Knockouts Championship - Daffney (c) d. Velvet Sky (DQ). Velvet brings out the riding crop and gets the match thrown out. The beating continues, but Madison Rayne gets the save! Her position isn't so much "face" as it is "anti-Velvet".
5. Tag Team Championship - Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team d. Main Event Mafia (Nash/Jarrett). Haas and Benjamin prove their worth, and Nash and Jarrett, along with Kurt Angle, express after the match how glad they are to have them as members of the MEM.
6. Abyss d. Rhino. Abyss brings unparalleled intensity, beating on Rhino, and when this match is done (thanks to a Black Hole Slam), he brings out Janice, bashing and bashing at him until the master of the Gore has to be stretchered off. This is a write off of TV.
7. Loser Leaves the Originals - Eric Young d. AJ Styles. Shock! The face of TNA is beaten at the hands of Young. Beer Money and Joe surround the ring to keep those two in check. Piledriver finishes, and the rest of the Originals beat on AJ after the match.
8. World Heavyweight Championship - Sting (c) d. Doug Williams. This was never going to go any other way, but Williams puts up a good fight, being tricky and trying to overtake the veteran face with his pace and grappling. Ultimately though, he will end up tapping to the Scorpion Deathlock.

-----------------------------------------

Monday, November 8, 2010.
TNA has come to terms with the release of the following:

Men:
Dr. Stevie, Jesse Neal, Kiyoshi, Orlando Jordan, Raven, Rhino, Shark Boy, Tomko
Women:
Alissa Flash, Lacey Von Erich, Roxxi Laveaux​

 

[Leon TrotSky]

OK, now I hiate. I'm having a few questions that I'll let the thread decide:

• What should we call the loose alliance of Strong, Cole, O'Reilly, and Generico, if anything?
• How do we debut Jon Moxley? He's had a verbal contract agreed for a while, now we just need something to do with him.
• All-Knockouts PPV with a similar format to Destination X, yes or no?
• Any PPV names that you think are particularly crap and should be scrapped?

 

[Chris]

That KOs idea could work if you brought in a lot of Indy talent and made it a better version of the One Night Only attempts they did. I was a fan of TNA's PPV names overall so I'm cool with them. Maybe bring back Unbreakable but I don't care what it replaces.

IDK bout the other two

 

[Roy Mustang]

Moxley in some angle with Mick Foley could work. Give us what we never got in real life

 

[Leon TrotSky]

From Turning Point to Final Resolution​

We're here! We are back!

• The MEM are running the show here, and even though they're benevolent, getting the fans sick of all of them is (spoiler alert!) the intended reaction. Notably, their matches are starting to be less against outright heels and more against tweeners, transitioning towards the first outright face to challenge Sting - it's the Pope! He thinks something isn't right here, and puts so much into his apparent paranoia that he pits himself against Sting after beating Jeff Jarrett on Impact. (Having Jarrett be a jobber to the stars is actually very useful!)
• Miss Tessmacher is introducing the matches in lieu of Mick Foley these days, claiming that Mick needs time out to train for his long-awaited return to wrestling. This is true out of kayfabe, but this isn't the real reason...
• Her first booking is a pair of all-X Division tag team matches to decide who faces RVD at Final Resolution - the man who scores the pin gets entry. Chris Sabin enters as MCMG beat Cole/O'Reilly, and Max Buck enters as Generation Me beat Lethal Consequences.
• Devon goes on a tear, defending the Television Title on television (who'd have thought it) against guys like Kazarian, former champ Rob Terry, and Bobby Fish. On the go-home (in which he defeats Mr. Anderson in a really good TV match), his opponent is announced as being the very popular El Generico!
• Oh yeah, tag teams! WGTT vs. LAX. Homicide and Hernandez probably say some profound shit about the so-called American values that their manager Kurt Angle represents, which is right but makes them look heelish anyway. They should be good opponents for Final Resolution.
• There's multiple Knockouts feuds going on! This is new! The "good wrestling" title feud of Daffney vs. Sarita is kind of being overshadowed by face Madison Rayne vs. Velvet Sky, given the high drama of their split. They don't get a match against each other, but they're entered into a triple tag team match for the Knockouts Tag Titles. Each is told to name their partner for the bout. Velvet picks Tara, and Madison picks Angelina Love! There's, like, four rivalries at once in there.
• AJ Styles is very publicly offered a spot in the MEM on one Impact ("Think about it", says Jarrett. "A chance to start anew, to be the Phenomenal One again, not the guy who was kicked out of the Originals by Eric Young"). AJ slaps his hand down to boos that will look pretty silly in hindsight.
• An annual tradition comes back on Final Resolution - Feast or Fired! Fifteen wrestlers, four briefcases, three title shots, one pink slip...
• On the go-home show, we find Mick Foley mysteriously attacked! And "shame on you" spray-painted black on the walls of his office! I wonder what's going on.

 

[Leon TrotSky]

Final Resolution 2010
Sunday, December 7, 2010
Impact Zone - Orlando, FL​

Last PPV of the year, baby! Let's go! Right at the start, Miss Tessmacher comes out and proclaims that on the injured Mick's behalf, she ensured that all the matches are in order tonight.

Xplosion Pre-Show Match - Amazing Red d. Okada. I saw a theory once that NJPW sent Okada to TNA not only for character work, but also to help him appreciate what he had (as they knew Russo would treat him like garbage). With that in mind, this is how I'm using Okada from now on: Don't want him to get too hot, so he still gets that sort of appreciation, but don't misuse him in a way that kills the TNA/NJPW relationship.

1. X Division Championship - Rob Van Dam (c) d. Max Buck d. Chris Sabin. RVD causes several situations where the two challengers are thrown to the outside - leaving the respective tag team partners to brawl for the assist! He could go for the crowd-pleasing high-flying offense he's known for, but he just... stands and mocks them! He doesn't even go for the 5-Star Frog Splash, instead pinning Sabin after a Rolling Thunder.
2. Knockouts Tag Team Championship - Mickie/ODB (c) vs. Madison/Angelina vs. Velvet/Tara - No Contest. The two bitter rivals Madison and Velvet get their barbs in at each other, and the match eventually devolves into an all-out brawl between the two, with Angelina and Tara also letting out their mutual frustration at each other for good measure. Mickie and ODB get an interview seg later in the show, with Mickie basically saying "This wasn't exactly how we wanted to defend the belts, but... sure?"
3. Tag Team Championship - Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team (c) d. Latin-American Xchange. Kurt gets physically involved a couple of times... hang on, aren't the MEM-aligned players supposed to be the faces? The crowd treats them that way, at least, but when Shelton scores the pin on Hernandez, Angle is nowhere to celebrate with them, having to take a call.
4. AJ Styles d. Matt Morgan. Give Styles a win, because I've got plans for him. He's wearing darker clothing. Think his Aces and 8's-era Evil Ways run, but less mopey. The giant Blueprint is felled after a couple of forearms and a Pele.
5. Feast or Fired - Mr. Anderson, Daniels, Bobby Fish, Shannon Moore d. Eric Young d. Samoa Joe d. James Storm d. Robert Roode d. Jeff Jarrett d. Bully Ray d. Adam Cole d. Kyle O'Reilly d. Jay Lethal d. Consequences Creed d. Rob Terry. Mr. Anderson gets the World Title shot, Daniels gets the X Division Title shot, Bobby Fish gets the Tag Team Title shot, and Shannon Moore is fired. (This is legit. I had nothing for this guy, even when Ink Inc was a thing.)
6. Knockouts Championship - Daffney (c) d. Sarita. Because after a chaotic Feast or Fired match you just need some good, mid-paced wrestling. Daffney successfully beats off Taylor Wilde, who attempts to cheat on Sarita's behalf, and wins with her Daff-Knees.
7. Television Championship - Devon (c) d. El Generico. Crowd is behind Generico over Devon, and naturally they boo when he's rolled over and mercilessly beaten on. But Devon isn't at all surprised with this... in fact, he has a sinister smile on his face. This is why I had to put this match on late.
8. World Heavyweight Championship - Sting (c) d. D'Angelo Dinero. Just before this match, Tessmacher comes out with an announcement - special guest referee, Kevin Nash! He'll apparently call this match down the middle, but he... gives a fast count to Sting? This match is cut short by that fact, but Sting and Kevin Nash give each other the nod and beat on Pope! Then the rest of MEM come out and beat on Pope too! Then the Originals come out... and just stand and watch. Pope is bloodied after a good few baseball bat strikes, and Jarrett gets the last word. "Let that be a lesson! Stay out of the main event, kid!" The MEM pose to a chorus of boos as the PPV fades out.

(if you think that was a hell of a turn, you should see the next PPV...)