• Wrestling News & Wrestling Rumors – WWE & TNA

The Big News: A go home show that was crammed to the max, but with very little in the way of news. Lots of short matches with angles that didn’t really entice the average viewer to splurge on this weekend’s PPV.

Mick Foley came out and announced that the old Foley smile was back after a one week absence. There were streamers in the ring with balloons and a clown to welcome Jeff Jarrett back after being suspended for one week, just like it was Foley giving the Rock the “This is your Life” segment in the Greensboro Coliseum in 1999. Keep in mind Foley also fined him a week ago. Foley said the guy in the make-up and funny wig was “Limo, the Low Rent Clown.” He looked like one of the thousands of indy Doink clones with a goatee and yellow teeth. Earl Hebner was in the ring with a swollen jaw, effectively selling getting punched by Jarrett two weeks ago. He even grew a bit of a goatee. Foley called out A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle and Jarrett, all of whom have qualified for King of the Mountain on Sunday. After Jarrett got in the ring, Foley sent down confetti from the rafters and announced Joe and Styles would be teaming up in a three-way match against Angle and Sting. Foley said the other team would be himself and Jarrett, which got a mixed reaction. Foley wanted everybody to join hands before the segment ended. Jarrett walked out, while Angle agreed. After some reluctance, Styles joined them. Joe teased doing the same, but punched Angle instead, leading to Sally Boy and Styles pulling him off. It’s so weird watching Foley as the top heel, because he’s so entertaining it’s impossible to boo him. But he certainly can’t be considered a face.

Raven, Dr. Stevie and Daffney were backstage with Jeremy Borash. Daffney, who teams with Angelina Love to face Taylor Wilde and Awesome Kong tonight, dropped a reference to the film Natural Born Killers, a 1994 Oliver Stone movie that was the acid trip I never had. Well, that and Halloween Havoc 1998. Raven said he and Abyss were both self-loathing freaks of nature, but Raven was smart enough to survive in society while Abyss was mindless. Raven and Abyss face off in a Clockwork Orange House of Fun match tonight.

1. Daniels defeated Amazing Red in 3:23. The most frustrating thing about TNA is creative refuses to take advantage of the company’s strengths. Having these guys go 3:23 in a match is like having Ric Flair available for a lifetime of interviews and putting a muzzle over his mouth. Red did a dropkick and spinning tope early where he landed badly on his shoulder, and it showed for the rest of the match. Daniels followed with a clothesline and a big boot. Red blocked several clotheslines with his feet and hit Daniels with a flying huracanrana, then did a spectacular springboard DDT for a near fall. Daniels blocked another huracanarana with a death valley driver, hit a uranage and finished him with the best moonsault ever. Too short. **1/2

Shane Douglas appeared on the big screen and cut a promo saying Daniels didn’t deserve a second chance in TNA and accepted the challenge for Slammaversary in a loser loses their roster spot match. I guess that’s the 2009 way of saying “Loser’s Leave Town Match,” but the latter slogan was a trademark of pro wrestling when it was worth watching. God knows we can’t have that nowadays.

Taylor Wilde was with Kong and Raisha Saaed backstage with Lauren, who wasn’t selling anything from being beaten up in a bathroom last week by Daffney. Wilde explained she brought Daffney back to do the Governor gimmick because she was out of work and almost out of money. Kong did an interview with one of Booker T’s African accents saying she would kill the princess first (Love) and kill the monster (Daffney) later. Lauren and Wilde were still teasing a relationship.

Matt Morgan came out and called Sting to the ring. It’s hard to figure out exactly why Morgan can’t get over nowadays because he’s really good on the stick. Perhaps he just came along twenty years too late because if this was 1988 he’d be Rick Rude’s cockier and bigger younger brother. Morgan acted like he was better than Sting. He still wanted to be in the Main Event Mafia, but said he could never get in if he isn’t a world champion. But he wondered how he couldn’t get a world title shot. So he challenged Sting to a match saying if he was going to be someone, it might as well be a former world champion. Sting agreed to the match at Slammaversary and said he would put up his spot in the mafia. Segment was really rolling until that part, because it then dawned on me that there’s no way Morgan’s going over this weekend. Morgan’s got the micwork to be the next great big man. But to make sure they turn him into the next Tomko, he charged Sting, only to get thrown over the top like he was the Miz on Monday night. And another chance to build a badly needed new star goes by the boards.

Borash met with Jarrett backstage and read off all the crazy actions by Foley over the past week. He mentioned how Foley suspended Jarrett last week, fined and suspended him, then brought him back a week later and wanted to team with him. Jarrett said the only reason he doesn’t get rid of Foley is because he has compassion for him. Isn’t Foley closer to an ownership role in the company than Jarrett? I’d say Foley wasn’t crazy as much as he was a victim of weird booking. Then again, so is half the company.

2. Raven defeated Jethro Holliday in a Clockwork Orange House of Fun match in 3:32. A Clockwork Orange House of Fun match is a weapons match with two sides of a cage where falls count anywhere. Well, it’s easier to write than Onita’s FMW blow-off matches in the 1990s. Standard brawl where Holliday hit Raven early with trash cans. Stevie hit Holliday with a kendo stick. Raven, who moves much slower after 14 years in these types of matches, did the side Russian leg sweep into the railing and followed with more cane shots. Holliday blocked Raven’s attempt with a DDT on the chair and gave Raven a big boot while he was sitting in the chair. Holliday got booed even though he supposed to be the face. Holliday missed a dive into the cage, and both him and the cage went to the floor. Raven then got the pin on the floor. Postmatch, Daffney came out with a straight jacket. Raven gave him the Even Flow DDT on the chair and put Holliday in the jacket before Abyss came out for the save. *1/2

Joe did a sit-down interview with Don West, who played it straight. Joe acknowledged he had an advisor, who understood Joe better than he understood himself. He declined to say who. Joe said he and Styles were like brothers, and sometimes brothers fight. Good promo.

Abyss did a promo about his Monster’s Ball mixed tag match where he teams with Wilde against Raven and Daffney. It was an excruciating segment as Abyss just shouldn’t do interviews. He comes off as a cheap ripoff of Kane. Even worse, we had to see Lauren pretend to cry and while she’s tons better than many of the mindless WWE models, acting isn’t her strong suit. He teased slugging Daffney this weekend. Of all the acts in TNA who were more over two years ago than they are now, and that’s a long list, Abyss may have regressed more than anyone. Real bad.

Awesome Kong and Taylor Wilde defeated Angelina Love and Daffney in 3:15 when Kong pinned Daffney. Kong did her monster face spots on Daffney. Later, Daffney whipped Wilde into the corner, where Love tugged her down by the hair. Kong got the hot tag, which was weird for a woman her size. Finish came when Kong had Love in a neck hanging tree slam, but Velvet Sky put the hairspray into Saaed’s eyes. Love broke free, but Kong pinned Daffeny anyway after an implant buster. *

Postmatch, Sky took a chair into the ring, which Love eventually gave Kong a drop toe hold on. Kong took a great bump. Daffney pinned Wilde in the corner while the Beautiful People held down Kong before Tara came in to make the save. Tara’s already lost steam after the obligatory first week pop that’s typical for all WWE stars who make their TNA debut. Afterward, Tara and Kong had a staredown, so they’re teasing a program between those two.

Team 3-D was backstage, where they talked about having to defend the IWGP tag team belts in 20 hours, then turn back around and had to face Beer Money for the tag belts this weekend. 3-D wondered where Beer Money was last week when the British Invasion jumped them during their match with Alex Shelley and Black Machismo.

ODB was still training Cody Deaner, who is now getting the hang of training with beer kegs, chasing ducks and running away from ODB on an ATV.

So Cal Val was the interview girl backstage where Black Machismo was standing. At least they didn’t forget about that program from last year, though God knows I’ve tried. Machismo called her the devil in the red dress. The Motor City Machine Guns were also there and teased unmasking Suicide again on Sunday. Then Machismo and Consequences Creed starting arguing with the guns over who would be X Division champion next.

Beer Money was backstage when Val asked them about not supporting 3-D. James Storm, drinking out of his cooler, denied he owed any explanation to them. Storm said they purchased 43,126 bottles of beer, two strippers and a midget with the $100K they won in the tag title tournament. 3-D confronted them and it ended with a big brawl.

Team 3-D and Beer Money defeated Consequences Creed, Black Machismo, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin in :25. 3-D and Beer Money continued their brawl during their ring entrance, which was much longer than the match itself. Standard Russo deal where the teams fight each other. As this was going on, Creed and Machismo gave Beer Money stereo topes. Then Suicide ran in and gave Chris Sabin a kick. 3-D gave Creed a reverse 3-D and Machismo a double backdrop, then pinned Shelley after a 3D. Beer Money and 3-D continued to argue after the match. DUD

This week’s edition of Borash and Foley started with Foley shaking the hand of a guy named “Davis” who is the new head of security. He’s apparently going to oversee the work of Rocco and Sally Boy. Maybe he should take them back to wrestling school. Foley made a passing reference to enjoying him as a kid, but it was never explained who he was. Borash started taking about the hottest thing on the Internet. Foley thought he was taking about Trina Michaels videos, which Borash denied although he does like her promos. Borash said people have been reading his twitter page, along with Foley’s. He said people had starting calling them the Tweet and Tweet Connection, and pulled out this illustration of Borash and Foley that was funny as hell. Foley and Borash should do a recurring skit at the house shows they’re so great. Borash wanted to hang the photo on Foley’s office wall, which still doesn’t have Jarrett’s old picture up. Borash wanted to hang the photo up himself, but Foley said he had someone else who handled that. Foley made a call, and Kip James walked in like he was a new maintenance guy. Pretty funny. This actually got more time than any match on the show so far.

Kurt Angle was asked by Borash why he and Sting are getting along so much better. Angle talked about how less stressful he life is. He vowed to win the TNA title, and join his mafia cohorts in celebrating together afterwards.

Samoa Joe and A.J. Styles defeated Sting and Kurt Angle and Jeff Jarrett and Mick Foley in a three-way tag team match in 6:25. Sting and Foley started with Foley taking an early facebuster. Foley and Jarrett worked cohesively early against Angle. Then when Jarrett and Angle started teasing their finishers on each other, Foley walked over to the broadcast booth and joined Mike Tenay and West on commentary, leaving Jarrett alone. After a commercial, Angle put Jarrett in the ankle lock. Jarrett was looking for a tag but Foley wasn’t there. Foley went back to the corner while Jarrett was still looking for a tag, but Jarrett had to tag Joe since his ankle was injured and Joe’s corner was closer. Styles looked confused when Joe tagged in, although they had already agreed that Joe would do the bulk of the work since Styles was supposedly injured. Joe power bombed Angle on top of Sting’s back. Then Jarrett and Foley started brawling at the announcer’s desk, and finally Joe pinned Angle after a muscle buster. **

SUMMARY: Show didn’t really want to make me see the PPV. It’s a tough time for that with two major MMA companies again. It’s clear the company doesn’t know what the future is with Sting and Angle, because they’re both being de-emphasized in booking. Now is truly the time to create new stars because of that, and because the WWE seems totally unwilling to do the same.