I didn’t keep count, but it seemed to me that Vince McMahon’s name was mentioned more times on TNA Impact last night than Samoa Joe’s, Sting’s and Kurt Angle’s – combined.
Angle and Jeff Jarrett made the WWE chairman the focus of their angle, and even Mick Foley took a shot at his former boss in his much-anticipated debut promo.
TNA’s obsession with McMahon is nothing new. They’ve parodied him in the past, and let’s not forget those lame anti-WWE segments that were done by VKM (Vincent Kennedy McMahon, get it?).
The constant mentions of McMahon, the “machine up North,” past WWE story lines and current WWE stars make TNA look second rate and desperate for attention. How many times do you think WWE will reference TNA tonight on Smackdown or Monday night on Raw? There’s a better chance of Ted Nugent endorsing Barack Obama for president than there is of Samoa Joe or Jarrett getting a shout out from Triple H or Chris Jericho (both of whom were mentioned on Impact last night, by the way).
I understand that to hardcore TNA fans McMahon is the enemy, and that a heel will get heat by praising him, and a babyface will get a pop by insulting him. But I don’t think it will sell tickets or pay-per-views.
When ECW in its heyday went after WWE and WCW it was cool because they were the outlaw company rebelling against “the man.” It was what ECW was all about. TNA is not ECW and this is not 1997. The company would be better served concentrating on its own talented roster and story lines than on Vinny Mac.
Other thoughts on last night’s show:
This is what I wrote on June 1 of last year in regard to the death of Jarrett’s wife, Jill, who lost her battle with cancer the week before:
“I just don’t want to see a heel bring up Jill’s death in a disrespectful manner in order to get heat and start a feud with Jarrett.”
Sure enough, Angle, who reportedly is going through a divorce from his wife, Karen, said in his promo that he “wasn’t the only one who has lost his wife.”
As I have said before, I know this is wrestling and that real-life personal issues are often brought into story lines. I’m usually OK with it, but I draw the line at death. I wasn’t comfortable with MVP trying to get heat by bringing up Jeff Hardy’s dog, who died when Hardy’s house burned down last March, but, as much as I love dogs, a pet is not a human being. To bring the death of a wrestler or a wrestler’s spouse into a story line is disgusting.
I didn’t like it when WWE did it with Eddie Guerrero and I don’t like it now with Jarrett’s wife. It amazes me that Vickie Guerrero and Jeff Jarrett go along with it, but wrestling people are just a different breed, and using deaths in story lines has been going on in the business for decades. ...
It was refreshing to hear Sting say this week that he and Ric Flair “didn’t always see eye to eye.” That’s quite an understatement to anyone who watched them feud for over a decade in WCW, but at least it’s better than Sting referring to Flair as “a confidant and a brother.” …
Rhaka Khan definitely was a surprise as ODB’s mystery partner against The Beautiful People. Khan was a little clumsy in the ring, but she did show some personality as a babyface. …
I loved Robert Roode’s lid, but not nearly as much as Jacqueline’s shirt.
Greg Tingle comment
Pro wrestling Yankee style is finally getting interesting again. Inside references, real heat between promotions and talent, death, pet and divorce references. The storylines are supposed to resemble something believable right, with a logical and compelling sequence of events, which doesn't reflect the cartoon character stuff from the 90's when IRS , Vinny Vegas and Doink was all the rage... not. Could this be NWO part 3 or 4? Your getting strong readership from down in Sydney, Australia, so the very much global audience must tell a story also. Are the web stats up also?
(Credit: The Baltimore Sun)
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