Sting as TNA World Champion

Sting returned to TNA last week (or this week if you’re in the UK) and beat Jeff Hardy to become the TNA World Champion. I’ve read a lot about this decision both positive and negative and thought I’d pull up my trouser legs, take off my shoes and wade in.

Bringing back Sting was a big thing for TNA. With all the speculation of him joining WWE, to have him return and have a video very similar to the WWE’s as part of the angle was a shrewd move by them. To be fair, even with all the hoping, it was inevitable he was going to go back to TNA. I just couldn’t see him doing a program with the WWE no matter how cool it would’ve been.

His return angle was interesting. I have to admit I marked out at him returning and ruining the Immortal party. I have always been a big Sting fan and I think the character is well suited to being the ‘conscience’ of TNA much like The Underaker is for the WWE. Yes, I see the point that many have said that they didn’t need to put the title on him or that he is at a stage where he can’t carry a match. That being said, Hardy still has the court case hanging over him and to have the title off him may be a precaution in case the worst happens. I did think it was a bit strange taking the title off Anderson so quick, considering how he got it in the first place. My feeling is this angle may have been hot shot a bit after the problems they had with the MEM return.

Putting the belt on Sting will hopefully lead to a more concentrated opposition to Immortal, especially with Hogan back permanently (I’m not sure). It will be interesting to hear what he has to say this week as he has so much history with Hogan and Flair. Will he keep the title for very long? I hope so, as it would cheapen the Championship even more to have it change hands so quickly again. Here’s hoping for a nice Lethal Lockdown match, Immortal vs Fourtune for control of TNA and a good run for Sting with the possibility of him passing the torch again like he did for AJ.

Starrcade 1997

With all this talk of Sting I spotted this video on one of the wrestling blogs. This was from WCW Starrcade 97, from the Hogan vs Sting match that had by far the greatest build up to any match in history, ever. From September 1996 to December 1997 the legendary Sting vs nWo feud took place that eventually ended with this PPV that saw Sting beating Hollywood Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

That whole era of the nWo vs Sting is still one of the greatest in wrestling for me, a time when WCW has on top and was really pushing WWF. If it hadn’t been for them then the WWF wouldn’t have upped their game with the likes of Stone Cold and The Rock.

Has Sting signed for WWE?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YeqLysOwz4

On the January 31st edition of RAW a short video aired showing a mysterious figure wearing a black trench coat heralding the date of February 21st. Ever since this video aired wrestling fans have been buzzing with excitement with two questions that need answering, is this the return of the Undertaker or is this Sting arriving in the WWE?

Sting is currently a free agent, or at least he is not currently on TNA television. He is the only big named star never to have worked for the WWE and with Wrestlemania being in Atlanta this year and more importantly the Hall of Fame. The rumours of an induction into the H0F and a big match on the Mania card for Sting have been abound for some time now.

I’m a big fan of Sting and am in two minds about this. Part of me would like to see Sting stay away from the WWE. He has stood by his guns for so long and you have to respect him for that. But then there is part of me that would like to see him have one run with them. Just the thought of Sting walking out at Wrestlemania is an amazing mark out moment, and a place in the HoF is well overdue.

If it is the return of the Undertaker then it’s good timing for him, I just wonder whether they can equal the sort of Wrestlemania matches he has had with HBK over the last couple of years. A match with Wade Barrett has been rumoured, but is that worthy of a streak match especially considering how many years the Taker has left before retirement. The HBK matches have served him well and having these big high stakes streak ending matches each year certainly increases the hype around Wrestlemania.

There is one final thing to think about though, if it is Sting and he is coming to WWE, wouldn’t it be great to see him face the Undertaker? Two legends going at it at Wrestlemania, what better occasion? David Lagana mentions in his blog that this year’s Wrestlemania is currently missing the dream match that you get every year, I wonder if this one will be it?

A fan made poster for this year’s Wrestlemania

TNA Maximum Impact UK Tour 2011 – Manchester

TNA wrestling was in the UK last week as part of their 2011 Maximum Impact Tour and when TNA are in town you just have to get tickets.

So there we were last Friday with one of the best views of the night and with the added bonus of having Dixie Carter sat right in front of us for almost the entire show, amazing!

Prior to the event the original card had to be re-shuffled due to an injury to Alex Shelley and Kurt Angle having to fly back for the birth of his daughter. So we went in not really knowing who was facing who, which as it turned out was really entertaining.

Mark Haskins vs Shannon Moore

Haskins was the English signee that TNA had brought with them on tour. He is an X Division style wrestler who, to me, looked a little like Edge. Despite being the home country star he played the heel, well it has to be said, against the popular Moore.  It was a nice two sided high flying match that saw Moore pick up the win. A good curtain raiser for the night.

Mikie James vs Angelina Love (Tara as guest referee)

Wow! I have never seen any of these lovely ladies live before and yes, wow, it is certainly worth it!! It was a short match but had some good to and fro action from the ladies. Tara was especially funny in her role as the ref, she was definately have a good time out there. Mickie (who’s tiny in real life) picked up the popular win and Tara got a popular kiss from her too!

Kazarian vs Chris Sabin (X Division Championship)

Earl Hebner got a separate ring entrance for this one and answered the “You screwed Bret” chants by stripping off his referee’s shirt to reveal a ref stripped t-shirt with Hebner on the back and “You’re Damn Right I Did” on the front, genius! As expected with these too it was a high paced, high flying match with the usual mix of well timed spots and risks. In strange twist of fate, we actually saw these two face each other last year in Coventry when Kazarian was under the mask as Suicide and you can easily see that these two have certainly stepped up in all areas since last year. Kazarian got the win and retained his championship.

Beer Money (w/Ric Flair) vs Doug Williams and Magnus (TNA Tag Team Championship)

The match of the night, no question. Williams and Magnus initially got a great reaction but that was eclipsed by the reaction for Beer Money and Flair. To be fair, even without Flair, Beer Money would still have been way over with the crowd. The match was supremely entertaining, with the crowd going back and forth between the two teams. Especially amusing were the chants of “Eng-er-land, Eng-er-land” chants and Williams and Magnus stopping with their hands on their hearts. A clever mid match twist saw Williams and Magnus turn heel on the crowd and annouced we were all “traitors to the crown” for supporting Beer Money. Never-the-less they still got cheers for both mocking Flair with the figure four on Storm. This inevitabley led to Flair going nuts, to a massive pop, and getting involved which led to a hot finish for Beer Money with the DUI.

Jeff Jarrett and The Pope D’Angleo Dinero vs Matt Morgan and Rob Terry

This was the only match of the night that was a little confused and had probaby come about from the changes from the loss of Shelley and Angle. It was clear that some of the crowd were a little confused as to why Jarrett was teaming with The Pope. Possibley down to most of his semi heel turn against Samoa Joe being post Impact being off our TV. The paring of Morgan and Terry was also odd mainly as Terry has faced down Morgan more recently as Falir’s bodyguard and semi Immortal member.

Jeff came out prior to the match and worked the crowd in a good attempt to build up heat for this match. In response we all gave a good “You sold out” chant, he wasn’t amused! The Pope got a good reaction as did Rob Terry despite the confusion. Morgan got a big pop and was arguably the star of the match. It was a heel dominated match that saw Morgan eventually get the hot tag and pick up a quick suprise win after destroying Pope and Jarrett.

The Hardys vs Rob Van Dam and Mr Anderson

All four of these guys are four of the top guys in the company and they got a reaction to match it.  The Hardys, in their first match together in TNA, were announced separately and both got a big reaction. It seems that Hardy mania is still running wild over here too! I have to say I’ve never been a massive fan of Jeff’s wrestling but he does have style and I admit to popping big time when he made his entrance. RVD is over, no matter where he goes or when it is he will always be over and seeing him live was another first for me. Anderson, as the champ, got a huge reaction on a par with his seasoned team mate. On a side note Dixie turned round at the point we complained very loudly about him still having Jeff’s ‘crappy’ belt!

This crowd did go back and forth through the entire match, but it was fair say that the faces were the most over. We had all the signature spots from the guys, with some huge pops for the 5 Star and Swanton. Anderson got the win with the Mic Check and proceeded to annouce his win in his own unique fashion.

This was an amazing night, the matches were spot on and the atmosphere was electric. I have always said that TNA knows how to treat it’s fans and nothing shows this more than Dixie Carter sitting with the fans and speaking to everyone. I said to her at the end that it was an amazing show and I think that the fact I was able to do that shows why TNA is so much better than the WWE.