Shades Of Gray #28

In this week’s column, I’ll preview Sunday’s TNA pay per view, Against All Odds. I’ll also “fantasy book” the Front Line-Main Event Mafia storyline, and discuss a potential Ric Flair-Chris Jericho match at WrestleMania 25, as well as Triple H’s WWE legacy.

Make sure to check out the Extra Links for older clips of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, Chris Jericho and Mickey Rourke on Larry King, Booker T’s hilarious commentary, and a look at TNA newcomer, Kiyoshi.

TNA Against All Odds Preview

TNA World Heavyweight Championship: Sting vs. Kurt Angle vs. Brother Ray vs. Brother Devon

Donnie said it on the radio show - this is obviously being done to put the belt back on Angle, and to do so in a way that doesn't "hurt" Sting. When Team 3D is in the main event of a PPV, it’s probably not a very good PPV.

Abyss vs. Matt Morgan

Morgan had an infection removed from his shoulder last week, but the match is still scheduled to take place. Once again, TNA has quickly turned members of a newly formed tag team against one another. It seems that’s their main way to develop feuds (not that the other stories they come up with are any more creative). I’m not quite sure how this one will play out. Both of these guys should be a big part of TNA’s present and future, preferably with both as heels. Both should be kept looking strong – so I predict a double DQ, leading to some sort of weapons match next month.

TNA World Tag Team Championship: Beer Money vs. Lethal Consequences

These are two of the teams in a pretty stacked TNA tag team division (more on that later). Beer Money is fucking gold, and they should retain here. LAX appears to be the only babyface threat to take the belts off Roode and Storm. Until then, I guess we’re left waiting for the inevitable split.

TNA X-Division Championship: Alex Shelley vs. “Showtime” Eric Young

If given enough time, I can see Showtime leading Shelley through one of his best matches to date. Shelley should keep the belt, though. After all, the X-Division belt will likely cause the split (gasp!) between him and Sabin.

TNA Knockouts Championship Match: Awesome Kong vs. ODB

Kong should retain, but ODB -- Kong’s No. 1 challenger on the roster -- shouldn’t be squashed. I expect a rematch between the two at the next PPV.

TNA Legends Championship: Booker T vs. Shane Sewell

Booker T is the most entertaining character in TNA right now. His facial expressions alone have me crackin’ up every time I watch “iMPACT!” (And truthfully, he is one of the few bright spots of the show). This is too big of a leap for Sewell in such a short amount of time, especially when he was considered strictly a referee only 2 months ago, and his first feud was with Sheik Abdul Bashir. I’m hoping for Booker in a squash -- a ref shouldn’t be “getting his shit in” on a MEM member. Afterwards, Sewell can work his way up more gradually.

“Maple Leaf Muscle” Petey Williams vs. “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner

Finally, Steiner and his mini-clone meet in the ring. Hopefully, Williams goes over because it’d be a big victory for him. Also, as I’ve said before, Steiner shouldn’t be in the ring anymore – his health is deteriorating, and his workrate has dropped considerably.

Fantasy Booking: Front Line vs. Main Event Mafia

TNA is so frustrating. When I see something like the Rough Cut segments on Kiyoshi, I think they have the potential to differentiate themselves from the WWE, and to really offer an alternative product. But then in the next segment, I see Black Machismo talking about old WWF wrestlers, and soon after, Mike Tenay essentially referring to the Motor City Machine Guns as the 2009 version of The Rockers. Is there any TNA character that’s not a WWE/WWF rip-off? And I'm sure Chris Sabin loved hearing that from Tenay-- he's obviously the Marty Jannetty of the team at this point.

Worst of all is the Front Line-Main Event Mafia storyline, which has gone downhill after showing such promise in its beginning stages. My guess if that they planned on having Christian Cage as the vocal leader of the group, but then panicked after he re-signed with WWE, and had Team 3D and Rhino join the Front Line (3 guys who should not be a part of this storyline altogether). But here's how they can save it, and how it should have been done all along:

MEM is mostly fine as it is -- they're all former world champions, who have (for the most part) dominated the main event scene in TNA for the past couple years (particularly Angle and Sting). My only suggestion would be to have Jarrett as part of the group too, seeing as how he's probably been in more TNA main events than anyone, and it makes no sense why he's on the side of the Front Line. Jarrett could also give them some power, seeing as how they've admitted Jarrett has a large stake in the company.

The main members of the Front Line should be/should have been: Samoa Joe, A.J. Styles, Christopher Daniels, and Kaz. I also think it would have been interesting to bring Chris Harris back -- he could say that he only left because, due to backstage politics, he didn't think he’d ever be able to break through the glass ceiling (which is actually why he left), but now he's joining the others to shatter the glass ceiling, or something like that.

Showtime and Jay Lethal could be involved too, but it's important not to have everyone involved in the storyline, otherwise it gets too confusing -- that was one of the problems with the New Blood-Millionaire's Club storyline in WCW. For instance, TNA has a potentially strong tag team division (MCMG, Lethal Consequences, Beer Money, Team 3D, LAX), and those guys would have no claims to the main event picture (unlike Joe, Styles, Daniels, Kaz, and Harris). Mick Foley could be Front Line's representation "in the office," countering MEM's Jarrett. When entering TNA, Foley should have said that he's watched TNA for a long time, and that he's become a stockholder to make sure some of the younger stars get the chance they deserve.

The Front Line guys get over in the end -- obviously -- that's what a storyline like this should be designed to do. But as it is, it looks like Sting will leave MEM, realizing that they are actually the disrespectful ones, and then lead the Front Line. TNA, you’ve done it again!

Chris Jericho vs. Ric Flair?

In a discussion panel at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival this past Saturday, Mickey Rourke said that his “people” told him to back out of the WM match with Chris Jericho because it "might not be a wise career move." When I saw the Larry King segment with Rourke and Jericho, I thought: either the match is off or Rourke can't cut a promo. At this point, it's probably both.

Now it looks like WWE is building toward Jericho-Flair at WrestleMania. I suspected Flair would be involved all along in some capacity, seeing as how Rourke mentioned him (along with Piper) on the red carpet at the SAG awards, and Jericho mentioned Flair when showing the footage of Rourke on the red carpet, two weeks ago on "Raw." This has the potential to be a really interesting angle, with Jericho playing up the similarities between Flair and Rourke's character in The Wrestler, Randy "The Ram" Robinson, from autograph signings at wrestling conventions, even to coaxing him into one more match -- or -- one more shot at glory, as Robinson viewed it in the film. Rourke would then probably be involved, perhaps even in Flair's corner.

No one (repeat: NO ONE) should be surprised if Flair returns to the ring. No one (repeat: NO ONE) retires in pro wrestling. Hell, this isn't even Flair's first "retirement." From Mick Foley to Derek Wylde, and countless others before them, every pro wrestler continues to work after "retiring." Sure, you can be upset that Flair is (potentially) coming back after his storybook send-off last year, but you shouldn't be surprised. And you can't really blame him for getting a Mania payday.

Of course, this could all be a ruse on the part of WWE and Rourke’s “people.” After all, the program got off to a weird start. Rourke -- the babyface -- played the instigator by challenging Jericho out of nowhere. On Larry King, Jericho was the instigator, perhaps setting up a more logical program after the Academy Awards are over, when Rourke is less worried about how his involvement in WWE will affect his Oscar chances.

Triple H's Legacy

I thought the WM promo on "Raw" was interesting. They showed the "new-school" stars of WM, and then showed their past counterparts -- from Trish Stratus to Fabulous Moolah, Big Show to Andre the Giant, and Triple H to Hulk Hogan. And it made me wonder -- does HHH equate himself with Hulk Hogan? And what exactly will his legacy be when he hangs 'em up?

His longevity is certainly something to be proud of, but how much does that have to do with being married to Stephanie McMahon? When he retires (and then has about 20 return matches, of course), I think he'll be considered a top 10 all-time WWE wrestler. He's a great worker; he was the leader of the most popular group during the WWF Attitude era; and he was the company's best heel for years -- but his act has gotten old at this point, as he appears to be heading toward another WM main event. He has deserved a job with the company for all these years, but I don’t think he would have been a main eventer for so long if he wasn't boinking Vince's daughter.

Extra Links

1. Part One and Part Two of TNA: Rough Cut with Kiyoshi.

2. Booker T’s hilarious commentary from a week ago on “iMPACT!”

3. Rourke seemingly backs out of WrestleMania.

4. DX’s parody of the Nation.

5. Sure, they’re married – but they’ve had some troubles too.

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