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The Specialists
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE - 8/21 TNA IMPACT: What I noticed on the show that you might not have
Aug 21, 2008 - 10:31:00 PM


By Curtis Shanks, PWTorch Specialist

Welcome to the TNA Impact edition of Under the Microscope. My name is Curtis Shanks and I am here to review all those little observations and tidbits you may have missed. This is not a detailed recap of the show, but a review for those of you that saw the show but didn't actually "watch" it. After last week we know that Sting's biological clock is ticking, Samoa Joe is yelling, A.J. Styles is a gold medal holder and Booker T is drinking on the job. But what else is there to notice? Let's see what we can spot. Cue the opening pyro.

The opening bumper video of the show is the first without Tomko's tattooed back in it. Looks like he's been replaced in the video by a shot of Matt Morgan.

During match introductions, Eric Young and B.G. James came out to Young's music and pyro. But if you look close, the video screen above the entrance ramp switched after the pyro from Young's video to B.G's video.

Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley both wear armbands with 1967 written on them, which is also the title of their intro song. The Motor City Machine Guns hail from Detroit, and this year has historical significance for the city. A riot broke out in Detroit during '67 and garnered national attention, with dozens being killed. Sabin and Shelley were both born much later than this date, so hard to tell if this is what they are referencing. Sabin and Shelley formed the Guns in Japan wrestling for ZERO1 and wrestled as the Murder City Machine Guns in Ring of Honor.

Jobber Frankie Capone is actually a former WWE developmental wrestler. Capone wrestled in Deep South Wrestling a couple years ago under his real name, Francisco Ciatso, before being renamed Frankie Coverdale. Along with DSW, Capone has wrestled for NWA Florida and made appearances in Full Impact Pro.

When was the last time Abyss actually had a match in TNA? That would be back in February when he defeated Judas Mesias at Against All Odds. After disappearing for three months, Abyss has returned, but has yet to do anything but a handful of run-ins. I wish I had a job where I could disappear for three months without risk of being fired. Actually, maybe Abyss was fired and TNA just hasn't told him, thus the reason they don't book him in any matches. It's the classic "Milton" method from Office Space. Fire him, don't tell him, stop his paychecks and things will work themselves out eventually.

Could Kevin Nash be sending a subtle message to Triple H? During his sit down interview with Mike Tenay, Nash donned a Thor t-shirt. Thor is a Marvel Comics character being made into a movie set for release in 2010. What's the connection? One rumored name being thrown around to play the part of Thor is none other than Triple H.

Looks like this is the last we'll see of Gail Kim tonight after reports of her departure. I know the Knockouts title is a relatively new title, but Gail is still the only person to hold the Women's title (or it's equivalent) in both WWE and TNA. Gail Kim is one of the best female workers out there and will be missed on TNA. Here's to hoping we see her wrestling on TV in some way in the not too distant future.

After the draft, it appeared that Raw was going with a youth movement. C.M. Punk, Kofi Kingston, Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase and even Lance Cade are getting pushes. But what about the TNA youngsters? The two youngest members of the TNA roster are Consequences Creed at 21 and Taylor Wilde at 22. Creed is in the midst of a big push with X Division title shots tonight and at the last PPV, as well as a main event slot vs. Booker T on a recent Impact. Taylor is Knockouts Champion, dethroning the unstoppable Awesome Kong.

Super Eric has (unfortunately) formed the Prince Justice Brotherhood with Curry Man and Shark Boy. This may be a reference to Abyss, who wrestled as Prince Justice on the independent scene before coming to TNA. Abyss even held the NWA Wildside Heavyweight title for a summer using this moniker. TNA could have gone another route and made this storyline even more eye-rolling. How about naming them the Princes of Brotherhood and Justice, or PB&J for short? Sandwiches of justice unite! Thank you Kris for helping to spot that acronym.

Sounds like the audio guy fell asleep on the job tonight. After Kong's victory, her music hit and continued through a couple loops. Through the post-match beat down, the confrontation with Gail's sister, the run-in by ODB and Roxxi, and even the backstage shot of Kurt Angle, Kong's music continued to play.

It does not look like Kurt Angle was busted open tonight from the guitar shot. If he would have been, that would have made it three straight episodes of Impact where Kurt Angle bled in the main event, none of them blade jobs. A PPV and two editions of Impact have now hinted at the return of Jeff Jarrett. But throughout all of this, Mike Tenay and Don West have yet to actually say the name Jeff Jarrett.

Tonight's notable MIA's: Team 3D, Homicide (injured), Sting and Jim Cornette.

Numbers crunched harder than an unprotected chair shot to the head: One knack on TNA has been that they swoop in and pick up any and every WWE cast-off and place them on TV. But what do the numbers say? Out of the 33 male wrestlers currently in TNA, only 13 have been employed by WWE at one point in time. The females are a little more even, with six homegrown and seven WWE castoffs (although many were only in developmental). Why not throw in the referees for good measure. Out of five, Earl Hebner is the only one with past WWE experience.

Curtis Shanks is a self-described wrestling nerd. Who else would lay claim to keeping up-to-date on the title histories of over 40 independent and foreign promotions? In the words of Adrian Monk, "It's a blessing…and a curse." Feedback is welcome as Curtis encourages anyone with questions or comments to e-mail him at curtisshanks.torch@gmail.com.

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MORE "The Specialists" ARTICLES
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Articles Grouped by Category
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