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MORNING THOUGHTS: KING OF THE RING ACCOMPLISHED WHAT IT WAS DESIGNED TO DO LAST NIGHT, LOOKING AT TNA'S BEST OF 2007 DVD & MORE

WOW, WHERE'S THE HEAT?

Based on reader emails and conversation with our own Dave Scherer this morning, it appears I am totally in the minority when it comes to William Regal winning the King of the Ring tournament last night.  I wrote yesterday on the site that with all the major players (and even Chavo Guerrero, to boot) tossed into eight man tag team action, the tournament looked like it would be used to move a mid-carder up into prominence.

It did, but it wasn't a mid-carder anyone expected.  It was Regal, who in the effort of full disclosure, I consider to be an awesome performer, so perhaps I am biased.  It's true he hasn't been a regular on-air performer for some time, inside the ring, but from a working standpoint, there are few alive today that can still go the way Regal can and even less that are still active beyond Finlay.

To me, it was a good move on many levels.  NO ONE predicted Regal going in.  He was an absolute heel going through the brackets, forcing Mini Finlay to tap out to the Regal Stretch, then kicking injured Finlay in the leg on the way out.  Regal then outwrestles the hurt Belfast Bruiser and maneuvers him into a move where he can't tap out, so the referee calls for the bell while technically Finlay can claim he was cheated.  

On the other side of the bracket, we have CM Punk winning two competitive bouts against stalwart babyface Matt Hardy and even Chris Jericho, who is in the midst of his own push and smarmy turn towards the dark side.  The Jericho win even avenges Punk's day after Wrestlemania loss to Y2J.  That's how to get over the idea that Punk is a future player.  Six months ago, he was flailing away in ECW being booked as the most neutered babyface in recent memory.  Now he's stacking up wins and being built for the future.

In the end, Regal wins the tournament, cementing himself as a true heel by virtue of how he made it up the ladder while Punk, the babyface, earned it the hard way, only to fall at the end.  

The wrestling in the tournament might not have always been great (and there were some truly awful segments last night), but Regal and Punk moved up a level in my eyes.  That's what the tournament should have been about and that's what WWE accomplished in my minority view.

Now, whether the company blows this, as they are so apt to do, we'll have to see....

ADAMLE WATCH

Calling all cars...be on the lookout....10 hours to Adamle!

TNA BEST OF 2007 - PERFECT SAMPLER OF WHAT IS GOOD ABOUT TNA

TNA Best of 2007 Promotional Commercial

I had the chance to watch an advance review copy of TNA's Best of 2007 DVD while flying to Las Vegas last week and if you are a fan that will watch Impact and then skip the PPVs because you don't feel the TV product inspires you to purchase a $35 PPV show, you'll likely want to buy or rent this DVD.

Looking at it from the point of view as a sampler platter, the DVD does a great job of collecting some of the best matches on TNA PPV last year, so if you wanted to track down the highlights of the company, this would be your most logical starting point.  Matches on the DVD are:

Elevation X: Rhino vs. AJ Styles (Destination X) - A scaffold match where the combatants face off above the ring on a very, very small "X" shaped walkway.  This does a solid job of showing off Styles' amazing athletic prowess and skills, but outside of the "Let's see if someone falls" stipulation, not much here.  Still, a way to promote the company's "innovations."

Texas Death Match: James Storm vs. Chris Harris (Sacrifice) - Before this bout, the Harris vs. Storm feud was awful.  There's no spinning that.  However, at the behest of the talent asking the company to trust them and let it get done their way, these two beat the living hell out of each other in a brutal back and forth masterpiece that may go down as the best match of Harris' TNA career.  Great choice.

Ladder Match: Kaz vs. Christian Cage (Genesis) - If you are a fan of TLC style bouts, you'll want to see this.  This was the match featuring a series of just insane spots that should rocketed Kaz to the upper echelon of the company.  It didn't happen (yet) but it was a sign of things that will hopefully come in the future and as a ladder match, features a ton of unique, hard-hitting (ask Cage, who is busted open early hardway) spots.  This wasn't a paint by numbers ladder match by any means.  Another really good choice for inclusion.

All Or Nothing: Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe (Hard Justice) - The fourth match in the Angle vs. Joe series and the bout that featured every TNA title on the line.  Despite the silliness of that storyline (although I give Angle a hell of a lot of credit for trying to wrestle three top-flight matches in one night on PPV), you can't go wrong with Angle vs. Joe.  They always seem to have a really good chemistry in the ring.  Solid inclusion.

World Title: Kurt Angle vs. Sting (Bound For Glory) - I was in attendance at this bout in Atlanta and for historical reasons, it was the first singles meeting between one of the top WWE names and one of the most important NWA/WCW names of the last 20 years.  For 95% of the match, it was magic, with some great back and forth wrestling.  Then, similar to the 1996 Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind PPV bout WWF held, run-ins spoiled the soup.  Kevin Nash and Karen Angle get involved here, but the good guy still emerges supreme.  If you don't mind run-ins, you'll likely see this as a truly fun, great match.  If you mind them, you'll love everything that comes before them.  Be sure to watch Angle accidentally crack Sting open with his baseball bat as they struggle with it.  Surely not planned.  Another really good choice.

Ultimate X: The LAX vs. XXX (Bound For Glory) - I don't know what TNA was thinking here.  You put on the "most important" PPV of the year and then in the opener, you put Senshi and his trainer Homicide in an Ultimate X match.  How do you expect your company to ever follow that?  Well, TNA tried their best, but on this night, nothing could top LAX's victory over Senshi and Elix Skipper for crazy spots and excitement.  Hernandez may be one of the scariest men on the planet, just for the simple fact that he throws all caution to the wind and could easily kill himself, others, hell, half of the front row, if he made a tactical error with some of the stuff he does.  Then you have Homicide and Senshi working their stiff styles against each other.  While neither team got the push they deserved coming out of this performance, you can't help but see this match as the true epitome of what TNA as a product has the potential to become.

King Of The Mountain Match (Slammiversary) - For full disclosure, I hate this match and the stipulations.  It's far too confusing to follow, much less write about.   Still, from a talent and historic standpoint, how do you not include this?  Kurt Angle captures the first TNA World title (following the nasty NWA split) and the bout features Chris Harris, Samoa Joe, AJ Styles and Christian Cage.  You have a hellacious bump from AJ Styles, Joe looks like a monster, Harris has his last glass of his TNA main event potental and Cage puts in a solid performance.  While the "penalty box" is an homage to the old USWA gimmick bouts, I've never been a fan.  Still, this is probably as good as this match will ever get.  Another solid inclusion.

The DVD also recounts top moments in the company history for 2007 including Booker T's debut, Gail Kim becoming the first Women's champion as well as reviewing the TNA website Fan Balloting winners for the top performers of the year.  Whoever worked on the DVD did a really good job on the overall product.

So, if you want some true insight into the best parts of TNA and a time capsule of last year, without skipping all the segments that made me tear my hair out, this is a good way to either jump onto the company or have the best of the best all in one place. 

You can order TNA DVDs from our good friends at www.highspots.com.

Mike Johnson can be reached at Mike@PWInsider.com.

 

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