HeadLocker — Jay Shannon
My No Surrender Predictions
Our resident philosopher, Jay Shannon, gives his thoughts and opinions for this Sunday’s TNA PPV.
In much the way that the WWE’s No Way Out is a lead-in to Wrestlemania, No Surrender is a set-up for Bound for Glory. This PPV will be coming from Canada. I think that just might sway the outcomes of a few of the matches. There are three championships being defended, in whole or part, by Canadians (Knockout, X-Division and Tag Team). Also, one of the four men in the main event is Canadian. Let’s take a look at the matches and I’ll give my thoughts and predictions.
ODB v Awesome Kong (w/ Raisha Saeed)
Falls Count Anywhere Match
Backstory: Awesome Kong was a brutal champion that ran over everyone in sight. ODB is the Trailer Park Barbie of wrestling. She is a total opposite of Kong. Kong is rigid and disciplined. ODB is a tornado in a too tight dress. These two forces should collide like Superman running into the Incredible Hulk. This one could very easily get bloody and hard to watch.
Match Prediction: Kong is in a mixed push. She’s looking more and more human as she battles people like Roxxi and ODB. Kong really needs to shred ODB in this match. It’s probably not going to happen. Kong has taken out ODB, several times, in the past. ODB should win this one to continue her push. I just can’t give this one to ODB. I think there will be interference by Roxxi and Raesha. ODB is going to take her eyes off Kong to go after Raesha. That will be her downfall. Kong will catch ODB with the Awesome Bomb to take the win.
Predicted Winner: Awesome Kong
Predicted Grade: B-
The Rock N’ Rave Infection (Lance Rock, Jimmy Rave and Christy Hemme) v The Prince Justice Brotherhood (Curry Man, Shark Boy & Super Eric)
Mixed Gender Six-Person Tag Match
Backstory: The P-J-B took exception to the music of the Rock and Rave Infection. Hemme has flirted with Curry Man, who is the weak link of the ream. RRI attacked Curry Man and left him in a puddle of his own sauce. Being the defenders of goodness, the P-J-B demanded vengeance. That set up this Beer Break match.
Predicted Outcome: This is going to be a really bad comedy skit. Lance Rock should dominate the smaller guys, but he’s just too out-in-the-ozone for his own good. Hemme is going to use her feminine charms to take Curry Man off his game. Curry Man will be the focal point for the Rock and Ravers. Expect the group to lock in some kind of new finisher with a musical name, like the Feedback (A Spinning Neckbreaker out of a Torture Rack/Samoan Drop).
Predicted Winners: The Rock and Rave Infection
Predicted Grade: C-
“Black Machismo” Jay Lethal v “The Guru” Sonjay Dutt
Ladder of Love Specialty Match
Backstory: In one of the most boring feuds in history, Jay and Sonjay are fighting over the love of SoCalVal. Sonjay destroyed the wedding between Jay and Val, a few months (it seems like years) back. Jay has cried for revenge for the betrayal by his best friend. Jay and Sonjay have beat the stuffing out of each other while Val did her best distraught Perils of Penelope impression. The fans are getting bored with the story, but not the action. This is supposed to end this so-called brutal love feud.
Match Prediction: The concept of this match is that the winner has to grab a wedding ring off a suspended hook by use of a ladder. Expect some high impact moves on this one. This one is going to be TNA’s attempt at Money in the Bank. If this was a ladder match for a shot at the X-Division title, the fans, myself included, might care about the outcome. When the prize is a girl who can’t make up her mind about which guy she wants, it gets too weird to care about. Since Sonjay might be uniting with Sheik Abdul Bashir to make a new Anti-American team, I would imagine that the old True Love wins out angle will come into play. I expect to see Jay hit the Savage Elbow off the top of the ladder to take out Sonjay. I would expect a twist that after Jay wins, Val decides that she can’t be serious about either one. She will say that they are two dangerous to love. If TNA doesn’t want Dutt to join Bashir, that could actually reunite Jay and Sonjay as a team. Regardless of who wins, no one will really care.
Predicted Winner: Jay Lethal
Predicted Grade: A-
Taylor Wilde v Angelina Love
Knockout Championship Match
Backstory: Taylor upset Kong to win the Knockout title. Taylor has just barely defended her title since winning it. She’s beaten Kong in a handful of rematches and Velvet Sky a few times. Now, she has to face the other half of the Beautiful People. Yawn. The Knockout division is at an all-time low, right now. Taylor is a passable wrestler but she’s no Kong or Gail Kim. Angelina Love is more style than substance. Neither one of these women should be wearing gold, other than their latest mini-bikini.
Match Prediction: There are far too many face Knockouts in TNA: Roxxi, ODB, Salinas, Taylor and assorted others that make appearances from time to time. It would make sense to have Taylor drop the title to Love. That could set up a great jealousy angle between Love and Sky. I don’t expect that to happen. Taylor will continue with her Cinderella Story run as champ. The male fans will get a major hormone boost from this match. The female fans will likely get a chance to grab a fresh cup of coffee as this one drags on. Canadian fans will get to cheer for one of their own to keep the title.
Predicted Winner: Taylor Wilde
Predicted Grade: C-
The Beasts(Matt Morgan & Abyss) v Team 3D
Backstory: Abyss has returned from his brief stay in the Mental Ward. He’s trying to become a new man/monster. He rejects chairs and other weapons. Matt Morgan has taken up the cause of protecting Abyss from the assaults of others who know find Abyss weak. The duo is gearing up for a feud with Beer Money, so they need to prove their mettle. Enter Team 3D. Ray and Devon have fallen so far off the radar in recent months that they are down to jobbing to younger teams.
Match Predictions: It would make no sense to derail the push of The Beasts at this point. If Morgan and Abyss can destroy the 20 time tag champs, their stock will soar. If they lose, plans for the team will have to be rewritten to give them time to build up momentum. Abyss may end up torn as to whether or not to use a chair, chain or some other instrument of destruction. That distraction could cost the duo the match. I think that Abyss will snap and catch Ray with the Black Hole Slam. Matt will then take out Devon with the Hell-a-Vator to earn the team a win.
Predicted Winners: Matt Morgan & Abyss
Predicted Grade: B-
“The Phenomenal” AJ Styles v Frank Trigg
Mixed Martial Arts Challenge Match
Backstory: This “feud” is just an extension of the Styles/Kurt Angle war. Frank stepped in to take up his Kurt’s fight. TNA is really wanting to push the MMA fighter so they put him up against one of the best workers in the company. Trigg wanted to throw Styles off his game, so he challenged him to an MMA fight. The battle will be three rounds and the winner will have to make the other tap out.
Match Predictions: A blind man could see this one coming. TNA wantst o push Frank Trigg as the next superstar. He is going to seriously destroy Styles in this match. Styles will put up a decent fight but he is just going to be so out of his element that he doesn’t stand a chance in this one. Trigg might eventually join Kurt to form the most dominant tag team in TNA history. Trigg has to walk before he learns to run. This will be some solid first steps for Kurt’s best buddy.
Predicted Winner: Frank Trigg
Predicted Grade: B+
“Maple Leaf Muscle” Petey Williams v Consequences Creed v Sheik Abdul Bashir
X-Division Triple Threat Championship Match
Backstory: Petey has held the title for quite some time. He has been battling Consequences Creed over the title for a few weeks now. Sheik Abdul Bashir, the former Shawn Daivari, has entered the picture to make life miserable for all the Americans in sight. This match was first set to be another battle between Creed and Petey. Bashir then got into a fight with a ref. That fight got Bashir a ticket into this match.
Match Predictions: The major thing that is going to determine the winner of this one is who is assigned as ref. If the ref that got into it with Bashir gets the nod, then Bashir’s not going to win. If Slick Johnson or Earl Hebner runs the show, then Bashir or Creed has a chance. When it all comes out in the wash, I think TNA might push the Canadian angle with this one. Petey will likely bring home a win to help the Canadian fans to get more involved in the event. A lot of this might also have to do with where the match is placed on the card. If it’s early, then it’s a lock that Petey will take the win. If it’s later in the night, Bashir might cheat his way to the title. I’m still going to go with my original pick…Petey Williams.
Predicted Winner: Petey Williams
Predicted Grade: A
Beer Money, Inc. v The Latin American Xchange
TNA World Tag Team Championship Match
Backstory: Beer Money (Robert Roode and James Storm) attacked Homicide with a beer bottle. Homicide was also slammed through a glass table. Homicide wasn’t at 100% when LAX defended against Beer Money. The outlaws out-witted the Latinos to capture the belts. This is a rematch for the titles. Homicide is still wearing a patch over one eye. That could be the focal point of the match.
Match Predictions: Homicide’s bad eye will likely come into play in this match. His vision has a major dead zone that Roode and Storm will surely exploit. The match could also end up stopped because of fear of damaging the eye further. There have been massive rumors about a split of the LAX team. TNA denies it to high heaven, due to the popularity of the duo. It wouldn’t be the first time that a super-popular duo was split into a feuding situation. Hernandez may feel that Homicide is a weak link in the team and will blame Homicide for their loss. Beer Money could get past LAX and then move on to face Morgan & Abyss, Bashir/Dutt, The Motor City Machine Guns and others. I expect Beer Money to use the DUI on Homicide to finish off the match and retain their titles. This will be a monster match.
Predicted Winners: Beer Money, Inc.
Predicted Grade: A-
Samoa Joe v Booker T v Kurt Angle v Christian Cage
Four Ways to Glory World Championship Match
Backstory: This one’s serious complex. Joe took the TNA World title from Kurt Angle. Angle and Cage have had massive issues in the past. Booker T has been feuding with Joe over the TNA title for the last few months. Cage is a Canadian that wants to win the big one in his homeland. Joe has been trying to get back his focus after having issues with his temper. From this spaghetti-like interwoven storylines, I have to try and figure out a winner.
Match Predictions: The promos are really pushing Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe. That tells me that those two will battle for the strap at Bound For Glory IV. The only question is who will walk into Bound For Glory with the belt. I’d like to think that Cage would win the title in Toronto. Sadly, I think he’s going to be passed over. Kurt has passed his feud with A.J. Styles to Frank Trigg. With the whole Sting/Jeff Jarrett wildcards involved, I smell a title change. Booker T doesn’t have a prayer of winning the strap. Booker is a good worker but TNA just doesn’t seem willing to let him wear the strap.
Now that Kurt has cleared up his legal issues, he’s ready to get back into the main event. The easy booking angle would be to have Kevin Nash come in and help Joe to keep his title. Nash could then call in the favor and challenge Joe for the title. That could lead to Nash showing his “true colors” as a member of Sting’s group. That would be exciting and different, so don’t expect it to happen. Joe is ready to feud with Sting. The best way to kick off that feud would be for Sting to cost Samoa Joe the title. Sting will cost Joe the strap, either on Sunday or at Bound For Glory. I really expect it to happen this Sunday. Booker and Cage will likely be involved with each other, which will distract the ref (I’d bet the farm it’s Earl Hebner). Sting will then slide in the ring and attack Joe with the black bat. Jeff Jarrett will have been taken out by Sting, earlier on. Kurt will slap on the AngleLock on a knocked-out Joe and the ref will call for the bell. Jeff Jarrett will then attack Kurt with the infamous Silver Guitar o’ Doom. That could set up Sting v Joe and Kurt v Jeff for Bound For Glory. That would be the best booking job that TNA could do. I’m probably completely off-target with that one. I will stick with my choice on this one.
Predicted Winner: Kurt Angle
Predicted Grade: A+
Final Grade: B+
Final Thoughts: TNA isn’t going to do too many twists and swerves with this one. They’ve really pushed the Bound For Glory PPV, next month. Joe needs to drop the title to rev up the show. I see the card as The Beasts v Beer Money, Taylor Wilde v Raesha Saeed, Sting v Samoa Joe, Jeff Jarrett v Kurt Angle, ODB v Kong, and Dutt/Lethal v The Motor City Machine Guns. I still expect Jay and Sonjay to put their differences aside when they realize that Val ain’t worth it.
— Jay Shannon
TheHeadLocker@SBCGlobal.net
(9/12/2008)