December 5th News,Notes and Thoughts

As you can see, I have put up polls on the side, so you can all fill in who you think is the wrestler of the year, promotion of the year, and match of the year!

If you put other in any of the categories, don't hesitate to leave a comment letting me and everyone who reads this know what your answer was.

TNA:
So the last few days have been interesting to say the least for TNA. At their annual December PPV turning point, Scott Hall who was scheduled to appear in the main event was unable to attend the show. Before the main event began, Samoa Joe went to the ring and cut a "shoot" on Hall and all the older wrestlers in TNA talking about how hard the X-division and other young TNA'ers were fighting and they waltzed right in, even at one point looking at Dixie Carter (TNA president) and saying something like "Ya wanna fire me? Go ahead, I don't care." (http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/joe+shoot/video/x3nu0y_tp07-joe-shoot_ads)
At this point, details are sketchy as to exactly how much of it was shoot and how much of it was apart of the show. I've heard that he was told to go out and cut a short shoot putting down Hall for not showing up, that ended up going too long and over the top. You have to take into account the fact that one of the main writers in TNA is Vince Russo, who was known to include "shoots" in the show during the tail end of WCW. The next day during a talent meeting its reported that Joe have an "emotional apology speech" aka "please don't fire me" speech. We will have to wait and see if there are any repercussions from this.

Also Senshi (Low-ki to the independent fans) has left TNA. Apparently at the talent meeting, everybody on the roster was offered their release if they were unhappy with their place in the company, which Low-Ki obviously accepted. Where Low-Ki will go from here is unknown. His relationship with ROH isn't very good right now, but this doesn't mean they couldn't work it out for his return. Maybe he will go do other indies such as IWA-MS or PWG or possibly an extensive tour of Japan. Wouldn't it be hilarious to see him show up at the 1/4 NJPW vs TNA show fighting for NJPW?

Speaking of which, I have found more information on Abyss's opponent, Manabu Nakinishi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manabu_Nakanishi) . He is a former amateur wrestler who wrestled for Japan in the 1992 summer olympics before getting into professional wrestling. He won the 1999 NJPW G-1 climax tournament (very prestigious for those who don't follow Japanese wrestling) and is a former 3x IWGP tag title holder (the same title that Tomko now wears). His nickname is "The Japanese Hercules" and when you see him, you'll understand why. I've now seen a few of his matches and it will be interesting to see how he matches up with Abyss. This match just seems so weird to me, with an olympic wrestler and a brawler. I could be wrong and maybe Abyss has a good wrestling background but i've never seen it.

November saw the release of two wrestling video games for those who are unaware, one getting good reviews, the other....not so much. Smackdown vs Raw 2008 from what i've heard and read is just another disappointing title from the WWE. The roster is missing alot of key faces and the only real change is that there is now burning tables during hardcore matches. Fire Pro Wrestling on the other hand is being called one of the better wrestling games ever released in the United States. Although the graphics are 2-D the gameplay is superb and the roster is stunning. Almost 400 wrestlers from all of Japan as well as many familiar faces from North America have made their way into this game. Also Fire Pro Wrestling comes in at an easy $20 compared to the $50 you will spend on Smackdown vs Raw 2008. If I had to choose between the two, it would obviously be Fire Pro.

While i'm on the topic of video games, TNA has announced that they will be releasing their first game as a promotion in the Spring of 2008. TNA IMPACT as it is being called looks to be a phenomenal game. With motion capture and a fully working 6 sided ring it looks to be a definite buy for me. For those looking for more information, here is a recently released article (http://www.fightingspiritmagazine.co.uk/article.asp?IntID=75) and there are a few trailers available on youtube. Check them out if your a gamer.

Thats all for now. Over the weekend I will try and post comments on TNA Impact for the week, as well as WWE Smackdown.