TNA World Tag Team Championship:
Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) (c) vs. The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott)

TNA X Division Championship:
Chris Sabin (c) vs. Jay Lethal

Alex Shelley vs. Bob Backlund

James Storm vs. Frank Wycheck

Eric Young vs. Robert Roode (w/Ms. Brooks)
If Roode wins, Young gets fired. If Young wins, he is free from his contract under Roode.

Basham and Damaja (w/Christy Hemme) vs. The Voodoo Kin Mafia (B.G. James and Kip James)

The final places for the King of the Mountain Main Event will be decided on Impact!

RAW – King Booker, Bobby Lashley, Snitsky, Mr. Kennedy.
ECW – The Boogeyman, Chris Benoit.
SMACKDOWN – The Great Khali, Torrie Wilson, Chris Masters, Ric Flair.

These where the 10 draft picks on Raw there are more to be announced on Wednesday, but what of the draw so far. Well there can be no doubt who the biggest loser of the WWE draft is, not only has Smackdown lost 3 major players in Benoit, Booker T and Mr. Kennedy but in return they have received a has been, a never will be, a big joke and the worst female performer in the company. Smackdown could now become a chore to watch especially if any of the new picks are given major rolls.

ECW had a mixed WWE draft in losing its champ Lashley but they did gain Benoit in return. Benoit is a fantastic wrestler and I for one only hope they put him and C.M Punk in the ring together before too long.

This brings us to Raw. They got rid of 4 terrible performers, 3 of which where hardly on Raw, and gained 2 of Smackdowns, the ECW champion and Snitsky,who despite being a poor in ring performer has been receiving quite a push as a monster heel on ECW.

Raw should certainly be interesting over the next few months but I really worry for Smackdown as, excuse the pun, they certainly got a Raw deal.
wwe draft

So have TNA wrestlings management just had a blip or is there more to it. In my opinion it can all be summed up in just two words- VINCE RUSSO!

Many fans of the old WCW still hold Eric Bischoff to blame for the ultimate demise of their favorite wrestling brand, but this is unfair. Bischoff was given an open checkbook to sign who he wanted and he did just that. Did he buy guys who weren’t up to the job of making WCW number 1? Hell no, Bischoff got the guys to make WCW the best and they did, it’s hardly his fault he spent too much afterall he was told to spend whatever it took.

WCW became a fantastic company under Bischoff putting on some of the best in ring action of the 90′s but WWE and Vince Mcmahon clawed their way back to the top. WCW management decided it was down to Bischoff so they fired him but who could take his place.

One man who was getting a lot of credit for the WWE’s revival was a story writer named Vince Russo so WCW poached him and made him their cheif, it was the beginning of the end for WCW. Russo didn’t seem to have a clue about the audience he was catering for and nor did he care. WCW was always more wrestling based than the more story line driven WWE but Russo paid no attention to this. Suddenly the match quality became almost non-existent and the stories where pathetic.

The final nail was hammered in when Russo made actor David Arquette the companies World Champion. It was a shocking decline for WCW who just months earlier where the number one wrestling promotion.

If this had happened in any other industry Russo wouldn’t have being allowed near a top job ever again. Just imagine if someone made Coca Cola bankrupt could you really see Pepsi letting the same person run their company. Yet that is almost exactly what TNA are doing.

Russo may not have the same level of power in TNA wrestling but he is still in a decision making position and this should be a huge worry for fans of TNA wrestling. His love of stupid gimmicks has already started to show with the awful Electrfied Cage and Last Rites matches aswell as the terrible return of the Blindfold match. The greatest signing in TNA history has also started to tell friends he isn’t happen with TNA’s current direction. It is no surprise TNA has started to go downhill.

Jeff Jarrett may feel he owes Russo as he was the man who promoted Jarrett to main event status in WCW but Jarrett needs to learn in business there is no place for compassion for fallen comrades. Unless Jarrett gets rid of Russo now shortly wrestling fans could be left remembering another promotion that has become no more. Russo is TNA wrestlings self destruct button and for the sake of wrestling lets hope they don’t push it.

For every decent tag team now there seems to be at least five useless tandems. Kendrick and London are the perfect example, look at the teams WWE have created over the last year or so and you’d think they where deliberately trying to make London and Kendrick pull their hairs out at the lack of talent they where up against. Want me to prove my point then I’ll give you one word, Gemini.

Wrestling however used to be packed with great tag teams from the 80′s through to recent times with The Hardy’s, Dudleys, and Edge and Christian. There where always three or four great tandems. Here in part 1 are the first three great tag teams of the past.

The Brain Busters
Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard may be better remembered as members of The Four Horsemen but they also performed as a tag team under the name of The Brain Busters.

They took there first of two NWA World Tag Team Title Reigns beating the Rock n Roll Express. After losing and regaining the titles The Brain Busters fell out with promoter Jim Crockett in a dispute over pay, they signed for WWE . Before leaving they lost their titles to the Midnight Express.In WWE they where the team that ended the Demolitions record breaking title run and had several great matches with the Rockers but just before the 1989 Survivor Series Tully Blanchard failed a drugs test and was fired, Anderson left immediately after the PPV. Anderson returned to NWA but they refused to employ Blanchard so the Brain Busters where no more.

Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard had some of the biggest feuds and most intense matches against The Rock ‘N Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson), the Road Warriors (Animal & Hawk) and The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane). Whilst in the WWE they feuded mainly with The Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty) and The Bushwackers (Luke Williams & Butch Miller) and Demolition (Smash & Ax).

The Rock n Roll Express

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express was formed by Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson in 1983 in Memphis. The gimmick of the Rock ‘N Roll Express was a couple of high flying wrestlers who loved hair metal music, as it was a popular genre of music at the time. They soon made their way to Mid-South Wrestling where they first started on of the greatest tag team feuds of all time with The Midnight Express that would last throughout their careers.

They went to the NWA’s Jim Crockett Promotions in 1985 and won 4 NWA World Tag Team Championships over the next couple of years there. Their first championship came on July 9, 1985 and lasted until October 13 that same year. At Starrcade 85, they recaptured the titles only to lose them on a prime time WTBS special, “Superstars on the Superstation,” on February 7, 1986. This is significant because televised matches between major contenders were rarely shown in those days. Their loss to the Midnight Express only served to make them even more popular during the 80s professional wrestling boom. They won the titles back in Philadelphia on August 16, 1986, and held them until a Saturday night prime time broadway match on WTBS’ World Championship Wrestling against Rick Rude and the Raging Bull Manny Fernandez.

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express final NWA tag team title reign came when they won the belts back when Rude, still a champion, simply left the NWA to go work for the WWE. Needing to save face, promoter Jim Crockett had Ivan Koloff substitute for an ‘injured’ Rude, and the Express won the belts for what proved to be the final time.In the fall of 87 to Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard, with a large assist thanks to a pre-match attack by their longtime rivals The Midnight Express, they lost the belts for the final time. They went on to have some great battles during their feud with the Four Horsemen members.

With the arrival of more power based teams the Rock n Roll Express split but after an unsuccessful singles feud with one another they returned as a tandem in Smoky Mountain Wrestling where they won 9 tag team titles. The Rock n Roll Express then had stints in both WCW and WWE but where mainly used as jobbers.

The Rock n Roll Express had great bouts with the Brain Busters and The Heavenly Bodies but the bouts people will always remember will be their contests against the Midnight Express.

The British Bulldogs
After initially feuding with one another Davey Boy Smith and The Dynamite Kid formed a team known as the British Bulldogs, they would go on to be one of the greatest tag teams ever.

After wrestling for Stampede, AJPW and NJPW the Bulldogs went to the WWE where they started a classic feud with the Hart Foundation, although both teams where new to the company the quality of their battles immediately elevated their statuses in WWE and at Wrestlemania 2 the British Bulldogs claimed the tag team titles from the Dream Team.

The Bulldogs feuded with the Dream Team and Nikolai Volkoff & The Iron Sheik but Dynamite Kid suffered a back injury and they lost their titles to the Hart Foundation in a match where the Dynamite Kid had to be carried to the ring.

When they returned they continued to feud with the Hart Foundation and also had a short feud with the Islanders. They left WWE in late 88 after backstage incidents with Jaques Rougeau. The pair returned to previous stomping grounds but steroid abuse and the Dynamite Kids back injury meant they weren’t the performers they once where.

In 1990, Davey Boy Smith decided to take up an opportunity to return to WWE and ditch his partner. Having trademarked the name The British Bulldog, Smith informed promoters he would take legal action if they billed the Dynamite Kid as a British Bulldog. Billington(Kid) was irrate and despised Davey Boy for years after. Soon after Billington announced his retirement as years of steroid and cocaine abuse, along with his high impact style, caught up with him.

Davey Boy Smith died on May 18, 2002, and Dynamite Kid had a leg amputated due to the back injury that haunted him for years and is now confined to a wheelchair. Their feud with the Hart Foundation still stands as one of the best tag team feuds in wrestling history.

Thats it for part 1 but I’d advise anyone who has never seen any of these teams in action to try and find some footage and see for yourself how great these tag teams from the past where.

There is a difference between a gimmick and a character, Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan where great characters but there appearance was pretty much as they would appear anyway.

Not all superstars with a gimmick are useless wrestlers but the gimmick certainly won’t have harmed their career. Glen Jacobs, or Kane as he is better known, is the perfect example. He tried numerous gimmicks, such as Icaac Yankem, but to no avail however since Kane’s creation Jacobs has never looked back, becoming a superstar and even starring in his own movie. Would he have achieved this without a great gimmick? I very much doubt it.

So which gimmicks have been the best over the years? Here are a few of wrestlings greatest gimmicks-

The Undertaker
Without question the most recognizable and successful gimmick of all time. Mark Calloway had struggled to make an impact in the wrestling business until he joined WWE and they created The Undertaker. Everything about the character was perfect from the entrance and the theme music to The Undertaker’s appearance and ring style, this was wrestlings finest creation.
Over the years WWE have tried to experiment with the character but the original incarnation of The Undertaker remains the greatest and without it Mark Calloway would never have achieved the legendary status he now does.

The Ultimate Warrior
What was it that worked so well for the Ultimate Warrior I can’t quite put my finger on but there is no denying the characters success and when that entrance music started the whole roof came of the building, in fact as strange as it may sound the theme music that accompanied The Ultimate Warriors entrance was a huge contributing factor in the gimmicks success. He couldn’t talk, he could barely wrestle, yet because of The Ultimate Warriors creation Jim Hellwig can take his place in wrestling history.

The Demolition
Axe and Smash otherwise known as Demolition where nothing more than average inside the squared circle, however their tough talking and tough looking persona’s made them stand out and become multiple time WWE tag team champions.

Kane
As already mentioned Kane made several attempts under differant characters to make it in the WWE but it wasn’t until the creation of The Undertakers brother Kane that Glen Jacobs became a star. Jacobs will be forever indebted to the people behind Kane’s creation.

The Boogeyman
This gimmick has hundreds saying they hate the gimmick but without it Marty Wright would never have appeared and won on a card such as Wrestlemania. One of the worst wrestlers in recent history yet he’s still an employee of the biggest wrestling company in the world. The Boogeyman gimmick probably won’t last long but whatever it’s lifespan Marty Wright’s wrestling career has been prolonged because of it.

Sting
Some would argue that Steve Borden would have made it with or without the creation of Sting and that may well be true but the gimmick certainly speeded up his rise to the top.

There are of course thousands of wrestling gimmicks that aren’t on this page, and some for good reason, others though may yet appear in part two.

In most cases you would argue this was just over imaginative fans making a story out of nothing but given the murky past of Triple H and his sabotaging of other wrestlers pushes up the ladder can we be so quick to dismiss it?

When Triple H returned in the Autumn of 2005 after taking time out it was expected he would return on fire and as a fan favorite to freshen up his character and this seemed to be the case, until just two weeks in he was back to the same old heel character he’d played for years.

Meanwhile at the same time Edge was making waves and, apart from Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle, Edge had become the stand out performer on Raw. His attitude was fresh and with the in ring performances to match it appeared the WWE was at Edge’s mercy, and so it proved.

Triple H’s return took in a couple of average gimmick matches against the past it Ric Flair and a lame feud with The Big Show, but although both were poor feuds many put this down to Triple H’s opponents rather than the King of Kings. Edge finished of his feud with Matt Hardy with a high quality steel cage battle and a slightly disappointing ladder match but overall the feud was very entertaining.

On the night Edge was supposed to take up rivalry with Triple H’s recent sparring partner Ric Flair, Edge surprised everyone by cleverly cashing in his money in the bank title shot straight after John Cena had defended the title in an elimination chamber, within 30 seconds Edge was the champion.

For several weeks the ratings soared on Raw with Edge as champ however the reign was short lived and Cena relieved Edge of the title in rematch at the Royal Rumble. This is where the first whispers of Triple H’s interference appeared. There was talk that WWE were considering putting Edge in the main event at Wrestlemania either against Triple H as champ or as a fellow challenger in a triple threat contest but Triple H wasn’t keen on the idea and didn’t consider Edge a serious main eventer.

I personally don’t believe that rumor was true, it was obvious WWE had being planning on Cena v Triple H for months so why would they change it at such a late stage unless of an injury. Still, there did seem to be some truth in the part that suggested Triple H didn’t believe Edge was over as a main eventer.

Triple H went on to meet Cena at Wrestlemania and the two put up a decent effort but hardly anything special but at Backlash Edge was added to the mix. All three men had amazing chemistry on the mic before the event and the match itself was relatively good, Triple H’s first genuinely good effort since his return in the Autumn.

Was Triple H now back to his best? Shortly after Backlash Triple H did what the fans had hoped for upon his return and went babyface bringing with it the return of Degeneration X. Sadly it was a false dawn for Triple H’s return to quality.

A poor feud with the Spirit Squad and a couple of entertaining gimmick matches against the Mcmahons proved little. It was starting to seem like Triple H needed a gimmick to put on a good show. Finally the chance for quality matches came along with the alliance of Randy Orton and Edge, two guys who where more than capable of having great matches.

Sadly once again the matches failed to live up to expectations but there also seemed more to the feud than appeared to the naked eye. This was WWE’s chance to get Edge and Orton over big time by beating or even destroying the legendary DX, yet what happened was the complete opposite it was Edge and Orton who where destroyed in their final meeting. The feud was ended their due to Triple H’s injury but it is doubtful Edge and Orton would’ve turned the tide on DX.

Again rumors surfaced that Triple H was the one who refused to put their younger rivals over but again this is unproven and the argument does have faults, one being that Randy Orton is a good friend of Triple H’s so he had no reason to hold Orton back. Also Michaels is no stranger to refusing to put people over perhaps it was him and not The Game who chose not to loose the feud. Then again maybe, although a strange decision, it was WWE’s plan of the feud all along.

If the rumors are true why would Triple H want Edge held back? Whether he likes Edge as an individual or not, surely Triple H can see the huge potential of a feud between the two, let’s face it Edge v Triple H would make a far better Wrestlemania main event than the ones we’ve had in recent years and the two have good chemistry on the mic together as highlighted by there brief feud in the build up to Backlash. Also Edge is now a proven main eventer so what would be the point in not wanting Edge on his show.

There are those that will say Triple H sees Edge as a threat, he’s younger, great on the mic, attractive and a fantastic in ring performer, which is something Triple H has struggled with in recent times, but for all that I believe there is another reason for Edge’s move to Smackdown. The injury crisis on Smackdown no doubt speeded up the process but I believe his move was inevitable. For Edge to remain a main eventer it was easier to give him the belt on Smackdown and allow Triple H to return and feud with Cena over the Raw version.

My final thought is this, I’m not saying Triple H played no part in Edge’s move but don’t be surprised if the two men are headlining against each other at next years Wrestlemania.

Sacrifice 2007 took place on May 13, 2007 from the iMPACT! Zone (Soundstage 21 of Universal Orlando Resort) in Orlando, Florida. Promotional items featured Christian Cage, Scott Steiner and Tomko. The tagline was Give nothing… but take all.

• Chris Sabin defeated Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt in a Triple Threat match to retain the TNA X Division Championship (13:00)
  • Sabin pinned Dutt with a roll-up.
  • After the match, Dutt attacked Kevin Nash.
• Robert Roode (w/Ms. Brooks) defeated Jeff Jarrett (11:21)
  • Roode pinned Jarrett with a Payoff.
• Christopher Daniels defeated Rhino (9:56)
  • Daniels pinned Rhino after hitting him with a baseball bat.
• Basham and Damaja (w/Christy Hemme) defeated Kip James in a Handicap match (4:26)
  • Basham pinned James after a diving headbutt.
  • B.G. James was scheduled for the match, but was attacked by Basham and Damaja beforehand.
• Chris Harris defeated James Storm in a Texas Death match (17:14)
  • Harris won the match when he pinned Storm after hitting him with a beer bottle and Storm could not answer the 10 count.
• Jerry Lynn defeated Tiger Mask IV, Alex Shelley, and Senshi in a Four-Corners match (10:43)
  • Lynn pinned Shelley with a roll-up.
  • After the match, Shelley and Chris Sabin attacked Lynn until Bob Backlund made the save.
• Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) defeated Scott Steiner & Tomko and The Latin American Exchange (Homicide and Hernandez) in a Three-Way Dance to retain the TNA World Tag Team Championship (12:38)
  • Ray pinned Tomko after a 3D
  • After the match, Rick Steiner attacked Tomko.
• Samoa Joe defeated A.J. Styles (12:48)
  • Joe pinned Styles after a Millennium Suplex.
• Kurt Angle defeated Sting and Christian Cage (c) in a Triple Threat match to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship (10:45)
  • Angle forced Sting to submit with the Ankle Lock.

One Night Stand 2007
Details
Promotion	World Wrestling Entertainment
Brand (s)	RAW SmackDown! ECW
Date	June 3, 2007
Venue	Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
City	Jacksonville, Florida
Attendance	13,250

One Night Stand 2007 took place on June 3, 2007 at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. The official theme song was “Famous” by Puddle of Mudd. All matches were contested under Extreme Rules.

• Dark match: Santino Marella defeated Chris Masters
  • Marella pinned Masters with a Roll-up.
• Rob Van Dam defeated Randy Orton in a Stretcher match (14:34)
  • RVD pushed Orton across the line to win.
  • After the match, RVD was hit by Orton with a kick to the head.
• CM Punk and The ECW Originals (Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman) defeated The New Breed (Elijah Burke, Matt Striker and Marcus Cor Von) in a Tables match (7:19)
  • Punk Superplexed Striker onto Burke and through a table.
• The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) defeated The World’s Greatest Tag Team (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas) in a Ladder match to retain the World Tag Team Championship (17:17)
  • Matt grabbed the belts to win.
• Mark Henry defeated Kane in a Lumberjack match (9:07)
  • The referee stopped the match when Henry had Kane in a Bear hug.
  • During the match, Guerrero and Dykstra interfered on Henry’s behalf.
  • Lumberjacks: Chris Benoit, Val Venis, Santino Marella, Balls Mahoney, Stevie Richards, The Miz, Kevin Thorn, Chris Masters, Johnny Nitro, Chavo Guerrero, Kenny Dykstra, Carlito
• Bobby Lashley defeated Vince McMahon (w/Shane McMahon and Umaga) in a Street Fight to win the ECW World Championship (12:23)
  • Lashley pinned Vince after a Spear.
  • During the match, Shane and Umaga interfered on Vince’s behalf.
• Candice Michelle defeated Melina in a Pudding match (2:58)
  • Michelle forced Melina to submit by holding her head under the pudding.
  • After the match, Melina attacked Maria, who had tried to interview Candice.
• Edge defeated Batista in a Steel cage match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship (15:38)
  • Edge escaped the cage to win.
• John Cena defeated The Great Khali in a Pinfalls Count Anywhere match to retain the WWE Championship (10:29)
  • Cena pinned Khali after an FU off of a crane onto the floor.

• Must See Match #1
• John Cena – Future Legend?
• Fantasy Bout#1 Kurt Angle v Bret Hart
• Is Triple H The Man In Charge?
• The Best Wrestling Gimmicks Of All Time Part 1
• Great Tag Teams Of The Past Part 1
• TNA Wrestling- Self Destruction