How can you tell Vince Russo is booking a wrestling show? It should be fairly easy if you ask most wrestling afficionados, but we will try to answer that question with a series of questions that I had coming out of Bound for Glory and heading into Turning Point on November 15th.  Questions such as, can Matt Morgan defeat Kurt Angle in their second encounter? Who will get the next title shot against AJ Styles? Kurt Angle? Will Sting want a rematch? How about Matt Morgan? With the British Invasion winning the TNA Tag Titles, does this set up for a show down with Beer Money or Team 3D? Who is going to go after ODB next? Was that Kim Couture that attacked Tara because it looked like TNA was setting up Kong vs Tara based on the booking over the previous weeks? Is Joe going to get revenge on Hebner for calling his match without him submitting? These are just some of the questions I had coming out of Bound for Glory that I was looking forward to getting answers to at the next set of iMPACT! shows.

So how can you tell Russo is booking? Well, let’s answer some of these questions with both logical answers and then with what ACTUALLY happened.

Question #1: Can Matt Morgan defeat Kurt Angle in their second encounter?

Logical Answer: Easily one of the best matches at Bound for Glory gets a rematch at either Turning Point or Final Resolution.  Which one depends on whether Angle gets a title shot after going to a draw with AJ Styles on the iMPACT! just before Bound for Glory. The logical conclusion is to have Kurt wrestle AJ Styles for the TNA title at Turning Point and have Morgan face one of the Main Event Mafia in order to earn another match with Kurt.

Actual Answer: TNA signs Desmond Wolfe (aka, Nigel McGuinness) and immediately thrust him in to the biggest feud they could give him sans a TNA world title shot.  So instead of Morgan vs Angle II or Styles vs Angle for the TNA belt, it is Wolfe vs Angle.  On paper I love this match, but in classic Russo style TNA blows their load on the match straight off the bat (anyone remember Angle vs Joe immediately upon Angle’s arrival?).  Where does this leave Matt Morgan? I want to specifically praise Matt Morgan of taking the ball and running with it.  He may have ended up on the short end of the match, but he proved he is every bit worthy of the push he has been getting in recent months.  Bravo Matt Morgan, Bravo.  Having just competed in a main event profile match with Kurt Angle at the biggest pay per view on the TNA calendar it only makes sense that he would be stuck with… Rhino? Seriously? Rhino? Steiner sure, Nash sure, hell Joe would even make more sense.  Rhino? I suddenly feel bad for Matt Morgan.  I am not trying to demean Rhino (maybe just a little), but he isn’t Main Event right now and is a big step down for Morgan.

Question #2: Who will get the next title shot against AJ Styles? Kurt Angle? Will Sting want a rematch? How about Matt Morgan?

Logical Answer: The opponent that would make the most sense for AJ Styles is Kurt Angle.  Styles and Angle wrestled to a time limit draw on iMPACT! that saw Angle on the cusp of winning the non-title match.  It only makes sense that he would get the next shot at the title.

Actual Answer: AJ Styles is set to defend the title against… Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels.  WHAT? Don’t get me wrong this match will be off the charts, but both men lost their matches at the pay per view (Joe in humiliating fashion) and now they are getting a shot at the TNA World Title? Hardly makes sense especially since both Joe and Daniels have been working in the X Division as of late.  But I guess it is typical of Vince Russo to try and throw the best matches at the wall and try to make them stick even if it doesn’t make logical sense to do so.

Question #3: With the British Invasion winning the TNA Tag Titles, does this set up for a show down with Beer Money or Team 3D?

Logical Answer: Team 3D and Beer Money have been feuding with The British Invasion almost exclusively for the past few months without a conclusion to either feud.  It makes sense that one of those teams would get the first crack at the new TNA World Tag Team champs right? Team 3D makes the most sense since they took the IWGP belts off the British Invasion, but since I am not a fan of TNA using those belts, either of the opponents would be good.

Actual Answer: Team 3D and Beer Money aren’t even involved in the match to decide the number one contenders to the tag titles.  Instead it is the Motor City Machine Guns taking on Lethal Consequences (two teams I love) in an Ultimate X (which makes no sense why it was brought back four days after its last use) with the winner getting the shot at Turning Point.  Say what? These two teams were involved in the pre-show match for Bound for Glory and now one of them is going to get the next tag title shot? I know that the fans love the Guns, I do… but is that the sole reason they should be number one contenders? I guess a certain booker believes so.

Question #4: Who is going to go after ODB next?

Logical Answer: Not Tara or Awesome Kong, but beyond that there isn’t a logical answer.

Actual Answer: To be determined

Question #5: Was that Kim Couture that attacked Tara because it looked like TNA was setting up Kong vs Tara based on the booking over the previous weeks?

Logical Answer: TNA totally ignored the attack when it happened on the pay per view both on the commentary and in the match.  Since there really was no pay off at the pay per view, nobody is going to care about it four days later.  Instead TNA should shift the focus back to Kong vs Tara.  Leading up to the big show, Kong and Tara had been getting into arguments, shoving matches and brawls during tag matches in which they were partners and singles matches where the other was involved.  It makes perfect sense to let ODB go her way and put these two great knockouts in the ring for Turning Point

Actual Answer: If you are one of those that use Twitter, you would have learned that in fact it was Kim Couture that attacked Tara but that is about it.  As for Kong, TNA decided to go with the split of Kong and her manager Raisha Saeed.  Where does that leave Tara? I guess we will have to wait and see at this point, but let’s hope it isn’t in a feud with another MMA fighter.

Question #6: Is Joe going to get revenge on Hebner for calling his match without him submitting?

Logical Answer: Joe is pissed off and wants revenge on both Hebner and Lashley.  Joe never submitted in the match and thus should demand a rematch with Lashley at Turning Point with another referee.

Actual Answer: The storyline was dropped with zero follow up.  Instead, Joe is in the TNA title match and Lashley is now going to feud with Steiner.  And the kicker of it all, Steiner is trying to steal Lashley’s wife! I guess that makes sense???

The moral of the story is this.  You can tell that Russo is booking when logic is thrown out the window and story lines are dropped in the blink of an eye.  I understand that everything had been written up to Bound for Glory before Russo and Ferrara took over the booking duties, but does that mean you simply drop everything you have been building towards and go in completely different directions? The only continuity I have seen is the fact that Angle mentioned he wants AJ styles at Final Resolution after taking it to AJ on iMPACT! the week before.  Other than that, every angle was tossed out the window and new angles were put in place; classic Vince Russo booking.  Another classic Russo tell is that the first iMPACT! he had full control over gave away not one, but two big time matches; the Ultimate X and the Six Sides of Steel for free on TV.  why bother paying for TNA when you can tune into iMPACT! and get the big time matches for free.  TNA needs to focus on getting the million plus viewers they have each week to pony up the money for the pay per views instead of focusing on getting more viewers watching the free show.  That is my opinion anyway, and I have been known to be wrong in the past.

Before I start getting railed on by the Russo lovers out there let me just say this; since the changes to the booking team TNA’s television product has been can’t miss.  In fact, it is the only can’t miss wrestling program on television.  The wrestling has been great, the angles have been well executed, and the build to the pay per views have been spectacular.  Russo has done a very good job with the product up to this point.  The point of this blog is to point out the strange ways Russo books at times (many times) and ask for a little more continuity in story lines before dropping them and going in different directions.  It confuses the viewers when this happens and that means viewers tune out. In conclusion, Russo booking TNA the last few months = good.  Russo booking changes after Bound for Glory = WTF?