HeadLocker — Jay Shannon
ECW (11/17) Extreme Exam
Our resident philosopher looks at a Homecoming edition of ECW

It was a reunion show, on many levels, this week. ECW came from the home of Extreme, Philadelphia. Also, a former top star in ECW returned home for a one-night stand. In addition, Paul Burchill put his and his sisters’ careers on the line against the mask of The Hurricane.

This Week’s Episode: Sometimes you Can go home again.

C.M. Punk stepped in front of the ECW logo. He got a monster boo from the crowd. Punk talked about getting his start in ECW before becoming a three-time World champion. Punk expected a long, loud standing ovation, the loudest in ECW history. Don’t hold your breath, kid.

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HeadLocker — Jay Shannon
My Turning Point 2009 Predictions
Our resident philosopher breaks out his crystal ball, tea leaves and lucky coin to try and decipher and predict the outcomes and future ramifications of this minor Pay Per View

TNA is back with another PPV offering. This one is not even in the same ballpark as their spectacular Bound For Glory show. This second-rate effort is going to throw a lot of nowhere feuds and pretend threats to championships at the fans. I’m not impressed, as you will be able to tell as you read on.

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HeadLocker — Jay Shannon
TTNA Impact (11/12) Insight
Our resident philosopher looks at the lead-in to Turning Point edition of Impact

TNA was filled with Legends, this week, including Super Dave Osborne. Dr. Stevie and Daffney put their careers on the line in this lead-in to Sunday’s Pay Per View. Also, the final pieces of the puzzle were cemented into place for Turning Point 2009.

The show opened with a recap of the Hulk Hogan/Dixie Carter alliance. Dixie told the roster to either follow her or leave. TNA hinted about major changes that were coming to TNA.

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HeadLocker — Jay Shannon
ECW (11/10) Extreme Examination
Our resident philosopher looks at the pond-jumping edition of ECW

William Regal was home in England for his final shot at the ECW title. He was joined by several of the top stars of the Tuesday Night Delight.

The show opened with a touching tribute to the troops. I grew up in a military family. My grandfather and step-father both served this great country of ours. Health issues kept me from joining them in service but I always support those who lay their lives on the line for their beliefs and their country.

Tony Atlas came out to introduce Abraham Washington for the Abraham Washington Show. Abe came out to talk with Yoshi Tatsu. The crowd was dead for the annoying talk show host, at least at first. They started booing when he began to speak. Tony mentioned how the people in England talked funny. Abe then made fun of the people’s teeth. The crowd were both irritated and bored with the whole segment. Abe then called out Yoshi Tatsu. Yoshi was in a suit and tie. Yoshi mentioned that his English was not very good, but he was nervous. They got into that silly “Thank You” back and forth thing. Abe wanted to know who Yoshi thought would win. Yoshi said Christian would retain his title, despite Regal being really tough. Yoshi called Abe “Chris Tucker” which annoyed Abe. Yoshi made fun of Tony’s goofy laugh. Abe said only he got to make fun of Tony. Abe ended the painful segment and left with Tony.

Segment Grade: D-

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HeadLocker — Jay Shannon
The TNA Impact (11/5) Insight
Our resident philosopher looks at the so-called new beginnings of TNA

Dixie Carter laid down the law to the troops, this week. Daniels and A.J. Styles squared off, with Samoa Joe as the special guest ref. The stars of TNA started giving their opinions on Hulk Hogan (and his entourage) joining the company.

The show, of course, opened with the press conference from last week. Eric Bischoff introduced The Hulkster. Hogan has started making the press rounds to push his alliance with the organization. It still hasn’t been revealed what Hogan’s role will be.

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HeadLocker — Jay Shannon
ECW (1/3) Extreme Exam!
Our resident philosopher looks at an action packed hour of ECW.

ECW unveiled Sheamus’s replacement on the roster. (He’s a transplant from TNA by way of FCW). William Regal also made another bid to earn a title shot.

This Week’s Episode: Sharp as an Archer’s arrow

The show opened with highlights of Christian v Yoshi Tatsu, from last week. Tatsu really came close to taking the title. The match was filled with great moves and the crowd was on their feet for the whole match. After the match, William Regal had Vladimir Kozlov and Ezekiel Jackson take out Christian.

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HeadLocker — Jay Shannon
Impact (10/29) Insight
Our resident philosopher looks at what may go down as the true turning point episode of Impact. Major changes are about to happen on Thursdays

The landscape of TNA changed forever on Thursday. Hulk Hogan made his first appearance, along with Dixie Carter, since the news that rocked the wrestling world was announced (Hogan is now in TNA). Also, one of the key players in the X-Division and tag team division was badly injured during the show. In addition, Eric Young had a major announcement about his newly-won Legends title that would forever change the status of the title

TNA opened with a promo for Hogan and then went into the attack on Kurt Angle by Desmond Wolfe. Wolfe, who sounds like Baldrick (Tony Robinson) from Black Adder, attacked Angle, twice, last week.

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HeadLocker — Jay Shannon
The ECW (10/27) Extreme Exam
Our resident philosopher takes a look at an exciting edition of the Tuesday Night Delight, ECW

Sheamus made his final appearance on ECW. The main event had Christian defend his ECW title against Yoshi Tatsu.

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HeadLocker — Jay Shannon
The !mpact! 10/22 Insight
Our resident philosopher looks at the aftermath episode to one of the top three Pay-Per-Views of the entire year.

After an amazing Bound For Glory Pay-Per-View, TNA picked up the pieces.and moved forward. One of the biggest independent stars made his TNA debut, under a new identity.

This Week’s Episode: Black Thursday?

The show kicked off with a highlight package for Bound For Glory. As I told my daughter, Jess, and a couple of friends, every match had it’s own “Are you Kidding Me?” moment.

Kurt Angle came out to the ring, alone. He talked about not having “family” with him, this week. This was the one year anniversary of the Main Event Mafia. By all reports, Booker T is gone from TNA. The rest of the Mafia is falling apart around Kurt. Kurt mentioned that the Mafia was misunderstood from day one. Kurt talked about how the Mafia was supposed to stand for respect. He mentioned that some members of the Mafia were in it for recognition and “a place”. Kurt said that he was in it for love of the sport, not ego. Kurt said the Mafia was supposed to be about being the best. Kurt then admitted that he made a mistake about the TNA’s younger guys. He thought that they were just a bunch of punks looking for a hand-out.

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HeadLocker — Jay Shannon
ECW (10/20) Extreme Exam
Our resident philosopher looks at an action packed edition of ECW

ECW continued to promote Sunday’s Bragging Rights PPV, even though they really don’t have a part in the show.

Abraham Washington said that he was hosting the show this week. Tony Atlas served to hype Washington’s ego. Chris Jericho interrupted the segment to look for Tiffany. Washington told Jericho that he would like him on his show. Jericho’s response was “I bet you would.” Jericho then walked off as the credits rolled.

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