Cygy's View: Gearing Up For Primetime This Thursday

CYGY’S VIEW: GEARING UP FOR PRIMETIME
By: Marcus Cygy – November 13, 2006

Times like these are what fans vie to see and for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, the fans have been getting what they paid to see. I would have to say that besides last month’s epic “Bound For Glory” Pay-Per-View in Detroit, Michigan, the two-hour special primetime debut this Thursday for “iMPACT!” has got to be the most important show in TNA’s nearly five-year history of existence.

Believe it or not, I’ve never missed one single TNA episode. Being a wrestling fan since the tender age of 5 back in 1994, I grew to live the life of a pure wrestling fan through thick and thin. I tuned in every Monday night to watch my favorites who were trendsetters at the time, much like the wrestlers we have today in TNA. Those included Bret Hart, who can be matched to TNA’s Kurt Angle. Owen Hart, who can be matched to TNA’s Christian Cage for that cocky arrogant personality, or to TNA’s “Phenomenal” AJ Styles for that innovative style in the ring. Oh and look it’s Sting – he’s still around today as the current reigning and defending NWA World Heavyweight Champion!

Those three were among my all-time favorites of the past, but when you throw in the likes of Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe, Abyss, Petey Williams, LAX, America’s Most Wanted, The Naturals, and Ron Killings – the stars of tomorrow – you can see that the bar the stars of the 90’s set will, if not already, be raised to an all new high. And this is something no other organization has been able to do yet, not even the organization up north that originally set these standards – they can’t even top themselves, but TNA does it each month!

There’s no doubt in my mind that when you finish watching TNA “iMPACT!” on Spike TV this Thursday, you’ll be saying to yourself, “Wow”. And then when you think further, you’ll also be saying, “Other wrestling companies should be taking notes, because TNA is showing them how it’s done”. There is no doubt in my mind at all, that you’ll all share these feelings, as I have been feeling for the better of the last five years already.

What makes TNA so great is the atmosphere it holds. The fans speak, and TNA answers. And that’s what TNA has done for this Thursday – you wanted Kurt Angle and you’re going to get him in his TNA in-ring debut when he faces the number one contender “The Monster” Abyss! Will Kurt Angle be able to stand up to TNA’s premiere destructive force before he meets the undefeated “Samoan Submission Machine” Samoa Joe at TNA “Genesis” live on Pay-Per-View on Sunday, November 19?

We will also get to see yet another first for TNA when Christian Cage and “The War Machine” Rhino battle inside a Six Sides of Steel Barbed-Wire Match. Former friends now bitter enemies will look to end it all in this violent arena of warfare on the primetime debut of “iMPACT!”. With Christian Cage already up by two over Rhino with wins at “No Surrender” and “Bound For Glory,” there’s no telling what Rhino has planned for this night!

Plus, we cannot forget about the awesome X-Division Championship Match we’ve been promised when “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles defends the title against Chris Sabin and “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels. With all three stars being considered as the cornerstones of the X-Division, we’ll definitely be in for an elite caliber bout. For Chris Sabin though, this match means more than simply just a title match. He’s in for redemption after mistakenly putting his X-Division Title up for grabs fresh off his title win at “Bound For Glory”. For AJ Styles and Daniels though, they’ll have to put their friendship aside for this all-important match!

With Kurt Angle scheduled to fight in the main event, Samoa Joe made it his duty in requesting TNA management to match him up with an opponent so he can keep his feet strong. He’ll be facing X-Division star Jay Lethal just three days prior to the “Match of the Decade” against Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle at the “Genesis” Pay-Per-View.

It will be all this and more coming your way Thursday on primetime television with TNA “iMPACT!” on Spike TV at 6 PM ET / 9 PM PT. And once the show concludes, you’ll know that TNA is putting the “real” back in professional wrestling. TNA is a company that still carries that eye of the tiger, a feat that others have lost. We’re no phony; we’re just a bunch of people who still have professional wrestling pumping through our veins.

For TNAwrestling.com, I’m Marcus Cygy