You've Got To Be Kidding Me #56 Final Resolution January 2007 - End of AMW, Christian Wins Title, PCS

0:00The power's out. Tensions rise. What happens next depends on you. I'm former Navy SEAL Cade Courtley, and when disaster strikes, staying invisible might just be what keeps you alive. In a blackout, desperation spreads fast. People will do just about anything to get their hands on power, and it's exactly why I trust the Alpha Case Elite from Four Patriots. It looks like an ordinary briefcase, but inside, you've got a solar generator that's silent, fume-free, and powerful enough to run your fridge, lights, medical devices, even power tools.

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1:07is how do I get into the promotion? Well, stop asking and start listening to the Open the Voice Gate podcast released every Wednesday on the Voices of Wrestling podcasting network. For exclusive news and show reviews, look no further than the leader in Drangate coverage, Open the Voice Gate. TNA is the best wrestling in the whole world. Wouldn't it be an inspirational story if somebody with chlamydia won this event, huh? Bob Backler, authorize. There's nothing to say anything. Bob Backler, authorize.

1:41Push it. Push it real good. Adrenaline rush, adrenaline rush. Sorry, guys. Adrenaline rush, adrenaline rush. Adrenaline rush, adrenaline rush. Do it for us. What? What is that supposed to mean? Do it for us. You know, us, the black guys. What? Warrior. Feel free to kiss the winner. Listen, not again, not again, not again. Ah! This is BS! This sucks! I've lost my objectivity, and I don't give a dad!

2:11Welcome, everybody, to You've Got to Be Kidding Me, episode number 56. We are a TNA history podcast that covers TNA one month at a time. On this episode, we are talking about the month that is January 2007, leading up to Final Resolution 2007. I'm Gary Kidney. I'm joined by Liam Jones. Hello. Say in 2007. What a revolutionary push into a new year we've done. It really feels like proper TNA, and feels 2007, you know, the good years, when things felt right.

2:43There is, I think, a really important cultural marker in this month of TNA, and that is opening up the Final Resolution 2007 pay-per-view. AJ Styles makes his entrance. He's wearing the long boys. The long boys are here. It's a cultural shift, an identity shift. Yeah, I think, very meaningfully, it does kind of signal the end of the kind of early kind of growth phase of TNA, and now we're in the, like, what some would call the heyday.

3:17This is, like, the beginning of the heyday, as, like, Spike TV is a meaningful television network that they're airing their show on. Yeah. It's a, we're in the firm shift of, like, the proper identity of what you would associate with total non-stop action. At least up until now, I guess. Mmm. So, before we talk more about TNA, how are you doing? I'm fine. Mmm. Yep. We're a little removed at this point from WrestleMania weekend. Yes. And how did you, how did you feel about wrestling coming out of watching, like, seven shows that

3:51weekend? Probably more than seven. I was just, like, I don't know. I think most of the shows are whatever, and there wasn't a lot of great matches, but it was, like, enjoyable pro wrestling. Yeah. Like, it just, it had a good, like, minimum level, but it didn't really hit any highlights, you know. You know, stagnant, but not necessarily in a bad way, just in a way. Okay. Just a, kind of a vibe state, as opposed to a negative way. Yeah. Like, there was nothing new or, like, shocking or, like, particularly interesting coming out

4:23of it, but, like, there was nothing, like, that made me lament the state of anything either. It was just kind of a continuation of where we're at. Mmm. That's kind of, like, the, I think, the broader vibe about wrestling as a whole at the moment, isn't it? I think it has been for, like, five years, to be fair. Yeah, the kind of post-pandemic haze that we're kind of emerging from, that, like, the indie boom of the 20th ends is gone. We had the, like, bloodline era of WWE boom, which is also kind of gone. The AEW launch boom is gone, but now AEW has circled back to being good on its own merit.

4:57And the rest of wrestling has just kind of been a weird state where everyone's trying to work out who the fuck they are and who's going to be a star for the next decade, as opposed to who was a star for the last one. I think we're just in, like, a bit of a holding pattern for the most part. Yeah, it's kind of weird how that works industry-wide, isn't it? How, like, every company is now kind of in a position where the old guard that did the business for the prior 20 years is fading away. And we're moving into kind of a new era where it's, who the fuck's going to lead that era?

5:27We don't really know at the moment. There's some guys that are at the cusp of it, the forefront of it. But then, like, you watch WWE TV in which Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns are champion. And you're like, well, they're still looking for that new era, huh? I feel like it's, um, at least in the last sort of, like, 30 years, it's been an every 10-year thing. So, like, we should sort of be approaching that new era now because, like, 05 is sort of when everything started kicking off with that generation. And then 2015 is when everything started kicking off with the last generation. So, it's like, now we're sort of in the period of where this generation should be kicking

6:01off. It's probably taking a little longer because, um, you know, wrestlers have longer careers now, um, which has left less turnover. Yeah. So, um, yeah, I think we're, you know, we're going from a, what, sort of a 10-year run to more of a 12-and-a-half, 13-year run, hopefully. Assuming anything changes at all and we don't just stay in this stagnant-ass state for, like, ever. Because you do kind of need the Ogre to get the fuck out of the way at some point, don't you? Which is a bit of a problem. Because, like, you could argue, you know, Trick, Oba, and Braun are, like, WWE's next

6:33generation. And there's other guys like Jacob Patu. But it's still the CM Punk and Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns show. So, as long as it still remains their show, there's not going to be room for an Obafemi, at least for a while. I don't even mean particularly WWE, just, like, the industry as a whole. I was just using them as the example. Where, like, New Japan was probably, like, the company that did the best job of, like, next man up until all of a sudden everyone either left or died physically. Everyone either fell apart physically or left for AEW.

7:04And then they were kind of fucked. But, yeah, I don't know. I kind of like this period in wrestling because it is very much the on-the-cusp period where you are, like, well, who is going to be the guy? Who's going to step up? And, like, everyone's, like, oh, it will just be this person. It won't be that person. Like, Shota Ubeno is a great example of a guy who might, who knows, take the long way around. And I think that's really interesting as opposed to, like, a guy who's pushed as an ace and succeeds as an ace, which honestly doesn't happen that often. Usually when someone is pushed as an ace, they kind of hit a roadblock, a stumble, they

7:38fail for a while and eventually find the thing that works for them. But we all expect it's, like, oh, you have to be pushed and then get over and then you are a champion. It's, like, we push people into the expectation that it has to happen immediately that way. Whereas when you look at nearly every wrestler who's ever been on Topps' career, with some exceptions, for the most part, there has been roadblocks and it's been a journey. Um, so it makes this period very interesting where you're like, well, who is going to be the guy? Who is going to be that guy to step up? Will it be the guy that's obviously being pushed right now? Or is it, like, some wild card, Ren Narita's going to say what the dog doing himself and

8:11catch on and take over the world and it's going to be Ren's world? Yeah, I don't know. I'm open to anything. Um, I just, I like, I just, I'm, I'm in a state of, I want to see new wrestlers that I haven't seen a whole lot. I want them to be doing interesting things. And ideally I would like, um, crowds to start being more invested, you know, that's, that's the, the, the big three for the next sort of five years that I'm looking towards. Um, you know, I would like a more flushed out indie scene, but I've kind of given up on that dream, uh, since the last five years have been nothing.

8:43Yeah. The last five years have been like a weird state because like, there's so many things about the current indie scene. The big one is it has been, it's a pond that's been overfished. I don't think there's any denying that or, or any, the moment somebody catches even the slightest bit of hype, like we just saw Ricky Sosa, the guy caught on very briefly on TikTok. Like he was, he was like in the zeitgeist for a month or two and snap TNA jumps, you know, like anytime somebody catches on the smallest bit, Will Cruz, another guy who should probably be on the indies for another five years, realistically, you know, or working Japan for another five years

9:17before he jumps to NXT or somewhere in America, but that's, it's just the arms race we're in where someone has the smallest amount of potential jump. Uh, that's been, that's just the nature of the indies at the moment. That, that is what it is. Like not to say people losing their jobs is a good thing, but, uh, having a, a set of experienced wrestlers come back onto the indies from WWE at the moment and the recent slate of releases will only help to, to give those guys, young people to wear, those young guys, experienced wrestlers to work with, which is I think one of the bigger detriments between people getting good and just existing in their state of young growth and mediocrity,

9:51um, having experienced hands to wrestle helps, but yeah. Uh, I mean, I think more of them, even more so than that, it's a matter of places. Like it's, you know, there's, there is indie promotions and some of them are doing good things and some of them are drawing better crowds, but it's like, I don't know, there's no real spot happening where people are developing into fully fledged out wrestlers. And half of it is because they don't have the time to do it, but half of it is also the schedule. And I think that's the reason why you only truly see, um, especially like sort of Western,

10:22uh, wrestlers getting like to the level where they're like undeniably ready for TV is happening in like a new Japan, which can commit to them for multiple years and can push them, um, you know, working three times a week. And you know, like that's like the one spot in the world that is still producing and developing talent at that level, especially like in the last five years. So I'm not too like optimistic about it, but I would, I would love for that to be a big sort of industry wide shift in the next five years or so.

10:53We'll see. I mean, eventually the bubble will burst in some capacity and something will be different, but, um, it's just a matter of surviving until that next point, I guess. Yeah. We do love being like the way wrestling is, is the way it will be forever. And then five years, it's completely different. So yeah, like fucking six years ago, AEW formed, you know, it's like, yeah. And completely changed the entire pro wrestling world. And, you know, before then there was two top promotions in the, in the Americas, or there was a, a Noah splitting from all Japan. Like this, you know, once every sort of eight years we get something interesting and then it

11:26goes back to the stagnant state that it always is. So, um, I know that I'm sounding like really down on it, but it's more just like, I'm waiting for something. I want some like industry shifting thing. Maybe that's because I've been, um, spoiled, like being able to be right at that perfect age for like the AEW breakthrough and how interesting that was. But like, I don't know, ever since then there's like, just waiting for something. It doesn't need to be on that level, but just something to be like bubbling on the surface again. Yeah. You hitting your teens and twenties during like the indie boom and the new Japan boom and the

11:57launch of AEW. That's a, that's a very exciting period to be in the formative years of your wrestling fan. Whereas like I hit that period in the mid 2000s and 2010 ish, you know, when wrestling is like very much in the boo doldrums. So it's, it's, it's fun to think about like when, when, when did you hit that beacon? Like attitude your kids would never shut up about, you know, wrestling was so hot when they were kids and you would be mentioned in school and Steve Austin is a national figure. But then if you grew up in 2003, it's like, well, you know, I watched the Bashams on SmackDown.

12:28Yeah. Cause like, I mean, maybe that is just part of it is like, um, I will, I will forever be chasing the high of, you know, getting into Japanese wrestling as new Japan is becoming the hottest promotion or, you know, as that's beginning to wane, uh, being there for the birth of the true American, like number two in my lifetime. So it's like, but there will probably be something comparable to these things at some point. You know what I would like? So we were watching the other night, the steeper, you know, homicide feud recap.

12:58And I would like to see more of that stuff from non major league companies. And maybe it's out there. Maybe I'm being ignorant and maybe someone can point to me about some great stories that people are doing on, on smaller companies and smaller stages across the US. I think that was always the problem with the GCW is you felt like they have this like tremendous audience, they have the amount of like shows that like an ROH running, you know, comparably like, you know, five shows a month or whatever. Um, so even more than ROH for most of its run, but, um, like they just, they weren't committed to trying to tell stories.

13:28They were committed to like, sort of just being their own thing, which I guess like is, you know, it's their own thing. If it works, it was working, but, um, I know they've gotten a little better about it, but you see them like, give it a, give it a shot and you're like, wow, that's cool. I wish there was more places that were able to do that. Yeah. It's the thing I'll give the GCW shows over the rest of my weekend, uh, where like most of their shows, even like the clusterfuck had a match that had a video package before it that had like a few shows build at least toward this stuff. Was it good or interesting? I don't know, but at least they're like trying that at least they're like, they have some

14:02stories and they have stuff that's trying to peak on the biggest weekend of the year. And they didn't just like book, uh, Brodie Lee Jr. against Joy Janelle and just do the match for the sake of doing the match. Actually like tried to tell what seemed like a pretty solid little story getting to get to that match. So like, I just want to see more of that across the robot board across all. I want the next, uh, like, like Chris hero versus Eddie Kingston. You know, I want the next rivalry to bubble where these people wrestling all over the place and they hate each other and they can't tell me how much they hate each other. Cause they just, it always bubbles over so much instead of just like, uh, Hey, we're

14:36having a good match tonight and then we're doing, we're doing a film of log together after the match. Yeah. There's too much, you know, sportsmanship. Let's wrestle the match together type stuff going on. You know, the promotion that like got like the biggest criticism for that PWG, like they at least still had that like blood feuds and long-term stories going on throughout the whole thing. Hmm. Or anything else? We technically haven't done a show on the main feed for five months. So is there anything from the last five months you want to talk about?

15:09Hmm. From Christmas or, uh, we went to AEW Grand Slam in February. Hmm. Nah. Cool. You can support us on Patreon at patreon.com slash kiddingme or tnachad.com where you can get our recent greatest wrestler ever list. And, uh, we did, we listed the definitive between me and Liam, 100 wrestlers ever ranked who was number one, who was number 76. You will have to go find out. We actually might post that in the main feed in like a week or two, but you know what?

15:41Pretend I didn't say that. You really have to rush there right now and subscribe to listen to that. And you know what else you can get at the Patreon? What can you get? You can get a coat that gets you a shirt cheaper. What kind of shirt would you get, Garrett? Wow, Liam. Thank you for teeing me up like that. We have a brand new America's Most Wanted t-shirt in the store right now. You can check out the link in our description. As Liam said, if you go to the pin post on Patreon, you can get a discount code that saves you 10% of any merch you buy as well.

16:13This is a very important month in TNH history. As we mentioned, AJ Styles Longboys, but also at the end of AMW. AMW are done. Which we will talk about later in the episode. Which is also kind of like part of that shift into what is more known for TNA. Because like, AMW is like, I don't want to say, this is not in like a derogatory sense, but like a dirty little secret in TNA. Like, they don't get the same amount of respect as like Motor City Machine Guns or even beer money. But like, real bowl knowers know, you know? Yep.

16:43And it does, again, it's another one of those little signifiers that it's the end of the first phase of TNA. That like, this tag team, which has been the defining tag team of this company for the four and a half years up until this point, is done and dusted. Never to come back until 2022. But yes, you can go to the store, you can check out the brand new America's Most Wanted shirt, as well as the America's Most Wanted poster as well for this episode. Which are separate designs, by the way. So there's two separate designs. We're really splashing out for our merch. I set like a goal in my head and we're like one shirt away from hitting the goal in my

17:17head when we launched the store. So go buy that shirt and break the goal I set in my head and get yourself an America's Most Wanted shirt. Yeah. Shout out Wicked Drawings. At Wicked draws stuff 1F on X the Everything fucking app. And of course, Shannon, who always does our posters. On the Patreon as well, coming up in the next couple weeks, we will be doing... Because we've just... We ticked over. We mentioned we're in a new year. We've ticked into 2007. Which means we will be doing our end of year awards and end of year draft for 2006.

17:49So those will be coming up in the next little while. Our Lucha Underground finale for season one also coming up. It's a real blockbuster era for the Patreon in the next couple weeks. Great time to jump on board. Patreon.com slash kiddingme tnachad.com. As well as all the other stuff we've done, including the review of Ghost Ship. And shout outs to Polymarket. Polymarket for... You can predict how many times Garrett will say like on this show. Garrett's not at all rigging that poll. Over under 700.

18:21It is very much a cork tick. Never mind that English language tick. But yes, patreon.com slash kiddingme tnachad.com. And check out the merch. That brings us to the month that is January 2007. Building to Final Resolution 2007. We will start with the news. IGN.com has a 30 second video trailer on the first TNA video game set for release in 2008. It's a three year process to get the game finished and ready to market. From the wrestler side of the project development, Samoa Joe and AJ Styles were key consultants on the project.

18:54The Kenny Omegas. Listen, I'm going to read these quotes from this IGN interview and it will sound very funny. It will make you think a lot about all the quotes that AEW had leading to the launch of their game. But this is from IGN. With Samoa Joe and AJ Styles working with Midway as consultants on the new TNA video game, it's only fitting that the first two characters to debut in a teaser trailer are the Phenomenal one and the Samoan Submission Machine. I haven't liked a wrestling game since the N64, Styles told me during a recent interview. So I'm going to make sure they get this right.

19:27And Samoa Joe feels the same. Quote, When they told us we were getting a video game, we knew it was up to us to make sure it was good. The first day they came to talk to me and AJ, they knew we were adamant about the game being not just good, but special. And we came in with three to four pages of suggestions. Stuff that worked in past games, stuff that hasn't worked. And they were pretty damn amazed by the level of detail and some of the stuff we came up with. We're definitely pushing the next gen envelope. We're a game that's going to run at 60 frames per second. We're going to pump up the action and pump up the violence like only Midway does.

20:00Midway has a history of stylized violent games and TNA should have that same type of flair. Fucking nerds. Samoa Joe is like, I need like 60 frames per second in my refresh rate as they hit these levels. Yes, it will be 1080p or actually it's PS3, so it might be 720p. Yeah, but you know what? It worked. It's a pretty good game. Yeah, we talked about it to death. If it got the sequel, I think it would have been a fully fleshed out game. And it ultimately didn't. And what you got was like a kind of a fun proof of concept that didn't have the depth.

20:33Which is again, I think a little similar to the AW game. But it is a shame. Midway should do the next AW game. Well, not Midway. Like legit, because like, yeah, NetherRealm are within the WBD family now. Yeah, they're in the games department specifically. Yeah, they're under the same, like the studio that made Mortal Kombat spun out of Midway with NetherRealm. And they're under the same corporate umbrella, under the same WBD umbrella as AW. So there's a natural connection there.

21:04Apparently they're working on Injustice 3 at the moment. I saw that leaked this week. That's exciting. I like the Injustice game. Hmm. This trailer, it is just like, it's the impact zone. You see AJ Styles make his entrance. You see Samoa Joe make his entrance. You see a little bit of like their models. And then you kind of cut to the Midway logo. AJ not in the gear that he will wear in the game. I was about to mention that. How mad do you think the Midway team were that AJ Styles has worn bikers for four years of TNA?

21:36He has had consistent gear the entire time. And literally two weeks after they reveal his video game model, he's like, hey guys, I'm switching to long boys. Well, like, isn't, like, the gear that he wears in the game is gear that, like, showed up in the game before he wore it on TV, isn't it? I'm not sure. It's the red and black tights he has in the game, right? Yeah, it's the red ones. Yeah, but, like, the ones he debuted weren't the red ones on Final Resolution. No. No. So, like, he definitely wears them before the game comes out.

22:06But it's not that sad. But, like, they might have already scanned them, even though he hasn't worn them yet. Hmm. But, yeah, it is funny that he had a signature look, and they put that in the game, and then he is not wearing it. Honestly, it's for the better because it was the tag gear. So it would make even less sense, you know? Hmm. But, yes, this is December 2006, so it's fun to see the first look. That trailer's still on the IGN YouTube. It's linked to the show notes as well. So the game comes out in, like, a year? Two years. It comes out in, I think, September 2008. Okay. Which makes sense, because, like, you know, there's a lot of things that are going to change in that time.

22:39Hmm. Hmm. Although Joe's pretty much Joe from the beginning. Yeah, I was, I compared it, yeah. I was looking at the final model, and I was like, oh, yeah, they pretty much just nailed that one, and that's Joe. Thankfully, he didn't end up Nation of Violence, Samoa Joe, with the face tattoo in the game. Close. But it's like, yeah, it's funny to think about, like, you know, the roster that releases with their game, and it's like, Motor City Machine Guns fully in Motor City Machine Guns at that point. But it's like, we haven't even begun that yet. Yeah, I wonder what, I assume, like, it felt like gear and stuff would have been locked in, like, late 07.

23:09It feels like to me, in terms of, like, when they finally, like, this is the version that's going to end up in the game. Late last week, Conan went in for surgery on his badly injured hip, but doctors found kidney problems that could have been life-threatening had they gone through the hip surgery. Conan is now on kidney dialysis, and he issued an official statement on his health through his MySpace page on Monday night. Yeah. Quote from Conan, I was supposed to get hip replacement surgery last week in Mexico, and when they went to operate, they discovered my kidneys were badly damaged. It could have been that they were bruised or that I had an infection and my immune system did not recognize it and let it attack my kidneys.

23:45Conan said he is currently going through dialysis to clean out the infection in his kidney to prepare him for hip surgery. He said the next issue is that he needs a kidney transplant. Quote, I am on dialysis to clean out the blood, and so I can go back next week and get my hip replacement surgery, and my kidneys can be strong enough to get through the operation. But now I have another problem. I need a kidney transplant. Conan asked anyone who would type O positive blood to help as well. I know, like, this is what really starts the deterioration of Conan's relations with his TNA in particular. Because he felt, I wasn't sure, is it the hip replacement or the kidney transplant that he wanted them to pay for?

24:20But either way, they're paying for neither. So, he is not getting the financial support from TNA. And, like, there is, I think a lame person out there might be thinking, Oh, well, if he didn't hurt it in TNA, they shouldn't pay for it? To which I would respond, the Carters have a lot of fucking money. And to which I would respond, I hope you never need anything, ever. Yeah. And, like, would like help with that. Because, you know, for bad and for good about Tony Khan, that motherfucker pays for shit.

24:52Yep. And to skimp on, like, I don't know, I'm sure it is expensive. But also, Bob Carter has so much fucking money. Yeah. He can help his talent out when they need it. Come on. Conan, obviously, like, a controversial figure throughout the years. But, you know, he doesn't deserve the amount of fucking shit he's gone through as well. Yeah. Tough time. So, you know, well wishes to Conan, even into the modern era. Yeah. You would notice he has written off TV on, I think, the go-home impact before Final Resolution. And then he's not on Final Resolution.

25:23So, that's obviously why. The February 12th edition. Sorry, I wasn't laughing at the last thing. I was laughing because I read what was coming up next. I don't want that to be misconstrued in any way. The February 12th edition of WWE Raw will be preempted from the USA Network due to the annual USA Network coverage of the Westminster Dog Show. Sci-Fi cannot pick it up because it has a special marathon scheduled. As a result, Raw will air Thursday, February 15th, one hour of which will go up against TNA Impact.

25:55Thursday War Games. The Thursday Night War. Thursday Night War, what is it, 2026? Hey. TNA and Spike TV are considering airing a special edition of Impact on Monday, February 12th in Raw's absence. I'm looking at the winner of the 2007 Westminster Dog Show.

26:15Named Diamond Jim. Diamond Jim? Diamond Jim is a beast name. Mm. Shout out to Diamond Jim. He is a English Springer Spaniel. It's a good dog. Specifically known as Che Felicity's Diamond Jim. I think it's his full name. Mm. Which is... Are you sure he's the most recent winner? No, 2007. Oh, sorry. Oh, you were looking at this one. Yes, yes, yes. Yeah, I'm looking at 07. Because I was like, this dog has a Wikipedia page and this dog is dead. Mm. No, um, he seems a lovable lass.

26:47Mm. Shout out to... Oh, he's won 51 Best in Show awards. Damn, he's the goat. Is he the goat? Is he the fucking... Is he the Michael Jordan of the dog shows? Mm. If you're locked in on dog shows, tell us who the goat is. Oh, this is an even bigger one for the 2007 Westminster Dog Show. That was his 51st Best in Show victory. And his last. Wow. Because he retired after it. Fucking... Out on top, too. You gotta fucking respect it. Yeah. Do you think he feels anything at that point?

27:18Well, you see, he retired to focus on his work as a certified therapy dog. Oh, my God. Damn. Jay Felicity's Diamond Gym is the goat. Yeah, this is the greatest... Oh, yeah. What a great dog, as I now look at the pictures. 51 wins in six years. Mm. Who else has that kind of record? All of your goats aren't shit compared to Jay Felicity's Diamond Gym, also known as James. Oh, James. Very formal. I'm just saying, no one else has that kind of record. True. True. So, yes, TNA will go head-to-head with Raw.

27:50Fair. Fair. For the first time. And I do like that they're like, Raw's not going to be airing that Monday, so let's fucking air some bullshit in the Raw time slot. Mm. Spike TV has offered TNA a two-hour show, but right now the holdup is over money. It's pretty well inevitable. It will happen. Spike wants a multi-year exclusive commitment. It may be three years, but Dave doesn't have that confirmed. TNA wants more money out of the deal. TNA's specific goal and predictions are that they will be able to build up a 1.4 rating and then use the higher rating to get a higher offer from Spike. Just through natural television patterns, wrestling ratings on cable usually do better in the spring and summer when the networks are in reruns and wrestling remains first run.

28:28TNA should do better in January because in 41 of its 92 million homes, it has NFL competition, even though Thursday NFL isn't part of our culture like Monday and Sunday. Oh, Dave, how that will change. I love the idea. It's like, ah, Thursday night football is not that big a deal. Nah, people don't really give a shit about that. Hmm. TNA management decided to... Sorry, again, just a great first line. TNA management decided to stop paying for wrestlers' hotel rooms. They announced the decision at the last tapings and it has caused outrage among wrestlers, mostly private.

29:03BG James was among those who spoke out. He called Jeff Jarrett, Dixie Carter, and Terry Taylor and either quit or threatened to quit. Apparently, nobody in management took him seriously because he's done that before. The decision was a cost-cutting measure, saving the company about $120 per wrestler per two nights they usually stay in Orlando. Wrestlers are required to fly in a day early, so flight delays are less likely to cause a car disruption. For wrestlers who are being paid $300, they will now have to pay out-of-pocket for hotel rooms, which run, with tax, about $100 to $120 a night.

29:36They can stay at a cheaper hotel and shuttle to the theme park, but it's apt to take a bite out of their payday. Like, if you're getting paid $300 and you have to get two nights hotel, which means you really ought to be paid $100. Yeah, no, that's ass. It's not great. It's not great at all, is it? No. And, like, realistically, there's not too many people who are probably non-local who are being paid that low, but there is probably a couple. Yeah, and you really don't want to be in that position anyway.

30:08And it's just such, like, bullshit that the company can be like, Oh, yeah, you need to come to work, and we're going to treat you as independent contractors in every sense that's advantageous to us, but not in a way that's in any way advantageous to you. We will not pay for your flights, we will not pay for your town, but also you do not have the freedom to work where you want to work. Yeah, very stingy. I think they overturned this at some point. That's good. But I think it's, like, years down the line. Yeah, well, it's good to expect. I mean, it's part of the deal at this point in time. And for some companies to this day.

30:39Yeah, some companies, like, they're definitely to this day, right, still don't pay for the accommodation of their town. They pay for flights, but they don't pay for accommodation. Yeah. Well, it's always the thing is, like, whenever, like, they get interviewed and people ask them about it, and they're like, what? Yeah, they're like, oh, so, you know, how's your travel work? And they're like, oh, we book our own travel. It's like, you book your own travel? And then it's like, you pay for your own travel? Yeah. Oh, wrestling. What a fucking shoddy business we can be. Yeah. TNA agents Jerry Lynn, Simon Diamond, and Shane Douglas were not used at the last TV taping.

31:14Lynn was there to shoot his angle, but not to work as an agent. Because they were being punished for not turning in their written reports by the previous Wednesday as requested. There was also a note in The Observer that apparently they weren't being harsh enough on the wrestlers. Oh. They get paid on a personal basis, so it saved TNA some money. I wonder if that was part of the punishment they were thinking of. You think it was like, oh, this is how we gotta, like, we have to punish them. Or do you think it was, oh, we get to not pay them for us, the tapings? I think more the latter than the former, to be honest.

31:44But this is also the last taping before Christmas, which seems, like, especially harsh. Come on, man. Your fucking last payday before Christmas taken away? Really trying to win over morale here in 2006 TNA. More from backstage as the taping went a little smoother than usual. Perhaps because those filling in, Terry Taylor, Dustin Mantel, and Jeff Jarrett, wanted to send a message to the agents. Jarrett had been outspoken about the work of the agents not being up to his expectations lately. Damore, who was tight with Jarrett and often gets hotel rooms right next to him, was not among the agents being punished.

32:15What a weird little interlude to be thrown in there. Yeah, it's like, oh, but Jarrett's boy Damore, he didn't get punished like the rest of them. Maybe he turned in his reports on time. Did you ever think about that? Yeah, did we consider that? Maybe he was doing his effing job. Maybe Scott has no problem telling wrestlers how bad they are. That I believe. People backstage had to rub their eyes to see if they were seeing clearly as Jim Cornette was calmly discussing wrestling matters with Vince Russo backstage.

32:45Cornette had vowed, including a long scene-creating rage at the Hotel Bar after Bounce for Glory, that he could not stand Russo and would not work with him. Since then, he has been convinced by people whom he respects that his anger at Russo is misguided or at least overblown, that he's a good guy and he should try to make the best of the situation rather than work against it. The one thing that Cornette and Russo have said to have in common is that they can't be said about most others with political power or ambitions in TNA is that they both want what's best for TNA.

33:16They might have totally opposite ideas of what that means, but neither sees the other as scheming for power or being two-faced or backstabbing. And in the current TNA environment, that had made strange bedfellows. A number of people who like both are happy to see Cornette step up and be professional and courteous toward Russo. I really like the idea. I was like, the one thing that unifies them is job security. Yeah. These guys would like to keep getting paid for their work. And they would not like to be schemed out by somebody named Jarrett. Or each other.

33:48They are united against scheming against each other. Yeah. Cornette helps produce a lot of the interview segments and attends the production meetings. Dave was told that the production meetings are now more entertaining than most wrestling TV shows. Before the shows, Mike Tanae presents Russo's scripts to everyone involved in production. Dave also does note that Mike Tanae seems to be more involved in creative again at this point as well. Cornette actually sits only a few seats over from Russo, usually with Don West and Tanae in between. The highlights are Cornette openly challenging any segment that he's in on things that don't make sense.

34:19Everyone bites their tongue because Russo is described as taking it, but appear to be bottling everything up inside. You know what the interesting thing about these two is? It's like, if they could work cohesively, they'd probably be a great duo. They're two sides of the same coin. Yeah. That's what's always been interesting about those two, you know? It's like, that they are both sort of, you know, they are dark reflections of each other, you know? They are very much the exact same personality type. It's the reason both are fucking still podcast men in 2026.

34:52Ew, who would be that? I know, who would? But like, they very much, they're the same dude. They just liked different wrestling growing up. Yeah. And I guess one doesn't like wrestling at all. I guess the other also doesn't like wrestling at all for most of the time. Yeah, well. Russo is being told constantly internally the same thing we've been saying, that he's writing far too much for a one-hour show and they have to edit like crazy to make the show fit. Plus, nobody gets more than a few minutes in the ring. Russo's response has been to continue to do the same thing. Like, just like, slow it down just 10%, man.

35:26And like, just, you can fit so much more over the four weeks. These shows are insane. Like, I cannot stress how insane these shows are. How many things happen per show? How many different segments are in the show? Like, the easy way is to just go through the show notes and just count the number of segments in each one-hour impact. And there's always like 20 to 30 different bullet points of things. The feeling is like, you watch these shows, like, and we're watching them for the podcast. I was like, I look at my phone for like two seconds. I look up and it's like three segments. I'm like, what the fuck? How has this happened?

35:58Yeah, you just moved on and you're like, fuck, well, I gotta rewind and work out what the fuck happened there. Yeah, especially finishes and matches, because you'll be like watching a match and like, oh, it's like cruising, it's whatever. You look down, check Twitter or something, then you look back up and you're like, oh, the match has ended and we're already in like an in-ring segment with Sting. Yeah, you have like the comfort zone of having watched modern wrestling where like opening bell means they're doing some fucking lock-up shit. Yeah, you can like chill for a bit, you know? You can like hard pay attention. Then when you start feeling things grooving, you're like, okay, let's go. No, opening bell means the match will be over in 90 seconds.

36:29It's honestly pretty impressive. It's impressive to be able to get that much amount of like stuff locked in. There is a TV main event this month that is Kurt Angle and Rhino vs. AJ Styles and Samoa Joe, in which the actual action they show in the ring is less than two minutes. Wow, what is this, Wrestlemania? Hey, no, it wasn't sponsored by Dude Wipes. Shoutouts, Dude Wipes. Jeff Jarrett has been talking with Bob Sapp about doing a program with Angle in a so-called shoot-fight-cage match for the next program after Joe.

37:04The original choice was Daniel Puder, but that fell apart after, apparently over, an embarrassingly low money offer to which I would say TNA are based and he's not worth any money above what they offer him. If that's the mentality, how do you expect to get Sapp, who turned down $1 million per year from Vince McMahon and isn't going to come for anywhere less than 10 times what it would take to get Pewter? Because he's at least somewhat of a star. He is a name and he is interesting. Yeah. That's not really a name in America. I feel like maybe it's just because I read wrestling magazines during this period and every month would have like a Bob Sapp update about whether TNA or WWE wanted him.

37:41So in my head, there's like a mythicalness to Bob Sapp actually wrestling in America that never actually happened. So maybe I'm over-indexing that, but I feel like there would be an intrigue to Bob Sapp. Yeah, I can agree with that. Regarding Kurt Angle vs. Bob Sapp as a program, the latest is that TNA has backed off after receiving a legal letter from K1. K1's Sadaharu Tanagawa sent letters to WWE, which is really the final blow that killed the WWE talks, Pride, and every major wrestling and fighting organization claiming they have Sapp under contract until September and want the promotions to go through them to book him so they can take a cut.

38:17Interesting. Sapp is a really interesting guy. Yeah, what a weird freak he is, huh? Yeah. Steroids are awesome.

38:27Is Bob Sapp still alive? I think so. Let me double check. I would say he is. Yeah. Because I don't think he's old, but to go back to the steroids are awesome part. He's 52. Yeah, that feels about right in my head. Yeah, no, he's alive. Kurt Angle, Joe Rogan, and Dana White were all presenters at the Video Game Awards, which aired on... Oh, I have to find the Video Game Awards again. Aired on December 13th. This is a real throwback to... Like, I'm glad that this is our return podcast.

38:58This is a real fucking throwback to bits past. Yes, we have the dogs. We have the Video Game Awards. Yes, they were the hosts. These are like... I'm pretty sure Keeley was involved the whole time, wasn't he? Is this 2006 or 2007? This would be 2006. This would be December 2006. All right, all right. We got so many categories. What won the Video Game Awards? Give me a second. I'm getting there. What won the 2006 Keeleys? Character of the Year.

39:30Yes. Jack Sparrow. Whoa, okay.

39:35Breakthrough Performance. Rosario Dawson as Tina in Mark Echo's Getting Up, Contents Under Pressure. I have no idea what that is. The Critics' Choice Award. Madden. These are your contenders. Wii Sports. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas. Sure. The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess. That feels like a frontrunner. Medieval 2 Total War. What? And Resistance Full of Man. I'm going to say Zelda. Correct. One for one.

40:05Last year's Game of the Year was Madden, by the way. In 2005. Yes, I remember this. It was Madden, one game of the year. Best Wireless Game. Yes. Super K.O. Boxing. Mm-hmm. Tower Blocks. Mm-hmm. Diner Dash. Okay. Or Swat Force. So, wireless game just means mobile game, right? I'm assuming so. Uh, Diner Dash. Incorrect. Swat Force. Of course. How do I not remember Swat Force? Best PC Game. Mm-hmm. Half-Life 2, Episode 1.

40:37Yes, that. Company of Heroes. Battlefield 2,142. Star Wars Empire at War. And The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion. Oh, you know what? I was going to just similarly give it to Half-Life, but you throw Oblivion in there. That's a curveball. I'll say Oblivion. Uh, Company of Heroes. No, no. Fuck Half-Life. Fuck fucking Oblivion. Some bullshit wins. Uh, Best RPG. Final Fantasy XII. 12.

41:07Final Fantasy XII. Kingdom Hearts 2. Ooh. Valkyrae Profile 2, Samaria. The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion. We know they don't like Oblivion. And Final Fantasy XII, I accurately knew the release year of that, so pat myself on the back. I'm going to say Final Fantasy XII. The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion. Fuck! Breakthrough Technology. The PlayStation 3. The Nintendo DS Lite. The Wii. The Wii. Of course it's the Wii. Or Electroplankton. Oh, a game for the DS is also nominated?

41:37Mm-hmm. Uh, the Wii. Correct. Yeah. Best Multiplayer Game. Mm-hmm. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter. Metal Gear Solid 3. Substance. Gears of War. Or Company of Heroes. No, that's three separate Tom Clancy games that have been mentioned so far, by the way. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Metal Gear. Gears of War. Sure. People like that. That's fine. That's fine. Best Handheld Game. Separate from Best Wireless Game. Um, yes. I'm gonna...

42:08You will just give... I'll categorize and we'll get to the big ones. Best Handheld Game. What do you think won? 2006. Uh, New Super Mario Bros. DS. Correct. Fuck. Best Graphics. Mm. Uh, yeah. Company of Heroes. Gears of War. Yeah, okay. Best Military Game. Company of Heroes. Correct. Best Shooter. Company of Heroes. Gears of War. Fuck. Best Action Game. Gears of War. Dead Rising. Okay.

42:38Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. Best Fighting Game. And this didn't win, but God Hand was nominated, and that's fucking awesome. Mm. Uh, Street Fighter 3. 4. Uh, Street Fighter Alpha Anthology. Anthology lost to Mortal Kombat Armageddon. Mm. Shout out Midway. Most Addictive Game. Yeah. It's obviously gonna be, uh, Wii Sports. Oblivion. Oh, okay. Best Driving Game. Yeah. Burnout Revenge. Mm. Best Original Score.

43:08Oblivion. Correct. Best Soundtrack. I guess, licensed music. So, well, what would have licensed music? Mm-hmm. Uh, I don't know. Guitar Hero 2. Oh, of course. What else could it have been? Best Song. Uh, The Beatles, uh, Yesterday. Lights and Sounds by Yellow Card for Burnout Revenge. Okay. Best Cast. And let me read off the categories for this one, although contenders. Mm-hmm. The Godfather of the Game. Ooh. Scarface, The World is Yours.

43:40Mm-hmm. Saint Rose, or The Elder Scrolls for Oblivion, or Family Guy Video Game. I've gotta go for Family Guy. Of course it was. Was it actually? Yes. Ah! Best Supporting Female Performance. Okay. Rachel Lay Cook as Tifa Lockhart in Kingdom Hearts 2. Mm-hmm. Uh, Alicia Cuthberg as Kim Bauer in 24 The Game. Yeah. Brittany Murphy as Karen Light in Mark Echo's Getting Up, Contents Under Pressure. Mila Kunis as Meg Griffin in the Family Guy Video Game.

44:11Or Linda Carter as the female Nord slash female Orcs in The Elder Scrolls 4 Oblivion. It's so funny that they're like, best performance supporting by an actress in a video game. Uh, Meg from Family Guy. Yep. I'm gonna say she won too. No. Rachel Lay Cook as Tifa Lockhart won. Fucking, I was trying to think of how much Tifa does in Kingdom Hearts, and I don't think it's a lot. Best Performance by a Human Female. Uh, sorry. That's the category. I guess they do have Cyber Babe of the Year. Do they still have Cyber Babe of the Year?

44:42We will find out, won't we? Mm. Um, Vida Guerrera as Femme Fatale in Scarface The World Is Yours won. Okay. Uh, Best Supporting Male Performance. You have... Yeah. Seth Green as Chris Griffin. James Woods as George Sheffield. James Khan as Sonny Corleone. Uh, Michael Philip Thomas as Lance Vance in GTA. Or James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano. Surely James Gandolfini. You're fucking A-Ridey, dude. It would be so funny if he lost the Chris from Family Guy, though.

45:14Best Performance by a Human Male. Shout out Human Males. Seth MacFarlane as Peter Stewie and Brian Griffin. That's a lot of roles. Jerry Rosenthal as Jimmy Hopkins in Bully. Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean The Legend of Jack Sparrow. Patrick Stewart as Emperor Uriel Septim in The Elder Scrolls Oblivion. And Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer in 24 The Game. I'm gonna go Big Kiefer. Big Patrick Stewart. Ooh. Best Game Based on a Movie or TV Show.

45:4424 The Game. Lego Star Wars 2 The Original Trilogy. Yeah. It's a sports game who gives a fuck. Best Individual Sports Game. Who gives a fuck. We're here for the real one. Cyber Vixen of the Year. Oh, it's Cyber Vixen. Of course. Lara Croft from Two Raiders Legend. Mm. Alex Vance from Half-Life 2 Episode 1. Mm. Princess Peach from Super Mario Bros. Arr. Mm. And Richter from Tom Clancy's Spinter Cell Double Agent. Or Jen from Prey. I'm gonna go Princess Peach.

46:16She did not win Cyber Vixen of the Year. No. Alex Vance from Half-Life 2 Episode 1. Shout out Half-Life Alex. Studio of the Year.