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I’ve been looking forward to this Sunday’s TNA Bound for Glory since the end of the last one. Last year, TNA did an amazing job of building up their biggest pay-per-view of the year. Storylines were put in place months in advance. There were fresh matchups, main events to spare, suspense as to who would win, and on paper, Bound for Glory 2009 looked like a perfect showcase for TNA’s deep roster of legends, up-and-coming talents, new tag teams, and the greatest women’s division in professional wrestling. Of course, all things being TNA, it didn’t quite turn out so well. The show ...

Let me preface my argument by saying this: I love Kurt Angle. When I got back into wrestling in 2003 after a seven-year absence (I stopped watching after WrestleMania XII for some reason), he was one of the first “new guys,” I saw, and was immediately entranced. His series of matches with Brock Lesnar were hard-hitting, athletic, unpredictable and rich with story. Over the years, his matches with Eddie Guerrero, Shawn Michaels, John Cena, Rey Mysterio, and so many more made him one of my two top favorites, the other, of course, being Shawn Michaels. No one was more shocked and ...

Last night, WWE made its triumphant return to Madison Square Garden, for "Supershow," the first event held there since an episode of RAW last November. While this was just a "house show," to be sure, the evening felt as close to a pay-per-view as you could get. First of all, nothing beats the Garden. Granted, I have little basis for comparison (just the Hammerstein Ballroom for WWE One Night Stand 2006, which was a completely different experience), but as soon as the show began, I could tell that the superstars were amped up to be performing in front of a ...

The reason I held off on writing a preview of this year's TNA Slammiversary was because some matches appeared to be a lock, but were never officially announced until much later. In TNA, plans could change in an instant, and often do, and I didn't want to bother previewing matches that might never come to pass. My feelings on this event are mixed. At the very least, I will say that the buildup has been better than that of the buildup for this past year's Lockdown, another one of TNA's biggest shows of the year. It would appear that the writers had a ...

WrestleMania XXVI has divided critics and fans perhaps more than any other WrestleMania in history. Some have called it one of the best, others one of the worst, and everything in between. What everyone seems to agree on is that, at the very least, WrestleMania XXVI was better than WrestleMania XXV. And I'm not one of them. Don't get me wrong; I disliked XXV, incorrectly titled "The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania," as much as the next person. But the difference between XXV and XXVI is that just about everyone was anticipating XXV to be a letdown. Most fans, including me, thought that ...

Since I started watching wrestling again back in June 2003, WrestleMania has been an event to both anticipate and fear. Sometimes that anticipation was fully realized. Sometimes, it wasn't even close. The same goes with the fear: sometimes justified, sometimes unwarranted. But this year my anticipation and fear has been met not relief or disappointment, but a strange sense of neutrality. WrestleMania XXVI was simply...okay. Using the classic five-star rating system, let's look at the matches:   Unified WWE Tag Team Championship: ShowMiz (The Big Show & The Miz) vs. John Morrison & R-Truth For the record, this was the shortest opening match ever at a WrestleMania. And history has proven that ...

WrestleMania XXVI features the deepest card of main event matches since WrestleMania XIX, but my anticipation has been met with a concern that not every match will get enough time.   With the exception of WrestleMania XX in 2004, every recent ‘Mania has been four hours long. And only about half of that time goes to actual wrestling, after you include the show’s introduction, the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” wrestler’s entrances, buildup videos, backstage segments, aftermaths, commercials, and the concluding highlight video.   The most time given to actual wrestling at a four-hour WrestleMania was around 132 minutes in 2003. So let’s assume ...

I want to see Hulk Hogan vs. Sting at Lockdown, and something tells me I might be the only one. After all, a one-one-one match between Hogan, 56, and Sting, 50, would exemplify TNA's fundamental flaw: shining the spotlight on legends way past their prime...right? Not necessarily, in my opinion. I'll admit that on paper, you couldn't find a match much more ancient than Hogan vs. Sting. Their first bout was on WCW Monday Nitro in 1995. Their first on pay-per-view was built throughout all of 1997, culminating in December, and well into 1998. Their most recent feud was in 1999, well over a decade ago. So, why, then, do I want to see ...

Welcome to the third and final part of my three-part series, examining which main event of WrestleMania XXVI should go on last. I've already taken a look at the first and second; now let's look at the third, The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels in a "Streak vs. Career" match.   Why It Should Go On Last Aside from maybe The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan and last year's match between Undertaker and Michaels, this very well may be the most anticipated match in WrestleMania history. This feud has been building since December, and dates back to WrestleMania last year, making it easily the longest build-up of any potential main event. At WrestleMania XXV, these two performed so ...

It's likely that tonight on "RAW," there'll be an announcement for a one-on-one match between Triple H and Sheamus at WrestleMania XXVI. This is momentous for one reason: it’s the first WrestleMania since 2001 that Triple H hasn’t been in a match for the WWE or World Championship. Furthermore, Sheamus is practically a rookie. He debuted in WWE less than a year ago (on ECW, no less), debuted on RAW five months ago, and in total has wrestled only four times on pay-per-view. That’s not any knock on Sheamus. Since debuting, he’s held his own with the main eventers on RAW. And ...