Impact 4th April
Jun. 18th, 2021 11:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
redfiona99Havok n Neveah vs Fire n Flava - careful girls!
That's an unexpected heel turn!
The cool thing about it being James Storm night is that TNA/Impact is now old enough to be celebrating their own superstars, not ones from other companies.
Because I'm watching on a 1 month delay, I got spoiled for you know who reappearing. But this is a good thing, because otherwise I think there would have been noise complaints from my neighbours. Justified noise complaints. (As it was I saw the non-sound gif version, had to get in the car with Mum, Classic FM played "There and Back Again" from Lord of the Rings, and I had to pretend I was not a ball of flailing emotions, various.)
My boys!! On screen!! Together!! Not trying to kill each other.
There's a good reason why I agree with the people who call TNA the house that AJ built, because he was how I got pulled into it in the first place. Twig said, "why don't you try TNA? That AJ Styles whose match on Thunder you raved about, he's on it." (Some paraphrasing, but general jist is accurate.)
But the first people I saw on TNA were AMW rescuing Chris (?) Vaughan from the predations of Security.
And AMW became *my* tag team, a feeling that I can't describe better than the way people use *my* Doctor to describe their favourite Doctor Who. There are other Doctors, ones other people might argue are better, but that one is my favourite. There are other tag teams, but AMW are mine.
Between them, they (especially James Storm) have been responsible for more occasions of me losing it over wrestling than I care to remember. Some particular highlights:
When Chris Harris was being put up as the next challenger to Jeff Jarrett and Vince Russo was having him beaten up by a variety of large wrestlers. And Russo said that Storm should let Harris be "toughened up" or else he didn't believe that Harris could be World Champion. Leaving Storm standing like a lemon at the top of the ramp, deciding what would be worse, his tag team partner thinking he doesn't believe in him, or leaving his tag partner to be hurt. And eventually, third match in or so, Storm breaks, and charges down and rescues Harris. Harris is so confused (three matches back-to-back will do that to you) that he's almost ready to hit Storm thinking he's his next opponent, but the moment, and I mean the very moment, Harris realises it's his tag partner standing behind him, he just relaxes completely. And I am just ... gone. Completely.
I was so worried that that would be how they'd split them up, but they didn't. (Given what followed ... be careful what you wish for?)
Then AMW fell under the sway of the evil Jeff Jarrett and turned evil, by the addition of sunglasses, but I had the greatest difficulty in booing them, because I felt sure they'd see sense, eventually, and realise Jarrett was not to be trusted. Like, I don't want to boo them just because they're temporarily deluded. Normally I am okay with the booing and a-hissing at the villains, but I just ... couldn't.
And then we reach the feud with LAX, something so serious that ye olde adversaries like Petey Williams start teaming with AMW, and at the time, I thought that was the oddest thing I would ever see in wrestling. But Storm was being weird and then the beer bottles started flying. And James Storm broke my heart.
I always rave about the Chris Harris promo when he's still in the eyepatch after the bottle attack because it was perfect. I have no idea if they thought he couldn't give a loud, shouty, revenge-filled promo or if they wanted to accentuate the difference between loud James Storm and his quiet, betrayed tag partner but ... I was completely sold on the fear and betrayal.
I am sure Beer Money were a good tag team, but I couldn't watch their matches because I hadn't forgiven Storm for the beer bottle, and how dare he be in a tag team that wasn't AMW. And then Roode turned on Storm, beer bottle and all, and I'll be damned if some tiny sliver of my heart didn't go "this is how it feels, you fiend". In an instant of smashed glass I forgave Storm but I'd managed to hold that grudge for 4 and a half years, which I don't manage in real life normally.
That's what it took to get me to deal with Storm in a tag team again (even if no-one will ever match up with AMW in my heart).
But all this time between now and the original beer bottle, and that promo and the hug was just perfect, because it's not forgiven and forgotten, but there's a hug and my boys, my boys are back together.
Other things I loved:
1 - the kayfabe bit of Chris Sabin being the one who invited Harris, just the idea of one of Storm's old adversaries turned tag partner knowing that the one person that would make this perfect is Chris Harris. Sabin's happy smile when Storm looks over <3, oh I felt so warmly towards Sabin in that moment.
2 - the hug. I mean, if it had been a big hug from the start, it would have been lovely, but how it went from guarded to full hug. Oh, I think my heart shattered.
3 - the hug meant the bit at the end where AMW were standing next to each other the way they did before ... and Sabin and Jake's smiles ... and !!!!
Ah, Bullet Club dissention.
The vile one + Trey team could work, and Sami will enjoy being evil Yoda.
Josh Alexander is not a small person. Fulton strong!
Also loving the character bits, of Alexander vs Austin, and TJP being annoyed about the lack of a tag.
Children, fight after the pin!
Evil Don Callis, you stay away from the lovely Willie Mack.
Note to self - the question "who is the scruffy person in the knitted cap?" can normally be answered with Eddie Edwards.
Ah Rosemary's unnecessary weapon related glee.
(Also Tommy's living fear of Havok, Su Yung, Rosemary and Alisha is also glee.)
EY promo - yes, James Storm is beyond saving and that's why we love him.
I have spent many years of my life watching James Storm vs Eric Young, in varying states of good guy vs bad guy, and I look forward to this. (While Twig and I joked that AJ vs Daniels had to have happened more than the 150 times the Impact card stated, if you include tag/multi-person matches, I don't even want to imagine how many times James Storm vs Eric Young has happened. [Damn it, Striker had the same thought.])
James Storm, for quite possibly the 1000th time, think before you do things! (On this occasion, launching yourself at probably Deener when Eric Young is behind you.)
My heart, it has grown the traditional 3 sizes, after the end of the match. (Okay, I did like that Harris threw his usual left hand punch because that was how I originally told them apart.)
I have no idea if any of this show was good. I loved it immensely.
My tag team!!!!!
That's an unexpected heel turn!
The cool thing about it being James Storm night is that TNA/Impact is now old enough to be celebrating their own superstars, not ones from other companies.
Because I'm watching on a 1 month delay, I got spoiled for you know who reappearing. But this is a good thing, because otherwise I think there would have been noise complaints from my neighbours. Justified noise complaints. (As it was I saw the non-sound gif version, had to get in the car with Mum, Classic FM played "There and Back Again" from Lord of the Rings, and I had to pretend I was not a ball of flailing emotions, various.)
My boys!! On screen!! Together!! Not trying to kill each other.
There's a good reason why I agree with the people who call TNA the house that AJ built, because he was how I got pulled into it in the first place. Twig said, "why don't you try TNA? That AJ Styles whose match on Thunder you raved about, he's on it." (Some paraphrasing, but general jist is accurate.)
But the first people I saw on TNA were AMW rescuing Chris (?) Vaughan from the predations of Security.
And AMW became *my* tag team, a feeling that I can't describe better than the way people use *my* Doctor to describe their favourite Doctor Who. There are other Doctors, ones other people might argue are better, but that one is my favourite. There are other tag teams, but AMW are mine.
Between them, they (especially James Storm) have been responsible for more occasions of me losing it over wrestling than I care to remember. Some particular highlights:
When Chris Harris was being put up as the next challenger to Jeff Jarrett and Vince Russo was having him beaten up by a variety of large wrestlers. And Russo said that Storm should let Harris be "toughened up" or else he didn't believe that Harris could be World Champion. Leaving Storm standing like a lemon at the top of the ramp, deciding what would be worse, his tag team partner thinking he doesn't believe in him, or leaving his tag partner to be hurt. And eventually, third match in or so, Storm breaks, and charges down and rescues Harris. Harris is so confused (three matches back-to-back will do that to you) that he's almost ready to hit Storm thinking he's his next opponent, but the moment, and I mean the very moment, Harris realises it's his tag partner standing behind him, he just relaxes completely. And I am just ... gone. Completely.
I was so worried that that would be how they'd split them up, but they didn't. (Given what followed ... be careful what you wish for?)
Then AMW fell under the sway of the evil Jeff Jarrett and turned evil, by the addition of sunglasses, but I had the greatest difficulty in booing them, because I felt sure they'd see sense, eventually, and realise Jarrett was not to be trusted. Like, I don't want to boo them just because they're temporarily deluded. Normally I am okay with the booing and a-hissing at the villains, but I just ... couldn't.
And then we reach the feud with LAX, something so serious that ye olde adversaries like Petey Williams start teaming with AMW, and at the time, I thought that was the oddest thing I would ever see in wrestling. But Storm was being weird and then the beer bottles started flying. And James Storm broke my heart.
I always rave about the Chris Harris promo when he's still in the eyepatch after the bottle attack because it was perfect. I have no idea if they thought he couldn't give a loud, shouty, revenge-filled promo or if they wanted to accentuate the difference between loud James Storm and his quiet, betrayed tag partner but ... I was completely sold on the fear and betrayal.
I am sure Beer Money were a good tag team, but I couldn't watch their matches because I hadn't forgiven Storm for the beer bottle, and how dare he be in a tag team that wasn't AMW. And then Roode turned on Storm, beer bottle and all, and I'll be damned if some tiny sliver of my heart didn't go "this is how it feels, you fiend". In an instant of smashed glass I forgave Storm but I'd managed to hold that grudge for 4 and a half years, which I don't manage in real life normally.
That's what it took to get me to deal with Storm in a tag team again (even if no-one will ever match up with AMW in my heart).
But all this time between now and the original beer bottle, and that promo and the hug was just perfect, because it's not forgiven and forgotten, but there's a hug and my boys, my boys are back together.
Other things I loved:
1 - the kayfabe bit of Chris Sabin being the one who invited Harris, just the idea of one of Storm's old adversaries turned tag partner knowing that the one person that would make this perfect is Chris Harris. Sabin's happy smile when Storm looks over <3, oh I felt so warmly towards Sabin in that moment.
2 - the hug. I mean, if it had been a big hug from the start, it would have been lovely, but how it went from guarded to full hug. Oh, I think my heart shattered.
3 - the hug meant the bit at the end where AMW were standing next to each other the way they did before ... and Sabin and Jake's smiles ... and !!!!
Ah, Bullet Club dissention.
The vile one + Trey team could work, and Sami will enjoy being evil Yoda.
Josh Alexander is not a small person. Fulton strong!
Also loving the character bits, of Alexander vs Austin, and TJP being annoyed about the lack of a tag.
Children, fight after the pin!
Evil Don Callis, you stay away from the lovely Willie Mack.
Note to self - the question "who is the scruffy person in the knitted cap?" can normally be answered with Eddie Edwards.
Ah Rosemary's unnecessary weapon related glee.
(Also Tommy's living fear of Havok, Su Yung, Rosemary and Alisha is also glee.)
EY promo - yes, James Storm is beyond saving and that's why we love him.
I have spent many years of my life watching James Storm vs Eric Young, in varying states of good guy vs bad guy, and I look forward to this. (While Twig and I joked that AJ vs Daniels had to have happened more than the 150 times the Impact card stated, if you include tag/multi-person matches, I don't even want to imagine how many times James Storm vs Eric Young has happened. [Damn it, Striker had the same thought.])
James Storm, for quite possibly the 1000th time, think before you do things! (On this occasion, launching yourself at probably Deener when Eric Young is behind you.)
My heart, it has grown the traditional 3 sizes, after the end of the match. (Okay, I did like that Harris threw his usual left hand punch because that was how I originally told them apart.)
I have no idea if any of this show was good. I loved it immensely.
My tag team!!!!!
