Anderson Joins Immortal (Another Predictable Russo Swerve)

by Brian Phelps

Impact last night was surprisingly good. There were great matches along the way with moves I've never even seen as Impact showcased the X-Division. If you haven't heard of Jack Evans, find him on youtube. That guy was doing moves I haven't seen anyone do, including Sin Cara. The Fatal 4-Way between RVD, AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, and Jerry Lynn was awesome. I really felt like RVD and Jerry Lynn were telling a story as they wrestled. Sting was great again as The Joker, but there was just one problem with an otherwise great Impact.

The main event ending was soooo predictable. It was an infamous "Russo Swerve", or at least he thinks he swerved the crowd. Before the main event, Sting and Angle tell Anderson that he better make the right decision (referring to Immortal inviting Anderson to join them as Sting and Angle had to fight Immortal later that night). Shortly afterward, Hogan attacks Sting just before the match backstage... forcing Angle to take on Immortal by himself. So, from that moment it was obvious that Mr. Anderson was going to join Immortal and screw over Angle. Lo and Behold, Anderson comes out during the handicap match and appeared to be fighting off Immortal... when all of a sudden he turns on Angle and gives him his patented 'mic check' finisher and Immortal gets the win. This is a typical Vince Russo written "Swerve" designed to trick the crowd for shock value, but he's done this so many times that you can smell it a mile away as I did. There were so many things about this that didn't make any sense. For instance, why did the referee allow Anderson to just run in and just join the tag match? The moment Anderson attacked Immortal at first, Kurt Angle would've been Disqualified lol. Oh well. Anderson screws Angle after claiming he wouldn't join Immortal, and then next thing you know he's hugging Immortal. This isn't the first Russo "Swerve". He's been doing it for years. I can name a few times recently that he's done it.

1) At Bound For Glory 2010, Jeff Hardy acts like he's going to hit Bischoff with Hogan's crutch... but then turns around and at the last second turns on Angle and Anderson and beats them down with Hogan's crutches... (Immortal is formed on this night)

2) Fortune began feuding with Immortal. Ric Flair comes out with AJ Styles for his match with Immortal's Matt Hardy, and during AJ's match out of nowhere Ric Flair throws AJ off the top turn buckle and hugs Matt Hardy. (Flair joins Immortal)

3) Let's not forget the most famous "Finger Poke of Doom" from WCW, where Nash came out as Champion to face Hollywood Hogan.. and instead of the bitter battle of nWo leaders... Hogan poked Nash, Nash fell on the mat on purpose, and Hogan pinned him. Nash hugs Hogan, and the two nWo's merge.

Russo enough of the stupid "swerves". You've done it so many times, you can smell it a mile away before you do it. It's ridiculous, and beyond predictable. Here's an idea. How about a clean finish?

Sting Debuts New "Joker" Face Paint

by Brian Phelps (http://wrestlersway.blogspot.com)




The next evolution of Sting continues as this past Thursday on Impact Wrestling, Stings face paint has now fully transitioned into The Joker. No more 'Crow' design lines on his face, just Heath Ledger's Joker eye paint and red mouth paint. Sting interrupted Hogan and Anderson's argument, and cut a great promo on Hogan forcing him to actually eat vitamins. A great moment on Impact.

Disco Inferno Returns! (Mr. Anderson wows again)

On Impact, it was promoted as the first edition of Sting's "Scorpion Sitdown" interview show (like Piper's Pit). Well, we were all fooled when Anderson came out dressed as old school Sting again. Mr.Anderson once again looks just like old school Sting and I truly believe that these impersonations are doing wonders for Anderson's career in terms of being memorable. Anyway, Anderson comes out and claims that he is going to call out someone from Sting's past. You start wondering... who could it be? The obvious choice would be someone from WCW that is currently in TNA... Scott Steiner, Jeff Jarrett, and Ric Flair are obvious choices. Shannon Moore is a less obvious choice since he was in WCW during its dying days as a member of the boy band faction '3 Count'. You also wonder if they could get someone from WCW that is not affiliated with WWE, but not in TNA. You think guys like Buff Bagwell and Rick Steiner. Now, Rick Steiner seems like the best choice because Sting and Luger were great friends with the Steiners in WCW... and because Rick Steiner was almost always a face. Well... shocker time! Anderson calls out... Disco Inferno? Really? The one guy you would least suspect. Sting and Disco really didn't interact, and to my knowledge they never even had a match against each other. I'm baffled as to the logic of that choice, but nevertheless it is awesome to see Disco. Disco looks like he hasn't aged at all, and really added a lot to that segment. It really made me miss Disco Inferno. Impact Wrestling needs to sign back Disco Inferno even if he's only a jobber. He's still very entertaining. Once again, Anderson wowed as old school Sting and Disco Inferno made a memorable appearance by defending Sting and not backing down to Anderson. Great moment on Impact!

Sting and Mr.Anderson Feud Heats Up! Great Moment

This past Thursday marked the beginning of the 'Impact Wrestling' era. I have to say that the last couple of weeks of Impact have been really good, and I dare say better than RAW/Smackdown (although this past Smackdown last week was the best Smackdown I've seen in years). Impact has begun to groom Robert Roode to be a real player in the company. He cut a classic promo on Hogan a couple of weeks ago, and this Impact he had a very solid confrontation with mentor Ric Flair... but that's for another post. This post goes to Mr.Anderson for providing (other than Chyna's return) the moment of the year in Impact Wrestling. This really made Anderson look clever and the fact that he pulled it off so well was even better. I truly believe that Impact is going in the right direction at the moment. This is a reason why. Hats off to Anderson.