The internet is full of F-Tards

Has the whole world gone mental?

This morning on SiriusXM, Bubba the Love Sponge was playing clips on his radio program of various internet radio shows commenting on his firing from TNA Wrestling. Well, some of it was comments, most was slander and amateurish name-calling.

Now, let’s get things straight. To start with, Bubba never did anything wrong. I don’t agree with all of his comments regarding TNA – I’ve found the edgier product to be entertaining – but he surely has every right in the world to be pissed at the company that wrongfully terminated him.

But again, Bubba never did anything wrong. Bubba voiced his opinion – I’m fairly certain we still have free speech in this country, right? – and in return, Kong – real name Kia Stevens – repeatedly punched an unsuspecting Bubba in the face at a TNA taping for Bubba’s comments regarding supporting Haiti.

But from the start, Bubba was the bad guy. All he did was speak his mind.

Reports – mainly one emanating from the Baltimore Sun – painted Bubba as a racist for comments made on a radio program with Kong at the end of April. No where has anyone brought up that Kong physically assaulted him.

And really, what Bubba said wasn’t racist. It certainly wasn’t nearly as bad as what some of the “marks” have written and said about Bubba – which is comical, because they’re calling him racial and other slurs for calling what they perceived as racial slur towards Kong.

Hypocritical much?

Bottom line is that Bubba was wrongfully terminated. You can like or not like what he brought to the table as far as television product goes, but he was an untapped resource for TNA that they threw down the drain for someone who isn’t even employed by the company anymore.

I’ve written it a million times – Bubba could have been a HUGE asset to TNA, if they ever utilized him correctly.

He’s listened to by millions of people everyday. He’s listened to by more people on Sirius XM and in the state of Florida on his terrestrial show than TNA gets national viewers. Why not tap into that incredible resource? TNA blew it. TNA blew it for no reason. Bubba’s controversial, that’s what he brings to the table, but if I were him, I’d be filing a wrongful termination lawsuit.

But instead, guys who have never heard his program – guys from say, the Baltimore Sun and internet marks around the world – slander someone they’ve never met or heard, doing the same thing they want him crucified for.

Raw hits a home run

Call me crazy, but last night’s Raw was one of the best shows I’ve seen in quite some time. I really liked the action in the ring – and it seemed like there was more of it – and the talking segments provided a point and told a story.

I loathe Vickie Guerrero, and HATE seeing her on television, but maybe that simply means she’s doing her job. I was utterly shocked at the amount of heat she generated in the opening segment and WWE should seriously consider making her the permanent Raw GM. The guest host formula, which has been good for most of the past year, has certainly lost its luster.

The Edge-Randy Orton build up reminds me of an old-fashioned wrestling feud. There is a story and they’re telling it through action and words. They’re also pulling some other guys into it – i.e. R-Truth and Ted DiBiase – in order to give some others the rub and tell two stories at once. WWE actually pulled that off twice last night, first with Mark Henry saving John Cena from Sheamus and Batista and then later in the night with DiBiase getting involved in the Orton-Edge story.

WWE crew warned of kidnappings in Mexico

PWInsider.com is reporting that the Raw crew, which is headed to Mexico for a tour, has been told by officials to stay in their hotels and not travel alone for fear of kidnappings.

Just an occupational hazard, I guess.

I wouldn’t drink the water, either.

TNA: A company in shambles

In just a few months, TNA has gone from a company on the brink of explosion to an organization that has been so depleted and mismanaged, viewers are confused as to what time their television show is even on.

Last night’s announcement that TNA is moving back to Thursdays – after just two months on Monday nights – was the latest in a troubling few days for the company.

Over the weekend, TNA fired on-air personality Bubba the Love Sponge for undisclosed reasons. Bubba, on his radio program (syndicated nationally on Sirius XM Howard 101) said that his release was due to what TNA perceived as “racist remarks.”

This, of course, from a company that pushed a large black female wrestler with the name “Kong.”

TNA misused Bubba from the get go. The guy hosts a show that is listened to by millions, everyday, with a rabid fan base who would be dialed in to TNA if he wanted them to be. If Bubba were featured in a prominent role – say the lead manager of a heel stable (which is what I think they were trying to do, but never gave it a real push) then it would be a topic on his show, probably daily. Everyday, millions of people would listen and hear and get interested in TNA wrestling.

But instead, they tried to force a backstage interview role on him – which served no real purpose – and then just lumped him in with “The Band” without any real explanation.

It’s strange for me to write this because honestly, I’ve been entertained by TNA’s product. The show a few weeks back where RVD won the world title from AJ Styles was one of the most compelling wrestling programs on free television that I’ve seen in a while. But for some reason, Monday’s never worked for TNA.

Last week’s dismal 0.5 rating was the last straw, and rightfully so.

“The fans have spoken and with their input we have determined the best timeslot to maximize the TNA audience is on Thursday nights where we are confident it will be among the most-watched shows with young men,” said Brian J. Diamond, senior vice president, sports and specials.

iMPACT will air at 9 p.m. on Thursday’s (a taped show) with TNA ReACTION, a documentary type program, will air at 8 p.m. The night will be known as “TNA Thursdays” on Spike TV.

A decade ago, can you even imagine the backlash had Raw or Nitro scored such an embarrassing rating? It says something about the company when the Thursday replay scores higher than the original broadcast.

Ultimately moving back to Thursdays was not only the right choice for TNA, it was a necessary one for survival. Clearly, the audience was not ready for TNA as a competitor to WWE’s power branding. TNA will continue to carve out its niche on Thursday’s, hopefully build a larger fan base, and then maybe, MUCH farther down the road, give Monday’s another shot.

And at that point, it’s do or die.

The TNA brand already looks weak and watered down after putting its tail between its legs and scurrying back to Thursday’s. It’s going to take a while to build up the audience’s confidence again. Once that happens – if that happens – they have to sustain it before it can grow.

The strategy really should be simple – do whatever you can do to be different from WWE. But that doesn’t mean take it over the edge. We don’t need to see color in EVERY match – that’s overkill and after a while, people get sick of it. Blood doesn’t enhance a match if it happens on 2-3 matches per card.

Reality-based storylines that are cutting edge and a little risky will work. That’s different from WWE.

For the sake of the business, I hope that TNA survives and thrives. It’s good for the audience and for the wrestlers to have an alternative. Five years ago, if you weren’t working for WWE, you weren’t making a good living in this business (in the United States, anyway). That’s no longer the case. Options are best for the marketplace, both for the consumer and the talent.

BREAKING: TNA will return to Thursday’s after tonight

Earlier today, TNA president Dixie Carter posted on twitter that TNA would make a major announcement tonight on iMPACT. As of 7 p.m. EST, multiple Spike TV sources have told TheSteelCage.net that the announcement will be that tonight’s show will be the last live iMPACT airing on Monday’s for the foreseeable future, and that iMPACT will return to it’s original 9 p.m. time slot on Thursday nights beginning next week.

Last week’s 0.5 rating was said to be the last straw for the network, who have seen the show do almost as good, if not better in its Thursday replay airing.

A TNA source indicated that the show could go live on Thursday’s, preceding the weekend slate of house shows, but a Spike TV source denied that claim, saying that TNA would go back to it’s original taping schedule, airing taped shows on Thursdays.

Kattar, Akl will fight for Combat Zone June 19

Combat Zone 33 will feature two local favorites, Calvin Kattar and Tyson “Psycho” Akl will both fight on an loaded card coming up June 19th at the U.S. Cellular Pavilion in Gilford, N.H.

Kattar’s opponent has not been named but Akl (0-1-0) will fight Jason Bonacorsi, who will be making his professional debut.

Akl last fought in September, in a controversial loss at American Steel Cage 2, when the referee called a stop to the fight with just a second left in the first round, due to a verbal submission.

Kattar, who is from Methuen, Mass., last fought March 26th at XCFL 2, when he stopped previously undefeated Jeff Anderson in the third round via a TKO, with punches while on his opponent’s back.

Combat Zone 33 is scheduled for 14 fights, you can purchase tickets by clicking here.

The event will be part of the 87th annual Laconia Motorcycle Week.