Watching the TNA “Against All Odds” 2009 Pay-Per-View…

By Chris Moore:

What better, more action-packed way to spend Sunday night than in front of the television, watching the TNA Pay-Per-View.  Tonight’s TNA PPV is the annual “Against All Odds,” taking place in the TNA Impact Zone.  All the more reason for the commentators to use the questionable (at best) adjective “impactful.”

I figured I would share some amateur, brief and to-the-point commentary and results as I watch, so here goes…

First Match – X-DIVISION TITLE MATCH: Alex Shelley VS. Eric Young

Some amazing action here to open the pay-per-view.  Some off the ropes, in the air action and some too close for comfort near falls.  When the smoke clears, Shelley is triumphant, taking home the X-division belt.

Winner: Alex Shelley

Interview – KURT ANGLE

Angle claims that he and Sting were both bred to win, and he claims that this is what it’s all about — they will push each other to improve and become even more talented and powerful than they already are.  He also claims that the Main Event Mafia will be stronger than ever once the match is over.  Really?  I’m not convinced…

Grudge Match – “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner VS. “Maple Leaf Muscle” Petey Williams

There’s only one word for this match: pain.  Predominantly pain felt by Little Petey Pump.  There’s really not much else to say about it.  Scott Steiner, older as he may be, inflicted move upon painful move on Petey Williams, holding him and dropping him from high above his body while standing on the ropes not once, but multiple times.  Including once after the match ended!  It all came to a halt when the “all-new” Samoa Joe appeared, announcing that Scott Steiner is one of the five (aka Main Event Mafia members) that have led him to the sins he is about to commit.

Winner: Scott Steiner

Interview: MICK FOLEY and STING

Not much to report here, but Mick Foley and Sting did share a moment when Sting thanked Foley for a comment.  Sting being respectful?  Laying the groundwork for the next, perhaps post-Mafia phase of the war for respect?  Only time (and perhaps brutal beatdowns) will tell…

Dare Match – Brutus Magnus VS. Chris Sabin

Brutus Magnus appears and walks to the six-sided ring, repeating his challenge for an opponent.  Chris Sabin, having sat out the previous match with his partner Alex Shelley appears and is defeated by Brutus Magnus, who really does put on a good show.  It’ll be interesting to see what they do with Brutus Magnus in the upcoming TNA “Impact” episodes…

Interview: BROTHER DEVON and BROTHER RAY

Devon asserted (and Ray agreed that he was “dead on ball accurate”) that Team 3-D will only be stronger after the upcoming match.  Unlike Angle’s similar claim about the Mafia, this actually rings true.  They end the interview when Ray announces they’re off to chat with Sting.  More to come, I’m sure…

Knockouts Match – ODB VS. Awesome Kong

Yes, the Kongtourage predictably joined Kong ringside, disobeying Jim Cornett’s specific orders last Thursday.  Cornett came out and threatened to give the Knockouts Championship belt to ODB if they didn’t leave.  He began the ten-count for them to decide, and about halfway through, Kong came over and grabbed him by the shirt.  ODB broke it up and the match began.  ODB tried once to pick Kong up — it looked as crazy as it sounds! — and, of course, failed.  Then she tried it again and scored a body slam!!  Incredible!!  Until, of course, Kong stood up, regained momentum, and landed an implant buster on ODB.

Winner: Awesome Kong

Interview: STING AND BROTHERS RAY & DEVON

Ray wants to have the “old Sting” back and promises to back him if the old Sting does return.  We find out from Crystal that Kurt wants to talk to Sting before the match, but Sting says he’ll talk to him later, “on my own time.”  Uh oh.

Match: Referee Shane Sewell VS. Booker T.

Do I really need to explain this one in detail?  Sewell is the man, the room I’m in was unanimously rooting for him, but he lost.  It was predictable, although probably not in a bad way.  What was UNpredictable was AJ Styles running to the ring to prevent a post-match beatdown by Booker T.  So, it seems that things are looking worse and worse for the Main Event Mafia.  Kurt and Sting are feuding.  Samoa Joe is back.  Styles is back.  A good night to be a TNA Frontline fan…

Winner: Booker T.

Interview: Matt Morgan

Essentially, Morgan’s got a strep infection in his shoulder.  (I think he said strep — it didn’t sound like “staff”)  And yet he’s still here, ready to fight.  This is the second most emotionally-charged match of the night, second only to the Angle/Sting issues to come…

Grudge Match: Abyss VS. Matt Morgan

This really has been a long time coming.  A truly entertaining match — perhaps the funniest aspect was the referee getting upset with Abyss bringing weapons to the ring.  Um, why did the bats, garbage cans, and other foreign objects just HAPPEN to be stored underneath the ring?!  Overall, a pretty evenly balanced match, with Morgan landing some amazing moves like a dropkick on Abyss’ chest.  The bag of tacks comes out and the tension builds.  Then Rudy Charles gets accidentally knocked out!  As Jim said, the ref goes down, and the weapons will come out!  A near fall for Morgan.  A near fall for Abyss.  Abyss places the chair on Morgan, runs for momentum to jump on Morgan’s body — and Morgan rotates the chair at the last second for Abyss to land on, groin first.  A near fall here, a near fall there — Ref Slick is in the ring — and Abyss finally wins!!  Abyss spreads tacks across the ring, exposes Morgan’s bandages from his strep infection, and… Morgan rolls out and retreats just in time.

Winner: Abyss

Interview: STING AND ANGLE IN THE MAFIA LOCKERROOM

Kurt Angle sounds soothing and supportive.  Which is always a dangerous sign.  But Angle does make sense here, telling Sting that they (the Mafia) need him to “win the war.”  Angle’s argument is that they must do what they must do tonight, but that tomorrow they are family again.  Angle extends his hand, Sting accepts and hugs him.  But Angle didn’t hug all that tightly, and after Sting left, he told Nash to keep an eye on Sting.  Curiouser and curiouser…

Tag Team Title Match: Beer Money VS. Lethal Consequences

Whether you like them or not, Beer Money is an incredible tag team.  Thus far, they’ve been pretty unstoppable.  More of the same tonight, resulting in their victory.  I really should describe the match in more detail to do it justice, but it ended the way it needed to.

Winner: Beer Money

Four-Way TNA World Championship Title Match: Brother Ray VS. Brother Devon VS. Kurt Angle VS. Sting

Mick Foley is out to announce.  I’ll keep this simple for all of you out there in web blog land — they all fight, then Team 3-D fights amongst themselves, then they all fight, then Kurt and Sting fight, Devon tries to pin Ray, Angle tries to pin Sting in a half-hearted manner, and when the smoke clears… it’s Sting retaining the title by pinning Ray!

Winner: Sting

Overall, this has been an entertaining, but classically predictable pay-per-view.  Until this Thursday on “Impact!”…

My 100th “Favorite” YouTube Video!

By Chris Moore:

Hello all you faithful Laptop Sessions viewers!  I’m back so soon after my previous post to announce a milestone that, in all actuality, doesn’t really mean all that much to anyone other than me…

…my 100th “favorite” YouTube video!!

That’s right, today I clicked on the “Favorite” button for the 100th time since I signed up for YouTube on October 26, 2007.  I figured that it was time to take a retrospective glance back through my 100 favorite videos and choose the top ten best videos — my votes for the ten best videos on YouTube.  You may not agree with me, and you may even outright disagree with some of my choices.  But you can tell a lot about me based just on these ten.

So, without further ado, here they are in reverse order:

10)  “Please Stay” Live at the Webster Theatre

Possibly my all-time favorite moment touring with MoU, and it’s captured here on video!  We played not only the Webster Theatre but, as a last-minute promotion, the main stage!  This is probably one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written and my favorite performance — for once, I think we all felt like we had, if only for a moment, made it to the big time.

9)  Counting Crows – “1492” Live in the Studio

What a cool video — an inside peek into what the recording process looks like for one of my favorite bands, as they recorded one of my favorite albums of the year!

8)  The Wallflowers – “Beautiful Side of Somewhere”

This is the official music video for this Rebel, Sweetheart track.  It’s such an interesting concept, incredibly rendered.  I love to watch it.  I love to listen to it.  And I NEVER would have seen it without YouTube for two reasons — one, I never watch music video television, and two, those stations would never play the Wallflowers anyway.  (Which is a big reason why I don’t watch them!)

7)  Jeff Tweedy – People Talking During Concert

This is the video that officially pushed my interest in Wilco and Jeff Tweedy to the next level.  I officially felt like I had reached fan status after watching this and cracking up, loving his onstage presence and personality.  I could see Jim or I wanting to say this to some of the crowds we have played in front of!

6)  TNA: Sting arrives to help Christian Cage

One big change for me this year has been my loyal viewing of wrestling.  I never would have believed it if someone had told me even a couple years ago that I would spend every Thursday in Jim’s parents’ movie theater of a basement, eagerly awaiting the next match on TNA: Impact!.  But I do, and this video is one of my all-time favorites.  Does it get any better than seeing Christian Cage in the ring (albeit a not-so-flattering moment for him) and then seeing the lights go down, only to come back on to the sight of Sting clearing house?  The answer is no!

5)  Elliott Smith on David Letterman

One of my absolute favorite videos and truly proving the merits of YouTube, as I would never have seen this performance of Smith’s “Stupidity Tries” otherwise.  It’s not just that it’s a great performance, but I love to watch this because — if only for three minutes — the typically reclusive Smith took center stage on a primary late-night talk show, playing one of his best tracks from perhaps his greatest album.  I love it!

4)  R.E.M. – “Living Well is the Best Revenge”

This is the music video they released for this track off their 2008 album Accelerate.  What an intriguing concept: play the song in the car, while driving!  This is exactly what Jim, Mike, and I would do when we were in high school and college, just driving around and making up ridiculous songs (especially when accompanied by Alberto Distefano)!  A great YouTube find…

3)  Adam Sandler – 50 First Dates

This is the first of two videos that Jim will no doubt recall… as I played him this Adam Sandler clip about 100 times this past year.  He already had a similar clip on his iTunes that I used to beg him to play every time I saw he was on his computer with iTunes open.  It’s hilarious, classic Adam Sandler combined with a reference to the Beach Boys.  How could it get any better?

2)  Barenaked Ladies- “Pollywog in a Bog (Extended Version)

I first chose the Kevin Hearn-illustrated “Drawing” video for this list.  Then, I remembered this amazing music video for this Snacktime track.  This is one that you will enjoy — any age, any musical preference, whether you like BNL or not.  Puppets playing musical instruments, a reggae-style middle, and did I mention REALLY cute puppets?  Yet another case of BNL creating impressive work that relatively few will ever see.

And, the moment you’ve all been waiting for…

1)  Super Troopers – Farva food scene

Okay, this comes with the disclaimer that this is some mature language in this clip.  And by some, I mean a lot.  But it is, hands down, my favorite YouTube clip of all time.  It is my favorite moment in the Super Troopers movie.  It makes me laugh no matter how many times I play it, and I’ve played it a lot.  If I played the Adam Sandler clip for Jim 100 times, then I played this one for him 1,000 times!  And, whenever I watch or even think of it, I am reminded of spending fun, relaxing times with my closest friends of all-time, watching late-night movies, eating late-night snacks and Taco Bell, drinking fruity-flavored beers, and just enjoying life.  So, this video wins based on all the criteria I can think of — number of times played, memories evoked while viewing, overall quality, etc.  Go ahead, you know you’re interested…

http://www.youtube.com/chrismooremusic

Okay, I can’t resist.  Here are the “HONORABLE MENTIONS:”

– “Sting Custom Titantron (TNA Theme)” – Very appropriate (and oft-employed by yours truly) while turning the light off and on, appearing with a baseball bat to beat up a friend.  Jim can vouch for this one!

– “The Wallflowers – ‘One Headlight’ (Feat. Bruce Springsteen)” – The clip isn’t the best quality, but the performance is top-notch, the duet is a match made in heaven (in my mind, at least), and I would have completely missed out on this great video if it hadn’t been for YouTube!

– “Cowboys of Moo Mesa intro” – For some reason, I found this online after a conversation with Jim and just played it and played it.  And played it.  And played it some more.  I think Jim, Mike, and I will someday do a full-band version of this… that’s how well we know it now!  And YOU tell ME — how many people do you have in your life that know the “Cowboys of Moo Mesa” lyrics by heart?  There you go ladies, that’s at least one reason to look up my number and cross your fingers…  🙂

Songwriters on Vacation – Our trip to TNA Lockdown 2008 Pay-Per View!

By Jim Fusco:

On Sunday, my brother Mike, my father, and Chris Moore took a trip up to Lowell, MA for Total Nonstop Action’s (TNA) “Lockdown” Pay-Per-View event. We LOVE wrestling and have loved watching it for all our lives (except for Chris, who started watching a couple years ago) and this was our first time seeing TNA live.

I love TNA wrestling- it reminds me of the old WCW days that I loved so dearly. I just can’t do WWE- the matches are slow, they’re so vulgar sometimes, and I just plain cannot stand Vince McMahon.

So, this was a very exciting event for us. We took the 2-plus hour drive to Lowell and got ready for the event. Right when we walked in, there were wrestlers Black Machismo Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt (along with SoCal Val) out there taking photos and signing autographs. It was so cool- you’d NEVER see something like that at a big WWE event. At least not in such a low-key manner.

Then, wrestlers Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin (of the Motor City Machineguns) and Roxxi Laveaux came out to do a photo shoot/autograph session for charity.

The venue wasn’t huge, but they filled up over 90% of it. They announced a new attendance record for TNA, too! I estimate there were about between 6,500 and 7,000 people and it was a crazy crowd. I couldn’t talk for a whole day afterwards due to all the screaming.

My brother Mike and I got a chance to get our photo taken with one of the REAL TNA Tag Team Championship belts! We were SO excited- not gonna get THAT at a WWE show! Here’s the photo:

Mike and Jim Fusco holding one of the TNA Tag Team Championship belts.

Then the action started with the TNA X-Division X-cape match for the X-Division Championship. The participants were Jay Lethal [c] vs. Curry Man vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. Johnny Devine vs. Shark Boy vs. Consequences Creed. We were pulling for Shark Boy all the way (who got the loudest fan reaction), but Black Machismo ended up winning in the only “cheap” win of the night. And, even though it was kinda cheap, we were all still happy Johnny Devine didn’t win, so it was okay.

Actually, the matches were of a caliber I’ve never seen on a TNA Pay Per View. I constantly frequent websites like TNA Wrestling News and read reviews of TNA Pay Per views. They ALWAYS get terrible reviews, telling people not to waste their money. But this one was exactly the opposite for a few reasons:

1. No ridiculous finishes or anyone coming in to interfere! NONE!

2. All the matches, with the exception of maybe the first half of the Queen of the Cage match, were simply great.

3. EVERY SINGLE HERO WON! Without exception- Jay Lethal, Roxxi Laveaux, Booker T., B.G. James, Team Cage (Sting, Christian Cage, Rhino, Matt Morgan, Kevin Nash), Samoa Joe, Gail Kim and O.D.B.- EVERYONE!

We got to see our favorite all-time wrestler, Sting. We got to see a new World Heavyweight Champion in Samoa Joe, and we didn’t have to see any cheap stuff like we’re used to seeing in many high-profile matches.

It was the experience of a lifetime and I can’t wait until they come back our way! I hope TNA lasts forever, because I love every minute of it!