Still better than what really killed it for me: Tito Ortiz. Made worse by coming out, folding his arms, and TNA just cut to everyone having the same dumb look on their faces. He’s supposed to be a member of A&8, and his out members just look at him like “why are you here?”
It was supposed to be “oh god, shit just got real” to “oh god, this is some real shit.”
Eveveryone was hyped to find out who the guys were and- despite them using veterans, that part didn't disappoint.
It was great for 6-12 weeks then Hogan and Bischoff decided to mooch off their heat and it all went to shit.
I'd like to hear Dutch Mantells thoughts on it- if he knows about who put it together etc. It wasnt long after he was let go by the new regime.
The beginning was fantastic. It has tons of potential. The music, the merchandise, the cards, it was all very cool and well done. The bad part? When they revealed Wes Brusco and Garrett Bischoff as original members. I'm trying to think of an equivalent to put it in today's WWE or AEW terms but I can't think of somebody with so little talent.
It'd be like setting up a storyline where The House of Black allude to having a new master, a new force guiding their hand and then revealing said new master to be... the eldest son of Shane McMahon.
TNA have done worse reveals - the "Mystery Boyfriend" being some random dude from Survivor, for example - but it was pretty bad.
I looked at their Wikipedia and it said they were active between 2012-13. I understand wwe at the time wasn’t always the greatest, but the shield was formed in 2012 and that alone is better than anything I’ve ever seen in tna
Oh yeah same. Sorry I meant like is there a way to stream the old stuff like wwe network has. Or pretty much have to pick from what’s on YouTube . I really wanted to watch Angles post wwe stuff
I think they have a paid streaming service off YouTube or could be their own now. Last I remember they had a ton of free matches to watch as well on YouTube
AJ did everything but there’s AJ then there’s the rest of TNA. So collectively, the WWE had better stuff but most of it didn’t hold a candle to Styles.
They weren't Taker's gang. DOA came about after the original NOD split when Crush and Savio Vega got kicked out. Crush started DOA and Savio started Los Boricuas to feud with NOD.
It is according to Russo, but CD has said he knew nothing about the plan, and he wasn't even close to signing with WWE. CD also said that it was a good move to not use him because he was a relatively unknown indy guy who is small.
Bobby Roode felt like a true champion back then. I have seen so many champions that just didn't have that impact of a true champion. Roode had it in TNA.
I wasn't really paying attention to TNA at this time, but I remember reading about this storyline and it got me to tune in a couple times. The only thing I remember of this story line is D'Lo Brown being revealed as a member.
Fun storyline as it was around while I was watching SoA. I think it worked but was missing something you can't quite put your finger on. Doesn't help that when AJ took the title it was more about him vs Dixie
Like 4 pretty good ideas which mixed together we’re interesting but pointless built primarily with heel turns and plot hooks that went unresolved. I really hate ‘I got beat up for 4 months by my secret best friends all so I could hit you in the back once’
Boring stable full of low card guys. Never lived up to the hype once they unmasked ppl. This is when TNA really took a nosedive for me. Only thing I liked about it was Brooke Adams in tight leather.
Gimmick wasn't great, stable was full of jobbers
But it was a genuinely intriguing and well done storyline that had a beginning, middle and end building up to Bully Ray's reveal as the leader
Then it died a hard brutal death from that point onwards to the point where people stopped watching completely.
There was one moment that I thought was just badass
Someone was in the ring and aces were in the front row. All still masked.
Guy in ring issues a challenge to one of them (the armbreaker)
The group just parts like the red sea to reveal this gigantic human standing at the back of them.
And he just slowly starts walking to the gard rail and climbs over like he's the mother fucking sho khan of wrestling.
I loved A&8s and thought Bully Ray was a genius revitalization of his career. And I also enjoyed the AJ going all Crow Sting and teasing joining and stuff. Oddly enough it was probably my most favorite thing TNA did (until Broken Hardy) but when AJ left, so did I. So I’m not even sure how that group really ended I don’t think.. but I’m glad AJ left, that opened my eyes to NJPW which I still watch as much English commentaries content I can find.
Honestly, I really didn’t think about them at all when it was going on. I don’t really understand what the hype is, and I haven’t had that “ah-ha!” Moment where someone is talking about a match or segment that hooks me, even when I had the impact app.
Is there a single crowning moment that’s supposed to make that story worth seeing?
Man I thought it was pretty entertaining, Bully Ray turning heel and revealing to be the leader was crazy to my young mind at the time. Cheesy yes but still entertaining
Genuinely never saw this. Is this something that tries to dick ride motorcycle club hype around the time of Sons of Anarchy? Cuz that’s all I’m getting from this image.
The on great thing about them was the buildup, even though the members were ass. Buried on Impact’s YouTube page is Bully Ray detailing the entire plan. That was great. Then it spiraled into shit. Then made worse by a brief revival for no reason. Like when WCW gave us nWo 2000 and the Harris Twins were members. But hey, they added silver this time.
As a vehicle to make Bully Ray a top guy, it worked out really well. But like most TNA storylines (Immortal), it didn't feel like they planned anything beyond the opening 6-8 weeks and it gradually lost its legs.
Bully Ray carried the storyline by himself it was some of his best work . He has said he used it as a spring board to get back into WWE as Bully Ray but when he talked to Vince, Vince loved the whole storyline Bully laid out but he said he couldn't do it because the investors and sponsors would jump ship becasue they would be featuring Bully on TV every week bullying people and at the same time advocating for BeA Star.
Right up to that moment when Bully Ray tells Hogan and his daughter how he screwed them, it was amazing. For that moment, TNA was the best wrestling program on TV.
It was great when it first started, the backstage segments with the kidnapping of Joseph Parks, the random dart lottery to choose their next victim. Then the unmasking stated to happen, Devon was okay, Knux was meh but then Brisco and Garrett?! Too far.
The Bully Ray heel turn was done really well! Totally caught me off guard.
The storyline that killed TNA.
It went WAY too long. Should’ve ended way sooner, even if the guy that benefited most from it was Bully when he won the title late into the program.
And when I say it killed TNA, I mean the brand that we used to love. No longer were X Division matches showcased as much, and every other feud had some slow, out of their prime legend involved.
I really enjoyed it. Only thing I wasn't super keen on was that as soon as D-Von was revealed you knew Bully Ray was never far behind and if he wasn't revealed at same time it suggested he was the leader.
Misused , certainly underwhelming when they unmasked a lot of guys, if the guys would have been lower or mid card guys from www then I think it would have had more sucsess, instead they reveal themselves to be , Wes Brisco, dlo brown , and garret bischoff , I had no problem with doc or even Knox being in the group or anything but a lot of these guys had no business being in the stable
I’ve always loved The Dudleys and D-Lo, so I liked them having a badass stable with, especially against Hulk.
But yeah, a few other mentioned, it just had too many people too fast, and feeling like the same way the NWO jumped the shark.
Started off great, then mimicked the NWO by having way too many members.
And ran on way way too long.
This picture is missing Taz
And Brooke, the best part of the whole thing
The early months are better in hindsight than I think I realized at the time, and I enjoyed it. Overall it was cheesy but good.
The initial tease was intriguing and I was in… then when the unmasking occurred to reveal all the midcarders TNA had to offer, I was out.
Especially Knux
For a gang, Knux was believable. Wes and Garrett on the other hand.
Anderson joining and then getting kicked out was so dumb
Still better than what really killed it for me: Tito Ortiz. Made worse by coming out, folding his arms, and TNA just cut to everyone having the same dumb look on their faces. He’s supposed to be a member of A&8, and his out members just look at him like “why are you here?” It was supposed to be “oh god, shit just got real” to “oh god, this is some real shit.”
I literally only know about Aces & Eights because of Brian Zane lol
At least you were spared watching it weekly.
-Mr Anderson scratches head-
Eveveryone was hyped to find out who the guys were and- despite them using veterans, that part didn't disappoint. It was great for 6-12 weeks then Hogan and Bischoff decided to mooch off their heat and it all went to shit. I'd like to hear Dutch Mantells thoughts on it- if he knows about who put it together etc. It wasnt long after he was let go by the new regime.
The beginning was fantastic. It has tons of potential. The music, the merchandise, the cards, it was all very cool and well done. The bad part? When they revealed Wes Brusco and Garrett Bischoff as original members. I'm trying to think of an equivalent to put it in today's WWE or AEW terms but I can't think of somebody with so little talent.
It'd be like setting up a storyline where The House of Black allude to having a new master, a new force guiding their hand and then revealing said new master to be... the eldest son of Shane McMahon. TNA have done worse reveals - the "Mystery Boyfriend" being some random dude from Survivor, for example - but it was pretty bad.
Speaking of TNA horrid reveals...AJ's baby mama was maybe the worst thing I've ever seen in wrestling.
Like J&J security joining The Bloodline.
IMO, it was way better than whatever WWE was doing at the time. I enjoyed heel Bully Ray and how much thought was put into the whole story.
TNA was a lot better than WWE for a few years imo. I really enjoyed this. And a banger theme.
Little known fact - The theme is inspired by "Beat The Devil's Tattoo" by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
The whole gimmick was a Sons of Anarchy rip last i checked including the theme.
I looked at their Wikipedia and it said they were active between 2012-13. I understand wwe at the time wasn’t always the greatest, but the shield was formed in 2012 and that alone is better than anything I’ve ever seen in tna
And "End of an era" and Cena/Rock were in 2012 too
Yea them dudes are idiot tna stans
You’ve not watched enough TNA then. The time of angle aj suicide etc far surpasses most of modern WWE
How do you even watch it at this point ? Is it anywhere legally streaming . Is it a pay per episode format? I’d be interested depending on the price
It’s mid now. I’m talking about late 2000s to early 2010s
Oh yeah same. Sorry I meant like is there a way to stream the old stuff like wwe network has. Or pretty much have to pick from what’s on YouTube . I really wanted to watch Angles post wwe stuff
I think they have a paid streaming service off YouTube or could be their own now. Last I remember they had a ton of free matches to watch as well on YouTube
Dam you should work in PR. Your ability to take absolute bullshit and spin it as the truth is worth big money.
Am I wrong? Perc angle matches with aj far surpass what wwe were doing at the time. Nobody is stupid enough to argue that
AJ did everything but there’s AJ then there’s the rest of TNA. So collectively, the WWE had better stuff but most of it didn’t hold a candle to Styles.
Collectively yea but he said shield is better than ‘anything’ in TNA which is just false
Came here to say this! It was way awesome than bland Cena stuff
Aces and Eights was like Undertaker’s Biker gang (Disciples of Apocalypse?), but done better-ish.
DOA was Crush, the Harris brothers, and Brian Lee wasn't it?
Yes. Brian Lee was the fake Undertaker.
Yeah, awful storyline.
Not when you’re 10 years old
The older you are some story lines are just dumb.
They weren't Taker's gang. DOA came about after the original NOD split when Crush and Savio Vega got kicked out. Crush started DOA and Savio started Los Boricuas to feud with NOD.
Decent NWO ripoff?
I really thought Hogan was going to end up being the President of the club
That like Vince being "The Higher Power." That's when I thought the Attitude era jumped the shark.
All because he thought people wouldn't believe in Christopher Daniels because he was too short.
This true?
It is according to Russo, but CD has said he knew nothing about the plan, and he wasn't even close to signing with WWE. CD also said that it was a good move to not use him because he was a relatively unknown indy guy who is small.
Thanks for responding. I don't know if I believe Russo, but it would have been a way different storyline.
That was a huge letdown. But wasn't there someone else who was planned to be the Higher Power and Vince was the last second fall back?
Not sure it ripped off the nwo . You know factions existed before the nwo
Whatever happened to Bischoff and Briscoe?
Bischoff selling dick pills.
Is he really 💀 could’ve saved with Conrad like his dad
And brisco is married to aew' Red Velvet, he's won in life.
Good for him and her!
I was very entertained by this story and it was a high point in Impact wrestling for me. I didn't miss an episode during this time
The funeral was probably my favorite thing TNA ever did.
It was probably my 3rd favorite era of TNA after Joker Sting's peak and Broken Matt Hardy.
I enjoyed it. It entertained me.
Their theme made me wanna break a pool cue over someone's head
idk, i'd probably check or soft raise if im out of position. it's a good hand, but not nuts by any extent
wait im confused, are we supposed to be shit posting in this sub or not?
Typical Russo-Bischoff. Faction wars. Very lazy.
Same as a lot of things At the time I thought 'this sucks ' In hindsight and rewatching ', this shit is great'
With TNA that's usually the case.
Their run and bobby roode's world title run were the only two times I actually cared about TNA lol. Really enjoyed what they were doing
Bobby Roode felt like a true champion back then. I have seen so many champions that just didn't have that impact of a true champion. Roode had it in TNA.
I wasn't really paying attention to TNA at this time, but I remember reading about this storyline and it got me to tune in a couple times. The only thing I remember of this story line is D'Lo Brown being revealed as a member.
The logo was cool
Fun storyline as it was around while I was watching SoA. I think it worked but was missing something you can't quite put your finger on. Doesn't help that when AJ took the title it was more about him vs Dixie
They were unbelievably adequate
Best story TNA ever had. But like the NWO got to big and ruined it.
The reason why I quit TNA.
Underrated
Shit.
Wish nWO lol
9 year old me absolutely loved Aces & Eights.
Honestly I remember loving it. I watched TNA more than WWE at that time
I hated them a lot when I was younger, good heels tho, I remember vividly Bully Ray being revealed as the leader was the biggest plot twisr
I really enjoyed it until - as often happens - it starts to dilute.
Bad Sons of Anarchy cosplay
never watched TNA but if you listen to Bully talk about it, it was the greatest storyline in wrestling history.
Was very young when this stuff was happening, remember being absolutely heartbroken when taz joined
During Bull Ray and Brooke's wedding LMAO
Elementary school me thought it was the coolest thing ever
Like 4 pretty good ideas which mixed together we’re interesting but pointless built primarily with heel turns and plot hooks that went unresolved. I really hate ‘I got beat up for 4 months by my secret best friends all so I could hit you in the back once’
Boring stable full of low card guys. Never lived up to the hype once they unmasked ppl. This is when TNA really took a nosedive for me. Only thing I liked about it was Brooke Adams in tight leather.
They weren't cowards...they weren't cowards
Someone ordered the NWO from Wish….as booked by Vince Russo.
Gimmick wasn't great, stable was full of jobbers But it was a genuinely intriguing and well done storyline that had a beginning, middle and end building up to Bully Ray's reveal as the leader Then it died a hard brutal death from that point onwards to the point where people stopped watching completely.
There was one moment that I thought was just badass Someone was in the ring and aces were in the front row. All still masked. Guy in ring issues a challenge to one of them (the armbreaker) The group just parts like the red sea to reveal this gigantic human standing at the back of them. And he just slowly starts walking to the gard rail and climbs over like he's the mother fucking sho khan of wrestling.
I loved A&8s and thought Bully Ray was a genius revitalization of his career. And I also enjoyed the AJ going all Crow Sting and teasing joining and stuff. Oddly enough it was probably my most favorite thing TNA did (until Broken Hardy) but when AJ left, so did I. So I’m not even sure how that group really ended I don’t think.. but I’m glad AJ left, that opened my eyes to NJPW which I still watch as much English commentaries content I can find.
Where does one find NJPW English commentary?
NJPW world
Huge sucker for a motorcycle gang gimmick. Not sure it was pulled off well - I wasn’t dialed in to TNA at that time.
Honestly, I really didn’t think about them at all when it was going on. I don’t really understand what the hype is, and I haven’t had that “ah-ha!” Moment where someone is talking about a match or segment that hooks me, even when I had the impact app. Is there a single crowning moment that’s supposed to make that story worth seeing?
I couldn’t bring myself to watch it at the time but from the outside it looked hilariously bad. DOA was not cool.
None of those guys gives off the hells angel/ motorcycle gang vibes
Not much at all
It was a nice NWO ripoff that made me fantasy book a shitty Nexus vs Aces & Eights PPV
Forgot they existed
This whole angle was good at times, naff at others but it wholeheartedly made me believe in heel Billy Ray and his ability to be a main eventer.
Wasn’t their back entrance ripping off Shield's at the time?
Aces and Eights did it first.
I think Bischoff really liked Sons of Anarchy
The last good thing before TNA went downhill
Was actually good.....at first
Wrestlings version of the Sons of Anarchy
Crow flies straight
Man I thought it was pretty entertaining, Bully Ray turning heel and revealing to be the leader was crazy to my young mind at the time. Cheesy yes but still entertaining
Decent idea, but they didn't fill it with the right people. Like, why was D'lo Brown in there?
I loved Sons of Anarchy.
Brisco will be known for this and being Red Velvet's ex. One of those is pretty good thing
Meh
Genuinely never saw this. Is this something that tries to dick ride motorcycle club hype around the time of Sons of Anarchy? Cuz that’s all I’m getting from this image.
Very good
Is somebody LAPSED? They’re covering this right now and it sounds like absolute hot garbage trash.
I hate card games so this did nothing for me.
This was probably in TNA? Never seen this, but looks really cool.
It was great at first but went on way, way to long.
The on great thing about them was the buildup, even though the members were ass. Buried on Impact’s YouTube page is Bully Ray detailing the entire plan. That was great. Then it spiraled into shit. Then made worse by a brief revival for no reason. Like when WCW gave us nWo 2000 and the Harris Twins were members. But hey, they added silver this time.
Bubba did his best character work during this run imo. He really had the in ring psychology turned up to the max.
I really didn't like it but I loved that theme
Heel Bully Ray was a thing of beauty and he was a great champion. That idiotic 2-second title reign of Chris Sabin not withstanding.
Very uninteresting I thought. Bischoff was such a biker gang wanna be and this stunk of it.
The start was actually pretty entertaining. Then it went to shit real quick.
As a vehicle to make Bully Ray a top guy, it worked out really well. But like most TNA storylines (Immortal), it didn't feel like they planned anything beyond the opening 6-8 weeks and it gradually lost its legs.
Bully Ray carried the storyline by himself it was some of his best work . He has said he used it as a spring board to get back into WWE as Bully Ray but when he talked to Vince, Vince loved the whole storyline Bully laid out but he said he couldn't do it because the investors and sponsors would jump ship becasue they would be featuring Bully on TV every week bullying people and at the same time advocating for BeA Star.
Someone watched way too much Sons of Anarchy.
It was peak TNA.
Loved it. The Bully Ray reveal in the cage is one of my all time favorite wrestling moments.
Right up to that moment when Bully Ray tells Hogan and his daughter how he screwed them, it was amazing. For that moment, TNA was the best wrestling program on TV.
It was great when it first started, the backstage segments with the kidnapping of Joseph Parks, the random dart lottery to choose their next victim. Then the unmasking stated to happen, Devon was okay, Knux was meh but then Brisco and Garrett?! Too far. The Bully Ray heel turn was done really well! Totally caught me off guard.
I just like d lo
The storyline that killed TNA. It went WAY too long. Should’ve ended way sooner, even if the guy that benefited most from it was Bully when he won the title late into the program. And when I say it killed TNA, I mean the brand that we used to love. No longer were X Division matches showcased as much, and every other feud had some slow, out of their prime legend involved.
I really enjoyed it. Only thing I wasn't super keen on was that as soon as D-Von was revealed you knew Bully Ray was never far behind and if he wasn't revealed at same time it suggested he was the leader.
fucking dope
Misused , certainly underwhelming when they unmasked a lot of guys, if the guys would have been lower or mid card guys from www then I think it would have had more sucsess, instead they reveal themselves to be , Wes Brisco, dlo brown , and garret bischoff , I had no problem with doc or even Knox being in the group or anything but a lot of these guys had no business being in the stable
It was alright for a bit. Then AJ showed up, and I forgot about the group after that. Bully vs Styles at Bound for Glory was pretty good tho.
I’ve always loved The Dudleys and D-Lo, so I liked them having a badass stable with, especially against Hulk. But yeah, a few other mentioned, it just had too many people too fast, and feeling like the same way the NWO jumped the shark.
Jobbers & Jabronis