By Chris Shore and Marvin Hermanstyne

Chris Shore and Marvin Hermanstyne hang out around the DotNet water cooler and discuss the topics of the week. Today, they discuss TNA's return to Thursdays, the NXT Final Four, the commercial free RAW, Smackdown's current direction, and make their predictions for the new Raw General Manager.

Shore: Hey Marv, long time no see! We have a lot to catch up on, but let me first say thank you again to you and all the others who sent me well wishes after the passing of my grandfather. He will be missed, but he lived a full and long life and is no longer suffering. So thank you all. And not to make an uncomfortable segue, but I'll tell you who is suffering, TNA. I think the move back to Thursdays is the kiss of death for the promotion. They may not go out of business, but they have surely painted themselves as irrelevant after getting trounced by Raw. Is this the beginning of the end?

Marv: This company is in trouble and they really need to make some drastic changes. According to some recent news I've read, they are supposed to be future endeavoring talent pretty soon because of massive contracts for talent that they took up (i.e. Hogan, Jeff Hardy, Mr. Anderson, RVD). The ratings improved since they moved back to Thursdays last week, but it's still garbage considering that they were doing better (ratings wise) before all the new signings. I am interested to see who they will release, but I have a bad feeling it will be talent that you don't expect, and ones that you know that should be gone (Orlando Jordan) will still have a damn job. What are your thoughts on TNA and who they should kick to the curb?

Shore: I think the problem with TNA is not so much the talent drain as it is they are just second rate. And the move to Monday highlighted that. When it was on Thursdays, we forgave some things. If production quality suffered here or there, if storylines were poorly conceived, if washed up talent was showing up to get a little bump, all of that was OK. But when they moved to Mondays, people expected something different, something better. And TNA marched out the same Thursday show they had been producing. The harsh spotlight of Monday Nights exposed all of their flaws and weaknesses. And even though ratings improved after the return, they have scared people away who were trying to take the promotion seriously. And that, ultimately, will be their undoing. As far as who should go? I really don't know. All the big names either have the belts or are involved with storylines for the belts. Cutting the lower card guys won't bring any real savings, so I don't know. Nor do I think that it will help. TNA is a bad promotion, and all the talent in the world won't fix that.

Marv: There is room for improvement for TNA, but I do agree that they look real low budget. Having a show at the "Impact Zone" every week doesn't cut it for me because it seems like the same rerun every week. Same old shit which includes the following: "The Muppet" Abyss who suddenly has Hulk Powers with a ring and does the Poke of Doom...how I dread when he hulks and says YOU!!! RVD and Jeff Hardy just seems like the Stoner Brothers instead of real main eventers. Mr. Anderson cutting the same "asshole" promos which is suddenly making him look like a babyface. The X-Division champion Douglas Williams is basically Dean Malenko 2.0, and then the rest of the field. To be perfectly honest, I stopped taking TNA seriously once Hogan came because I just knew the same shit would occur and Thursday nights is basically the forgettable night for wrestling and yes, that includes Superstars...but that's another story. But enough about Tee Na Ay! Let's move on to the Final Four of the Vince McMahon acclaimed, "innovative, never before seen" NXT show. How about Daniel Bryan going the hell away and getting Bryan Danielson?

Shore: I thought it was super hot. He cut the hell out of that promo (for him) and then bitch slapped Michael Cole. I marked like an eight year old little school girl when he slapped Cole! I think he has real potential, and this character should be a whole lot of fun. Plus, I don't have to make myself type Daniel Bryan any more, which is always a plus. I will say that I was shocked that he said all the things he said. If that was a work, bravo to WWE for accepting their mistakes. If it was a shoot.....well, his run was fun while it lasted. As far as the competition itself, this thing jumped the shark when three people got eliminated. I was digging this show for a long time, but now I just want it to be over. You?

Marv: Yeah, I'm tired of seeing this crap on Tuesday nights. The only thing about Tuesday nights which is fun is interacting with the members in the forum and throwing back some cold ones. I predict Gabriel or Slater goes next week and Barrett and Otunga in the finals with Barrett winning. But to move one, we got commercial free Raw the past Monday and it only got a 3.4 rating. WWE has not cracked a 4.0 rating since Shaq was the guest host, should WWE be concerned considering they have their most loaded lineup in years?

Shore: Concerned of what exactly? They are the only game in town. It's not like people will go elsewhere for their wrestling entertainment as TNA proved so handedly over the past few months. All ratings do is determine how much money Vince gets each month because nobody is leaving WWE to get their wrestling entertainment. Nobody. I bet you $100 if Superstars and Impact were head to head, Superstars would get a higher rating. So no, WWE has no reason to be concerned.

Marv: I understand it's the summertime and not a lot of people are watching the product (because it's getting boring), but low 3's should be a cause for concern because the Monday night show is the same shit. The roster is loaded, but it seems nothing much has changed. They should take the advantage with no MNF or TNA to worry about but as long as they have these P-List celebs as guest hosts, I really could not care less about the brand. Sure there are some decent feuds, but the material gets so damn boring sometimes. All I know is that they better beef up this show and aim for high 3's to low 4's because MNF is loaded this season and will be here before you know it. But let me stop ripping the red brand apart and move right along to the blue brand. After a two week hiatus from covering the show, how do you like the direction of Smackdown?

Shore: Well, it seems a little disjointed right now. Every feud feels rushed except for Rey Mysterio and CM Punk. There wasn't a whole lot of time to create feuds for this PPV considering the major roster changes, so I don't fault the writing team necessarily. Hopefully after this PPV we can see some decent feuds really unfold. It looks like we will get Kofi Kingston and Drew McIntyre, which could do wonders for Drew going forward because Kofi is a fan favorite and he can earn a lot of heat. And I hope we see a LayCool split because that could be entertaining. Outside of that, there's not much to work with right now. You've covered the show. What do you think?

Marv: Newsflash: The IC title is nothing for the moment, that is all. But seriously, what the hell was the point of taking the title off Drew and firing him just to have a meaningless tournament, and give the belt back to him. I HATE the way WWE books people to get cheap heat because he's not over with crowd. It destroys the credibility of the championship and I want McIntyre traded to RAW because he bores the hell out of me. His promos are garbage, he makes Matt Hardy look so damn weak every week and the crickets are even tired of him. But enough of the mini-rant. Kingston and Christian should be in the main event program, Ziggler and Rhodes (who has impressed me since the move) should be feuding for the IC title, and Layla and McCool does ZERO for me as far as a future program. McCool will do nothing but bury Layla, so what's the point? Why do both women have belts? But to move along, we have a new GM to be announced this coming Monday, any predictions? I would do a prediction article, but I'm 50/50 about doing so

Shore: I think it could be Bret Hart. He would then have the power to retire as champion and have a US title tournament. I think it could be Ted DiBiase and we could see the beginning of Ted Jr's push to the moon. I just hope it isn't Vickie Guerrero. One night a week is enough for that woman.

Marv: I would LOVE for Ted Sr. to be the GM of Raw...hearing the sound of HAHAHAHAHA....MONEY, MONEY, MONEY, MONNNNEEYYY...brings out the true mark in me. If they give us, Vickie Guerrero...I will go watch Facts of Life reruns in place of Raw. If Bret Hart is the GM, I will enjoy, but will grow tired of him. Vince McMahon coming back will make everyone groan, and Jim Ross would pop a rating because he will actually kick Cole's ass, fire him and call Raw like it suppose to. But the show will defiantly be news worthy because of the GM announcement and the backlash of the Over the Limit PPV. Will you have some OTL predictions for our great readers this week?

Shore: Look for my predictions this weekend, along with another NXT Rankings article. You?

Marv: Naw, no OTL prediction article for me. Over the Limit is a decent show on paper, but there are a lot of predictable outcomes to consider so here's the brief: all the titles that are defended will be retained, Edge over Orton, Ted Jr. over Truth and the upset special, JeriMiz over The Harts...it's not really an upset, but the Harts will look stronger if they were to chase for the belts and with the Colons looking like they will be in the mix, WWE is finally getting their head out of the sand and somewhat taking the tag team division a little more seriously. But have fun covering Superstars tonight before you have to suffer watching WCW Thunder 2.0 on Spike...oh, I mean TNA Impact...

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