High Road/Low Road 08.14.09: Eric Young's Heel Turn

Posted by Chad Nevett on 08.14.2009

Eric Young has recently turned heel. Was this a necessity for Eric Young or is it something that should not have happened. Find out what we think in this week's High Road/Low Road!

Welcome back to the High Road/Low Road!

A brief explanation of the column: Sat takes the High Road (positive view) on angles, gimmicks, and other wrestling related "stuff" while Uncletrunx takes the Low Road (negative view).

Results for Chris Masters Back On RAW:

High Road: 32%
Low Road: 42%
Both Roads: 26%

Eric Young Heel Turn

High Road:

I'll start off with a minor high road. Eric Young has been playing the baby face since 2006. This has been a long time for him to be playing a baby face and it was time for a change.

Low Road:

I'm unconvinced. Some people manage to make a career of being either Face or Heel; Eric young could quite easily have been one of those. The question is, what does his heel turn achieve for him, besides a briefly raised profile through shock value? If the answer is "nothing" or "very little", all the turn does is makes him hear boos instead of cheers.

High Road:

As a heel, Eric Young's odds for winning the TNA X Division Title are a lot higher because there are a ton of baby faces in the X-Division. The names that come to mind are Daniels, Consequences, Homicide, Lethal, Suicide, and Shark Boy. The only heels that come to mind are Sabin, Shelley, Daniels, and Bashir. The odds are good that Eric Young will finally get to hold the X-Division Title (I am not counting that whole situation with Bashir/Sewell; did those reigns even count) as a heel.

Low Road:

The X division title is rendered somewhat meaningless by the broader context of the Young heel turn. Rather than elevating Young, a title victory for him now would confirm the belt's rank as a second tier title. Yes, it gives him a championship but it does nothing to elevate him.

High Road:

I remember one of Eric Young's interviews on Impact saying that he was sick of being a court jester and something along the lines of doing all of it for the company. I think that with him saying this, the fans are going to believe it because Eric Young as always been a company guy. They will also believe that he has been overlooked because of his company loyalty and he had to turn heel to get some attention from TNA. Eric Young's heel turn as the potential to work because it is believable and the stuff that works in pro wrestling is the stuff that is believable.

Low Road:

It was believable. It reminded me of the Hart Foundation '97 stuff, in much the same way as Punk's current heel turn reminds me of Bret in that era. The difference is, Punk is getting time to develop in a logical way, rather than being flung into a mega-faction to take part in 20 man pull apart brawls with little rhyme or reason to them.

High Road:

I think that TNA did a good thing by making Eric Young the leader of the World Elite. First, it makes sense for him to be the leader because he has the most TNA experience out of all the members. Second, the World Elite allows him to be a major player because the group has been getting a lot of time on Impact. I think without the group, Eric Young would not have been getting this much time on Impact.

Low Road:

This would've been great for him if they hadn't merged the World Elite with the Main Event Mafia to make NwO 2009. As it is, I can't see him being the guy they focus on and as with the NwO he'll be one of those lost in the shuffle. I feared that they'd end up overloading the Main Event Mafia and that's exactly what they've done.

High Road:

Eric Young's comedy character had reached the end of the line and it was time for a change. I really feel that Eric Young's comedy character had been dead for over a year when TNA introduced the Super Eric character. I think that the best way for fans to forget the comedy character was for Eric Young to go heel.

Low Road:

Eric Young's comic stint is too recent to be brushed over so swiftly. Turning him heel and having him decry his former persona is not enough to get rid of it and only serves to remind us that not so long ago, he was a "Court Jester". Wrestling Bookers frequently expect their audience to have a short memory but expecting it to be that short is a leap too far.

High Road:

The one thing that Eric Young's heel turn as going for it is that he has shown that he can play a heel. I was not watching TNA at the time, but I have heard people say that Eric Young was very good as a heel with Team Canada. More recently, I think he showed that he can be a heel when he had his mini feud with Danny Bonaduce. While he was not a clear cut heel with his mini feud with Danny, he did show some heel tendencies when he bad mouthed him and slapped him. Eric Young should be in good shape because he has shown that he can play the heel in previous sting.

Low Road:

He can play the heel, but given that he's part of a mega-faction with a whole load of Main Eventers, I have to question how much impact (no pun intended) his heel work is going to get. Incidentally, I'm also annoyed that I've tried to type "NwO" about half a dozen times in this column and it keeps autocorrecting to "now"! That's a low road for me right there, although perhaps not something to persuade readers to vote Low Road. (EDIT: I could fix it, but I'll leave it like it is. Let's hope that guy who did not like the Tazz/Taz situation is not reading)

High Road:

TNA did a good job on how they executed Eric Young's heel turn. As you all know, Eric Young turned heel against Jeff Jarrett after he lost the qualifying match for the King of the Mountain match. He also cost Mick Foley a match ala the Montreal Screw Job on Impact. I think with Eric Young turning heel by doing these acts, it means more than doing it against say a wrestler like Rhino.

Low Road:

There's too much about this whole situation which is rehashed. It almost looks like a "best bits of Russo in the late ‘90s" tribute show. When you have the Montreal Screwjob being used yet again, alongside the whole NwO / Corporate Ministry style storyline, it just seems to be a desperation attempt to go back and revisit things which worked previously. I'm not saying such angles can't work again, but using them so blatantly is a turn off for someone as old as I am who saw them all the last time around.

Are you taking the High Road or the Low Road?

High Road
Low Road
Both Roads
OR

Simply write "High Road", "Low Road", or "Both Roads" in the comment section.

E-Mails:

These are all of the e-mails that we received this week. We do not respond to the actual e-mail, but the reply to your e-mail will be below.

Jake Corbet Writes:

Low Road, Low Road .. dear god Low Road.

I hope .. I pray they update his finisher. I'm not sure how many more times I can see someone flopping side to side like a dead fish in the "Masterlock" before I start trying to claw out my eyes. If you want to do a full nelson as your finisher, fine .. but the side to side crap really needs to go. It just looks bloody stupid.

I don't have a problem necessarily with them bring him back .. I just don't think it should have been to Raw. He could have gone to say .. Smackdown, and had some good programs over there. Like Trunx said, the midcard on Raw is way too bloated .. so all this means is that the current midcard is going to get even less air time, or you're going to see a lot more matches that involve a lot of them at once (royal rumble type deals, 8 man tags, lumberjack matches) that mostly just have a crap load of your midcarders not REALLY working .. just sorta running about trying to look busy. This will work for a while .. but at some point, people are going to tire of seeing these gimmicks and start thinking that TNA sounds like a good gimmick free alternative.

On sort of a side note ...

I don't think many people would agree with me .. but I personally think they need to kill Superstars, and make ECW a 2 hour show. Give that young talent some room to breathe. Right now, they're trying to pack so much into that one hour, that all the matches are really fast .. no one really gets time to work .. and no one really gets any mic time (except Abraham Washington .. who I wanted to see lit on fire after his first "show"). If you like Superstars so much .. fine, keep it .. but make ECW 2 hours. Then move Masters over there. I'd sorta like to see Masters v Seamus.

Sat: I would say make ECW an hour and half, two hours would make it too much like RAW and SmackDown.

Uncletrunx: ECW certainly needs to have an extended timeslot now.

Stevo McClernon Writes:

Masters has and always will be a waste of space. He isn't very good in the ring, isn't very good on the mike and has been subjected to ridicule on TV by Triple H about his wellness violations in the past. I really am at a loss to figure out why he was brought back to feud with MVP instead of trying to elevate MVP to the next level. Its a total step backwards..

Sat: You could argue that CM Punk is ridiculing Hardy about his past. My main thing that is if Hardy gets multiple chances, then Masters should too.

Uncletrunx: The difference is, Hardy sells mountains of T shirts and has a legion of fanatical fans who swoon over his every near death experience. Masters does not.

Comments:

Below are the comments for last week's columns and our responses. Every comment will not be included because it makes our lives a lot easier.

The Gold Standard Writes:

Both Roads but more so low road only for him being on Raw. I would of shipped him to ECW or Smackdown where he has more of an opportunity. I like Masters and back in 2005 it actually looked like he would be a future world champ until wellness struck twice leading to his release. He now has to prove he can stay healthy and be trusted to get a chance at the top or upper mid and a Raw I don't see that happening for him.

Sat: I see him being shipped to ECW or SmackDown at the next draft. You can't make him a world champion too quickly.

Uncletrunx: I don't see why he didn't go back to Smackdown or ECW. If Christian is sent to ECW on his return, I don't understand why Masters gets put on RAW.

Bobby C Writes:

Low Road for Chris in the upper mid card or higher.

Vince is moving into Al Davis territory. So far removed from reality and repeating decisions that were successful in the 80's but are not relevant to today's "game".

80's wrestling villains were powerful and evil. They would overpower the face champion and cheat when that didn't work. But when the face (Hogan) overcame these odds, the crowd ate it up - David slew Goliath.

Wrestling fans don't want our heels to be Goliaths any more. We want our heels to be The Joker, to be Hannibal Lecter, to be Anton Chigurh. Doing things they think are right but we all know to be wrong. Jericho and Punk - self-righteous. Orton - psychotic. Edge - opportunist. These are your most over heels in the past few years - and nowhere do I mention strength.

Chris Masters can fill in the role of the local meathead - but to expect anything other than be used to elevate lower mid-card talent is foolish.

Sat: I think you make a good point about the current heels. But, I think Chris Masters could develop into that with the strength.

Uncletrunx: Masters would make a great Bodyguard / Muscle backup for a current top heel. Jericho is the obvious choice, given how well that sort of thing has worked for him in the past, although there could be a certain charm to putting him with Punk; a sort of blatant hypocrisy, which could help Punk's heel turn if handled properly.

HBK's Smile Writes:

A hesitant low road. I'm all for giving guys a chance to improve. However, I think Masters has hit his ceiling both technically and creativity. If that's the case, he brings nothing to the equation that would make me want to watch him.

If he wants to set on proving me wrong, he ought to be trying to improve on ECW rather than wasting valuable air time on RAW. I would not mind seeing him try to grow on ECW but not on RAW. Granted, this is not his fault, but I personally don't want to see him on RAW anytime soon

Sat: The WWE is interested in pushing new stars, so I think Masters has a good chance to succeed.

Uncletrunx: I agree entirely with this poster, especially, as I said above, if one considers Christian being put on ECW when he came back.

Code Red Writes:

Both roads. If they are high on him for the long run he could do well. However, it could very well be that management's interest could fizzle out in a couple of months and he'd be just another midcarder on RAW, much like a lot of the red brand is right now, apart from the stale main event. He should have gone to ECW.

Sat: You just stated my main concern. The WWE does change things on a whim.

Uncletrunx: To be honest, I don't see him rising above the midcard unless he's improved about 200% in his time away. It's possible and I hope he does show such improvement but I'm not anticipating it.

Chico Writes:

If mid-carders are going to be elevated to main eventers, then Chris Masters may have been brought in to replace the mid-carders that are on their way to main event.

Sat: I am really hoping this is the case.

Uncletrunx: I acknowledge that. However, with an overloaded midcard, surely it makes more sense to elevate some wrestlers before further clogging that midcard rather than throwing more people in there with less time to shine and hoping that one or two miraculously get more over with less focus.

Jaime Writes:

Low Road. So few people cared that he was returning it was sad. He gets little to no response whatsoever. We'll have to wait and see if he's improved as a wrestler but I doubt it.

Sat: The reaction is worrisome, but let's give it some time and see how it works.

Uncletrunx: With a return, you want a decent response to come in with momentum. The lack of it is a worry.

The Great Captain Smooth Writes:

High Road. People deserve a second chance. My only issue is that he came back as a heel. He should have showed up and told the crowd that he was cheating and that he gave them a false product, but that he's back to reclaim what he had. Perhaps he could have used the same type of words that MVP uses when he talks about going to prison and turning his life around. They might have even formed a team. People love a good comeback story and why not give him at least a shot at telling one? He would need help from faces that are over in order to get his facedom (I just pulled a "Colbert!") legit in the eyes of some fans, because some people will remember what he did and have a hard time forgiving him. No matter what show, angle, or gimmick he has, I'm pulling for him to succeed.

Sat: I would have loved to have seen this, but would the WWE have done this when they are kind of already doing it with Jeff Hardy?

Uncletrunx: I'd like to see him succeed but I can't see WWE going with this angle. As Sat says, it's too close to what they're doing with Jeff.

James Writes:

I'll go with High road because he can push younger superstars higher and occupy the mid-card status. He could be used as an enforcer by someone like Ziggler and possibly win a title or too.

Sat: I really hope the WWE has more in line for him then an enforcer.

Uncletrunx: If he's going to be an enforcer, it has to be for a main event guy like Punk or Jericho; otherwise it's a massive demotion for him.

Guest#4007 Writes:

Both Roads
I hate him a lot for getting a second chance after is drug violation. But in terms of wrestling its hard to say anything while he hasnt performed so much since his return.

Sat: Hopefully you feel this way about all of the other guys getting second chances.

Uncletrunx: I have nothing against second chances but I don't see what he offers that WWE don't already have.

Jeff Writes:

Low Road, simply because he looks like a wrestler, can be pushed like a wrestler, but CANNOT get over like a wrestler. He looks like he has an attitude, which would be fine for his character, but I think he really is like this.

Sat: The key for him is definitely to connect with the crowd.

Uncletrunx: I can't comment on his real personality but for a heel character, a touch of arrogance can be a real positive. This is one aspect of Masters' character that I like.

SilentOx Writes:

Low Road

I'd much rather see any guy from FCW called up than have to watch this mediocre talent waste TV time, AGAIN!

Sat: I don't know about that…

Uncletrunx: As I said above, I can't see what he adds that they don't already have.

Nanoman Writes:

Both roads. If someone gets bumped to the main event/ title scene than it will be a high road. If it just clogs up the mid-card and causes someone to get released than definite low road.

Sat: This is probably the approach to go with.

Uncletrunx: Can't argue with that.

Guest #8259 Writes:

Both Roads.

High because he is back and Ive never hated him.
Low because he will be jobbing to HHH, Cena, Batista in a matter of weeks. The curse of being a RAW midcarder.

Sat: If that is the reason the WWE brought him back, then the WWE has totally lost it.

Uncletrunx: I can see him being another Kozlov; built with a few crushing wins over midcard faces, then destroyed by HHH and dropped into oblivion.

Jacob Writes:

I have to go with the high road, because I saw him at a WLW show last year and I think he was much better as a face. So only if he is turned face.

Sat: There is no way the WWE could bring him back as a baby face because he was a heel his entire first run. Eventually, I could see the WWE doing it.

Uncletrunx: I'd be interested to see if Masters could work face in WWE.

JLAJRC Writes:

Both Roads: I actually do see some potential in him, but I do feel the WWE is making a couple of mistakes with him.

1.) I think he would fit better on ECW at the moment. This would've been a great place to reintroduce him and give him a chance to impress us. Then when he was ready, move him to either RAW or Smackdown.

2.) Why give him the same gimmick that wasn't over the first time he was around? For some reason, I just see him as a natural face, but they keep trying to push him as a heel. It's not working.

Sat: The storytelling is better on SmackDown and ECW, so maybe that would have been good for him.

Uncletrunx: He could've been well placed on ECW I feel, especially as the latest sub interim semi draft stripped ECW of a lot of talent.

King Writes:

The reason why the full nelson is believable as a finisher is because master's arms are the size of tree trunks. A 150 pounder having it as a finisher is dated and not used today but when Masters applies it, it looks like it could legitimately be a finisher.

Sat: Exactly.

Uncletrunx: This would be true if it hadn't been used as a transition for guys with bodybuilder physiques for years.

With that, we're finished for the week. Don't forget, Twitterfans:

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Your reasons for taking the High Road, Low Road, or Both Roads and suggestions for future High Road/Low Road are welcome at [e-mail] or in the comment section. Your reply will be included in next week's column.