wrestling / Columns
High Road/Low Road 04.23.10: Orlando Jordan
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 Chad Nevett takes the Low Road (negative view).
Results for Rob Van Dam In TNA:
High Road: 30%
Low Road: 58%
Both Roads: 12%
Sat: I am definitely surprised with the number of low roads here. Also, I was not surprised by the amount of “High” road jokes made, but what can you say. This was a high road for me; we all wanted RVD back in wrestling and he comes back and now it is a low road. Also, thanks to those who pointed out my mistake about RVD’s last match at the WWE being at December to Dismember.
Chad Nevett: I thought RVD was a bigger among online fans than this. I’ve never been particularly taken with him and think he hasn’t been used well, but he’s got talent. I probably would have went Both Roads leaning Low. Then he won the TNA World Championship and I’m definitely Low.
ORLANDO JORDAN
High Road:
Orlando Jordan’s new bisexual character is something that we have not seen before. We are always complaining about seeing the same old stuff on RAW and Impact and this is definitely different. I think the only comparison that could be made to this is Goldust, but I am not really seeing it.
Low Road:
We don’t much about the character yet. He hasn’t done anything with it yet except come out and do nothing. How does it even count as a character at this point? He needs to do something to define his character or he’s just a random combination of vague ideas of how a bisexual guy might dress/behave.
High Road:
I think Orlando Jordan doing this new character is a good idea because he is bisexual in real life. Some of the more successful stuff that we see in wrestling is based on something that the wrestler is doing in real life and hopefully the same can be true in this situation.
Low Road:
That will only be the case so long as Jordan doesn’t allow the character to become a stereotype or cheap joke. There’s a danger with this character of that happening and while characters based on the real lives of wrestlers tend to be simplistic and defined by one or two personality traits, that would kill this character as nothing more than a gay/bisexual stereotype.
High Road:
In Orlando Jordan’s entire career, he has only had one successful character for himself and that was the chief of staff of JBL’s cabinet and even that was not very successful. I think this character has a chance to make an impact in TNA because TNA is probably going to keep pushing the new character because Jordan has signed a new contract with TNA. I think if TNA keeps pushing the character, then it has the potential to be a good character.
Low Road:
I don’t think this character will make Jordan a success. He’s shown himself to be a middling in-ring performer and nothing special on the mic. He’s a solid midcarder, but won’t be anything else no matter what gimmick he has. That the WWE couldn’t find a place for him and TNA has struggled since his debut in January is a sign that he may just not have ‘it.’
High Road:
Orlando Jordan has been getting a bad rap for his in ring work. I think he really had a bad run in terms of wrestling in the WWE, but since that time he has been overseas. The odds are good that he is better in the ring than he was in his WWE run. I don’t see him being a great in ring wrestler, but I think he can be decent for TNA.
Low Road:
He’s had one or two decent matches with the Pope, but hasn’t shown himself to be impressive in the ring at all. He’s had the chance to show that he’s worth watching and hasn’t proven it yet.
High Road:
Minor high road here because it really was not stated above. Without this new character, Orlando Jordan was just another wrestler. In one of the comments a few weeks back, I wrote that Orlando Jordan was basically Booker T-lite. The character change at least separates him from the other wrestlers on the TNA roster.
Low Road:
Standing out is important, but that only takes you so far. The character needs to be engaging and his in-ring work needs to get people exciting. So far, the character is a mystery and he hasn’t wrestled in a while. I’m not intrigued, I’m already bored with him. They’ve waited too long to pull the trigger and give us some idea of what his character is actually like.
High Road:
TNA needs to get new fans to start watching their show. While it would seem like on the surface that having a bisexual character is not the best idea to do this, I think it can work. First, it is something different, so you might be able to get viewers to watch based on that. Second, this has gotten TNA a bit of coverage, so the potential is there to get in some new fans. Third, I seem to recall reading somewhere about the bisexual community being in favor of this; that is bound to draw in some of the community to start watching TNA.
Low Road:
He’s barely done anything. While the new character has gotten TNA some press, by not using Jordan in a story or having him wrestle instead of coming out for ten seconds during/after Rob Terry matches, they risk losing whatever new viewers the gimmick brings in.
High Road:
Another minor high road. All of the entrances in wrestling today are the same. Everybody comes from the back and the only differences between the entrances are what kind of fireworks go off and some other general stuff. I think an entrance that is different from all of the others is bound to help Orlando Jordan.
Low Road:
His entrance isn’t that different. He entered with two valets once prior to a match and came down from the rafters in a segment that went nowhere. Since then, he’s just come out during or after Rob Terry matches. What’s so different and unique? He doesn’t have a standard entrance yet since he hasn’t wrestled in over a month.
Are you taking the High Road or the Low Road?
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.
Darnell Brown Writes:
I agree with the low road.. i miss TNA pre Hogan era. it was way fresher and a much better show. For me RVD is not adding anything to the show. Before TNA hires anymore people they need to let go of some of the guys that we never see on TV.
Sat: That is sound advice, but TNA is probably not going to listen to it.
Chad Nevett: This week’s episode was a great case for this as it focused on two stories. It told both stories well, but still. TWO STORIES.
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 comments section was last looked at on Sunday Night Pacific Time.
Easy Writes:
LOW ROAD
Brought in ZERO new fans…ZERO
No drug policy…that writes itself
Yet another over rated former WWE star
Sat: I don’t buy that fact that he did not bring in new fans; I think the main problem is that TNA is losing fans (that knockouts box challenge probably lost a lot of fans)
Chad Nevett: I don’t know, Sat, that segment was one of the episode’s highest rated segments. The Knockouts always do well in the ratings (relative to the rest of the show).
The Whole Dam Low Road Writes:
Low Road – he burned all his bridges by signing with bush league TNA. He brought in no new viewers and probably pissed off Vince McMahon, which is nevr a good thing.
Sat: No bridge has been burned. If RVD is fired from TNA, he could work for the WWE tomorrow.
Chad Nevett: Yeah, that idea is meaningless for the most part. He didn’t jump ship or betray any loyalties by signing with TNA.
ROH Commish Writes:
High Road.
RVD was never really a WWE guy to begin with. It is not like WWE was gonna bring him in. This is another chance to see a great performer. If RVD sticks around, TNA will have a reliable upper-midcard performer who can provide flexibility in TNA’s booking.
Sat: I agree with this.
Chad Nevett: Yeah, this comment makes sense. Where him being the champ fits into that, though, is anyone’s guess.
The Gold Standard Writes:
Both Roads. I suppose if they revitalize the X-Division he could be a great presence but I think he should be put in a tag team with a homegrown X-division star and rip up the tag team ranks with awesome feuds like Beer Money and British Invasion if their even still around.
Sat: I’ve given up all hope for the X-Division being revitalized.
Chad Nevett: Yeah, for all the talk about the X-Division being the engine of TNA, there hasn’t been much action backing that up.
Guest#3253 Writes:
High Road
Positives:
– RVD is recognizable. If a WWE fan flips over to Impact and sees RVD and a signature spot, they might hang around for a minute.
– Storyline variety. If TNA is going to use feuds/alliances from the 90’s, they should at least vary things and not stick with nWo stuff. For example, we could see an ECW-themed storyline, complete with blood.
– Beacon for other wrestlers. RVD isn’t exactly washed up. He’s showing other wrestlers that TNA isn’t completely a retirement home.Negatives:
– His debut would have been more meaningful during the heyday of the X-division.
– RVD could be gone at any moment. Whether it’s legal troubles or his wife needs him to stay home (not sure how her health is), he could disappear for a while.
– Lost in the shuffle. Too many “major” debuts close together.
Sat: I don’t really see RVD being gone at any moment, but I do agree that he could be lost in the shuffle.
Chad Nevett: I honestly don’t care about blood or an ECW-themed storyline unless done well. And I doubt that would be the case since relying on old gimmicks and nostalgia is much easier.
s1rude Writes:
Low Road. He’s a mid-carder with a stale character (the unitard with spray art from the state fair is totally tubular) and a repetitive moveset (Rolling Thunder! Frog Splash! Van Terminator! They all look like they hurt him more than connect with his opponent). He muddies the waters of a promotion already struggling to provide visibility to all of their “Stars”.
This could turn around if he’s used to put over younger/newer acts like Beer Money or Douglas Williams. But at this point, he does nothing to raise the quality or entertainment level of Impact.
Sat: I’ve always been a fan of his ring gear. The repetitive moveset applies to a lot of guys; hopefully you feel the same about those guys as well.
Chad Nevett: Yeah, I don’t mind the moveset since that’s common to most guys. People like to see certain wrestlers for certain moves. Stray too far and people feel betrayed, like they aren’t getting what they paid for.
Jake Fury Writes:
Low Road.
TNA did nothing to promote a former World champion. To be honest RVD hasn’t done anything yet to really stand out. Like some of the previous comments said his entire moveset is just way too predictable and his character sucks.
Sat: The one problem with TNA is everything has to be a surprise; why not hype that RVD is coming to TNA?
Chad Nevett: The playing coy was a mistake. And that’s my complaint about RVD winning the title: it comes out of nowhere. No build, no anticipation, no story.
Polish Post Writes:
RVD, Kurt Angle, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman, Ric Flair, and Hulk Hogan are some of my all-time favorites.
AJ Styles, Amazing Red, Samoa Joe, MCMG, Beer Money, Homicide, Hernandez and The Pope are all great talents.
The problem is this- it’s like a movie where all of your favorite actors come together in one movie, but it just doesn’t work. The ingredients are there, but it just falls flat.
In cases like this I blame either the script, the director or the producer-or all of the above. It’s hard to blame the studio, it only exists to provide funding and resources for a project and never should enter into the creative process.
This Is TNA. They make that movie every week. Blame the booking team, the management, the writers or the production team. It doesn’t matter who is at fault, it only matters that one or more of them is failing.
Sat: I think the problem is booking and I don’t see that problem being fixed anytime soon.
Chad Nevett: What I don’t get is how some weeks are fantastic shows and some are absolutely awful. No consistency or learning from what worked.
The Great Captain Smooth Writes:
Both roads. Low, because of the pot problem and his is past his prime. High, because he can put people over, has a different style, and he is OVER with he crowd. They love him.
Sat: I don’t really care about the pot problem; I think he is a valuable addition to TNA because he is definitely over with the crowd.
Chad Nevett: Yeah, the pot problem was an embarrassment after he won the WWE Championship because of the arrest. Otherwise, I don’t care.
Guest#2730 Writes:
Low Road.
Even though he wasn’t always in the main event, RVD in WWE always came across as a big star, he just always had that larger than life aura to him. I don’t know what it is, but in TNA he just doesn’t have it, he’s just like any other guy. I feel the same way about Jeff Hardy. On paper these guys should have been major acquisitions, but amazingly they’ve had no impact at all.
Sat: I agree with your point on Jeff Hardy; he was definitely a big star in the WWE, but it does not seem like that in TNA. I’m not feeling that way for RVD, but that might be because I am a huge fan of his.
Chad Nevett: Even after Monday, I feel the same way about both men. They’ve bounced around and haven’t really stuck anywhere. This latest story with the title feels like it will be dropped within the month based on what’s happened so far.
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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 [email protected] or in the comment section. Your reply will be included in next week’s column.
