MeeThinks 12.19.06: The TNA Recap
Posted by John Meehan on 12.19.2006
MeeThinks is back with part three of its four-part look at every major pro wrestler on North American television today. This week? It's a sixty-minute adrenaline rush as MeeThinks takes on Total Nonstop Action!
Welcome back and happy holidays, all! Get your bells jinglin' and your menorahs lit for part three of a four-week multipack of positivity as MeeThinks kicks off its Second Annual MeeThinks Year-End Wrap-up and Predictions!
In case you missed the first two columns of the series (linked below) we're closing out the calendar with a roster-by-roster, four-part look at EVERY wrestler active on each of the major North American pro wrestling broadcasts of the day.
Four columns, four rosters, four weeks in December.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy this third installment of the feature as MeeThinks lends a kindhearted evaluation, an optimistic outlook, and a few helpful pointers to EVERYONE on each of sports entertainment's four major rosters.
Yes, EVERYONE.
This week -
We are giving y'all a sixty minute adrenaline rush as we tackle all the ups, downs and crazy developments in the wild, fast-paced and wonderful world of Total Nonstop Action!
Sound like a plan?
Rock & roll.
As you know...
When 2005 wrapped, wrestling fans had three major wrestling shows airing each week - RAW on Mondays, Smackdown on Thursdays (ultimately moved to Friday's by year's end), and TNA iMPACT! on Saturday nights at 11pm.
Wow, what a difference a year makes, no? 2006 wraps, and we have not three but FOUR major pro wrestling shows each week:
In the past two weeks, we've covered Monday and Tuesday night's wrestling fare - so this week it's Thursday's turn as MeeThinks sizes up all of the stars, stories and swerves that we saw in the past year of Total Nonstop Action.
Speaking in generalities -
The year started off on a screwy, soap-opera-y storyline as Jeff Jarrett reigned supreme on the TNA mountaintop while WWE-import Miss Jackie threatened to leak some incriminating blackmail evidence about the NWA Champion. A quick twist in the story later (don't ask - and no, it WASN'T Vince Russo's doing!) and fans learned that JARRETT obtained some not-so-flattering video of Miss Jackie as payback, so the main event saw The King of The Mountain and his cronies (and boy, were there a LOT of them) exploiting the former Tough Enough champion to the delight and entertainment of, well, just about nobody.
Speaking of Jarrett's cronies -
The dawn of 2006 in TNA will probably be remembered for the "Planet Jarrett" powerblock. With Double-J at its center, the TNA heel roster came out in full support of their champion, and in one way, shape, or form, Jarrett received the help and/or protection of just about EVERY TNA baddie in his run as the company's number one rule breaker.
What a difference a year makes, though, right?
Of those erstwhile Jarrett supporters, 2006 saw the departure, babyface turn, sabattical, gimmick overhaul and/or break-up of:
America's Most Wanted - Disbanded in December, 2006 when Storm turned on Harris. Team Canada - Forced to disband in the summer of 2006, removing Coach D'Amore from TNA television, making Bobby Roode into a singles heel, turning Erik Young into a paranoid babyface, creating a mid-level tweener out of Petey Williams, confusing Johnny Devine to the point where he'd join not one but TWO stables in the months that followed, and leaving A-1 more or less out on his ass and looking for work. Alex Shelley - Left to allign with Kevin Nash Monty Brown - Quit the company altogether, signed to rival promotion WWE Scott Steiner - Faded from TNA spotlight, rumored to have renegotiated his contract in late 2006. Jeff Jarrett - "Left TNA" on sabattical after dropping the NWA World Title to Sting, showed signs of a face turn before departing.
As you can see, TNA most definitely dealt with its fair share of departing talent in 2006. Let's look at who went where real quick...
To WWE? Shannon Moore - (re-signed by WWE's ECW brand over the summer) Sabu - (signed by WWE's ECW brand over the summer) Jeff Hardy - (re-signed by WWE's RAW brand, current Intercontinental Champion) Monty Brown - (signed to WWE contract in November)
To retirement, leave, indies and/or unemployment? Roderick Strong - (to US independents, now FIP Heavyweight Champion. Roderick Strong: World Champion? I TOTALLY CALLED IT last year!) Miss Jackie - (maternity leave throughout much of '06) Jeff Jarrett - (indefinite sabbatical to rest up) Coach D'Amore - (removed from TNA television once Team Canada disbanded)
Yikes. Of those, Hardy and Monty Brown were probably the two most immediate blows. Sabu had pretty much exhausted his two-move repetior by the time his program with Abyss had reached the second or third barbed wire brawl, so his loss was a bit easier to field. Shannon Moore's departure was probably the most shocking of the bunch, of course, as he was working with a handshake agreement and receiving a pretty decent push just prior to walking out of the company and back to the welcoming arms (and deep pockets) of WWE.
In the bigger picture, though - Roderick Strong was probably the most critical loss of the bunch, as the guy is young, talented and shows all the signs of an eventual Bret-Hart-type, major-promotion main eventer if he keeps things up at this rate. His stellar 56-minute bout against The American Dragon is a testament to the man's skill (even at a relatively young age), and his FIP Heavyweight Title win in November definitely did all the more to improve the man's credibility with smart and mark fans alike.
But speaking of world titles - let's get back to TNA, yes?
Once Jarrett's power block disintegrated, Christian Cage found himself stepping up to the plate and assuming the role of TNA's resident "it" guy. Captain Charisma reigned supreme for much of the early half of TNA in 2006, and once Jarrett snuck his way back into the title picture by late in the summer, other TNA main-eventers in Sting and Abyss were more than ready to step up to the plate and carry the strap themselves (or, in Abyss's case, with the help of the waiting arms belonging to one James Mitchell ;-).
Major storylines for TNA's 2006 calendar, both kayfabe *and* real, were the talk of the wrestling world in 2006. The big ones, in storyline terms?
Christian Cage: World Champion.
Larry Zybsko: meddling heel authority figure.
Jim Cornette: new onscreen authority replacement.
Jeff Jarrett: fallen baddie sees the light.
Samoa Joe: the streak is ended.
Voodoo Kin Mafia: dX overload in full effect.
In terms of *real* developments outside of the ring, however - TNA's "shoot" happenings most definitely stacked up to (or perhaps even eclipsed) what all went down onscreen. Like, for example...
TNA landed a primetime television slot.
TNA signed Jim Cornette.
TNA re-signed Vince Russo to head the company's booking committee.
and, of course...
TNA signed Kurt Angle (!!!).
With all of these new talents joining and old talents leaving, MeeThinks now is as good a time as any to size up each of the performers on the TNA roster on a one-by-one basis. So let's cut the broad-talk and get down to brass (thumb?)tacks with a blow-by-blow analysis on each of TNA's active competitors.
A-1 - If any of the Team Canada alumni have had a tough break since the group's scattering to the four winds, look no further than our favorite steak-sauce-turned-wrestler, A-1. Recent reports suggest that it's gotten so bad for A-1 that the TNA locker room has actually gone about taking up a collection with every wrestler chipping in a few extra bucks to help fly the guy to each of the promotion's tapings (even though he's rarely booked to wrestle). If this is true, fans can't help but sympathize with the poor dude as his days in TNA seem both financially prohibitive and, well, numbered. But still, big, generic white dudes can fetch a pretty penny wrestling in Japan, you know (see: Albert, Lesnar, Bart Gunn, Jindrak, Tomko, etc.) - so perhaps all hope is not yet lost for A-1 should TNA decide to cut their losses and let him go in the new year. Then again, I wouldn't put it past a guy like Vince Russo to take A-1's real-life financial crisis and tweak it into a full-out, onscreen "I'm struggling to make ends meet" hobo-of-a-wrestler character for the big man. And while that sort of gimmick has "WrestleCrap" written all over it -- A-1 could do a LOT worse than playing a bum on TV if the alternative means, you know, *actually* being a bum and *NOT* being on TV.
Abyss (and James Mitchell) - For Abyss fans, 2006 will probably be best remembered as the year that The Monster FINALLY tasted TNA gold. After years of playing "jobber to the stars" and making everyone from Christian to Kurt Angle look like world beaters in their respective runs to TNA glory, Abyss *finally* got what was coming to him in the form of the NWA Title. Now, of course, the character is at a bit of a crossroads -- and while Sting fights to "save his soul" and Tomko threatens to expose his past, Mitchell wars from the dark side hoping to keep The Monster alive and well. A great, multi-dimensional storyline, no doubt (we're basically staring at "the walls are closing in on the champ from all sides!) -- but one that might well just backfire in the end, as EVERY "monster" who's ever been unmasked instantly becomes more human in the process. And whether it's Kane, Mankind, Jason Voorhees or The Black Scorpion (that's right, I went there) -- fact is? Just about EVERY unmasked baddie loses a fair share of momentum and mystique along the way. You know why that DeNiro movie RONIN is so damned watchable even after you've already seen it? (SPOILERS) BECAUSE WE NEVER FIND OUT WHAT WAS IN THAT BRIEFCASE THEY WERE CHASING AFTER!!! Alfred Hitchcock once called this sort of thing a "macguffin," which is basically a device which - though it has little to no relevance itself -- is used to artificially create interest in and/or advance the plot. The WMD's in Iraq, for example - macguffins. Whether they're actually there or not is pretty inconsequential - it got us over there, and so now it doesn't matter whether or not we ever find any. The briefcase in Ronin? Never find out what's inside of it, but viewers still go nutz over the movie-long chase-sequence in hot pursuit of the thing. And Abyss behind the mask? Fans should NEVER see the guy without it, nor should we learn anything more than shreds of the character's past... because once you see what's behind the veil? Odds are it simply won't live up to your expectations, and THAT's precisely why Abyss needs to keep both his mask AND his mystery in 2007.
Kurt Angle - The million dollar question for Kurt Angle in 2007 is whether or not what he does *inside* the TNA ring will be able to overshadow what he'll do *outside* of it. In 2006 alone, the Joe/Angle showdowns -- while impressive -- were met with mixed reviews and a fair share of critical disappointment to boot. Sure, 'net fans are perpetually negative on just about everything, but the simple fact is that with two IWC favorites like Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe? You're pretty well staring at as close to a "can't miss" prospect as one might imagine. Unfortunately for Angle (and Joe, by association) - Kurt has made a nasty habit of saying some remarkably dumb and borderline-nutso stuff to mainstream media in the weeks leading up to his match against Joe, leading fans to question whether or not the "crazed" Kurt Angle we see on TNA television is, in fact, really that far off the mark from just how loopy the man might actually be in real life. "Chris Sabin should play Pigpen!" "I haven't used pain killers in over two years!" "I'd love to teabag Daniel Puder and then have my wife use the bathroom on his face!" and, of course, "I'm definitely going to have a shoot fight in a TNA ring in 2007!" are just a FEW of Angle's off-the-wall remarks in his months since leaving WWE, and while TNA's relaxed travel schedule is most certainly a better fit for the guy's injury-riddled and family-oriented lifestyle, the simple fact of the matter is that the company's lack of a good PR consultant to stop Kurt from making an ass of himsels might well prove to be the man's undoing in 2007. While TNA has every right and every reason to embrace "no limits" Kurt Angle *inside* of their ring, if fans are expected to remember the Olympic Gold Medalist for his in-ring accomplishments rather than for his out-of-ring-rants? They most definitely need to put a lid on "no limits" Kurt Angle when he's *outside* of the six-sided-circle.
Brother Runt - Have to give the little guy credit, as he's STILL proving to be a nice, marketable undercard draw a good ten years after everybody thought they'd seen the last of him. His smashmouth run-ins with Abyss and Raven in 2006 went a long way in proving his scrappiness and bump-taking credibility with TNA fans, but one can't help but wonder if the Runt of the 3D clan has finally served his purpose now that he's squared off against (and lost to) just about every "hardcore" wrestler on the North American continent. Save for a merciless beatdown from Hernandez and Homicide to help kickstart a LAX/3D program (which, come to think of it, might be a *great* use of all parties involved), MeeThinks Runt is due for a tag partner or two STAT, lest he be lost in the "skinny white guy" undercard shuffle already dominated by Sharkboy, Eric Young and the like.
Christian Cage (and Tomko) - Who among us could have guessed that the longest active unbeaten streak in North American professional wrestling (and that extends to all brands outside of TNA) would one day belong to none other than former jobber-to-the-midcard, Christian Cage? 2006 has most certainly been kind to "Captain Charisma," as the former multi-time WWE tag champion finally had his chance to shine in singles' competition as he became the NWA Champion less than six months after debuting for the rival company. Though a screwy match or two wound up costing the 'Cap his belt, a long-standing feud with former friend Rhino kept Christian hot (and unbeaten) throughout 2006, and a well-timed introduction of his "problem solver," Tomko, instantly put Cage back in the hunt for NWA gold as the year drew to a close. Truth be told, I'd much rather Cage kept Tomko to the "strong, silent type" enforcer role rather than bringing him into any in-ring action in the year to come... but MeeThinks we're almost guaranteed to see the Problem Solver in action by the time Cage next challenges for the NWA Title. I'm also hedging my bets on Cage's involvement in the Abyss storyline (please keep that deep, dark secret under wraps, ok?) -- so here's hoping Christian can steer clear of storyline quagmires and nonsensical soap opera angles long enough to regain his spot at the top of the TNA heap. Last year, I pegged him to be a TNA World Champion in the year to come... and if he keeps things up at the rate he's going these days? I see no reason why 2007 shouldn't be more of the same.
Christopher Daniels - Last year I caught some flack for ragging on The Fallen Angel's choice in ring attire. To the point, MeeThought that while his entrance attire was about as bad ass as they come in TNA (love the monk robe, btw) - there was just something kinda awkward about his high-hiked shortpants and his woefully crooked ankh tattoo. While I'll forgive the tattoo (and applaud the guy for dropping the goofy Chippendale wrestling neck collar along the way), I still can't help but think that Daniels is a few steps off the mark in *really* cementing a unique, in-ring image that stands up as well as his ring entrance and "casual attire" (read: PIMP business casual) looks do. Think about Triple H's move from short-pants to standard-issue tights... it pretty much coincided with his move from "dX stablemate" to "singles star: The Game", right? In many ways, Daniels is in much the same spot as Triple H was not so long ago. Like Hunter dominated the IC division and the stable wars in the glory days of dX 2.o. The Fallen Angel has been on a tear through TNA's tag and X-Division ranks for 2006. MeeThinks one well-written storyline from now and the guy could easily make the transition to challenging for the company's top prize. But again, he's fighting an uphill battle (pun intended, given the man's height) - and with giants like Abyss, Tomko, and even men of slightly-taller-than-average stature like Christian, Joe and Jarrett likely to be main event fixtures in the year to come? Doing ANYTHING he can to hide his otherwise diminuitive stature certainly wouldn't hurt. I'm not saying he should go the all-out (ahem) "supplement" route that Triple H explored when he transitioned from midcarder to main eventer... but MeeThinks a slight tweak in his overall appearance would definitely go a long way in making The Fallen Angel seem like he's a credible fit alongside the rest of the TNA title hunters.
Sonjay Dutt - Sonjay has tons of potential and a crapload of charisma to boot, and it's really been a shame to watch him trade in skill and technical prowess for a brainless, dead-end angle to help shill a Jackass movie. Thankfully, TNA has abandoned the Jackass antics, and so it appears that Sonjay is back on track to let his in-ring abilities do the talking as he leaves the toilet-diving and nutshot bonanzas to guys like Steve-o and Wee Man. The Paparazzi Championship Series is bound to make the personalities of at least ONE X-Division performer rise to the surface (you'll note that it's doing wonders for Starr and Shelley, not to mention in rebuilding Senshi's "warrior" cred along the way), so MeeThinks its "put up or shut up" time for guys like Dutt, one of very few TNA X-Division vets NOT to have held the division's title. Sure, Sonjay is young (though his hairline might suggest otherwise), but 2007 is a long year with plenty of time for him to grow -- here's hoping he makes the most of it in the next 365 so we can go into 2008 with the words "Sonjay Dutt: X-Division Champion" right on the tip of our tongues.
Chris Harris and James Storm(Formerly "America's Most Wanted") - I believe it was Sheryl Crow who once sang "I think a change will do you good," and MeeThinks there is nobody on the TNA roster who better fits this bill then Wildcat and the Cowboy. After the gradual (and largely inexplicable) dissolution of Planet Jarrett, TNA's heelish head honcho enforcer team struggled to stay relevant as new teams were forged and introduced to the TNA fold. Once the "dream team" of Styles and Daniels paired up for MegaPowers2006, fans and critics of AMW alike could tell you that the handwriting was pretty much on the wall when it came to Cowboy and Wildcat's longstanding reign as tag champions. Unfortunately, the duo had lost almost all their momentum going *in* to their program against the PhenomenAngels, which meant that by the time they walked *out* of the angle - they were pretty well dead in the relevancy water. A quick reboot to "American babyfaces" didn't do much to convince fans that the past two years of full-on heeldom was nothing more than a bad dream, so bravo to Storm for embracing his badass roots, good luck to Harris as he braves the solo ranks of "good guy" alone, and here's hoping that BOTH of these guys can develop a personality and in-ring style distinct enough from the other to give fans a reason to care about two men who used to be America's hottest tag team once more.
The Diamonds in the Rough("Primetime" Elix Skipper and David Young) - Last year, I said
As far as "enhancement talent" stables go, one can do much worse than teams like The Diamonds (see: The Oddities, The J.O.B. Squad, The Misfits in Action, etc.). Loved it that TNA had the brass to throw these guys (as opposed to Team Canada or Jarrett et. al.) up against the best of the MLB in that mini-crossover angle… this sort of thing shows that the company trusts the stable to put on competent matches even with lesser (or non-)trained wrestlers, and that can go a long way in establishing a performer's credibility (if the matches come across well, as this particular showdown did). Do I see The Diamonds lasting throughout 2006? A tough call, especially if TNA is looking to break Bobby Roode way from Team Canada (and effectively kill that stable in the process). But one thing is for sure – The Diamonds in the Rough are a quality undercard stable just the same, and each of its members are probably better off together than apart (for now, at least).
And it appears that I couldn't have been more on the money. A few teased break-ups for the duo throughout the summer of 2006 meant that TNA was at least kicking around the idea of letting Skipper and Young go it on their own, but once Russo came in the tandem was all-but forgotten and the Diamonds are just about in the same place as they were a year ago at this time. As such, I'll stick with my prediction and analysis from last year - though I'll go one step further and say that 2007 will likely be the end of The Diamonds in the Rough.
Lance Hoyt - Still employed? Ho hum, Lance Hoyt has done little to impress this year and even less to convince Mee that he deserves a contract on a nationally-televised wrestling promotion while folks like American Dragon, Chris Hero and - heck, even Necro Butcher continue to toil away in the relative obscurity of smaller, independent shows across the country. Yes, he's popular with the Impact Zone crowd (partying at the same bars as fans tends to win one a following, you know). And sure, he works really hard... but then again (to borrow a line from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation), "so do washing machines." And the fact is? Very few people line up and pay good money to see those things these days. MeeThinks 2007 is the time for Hoyt to make an iMPACT or find himself a new play of employment (again, I will stress that Japan is really high on generic white dudes of size and stature). So shape up or ship out, Hoyt... and if you're serious about being a full-time pro wrestler? Might I suggest investing in a handy, dandy pocket-sized English-to-Japanese dictionary, while we're at it.
Jeff Jarrett - Inactive by year's end, so we'll have to table discussing him for the "deleted scenes" column in two weeks' time, deal?
Ron "The Truth" Killings - Once Monty Brown walked, Killings was left holding the "token black guy" spot on TNA's roster, and the company has proven remarkably reluctant to let the dude go for fear that he might try jumping ship to rival promotion WWE. Why, exactly, ANYONE is afraid that Killings would either a) be booked effectively in a rival promotion, or b) warrant so much as a mention of "relevant" should he jump to WWE is beyond Mee. Sure, he's a former NWA Champion - but then again, so are Dan Severn and Ken Shamrock, and you don't see wrestling promotions beating down the door to sign either of those guys, eh? Simple fact of the matter is that Killings should be content playing "big fish in a small pond" rather than making the jump anywhere else and suffering from what's undoubtedly going to amount to the infamous "Shannon Moore" treatment upon his return. After all, if the best you can muster is to cut freestle rhymes saying that John Cena -- WWE's poster boy -- "smells like doo doo?" Best to quit while you're ahead rather than further degrade what little credibility you have left.
Latin American Exchange(Hernandez, Homicide and Konnan) What a remarkable year 2006 was for LAX. Bouncing Machete for Hernandez was step one, and moving Konnan to full-time mouthpiece while letting Homicide do much of the in-ring work was a brilliant step two. As a result of their hard work, LAX rose to the top of TNA's tag division and silenced even the harshest of their detractors by unseating Styles and Daniels for the NWA Tag straps. Once they'd offed the dream team, LAX was representing "La Raza" in full throttle as they delivered the hot-button, race-based stable in a way more effective than any other faction in recent memory, up through AND INCLUDING Los Boriquas and the Nation of Domination. Playing the race card and the immigration issue to perfection, LAX has been hot on the mic and in their promos, and with some stellar in-ring work from all parties involved, they came out of the Six Sides of Steel and the Ultimate X match looking like gangbusters -- even if they didn't always walk away with the "W." Much like Homicide did against CM Punk in their Ring Of Honor days, you can see early signs of this faction gaining remarkable credibility and momentum REGARDLESS of who walks out of any one particular match the winner. Here's hoping that the new year will prove equally successful for the Latin American eXchange, and that they can keep their heat going long enough to share some of it back with the rest of TNA's tag ranks.
Jay Lethal - Jay Lethal is a bit of a mystery. On the one hand, he's as talented and as motivated as any other performer on the TNA roster. Yet at the same time, he seems all-too content to get lost in the shuffle as he gives chase for dead-end title programs and angles that rarely see a payoff befitting an athlete and performer of his caliber. In other words? Even though he's still new to the game, Lethal's at a crossroads in his career - and if he wants to avoid falling into the same trap as Sonjay Dutt did this year ("incredible talent, no direction"), he'd be smart to start speaking up for himself backstage and in promos so that he can separate himself from the rest of the X-Division herd in short order. An X-Division title run would be a welcome addition to the young guy's already impressive resume, but lest his reign as champ be met with the same collective yawn and lack of fanfare as Chris Sabin's, we're going to need to see a reason to care about Jay Lethal before we'll accept him as champ. Here's to you in 2007, Jay - you've got all the tools, now make us believe.
The Naturals(Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens) - 2006 was kind to The Naturals, but sadly not as kind as they might have wished it would be. Though they've scored some serious bragging rights with their new badass swagger (and for beating Team 3D in a tables match), the bottom line is that when push came to shove? Douglas and Stevens simply couldn't get the job done and so they walked out of 2006 WITHOUT a run with the NWA Tag Titles to show for their efforts. This does not bode well for the duo, as TNA has pretty well exhausted their reserves on both men's careers (and haircuts) going into 2007, which means that if there ever were a chance for Douglas and Stevens to rise once again to the top of the TNA heap? 2006 was THE year to have done it... and that simply leaves one with little hope that these two will be back anywhere near the title picture in 2007. With LAX, Team 3D, Seratonin, The Paparazzi, and at least one or two other semi-regular tag teams pretty well keeping the title hunt on lockdown for the forseeable future, MeeThinks unless they're holding out for one of Russo's characteristic mood swings, Douglas and Stevens would be smart to start gearing up for a set of singles' runs in the new year.
The Paparazzi(Austin Starr, Alex Shelley and Kevin Nash) - Though in the ring, there are at least two or three teams in TNA that ranked heads and shoulders above the Paparazzi in 2006 (LAX, the PhenomenAngels), for my money it just doesn't get any more entertaining as a "total package" deal then the genius pairing of Starr and Shelley under the direction of Kevin Nash. Since his TNA return, Austin (Aires) Starr has been looking more and more like Randy Savage on a daily basis - both in his general appearance AND in his in-ring abilities, which (when compared to Savage's early career) is a very good, MARKETABLE template from which to borrow. Shelley, meanwhile, continues to be spot-on in his role as Big Kev's support-seeking lackey, and you can totally see him in a Warner Brothers cartoon playing the role of the little puppy yapping about and trying whatever he can to win the big dog's attention. Nash, for his part, has been brilliant (as always) - and though he's pretty well done in terms of in-ring action and ability, you've got to hand it to the guy for helping inject a much needed dose of personality into a division that had otherwise turned pretty darn vanilla in his absense. Thankfully, it looks like the Paparazzi Championship Series vignettes are part of a longer-range goal by TNA management to help put faces to the names behind TNA's cavalcade of X competitors, and so here's hoping we get to see a fresh crop of faces (with UNIQUE personalities to show for it) before this storyline has run its course.
Rhino - The War Machine has got to be feeling mighty good that he made the choice to stick with TNA and not hop back to the startup ECW, as fellow ECW Originals like Heyman and Doring are finding themselves sent home and/or laid off by the day, and so there's little reason to believe that Rhino would have fared any better under a McMahon umbrella. That said, however, 2006 has been a tough year for the Man Beast, as he pretty well spent the first half of the year trying to convince fans that he was still NWA Championship material, only to turn around and spend the latter half of the year staring up at the arena lights putting WWE-import Christian Cage on the TNA map. What's next for Rhino? Tough call, as he already seems to be getting lost in the submain-event shuffle with the likes of Ron Killings, Christopher Daniels and Team 3D -- and so 2007 will prove CRUCIAL for Rhino if he's ever to re-establish himself as a credible challenger to the company's top prize. If not, MeeThinks we could well be staring at TNA's answer to Kane -- a comfortable, marketable top-level guy, to be sure... but not one that's likely to be headlining any title matches in the near future (if ever again, at least in singles' contests).
Robert Roode (and Miss Brooks) - Yikes. What a tough break for the erstwhile crown jewel of Team Canada, no? Last year, I'd pegged Bobby as the breakout star of the group - and while his push following the stable's dissolution has most certainly proven my theory correct, his win/loss record has done little to inspire confidence that yes, in fact, he *is* the man to watch. TNA seems torn on Bobby, saddling him with the half-hearted VK Wallstreet gimmick and already teasing a separation from his "new" manager (so much for that awe-inspiring string of A-List managers to the stars like Heenan, Sherri and Colonel Tom Parker, no?). Bobby Roode needs to get his ass in gear FAST if he's ever going to be taken seriously as a mid-level (to main-event-level) threat, as his losing streak and infighting angle is hardly helping him keep the pace with such import main eventers as Sting, Angle and Christian. If Bobby can't do it in TNA in 2007, odds are he's likely to be overlooked for just about every new WWE-import TNA is bound to hire in the year(s) to come. As a result? Perhaps Mr. Roode is better served going the Roderick Strong route and plying his trade elsewhere. He's one hell of a performer, and if TNA's main event continues to fill up without his name in the mix? MeeThinks Robert Roode is simply better off without TNA by 2008.
Chris Sabin - Rumor has it that Kurt Angle thinks that Sabin is so dirty looking that he should wrestle under a "Pigpen" gimmick. You know, the scruffy kid from the Peanuts cartoons. While MeeThinks Kurt might be on to something there, our Olympic Hero is most assuredly missing the larger point that is simply to say "You know what? Sabin has been DAMNED good in his cocky young X-Division rebel role all the same," and overbooked gimmicks won't even matter so long as Sabin continues to stay on the right track and further evidence his ever-growing shift to full-blown "heel"dom. Jerry Lynn has been invaluable in getting iMPACT fans to boo Sabin to begin with, and Russo has been wise in hotshotting the belt on and off the kid to help buouy his credibility along the way. Now what we need is a full-out, starmaking feud to really cement Chris Sabin as the X-Division asshole that he's clearly dying to be. Christopher Daniels is a good starting point, too... but we've already seen him get punked out and left for dead by the LAST X-Division badass (see: Samoa Joe), so Sabin had best lace up his fightin' boots if he's going to make a dent of rule-breaker staying power in 2007.
Samoa Joe - Joe might well kill you, alright... but you can bet that he's going to have to finish his bid'ness against the Olympic Gold Medalist before he'll get the chance. Now that Joe is back to his winning ways (and since TNA management once again picked up the ball with his push after the Fans Revenge Strap Match), it seems a matter not of "if" but "WHEN" we'll be seeing Samoa Joe challenge for the NWA Title. Unfortunately, he's still got that nasty bit of unfinished business with Kurt Angle that needs tending to first, and with an import like Angle still in need of a high-level win (to get his momentum back after the last loss to Joe), MeeThinks Joe would be wise to square up accounts with the Wrestling Machine before he so much as dared to step foot in an NWA Title match. If not, Russo-booking 101 says it's almost a no-brainer to have a Kurt Angle run-in cost Joe his shot at TNA gold (of course, disqualifications ARE grounds for TNA title swaps, you know...) - so Joe is pretty well doomed to be haunted by the Angle rubber match until he finally agrees to accept the challenge before moving on to bigger and better things (and yes, Joe is destined for bigger things). MeeThinks prediction for 2007? Joe needs to settle things with Angle once and for all, he needs to go over CLEANLY in the process, and he needs to be given a gimmickless, run-in-free shot at the NWA Title by year's end. Oh yeah, and he needs to WIN that match along the way. If he does, you're looking at TNA's marquis player and a permanent fixture in their main event scene for years to come. If he doesn't? MeeThinks 2007 will have paved the way for a Samoa Joe mutiny, and 2008 will be the year the guy finally says "screw this, TNA" and makes the big money jump to that pond up north.
Serotonin(Raven, Matt Bentley, Frankie Kazarian and Johnny Devine) - Rarely (if ever) in memory has a stable received a slick series of hype vignettes only to be trotted out and jobbed unceremoniously PRIOR to their scheduled debut. This is a trainwreck of a way to build the new group's staying power, and I for one just can't help but wonder WHY TNA keeps using *these* fellas as their resident job squad when they've got a roster filled with other unused (and unpushed) talent like Runt, Hoyt, Sharky and the rest. Here's hoping the Raven redux will help kick their asses into gear in 2007, but MeeThinks that fans have already grown weary and/or bored with the umpteenth variation of "The Flock" angle long before it's scheduled launch date. As such, Raven has got a TON of work ahead of him if he's to make TNA fans care about Maverick "No More Traci" Matt, Johnny "No More Shelley" Devine, and Frankie "No More Ponytail" Kazarian. Happy Chanukah, Mr. Levy... and best of luck.
Senshi - The "Warrior" of the X-Division, Senshi had quite an up-and-down year in 2006. Thanks in no small part to his X-Division title run in the middle of the year, fans couldn't help but take notice that the man formerly known as Low Ki was back in a big way. Unfortunately, however, it was also during Senshi's run as champ that the X-Division fell from "no limits" to "no standards," as the rest of TNA's little guys busied themselves a) kissing ass to Kevin Nash, or b) shamelessly trading in their suicide planchas and tope huricanranas for shopping carts and bowling balls as they shilled the new Jackass movie. Though Senshi remained largely aloof to much of the nonsense that transpired below him, the simple fact remains that he was the division's champion during what appears to have been its darkest (and LEAST entertaining) hour. As a result? His run at the top of the heap isn't all that impressive, in retrospect, because he was basically nothing more than the least stinky turd in a toilet that was chock full of 'em. That's not a knock on his wrestling ability, mind you, it's a knock on his ego and his politics that would sooner see him whine to TNA management about how *HE* was being booked as X-Division Champion rather than how *EVERYONE ELSE IN THE DIVISION* was being made to look like jackasses around him, thus devaluing the division itself (and the very belt he wore) in the process. If Senshi put HALF as much effort into putting the division, the company and/or his opponents over as he did in protecting his own spot (and ego), MeeThinks the credibility of the X-Division on the whole would have fared a LOT better in the process. Here's hoping Senshi can put that "make sure I'm booked properly" mentality to a better use for the TEAM next year, because he's a talented performer in a division filled with them, and there are PLENTY of reasons to tune in to watch X-Division greatness that DON'T involve jackass shenanigans, Kevin Nash's backside, and Senshi's all-important ego boost.
Shark Boy - Still employed!?! Yahoo! Go Sharky!
Norman Smiley - Still employed!?! DOUBLE YAHOO!!! Go Norman!
Sting - From "A Man Called Sting" to "Steve Borden" and BACK to hybrid surfer-meets-Crow bat-wielding babyface, Sting certainly had the ride of his life in 2006. Scoring NWA gold along the way, the Stinger kept the TNA audience entertained as he re-enacted his famous role of the slow, methodical pursuit of an evil rule breaking champion for the better part of a year. Thankfully, Sting's win over Jarrett fared a lot better than his win over Hogan of so many years ago -- though his title reign thereafter pretty much amounted to squat. A tough break for the now former NWA Champion, but he's still as popular as ever with TNA fans (smart and mark alike), and he can still deliver a pretty entertaining match when given the proper opponent. In the weeks and months to come, his storyline with Abyss could well prove to be the promotion's hottest angle (so long as they don't overbook it and reveal TOO much about either character's backstory), and the matches we could see between The Monster and The Stinger could easily fill out the top of any TNA pay-per-view card and still pass themselves off as "fresh," "relevant" and "important." TNA is supposedly paying a ton of money to keep Sting onboard for another year, so here's hoping he continues to do the right thing (as I suspect he will) and put new and up-and-coming talent over in '07.
A.J. Styles - With the re-hiring of Vince Russo, The Phenomenal One has also become "the chosen one" of the TNA brass. This is sort of a dual-edged sword for the multiple-award-winning TNA "Wrestler of the Year," as it guarantees him a place in the TNA spotlight, but it does so at a price that may well perpetually link the poor guy's name to the always unpredictable (and frequently disparaged) booking reign of one Vince Russo. This is a bad thing, of course, as history tends *not* to remember performers for their individual merits once questions regarding their backstage political clout come into play. True, Styles never politicked for his spot (that we know of) - but if you ask folks like Shawn Michaels and Triple H? "Neither did they," and we ALL know how history remembers those two. AJ, like Shawn and Hunter, is still an undeniably talented performer and EASILY the most popular homegrown TNA wrestler on the roster today, but if he's still going to have the hearts of the Impact Zone faithful come 2008? MeeThinks he will need a LOT more than the support of Vince Russo if he doesn't want to get lost in the main-event shuffle that's likely to continue being dominated by old-timers (Sting, Steiner), up-and-comers (Joe, Abyss) and imports (Christian, Angle).
Team 3D(Brother Ray and Brother Devon) - Hmm, a mixed bag for the brothers formerly known as "Dudley" in 2006. On the one hand, they decimated Team Canada and forced their longstanding rivals to split up along the way. But on the other hand? A less-than-memorable bingo hall feud against the James Gang did little to reestablish the team's modern-day relevance, and by year's end they appeared lost in the tag rank shuffle once again with the rise of the Latin American eXchange. We should also note that the breakup of America's Most Wanted means that Team 3D won't ever have the chance to exact revenge on the one tag team they'd supposedly been DYING to get their hands on since the infamous "Funeral for Team 3D" skit of two years ago... and wrestling fans at large might just be the ones most ripped off in the end, as an AMW vs. Team 3D brawl or two (if booked correctly) would really have gone a long way in recapturing that haymaker-throwing, knock-down, drag-out, smashmouth southern-style wrestling that TNA is supposedly all about. Sure it wouldn't have been a "technical" classic, but MeeThinks that fans would have most definitely paid good money to see two of the hottest teams of the past 10 years square off in a war for tag title supremacy. Alas, not to be - so here's hoping Team 3D can find something else equally worthwhile to do in 2007. Dudleyz versus Homicide and Hernandez, perhaps? Might not be AMW, but I'd most definitely tune in to see it all the same.
The Vodoo Kin Mafia (B.G. James and Kip James) - Regular readers of this column will attest that for all of the "positivity" in Mee, I simply cannot stand Kip and B.G. James. Rather than say something mean about them here, however, I'll just let some snippets from old MeeThinks do the talking here so as to avoid injecting this week's column with any "new" negativity. After all, they say "history is written by the winners," so perhaps we'll just excerpt some oldies but goodies (after all -- "old is new" -- that's these two's entire gimmick, right?) and let the record books tell us the tale of just what a craptacular year (totally predictable though it was) these two gents had.
From last year's TNA 2006 Predictions, I said:
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. The former "Road Dogg" is still using the "same old, same old" routine that he's been milking for all its worth since the dying days of dX, and now he's got his New Age Outlaw running buddy... Kip James right there by his side to help fuel his delusion that the two of them are a) still in their 20s, and b) still "edgy" and hip with the kids these days. Here's hoping that B.G. can find something exciting to do in 2006 so as to avoid feeling just like a tired re-hash of the dX "B-Team" (read: no Trips, no HBK).
Whoah boy... how right we were, no?
And Who could forget this one, from July of this year when I actually made the trip to the Impact Zone to attend a taping of TNA's iMPACT!
Post match may well have been the single greatest part of the night for Mee and the family, as Abyss was joined in the ring by the Middle Aged Outlaws James Gang. Since ragging on WWE old timers had become our theme du-jour (and since Billy Gunn The Outlaw Kip James INSISTS on tying the bottom of his t-shirt in a "look at my tummy" knot while wearing his painfully receded hairplugs in girly little braids), we simply HAD to bust these guys balls.
With a quick clear of the throat and a bit of crowd-friendly frenzy on my side, I quickly cued up my section of the arena for a rousing chorus of "D-X REJECTS! (clap, clap, clapclapclap). To my utter delight, the thing caught on like wildfire and pretty soon the entire arena was jeering the hell out of the James Gang right alongside of Mee. And we're talking LOUDLY, too… probably the loudest crowd-wide chant of the night (save that one "loudest wins a t-shirt" cheer for Rhino, of course). The hate-on for Kip and B.G. went on for quite some time, too… and while the erstwhile Road Dogg manned the microphone to try to get a straight answer from James Mitchell and Abyss, the artist formerly known as Billy Gunn became real-life irate at the ever-growing "X-Pac Heat" and turned his attention to the cause of it all…
Mee.
The best part about this, of course, was the fact that I was sitting in the side of the audience that directly faces the camera. So while this meant that the camera lens would catch my face and everything in front of it, performers for 99% of the evening made sure to play up their promos and facial expressions in a manner that faced them towards the camera (and thus directly with their backs turned to us in the process). But my "D-X REJECTS!" cheer really must have rattled the usedtabe "Mr. Ass" and "Road Dogg," because they both began glaring at my section with a clear sign of frustration as they attempted to cut their promo in spite of the ever-growing anti-James Gang heat, which by this point had grown to an unavoidable arena-wide frenzy.
B.G. James worked the stick as best as he could in spite of the chants, but Kip was PISSED and he made no qualms about letting Mee know as much. Turning directly to face Mee (and violating the NUMBER ONE rule of stage and television by turning his back directly to the camera in the process), he shouted…
"SHUT YOUR FUCKIN' MOUTH YOU LITTLE BITCH!!!"
To which I of course, responded with the universal crotch-chop sign to, well… to do as Steiner had asked some minutes earlier…
Billy, err, Kip, err… Monty… grew indignant at the gesture as the crowd noise continued to mount against him (thus COMPLETELY ruining their promo), and he responded to my "suck it" gesture by saying something along the lines of…
"I bet you'd LIKE that, wouldn't you? You fucking faggot!"
Unfettered (for after all, it's only BILLY GUNN we're talking about here…), I didn't miss a beat as I went right into full Goldust mode, totally "gaying it up" by impersonating Kip's current ring attire by prancing around in place, rubbing the nipples and and wrapping the bottom of my shirt up through the neck hole of the thing in that retro MTv-Grind-shake-yo'-boody-style. By this point, the entire crowd section behind Mee was all joining in on the fun, with some of those around Mee jeering at Billy Boy with comments of "look how YOU'RE dressed, ya' fairy!" "nice braids, Nancy!" and — my personal favorite — "YOU'RE NOTHING WITHOUT CHUCK PALUMBO!!!"
In the end, Billy was pissed and just about everybody in the ring (including B.G.) knew that the segment was pretty well shot thanks to Kip's breaking of character and the deafening chorus of "D-X REJECTS" that was still echoing throughout the arena by the segment's end. As Kip moved to join B.G. in the center of the ring for their latest (laughable) "catchphrase," I put the nail in the coffin by shouting out in my loudest voice…
"NOBODY MOVES… NOBODY FREAKIN' CARES!!!"
To the shock of absolutely no one, The James Gang left without so much as a word.
The next week, The James Gang was paired with Abyss in an attempt to keep them strong. Much like the Meehan family fiasco of earlier that month - fans met the pairing with a collective groan of disapproval. On the bright side? Rumor has it that TNA concession stand sales went up for a good seven minutes or so.
Three weeks later, TNA had the James Gang recruit and appear alongside uberfan-favorite Eric Young, apparently a move made by TNA management to "keep them popular with the fans, since TNA spends too much money on them to have fans turn sour on the guys."
Three weeks later, "Nobody moves, nobody cares" was officially phased out as the duo's catch phrase. And less than six months later, the artists formerly known as "The James Gang" shed their gimmick for the McMahon-bashing persona now called "The Voodoo Kin Mafia" -- a gimmick that has been met with near-universal disdain from smart and mark fans alike.
Since I'm rubbing salt in the VKM wounds though... do kindly allow Mee just one more indulgence as we revel in just how miserably unentertaining Kip and B.G. have been in the past 365, yes? Again, this one's excerpted from when the Meehan vs. James Gang altercation actually made it to TNA television the week after I'd visited the Impact Zone
In this first image, you can see Kip has broken stage rule numero uno and decided to respond to our heckling rather than be a professional and play to the camera side. Strike one, Hairplug Harry.
In this second image, you can see that Kip continues to jaw-jack at our section rather than keeping the in-ring angle development with Abyss alive. If you squint, you might even be able to make out Mee rubbing a nipple his way, just to piss the guy off. Strike two, by the way.
And in this final image, you'll note that the "artist formerly known as Billy Gunn" keeps up the smack talking, only to be gang-smacked by the entire Meehan clan. In sequence, you'll see my brother Rock Star Josh in the middle showing some nipple, while I (on the left) make the universal Mickie James "tongue through the fingers" hand motion, followed by a throw-down hand gesture inviting him to "bring that shit, bitch" and, of course, more nipple rubbing to hammer home the effeminate ridiculousness of our favorite WWE wash-up's tied-off t-shirt and baby girl ringlet-locks. Swing and a miss, Kiperoo… Meehans win!
Alright - I think that's MORE than enough negativity for one column. Thanks for all the laughs at you two boneheads expense in '06 (and no, not the laughs you were *trying* to get with your moronic promos) - and let's cut the dead weight and get back to the rest of the TNA *TALENT*, eh?
Petey Williams - Thanks to the dissolution of Team Canada, Petey has been on the receiving end of a respectable little mini-push in recent weeks. Even better? His on-and-off run to the winners' circle has meant that his jaw dropping finisher, The Canadian Destroyer, has been used less frequently ever since the Team Canada split. Now, speaking as one who traveled a good 500+ miles to attend a LIVE taping in the Impact Zone, I will be the first to admit that *NOT* seeing a Canadian Destroyer LIVE is most definitely a letdown ... but since the move is being used more sparingly, we've finally gotten back to the point where fans can go apeshit once again every time they see the thing. It's just like the ECW flaming table, actually - sometimes, *less* is more - and when we have to wait all the while longer to see our favorite highspot, it makes those rare instances when we DO see it all the more impressive. So kudos to TNA's booking committee, and here's to another year of smart booking behind Petey Williams.
Eric Young - Step aside, Sharkboy - Eric Young is most definitely *the* most popular undercard wrestler in TNA today. What's more - whereas Sharky made a career (or, "is making" a career) out of coming up short in just about every outing... Eric is tearing up the "lovable loser" role to a "T" outside of the ring, but he still manages to squeak out a few key victories while inside of it. The "Don't Fire Eric" angle has been everything the guy needed in order to stay relevant after the Team Canada split, and TNA seems mighty high on the guy as we roll into the new year. As such? Eric Young is sitting pretty for 2007, and if there's ever a secondary TNA title to be competed over (maybe even the X Division title) - MeeThinks he's a prime candidate to take home some gold before all is said and done.
Agree? Disagree?
"Methinks it sounds a parley to provocation!"
- Iago, Othello
Act II, scene iii
I have to agree on your assessment of Matt Striker. He plays the role of
heel perfectly. When he was still on RAW i went to a show and while he was being helped to the back we were heckling him. He stopped and while he was still holding his head after a beatdown he flipped us off. He can cut a great promo too and that's something that is sorely lacking in the WWE today. Test just sucks. Keep up the good work.
- Jeff
Thanks for writing, Jeff. It's always clutch to see which performers bust out that *little extra* something for live audiences, and I can personally attest to having seen Sonjay Dutt, Slick Johnson and Kevin Nash do much the same at a show I attended this year. Often times, it's the little things that can really separate a "good" wrestler from a "great" one, and if guys like Striker and Sonjay are already demonstrating such attention to detail? Well, that's a great start on their paths to becoming "greats" on down the line.
411's own Mike LaFave seems to agree with MeeThinks from last time, and he helps get my last column over along the way!
Hey man, just read your latest column and I wanted to comend you on a great job!
I love the positivity too, I like that between, yourself, the Hidden Highlight Guys, even Clark and myself, we have a good amount of positivity on the site.
I'm writing for two main reasons.
First, the state of ECW overall. I still enjoy watcing the program. And the rating, although they've gone down are still much better than what their competition draws. I agree w/ what you said, due to circumstances beyond their control, they've had to change course a number of times since the rebirth of ECW. I'm not a RVD fan (as you'll find out more in a minute) but I was really excited about the prospects of a New Breed centered aronud, Van Dam, Angle, Big Show, Sabu and new up-and-coming stars like CM Punk. But due to bad personal decisions by some of the individuals, that wasn't to be. but I think the E has done an amazing job of making up for their losses. At first I didn't understand bringing Lashley in, but w/ Show taking time off, that appears to be the right choice. I didn't like the choice of going w/ an Elimination Chamber match for the ppv (as I'll ge tot in my next column) but they were trying to spark buys and I can understand that. Over-all, I still enjoying watching every Tur night (this week Sat). I look forward to watching what goes down w/ lashley as champ. I look forward to watching CM Punk rise up the charts. I even look forward to watching the not-so-populat, Kevin Thorn and Matt Striker. Hell, I even think Test has revenented himself (he was the MVP of the Chamber match if you ask me). So I still think ECW is fun and has loads of potencial.
Now on to RVD. In my debut column I recieved a ton of hate mail for basically saying RVD was overrated and the E was asking for trouble by making him a champion. I haven't seen enough of his old ECW stuff to comment on how he was their (although Geoff is working on getting me some tapes), but in his tenure in the E, I haven't been all that impressed. He's a spot guy, plain and simple. He's a solid mid-carder, how I feel never deserved to break through the glass ceiling before the ECW rose from the ashes. Now I understand giving him the ECW belt, that made sense, but he blew it. Then when they have five month's plus invested in his revenge on Heyman and the Big Show story, he blows it again. I say if he wants to go to TNA, let him, it might shoot them up from a 1.0 to a 1.1 tops. Let him be a cry baby their when TNA misusses him far worse than the WWE does. Let him fall in line to be the "WWE basher" character that everyone who joins TNA is. Let him go, if he's going to be a bitch about it. I'd like to see RVD on ECW, but nut if he's going to be bad for morale. Let him join Paul Heyman (who is a loss I'd be much more concerned about) at home and let the ECW brand move on to a successful future.
Oh, and you can add me to the list w/ you and Punk as never having dabbled w/ pot, drugs are gay, I don't touch the stuff!
Alright man, just wanted to share my thoughts w/ ya and give you props on an excellent article. Now I have to go back to work on my final papers...fun stuff...
- Mike
Getting Over
Thanks for YourThinks, Mike. Appreciate the support, and most definitely appreciate the feedback!
Johnny Sorrow was a bit taken aback by my comment about RVD's drug bust being as big a headache for McMahon and company as Snuka's infamous murder investigation.
Did you really just compare having a joint to killing a girl?
- Johnny Sorrow
Nope. I compared the media scrutiny that came to WWF in 1983 as a result of Snuka's possible involvement with a murder investigation to the media scrutiny that came to WWE in 2006 as a result of their champion's drug bust.
Both get CRUCIFIED in the mainstream "we hate wrestling" media, who's all about portraying ALL wrestlers as derelicts. Kinda' like when Austin got busted and raked over the media coals (as he should have) for hitting Debra a few years back, actually.
While drug use and murder are nowhere near one another on the "serious" scale, "BIGGEST WRESTLING STAR SELF IMPLODES AND PROVES US RIGHT BECAUSE HE'S A MISCREANT DIRTBAG" gets the same play across the board with mainstream media, and so the two are similar in that each is precisely the type of media black eye a publically held company like WWE is looking to avoid.
Hope this helps clarify to you and any other readers who might have been thrown off from last time!
Travis Homewood disagrees with Mee on RVD, but sees a bright future for Mr. 420 regardless:
Hey man. I have still been reading even though I haven't been writing as much, but I have to say I hate to disagree with the statements on RVD. I do keep hoping that he will regain that ECW title, but I just don't see it happening anytime soon. Although if they would go ahead and get them some tag belts I would sure love to see the tag champs of CM Punk and RVD.
Have a good one and see you next week!
- Travis Homewood
Thanks for writing, Travis. A Punk/Van Dam pairing would be tons of fun, but I for one would much rather see them on OPPOSITE sides of the ring rather than in the same corner. If they really let the "worked-shoot" promos about one another's lifestyles fly, we'd really be onto something good there, don't you agree?
Regardless, perhaps this next letter from Jason Harland will better sum up YourThinks on the RVD situation, eh?
Let me preface my my e-mail be saying I've been a fan of wrestling singce the mid 1980s. And a fan of the #2 promotions at that. I got hooked watching AWA and World Class on ESPN. In my mind Avis's motto of "We Try Harder" has always applied to the #2 and #3 feds. I've NEVER been a fan of WWF/E. I grew up watching the Von Erics and Freebirds fued and watching Bruiser Brody run roughshod over the state of Texas. Wrold Class matches held my attention much better than Hogan squashing the jobber du jour over at WWF, When World Class was on the ropes NWA and WCW would pick up the slack. Well sometimes until I discovered ECW in the mid 90s and Japanese wrestling a few years later. I absolutely loved ECW back in the day. But this incarnation of WWECW is just crap. Hardcore rules should be the foundation for ECW rather than a stipulation for a select handful of matches here and there. The nickname "Whole F'N Show" was more than just a moniker for RVD. As the Television champion for nearly two years his poularity eclipsed that of the World Champions that came and went during his reign. During RVDs tenure as ECW Tevevision champion the fans knew which title was more important, RVD didn't NEED to win the world title, he was the world champion in the eyes of the fans. Laso interesting to note I believe it is downright impossible to turn RVD heel. Oh you can try. Heyman tried with the "Mr. Monday Night" gimmick and RVD and Sabu burying Tommy Dreamer under a WWF flag on ECW television. But you know what? The fans still loved and cheered RVD despite his overabundance of arrogance and storyline disloyalty to ECW. WWE tried to turn RVD heel from day one with "the Alliance" angle. While everyone else in the Alliance got booed or treated with apathy, RVD was the one invader who the fans were excited to see. Save for the smarks, the Alliance was supposed to be a hell faction, yet fans went nuts for RVD, It's just not possible to make this guy a heel.
I've long speculated and still hold the feeling to this day that RVD going to TNA now would be the equivalent of Hulk Hogan going from AWA to WWF in the 1980s. RVD is THE guy who can bring TNA into the limelight. I'd argue that he has more name regcognition than Hogan did when he went to WWF, but the parallel remians that each guy is the perfect fit to be champion of the federation they jumped to while creating a HUGE boom in popularity for the promotion.
If there's one fault TNA is guilty of talent-wise it's taking on board anyone who's been in WWE simply because they've been in WWE. Christian Cage is a prime example of this, TNA never should have signed him, and giving him a run with the coveted NWA title was a joke to me. Signing Kurt Angle brings them name recognition but not a body that can live up to the reputation anymore.
Enter RVD. Here's a guy that could hit the ground running in the X-Division. Much like RVD made the Television title in ECW eclipse the world title, I believe he would do the same for TNA's X-Division. We've already seen througha series of classic matches in ECW what RVD and Jerry Lynn are cabale of in a feud. What would be off the charts huge is trusting RVD into the fory of the X-Division title hunt. Matching RVD up against Christopher Daniels or AJ Styles would truely be a sight to behold for smarks like me, as well as giving exposure to these worth RVD opponents to those tuning in who only knew of RVD. RVD is the big name that would drive the final nail into the coffin of the joke of WWECW. If WWECW does survive how many of the hardcore fans are going to watch or show u
