wrestling / Columns

The Piledriver Report 8.08.07: TNA and Adam Jones: A Match Made in Heaven or One Not Worth Making

August 8, 2007 | Posted by RSarnecky

Celebrities and Wrestling. The two go hand in hand with each other. Some would enter the squared circle to compete in an actual match. Others would act as a special referee. Many celebrities would have other duties like being a wrestler’s corner man, or being a ring announcer. The use of a celebrity as part of a wrestling angle can be tricky. Either the celebrity will help the federation draw interest, or their involvement will be a waste of the promoter’s money.

This summer, the WWE was supposed to use the cast of the former television show “Jackass” as part of a major angle that would conclude at Summer Slam. I had very small hopes for this celebrity involvement despite not knowing how it would play out. After all, the last time I saw a couple of “Jackass” cast members on WWE television, they completely no-sold a beat down by Umaga. I must admit that was happy upon hearing the news that negotiations between the WWE and the crew fell through. I’ve witnessed dozens and dozens of celebrities get involved inn wrestling. I just couldn’t see the cast of “Jackass” creating a buzz within the wrestling industry.

This week, TNA Wrestling pulled a move straight out of the WWE’s playbook. TNA signed a celebrity to try to get people talking about their company. This is nothing new for TNA. They have signed celebrities in the past. AJ Pierzynski, David Eckstein, and Frank Wycheck have each made appearances in the six-sided ring during this past year. However, their latest “celebrity” signing is probably the most controversial celebrity signing since the World Wrestling Federation signed Mike Tyson to appear at WrestleMania XIV. The person that TNA signed is NFL outcast Tennessee Titans’ Adam “Pac-Man” Jones.

The majority of “Pac-Man” Jones’ “troubles” stems from an incident in Las Vegas during the NBA All-Star weekend. Jones and his entourage were inside an adult club, where Jones purchased several thousands of dollars in singles. According to witnesses, he tossed the singles in the air to “rain” down on the female dancers. When one of the strippers started to pick up the money, without asking the NFL star first, Jones became irate. According to reports, security was throwing Jones and his crew out. Apparently, once outside, one of Jones’ “boys” pulled out a gun and started firing into the club. A security guard, who was just starting his shift, was shot. He is now paralyzed. The NFL commissioner, who is trying to clean up the league, suspended Jones for a year. Jones, who had promised to be a model citizen and “will be home before midnight,” failed to live up to his self-imposed curfew. Not even a month after “punishing” himself, Jones was pulled over in the wee hours of the morning on a DUI charge.

With no training camp to attend, Adam Jones has signed a deal with TNA. It is unclear on how the wrestling promotion will use the defensive back. The Tennessee Titans and the National Football League have stated that if Jones wrestles in a match, he would be in violation of his contract which can then be voided. Unless he specifically has something written into his contract in regards to fighting or professional wrestling, I’m not certain that their claim would stand. After all, a precedence has already been set regarding NFL players and professional wrestling. At WrestleMania 2, there were several active NFL players that participated in a battle royal. About a decade ago, Kevin Greene wrestled a couple of matches in World Championship Wrestling while being an active member of the Carolina Panthers.

If TNA plays their cards right, they could create an air of mystery surrounding Adam “Pac-Man” Jones status in TNA. Will he wrestle, or won’t he wrestle? If not, what exactly will Jones do for the company? When the WWF signed Mike Tyson, everybody thought that he would be fighting at WrestleMania. However, the WWF initially would not confirm this rumor. This got people talking, both fans and media. Eventually, the WWF let it be known that Mike Tyson would be an outside of the ring enforcer. This created an even bigger buzz. While the WWF admitted that Tyson wouldn’t be wrestling on the show, everybody knew “Iron Mike” wouldn’t be a statue standing on the outside of the ring. Everybody couldn’t wait until WrestleMania to see exactly how Tyson would get involved. TNA needs to use the same formula. Keep the fans and the media guessing. The more mystery surrounding Adam Jones’ involvement, the greater the interest TNA should garner.

The biggest weakness that TNA has going for them with the signing is that not that many people in the media know what TNA is. That was never more evident last week when the ESPN television show “Pardon The Interruption” discussed Jones working with TNA. The hosts had no idea what TNA was. They thought it was a minor league system of World Wrestling Entertainment. If nobody has a clue what TNA is, then how important can Adam Jones’ signing be? If Jones was doing an autograph signing at Joe Blow’s car dealership, the media wouldn’t bother covering the story. After all, who cares about “Joe Blow.” Who’s “Joe Blow?” He can’t be too important if nobody has ever hear of him. However, if you insert a world famous company that will be associated the “Pac-Man” Jones, well, now you have a story. TNA is stuck in a Catch 22. They need to make a name for themselves, so they sign a controversial figure that will get people talking about them. However, since they aren’t a name themselves, signing a controversial figure isn’t going to give them the publicity they crave. Sure, you may hear the name “TNA” when the media briefly talk about the Jones signing. However, unless you are a wrestling fan, you aren’t going to know who TNA is. If you were a casual wrestling fan, in other words, if you “used to watch the WWF when you were younger,” would you give TNA a chance just because “Pac-Man” Jones was there?

Another thing that is going to hurt TNA’s chances of making a huge splash with “Pac-Man” the way the WWF did with their Tyson signing is that most people don’t like Jones. The image of the Las Vegas shooting is still fresh in everybody’s mind. Mike Tyson was a convicted rapist. That is true. However, a few years had gone by since he was in jail for the rape. There are also a lot of people who believed that Mike Tyson was not guilty. People were very passionate in regards to Mike Tyson. You either are a huge fan, or you hate him. With “Iron Mike,” there is no in between. Adam Jones is a different story. He never approached a quarter of the popularity that Tyson had. Fans of the NFL’s Titans and Virginia Tech’s Hokies love Jones. The rest of the world either doesn’t like him, because of the Vegas incident, or couldn’t care less about him. If you polled a group of non-sports fans, and asked them if they know who Mike Tyson is, a good majority of the people polled would probably say they know who Tyson is. If you asked this same group if they knew who Adam “Pac-Man” Jones is, chances are that most would not.

The big question becomes “is it worth it for TNA to sign Pac-Man for a few shows?” In the end, it probably is not a good idea. Jones is probably costing TNA more money then what they would make up for in money earning publicity. In other words, publicity that led to increased ratings and buy rates. TNA Wrestling has a history of using celebrities during their existence. However, the “stars” that they bring in are not what you would call A list celebrities. Forget about guys like AJ and Eckstein, those guys aren’t going to give the juice that TNA needs. If TNA is serious about using celebrities to get their name out there, what they need to do is aim higher. If they want to sign a controversial figure that will get the public talking, then forget about B lister Jones. They should have gone after the most hated and controversial football player today: Michael Vick! Its “celebrities” like Vick that will get people to take notice of TNA. That’s the type of celebrities that TNA needs to get. Thus far, they have failed to realize that athletes like Frank Wycheck do nothing for your company, but waste money. Until TNA learns this lesson, and starts using real stars, TNA will continue to be thought of as the “WWE’s minor league” system by the media, if they aren’t already viewed that way by the hardcore fans of wrestling.

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