What Were They Thinking? 01.12.08: TNA and People Who Don't Belong There

Posted by William Bumgarner on 01.12.2008

This week, I take a look at those TNA had no business hiring.

Welcome back to What Were They Thinking?. Before I like to begin, many, many thanks to Larry Csonka for moving me up to Saturdays. (I shall try not to disappoint you, Csonka-sama.) This week, I talk about TNA and their rampant hiring of WWE cast-offs. I know this has been talked about before, but I believe there's something going unsaid. That being, of course, that hiring a few select talents that would work well on their roster wasn't a bad thing. The
Dudleys and Rhino were good picks (sad now that they're being put in bad storylines or not used at
all). Christian was a very good pick. But picking up Kurt and Booker was oversaturation. let's
review:

Christian brought a lot better wrestling to TNA, plus gave it an injection of badly-needed
experience. Most of the guys on TNA's roster are younger guys who are good, but still need
improvement. Christian was in the WWE for several years, knows his way around the ring, and
would have quite a bit of knowledge to impart on younger wrestlers. Also, I recall there being a
lot of buzz around Christian's arrival in TNA. But when Kurt Angle and then Booker T showed
up, there wasn't that kind of reaction. Not because they aren't good entertainers, but because it's
kind of like "been there, done that". WCW hired a lot of WWE rejects, as well, but it was a few
years, at least, before things started to go downhill. Hogan was the WWF's biggest star for a long
time, and Nash and Hall, while not as big as Hogan was, made an impact on WCW where, I've
always felt, their real claim to fame lies. When they hired away guys like Jeff Jarrett and X-
Pac....then they had problems. Booker T does have charisma, but the biggest
moments in his career involved being the WCW Champion during the promotion's dying years. Kurt
Angle's had his share of accomplishments, but, like many, I have trouble seeing where he fits in
with TNA. Forthe record, I don't feel he fits there any better than he did on WWECW. For that
matter, I can't think of any WWE guys who really would fit in TNA right now, save for
Mysterio, Super Crazy, and perhaps Funaki. But, at this point, if TNA asked me if they should hire
any or all of those three, I'd say "No". If they hadn't already hired Kurt and Booker, I'd say "Do it".
But there are just too many ex-WWE wrestlers right now, and guys like Samoa Joe are paying for it
in pseudo-pushes, and others like Low-Ki and Daniels are paying for it in morale (which is shown by
both of them asking for their releases).

Despite how good a wrestler/mentor Christian is, however, he really wasn't necessary. TNA had
all the star power it needed to get where it is in the ratings; that was proven when Christian, Booker,
and Kurt didn't bring them up at all. True, TNA beat out WWECW recently when WWECW
ran on Thursday, but I think anyone would take TNA over what Vince tries to tell is the "new"
ECW (whereas all I see is another stage after OVW, but before Heat (but that's another
column entirely).

Anyway, another problem is that people are starting to see this as WWE Lite, and that's never
a good thing. TNA wrestlers being booked in a late WCW/modern WWE style (DQ finishes, run-ins
galore, and insane gimmicks/personas) is just plain bad. Some have escaped it (Joe and
Kong being booked as the monsters they are despite Joe never getting a title run), but others are
dying because of it (Black Reign, Judas Mesias, and Rellik, anyone?). TNA is obviously focusing all
of their attention on the veterans at this stage, and it's hurting the business. If the veterans were
guys like Rob Van Dam, who can work good matches no matter what, or a technical master like
Lance Storm, who can not only work matches but work with the talent off-camera to improve their
skills, then I wouldn't have this issue. But I just can't see what Booker and Kurt are bringing to the
table. As JP Prag mentioned in the Wrestling News Journal this past week, TNA's PPV buyrates
are slipping, and I do believe that it's because people don't want to pay for something that isn't
much better than a free TV match. Sorry, TNA, but a Barbed Wire Massacre (as enjoyable as that
is to someone like me) doesn't make up for an X-Division where the champ can't even have his belt
aroud his waist, Tag-Team Champions who can't get along (this goes for both Joe/Nash and
AJ/Tomko now) and a World Title scene dominated by guys that the WWE, for one reason or
another, decided they didn't want on the roster anymore. Give that belt to Sting if it's going to an
older guy; but it should really be on Joe's shoulder right now, and if not his, then AJ's. But all of the
guys who got me hooked on TNA are being made to look like total idiots and/or punching bags and it's not doing anything but hurting business and, ultimately, the bottom line. This is the one flaw I find in TNA (everything else I can find something good about), but it's the one that can destroy them quicker than any other. (Probably the biggest victim of this is Shark Boy, who was jobbed out again this past Thursday to Tomko, who is - surprise, surprise - an ex-WWE star.)

The last thing I want to say to those who are telling me not to be so negative: duh. That was the whole reason for this column. I get sick and tired of corporate ass-kissers putting a shine-and-polish on everything. That said, if you don't like what I have to say, don't read the column. SImple as that. I watch wrestling because I enjoy it on the whole, but I'm not afraid to say that I don't like something or point out the flaws I see. I'm more of a TNA fan than a WWE fan these days; I freely admit that. But both feds are making mistakes at this point; potentially fatal ones. Even with all the power he's accumulated, Vince should be worried. (Especially since iMPACT kicked WWECW's ass in the ratings one Thrsday night not too long ago.)