Your Viral Dose of Reality 03.04.08: Scripted Through Sin Once More

Posted by Jarrod Westerfeld on 03.04.2008

Forget what I said last week – two weeks ago happened. And this week we build from that, as we go down the road of completely rebuilding TNA from scratch as we venture off into Scripted Through Sin. Also some commentary upon the “rape” segment at ROH 6th Year Anniversary and Weyer’s Shining a Spotlight article upon Ric Flair.

Sometimes I wish I could sing – and not badly like I've demonstrated in one of my previous videos. I actually mean singing much like Freddie Mercury, so that when I hear an awesome song playing on my mp3 player I could sing aloud and not worry about being so horribly off key that I may end up killing some poor pedestrian sewer rats rummaging about my house or even on the subway. The way I see it, my voice is vulgar, much like my language. The two seem to complement each other well at points, though it has cost me a job and a future working around with children: my dreams of being a low-waged income public school elementary school teacher will never be accomplished…

The point of this banter isn't just to fill up dead space in this article and to help me punch out my page requirements. It's actually me thinking aloud about the hopes and aspirations I have with everything I take up. Listening to music is one thing I'd love to get into, either singing or playing an instrument. Reading a book leads me to want to become a better writer and to publish some solid novels that get people talking about the characters I create and the depth behind them. Watching a brilliant match in the wrestling world reminds me of my past ambitions to become a pro wrestler and try to do the same thing my idols did – whether it was Owen Hart, or Chris Benoit (although it's almost a sin to even mention him in a positive tone these days), I wanted to be those guys in the ring putting on the performance of a lifetime that got the fans into every movement, every hit and slam and got the fans on the edge of their seat, forgetting all about whether this was predetermined or not.

I still kind of hold that same ambition in the back of my head, though I know I couldn't go about it. I'm just physically capable of doing such things anymore – too many years of abuse upon my body, always playing too hard in everything I've done, and simply not taking care of it through proper nutrition and work outs. Shit, I can't even run a full block without sucking down some major wind, and it's all because I don't know how to pace myself, or breathe when exercising.

As time went on and my body felt like it didn't belong to me anymore – locking joints and pains that shot through my back – the ambition changed. I started changing and adapting my fantasies about what I'd rather be doing in the wrestling industry. I've gone from wanting to be a Ric Flair to a Paul Heyman, only without the managerial pit stop.

Two weeks ago I put forth some of the talents I possess and aside from a few, a lot of people seemed to like what I did there, even if they didn't agree with everything – as a matter of fact, about the only thing people could complain about was the fact that I didn't do anything completely radical to the product of TNA to give out the type of product I actually would like to see from them. I think the experiment was fine and demonstrated my strength as a writer: being able to take any situation provided for me and doing the best with it.

This week I've thought about going down that route again.

But first…

Rape of Honor?

Just to bring to light a comment I received last week:
"I was at the 6th Anniversary Show too, and I agree, the crowd at the Manhattan Center is just terrible. You didn't even mention their reaction to the worst segment in the history of the company, the Dempsey/Danger rape segment. I sat their, head in hands, wondering how the hell did ROH become as low class as all the other promotions, while the rest of the crowd is eating it up. And then these people have the balls to bash WWE for stuff like the Mae Young birth angle. What occured in that ring on saturday is far worse and FAR more trashy than Katie Vick and Lunchtime Suicides put together. On top of that, while Dragon and Nigel were on the top rope, this group of loser, long haired freaks (one was wearing a Metroid t-shirt) started chanting "Break his Neck!" Are you fucking serious?! Break his Neck? Honestly, go home. Other shit chants like "Nigel is a Virgin" furthur showed their immaturity. And, of course, they chimed in on the MANY gay chants. Jimmy Jacobs is fantastic, awesome in the ring and the best promo guy in the business and all you can say is "Jimmys Gay!"? I didn't notice anything wrong with the crowd during the Aries/Go showdown. I guess my section wasn't too bad, sans the comic book nerds. I mean, c'mon, a METROID shirt?! And you're chanting that someone ELSE is a virgin? I was behind Nigel the whole way, cheering on the man, who I believe, is ROH. Obviously not by himself, but the man is the embodiment of everything ROH stands for (outside of the Danger rape). "Nigel is an import, you moron!" is the responce I get when I yelled "You are ROH, Nigel." Nigel has been wrestling in ROH for nearly 5 years, fuck off with your "import" shit. It shocks me that anyone who saw that Aries/Nigel match back in December--a match I consider to be the greatest I have ever seen live--can boo Nigel. Get your head out of your ass. These same people who boo Nigel, boo Cena. Because it's "cool." Because they come across as "smart." I have seen both men put their lives on the line for my enjoyment and I've seen both men is classic matchs. I'm proud to say they stil atop my list of favorite wrestlers, and I will defend them with every chance I get. I have to disagree with you, big time, on one thing you said. On Nigel: "He's now some cowardly heel champion that's almost looking like a better version of what Randy Orton should be playing." I know you said almost, but that is completely false. Nigel is playing an overstated heel as a result to fan heat. His demeanor does not really fit the persona. With Orton, you feel--you buy into--the cowardice. The way he walks to the ring, the way he seems to be constantly on the prowl. Orton is a great heel champ. As much as I love Nigel, and I will admit he gets a lot of heel heat, it is mostly cheap heat."
~ Bernie (Guest) on February 26, 2008 at 07:00 PM

The hot button topic the past week and a half has been the "rape" segment on the Larry Sweeney talk show during ROH's 6th Year Anniversary show at the Manhattan Center in New York City. About the only thing I have to say is, for my comments, all you need do is read Ari Berenstein's Colomn of Honor: 03.01.08: Apologies article. I don't think I need to repeat exactly what he said, as he clearly did a better job of it than I could ever hope to.

Total Nonstop Spiked Action

Seeing as the few people who hated my column two weeks ago felt what I did wasn't up to their standards, I figured I'd drop a bomb on them here and showcase, even further, more of my writing talents. Yeah, I know, there's nothing arrogant about this article thus far – I'm completely humble. [/sarcasm]

So here I put down the ground work of how I would have the TNA product look – this is completely from scratch, and even some work overs on their roster to fit my view of the company and what it should try to accomplish. This is basically clean slating everything in TNA's history and not building up from anything they've done, but still maintaining its current schedule of television programming for Spike TV and pay-per-views. Some of this would extend beyond the scope of just being a booker, but seeing as this is my fantasy, and that I'm in charge of my own mind, I don't see why I shouldn't be allowed to do it. After all, who the fuck is going to stop me? Jeff Jarrett? I'll sooner fire that mental midget before he can even start mouthing me off; all while putting Raven in his place as a booker. See how he likes that.

Overhaul the Talent

I've always thought, since really getting into The Ultimate Fighter series and seeing all of the UFC programs launched on the Spike network, that if TNA wants to truly stand for "The New Alternative" like Mike Tenay dubbed them upon their first few airings of Impact all those years ago, now, it should try and appeal to the MMA market.

That's not at all to say that they should simply cage up their ring, and have three 5 minute rounds for their bouts and have almost no comedic characters or segments, but rather that their X Division, for the most part, should appeal to the MMA fans out there watching Spike for their UFC fix. By this I mean taking a page out of ROH's book through the Bryan Danielson and Austin Aries series of bouts from last year, and seeing how plying ref stoppage as a legitimate finish to matches is a good thing and draws in intrigue.

Another thing I've always thought the X Division should stand for is a secondary tier that serves more as a stepping stone for the young talents of the company who would one day become the main event players of the company later on. So the X Title should serve more as a grooming tool rather than as a title for cruiserweights to get their grubby little mitts upon.

So with all of this in mind, I look over the roster and see not many are capable or have worked a cross style similar to MMA, and I doubt half of them have seen the Strong Style as demonstrated by Jyushin Lyger – or if they have, they probably only seemed to notice his high spots and take from that rather than the overall package, much like most young kids took from Shawn Michaels, forgetting the ability to sell as if that wasn't important.

For the main event, again to harp on that "The New Alternative" comment, should look somewhat like a cross breeding of the X Divisions new focus [Strong Style for those paying attention] and Kings Road Style, with some play on the old school philosophy established in the WWE's style so it really looks different from everything going on. It should be a different style of match every main event, not the same style that you see from the WWE because the idea is to hook people on the presence of a completely different in-ring product that appeals to them on several levels.

With the roster in mind major changes are not only asked, but are demanded upon to get the exact result we want. But restrictions need to be placed: TNA only has 2 hours of weekly television, only so much in the budget to pay for some of these workers while restricting them from working with high profile indy promotions that have working deals with HighSpots.com, and can only highlight so much in that time while still delivering some storylines and segments that give you the entertainment value you'd seek from a wrestling promotion.

The roster has to be changed, and some guys have to be cut, while others brought in. So let's get to cracking on changing up this company, and establishing what roles they have.

On-Air Authorities
Jim Cornette – TNA Management Director
Jeremy Borash – TNA Broadcaster
Dustin Rhodes – TNA Announcer
* Eric Gargiulo – TNA Announcer
Mike Tenay – TNA Announcer
Crystal Louthan – TNA Interviewer

* indicates a newly signed employee

Managers
B.G. James
Christy Hemme
Karen Angle
Kevin Nash
* Konnan
James Mitchell
Miss Tennessee Jackie Moore
Raven
Scott D'Amore
Sharmell Sullivan-Huffman
SoCal Val (Valerie Wyndham)

Knockouts
Amazing Kong
Christy Hemme
Gail Kim
O.D.B.
Miss Tennessee Jackie Moore
Payton Banks / Rain (Bonnie Maxon)
Raisha Saeed / Cheerleader Melissa (Melissa Anderson)
Roxxi Laveaux (Nicole Raczynski)
SoCal Val (Valerie Wyndham)
Traci Brooks

Undercard: Enhancement Talents
x Elix Skipper
x Eric Young

x indicates an X Division wrestler

Midcard
* x "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson
* x Austin Aries
x Alex Shelley
Brother Devon
Brother Ray
x Chris Sabin
x Hernandez
x Homicide
x Frankie "Kaz" Kazarian
x James Storm (w/ Miss Tennessee Jackie Moore)
x Jay Lethal
x Matt Morgan
* x Naomichi Marufuji
Rhino
* x Shingo Takagi
x Sonjay Dutt

* indicates a newly signed employee
x indicates an X Division wrestler

Main Event
Abyss (Chris Parks) (w/ James Mitchell)
x A.J. Styles
Booker T (Sharmell Sullivan-Huffman)
Christian Cage
x Christopher Daniels
* Giant Bernard (Matt Bloom)
Kurt Angle (w/ Karen Angle)
* Ron Killings
x Samoa Joe
Travis Tomko

* indicates a newly signed employee
x indicates an X Division wrestler

Tag Teams
Blood Inked Bruisers (Giant Bernard & Travis Tomko)
L.A.X. (Hernandez & Homicide w/ B.G. James)
Murder City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin w/ Christy Hemme)
Hazard Strike (Austin Aries & Shingo Takagi)
Replay Value (Jay Lethal & Sonjay Dutt w/ SoCal Val)
Team 3D (Brother Devon & Brother Ray)

Stables
L.A.X. (B.G. James, Booker T, Hernandez, Homicide, Konnan, Ron Killings, Sharmell Sullivan-Huffman)
New Hazard Action (Austin Aries, Naomichi Marufuji, Rhino, Samoa Joe, Shingo Takagi)

Gone are Petey Williams, Sharkboy, Scott Steiner, Kip James, Bob Armstrong, Velvet Sky, Angelina Love and a few others whose name are escaping me at the moment. In goes Aries, Danielson, Shingo, Marufuji, Bernard and Gargiulo. The end result of this is a tighter group of competitors who don't have to fight for air time, two key guys who know the Strong Style well, and even the Kings Road Style, as well a more cohesive looking lineup where everyone's roles are defined.

Obviously there are some floaters in Nash and Raven who have no one to work with at the moment but that can be built into at any point.

The key here is we get Don West the fuck out of the announcers position, throw in Dustin who has done dub work for the WWE over every beautiful and majestic word spewed forth by Jesse Ventura, so he has a good grasp on announcing and how he should sound, at the very least. You add in Gargiulo and you have a reason to keep Tenay quiet outside of a match, as you have a real Color Commentator that knows how to sell a storyline and feud. Tenay can return to his WCW role of being the knowledgeable guy with a headset as he spews out all of the back stories of the wrestlers, their accomplishments, their style and technique, and what they're doing in the middle of a ring. This gives TNA a better sounding product, and improves everything by leaps and bounds.

Defining Character

No list of talent is complete without a run-down of what their characters are like and what their goals are going to be. So looking over this thing, we should immediately come to see we have a good clashing of personalities and names, but nothing concrete just yet.

A.J. Styles
No doofus – this is the Phenomenal A.J. Styles you've grown to like for so long. The only difference here is he needs some sort of edge, and while many don't like it, the doofus character he has fits him pretty well and gave him some edge, aside from just a character. So we'll sample some bits from that and try our best to blend in the good points of his current character with his previous characters, all while selling him as a sly face.

Austin Aries
I would love to bring him in as Austin Starr again, but then he'd be more of a character that isn't interested in kneeing the shit out of his opponent's skull, looking for an MMA style ref stoppage. Unlike his current transformation in ROH, this isn't a brooding, sulking character. This is going to be the hard hitting, take charge and lead New Hazard Action along with tag partner, Shingo Takagi, Aries we've seen try to lead the Resilience to victory time and time before, while still looking and sounding like the Aries of Generation NEXT.

Bryan Danielson
This should be obvious why he's here – much like Aries, Danielson has a knack for presenting a strong MMA style of blows that lead to ref stoppage. Being on network television with UFC as a lead in, you can easily sell him to an MMA fan as being legit and as a complete bad ass. Let him be heelish Danielson and we've got a solid winner here that should really get over the X Division and the TNA product, as a whole.

Kurt Angle
It should be noted that his style in ECW is what we're going to aim for here. Legitimate takedowns and looking like he's doing more prep work for an upcoming bout with Brock Lesnar in the octagon rather than being a pro-wrestler is the goal here. He should also have some ref stoppage type of blows that he can deliver, along with more MMA styled submission holds that sell him as a top trophy getter. Make him a heel and we've got an even more intense looking machine, which makes for some enjoyably violent action.

Samoa Joe
I'd throw him out there as a heel, but I think we'd be too heavy on those, so instead will opt him as a face, much in the way Steve Austin is considered a face. He's just another guy that has a good MMA type feel about his in-ring work, the only difference we don't have to tweak him in any way to get that out of him. So we have our Submission STRIKING Machine, who does so much killing with his hands and feet it's almost ridiculous.

L.A.X.
A face unit of Hispanics and Blacks fighting for equality, much in the way L.A.X. looked like during their run against Styles and Daniels? Why the hell not? It was a solid idea then, and it's still a good one that breaks down the bordering racist mold within the industry. It also helps to throw Konnan in there with B.G. James, as Konnan can spread out the truth of society's government and their constant holding down of the minorities while B.G. comes off like an ACLU-politically-correct-liberal that points out the need for change. Shouldn't be too hard to pull off if you pull off Booker looking like a screwed pooch who, every time he reaches for the big belt, gets fucked over on the deal and ends up looking like a victim of "the man".

New Hazard Action
The other stable on the entire roster featuring a lineup of fan favorite characters should be viewed more as the no nonsense group of hard hitting, striking and grappling, monsters of their own field whose main goal is to dominate TNA and the competition put forth in front of them and showcase to the world they are, indeed, the best unit in the industry today. Sounds simple enough and it basically allows them to just get over on their in-ring ability, which is a positive as you have Marufuji and Shingo who, if I'm correct in my thoughts here, don't speak very much English if any at all.

Christy Hemme
Her singing career is actually pretty good – I wouldn't dare put HEMME in the same category as a Snake River Conspiracy or Lacuna Coil, but I certainly wouldn't lump her in with Courtney Love, who I despise for being a conniving, decaying, drugged up whore of a mother [oh, and depending upon who you ask, she also killed Kurt Cobain]. So I figure with her rocker lifestyle she should fit in nicely with a more serious approach with the Murder City Machine Guns. It would be an interesting mix as Hemme is in a more serious role and actually has a chance to learn from a true mike handler in Alex Shelley – shit, if he did wonders for Chris Sabin, imagine what he'd do with her? In a non-sexual manner of course…

Blood Inked Bruisers
They work well in Japan, and it's only logical you bring in Bernard to the states as Tomko's tag partner. Being more the guns for hire hit men of the roster who dominate the tag division, but opt not to take in tag gold unless the money is right, you could do many things with these boys as they simply fight anyone and everyone for a good pay day. Being the heels of this roster also helps as you turn them into the foils for New Hazard Action and grant us with some amazing match combinations there, where we may just see how well Tomko and Bernard have improved in the past 2 years.

Abyss
I'd much rather sell him on being a sulking and brooding man who is tired of pain – physical and emotional. The whole monster appeal just doesn't work for him as he doesn't have as intimidating a look as Rellik – who lacks the right size to get away with being a true monster. Abyss should still be stuck with James Mitchell as he sold Abyss well, the only problem with the execution of the character was the booking, and we all know how well TNA's booking tends to be. So here we have a character that just acts as the servant of his manager and his will for the sake of appeasing his master, more so than being some monster that the manager chooses when and upon whom to unleash him upon.

Matt Morgan
Time to unleash the Blueprint and have him showcase that he's a primetime player just looking ready for a shot in the limelights of the big stages, as a heel character that almost seems to line up with Blood Inked Bruisers, but isn't interested in the money so much as he is in it for the adrenaline rush and the chance to showcase he is the best worker in the industry. Sort of a blend between the rivaling New Hazard Action and Blood Inked Bruisers, if you will, and with him being able to handle a mike well he certainly doesn't need anyone by his side.

Replay Value
I like the idea of actually USING SoCal Val as something more than eye candy that stands around the ring to hold peoples belongings, and I think there is some good chemistry between her and Jay. I don't think you need to go the extreme of having Lethal dress up, act and basically imitate Randy Savage, but doing it has opened him up: he looks more comfortable, his workrate has gotten a lot smoother and his understandings in the ring are stronger now. I think running him with some of the mannerisms and some of the in-ring work that Savage did helps him out greatly, but you can still package him up as Jay Lethal more so than Black Machismo. Throw in regular old Sonjay Dutt and you have an exciting, high flying tandem that is both fun to watch and has a good sense of personality behind them.

Frankie "Kaz" Kazarian
I hang up on Kaz as Raven feels he's truly a spectacular talent that has a really strong future, and while not having seen most of his stuff in PWG, I do understand he portrays a way cooler heel character than face. So I'd play around with that as an option and see what was worth building around him and how to establish him with and without Raven by his side. There's certainly something there for him, and him being the main catalyst for the X Division, being groomed for the World Title later on in his career is definitely the main drive around him.

Team 3D
I think they're at the end of the road and Devon, as much as he loves his new look, is certainly nearing the end in this industry. But Brother Ray certainly can keep going – not in the ring, but rather as the mouthpiece manager of some young worker who needs help getting over outside of the ring. Of course, to sign these two off you'd need to give them a big send off, and what better way to do it then to bide for the tag titles much in the same way they were chasing down America's Most Wanted before being distracted by Team Canada? This is one of those things that can be played around with and tweaked for some time before settling upon a serious finale.

Elix Skipper
Point blank, he has no tools of being a big star. He's sloppy, he's clumsy, and he also has problems developing a character – best to simply put him out there to put over other workers, to make them look better. Using him sporadically wouldn't be such a bad idea either, as there's really no reason he should go over anyone and as such bringing him in from time to time may erase the idea, in some fans mind, that he's nothing more than a jobber, thus loaning him back some credibility for each loss he sustains.

Eric Young
As fun as he is the character is clearly one dimensional and has almost no momentum to build towards anything meaningful anymore. Not only that but he's also very limited in the ring so really can't be involved in anything big or meaningful. He's simply just a fun personality that looks to get the crowd warmed up and nothing more, and as such he should be utilized in the same role as Elix – putting others over. He certainly has better selling abilities than Elix, so he would be the go to guy to really pull in emotion into a match, rather than just go through the motions, so he would be in a bigger role in comparison to Skipper.

Kevin Nash and Raven, for the most part, would be somewhat directionless in the planning stages of this relaunch of my imagination, only because on paper it doesn't look like there's anything I'd want to do with the two. Raven is at his best a manipulative character who could be the heel manager to a face character who is trying to do the right thing for himself, but ends up just being utilized as Raven's pawn to establish something bigger and better for himself. Kevin Nash is at his best through his comedy, whether most people get that humor or not, as being in a serious role detracts from other workers and makes him feel like the focal point rather than the side-barb that just helps put placement upon another subject – another person.

On paper, just putting together this without any real direction of what to do just yet, I don't see a role for those two, while others I kind of get a sense of where to go with them right off the bat – just utilizing their past characters and current personas and playing off of that rather than repackaging them to try and deliver a new character they may not be able to play well or how they'll able to cope with such a radical change. Not only for them but for their fans and the people that had followed them from before. Fans want to pay to see guys they know and can relate to, and no one is going to relate to Matt Bentley dropping his name and becoming Martyr after just becoming Maverick Matt – there's no connection there. It's the same with the fans not caring about Johnny Devine being Havoc and then becoming the hostage of Team 3D within a matter of minutes, and then to turn on the entire X Division in the same time frame – the fans didn't care for him before, and when you gave them a reason to start caring for him, you took it away immediately, giving the fans the sense that they were right in not caring.

Slow and steady builds construct meaning and importance behind every action, something that connects the fans to the product. That'll be the test of what I write here, and speak in my videos, for this new vision of TNA.

For now, this is all still playing about in my head, and there are times I question my judgment of some of the roster members – such as who should stay, who should be brought in that isn't signed to a heavy commitment with the likes of the WWE, who should do what with who and so on and so forth.

Finishing Up

Before I finish up this week, I thought I'd drop just a real quick comment about Michae Weyer's Shining a Spotlight 2.28.08: The Dark Side of Flair article about Ric Flair's politicking. While it appears my other colleagues around here are all behind it, I find fault with the article. Not with it's calling a spade a spade about Flair, but rather its presentation of citing facts to back up the claims levied. Not only that, but there were times where a situation was cited that was claimed against Flair that wasn't explained how it was his fault – such as the NWA committee voting for their champions.

I'm not going to trash the article, nor am I going to fawn over it. I think the idea was there and people will read it the way they want to – either as a bashing testament against Flair's legacy or as an objective view that showcases the true evils behind Flair.

Personally, I think the attempt was good, but I couldn't agree with most of it, especially without it really going the mile to explain how some of these issues were, indeed, Flair's fault rather than the fault of the NWA and their structure. It also doesn't help that the article doesn't paint a clear enough picture to debunk myth from fact for people, such as myself, who aren't completely aware of all the sordid backstage dealings during that time frame.

I'd much prefer if more time was put into the article that went through the painstaking issue of explaining the issues and citing actual sources to verify the truth, because the way it read, I kept stopping and arguing over the points and his argument tactic, especially the speculative arguments about how Flair cost the NWA to sell to Turner for not dropping the title to Luger, someone whose appeal would have easily faltered without the right opponents to keep him looking good. Hell, his match with Michael Hayes looks like shit when he tries doing anything – he was Masayoshi Motegi bad. You could always put up the argument that Luger sold and would have continued selling after beating Flair, but again, that's speculative much in the same way you could speculate what would sell better; Cena vs. The Rock or Sting vs. The Rock. You're only going to be guessing at the conclusion rather than having solid facts to back up the guess.

But I'll stop there and end this rant for the week. After all, we don't need in-house fighting around here, especially seeing as this is one of those discussions that clearly has both sides fenced up and adamantly standing on their own beliefs about the topic. Nothing about this article would be resolved through my ramblings this week, or any other week for this matter.

Until next week, this was a special Dose of Viral Reality with some Scriptures of Sin. Catch you all next week with even more random nonsense.