Please…Don’t Hate 5.11.08: B.G. James & Kip James (TNA Version)

Posted by Julian Bond on 05.11.2008

In part 2 of the “DX Flashback” series, we discuss the infamous tag team who went from having every fan’s adoration to gartering an onslaught of hating throughout the last few years. We talk about the duo of the ex New Age Outlaws/Voodoo Kin Mafia, B.G. James and Kip James.

Welcome everyone to Please…Don't Hate, the weekly column which takes a look at some of the most hated on and complained about wrestlers, companies, and topics within the wrestling world. Before we move onto this week's topic, I wanted to clear up a couple of possible misconceptions about this column.

Since I started this article a few weeks ago I noticed a few comments on the message boards that mention that this column is similar to another column on 411Mania called "In Defense Of", or imply I may cover/pick topics in a "lawyer-type" fashion. First of all, I honestly had never heard of "In Defense Of" until I saw it mentioned. I looked up the column and I think it's what people are referring to, but I'm not sure. So I just wanted to say that I wasn't trying to directly take anyone's column idea and if my column is very similar to any other on the site then I hope that I am bringing a unique perspective to the "defense-type" column.

The other thing I wanted to clear up was that the topics I pick out (rather from my choice or from the readers) are the ones that I believe in covering and I am not just doing them for the sake of argument. I saw a few comments that suggested specific topics that would be very hard to defend if I chose to, but implied that I did so just as a lawyer of sorts. The point of the column is to cover the subjects that I think shouldn't be hated on so much and not to so much pick out the ones that would be "hard to defend". I don't want to pick out certain topics just to be a loud-mouth or fire-starter; I just want to talk about the ones that I feel are unjustly talked bad about and to help open people's minds about looking at the positives more than just plain hating without reason. Otherwise, please keep the comments and suggestions coming on strong.

Last week I started a little "DX Flashback" series by covering the former X-Pac, Sean Waltman, and will conclude next week with the current WWE Champion Triple H. But right now we will be talking about the constant hate aimed towards the former New Age Outlaws and now current TNA mainstays, B.G. James and Kip James.

Reader Reverb
This is the section where two reader comments, one being for last week's topic and the other being against, are chosen and I give my two cents on them.

Last week's topic: Sean Waltman (The Wrestler)

Note to Readers: Thanks for the correction on the King of the Mountain match. I apologize that I TOTALLY forgot about the first actual match which took place a year prior and did not include Waltman, Also, thanks for the mention of Waltman's recent run in Mexico's AAA promotion. I haven't watched it at all, so I didn't want to act like I did, but I should've still mentioned it anyways.


G3KKO (Guest) comments:

I never understood the hate on Sean, he was a real pioneer when it comes to the
American junior/cruiser style. You always hear about Sabu and 2 Cold Scorpio but go and watch the stuff Waltman was doing with Jerry Lynn back in '91-'92, even after his first neck injury he still put on great matches in both WcW and WWF(E). Yeah, his character got stale and there was a period after his 2nd neck injury when his matches wern't that good but were they any worse than half the guys stinking up WWE rings today??

Here's another interesting theory on why some people hate on Waltman. It's unfortunately the same deal that other wrestlers have suffered as well. These haters see a wrestler's early potential as an up and coming premier wrestler and when they go off the path in any way (in ring or out of ring), the viewers are quick to turn on them. They forget all of the good the wrestlers have done in the ring and just hold onto their hatred for the chosen victim for as long as they live. For Waltman, people just need to release this anger and instead look at the man's best work in his career.

CM Wolf (Guest) comments:

There is no defending this snotrag of a worker. He HAD potential but pissed it
away living his gimmick. Waltman is just lucky he didnt manage to burn EVERY
bridge. (Nash) Otherwise he would probably be among the "wave of
deaths". Hope he straightens himself out but dude....hang it up..its over.

At one point I honestly thought that same way when I looked at Waltman. I saw him wrestle horribly good matches and then all of a sudden I read stories of him abusing drugs and treating people like crap backstage. Without a full explanation I just started to hate on the fella, simply because of this. But after a while, I realized that neither I nor anyone else, who isn't a direct relative of the guy, cannot simply judge him as a performer just by his out of ring antics. We honestly don't really know nor should know his personal business; what he does is on him and shouldn't be our main concern. We as viewers should appreciate what he does in the ring and not worry so much about his every movement after his "9-5". The main thing that we as fans should do is hope that Waltman doesn't get into any serious trouble or endangers his life, without having us place the constant harsh criticisms on the man's every move.

Now, let's get ready to...



Why People Hate On…B.G. James & Kip James (TNA Version)
-Too old to wrestle
-Uses same old gimmicks (revised "New Age Outlaws")
-Doesn't put on great matches
-Taking up space in TNA roster

My Reasoning for Not Hating On…B.G. James & Kip James (TNA Version)
To begin with I want to ask the basic question: What the hell is up with the HUGE amount of hate for B.G. James (formally Road Dogg Jesse James) and Kip James (formally Bad Ass Billy Gunn)? The two former tag team members have been together in TNA for the last 3 years (B.G. arriving earlier in 2002) and have teamed up and feuded on and off during this time. While watching this I haven't witnessed any "Worst Match of The Year" candidates, no god-awful gimmicks, or horrible (maybe so-so, not horrible) angles. So pending these inoffensives, what exactly is the deal with all of the hate against the team whom everyone at one point cheered at and repeated catchphrases with?

When B.G. James first arrived in TNA he started out on his own attempting to find the right groove again after being let go from the WWE. After a little while he found it in the form of the group 3 Live Kru, which also included Konnan and Ron Killings. The team gained a bunch of fans, gained championship gold, and even had their own DVD. But at the peak of all of this the team started to become a little stale until Kip James came to TNA as The Outlaw. He automatically started a feud with the group and teased a full-on fight with his former partner B.G., but as booking had it the bout never came and Kip joined 3 Live Kru. With the two ex Outlaws on one side the fans were clamoring with a straight up reuniting of the multiple "taaaag team champions of the woooorld". A split second later the duo finally got back together as the newly dubbed James Gang. This is when the hating began.

Without even thinking about it, these viewers yelled "BLASMOPHY" as they criticized the two for attempting to rekindle or even think of duplicating their former fame. Despite the very visible sight of TNA fans going crazy at the Impact Zone with the gang's presence, the haters just plain thought that the pair doesn't have any business being in the ring. Even with the James Gang's pretty good bouts with TNA up and comers like LAX and America's Most Wanted, these people still hated. Even with the "dream tag team feud" of Team 3D (ex-Dudley Boyz) vs. The James Gang (ex-New Age Outlaws), which placed two of the greatest tag teams of all time in a good series of matches, these people still continued the hate. The final stake in the heart was with the team stepping away from the ring for a little bit and then coming back into the fold as the newly named and amped up Voodoo Kin Mafia. Despite the more aggressive promos and crazy, hilarious antics of crashing multiple WWE events (ala DX vs. WCW), these people still called foul when they saw the James on their TV screen.

Sure with every one of the aforementioned feuds and other attempted angles, that was some bumps in the road. The James Gang never really become tag team title contenders, the DX/WWE verbal war ran out of gas and the potentially good Christy Hemme feud started off great and then slowly died a horrible death. Now this is what I don't get. Even with these miscues, the team still managed to entertain the crowds and the haters STILL wanted to chew the two up. In TNA, they never wrestled a match that was horribly unwatchable (as opposed to some of The Great Khali's crappy matches), aren't burying other wrestlers (helped put over LAX and AMW), and even more so aren't really taking up as much TV time as some complain over (break before return as VKM, break after Hemme feud fizzled, weren't in the ring at all during their "Rough Cuts" promos with their feud). So I believe that the people who continuously hate on the former Outlaws are doing so just based off of their views of them being "older wrestlers trying to recapture their former glory" and this should not be. The two are just doing their jobs, not taking any unwanted space, and shouldn't be dissed because of their attempts to contribute something to the ring.

Good Reasons to Love…B.G. James & Kip James (TNA Version)
Unseen Tag Bouts

When B.G. and Kip finally teamed back up again to form the James Gang, they didn't exactly set the world on fire with their return and subsequent matches. But what it did was give fans a chance to see them mix it up in the ring with other TNA talent like LAX and America's Most Wanted, and also gave fans the "dream match" of seeing them go against the legendary and infamous tag team of Team 3D (formerly the Dudley Boyz).

(The James Gang vs Team 3D)


VKM vs WWE

Despite the hating from many because of its similarity to the DX vs. WCW skits of old, this "feud" with the Voodoo Kin Mafia calling out the newly reformed Degeneration X (Shawn Michaels, Triple H) and Vince McMahon was very in your face and hilarious. It provided funny moments such as the duo dressing as a fake DX and the crashing of multiple live WWE events like the incident seen below.

(VKM visit a live WWE event)


Feud with Each Other

With their DX "fight" behind them and the Christy Hemme feud derailed, TNA unfortunately couldn't muster up anything else for the duo and went with the next logical step of a tag team split. While the initial execution was a little bit weak (Kip beating up B.G.'s father, "Bullet" Armstrong with a crutch), TNA surprisingly took a different route by airing a very solid series of promos, labeled Rough Cuts, in which the two kept up the heat of their feud going strong without even having to be in the ring.

(Rough Cuts Promo)


People should really stop hating on these guys. Sure they haven't contributed any "match of the year candidates" nor are the best workers in the world, but they sure as hell try to put on a good show when they come out to the crowd. The Outlaws aren't the Outlaws anymore and they aren't trying to be so. With that, the haters should finally stop acting like the two are trying to do so and move on.

On The Next Episode of…"Please…Don't Hate"
To conclude the trilogy of my DX remembrance, next week I will cover the Cerebral Assassin, the King of Kings, the 12-time current WWE Champion…the ever so controversial and often hated upon Triple H.