Candyman’s “Descent into the Wrestling Danger Zone” #1
Everyone welcome to something new that I am doing here at OS. I plan on writing a column either on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. I plan on covering all of wrestling, but I wanted to start my first few columns talking about TNA and where they are heading to. It appears like we may have another stint with a loss of focus.
Candyman breaks down TNA and what is causing them to really go down in a spiral direction. After the Sunday’s LOCKDOWN PPV and the look of next month’s SACRIFICE PPV I think they might be setting themselves up for a possible long summer of upset fans.
I will be throwing out my ideas of how to rebuild TNA to a state where fans will want to tune in every week. TNA has the proper talent on hand to get the job done, but they are all over the place. LOCKDOWN really proved that their booking for that PPV was so allover that there are some people not wanting to order another of their PPV’s again even though “Lethal Lockdown” was excellent and unique match.
Let’s take a look.
PART I: “TNA Has an Identity Crisis”
IMO, being a longtime TNA fan...........I think they are digging a 6ft hole, and they are in it at about 3ft right now.
I don't know if Truth feels the same since he's been watching as long as I have, and anyone else that has watched TNA since the beginning but TNA has had an.......................
IDENTITY CRISIS
They have tried to be traditional "NWA", they even tried by bringing an "ECW" faction (Extreme Revolution - Sandman, Perry Saturn, New Jack, Justin Credible, Raven) which lasted for a few months, then at one point on a weekly basis during the Vince Russo era of the weekly show TNA went the surprise "LEGENDS" (Nikita Koloff, Vader, LOD, R&R Express, & Curt Hennig) route, who will forget Sports Entertainment Xtreme (S.E.X) vs. TNA in a feud that was similar to WCW's Billionaire Club vs. The New Blood, and in 2006 TNA has turned into WWE/WCW lite with some rejected talent on the roster.
Where has TNA gone wrong? They keep on signing WWE rejects and washed up WCW talent. If it were me, I would get rid of:
-Christy Hemme
-Kip James
-BG James
-Cassidy Reily
-Konnan
-Scott Steiner
-Sting….good for a PPV buyrate or two, but won’t help
-Simon Diamond
-Raven - Love this guy.......but he looks like sh*t
-David Young
-Jackie Gayda….she doesn’t look like she even wants to be in TNA, let alone fit in with what they are doing.
-Jeff Hardy
-The Hebners
-Larry Zybyszko……that whining twit is getting annoying as DOA or whatever role he has.
-Jeremy Borasch…..please get rid of him already.
The Harris Brothers….overpaid wrestlers turned security guards, buddies of JJ.
-Shannon Moore....he was around for a few months after WWE released him and then he resigned.
Jeff Jarrett, yes he is one of the owners of TNA and part of management………it’s time that he steps aside and starts to help put over talent. He isn’t doing TNA any good at all by running rampant with the title and in the main event scene. He is one of the reasons why TNA has been in some trouble. Yes he is a well known name from the WCW era, but he needs to give it up already.
ANALYZING THE CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISIONS
Currently TNA has 3 championship divisions which are for the heavyweights, tag team, and X (heavys & lightweights). I think that not having a mid-card division it’s hurting the growth of talent. Again it goes back to TNA only having 1hr for IMPACT that won’t allow them to really showcase their champs. A champion is the centerpiece of your federation and when fans look at a champion they think of someone that carries that belt with pride. TNA’s champs have done that which is one thing that I can commend them for.
NWA World Heavyweight Division:
Guys that should be in the main event wrestling for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship are Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Christian Cage, and Ron Killings. I was getting really tired of Jeff Jarrett being the center of attention. I think right now this division is really in some state of shambles if you ask me. I think if the 5 guys above were the only ones allowed as mainstays in the main event and not some of the older talent, it would draw younger fans. TNA should be using Jarrett, Steiner, and Sting as top tier talent to help elevate the younger talent, than I’m all for it.
My biggest beef so far here though is that Christian Cage hasn't been booked to be a strong champ. I compare his championship to the likes of The Big Show, Rey Mysterio, and Chris Jericho in the WWE when they became second fiddle to the other stars. Cage is becoming second fiddle to the Sting/Jarrett Army feud. I almost feel like a lot of the focus has been taken away from Cage when they are booking Sting and Jarrett as the big payoff. Sorry TNA, people won't drive in droves to buy Sting vs. Jeff Jarrett..................I bet that Sting vs. Christian Cage if booked properly could create some extra buyrates. It would be fresh, new, and even a match that nobody has ever seen.
I don't blame Christian Cage or Abyss for this. They both have done a good job with what they have to work with. I think that their match at Lockdown was good only marred by bad booking, wasting 10 minutes at the beginning before they got inside the cage so they could kill time due to the PPV not having a sufficient amount of matches or even the length of some was questionable. TNA mgmt is at fault again.
Cage has been dealt the same hand as AJ Styles when winning the NWA World Title from Jarrett, they have made them both transitional champs. Styles has had 3 reigns and only his first lasted 4 months, while the last 2 were only 1 month each so Jarrett could build up his reigns. I think at Sacrifice Cage and Abyss need to step it up so they could prove they are worthy of a spot that TNA has really not gone out of their way to make these 2 guys look strong.
Mid-card level Championship Division:
TNA needs to bring in a mid-card level Championship belt for guys like, Abyss, Lance Hoyt, Rhino, and Monty Brown so they could battle over to get them ready for the next level. I’m sorry but as much as I like Monty Brown and Abyss, they still need a bit of work before they could get to the World Title picture. Abyss is very agile for a big man and I compare him to Kane, one of the best larger sized wrestlers in the business. In 2007, I think that Abyss should be ready to be World Champion if his skills are honed by then as I see improvement.
This is one thing that TNA is lacking right now, and I think that it is really hurting them big time. Without a title for the mid-card, there is nowhere for guys to go and then you have a boatload of guys lost in the schuffle.
NWA World Tag Team Championship Division:
TNA’s tag team division has always been strong, but I think that it has only gotten stronger over the last year. I don’t care for some of the makeshift teams that TNA continues to throw together which gets to be really annoying. I feel like it’s the WWE all over again with makeshifts. I really like how AMW has held on to the titles since October and Team 3D is chasing after them but haven't received the titles yet. I like this as even though 3D is a bigger name than AMW, they weren't handed the belts. I think at Slammiversary they will be tag champs. I can commend good booking here.
I would have, The Naturals, AMW, Team 3D, Eric Young & Johnny Devine representing Team Canada, and Hernandez & Homicide. These 5 teams alone are enough to really spark this tag division which has been in a little bit of slump lately even though, they have done a good job showcasing the tag division.
“X” Championship Division:
The “X” division needs to be restructured, it’s nice that it’s the “division with no limits”, but there has to be something done here so this could be for the high flyers/lightweights. Guys like Chris Sabin, Petey Williams, Sonjay Dutt, Senshai (Low-Ki), Alex Shelley, Matt Bentley, Jay Lethal, Austin Aries & Roderick Strong. It was cool seeing Samoa Joe with this title, but what did it do for his career? He didn’t change his style and wrestled like he was in the heavyweight division. Joe should have been wrestling with the heavies and being built up to being the NWA World Champ.
Looking above at how the divisions have been setup, this allows the younger talent to be showcased. It also allows TNA to re-align the divisions where talent isn’t shifting from one division to the next. AJ Styles is a perfect example. One month he’s wrestling in the “X” division, then the next with the heavyweights. AJ should be wrestling in the heavyweight division. Samoa Joe is another example here. Why would TNA give him the “X” title again after he lost it in the “Ultimate X”? This was the prefect opportunity to launch his career in the heavies division. Then why would the most feared heel in TNA be teaming with Sting? Crazy booking imo.
As much as Joe vs. Daniels vs. Styles were some good matches, TNA really stretched out this feud longer than it should have been. I give them the finger of shame for that.
FACES/HEELS
This is another area where TNA has had a few problems with in the past. There are time where they don’t properly specify if the wrestler coming out is a heel or a face regardless which tube/entryway they are coming out of. I know that the heels have their own entryway and faces have their own. Still fans are confused regardless when a face is acting like a heel or vice versa.
I’d like to thank everyone for taking the time to read my first column. Join me with the next column, which I’ll focus on
PART II: Status of TNA IMPACT, PPV’s, Specialty/Gimmick Matches, Factions, & Review of Lockdown.
Everyone welcome to something new that I am doing here at OS. I plan on writing a column either on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. I plan on covering all of wrestling, but I wanted to start my first few columns talking about TNA and where they are heading to. It appears like we may have another stint with a loss of focus.
Candyman breaks down TNA and what is causing them to really go down in a spiral direction. After the Sunday’s LOCKDOWN PPV and the look of next month’s SACRIFICE PPV I think they might be setting themselves up for a possible long summer of upset fans.
I will be throwing out my ideas of how to rebuild TNA to a state where fans will want to tune in every week. TNA has the proper talent on hand to get the job done, but they are all over the place. LOCKDOWN really proved that their booking for that PPV was so allover that there are some people not wanting to order another of their PPV’s again even though “Lethal Lockdown” was excellent and unique match.
Let’s take a look.
PART I: “TNA Has an Identity Crisis”
IMO, being a longtime TNA fan...........I think they are digging a 6ft hole, and they are in it at about 3ft right now.
I don't know if Truth feels the same since he's been watching as long as I have, and anyone else that has watched TNA since the beginning but TNA has had an.......................
IDENTITY CRISIS
They have tried to be traditional "NWA", they even tried by bringing an "ECW" faction (Extreme Revolution - Sandman, Perry Saturn, New Jack, Justin Credible, Raven) which lasted for a few months, then at one point on a weekly basis during the Vince Russo era of the weekly show TNA went the surprise "LEGENDS" (Nikita Koloff, Vader, LOD, R&R Express, & Curt Hennig) route, who will forget Sports Entertainment Xtreme (S.E.X) vs. TNA in a feud that was similar to WCW's Billionaire Club vs. The New Blood, and in 2006 TNA has turned into WWE/WCW lite with some rejected talent on the roster.
Where has TNA gone wrong? They keep on signing WWE rejects and washed up WCW talent. If it were me, I would get rid of:
-Christy Hemme
-Kip James
-BG James
-Cassidy Reily
-Konnan
-Scott Steiner
-Sting….good for a PPV buyrate or two, but won’t help
-Simon Diamond
-Raven - Love this guy.......but he looks like sh*t
-David Young
-Jackie Gayda….she doesn’t look like she even wants to be in TNA, let alone fit in with what they are doing.
-Jeff Hardy
-The Hebners
-Larry Zybyszko……that whining twit is getting annoying as DOA or whatever role he has.
-Jeremy Borasch…..please get rid of him already.
The Harris Brothers….overpaid wrestlers turned security guards, buddies of JJ.
-Shannon Moore....he was around for a few months after WWE released him and then he resigned.
Jeff Jarrett, yes he is one of the owners of TNA and part of management………it’s time that he steps aside and starts to help put over talent. He isn’t doing TNA any good at all by running rampant with the title and in the main event scene. He is one of the reasons why TNA has been in some trouble. Yes he is a well known name from the WCW era, but he needs to give it up already.
ANALYZING THE CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISIONS
Currently TNA has 3 championship divisions which are for the heavyweights, tag team, and X (heavys & lightweights). I think that not having a mid-card division it’s hurting the growth of talent. Again it goes back to TNA only having 1hr for IMPACT that won’t allow them to really showcase their champs. A champion is the centerpiece of your federation and when fans look at a champion they think of someone that carries that belt with pride. TNA’s champs have done that which is one thing that I can commend them for.
NWA World Heavyweight Division:
Guys that should be in the main event wrestling for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship are Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Christian Cage, and Ron Killings. I was getting really tired of Jeff Jarrett being the center of attention. I think right now this division is really in some state of shambles if you ask me. I think if the 5 guys above were the only ones allowed as mainstays in the main event and not some of the older talent, it would draw younger fans. TNA should be using Jarrett, Steiner, and Sting as top tier talent to help elevate the younger talent, than I’m all for it.
My biggest beef so far here though is that Christian Cage hasn't been booked to be a strong champ. I compare his championship to the likes of The Big Show, Rey Mysterio, and Chris Jericho in the WWE when they became second fiddle to the other stars. Cage is becoming second fiddle to the Sting/Jarrett Army feud. I almost feel like a lot of the focus has been taken away from Cage when they are booking Sting and Jarrett as the big payoff. Sorry TNA, people won't drive in droves to buy Sting vs. Jeff Jarrett..................I bet that Sting vs. Christian Cage if booked properly could create some extra buyrates. It would be fresh, new, and even a match that nobody has ever seen.
I don't blame Christian Cage or Abyss for this. They both have done a good job with what they have to work with. I think that their match at Lockdown was good only marred by bad booking, wasting 10 minutes at the beginning before they got inside the cage so they could kill time due to the PPV not having a sufficient amount of matches or even the length of some was questionable. TNA mgmt is at fault again.
Cage has been dealt the same hand as AJ Styles when winning the NWA World Title from Jarrett, they have made them both transitional champs. Styles has had 3 reigns and only his first lasted 4 months, while the last 2 were only 1 month each so Jarrett could build up his reigns. I think at Sacrifice Cage and Abyss need to step it up so they could prove they are worthy of a spot that TNA has really not gone out of their way to make these 2 guys look strong.
Mid-card level Championship Division:
TNA needs to bring in a mid-card level Championship belt for guys like, Abyss, Lance Hoyt, Rhino, and Monty Brown so they could battle over to get them ready for the next level. I’m sorry but as much as I like Monty Brown and Abyss, they still need a bit of work before they could get to the World Title picture. Abyss is very agile for a big man and I compare him to Kane, one of the best larger sized wrestlers in the business. In 2007, I think that Abyss should be ready to be World Champion if his skills are honed by then as I see improvement.
This is one thing that TNA is lacking right now, and I think that it is really hurting them big time. Without a title for the mid-card, there is nowhere for guys to go and then you have a boatload of guys lost in the schuffle.
NWA World Tag Team Championship Division:
TNA’s tag team division has always been strong, but I think that it has only gotten stronger over the last year. I don’t care for some of the makeshift teams that TNA continues to throw together which gets to be really annoying. I feel like it’s the WWE all over again with makeshifts. I really like how AMW has held on to the titles since October and Team 3D is chasing after them but haven't received the titles yet. I like this as even though 3D is a bigger name than AMW, they weren't handed the belts. I think at Slammiversary they will be tag champs. I can commend good booking here.
I would have, The Naturals, AMW, Team 3D, Eric Young & Johnny Devine representing Team Canada, and Hernandez & Homicide. These 5 teams alone are enough to really spark this tag division which has been in a little bit of slump lately even though, they have done a good job showcasing the tag division.
“X” Championship Division:
The “X” division needs to be restructured, it’s nice that it’s the “division with no limits”, but there has to be something done here so this could be for the high flyers/lightweights. Guys like Chris Sabin, Petey Williams, Sonjay Dutt, Senshai (Low-Ki), Alex Shelley, Matt Bentley, Jay Lethal, Austin Aries & Roderick Strong. It was cool seeing Samoa Joe with this title, but what did it do for his career? He didn’t change his style and wrestled like he was in the heavyweight division. Joe should have been wrestling with the heavies and being built up to being the NWA World Champ.
Looking above at how the divisions have been setup, this allows the younger talent to be showcased. It also allows TNA to re-align the divisions where talent isn’t shifting from one division to the next. AJ Styles is a perfect example. One month he’s wrestling in the “X” division, then the next with the heavyweights. AJ should be wrestling in the heavyweight division. Samoa Joe is another example here. Why would TNA give him the “X” title again after he lost it in the “Ultimate X”? This was the prefect opportunity to launch his career in the heavies division. Then why would the most feared heel in TNA be teaming with Sting? Crazy booking imo.
As much as Joe vs. Daniels vs. Styles were some good matches, TNA really stretched out this feud longer than it should have been. I give them the finger of shame for that.
FACES/HEELS
This is another area where TNA has had a few problems with in the past. There are time where they don’t properly specify if the wrestler coming out is a heel or a face regardless which tube/entryway they are coming out of. I know that the heels have their own entryway and faces have their own. Still fans are confused regardless when a face is acting like a heel or vice versa.
I’d like to thank everyone for taking the time to read my first column. Join me with the next column, which I’ll focus on
PART II: Status of TNA IMPACT, PPV’s, Specialty/Gimmick Matches, Factions, & Review of Lockdown.
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