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8.03.2007

"iMPACT!" Dispatch: Whinings About Signings

Over the last month or so, TNA has been stepping up their game. Sure, not everybody has been down with them, and they do have a bad reputation among many smarks because of poor creative writing for quite some time, but TNA has been solid lately.

For what they are-a small scale televised sports entertainment show-they're just what the doctor ordered when a fan gets bored of the mundane bullshit being produced by WWE.

However, there really weren't many new storylines this week as opposed to last week, so I'd like to take this opportunity to sway off the beaten path. This week, I will not be talking about Kurt Angle, or Samoa Joe, or Christian Cage. Hell, I won't even make gay/virgin jokes about Frank-after all, that's easy filler and anyone can do that. Instead, I'm going to talk about the slew of recent TNA signings. Because in my mind, they all suck.

First and foremost, you've got Adam "Pacman" Jones, former Tennessee Titans cornerback turned nightclub player turned criminal. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told him to get lost, so with nowhere to go, TNA extended an offer. Jones won't be allowed to actually compete because of other contractual obligations, but nonetheless, Pacman is now part of TNA.

I will give a dollar to anyone who can tell me why this is a good move. Publicity? Don't give me that shit. This guy has got publicity for all the wrong reasons, and having TNA's name attached to him on SportsCenter will not expand the fan base. America despises Jones, and for good reason. If I'm a non-wrestling watcher who has just spent the last month hearing about beef roids in wrestling, I'm not going to tune in just because some ne'er-do-well is now on the roster.

You'd think that TNA would have learned their lesson after Toby Keith, Brian Urlacher, the entire Tennessee Titans team, Johnny Fairplay, AJ Pierzynski, David Eckstein, and Frank Wychek all failed to give TNA a permanent ratings boost. To anyone from TNA who might be reading this, listen closely-you are no longer an up and coming company who runs indy shows in the Asylum every week. You're the second largest wrestling company in North America. Act like it. Focus on wrestling, not getting famous celebrities in.

Another signing that recently took place is Dustin Rhodes. I stated last week how knee I thought this guy is right now, and recent spoilers have made it even worse. For those who didn't hear, Rhodes is supposed to have the gimmick "Platinum", a direct take on his old Goldust gimmick. This guy does not have the credibility to elevate Harris, and if TNA thinks he does, then the Wildcat is in serious trouble.

Matt Morgan. Okay, I know that for weeks I've been begging for this guy to debut. Mostly, it was because I didn't want to see a Rhodes/Harris feud. Morgan's got younger legs, he's a great worker, and he has the look of a main eventer. However, apparently "big plans" mean that he's going to be Jim Cornette's bodyguard. I'm hoping that eventually he will be used in main event picture, because right now, I don't like the way he's being positioned. He's just as good as some of the guys who are getting TV time, and he deserves a push.

The last signing I'm going to discuss is that of Andrew "Test" Martin. Last night, Martin crashed the main event, helping Sting and Abyss win. He's already being thrown headfirst into a storyline with prime time players (and Tomko), and it's looking like he may be the next WWE exile to hold gold in TNA.

My problem with this? While I agree with Donnie that he does have a pretty good moveset for a big guy, and that he is a decent worker by any standards, I also agree with Dan that I've never really been that interested in this guy. Maybe it was the lame "Test" gimmick, but I just never really was able to get into his character and be entertained at the level that a main eventer should be entertained at. Only time will tell if a repackaging in TNA will help his cause, and for that reason, he is being given way too much, way too soon. Start him off as a midcarder, let him build some steam and be able to get pops and get over, then elevate him.

One last thought on all of these signings-TNA already has an overstocked talent pool as it is. Even if they get a two hour show, they still won't have enough time to showcase all of the wrestlers who deserve it. What happened to guys like Petey Williams, Jay Lethal, and Christopher Daniels? These guys should be prime time players in the company. Instead, they're an afterthought, taking a backseat to a guy named Pacman.

Wakka Wakka Wakka Bullshit.



4 comments: on ""iMPACT!" Dispatch: Whinings About Signings"

Tim Haught said...

I am going to disagree with you, maybe just for arguments sake, or maybe because I believe what I am about to say.

I haven't given a shit about TNA for a long minute. They have dropped the ball over and over, and gone back and tried to pick it back up with guys and stories that are over. No, not over as in wrestling over. Over as in done, finished.

TNA has failed to strike while the iron is hot over and over again. Outside of the fairly lame 6 sided ring, they don't really provide an alternative to the WWE. They are WWE-Lite.

The recent signings TNA has made contribute to the WWE-lite image, but at least they add a bit of intrigue to the product.

The signing of Pacman Jones is brilliant, and got TNA it's greatest amount of mainstream publicity to date. A lot of people watching ESPN cover the story probably didn't even realize there was a company alternate to the WWE.

The Mountaineer turned Titan will not be wrestling. He is likely to serve in the same aspect that Kevin Federline served in the WWE, and if I remember, we at Tha O Show didn't think the Federline experiment turned out all that bad.

Regardless of how good Jones' performance is in TNA, it's already served it's PR purpose.

The difference between the Jones appearance and the other TNA sports appearances is that Jones makes news. It's not like TNA was making money anyways. Might as well make a little controversy.

Dustin Rhodes can be a fabulous worker, and with the recent programs involving Dusty and Cody in the WWE, it is likely that new fans will have some type of name recognition for Dustin.

WWE wanted to resign him not long ago, but it didn't work out due to Rhodes calling off for family problems.

The Platinum gimmick is what WCW should have done with him when they were using him as Dustin and Se7en. The Goldust gimmick was hot during his last WWE run when it took a more comic turn. Take out the stupid turrets, and the Goldust/Booker combination was the most entertaining part of Raw for weeks.

Dustin can cut fantastic promos as well, and I think paired with Black Machismo, you could get great TV out of Dustin. By the way, no one is going to elevate Chris Harris, because TNA missed the boat on him. There was a time where it would have worked. That time has passed.

Matt Morgan has the look and the moveset of a big time player. Essentially, it was Brock Lesnar who held him back in the WWE, as they were too similar at the same time. I personally preferred Morgan. What did WWE do? Give him a stupid stuttering gimmick.

Morgan being Cornette's bodyguard is fine. The only thing Morgan hasn't proved yet is that he can talk. Cornette more than has that down. Remember Diesel as a bodyguard? What about Batista? These guys did ok. Morgan will get great visibility associated with Cornette, and when they eventually break off, he will be more than ready to make a serious impact, no pun intended.

Test is sorta remiscent of Chris Harris. Good look, decent moveset, and believable main eventer. However, both have been pushed and pulled out of main event scenarios so many times that fans lost interest. Both are kind of boring. Both get outshined by other main eventers and lost in the shuffle. Hell, make them a tag team. Not seriously.

I think Test's signing is positive, in this way. Test was just brought back to the WWE. WWE pushed the crap out of him until they found out about his drug problem. His run wasn't too painful either.

I am interested in Test's signing only to see how TNA uses him. I don't know if that's enough to get me back watching the product, but combined with a Steiner's reunion, and some other things, TNA has the ingredients of an interesting show.

One last thing. Lethal should be a prime time X division player. He is not believable as anything more.

Petey Williams is more a one trick pony than anything else, and people have tired of viewing his one trick.

Daniels is another guy who is lost in the shuffle.

I do agree that TNA has a roster that is simply too large for the amount of time they have to showcase it, as well as the abilities of the creative team. Still, something needed to be done to freshen up the roster a bit. VKM vs. Team 3D, the neverending saga of Sting and Abyss, a held up X division title, and this horrible sounding Kurt Angle angle certainly aren't the answers to get me to watch on Thursdays.

Downtown said...

Kurt's wife is smokin'. No issues here on the subject matter. If it's that controversial "the media will tell us" (haha).

As far as Pacman goes, the publicity isn't that tainted. If anything, they will tune in for the possibility of seeing the guy get his "come-uppins". He's got that "Insta-Heat", he doesn't have to work for it.

Martin and Morgan could never create the feel that Nash and Hall did, or even close. Big push failures. Blame it on whoever you like, I may agree with you, but your average fan would agree.

I like Martin, but Morgan's WWE run sucked. The stutter gimmick was bad, but he made it worse. To say he done his best with it would bean insult to him. Had the guy even met a person with a stuttering problem? Actors research for their characters, so should wrestlers. All I remember him for was his F5 on Big Show. Impressive.

Anonymous said...

Since I'm Tha O Show's King of the South, I'll make this analogy. Saying a guy has a decent moveset, or is the best of the big guys, that's like saying Bubba is the richest guy in the mother fucking trailer park. He's got some, but it still aint much.

While there have been a handful of good bigman workers, only 3 world class workers come from that category. Taker being numero uno.

TNA isn't doing to bad, and there is no reason to bash their latest signings. They are the second largest wrestling promotion in North America, but...half of north america still don't even know they fuckin exist.

Some jackfuck on PTI said that they were a smaller wwF! That dude is GOLDEN. Let's face it, after Benoit, ALL wrestling will be doing things to get pub and strike an interest, because write now in they eyes of the uninformed, wrestling is knee.

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