Readers of Alternate Reality know I’m a fan of TNA Wrestling, and I support them in their quest to become a legitimate threat to Vince McMahon’s WWE juggernaut. However, I feel they’re making a tactical error by bringing back so many faces from wrestling’s recent past.
TODAY’S ISSUE: Turning TNA-2006 into WCW-2000.
I first became alarmed watching the closing moments of iMPACT! on 27 Apr 06. The show ended with Jeff Jarrett and Scott Steiner facing off against Sting, Lex Luger and Buff Bagwell. We all know that Luger is Sting’s partner in crime and running buddy, so I wasn’t surprised to see him in TNA. I wasn’t happy to see him, either. Luger doesn’t bring anything to the table at this stage of his career, and he certainly can’t hang with TNA’s heavyweight roster. Christian Cage, Monty Brown, Rhino, Abyss, the Truth, and Bobby Roode are a few examples of current TNA personnel who can actually wrestle an entertaining, somewhat fast paced match. That kind of productivity is way beyond Luger today (not that he was ever anything special between the ropes).
Buff Bagwell is as worthless as Luger. Other than his devastating Biceps-flex, Mirror-gaze, and Strange-attire maneuvers, he’s got nothing to offer in TNA but bad attitude and locker room disruption. I would urge “TNA Management” to focus on the capable young studs they already employ and who helped build the promotion in the first place, rather than looking to the meatheads of yesteryear.
Last Thursday, the middle of the 60-minute iMPACT! broadcast was poisoned by Kevin Nash acting like a complete jackass, and another WCW class reunion segment. This time Sting dusted off Big Poppa Pump’s own brother and former tag team partner, the Dog-Faced Gremlin himself, Rick Steiner. TNA needs him in 2006 like SmackDown! needed Road Warrior Animal recently.
Where does Kevin Nash get the nerve to demean the X Division, and why the Hell would TNA air his stupid comments? The X Division is your bread and butter, my friends. The whole reason TNA has survived this long is because they’ve offered an alternative to WWE. They’ve distinguished themselves as the company that promotes better in-ring action with less stupid storyline activity. Unless this angle leads to an X-Division guy like reigning champion Samoa Joe destroying Nash, TNA is wrong to allow “Big Sexy” to verbally blow himself on their dime. Of course, the last time Nash was scheduled for a match was October of 2005, but his health couldn’t handle the strain and he wound up in a hospital the day before the event. Too bad”¦ I’d love to see Joe beat the crap out of him.
TNA should proceed with caution. WCW was horrible in 2000, and if TNA mirrors those days too much, they’ll suffer WCW’s fate. WCW gasped its last breath from underneath the well-developed thumb of the Lord of Sportz Entertainment, Vince McMahon. TNA is a professional wrestling company, not a sports entertainment “brand”. They need to remember the promoting strategy that has brought them this far. I hope they soon work their way through this retro storyline and get back to the business of featuring solid matches, good young performers, and minimal doses of storyline filler.
The good news is, all that WCW crap last week was sandwiched between two good segments. NWA World Tag Team Champions America’s Most Wanted defended their belts against AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels to open the show, and NWA World Heavyweight Champion Christian Cage faced Alex Shelley in the final match of the night.
The tag team match featured four men who are truly the foundation of the company. The Phenomenal AJ Styles is a triple-crown winner in TNA, and consistently involved in major angles and fantastic matches. The Fallen Angel is also a multiple-time champion, as well as one of the most consistently excellent performers on the roster. AMW have defined and dominated the tag team scene since TNA’s inception. This match also led to a rematch being booked at the March 14th Sacrifice ppv, which is good news for us fans. This is the kind of action that makes me want to tune in to TNA programming.
Christian Cage is a familiar face to wrestling fans, but he’s enjoying a new role in his career as world champion. It’s a spot his “peeps” have clamored to see him in for years, and many of us are thrilled to see him get the respect from the bookers we feel he deserves. Alex Shelley is a member of TNA’s lifeblood, the X Division. He can entertain in the ring, has a unique look, and is developing a recognizable personality and gimmick via his “Paparazzi Productions” angle. He’s fresh and interesting, therefore, a nice addition to the one-hour iMPACT! broadcast. That’s what TNA fans want. We appreciate TNA for its differences from WWE’s often-craptactular circus the same way movie fans can appreciate a small-budget film for offering a different viewing experience than a Hollywood blockbuster, and the same way a hole-in-the-wall restaurant is sometimes a welcome change from the familiarity of the Olive Garden.
British statesman and philosopher Edmond Burke once said, “Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.” TNA must heed his warning, or face extension just as WCW did. A little nostalgia is ok if the former starts are showcased sparingly. In fact, a few famous faces can add a little credibility to TNA’s product as far as the casual fan is concerned. Sting proved to have a bit of gas left in his tank, and the Orlando crowds have responded positively to him. However, the nostalgia acts must be used sparingly or else they become nothing more than “over-the-hill guys still trying to wrestle”. The old-timers have been featured a little too prominently in TNA lately for my taste.
As always, I wish Total Nonstop Action Wrestling the best of luck. Perhaps booking wizard and manager extraordinaire Jim Cornette can help get TNA back on track. I for one welcome him with open arms.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled reality.
p.s. – Can you believe we put a man on the moon before we realized that wheels on luggage would be a good idea?
