WWN Mercury Rising 2015 review

Mercury Rising 2015 was in every conceivable sense the WWN answer to WrestleMania. It played out in front of what will probably, outside of the China tour, be the biggest crowd the company attracts all year. It featured a variety of major matches, some of them grudge matches built up over months, and developments that changed the landscape of the company, impacting on its future. Most obviously it was held just one night before and a few miles away from WrestleMania 31.

But was it any good? Let's run through the show and then come back to that at the end. He'd been injured the night before at EVOLVE 40 but that didn't stop Rich Swann from opening the show with a several minutes long song and dance routine in which he called on several members of the audience to join in with his rendition of Lionel Richie's All Night Long over the microphone. The crowd as a whole, and most of the people Swann called on in particular, seemed self-conscious during this. I don't blame them. It's awkward.

Once the music cut Swann acknowledged his injury, as much to ensure the live crowd were up to speed as anything else, and challenged the Premier Athlete Brand to a tag title match at one of the April EVOLVE shows. The Brand came out and attacked Swann. Johnny Gargano and Ethan Page dashed out to make the save, which fed into the show's opening match of Page versus Caleb Konley.

They had a fun little match, the highlights of which were a Konley double stomp on the ring apron and Page using Gargano's lawn dart. Page survived a Lionsault, the One Night Stand fireman driver, and outside interference from the Brian Cage and Andrea to get the win with a schoolboy roll-up and a handful of tights. It's nice that Page got a win but it's a shame it had to come at the expense of Konley, a guy who went from the middle of the card to the top over the course of last year and who deserves to be treated more like a top guy.

After the match So Cal Val shouted that the loss wasn't part of her plan (well obviously not, Val) before Andrea swerve turned on Brian Cage with a low blow. He was to blame for Konley's loss apparently. This development was a pity. I thought Cage was a good fit with the Brand.

The traditional 'Mania weekend six man tag was on second, although this year it was a six woman tag presented by WWN affiliate Shine. Nicole Matthews (the SHIMMER champ), Portia Perez (collectively known as the Canadian Ninjas), and Nikki Storm were due to faced Shine champion Mia Yim and Shine tag team champions Cherry Bomb and Kimber Lee (collectively known as the Kimber Bombs). Before the match began Andrea and SCV returned to the ring. Andrea attacked Nikki Storm and replaced her in the match. Presumably Storm's two matches in the chick fight tournament which had preceded this show played a part in this decision. Mia Yim, who's also wrestled two matches, contributed less to this match than I'd expected for the same reason.

As a successor to some of the Dragon Gate scorchers that have taken the six man spot in previous years this match didn't hold up. But that's an almost impossibly high standard to meet. Judged at a more realistic level (without the comparison) this was a good match. Everyone got a chance to - ahem - shine, Andrea was presented as a powerhouse, and there was a nice, albeit brief, sequence pitting the two singles champions against one another (something that a match like this really has to do). Mia Yim got the pin for her team when she rolled Perez up following a back and forth exchange of forearms.

After the match the Ninjas argued with Val and Andrea, setting up the return of Nikki Storm. She declared herself the "white chocolate cheesecake of sports entertainment" and challenged Andrea to a match at Shine 26. It set up matches for a show that will be all too easy to overlook, awkwardly falling a few days after the WrestleMania Weekend festivities as it does.

In a surprise move Drew Galloway sauntered out after that. The reason for this early arrival was that he'd been offered a booking back in Scotland the next day and wanted to take it so that he could defend the EVOLVE championship and a newly won Open the Freedom Gate championship there. Not one to disappoint, Gargano accepted the early call and walked down to the ring with Ethan Page for the much hyped title versus title match.

The opening minutes were characterised by Gargano using his speed against Galloway's strength. The action would spill to the outside where Galloway would tilt-a-whirl Gargano onto the apron. Not to be outdone Gargano would toss the former 3MBer into the first row and dive over the barricade onto him. After a lengthy brawl around the arena the pair returned to the ring and Galloway ate a Gargano spear. He fired back with an inverted concrete slam. Gargano responded with a lawn dart.

Moments later Gargano would manoeuvre the EVOLVE champ out to the floor and attempt a suicide dive. Galloway blocked it but failed to block the super kick that followed. Gargano got his suicide dive on the second attempt but wiped out the referee in the process.

Back in the ring Galloway scored with an exploder into the corner. His cover didn't get him a win because there was nobody to count the pin. The Open the Freedom Gate champion escaped a double arm DDT and floored Galloway with an enziguri as Page got up onto the apron to offer him some wrist tape. This was a call-back to Gargano choking out SHINGO at Open the Ultimate Gate 2013 (the first ever DG USA show I reviewed, fact fans), an act which signalled a heel turn at the time. Gargano accepted the tape but, after a brief pause, threw it out of the ring. I thought this really added a lot to the match. It made it clear that Gargano is back to being an honourable lad and sowed about Page.

Gargano turned around into a double arm DDT from Galloway. A second referee ran to the ring to count the fall but Gargano kicked out. The second ref didn't last: he'd fall victim to a misplaced sick kick seconds later. Galloway got caught in the Gargano Escape. He countered into pin for two then took a super kick. Gargano tried to skin the cat but got caught by the EVOLVE champion, who went for a Tombstone piledriver. Gargano reversed into a Gargano Escape. Galloway muscled his way back to his feet and got the Tombstone.

Gargano kicked out but was clearly worn out. Galloway hoisted him onto his shoulders and clambered to the top rope, leaping off for an Emerald Flowsion but finding it reversed into a DDT in mid-air. 'The Whole Shebang' staggered to his feet and super kicked a kneeling Galloway twice. Galloway staggered to his feet and absorbed two more before falling to his feet. Gargano went for a fifth but Galloway sidestepped it and hit him with two double arm DDTs.

Gargano kicked out to a great crowd response then spat in Galloway's face. That caused Galloway to snap. He grabbed Gargano, yanked him to his feet, and drilled him with a jumping tombstone piledriver for the victory.

I thought it was a very good match. There were elements of the Attitude Era to it with the extended crowd fight and the bevy of finishing moves (and the kick outs from them) but used sparingly I think that match can be very effective. It helped to make the match feel more like the big fight it was meant to be. I don't think Gargano and Galloway could have had a better match. It's a shame they didn't get to close the show and the weekend (for the WWN).

After both men had lain about making it clear they were exhausted from their match Galloway took the microphone to cut a promo. He declared that 'Mania 26, where he wrestled in a Money in the Bank ladder match, wasn't his WrestleMania moment, this match was. He put over Gargano and pandered to the fans by saying the ring belonged to everyone. He asked for and received a handshake from the former champion, passed him the microphone, and left. All Gargano managed to say was "thank you" before Ethan Page lamped him and gave him a good stomping. 'All Ego' revealed that he was taking his cue from Ronin, going after Gargano's spot and ending his WWN career.

The turn was an interesting twist which I hadn't expected. They'd been laying the respect on so heavily that I'd expected Page to officially join Ronin and perhaps go after the tag titles with Gargano. This was probably a better option. It introduces a much needed fresh rivalry to EVOLVE.

Tasked with the tough job of following that was a four-way match featuring TJ Perkins, Drew Gulak, Tommy End and Biff Busick. After overcoming some initial awkwardness they got into a good groove. The match didn't dazzle but it had its moments. I particularly liked the sequence where TJP trapped End in a deathlock and fought off Busick and Gulak with abdominal stretches and a northern lights suplex. Perkins got a flash win with the cross armbreaker on Gulak.

PJ Black versus AR Fox was good, though not as good as I'd expected. It was heavy on spots but they weren't quite flashy or bountiful enough to help the match live up to its heavy 'Darewolf' versus 'Daredevil' hype. Highlights included: Black avoiding an attack by moonsaulting from the apron to the floor; Black super kicking Fox in mid-air off a guardrail springboard; another Fox springboard being turned into a triangle choke; and a Death Valley driver from the top rope to the apron by Black, softening 'The Whole Foxin' Show' up for a springboard 450 splash.

The match likely would have benefited from being repositioned first or second on the card. Of course my lack of interest in Fox probably didn't help matters.

After some excessive plugging from some lad whose name I missed (he was the WWN "ambassador") we got Timothy Thatcher facing Chris Hero. The match took an age to begin as Hero spent what must have been a good three or four minutes milking duelling chants from the crowd in a storyline attempt to rattle Thatcher with his popularity. Thatcher simply stood stocky in the ring and looked unimpressed with the veteran's antics. It was good to see the crowd so hot so it made sense to make use of it.

Instead of going into a dynamic series of strikes and counter strikes they went with the Thatcher standard: mat wrestling and submission holds. This isn't a bad thing but it doesn't provide much variety and does run the risk of cooling audiences down. Thankfully that didn't happen here, although some fans did start singing, which may have been worse. I suspect a more unpredictable approach to the blending of styles would have been more warmly received. 

This match, more than any other I've seen him in, highlighted Thatcher's inability or unwillingness to change things up. He's very good at his style of match but doesn't seem interested in doing much else. Even against someone like Hero, who has plenty of experience and an ability to tap into plenty of different styles, we got the same sort of match we always get from Thatcher. This isn't the worst thing in the world as Thatcher's matches usually have something dynamic and engaging in them, especially in the closing stretches, but it would be nice if they weren't so predictable.

Hero blasted Thatcher with four rolling elbows (the last with the elbow pad removed) and left him limp on the mat. He went for a cover but Thatcher kicked out and slipped on a Fujiwara armbar for the tap out win. After the match Hero slapped Thatcher twice, getting one in return each time. This was a respect thing with no malice to it. They shook and Hero left Thatcher to bow to the crowd.

The main event was the much ballyhooed tag match pitting Uhaa Nation and Ricochet against Roderick Strong and Austin Aries, reuniting as Generation Next properly for the first time since 2011 in PWG (before that they hadn't been together since 2007 in the final match of their ROH run together). The match was notable for featuring representatives of ROH (Strong), TNA (Aries), Lucha Underground (Ricochet as Prince Puma) and soon-to-be WWE (Nation). It was quite the inter-promotional affair. The first half of the match was best described as serviceable, with nothing special happening and a safe pace being set.

Things picked up in the second half. Tags were surreptitiously abandoned and the four worked through some sick double team spots. Roddy and 'A Double' demonstrated that they coud, if given the opportunity, still be of benefit to a tag division. Strong won after avoiding a Ricochet Shooting Star Press before hitting him with a knee and an absolutely wild lumbar check. Ricochet managed a ridiculous number of rotations when he was thrown up to take the move.  

After the match Roddy took a mic and made some babyface comments about how Aries had made him the man and the wrestler he is. Then he swerve turned, cracking Aries and Uhaa with the microphone and grabbing the mic again to say that he'd destroyed Drew Galloway at EVOLVE 38 and was gunning for the newly won titles. Timothy Thatcher came out to run him off and end the show on a positive note by thanking the fans. On the subject of Roddy and the championships he said the road to them went through him.

Going back to the question I posed at the beginning of this review's second paragraph: yes, this show was good. The main event started off slowly but ended well, while Thatcher versus Hero and the title versus title match were good from start to finish and there were again no out-and-out bad matches on the card.

That said I don't think the show was the success that EVOLVE 39 was. On the reflection the first WWN offering of the weekend was the best. It was the most consistent and its big matchs were just as enjoyable as the big matches here. I think the level of spectacle was right for this Supershow but an injury and Black and Fox not clicking quite as well as might have been hoped hampered things just a bit.

Overall though it was a success. The Page turn on Gargano was set up well and should lead to interesting things over the next several shows. Galloway becoming a double champ was a mild surprise but deserved considering the passion and effort he's displayed in his time with the company so far. And the final turn from Roderick Strong reminded us that he's not meant to be likeable or trustworthy. He's been built up as a major challenge for Galloway. Now we get to sit back and watch Galloway overcome him.  

***

Results summary:

Ethan Page defeated Caleb Konley
Mia Yim, Kimber Lee and Cherry Bomb defeated Andrea, Nicole Matthews and Portia Perez
Drew Galloway defeated Johnny Gargano to retain the EVOLVE championship and win the Open the Freedom Gate championship
TJ Perkins defeated Biff Busick, Drew Gulak and Tommy End
PJ Black defeated AR Fox
Timothy Thatcher defeated Chris Hero
Generation Next defeated Uhaa Nation and Ricochet

EVOLVEing Teams

EVOLVE 38 featured one tag team match. Team Tremendous, consisting of Dan Barry and Bill Carr, took on Earl Cooter and Jody Kristofferson, managed by Larry Dallas. Both teams were new to EVOLVE. During the match the commentators made a point of referencing the current slenderness of the promotion's doubles scene, albeit with the euphemistic "transitional phase" line to imply that fresh teams are coming.

The low number of teams in EVOLVE has been an issue for a while. At the start of 2014 the Young Bucks made their final appearance for the company, bringing their rivalry with the Bravado brothers to an abrupt close. Lancelot and Harlem inherited the spot of top team by default. There were simply no other tandems available. They spent the majority of the rest of the year working with The Colony and fellow heels the Premier Athlete Brand.

I thought (still think, in fact) the Bravados were underrated in EVOLVE. They weren't the best tag team ever but they were reliable and had a good range of double team moves. Their losing effort against Uhaa Nation and AR Fox at EVOLVE 36 was a good example of the level they could perform at (and how far they've come since their days as perennial losers in Ring of Honor). They were also clearly dedicated to being a unit. With so many guys thrown together to work as teams these days that was particularly nice to see.

Sadly it seems that the Bravados are gone from EVOLVE. They and Moose lost a Losing Faction Must Split match to the reformed Ronin at EVOLVE 37 and were neither booked for or mentioned at EVOLVE 38. They haven't been announced for any of the WWN shows over WrestleMania weekend either. Which leaves EVOLVE without their most consistent team.

Finding relevant pictures of EVOLVE performers is tough.

In fact if we discount the two teams that debuted at the most recent show EVOLVE has exactly one tag team: the Premier Athlete Brand combo of Anthony Nese and Caleb Konley. They're a good pairing who work well together, complement one another's styles, and who seem to be keener on becoming a proper team than I would have guessed when they first won the Open the United Gate straps back in September of last year. But they can't make a division by themselves. They need opponents. Even if Team Tremendous join Kristofferson and Cooter in getting regular EVOLVE gigs three teams are not enough to make a compelling, layered division. Last year taught us that.  

The good news is that there are teams available to EVOLVE. Davey Richards' short notice appearance and Austin Aries' upcoming WWN Supershow match tell us TNA talent are able to appear on the company's iPPVs. Roderick Strong's work with the group tells us that select ROH guys are able to negotiate more flexible contracts should they have the desire (although this is presumably something only open to those who are considered important enough to be kept happy). Plus there are notable teams that work elsewhere who don't work for EVOLVE at all.

The Colony would be ideal, for example. They proved reliable and popular during their appearances last year. The Super Smash Brothers were semi-regulars in the early years of the promotion. They wouldn't make the worst additions in the world. For that matter Ethan Page and Josh Alexander's Monster Mafia were enjoyable in their appearances for the promotion last year. And all three teams have the added bonus of being babyfaces. That makes them ever so slightly easier to utilise than heel pairings.

There's potential on the current roster too. Rich Swann and Chuck Taylor could be used as a regular pairing as part of Ronin's comeback. Alternatively Swann could be teamed with Ricochet as the Inner City Machine Guns. Their styles mesh better but there's the problem of 'ochet being pulled from shows at short notice by Lucha Underground (they get priority on Ricochet's booking and can pull him in at short notice for television tapings). It's a pity that Uhaa Nation's NXT bound, he and Fox have worked well together in their sporadic appearances as a team.

Biff Busick and Drew Gulak have potential as a tag team (as noted in my EVOLVE 38 review). Having them form a team would be another way to raise their profiles and their style would make for a different sort of tag team match. It would be interesting to see how they work together and what they could do in a tag environment. There are even two obvious portmanteau names for them: Team Bulak and Team Gusick. That in itself is reason enough to pair them up!

The financial boat could really be pushed out and The Wolves could be pencilled in for a stretch of shows. Richards went down well as a singles performer on March 8, there's nothing to indicate he'd be any less popular alongside Eddie Edwards. Having them win the Open the United Gate championship, even for a couple of weeks or months, could really elevate the titles. The same goes for bringing in Austin Aries to work more frequently as Generation Next with Roderick Strong.

The potential is there for EVOLVE to have a good tag team division. If they're going to bother having tag team titles they might as well aspire to having a good division too. Some of the fixes are cheaper and easier than others but whichever approach was chosen the result would almost certainly be worthwhile. Creating a decent tag division would make the seemingly inevitable renaming of the Open the United Gate championship to the EVOLVE tag team championship have a greater chance of meaning something.

TNA Impact Wrestling 07.01.15 review

The live debut of Impact Wrestling on Destination America brought one of the company’s hottest ever storylines to a close: whether or not it could continue to exist without long-time partner Spike TV being involved. It’s a shame that this was the biggest talking point about TNA for the latter half of 2014. Despite its well-documented financial struggles the promotion has retained a good core roster and arguably puts more effort into creating varied characters than WWE does. Where the company has failed for years is in its writing.

The move to Destination America may have overshadowed anything good TNA tried or accomplished in 2014 but it also presented them with a second chance. A live launch episode was not the simplest or smoothest way for them to debut on the network but it did ensure they didn’t have to worry about spoilers and also encouraged people to tune in live.

The show opened with cinematic shots of the roster getting ready for matches. Some shots were more dramatic than others. Aries putting on some sunglasses and The Wolves getting into a lift were not exactly thrilling, for example. Nor was Jeff Hardy wandering around a hotel in full face paint, although that did at least provide a laugh. Lashley doing his ring pose at a hotel window was odd but probably more the sort of thing any new viewers were expecting to see. The speeches from Bobby Roode, MVP and Storm to their factions (or in Roode’s case, the general locker room) were good and the faces versus heels fight outside the Manhattan Centre, while like something from a 90s X-Men cartoon, did at least create a nice visual and get the show started with a bang.

So in other words the opening moments were a mixed bag. Classic TNA, really.

The brawl that started on the street spilled into the arena as the show began. Taz and new commentator Josh Mathews talked it up as mayhem, and they had plenty of time to do so as it went on for an age. Eventually Kurt Angle came out (in jeans and a shirt, a move designed to hide his more slender than ever frame) and reminded everyone they were in New York watching Impact. Getting into the ring he announced that all champions would defend their titles. He opted not to reveal who they’d face. That struck me as a poor move. Announcing Aries and The Wolves for matches on the show might have provided reasons for people to stick with the programme instead of turning over.

Angle said he had one more announcement but before he could make it he was interrupted by MVP. After reminding everyone Angle had hit him over on Spike he tried to goad him into doing it again. Angle took some abuse then revealed that he'd stepped down from his job as gimmick matchmaker to become an active wrestler again, his last act being to structure the opening Destination America card. Which, let's not forget, he'd done a poor job of as wrestlers were finding out they were had matches to prepare for live on air.

The final match he booked was himself and MVP in a street fight. He threw a punch and then clotheslined MVP out of the ring to get that going. In typical Impact fashion they cut to a break seconds into the first match of the night.

It's depressing to see Kurt looking like this.

Mike Victor Papa controlled most of the match, which featured surprisingly little brawling. They went outside of the ring a few times but didn't really do much else with the street fight stip. MVP reversed out of the ankle lock twice then went for a Drive-By kick in the corner. ‘The Cyborg’ scooted out of the way and got the Angle slam to win.

The company's champions were shown backstage getting ready for their matches. Then MVP was shown screaming at Kenny King for not helping him win his match with Angle. Kenny’s excuse was that he’d been with “an incredible” girl. MVP left to remind Lashley that it was him who’d got Lashley the world championship in the first place.

Josh and Taz introduced themselves again. Taz was referred to as a three time world champ. Two of those reigns were with the ECW world championship. He never won a world title anywhere else, so the third reign is presumably a reference to the FTW championship he had in ECW. I suspect Taz may have produced this link. Camera shots of the locker room and the Gorilla position were shown. Cameras being in invasive places backstage is TNA's latest revolutionary idea that will get them nowhere. It’s like GTV but without the humour.

Crazzy Steve was shown backstage for no reason then Ethan Carter III and his bodyguard Tyrus (formerly big, bad Brodus Clay) rocked up to interrupt. And by interrupt I do of course mean feature in a segment they were always going to get over someone like Crazzy Steve (who can’t even spell “crazy”).  EC£ reminded us of his fifteen month undefeated streak, which includes two months where TNA was inactive, then sent Tyrus off to find Rockstar Spud, whom he’d been feuding with on Spike TV.

Mike Tenay plugged Impact Wrestling: Unlocked, his new Destination America show, then introduced a pre-recorded interview he'd conducted with James Storm. Storm felt he'd been held down by management for years, so he’d formed The Revolution to take what he was entitled to. Sanada, Manik and Abyss had apparently come to him because they’re aware of how much truth Storm speaks. He ended by saying that he and his gang aren't interested in titles, they want blood. He then implied he's the Devil and walked off.

There was a lot to dislike with this. It was poor material delivered poorly. Storm also continues to be a very clear rip off of the more successful and far more interesting Bray Wyatt character. He’s not been poorly cast as a cult leader, and the Revolution have been built up well, but it will always be a group hampered by comparisons to a better gimmick in a better company. I wasn’t a fan of Storm contradicting himself either: he’s formed the group to take what he’s entitled to but all he wants is blood? That only makes sense if you deliberately misinterpret what he said and take a fundamentally wrong approach to grammar.

The episode’s second match saw Storm and Abyss team to defend the TNA tag team titles against The Wolves. Richards and Edwards have apparently gotten themselves matching tattoos, which look awful. For their sake I hope they’re transfers or body paint or something. Matt and Jeff Hardy watched the match from ringside, but they need to be on the show somewhere, right? On a side note I’d like to point out that Matt was wearing his own gimmick shirt and Jeff was in a vest.

The Wolves were on proverbial fire to start, hitting four sets of double dives on the champs and setting up for a double team move. Abyss pulled Davey out of the ring before they could connect with it and choke slammed him on the apron, with Storm throwing Eddie out of the ring. The Wolves quickly regained the advantage, getting two counts off a double stomp on ‘The Cowboy’ and some kicks (there are always kicks) on ‘The Monster’. The champs got a two count of their own from a slingshot and DDT combo.

Eventually Manik and Sanada slid into the ring. That prompted the Hardys to do the same. Because they're stand-up, fightin' babyfaces. Jeff accidentally elbowed Eddie in the head as he tried to grab a noose from abyss (yeah, a noose with a cowbell tied to it is a signature object). Storm immediately super kicked Eddie and covered him for the win. It wasn’t the greatest tag match ever but it was nice to see one that didn’t feature a babyface being worked over endlessly.

After some clips reminding us of the first Roode v Lashley match (Lashley won), EC3 telling us to “come hither" as he wandered aimlessly through generic corridors, and a recap of the opening of the show, MVP was shown getting his shout on with Lashley. He reminded the former champ it was him who’d brought into TNA and it was also him that had orchestrated his initial title victory. Lashley pushed him against a wall and said he was getting his title back, the implication being that he was tired of MVP’s boisterous shoutiness. MVP and King huffed off.

Back in the ring Jeremy Borash had appeared. He hyped up bringing someone out for an interview. Instead EC3 appeared to say he'd win the TNA title in 2015 and mock JB a bit. After initially receiving heavy boos the audience split on him, alternating between chants of “You can't wrestle!” and “Yes he can!”

This makes JB a face in my book.

‘Wrestling’ Greatest Hero’ called out Spud. Spud did not appear. Carter chatted a bit more and then revealed that Tyrus had found and attacked Spud and had Spud carried to the ring. EC3 then announced his plans to scalp Spud. Which is pretty full on for a wrestling show, assuming they understand what scalping actually is. Borash told Carter he'd done enough and slapped him. Then he was jobbed out by Tyrus and had his head shaved (which is not scalping) by EC3. Spud recovered from his beating and cried. Because he and JB and good mates backstage.

We were treated to another shot of MVP and King backstage. King was outraged that Lashley had touched ‘Mr 305’. MVP made some placatory noises that I couldn't understand because of poor audio quality. Presumably he was saying he had a plan. Whatever he said it seemed to get King to simmer down. The pair then walked off down one of the Manhattan Centres many generic corridors.

After a recap of Roode v Lashley II (Roode won) and a highlight video designed to introduce the concept of the X Division (it did a decent job but reminded me how badly the X Division’s been handled over the last five-plus years) Low Ki hit the ring to defend the X strap against Austin Aries. They had a good match but it wasn't as memorable as might have been expected considering the abilities of both men. They included their signature moves and spots but refrained from anything more inventive. 'A Double' won the match and the gold with a brainbuster.

Before Taryn Terrell defended her Knockouts title in a battle royal DJ Z welcomed Robbie E back to TNA. He blamed his loss on The Amazing Race (a reality show that aired in the US) on his ex-girlfriend Brooke Tessmacher. Then Taryn came out and he had to stop talking. I wish he'd had longer because what followed was not good. The crowd weren't interested, there were too many people involved for any psychology to be used, and nothing interesting happened. Taryn retained by last eliminating Havok, just as Havok eliminated Gail Kim.

After the match Havok smacked Taryn about because she's a monster heel and that's what monster heels do. The lights cut out for a few moments and when they came back on Awesome Kong was in the ring. She got a better reaction than anyone else involved in the Knockouts segment. Kong and Havok squared off before Havok left without actually doing anything. Then a referee got in Kong's face for literally no other reason than to give Kong an excuse to choke slam him.

After that it was main event time, Bobby Roode defending the TNA world heavyweight championship against former champion Lashley. It was an adequate match, competent enough to avoid being bad but wholly unspectacular. After a fiery start they broke into some ringside stalling then some light brawling. The highlight of the first five minutes was probably Roode attempting the Crippler Crossface numerous times.

Backstage MVP and king were shown trying to enter the arena with two lads in clown masks, giving me flashbacks to Homicide and Eddie Kingston as Outlaw Inc. Security told them they were not allowed into the arena during the title match. The masked lads beat security up and then they all walked off, King and MVP having a good laugh. Because there’s nothing funnier than beating up security guards, am I right?

Back in the ring Lashley and Roode picked up the pace with flapjacks, clotheslines, a Lashley running power slam, and a Roode spinebuster. Roode got a power bomb out of the corner but Lashers kicked out and gave Roode a Roode bomb. Roode sidestepped a spear from the challenger and then hit one of his own. Because nothing says big match like using your foe's moves.

As MVP and his lads appeared at ringside Roode applied a crossface again. Lashley stood up in the hold, confirming that he’s willing to be TNA’s answer to John Cena if TNA are up for it, but Roode quickly released the hold and hit him with a Roode bomb. When Lashley kicked out the champ applied the hold again. Kenny King pulled the referee out of the ring and punched him to the ground. Angle came out to make the save but he got taken out by all four of the heels. They then surrounded the ring preparing to attack Roode, who was alone as Lashley lay unconscious in a corner. The masks were taken off to reveal Low Ki and Samoa Joe.

The new champ is confused. Guess you'll want to tune in next week, eh?

The swerves kept coming after that as Eric Young dashed to the ring clutching a chair, chasing MVP, King, Joe and Ki off before hitting Roode, his storyline bestie, with the chair. Lashley then speared Roode for the win and the championship. MVP and his lads celebrated. The new champ looked miffed. And that was how the inaugural Destination America Impact Wrestling episode closed.

It was a show obviously designed to hook us and ensure a return visit for the following episode. In that regard it did a good job. In addition to the announced Wolves v Hardys match, which has the potential to be very good, there’s the reveal of Eric Young, Samoa Joe’s and Low Ki’s motives for joining up with MVP and discovering whether Lashley agreed to their involvement in his title match. Discounting the ease with which spoilers can be found I think that’s a pretty good attempt by TNA to start things off on the right foot.

I’m concerned for the group in the long term though. Over the last few years TNA has proven fairly adept at being able to come up with decent (no not great, decent) angles that could improve the quality of their programming and encourage increases in viewership. Their trouble has always been following up on these angles. They tend to cut things short if they don’t immediately get people excited or simply mishandle them from the start. What they produced on January 7 has potential but the track record of the company indicates that they’ll fritter it away within weeks.

It was also disheartening to see the same approach to production was taken. There were few concessions made for new viewers. Very little information was provided about the stars we were seeing. Their motivations and pasts in the company could have been covered by Taz and Mathews on commentary or in specially produced videos in between matches. They had the time, as evidenced by the numerous backstage scenes featuring guys who also got time to talk in the ring. Perhaps such videos will appear in the coming weeks, but the debut episode was the logical place to put them.

Overall it wasn’t a bad show. But it was nothing incredible either. As a long-time wrestling fan familiar with TNA’s struggles and product it did nothing to encourage me to actually watch future shows as opposed to reading spoilers and searching out bits I find interesting. I wouldn’t call the show a failure, but I wouldn’t call it a success either. In other words business as usual for TNA.

***

Results summary:

Kurt Angle def MVP
James Storm and Abyss def The Wolves
Austin Aries def Low Ki to win the X Division championship
Taryn Terrell retained the Knockouts championship in a battle royal
Lashley def Bobby Roode to win the TNA world championship

TNA's New Destination

Come January 2015 TNA will have a new televisual home in the US: Destination America. It’s a channel I’d never heard of until about a week before their deal with TNA was officially announced. That’s mostly because I don’t live in America but it’s also due to the channel being distinctly niche. It’s available in just over half the television owning homes in the United States. That’s nowhere near as many as previous TNA home Spike TV. As such TNA is going to be continuing the downsizing that they started last year.

Linked to this obvious need for continued cost cutting has been talk of a company-wide reboot. TNA producer Bryan Edwards has confirmed via Twitter (yes Twitter, that oracle of the modern age) that the wrestling company will be getting a new logos and graphics and a fresh start. This is actually a great idea for TNA. It’s a chance for them to freshen up their look and begin targeting a new market. Personally I think they should go for young adults (under the age of 25) who aren’t necessarily wrestling fans. But that’s just me. They could pick any market they like, what’s important is that they come up with a strategy to attract fresh eyes.

It’s also an opportunity for the company to make some roster cuts. They’ve done a bit of this over the last couple of years but they haven’t really taken the right approach. What TNA has done up until now is negotiate with wrestlers and cut them if a financial agreement can’t be reached. No thought has been given as to whether wrestlers are worth keeping around.

If it had been then Abyss would have been cut long ago. No matter how little he’s willing to work for he’s simply not someone worth keeping around. His character is stale, he’s faced everyone, he doesn’t have good matches, and it’s inconceivable that he is going to convince anyone hopping around channels to stick with Impact Wrestling. The money paid to him is better spent on new names that may stand a chance of helping TNA increase its audience.

This isn’t just an attack on Abyss. The same principle applies to Mr Anderson, Rob ‘The Freak’ Terry, Bram, Gunner, and Shark Boy. They’ve all been affiliated with TNA, on-and-off, for years. There’s nothing worthwhile for any of them to do, no matter what storylines they’re thrust into or how they’re repackaged. What TNA needs is a young vibrant roster that isn’t so synonymous with mediocrity. And now’s the time to go about getting that.

TNA has a month before they debut on Destination America. That’s enough time to get some new names for the roster, get a solid head start on TV scripts and a long term plan for the top names, and think of ways to introduce their roster to a new audience. The latter should definitely be a priority. Although the potential audience is smaller there will still be new people made aware of TNA’s existence by the move. Some will give Impact a try, and those are the people TNA need to be catering for.

I’d like to see TNA put together some introduction videos for their top names and perform some minor tweaks to a few characters. The videos wouldn’t need to be anything long or elaborate. Thirty second to a minute of a performer explaining their character’s history within the company and their motivations for getting in the ring each week, interspersed with footage of particularly memorable moments or impressive moves, would be enough. Putting them on the TNA website and running them before the first Destination America match of each performer would be enough. Maybe they could be edited down and used as adverts on the channel.

Tweaks to characters don’t need to be anything major. It could as simple as a costuming change. That’s actually something that could be done to Bobby Roode. He’d suit a white pair of boots instead of black. He’s probably the company’s top face right now (good guys wear white, y’know) and it would help him stand out from the black boot clad roster. It’s nothing major and would be a minimal cost, but it’s an lateration that would separate one of their top guys from his peers and the competition.

Meanwhile Austin Aries could do with some more substantial work. His in-ring work is great but his character has been let down by too many face-heel switches over the last year. Now’s the time for TNA to decide what role they want ‘A Double’ to fill and what sort of persona would be most beneficial for that. The stuff he was doing at the end of his ROH run in 2010 (being a player-manager, being a spokesman for less experienced wrestlers, and using a smoking pipe as his signature foreign object) has potential in TNA. It would certainly be a better idea than the wishy-washy approach that’s been taken with him over the last year.

It’s also a chance for TNA to decide on an identity. Being WWE Lite is what’s got them into this undesirable situation. It’s time for them to admit to themselves that hasn’t worked. In an ideal world they’d go with longer term storylines modelled as much as is realistically possible on the sort of thing people get from popular shows like Game of Thrones, True Detective, and Breaking Bad. Because that’s what’s popular now. In the ring concentrating on the Knockouts and tag team divisions wouldn’t be the worst idea because WWE, their chief rival, doesn’t do much of either. As far as tag wrestling goes nobody really makes it a major part of their product. That’s TNA’s gap.

I want TNA to succeed. I hope this Destination America move works out for them, because I don’t think they’ll stick around if it doesn’t. TNA’s success is what’s best for the wrestling industry in general. If TNA do well then the wrestlers have more places to work and fans have more choice in how to spend their time and money. Most importantly it makes every other promotion work that bit harder, which can only be a good thing.

RPW Uprising 2014 review

In October 2013 Revolution Pro Wrestling revived the Uprising name previously associated with the FWA for what was billed as their biggest show ever. In addition to using some of the best British wrestlers available they brought in foreign stars Michael Elgin, Prince Devitt, Ricochet, Davey Richards and Hiroshi Tanahashi. Colt Cabana was also there. It was an approach designed to do two things: demonstrate that the promotion was a big deal and attract fresh eyes. It certainly achieved the latter. Whether it achieved the former depends on your perspective, but I think they did a solid job and put on an excellent show.

This year RPW returned to York Hall for their second Uprising card, once again bringing in foreign stars. This time they took the form of Matt Sydal, Austin Aries, Karl Anderson, the triumvirate that is Too Cool, and Kazuchika Okada. There were actually a greater number of imports on this card than there had been the previous year, but somehow the event didn’t seem as significant leading into it.

Part of the problem here was that RPW had booked a second show the night after (it was originally titled Okada vs Ricochet although I suspect it will end up changed to Okada vs Aries). It’s possible that the company stretched itself a little thin by splitting some of the fly-ins over two cards. Concentrating everyone on this show would have added one or two matches and made better use of the time the show got.

The line-up for Uprising 2013 was incredibly strong. There was almost no way it could be topped. It was Tanahashi, the man who had carried New Japan through a rough patch and come out the other side as their unquestioned top star, wrestling in front of a thousand people in East London. That was very obviously a big deal. Using Nakamura and Okada since has almost made it an expected thing that New Japan talent will appear on the larger RPW cards. Tanahashi benefited from being the first (Liger had appeared a few months before him, at York Hall, but the show did not receive anywhere near the hype Tana’s did), and from being presented as the star attraction.

It also seemed hard to get into the rest of the import line-up to the same degree this year. Elgin and Richards were bona fide ROH main eventers (and personally I was delighted at the opportunity to heckle Richards). Devitt was a New Japan upper mid-carder who everyone was beginning to expect would move to WWE (which he did) or move up to New Japan main events. Ricochet could accurately be described as one of the most exciting wrestlers in the world (and it’s worth noting he went on to become the first non-Japanese grappler to win the Open the Dream Gate championship in March of this year).

By contrast Sydal was benched by WWE for years, Aries is booked pretty poorly by a flailing TNA, Anderson is a tag guy in New Japan, and Too Cool are Too Cool (but not too cool). Only Okada had flawless, unbridled star power. And none of the matches looked as though they’d be able to hold a candle to the 2013 match of the night Ricochet v Prince Devitt.

I know how unfair these complaints sound but it’s what was going through my mind going into the show, even though everyone had something to offer. For all of the poor booking they’ve been subjected to Aries and Sydal are very talented wrestlers. And ‘A Double’ wasn’t initially booked for the show, he was a last minute replacement for Ricochet following a scheduling conflict with Lucha Underground. Anderson is enjoyable enough if taken on his own terms. Okada is world class. Even Too Cool can be enjoyed as a nostalgia act. There was the British roster too, of course. But still there was a nagging sense that Uprising ’14 was not going to live up to its 2013 counterpart.

Sadly, these fears were merited. Uprising 2014 had some significant flaws.

One of the biggest problems was something that occurred before the first match started. It was Rich Swann’s entrance. He danced his way out to Lionel Richie’s All Night Long, a long-time staple of his act. It was very entertaining and the crowd got into it. But it went on. And on. And then it went on some more. It lasted so long, in fact, that the audience was burnt out from it. By the time match two rolled around reactions had died down considerably.

The second problem was the evening’s running order. This biggest misstep in that regard was Okada going on before the intermission. The audience clearly didn’t expect to see him that early in the night. He got a good response, but it was nowhere near what I’d expected. This wasn’t a result of the audience not knowing who he was: Tanahashi and Nakamura had got much louder responses in the same building for their RPW work. Everyone knew who he was, cared about him, and wanted to see him perform. They’d just expected him later.

The second half kicking off with Too Cool wasn’t the worst decision in and of itself, but their shtick would have been a better fit for the slot Okada was placed in, dancing people into intermission. And the final two matches should have been swapped around. The fifth match saw Martin Stone unsuccessfully challenge Marty Scurll for the British heavyweight championship. The sixth saw Matt Sydal defeat Will Ospreay. Each was followed by its own angle. They could have been combined and used to close the show, which would have trimmed the running time. Which was the other major problem the card had: it was far too long. Entrances were lengthy, there was a lot of stalling from pretty much everyone, the post-Stone-Scurll match angle featured a promo that was far too long, and matches were given too much time. Things could have been tightened up considerably without losing anything of value.

This man has a lot to answer for.

There were good points, and before I get to them I’ll run through the card itself. The opener saw Rich Swann and Austin Aries defeat 2 Unlimited in an exciting tussle. Swann, as already noted, milked the crowd, but he was able to do so because he was so over. I’ve knocked him for his lack of psychology in the past (and his willingness to eat up heat when he’s on first proves my point nicely, I think) but he’s fun to watch. Aries was, obviously, very popular too. Which meant the Irish lads were left to play heel, which they did a cracking job with.

The match featured flying spots, dancing, and some solid double team work from the brothers. Swann was worked over for a while before tagging out to ‘The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived’, who came steaming in to clean house. The faces picked up their win after Swann wiped out one of 2 Unlimited (I apologise for still being unable to tell them apart) with a dive to the floor and Aries dropped the other with a brainbuster. All four shook after the match and Aries cut a promo thanking the fans and telling them to keep the energy up (which I now suspect meant he knew Swann’s grandstanding would have a negative effect long term).

Match two pitted IWGP heavyweight tag team champion Karl Anderson against ‘Big Bad’ Dave Mastiff. I adore Mastiff for his Henry VIII look and kids’ TV facial expressions. The crowd favoured him too, although there were still a lot of people inexplicably into Anderson. Their timing was a little off throughout the match but they still pulled off some good power spots, including a ‘Double A’ spinebuster from Anderson, a deadlift German suplex from Mastiff, a German suplex into the turnbuckle on Anderson, the Swivel Gun Stun, and a cannonball reversed into a traditional Gun Stun. The last earned Anderson the win.

After the announcement that AJ Styles had been booked for the February 15 return date (which ring announcer and promoter Andy Quildan plugged incessantly, one of the many timing cuts that could have been made) it was time for the Okada match. As already noted the crowd were not expecting to see him that early on, which meant he received a slightly subdued response and no streamer treatment. The bout also suffered because Okada’s opponent, former NXT Superstar™ Joel Redman, didn’t seem to want to play heel. His build and the fact that he was facing a man who nobody in the building was going to boo meant that he should have switched to the antagonist role for the match.

Okada? He doesn't deserve to go on after an intermission?

The crowd didn’t get into the action until its second half. I suspect this was a combination of the surprise at seeing Okada so early, Swann burning people out, and nobody believing any of the early pin attempts. Things did eventually warm up when Okada went for a Tombstone piledriver and Redman reversed it, resulting in the best false finish of the night. From there we got a suplex from the apron into the ring, a lovely Okada drop kick, and, after a failed attempt earlier the night, a match-winning Rainmaker.

The intermission was another contributing factor to the unnecessarily long running time. It was closer to half an hour than the usual ten or fifteen minutes. The explanation for this was that Austin Aries and Rosita were at the merch stands signing pictures. Because there was money to be made from these pictures the break was extended to fit in as many signings as possible, a classic Quildan move.

The second half kicked off with the Revolutionists striding to the ring. They did their usual crowd-bullying stuff, Terry Frazier wading into the audience to shout at a particularly boisterous group of lads that I assume are regulars at RPW shows. To be fair the trio had a serious amount of heat on them. Too Cool also spent a long time milking their entrance, although as a nostalgia act that seemed to make more sense.

The match was not good but avoided being actively bad. Rikishi struggled to climb on to the ring apron so actual wrestling was obviously going to be tough for him. Meanwhile all Brian Christopher contributed was bad dancing and looking astonishingly like his dad. It was left to Scotty to do the bulk of the work for his team. He got worked over to set up a hot tag to Rikishi, who came in, pulled his trunks down, and gave Sha Samuels a bare Stinkface in the corner. It was not pleasant to watch. I can only imagine what it was like to take. The move got a loud reaction but I think Terry Frazier would have been the right man to take the “move”. He’s by far the most irritating member of the group.

Surprisingly it was Too Cool that won. As the promotion’s top heel stable I’d expected The Revolutionists to win after cheating and then get chased off by the faces. But no, they went down clean to the guys who have wrestled on TV. After the match Brian Christopher told us Rikishi had pulled his calf muscle (perhaps he has a doctorate nobody knows about) and said that celebratory dance may not happen. Rikishi took the mic and said it would happen… and then it did. There’s very little to say about it. An underrated wrestler, Jerry Lawler’s overly tanned 42-year-old son, and the out of shape father of the Usos boogied to WWE music they didn’t have a license to play. That’s it. Everyone else seemed to love it though, so clearly I was missing something.

The British heavyweight title match was preceded by promos played on the video screen. Marty’s was hard to make out but it seemed to be about Martin Stone moving to America and having to come back after he was released by WWE. Stone’s promo was about not getting the opportunities he felt he deserved and the demoralising atmosphere in which he worked while with WWE. He dropped some F-bombs that were bleeped out, but he managed to slip in a C-bomb that went unedited. Good work by Quildan there.

The crowd had heated up by this point and were evenly split between champion and challenger. Before the match Stone spoke to Norwich-based wrestler (and father of WWE’s Paige) Ricky Knight, who had been sat in the front row all evening. Scurll entered carrying an umbrella. This went unexplained. It was probably linked to the new character traits he was exhibiting: he had mostly dropped his bantering with the audience in favour of pulling peculiar facial expressions and generally trying to make out that he was unhinged (which basically meant he’d occasionally tilt his head to a funny angle). I always enjoyed Scurll’s Butlins circuit comedy but this was a welcome change of pace from him. He was also back to being introduced as the star of ITV’s Take Me Out and TNA’s British Boot Camp. The more time passes since his sole appearance on Take Me Out the funnier the gimmick gets.

Marty 'Penguin' Scurll there.

The match was styled on WWE main events. There was a lengthy brawl around the building, including a fireman’s carry on the entrance ramp by Scurll and a variety of guardrail bumps. Back in the ring Stone acted more and more like a Steve Austin knock-off, prompting me to ask Michael (yeah, Michael was with me) if he thought Stone was deliberately trying to evoke ‘The Rattlesnake’. He said “A little bit.” Then Stone did a Thesz Press.

Stone gave Scurll a running RKO, prompting cries of “Out of nowhere!”, taking chant of the night honours. Scurll skinned the cat but got caught with a concrete slam before he could right himself. Stone followed up with a power bomb and then went to the top rope for a superplex. ‘Party’ Marty ended up countering that and muscled Stone up for a crucifix bomb. It was a bit wobbly but he managed the move well enough.

Scurll hauled Stone back to his feet and set up for a Pedigree, screaming “You’re fired!” in a Vince McMahon voice before hitting it. Stone kicked out of that at one (probably designed as a metaphorical middle finger to WWE in general) and smashed the champ with a wild lariat and a top rope draping DDT. He locked in a Crippler crossface (it’s been seven years, jog on with your complaints) and Scurll tapped. The referee didn’t see it as Terry Frazier and Sha Samuels had rocked up at ringside to provide a distraction.

Moments later there was a contrived ref bump. Samuels got into the ring to crack Stone over the head with a steel chair. Scurll made the cover, the ref came to enough to make a slow count, and Stone just got his shoulder up before three, getting a great reaction. Stone tried to fight back but Scurll applied the crossface chickenwing, trapping ‘The Guvnor’ in the centre of the ring. There was no tap out. Instead the referee ruled the match in Scurll’s favour when he realised Stone could take no more.

It was a good finishing sequence. Stone looked strong in defeat and Scurll’s submission finisher got over as a powerful match-ender. I was initially against the use of the chair but because it was only used once it ended up being an effective addition to the match. Considering the finish, the heat, the storyline (which we’ll get to momentarily) and the fact that it was for the promotion’s top title Scurll versus Stone should have gone on last.

After the match Stone took a microphone to cut a textbook babyface promo. He said he’d tried his best and then moved on to the topic of his sojourn to NXT. Apparently he was told he was awful every day, although I find it hard to believe all WWE trainers would be that blunt. He put over Andy Quildan, saying the RPW boss picked up his phone the day Stone was released and offered him his old spot in RPW on the roster.

Then the angle went down. Ricky Knight left his seat and got into the ring. He called Stone a failure and said his boys Roy and Zak would have succeeded in NXT. He also referred to Joel Redman as Noel Edmonds, claimed Quildan wouldn’t pick up the phone for the Knight family, and announced that he’d never heard of Kazuchika Okada (which could very well be true). The holding down of the Knight family that he mentioned has been an aspect of his character for at least twelve years. I remember him calling into the Talksport radio show to claim that host and wrestling promoter Alex Shane was holding down The Zebra Kid (Roy) by not booking him. He’s nothing if not consistent.

Stop holding these lads down, Quildan.

Stone eventually had enough of this and grabbed hold of Ricky. Zak and Zebra left their seats and barged passed security, getting into the ring to attack Stone. Redman came out for the save but he was taken out too. There was an extended beatdown of Stone and Redman, who are the tag champions, and then Zebra and Zak took a turn on the microphone. Zebra responded to a “Who are ya?” chant with the classic playground heel response of “Ask your mum” while Zak said the Knights weren’t worried about bad write-ups from internet fans (they won’t be getting one here).

The Knights then walked out of the building’s (referred to as an arena during Knight’s promo) front door with the tag belts. Amusingly Zak went to walk backstage before remembering he was part of a worked shoot invasion angle. Redman and Stone recovered and gave chase, amusingly asking fans which way the heels went.

I liked the angle a lot. All the wrestlers played their parts well and it was about as believable as it was going to get. The only let-down was Quildan, who should have seemed more flustered as the promoter. He simply said he wouldn’t dignify the invasion with a response and went into announcing the main event like an idiot. That aside it was a sensible, interesting way to introduce a tag team and get a new feud underway. Presumably the angle will carry over to Okada vs Aries and we’ll get a match at the February 15 York Hall show.

Sydal vs Ospreay.

The main event couldn’t compete with the angle or the previous match in my mind. It was a babyface versus babyface cruiserweight encounter, ideal opening match material and out of place headlining a card that had featured a main event style match and Kazuchika Okada. It was a good match, it was just in the wrong spot.

Sydal won with the Shooting Star Press. After the match The Revolutionists returned to attack the faces. Scurll ended up alone in the ring and was confronted by his old British Boot Camp rival Rockstar Spud (hence the reference to that show during Scurll’s intro). Marty was sent packing and another fresh feud was established. Spud said a few words to send everyone home happy.

The planning for the future exhibited with Spud’s return and the introduction of the Knight lads was nice to see. It was one of the show’s greatest strengths, providing plenty of reason to give RPW’s next major show a try. And taken at face value all the matches delivered exactly what was expected. Even the Too Cool match avoided being actively bad. I imagine it would make a solid DVD.

But those positives were outweighed by the mistakes that were made. I can’t understand why Okada, easily the biggest draw on the card, went on third. Having him in the semi-main event spot would have made more sense, allowing the Brits-only title match to go on last. That could have been followed by the angle with the Knights and then a Revolutionists beatdown of Stone and Redman with Spud making the save. It felt as though there was no faith in Okada’s rep with British fans and that everything was built too heavily around the angles. And, for the record, only the match that didn’t involve a foreign talent featured a Brit winning. I’m all for fly-ins getting wins, but for them all to go over on what is apparently RPW’s biggest show of the year doesn’t seem quite right.

But hey, at least Terry Frazier didn’t spit at anyone. That’s something, right?

Results summary:

Austin Aries and Rich Swann defeated 2 Unlimited
Karl Anderson defeated Dave Mastiff
Kazuchika Okada defeated Joel Redman
Too Cool defeated Sha Samuels, Terry Frazier and Josh Bodom
Marty Scurll defeated Martin Stone to retain the British heavyweight championship
Matt Sydal defeated Will Ospreay

Missed Opportunities

Over the last several years TNA have had a number of guys under contract that they could have turned into something special. Wrestlers who could have helped TNA grow and expand if they’d been married to an extended period of good booking and decisive wins in enjoyable matches. In fact I think they’ve had more of these names than I think they’re usually given credit for.

If you want to go back years then they had Samoa Joe, Chris Daniels and AJ Styles. They mixed with one another for years and put on a variety of cracking matches amongst themselves and with others. Joe and Styles in particular were on the cusp of becoming ‘The Man’ in TNA on several occasions each. They were always standout guys wherever they worked, but if TNA had set their minds to it and worked at presenting them as the best wrestlers in the world, as opposed to second tier talent not on the level of former WWE names, they could have helped the promotion find greater meaning. Neither became the leading man they deserved to be.

It’s not just those three guys though. The end of 2011 saw Beer Money split and feud over the world championship. At the time I felt both men could contribute to expanding the company. In hindsight I was wrong about James Storm. His physique, promo style and plastic cowboy hat all scream mid-card. I remember a particularly excruciating advert airing on Challenge hyping an Impact tour that featured one of the worst vocal performances I’ve ever heard from a wrestler. ‘The Cowboy’ is suitable only for the mid-card even in TNA.

Not enough faith was placed in this man.

But Bobby Roode is a different story. He looks like an athlete, carries himself like a champion, gives very good verbal performances and can excel in a wide range of match types. He had a lengthy reign as TNA champion as a result of that 2011 split and headline run and he looked the part. A main event built around him would have been one of the best things TNA could have done over the last few years. Instead they dropped Roode down into the mid-card after he lost the title and structured their major storylines around Jeff hardy, Chris Sabin and Eric Young. Had TNA stuck with Roode for another year things could have been very different.

Then there was Austin Aries. He’s another guy who has a good look, fits the bill as a good guy or a bad guy and can wrestle a fantastic match when given the chance to. TNA did the right thing in putting the title on him when it became clear that fans wanted to see it, but they didn’t know what to do next. ‘A Double’ flip-flopped between face and heel during his reign and has crossed the line so many times since that it’s practically impossible to make sense of his character’s motivations anymore.

Bully Ray surprised most long-term wrestling fans by getting into the best shape he’s ever been in and transforming himself into a singles act. He was never going to morph into a top guy, age and length of time spent working as a mid-card and tag guy made sure of that, but more could have been done with him. Before he was swerve turned to head up Aces and Eights TNA audiences were really into him. He knows how to keep his character consistent and can put on a pretty wild match with the right opponent and stipulation.

‘Calfzilla’s’ heel turn may not have destroyed TNA and brought them to their current undesirable situation but it didn’t help. People liked Bully in early 2013 and they wanted to continue supporting him. A plan being concocted for when Aces disbanded wouldn’t have hurt either. For that matter the group’s split coming sooner would’ve been a blessing. Heading up a terrible faction didn’t do the former Dudley Boy any favours.

And most recently they’ve had Magnus. No, he’s not the best wrestler in the world. But he’s not bad. His slightly above average in-ring ability is nicely complemented by his good looks and proficiency with promos. The Magnus package is not stellar but it is solid. If he’d had the TNA world title for a few months longer and lost it to someone who fans had been primed to be desperate to see topple him his reign would have been closer to a success than it was.

TNA could still try a recapture what they had with Magnus. He’s still the sort of heel who could be booked to retain his belt via tricks and cheats and work good or great matches with a variety of wrestlers. A short, convincing victory over Eric Young would help establish him as dominant champ and could be used to explain that he “lost his focus” when he originally lost the gold. Having him end a few more careers wouldn’t hurt either. He already has the bragging rights to Sting and Styles beign gone. Angle could be next. It could be a good way of writing people off TV as their contracts expire and would build Magnus up.

Ultimately all thinking and writing about this subject does is frustrate. If TNA had tried harder, planned better, and realised when they were on to something good they could have built themselves a compelling main event roster. With that they could have presented very good matches and storylines and provided people with reasons to watch every week.

Eric Young's Turn

How do you combat the most popular wrestler in WWE closing the year's biggest wrestling show as the world champion? Well, if you're TNA, you find someone who looks vaguely like Bryan and switch your own world title on to him at the first televised opportunity. The man deemed most suitable was long-time comedy performer and mid-card mid-roader Eric Young.

Eric Young is not a bad wrestler. Nor is he an especially good one. His sole previous foray into main events (as part of the heel World Elite faction) was utterly unmemorable and saw Young busted back down to his natural role as comedy face soon after it ended. It’s that role he's been known for throughout his TNA career. He’s the comedy guy who goes out and makes the punters laugh. He’s also, for the record, a former Knockouts tag team champion, hardly something you look for on the CV of a prospective world champ.

Eric Young is the TNA champion

The title change, which aired live on Thursday 10 April and has been made available through TNA’s YouTube account, came about after EY survived a Michinoku driver and a low blow and drilled Magnus with a piledriver. But really, how it came about is irrelevant. What matters is that a longstanding comedy performer has been awarded TNA’s top prize.

Eric Young does not have the aura of a world champion. Nor do I believe he has the ability to cut it as an underdog champion who flukes his way to successful title defences (a viable way of turning someone into a legitimate main event act over time). He has been promoted far too quickly to the role of champion and his win has harmed the prestige of the title and, by extension, the promotion.

The TNA championship is once again looking like something that everyone gets a turn with if they stay under contract long enough. That simply shouldn't be. A promotion’s world title should be its top prize, something only the elite win. It's not as important as it was in the days of kayfabe but a world title is still a significant part of a promotion's success. The champion’s credibility (or lack of it) will help to form people's opinions of the company as a whole (especially a smaller outfit like TNA). A meaningful championship is needed for a lead babyface to chase and hold. If the title means nothing then what has that top star (or anyone else) accomplished by winning it? Any athlete needs a prize worth competing for.

Bobby Roode or Austin Aries would have been a better choice for the role of relieving Magnus of his title. For starters both already have title reigns notched up, which would have avoided giving yet another member of the roster their go with the belt. More importantly they are both more credible than EY. They both look, talk, wrestle and carry themselves like main eventers and have histories at the top of the card. There was an obvious storyline to present in having a heel ally of Magnus gradually turn on him before taking the title from him, and either ‘A Double’ or ‘The It Factor’ would have been a perfect fit.

And let's spare a thought for Magnus. He had what should have been a career defining reign curtailed to reward a mid-carder's loyalty and-or to give the audience a Shock Moment™ (this more than anything else has convinced me that Vince Russo has indeed returned to TNA¹). He is not the most talented man in TNA but he looked and acted the part, and was growing into the role of both champion and faction centrepiece. Of the talent at TNA's disposal he was one of their best choices for a fresh start champ. Perhaps he'll get the strap back in a few weeks. Perhaps he'll go on to have a longer, more impressive reign in the future. But the damage is done. He is now the man whose first reign ended at the hands of ‘Showtime’ Eric Young.

This is another example of TNA floundering around aimlessly, desperately searching for something that will click with viewers and ignite their popularity. It's not something that will cause the downfall of a company. At this point it barely registers above the background hum of absurdity they present on a weekly basis. When the story of TNA's downfall comes to be written this will simply be another point on the graph. But it’s one that could, and should, have been avoided.

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¹ I've defended him in the past and will defend him in the future but I disagree (as talked about above) with Russo’s belief that wrestling championships are simply props that embellish the drama of the stories he's telling. They can enhance the perception of a wrestler or feud and lend credibility to a company. Think of how Daniel Bryan’s recent journey to the top of WWE would have been affected if there were no meaningful championship for him to win in the main of WrestleMania.