The Beginning of the End?

On Wednesday 3^rd July TNA announced the release of five wrestlers. They were, in no particular order, Joey Ryan, Crimson, Taeler Hendrix, Christian York and Madison Rayne. Hendrix and Ryan have indicated that they either requested releases or allowed their contracts to expire without seeking new deals.

There have also been some interesting rumours circulating. First, that the WWE Hall of Fame building is going to be built at or near Universal Studios in Orlando. Second, that Sting is interested in a move to WWE, like really interested and he seriously means it this time so don't you doubt him thank you so very much.

 

For the purposes of this post I'm not interested in the prospect of Sting joining WWE. I'm more interested in what the rumour, if true, indicates about TNA's current financial affairs. Obviously it's not a positive sign. 'The Stinger' has been the only major name of yesteryear who has continually backed TNA and attempted to use his (diminishing) star power to help them compete with WWE. It hasn't worked but it's the thought that counts.

If Sting is considering a move there will likely be several factors at play. Age is one. Now in his mid-fifties Sting must realise he's going to have to finish his career soon. He, like every other major wrestling name, would almost certainly love to do so in WWE, where he'd also benefit creatively by having a roster full of fresh opponents.

It also hints at TNA not being able to afford him and encouraging him to make the jump. The reason Crimson and company (there's a kids' TV show waiting to happen) have been let go is apparently part of a drive to streamline the roster and save cash. That in turn is said to be linked to the extra costs TNA's been racking up since they started taping Impact from different locations and putting on more house shows.

Paying Sting to work only a handful of an increasing number of events wouldn't make sense. TNA has clearly been in a position where they need to save money for some time. Encouraging Sting to move on would be an efficient way of doing just that.

The five confirmed releases (Sting leaving is still a rumour remember) further illustrates that TNA is in trouble. Most companies when planning an expanded schedule would seek more talent in order to not overwork their existing roster. Releasing those guys and girls isn't a good move. They may not be draws (Christian York) or even especially wonderful wrestlers (Crimson) but they fill out the roster and perform a clear function as mid-carders and-or enhancers for bigger names (or at least they would have done if they’d been on TV).

The ones who should have been released are Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff, who perform no clear function on-screen and have demonstrated during their three and a half years with the league that they don't have any idea how to make it successful, either creatively or financially. I'm as bored of writing that as you are of reading it. They've dodged a bullet again.

This is, of course, terribly bad news for those who have been released. They've lost regular sources of income. In Joey Ryan's case, and to a lesser extent Christian York's, regular televisual exposure has been lost too. That's important to wrestlers who rely on secondary indy bookings to keep their incomes healthy.

 

Why did they release this guy...?

On the plus side Crimson seems like the sort of guy who might get picked up for NXT. Ryan could wind up there too, but ROH and assorted indies seem like a safer bet for him. York will probably return to whatever he did for money before TNA plucked him from wrestling obscurity. Taeler Hendrix will similarly saunter back to the women's indy leagues. And Madison Rayne is engaged with a baby on the way. Her release is a bit of a low blow, but it's understandable to an extent coming as it does from a company that's strapped for cash.

Meanwhile the news that WWE's Hall of Fame might be built at Universal Studios, TNA's home since June 2004, is very interesting. If true it could mean that WWE has indirectly killed TNA by forcing them to spend more money than they can afford on touring Impact around the country. It could either be a big coincidence or an incredibly calculated move to finally put an end to TNA. Conspiracy theorists will favour the latter but why would WWE go to such elaborate bother if their goal was the obliteration of TNA? It would be far more straightforward to offer wrestlers large sums of money whenever they became available.

The alleged Hall of Fame construction site would be much like Vince's territory invasions of the eighties. Only this time a little more literal.

Any feelings that TNA's about to immediately go under can be quelled, for now, by the re-signing of Taz. If TNA was about to go under then securing the services of a spectacularly average colour commentator would not be top of their list of priorities. That they’ve just re-signed him indicates they feel they’ve got a future beyond the next few weeks. The company's in very real trouble, but they're not on their last legs yet.

Slaying Monsters

Monsters used to rumble into wrestling promotions every year or so. Their task was a simple one: they were there to beat everybody that was put in front of them. They would begin with expendable jobbers before moving on to mid-card talent who would help give the newcomer more credibility by putting them over decisively, not something audiences would be used to seeing. The monster would then plough through the federation's main event talent, possibly picking up a world title along the way.
 
In short: they would be made to look unstoppable.
 
All this was done with a greater goal in mind. That goal was to create a new star to pit an existing headliner against. The monster was usually a heel, the existing star was usually a face. The story would be simple but effective: the monster heel would have proven their dominance over everybody the company had to offer and it would be up to the valiant babyface to finally bring them to justice.
 
Part of the reason the approach was so effective was that only one wrestler would receive this treatment at a time. From the moment that wrestler debuted to the moment they left they would be the company's most dominant star and would be afforded every curtesy by both the booking team and other wrestlers. Anybody else receiving similar treatment would diminish the effect of both pushes. It was all about keeping the monster looking impressive.
 
There are plenty of wrestlers who have received very successful monster pushes within the last couple of decades, proving that the concept can work on a national level. A smattering of examples off the top of my head are Goldberg, Kane (when he first appeared in 1997), Awesome Kong, the Great Khali, Samoa Joe (in both TNA and ROH), and, of course, Brock Lesnar.
 
All succeeded on a mixture of their own talent, the backing and competence of the appropriate creative teams, and the fact that they were the only acts of their kind in their respective promotions at the time.

One of the most obvious monsters of recent times: the Great Khali!

Sadly such care is no longer taken in the wrestling business. At least not in North America. Of the continents three major wrestling promotions two are pushing two or more monsters concurrently while the third is approaching the gimmick so haphazardly that we can't even be sure it's what they're trying to do.
 
The third company I refer to is TNA (was it ever going to be anyone else?). When Crimson was first brought into the company he was given a healthy number of victories. Technically he is still undefeated as he hasn't been pinned or made to submit himself yet. Unfortunately (but predictably for TNA) the waters have been muddied by having Crimson suffer losses in tag team bouts. While he hasn't lost himself the damage has still been done: an element of doubt now exists regarding Crimson's undefeated credentials. He has been tarnished by his tag partner's shortcomings. That (in addition to the fact that he has not been booked to garner as many one-sided victories as should have been the case) has tarnished his image as a dominant star on the rise.
 
Yeah, TNA has failed to disguise the weaknesses of one of their talents. What a shock!
 
Perhaps more surprising is WWE, who have created several very successful monsters over the years which means we should be able to assume they understand how to keep them looking as strong as possible.
 
I still believe the push should have gone to somebody younger and more capable but they did an excellent job of building up Mark Henry last year. He went from a tedious mid-card face to a legitimate top card heel in the space of six months thanks to a clear vision and strong booking. Sadly his status as the company's monster has been harmed recently by several other men being presented as being just as unstoppable. Big Show has been permitted to look far too competitive against 'The World's Strongest Man' far too often. Kane returned in December and, while he hasn't been stacking up victories, he has been obliterating John Cena (a top star that was presented as Henry's equal only a couple of months ago) on a regular basis and was also credited with Zack Ryder's storyline injury.
 
Then there's Brodus Clay. Since returning to TV on the January 9th RAW 'The Funkasaurus' has done nothing but beat enhancement talent. It would have far more effect if the three men mentioned above hadn't received similar treatment.
 
That's four monsters in WWE alone, an absurd number.
 
It's Ring of Honor's attitude that I find most surprising. For a company that prides itself on its old school approach and mentality to wrestling booking to be pushing two men in such similar ways can only be described as a disappointment.
 
The two men in question are Tommaso Ciampa and Michael Elgin. Both have been added to factions, allowing managers to be at ringside to disguise their shortcomings and help them get crowds riled up. Both perform a lot of power moves (so they're physically dominating the competition) and Ciampa's even got the trusty "undefeated streak" story on the go. It's a stark contrast to the way in which the promotion booked Samoa Joe years ago: he beat everybody and nobody was seen as his equal when it came to victories.
 
I make the above points to highlight the change that the wrestling business has undergone (and continues to undergo). It is a caution, or warning, for all the promotions mentioned. Less, as they say, is often more.

Unamazing Crimson

I've recently discovered (via Twitter) that TNA wrestler Crimson has a surprising number of fans. Yes, Crimson, the man who has failed to have do anything memorable since debuting for TNA on the last iMPACT of 2010. He has so many supporters that I feel compelled to write a short blog detailing why he’s nothing short of absolutely ordinary.
 
Let's start with his tattoos. I’ve nothing against tattoos, and feel they can enhance the look of a wrestler. Undertaker, CM Punk and Randy Orton all fully tattooed arms and it doesn’t detract from their main event aura (in the case of Punk he’s actually made it an integral part of his persona). My problem isn’t with tattoos in general, it’s with Crimson’s tattoos in particular. They’re dreadful. They’re so bad that they actually draw your eye when Crimson’s on screen.

No wrestler should have tattoos so bad that you’re unable to focus on their promos, matches, entrances or whatever else. But Crimson does. It’s a bad move. Either get something that doesn’t draw they eye or don’t get anything. Or, maybe, just don’t get into the wrestling business.
 
As bad as the tattoos are the promos are worse. Every interview I've seen the guy do has been a typically clichéd, unimaginative growling mess. In fairness the content isn’t his fault: the writing team are the one's telling him what to say. But at the same time he has to shoulder some of the blame as he's the one providing the half-hearted, generic delivery and emphasising odd parts of sentences.
 
The most obvious reason to dislike the guy is his incredibly basic ring style. He wrestles like a WWE mid-carder. There's nothing wrong with that, in and of itself, but it makes it impossible to take him seriously as a future centrepiece star, which is clearly how TNA want us to view him.

Bischoff and Russo (and possibly some others, though I suspect they are the main culprits) seem to want to recreate the Goldberg push with Crimson. It’s just not going to happen. It worked with Goldberg for so many different reasons: a winning streak in wrestling (on that level at least) had never been done before; Goldberg was (and is) a charismatic performer who managed to connect with crowds very quickly; his matches were kept short and his opponents never got in any offence; and WCW had a ridiculously high number of expendable talent under contract that could be sacrificed on a weekly basis without the need of repeats.

Crimson has displayed no charisma, is routinely booked in relatively lengthy matches against people who fight back, and TNA doesn’t have anywhere near the number of heavyweight jabronis it needs to build Crimson up through impressive displays of physical dominance. I’m not saying there’s not a role for him in TNA, but it isn’t his current one.
 
I’ve not forgotten that he's Amazing Red's younger brother either. This is why he’s been lumbered with the awful ring name of Crimson (and Amazing Red’s been released too – so it’s rendered even more absurd than it was already. In Vince Russo’s mind having Crimson be the younger brother of someone so much smaller than him is hilarious. To everyone else it’s just a stupid name that will be laughed at by mainstream media. Not that that matters: how often does anyone hear TNA mentioned outside of wrestling websites and magazines and their own TV shows?
 

Crimson could have meant something in TNA had a little thought and originality been applied to his debut and long term plans laid out in advance. As things stand right now he’s not said or done anything to warrant the praise he receives and I can’t see that state of affairs changing any time soon. He may well be a future TNA world champion, but in the grand scheme of things what does that actually mean? I’ll tell you what: nothing.