The Latest First TNA World Title Reign

On the June 19 episode of Impact it was Bobby Lashley’s turn to win the TNA world championship. After overcoming interference from Kenny King and distractions from MVP, Eric Young missed his top rope elbow drop. Lashley sprang up to his feet and ran through the champion with a spear, giving him his first world championship not just in TNA but in wrestling as a whole.

On most levels this isn’t a problem. Lashley has been built up as one of the company’s lead heels. His status within TNA coupled with his MMA background make him a perfectly satisfactory heel champ. The fact that he cheated to win (benefiting from MVP and King shenanigans) didn’t hurt his image either. He is being presented as a heel who’s happy to take an unfair advantage after all. It’s not ideal for a guy who looks like him but it’s fine, and at least it’s consistent.

Lashley being a limited wrestler isn’t the problem it could be either. Although they tend to use it poorly the TNA writing team has a talented roster at their disposal. There are enough face wrestlers around capable of getting good or better matches out of the new champion that his limitations can be overlooked. He can at least throw a solid-looking belly-to-belly suplex. That’s better than nothing.

Less or more prestigious than the WWE United States championship?

But I still think Lashley’s title victory is still a poor move. It comes across as another decision made at the last minute, once again casting TNA as a promotion that has no long term plans. Lashley won the championship from nowhere. Before MVP was injured there had been no indication that Lashley was going to be anything more than an enforcer-type character. It’s also puzzling that he didn’t win the title at Slammiversary four days earlier, where he earned his way into the main event alongside Austin Aries and challenged for the title.

People paid to see that show. It would have been a good move for TNA to switch the title there. It would have rewarded those who’d paid to watch and sent the message that important things can happen on TNA pay-per-views. There was no logic to holding the switch back for a rematch on television.

The change is also disappointing for Eric Young. He won the world title while still in the shadow of his career as a comedy wrestler. I don’t think he managed to shake that image during his two month reign but he was making progress with it. More time as champion could have helped his credibility. He’s never going to be a major draw for TNA but he could be a credible title contender.

It’s possible EY will get the title back in a rematch as part of this credibility-enhancement process but I don’t think that’s likely. The closing moments of Impact made it clear that the biggest threat to Lashley’s gold is now Bobby Roode, who returned after a month-long suspension (the real reason for it is probably pay-related, knowing TNA) to save Young from a three-on-one beating at the hands of MVP, King and the new champion.

I’ve said for a while that Roode should be used as a face, be booked as a title contender and champion, and be protected as much as possible, so I’m hopeful for this direction. At the very least it looks as though Roode’s going to get a clean title win over one of the company’s top two heels, and he’ll probably drag a compelling match out of Lashley as he does so. I’m less confident about him being booked well as a babyface champion but the next title programme looks promising. With TNA you have to take the positives you can get.

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.