That Wrestling Podcast Episode 21

That Wrestling Podcast Episode 21 by Dave Hatton on Mixcloud

Putting things up that are a little out of date is nothing new for this podcast. But it’s never been this bad. In the first several minutes you’ll hear us discussing Dixie Carter’s “recent” heel turn and how we think it’s going to go. I could have tried editing this out but, well, I’m lazy and I think it’s interesting enough (in so far as anything on this podcast is interesting) to stay in. It provides an insight into what Michael and I expected from TNA a month or to ago and where they’ve gone in that time.

Oh, and we also talk about Rey Mysterio’s potential comeback! I wonder how that will turn out…

The reason this happened is that this is a Breaking Out episode. Breaking Out? Yes, that’s the name we selected for those episodes where we discuss how far wrestlers can rise up their respective roster’s totem of standing¹. The company in question in today’s episode is WWE. The wrestlers we discuss are Sin Cara, Wade Barrett, and Christian.

Plus, there’s a substantial tangents about the popularity of William Regal’s popularity in Britain and how WWE could (dare I say should?) go about creating their next masked character. These tangents are arguably more interesting than the episode’s main focus, so I’d recommend listening out for them.

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¹ The phrase “totem of standing” is included for no other reason than that I like it. It doesn’t sit right, I know that. I also don’t care.

Cruiser-vision

A show focusing exclusively on cruiserweights has long been rumoured for the upcoming WWE Network. Can a company that famously favours tall, muscular workers over smaller, more athletic men really produce a worthwhile programme that only features lightweights? I think they can, as long as the right people are put in charge.

In order for a cruiserweight show to work Vince McMahon and Triple H would need to limit their involvement. Both men are driving forces behind WWE’s bigger is better attitude and while I’m sure they appreciate the skill and athleticism required to work the style synonymous with smaller wrestlers they don’t enjoy watching it themselves. That means they don’t promote it in the correct way.

The company should look to hire two or three writers to work exclusively on the cruiserweight programme, ideally people who actually appreciate the style. The hiring policy they have used for the past decade or so is to look for writers who have television experience, with an interest in wrestling said to be a disadvantage for the position.

Personally I don’t like this approach but it’s unlikely the company will change the habit for a show focusing on smaller guys. However, it’s not too much to hope that WWE brings in a keen, knowledgeable fan or someone with wrestling and TV experience to work on the show. A cruiserweight show is something completely different for WWE viewers and should have a different feel to RAW, SmackDown and the rest of the promotion’s output. The best way to do that is to have someone working on the show that would not usually be considered for a writing gig.

The format of the new NXT would actually be perfect for a cruiserweight show. The smaller venue of Full Sail University promotes a more intimate atmosphere and attracts a knowledgeable and respectful crowd. I think those fans would be very appreciative of an all cruisers TV taping.

Even if WWE didn’t want to use Full Sail (which would be understandable, too many shows in one market would risk burning the audience out) I’m sure a similar venue could be found somewhere in the United States. Universities seem a good idea for WWE tapings. There must be dozens who would be willing to enter into a similar partnership with a company that can offer what WWE does (revenue, TV experience for students, etc.).

Rey Mystterio could benefit an all cruiserweights show with sporadic appearances

Not having any backstage segments (or at least keeping them to a bare minimum) at all allows for the action to take centre stage, exactly what a cruiserweight show should be about. Storylines on NXT are based around winning and losing. Simple and effective. That approach would benefit this hypothetical show (and RAW and SmackDown as well for that matter, but that won’t be happening anytime soon).

As far as announcers go I think WWE would be wise to go with a three man unit. One veteran announcer who can keep up with the action and lead the trio, one colour commentator, and one fresh hire who can be groomed for a larger role within the promotion at some point in the future. The obvious candidate for the veteran position is Jim Ross. He always does an outstanding job and has helped make NXT a phenomenal viewing experience.

Personally I wouldn’t pick him though. WWE has the ideal commentator already under contract: Joey Styles. He is wasted toiling on the company’s website, is well versed at calling fast paced matches and would be able to pass his own experience and wisdom onto the crew. Styles, more than JR, is perfect for calling faster matches featuring a plethora of moves rarely seen on RAW and SmackDown.

The new hire obviously isn’t someone that can predicted, but they should be keen on a career in the wrestling business and passionate about making the best show possible. That may seem an obvious thing to say but we’re discussing the company that happily promotes Michael Cole as its lead broadcaster.

The colour commentator could be almost anybody on the roster who would be interested in a commentary spot. Wade Barrett has worked in the role during his time in FCW. Christian seems a natural choice for a commentary gig too. WWE could even reach out to Rey Mysterio, easily the most successful small guy to ever work for the promotion, and see if he would be interested in a broadcasting job. His involvement could really enhance the show.

Something I think that should be avoided is the reinstatement of the cruiserweight title. Introducing a championship as soon as the show starts would take at least some of the focus off the wrestlers. We should get to know the men (and perhaps women) wrestling on the show long before we start caring about which of them has a championship.

Give it six months or a year and then think about a tournament to crown a champion. By then the best workers will have risen to the top and the audience will have chosen their favourites. Those are the wrestlers who should be at the top of the card and they can only get there with time.

The roster is obviously something that people are going to be very interested in, but we won’t know who’s going to be appearing on our screens until closer to the show’s (and the Network’s) launch. A hefty portion should be newcomers though, wrestlers signed from the independents based on their ability to work a fast, entertaining match.

Inevitably the show will need big, established names. I mentioned Rey Mysterio above in relation to a commentary spot. I don’t think he should be a regular wrestler on the show, but the occasional match here and there, such as on the debut episode, would help draw ratings and expose the less famous talent to the audience.

Alex Shelley is expected to join the show. He’ll be a good hire. Other names that could be considered are Jimmy Rave, Jack Evans, Homicide, PAC, Akira Tozawa, El Generico and most of the members of Chikara, Dragon Gate USA, and Ring of Honor’s locker rooms. WWE is not above scouting those companies for talent to use on its new shows.

If and when a WWE cruiserweight show rolls around it will have the potential to be great. There’s a lot that can go wrong with the venture (mainly because, as stated above, the promotion has a long history of dismissing smaller guys) but if done right I think it could help WWE create plenty of new stars and encourage a healthy viewership. Follow the outline above and it could be a highlight of the WWE Network.

Regeneration X

During the first few years of TNA’s near decade-long existence the X Division was its crowning achievement. It provided viewers with the fast-paced, high-flying excitement that WWE has never been able to pull off, which had been absent from American TV screens since WCW and ECW went under in early 2001. Over the years the X Division has been the setting for many of TNA’s greatest matches and was the proving ground for many of the most lauded names to have passed through the company, most notably Christopher Daniels, AJ Styles and Samoa Joe.

Sadly over the last two or three years the X Division has fallen on hard times. This is thanks to a combination of inattentive booking and a lack of fresh talent being brought in to keep the Division feeling fresh and exciting. 

Despite this state of affairs last year’s Destination X pay-per-view, which exclusively featured X Division matches and saw multiple performers brought into the company for the weeks prior to the show, was TNA’s single greatest show of 2011. That should have told TNA that the X Division is still something that can succeed and set them apart from their chief rival.

It didn’t.

If anything the X Division has become more stifled and limited since that show. A weight limit of two hundred and twenty pounds has been placed on the Division and there are now only around half a dozen men in the company that could be considered X performers.

The weight limit is particularly frustrating for viewers: TNA itself used to tell its fans that the X Division wasn’t about weight limits, it was about no limits. While that may have been a slightly embarrassing tagline it was true enough: X Division wrestlers worked a fast, exciting style which lent itself to cruiserweight performers but heavyweight wrestlers such as Joe and Kurt Angle could still fit in nicely.

The lack of talent isn’t entirely TNA’s fault. Jesse Sorensen suffered a severe neck injury just a few weeks ago and will be sidelined indefinitely. Chris Sabin (who could play a significant role in the Division without harming the momentum of the Motor City Machine Guns) has been on the injured list since last spring. Brian Kendrick had to be let go because of apparent creative differences. These things happen and they’re nobody’s fault.

However TNA does have to take the blame for the Young Bucks leaving last year and the inadequate booking of talented guys like Alex Shelley and Kid Kash. They also took the decision to move Frankie Kazarian away from the league without finding anybody to fill the gap the left.

The good news is that the X Division can be salvaged relatively easily. It helps that there is already a supremely talented champion in place. In my opinion Austin Aries is the greatest all-round performer currently under contract to TNA and there’s nobody better to lead the X Division out of its current slump. Being great on the mic and in the ring, ‘A Double’ is capable of making limited performers look good and good performers look great.

In order to restore the X Division to its former glory TNA first needs to concoct a plan of action. The performers in the Division need to be granted a minimum set amount of time on IMPACT each week. Ideally it would be around the same time every week so viewers get a rough idea of when they can tune in to see the X Division performers. As good as Aries is on the mic he needs to be limited to backstage interviews and brief post-match victory speeches for a while: the X Division’s time should be for matches rather than talking.

Booking plans need to be drawn up for the next few months. A novel approach would be selecting four performers to be used as primary and secondary heels and faces. That would give TNA several months of storylines, with the primary face feuding with the secondary heel as the primary heel feuds with the secondary face. Things could then be changed around with the secondary names branching off into a feud as the top heel and face clash for the title.

Aries is the obvious choice for the Division’s top heel and Zema Ion would make a fine choice for the secondary bad guy spot. I don’t believe there’s anybody on the current roster who’d work in either of the top two babyface spots. Alex Shelley may be talented enough but he needs to be kept available for his imminent MCMG reunion with Chris Sabin, meaning he can’t afford to get tied up in a months-long booking plan for a singles division.

The top two babyface spots would need to go to outsiders. In a perfect world TNA would splash some cash and bring in Jack Evans and John Morrison. Evans did a fantastic job of getting himself over during his brief time with TNA around last year’s Destination X show (which I wrote at the time). If TNA gave him some backing dancers and invested time in him then Evans could do big things in, and for, the company.

Hire this man!

Morrison is an obvious choice for the top babyface spot because he is incredibly popular thanks to his time in WWE. If TNA showed they could use him correctly he could help give viewing figures and live attendance at house shows a small nudge. Booking him to go over Zema Ion and ‘The Greatest Man That Ever Lived’  in his first two feuds would create a new X Division kingpin and restore fans’ faith in the X Division as a whole.

In addition to this it would also benefit the company to hire one or two additional names to use as X Division under-carders. Names like Johnny Gargano, Kenny Omega, Mark Haskins, Pac, Homicide, Petey Williams, Low Ki, Akira Tozawa and Ruckus immediately spring to mind as ideal candidates, though in truth TNA could sign almost anyone from Dragon Gate USA or Ring of Honor. Bulking out the roster with guys of that calibre would ensure that there are plenty of fresh, enjoyable matches for TV and pay-per-view, and people ready and capable of moving up to replace featured stars who’ve become overexposed and need to be moved down the card for a while. They could even take the novel approach of scouting some new talent to introduce to mainstream wrestling.

When push comes to shove, all the X Division really needs is talented workers. Storylines are nice, but ultimately the X Division has always been, and always will be, about high match quality. If TNA can restore that and give us some variety they’ll be doing a fine job.