TNA Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment - July is the Month for Rising Stars
While both companies have distinctly different takes on the art of professional wrestling, both TNA Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment have firmly set a tone that July is the month for new stars to ascend the food chain. In 2011, both companies did this with their respective Destination X and Money in the Bank pay-per-view events. Now, one year later, both companies are attempting to do the same thing with those upcoming pay-per-view events. However, unlike 2011 when both did this seemingly without knowing it, the attempts to elevate stars in 2012 are obvious with some attempts already looking like obvious failures.
On Sunday night, Destination X will take place in Orlando, Florida at the Impact Zone. In the main event, TNA World Champion Bobby Roode will defend his title against former X-Division Champion Austin Aries. Aries will be the first X-Division Champion to vacate the X-Division title at Destination X for an opportunity at the World Championship. Win or lose, this is a firm sign that TNA Wrestling sees what the fans see in Austin Aries: the Greatest Man To Ever Live is better than merely the X-Division. Aries has performed at a main event level since he returned to TNA, ironically enough, with a show-stealing match at last year’s Destination X pay-per-view.
In 2011, Aries defeated Jack Evans, Low-Ki, and Zema Ion in a Fatal Fourway to earn a TNA contract. That match earned rave reviews and resulted in Ion earning a TNA contract. Since then, Aries’ ascension up the TNA ladder has included the longest X-Division Championship reign in company history and victories in show-stealing efforts against Bully Ray and Samoa Joe. Austin Aries’ first TNA World Championship opportunity is the culmination of a yearlong rise that started at Destination X in 2011. Aries was not only in having his star rise in the aftermath of Destination X 2011. Kazarian is now involved in a main event angle alongside AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels after all three had incredible efforts at the PPV. Kazarian defeated Samoa Joe in a fantastic match while Styles and Daniels were part of one of the best matches of 2011 at the event. None of these men have suffered a dip in their career since the event. Destination X 2011 established the beginning of their rises (or return in the case of Styles) to the top of TNA Wrestling.
The 2012 Destination X pay-per-view event has the potential to be a boost in the arm for the careers of more than just Aries though. With the vacancy of Aries’ X-Division Championship, TNA is holding an eight-man tournament to determine a new X-Division Champion at the PPV. Currently, the tournament field includes former X-Division Champions Douglas Williams and Kid Kash, Zema Ion, Sonjay Dutt, and Rashad Cameron. I think the potential is there for Ion to rise up the ladder. Williams is one of the best wrestlers in the business today and could benefit from a great showing. However, the real breakout star could be the returning Sonjay Dutt. Dutt looked better than he has looked in years during his tournament-qualifying match last week on Impact. This tournament can really help establish more X-Division stars and sure up an already terrific mid-card roster. Meanwhile, for the second year in a row, AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels have the chance to steal the show and prove themselves as main event talent when their intense yearlong rivalry sees them in a Last Man Standing match.
TNA Wrestling is not alone in using their July pay-per-view event as a launching pad for stardom as World Wrestling Entertainment is doing the same thing with the Money in the Bank pay-per-view. In 2001, WWE established five major stars through this pay-per-view event: CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Christian, Alberto Del Rio, and Mark Henry. For two of these men, the pay-per-view success worked as CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship is a main event at the 2012 Money in the Bank event. However, the other three breakthroughs have plummeted back to Earth for various reasons.
Daniel Bryan Mania started at Money in the Bank 2011. While I despise the current gimmick of Daniel Bryan (YES! Man), I will never take away his position as one of the best pound-for-pound wrestlers in the world for a second. Bryan, in an upset, won a Money in the Bank Ladder match last year over Cody Rhodes, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, Kane, Sheamus, Sin Cara, and Wade Barrett. At the time, Barrett appeared to be odds on favorite to win so Bryan’s victory was a major upset. Even after the win, Bryan looked like he would be the first MITB winner to lose with the contract as he jobbed endlessly for the next five months. Then, Bryan, fresh off the losing streak, won the World Heavyweight Championship and the saga of Daniel Bryan: YES! Man started. Meanwhile, CM Punk’s victory at Money in the Bank over John Cena for the WWE Championship served as the starting point for the much-celebrated Summer of Punk in 2011. This victory established Punk as a star (if you completely ignore multiple World Heavyweight and ECW Championship reigns in the WWE). Since then, CM Punk established himself as the second full-time face of WWE behind John Cena (and sixth face of the company behind Cena, Dwayne Johnson, Triple H, The Undertaker, and Brock Lesnar). Fans can trace the rise of both Daniel Bryan and CM Punk back to the July 2011 pay-per-view.
However, fans cannot say this for the other three men who came out of Money in the Bank 2011 on fire. Christian, Alberto Del Rio, and Mark Henry all won world championships within the last year and plummeted down the food chain because of injuries, burials from management, and the roller coaster ride that is WWE booking. Two weeks away from the 2012 event, Alberto Del Rio is in a main event against World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus that he has no chance of winning because of consistent weak booking in main event opportunities. If Del Rio were to win, it would only hurt Sheamus because Del Rio will not look strong in WWE without months of consistently strong booking first. Christian returned from a lengthy injury to an unexplained face turn and the Intercontinental Championship despite leaving in the thick of the World Heavyweight title hunt. That is a demotion in my book. Meanwhile, Mark Henry worked through injuries until he could work no more. Then, before opting for surgery, Vince McMahon jobbed Mark Henry to everyone under the sun.
The 2012 Money in the Bank features a Money in the Bank Ladder match that should be called the Launch Pad match instead of the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank Ladder match because this match is filled with wrestlers in need of a launching pad for their career. The match currently has Christian, Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow, Dolph Ziggler, Santino Marella, Tensai, and Tyson Kidd competing for a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship. Management obviously has only one goal in mind with this match: create new stars. However, I question the motivation when two of these guys are already main event stars and another is already a failure in management’s eyes. Going back to the earlier assessment of Christian, he does not belong in this match when he is better suited as World Heavyweight Champion already. The same thing is true for Dolph Ziggler. Neither of these men need Money in the Bank; they need management to stop jerking them around. Meanwhile, Tensai lost his lordship, his robe, his mask, and his Great Muta mist. This gimmick is a flop and everyone knows it. So, he is going nowhere fast. As for the other men, only one can truly benefit from winning Money in the Bank. Santino Marella should not have a spot on the roster so it is not him. Damien Sandow, the modern day Leaping Lanny Poffo, has been in the company for a cup of coffee. No Money in the Bank for him. Tyson Kidd is the token spot monkey for this match. His victories over the last two weeks will mean nothing when Kidd is jobbing on Superstars a week after the pay-per-view. That leaves only one: Cody Rhodes. Rhodes is the man who should win Money in the Bank and use this as his launching pad into the main event stratosphere he has belonged in for over a year now. Cody Rhodes should already be in the World title hunt. A win in this match should elevate him to that status he deserves. Anyone else walking away with the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank briefcase would be a severe waste of the opportunity that Money in the Bank brings.
At this time next year, I think we could be talking about how the Destination X and Money in the Bank pay-per-view events elevated new stars for the second year in a row. However, this will only occur with management in both companies remaining consistently behind the stars that shine coming out of these events. Austin Aries, Daniel Bryan, and CM Punk are still on top of the world a year later while Christian, Alberto Del Rio, and Mark Henry are floundering. Who will rise this year? Will they maintain that newfound status for the long haul? Only time will tell. If I had to put money on one man that could be the rising star from July 2012, he is simply Dashing.
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