Wrestling with Emotion -- Bits and Pieces around the Wrestling World

Wrestling with Emotion – Bits and Pieces around the Wrestling World…

The Final Days of TNA Wrestling… 

 

Last week, TNA Wrestling released five performers from their contracts: Madison Rayne, Crimson, Joey Ryan, Taeler Hendrix, and Christian York. This week, TNA Wrestling announced the release of Matt Morgan as well. Rumors accompanied these roster moves that TNA Wrestling was struggling to pay talent and vendors. With these rumors, the most popular story in TNA Wrestling’s 11-year history gained a new life as the IWC all resumed digging the grave for the anti-WWE they started digging in 2002. 

I did not like some of the roster moves. I did not like them but I could understand some of them. Madison Rayne is currently on maternity leave as she expects her first child. More important though, Madison Rayne dedicated herself more to bodybuilding pageants in the last year than her professional wrestling career. I love Madison Rayne. The “Queen Bee” of TNA was one of my favorite characters in all of professional wrestling at one time in 2011. However, Madison seemed burned out and that is why she was more motivated to paint herself orange and pimp supplements than work inside the squared circle. In all honesty, I think her release was a long time coming. 

The Gut Check contestants released – Joey Ryan, Taeler Hendrix, Christian York – all are testaments to the complete worthlessness of TNA Gut Check. What started as an outstanding idea to discover new talent has turned into a complete bust that is none of the talent’s fault. TNA obvious has little to no interest in using these new talents. Joey Ryan developed a cult following (the 87%) and a fun gimmick based on sleaze. Instead of pushing Ryan, especially in the X-Division, TNA paired Ryan with Matt Morgan for no reason and ultimately failed miserably. York received a solid push for three months before the company cast York aside for no reason. Taeler Hendrix worked two matches in TNA – both well received – and got the axe. What was the point of Gut Check if these young talents were never going to get a fair chance to be a star? 

The two moves that annoyed me the most though were the releases of Crimson and Matt Morgan. Crimson went undefeated for 462 days in TNA, lost one match to James Storm at Slammiversary 2012, lost one match to Devon on Impact, disappeared for over a year, returned to lose a match to Joseph Park, and disappeared again. What kind of booking is that for a man who was supposed to be the “future of TNA Wrestling?” Still, that is better than the last 18 months of Matt Morgan’s career in TNA. Morgan went from a main event star and future TNA World Heavyweight Champion to a disgruntled employee gimmick that saw Morgan “fired,” “rehired,” aligned with Joey Ryan, bullying Hulk Hogan, harassing Sting, losing in matches against mid-carders, and ultimately his contract termination. 

As surprising as it was to see TNA release multiple performers so quickly, it was equally surprising (though it should have been) to see the IWC putting the finishing touches on TNA Wrestling’s obituary because of the above releases. WWE releases performers all of the time. For a long time, the massive release became an annual event known as Black Friday. Nobody ever said WWE was going out of business. Then again, when dealing with the IWC, nobody wants the WWE to go out of business. On the other hand, it will be one of the greatest days in the collective IWC’s life when TNA Wrestling finally closes its doors forever because “TNA isn’t WWE so it is bad.”

These were roster moves and nothing more. I refuse to believe that seven roster moves of seven talents, misused or not, being paid for nothing signify the end days of the premiere professional wrestling company in America today. None of the IWC clowns suckling on the sports entertainment teat of blind WWE love will get their wish of a TNA-free world anytime soon.

What the hell, Ring of Honor… 

The last events of June – Best in the World and the subsequent TV taping – changed the course of Ring of Honor Wrestling forever. However, I do not believe the course changed in a good way at all. 

At Best in the World, ROH World Champion Jay Briscoe defeated Mark Briscoe in an outstanding match that left both men injured. Rumors are that after that event, both men got into an altercation with ROH Management and vowed to leave the company at the end of the weekend. The following day, Briscoe successfully defended the ROH World Championship against Matt Hardy. ROH Management removed Mark Briscoe from a Steel Cage Warfare showdown between ROH and S.C.U.M. ultimately won by ROH. In the aftermath of this, S.C.U.M. assaulted Jay Briscoe as a way to write him off television. The Briscoe Brothers are gone from ROH television. However, Jay is leaving with possession of the ROH World Championship.

For the first time, the Ring of Honor World Championship is vacant. Storyline reasoning states Jay Briscoe is injured. Briscoe even participated in the angle with a vulgar, drunken rant of a promo released on ROH’s website. A sixteen-man tournament begins at the end of July culminating in a new ROH World Champion crowned in September. 

I am left wondering what in the hell is going on in Ring of Honor because this is not the company that pulls crazy angles like this off. WWE officials have shown interest in signing both Jay and Mark Briscoe since Triple H gained his role backstage. The Briscoe Brothers attended a house show last weekend as fans – something I do not believe they would have done as Ring of Honor contracted employees. I think there is lot more to the Briscoe story than merely both men are recovering from injuries. 

On top of that, ROH is also dealing with the expiring contracts of Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards. Neither man is in the ROH World Championship tournament despite both men being exponentially better than half the current tournament field. It is no secret that both men have shown frustration with becoming a tag team again in ROH after both reached main event and world champion status a year earlier. Two of the fixtures of ROH could be out the door soon.

Then, there is a laundry list of people currently without something to do thanks to the end of the ROH/S.C.U.M. angle. Despite being under contract to ROH, Rhett Titus appeared on RAW this past week backstage as he works on getting a job with the WWE. Performers like Matt Hardy, Rhino, Steve Corino, Cliff Compton, and Jimmy Jacobs have nothing on the horizon for them. Considering the tournament field for the Ring of Honor World Championship is loaded with performers who will not remain in the company full-time (Karl Anderson, Brian Kendrick, Paul London, Sonjay Dutt), the company appears to have no plans for these workers either. I do not have a clue what Ring of Honor is thinking right now. All I know is ROH better get a clue quickly before they lose all of their talent to WWE developmental deals or a better life with steady work on the Indy circuit.

Here Comes the Wyatt Family…

The biggest story in the WWE currently does not revolve about the WWE Championship. John Cena is not the movie star the company needs to garner the spotlight. It is not about the World Heavyweight Championship. Alberto Del Rio, the Latino version of Lex Luger with his random and senseless face/heel turns, cannot draw interest on solid in-ring work alone. It is damn sure not about the McMahon Family and each member’s desire for ultimate power in the company – despite Vince, Stephanie, and Triple H’s belief that this angle should continue through and headline WrestleMania XXX. It is not about CM Punk and his stupid Wolverine chops, Daniel Bryan and his mind-numbingly stupid “I am not the weakest link” obsession, or even the skipping temptress known as AJ Lee. The biggest story in the WWE is the debut of these men.

The sons of "Lumberjack" Jos Le Duc, Waylon Mercy, & Duke "the Dumpster" Droese

After weeks of vignettes on television ranging from creepy 1970s horror film to possible Southern TV televangelist, the Wyatt Family debuted on RAW this week with an attack on Kane. Taking their act from NXT to the main roster, Bray Wyatt leads a team of two towering behemoths in Luke Harper and Erick Rowan into the thick of the WWE wilderness with a buzz and anticipation not seen since the debut of The Shield in late 2012. After watching their debut and having no knowledge of their NXT exploits, all I can say upon their arrival is “meh.” 

I have seen plenty of young upstarts debut on WWE television by targeting one major star, beating him down, and cutting a promo on him. The Shield did it. The Nexus did it. The Spirit Squad did it. The list goes on. For all of the hype and praise showered upon these three before their debut, I was expecting something of grandiose proportions. Instead, I got a run of the mill debut that I will not remember in three months. I say that, not to trash the Wyatt Family, to only stress that the sky is the limit for these three young talents because my opinion of them could not be any lower or apathetic. Bring it, Wyatt Family, and bring it hard.

The Best in the World at What SHE Does…

For my money right now, there is no better performer in professional wrestling today than Mickie James is. That is not an error. Right now, Mickie James is better than Bobby Roode, Austin Aries, Davey Richards, Eddie Edwards, Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, or even the IWC’s almighty Lord and Savior of professional wrestling CM Punk.

  

Since turning heel in late May and winning her third TNA Knockouts Championship (ninth world championship overall), Mickie James has been on fire; both with entertaining matches and promos truly highlighting just how outstanding Mickie is as a heel. Her series of matches against Velvet Sky have brought out the best in Velvet. Her promo work has turned one of wrestling’s most beloved and charismatic faces into a self-absorbed, egotistical diva (no pun intended) the likes of which wrestling hasn’t seen truly done well since Trish Stratus’ awesome heel run of mid-2004 through early 2005. The fact that Mickie has also turned heel without aligning herself with fellow heel Knockouts Gail Kim or Tara has only added to her egotistical persona and created an opportunity for both Kim and Tara to work as “tweeners” against the champion. I love her work right now and truly believe there is no more entertaining performer in the entire business today than Mickie James. Not only did a heel turn freshen up her character; it rejuvenated her career and added another chapter to her illustrious career. Mickie James is doing what the Bella Twins only wish they could do – get genuine heel heat while entertaining the crowd, not just get X-Pac heat.