Column: The Hardcore Truth- TNA Positives Report by Zach Fenell on 08/18/2008 at 04:48 PM
Looking through the past couple editions of The Hardcore Truth I’ve realized how negative I’ve been towards TNA Wrestling lately. While I feel the negativity is justifiable, I do have to admit TNA is not all bad; they do have their bright spots. With this week’s column, I would like to explore these positives so without any further ado, let’s get HARDCORE!
Fresh X-Division Blood
“The Phenomenal” A.J. Styles, “The Samoa Submission Machine” Samoa Joe, and Christopher Daniels were the cornerstones of the X-Division when it was on top of the world. Ever since those three left the X-Division it has not been the same. With two more of TNA’s potential top X-Division stars (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley) tied up in the tag division and Senshi quitting the company awhile ago, TNA has been hurting for new X-Division talent.
TNA has discovered that talent with Consequence Creed and Sheik Bashir (formerly known as Davari). It has been refreshing to see this new talent shine in the six sided ring. Along with Petey Williams, Jay Lethal, and a heel Sonjay Dutt, Creed and Bashir help to create a solid foundation for the X-Division. If TNA can remove Curryman from comedy skits with Eric Young and Shark Boy and focus on making him an in-ring competitor, that would be even better! Another talent which I feel could help TNA’s X-Division bounce back is the recently released WWE superstar, Little Guido. It is just too bad that TNA has removed Kaz from television with his quitting angle otherwise the X-Division could really be popping.
Knockouts Division
Last October when TNA introduced the Knockouts Championship, they did it right. Within a couple of months people were praising the Knockouts division like crazy. However the question remained, could TNA make the division a long term success? To answer that question, almost a year later, all someone has to do is take a look at the ratings and what people are saying about the women of TNA. The Knockouts are amongst Impact!’s highest rated segments and internet wrestling fans are still ranting about how great TNA’s women are.
At first it seemed TNA was in danger of creating another Joe/Daniels/AJ triangle with ODB, Gail Kim, and Awesome Kong. The problem with that is fans do not view anyone outside of the triangle as credible challengers for the belt. Luckily for TNA they were able to prevent the ODB/Gail Kim/Awesome Kong triangle from monopolizing the Knockouts division. Heck, neither of those three are even Knockout Champion right now. The title is currently on the waste of Taylor Wilde. Aside from Awesome Kong, The Beautiful People are huge heels in the division. Along with ODB and Gail Kim, Roxi is considered a top babyface in the division. It is safe to say TNA has created a wealth of strong talented women.
Faith in Samoa Joe
Ever since September of 2006, fans have been asking for a Samoa Joe title reign so it came as a surprise when Joe finally won the TNA Heavyweight title that the ratings did not improve at all for Impact! As a matter of fact they went in reverse, getting slightly worse. Rumors were abrupt on the internet that behind the scenes many questioned Samoa Joe as champion. The main criticism seemed to be Joe doesn’t have the body of a champion.
However, despite these issues TNA has kept the belt on Samoa Joe. I think TNA should be commended for keeping their faith in Joe. It would have been easy for the company to hotshot the title over to Kurt Angle, Christian Cage, or Sting. Being patient with a decision in order to see if it pays off in the long run seems to be a foreign concept in the wrestling industry. While Joe’s title reign has not been all it could be so far, at least we have not seen Joe’s championship reign end prematurely.
PPV in Canada!
TNA’s next PPV, No Surrender will be emulating from the country of Canada. In my mind this is great news. As an American wrestling fan I will admit we have nothing on the wrestling fans of Canada, the UK, or Japan. I think the fans of these three countries have a much greater respect for the industry than U.S. fans. The respectful fans will help to create a hotter audience for the PPV making for better television. I also think TNA has a chance to sell more tickets in Canada due to other countries’ desire to see big time wrestling promotions.
I think a key to success for No Surrender will be how TNA books their big Canadian stars; Christian Cage, Petey Williams, and Robert Roode. All three should be booked in high profile matches. Considering Williams and Roode are both champions, and Christian is one of TNA’s biggest stars, it shouldn’t be that hard. What TNA should keep in mind though is Canadians generally will want to cheer their own. The best possible example is with The Hart Foundation in the late 1990s. Therefore do not worry if Roode, the “heel”, is cheered in his home country; let the Canadian fans cross the line.
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