Hello and welcome once again to The Trademark Rants. This past Sunday, I was able to watch TNA’s Victory Road live, and honestly, I believe that Victory Road has been , by far, TNA’s best show to date. Not since April 30, 2003, and the historical match between Jeff Jarrett and Raven for the NWA World’s Heavyweight Title, has TNA had the opportunity to put together a true Supercard that showcased both the depth of TNA’s Talent Roster as well as TNA’s Potential as a Company. We saw Petey Williams successfully defend the X-Division Title against AJ Styles, cementing Williams’ spot as the “Next Big Thing” of the X-Division. We saw Hector Garza outlast 19 other wrestlers in the X-Division Gauntlet Battle Royale, pinning #1 entrant Frankie Kazarian to clinch the victory. We saw the Pay Per View return of Johnny B. Badd (a.k.a. former WWF Intercontinental Champion Marc Mero), who looks to be in remarkable shape despite the over three-year hiatus he took from wrestling. We saw Trinity defeat Jacquelyn in Jackie’s TNA debut. We saw AMW overcome Triple X with a clear, concise win in a Texas-Style Last Man Standing Match, which I thought was pretty good, despite Elix Skipper’s concussion, which unfortunately affected the last few minutes of the match severely. We saw Kid Kash crack Sonjay Dutt in the head with a coconut after confronting Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, who was Roddy Piper’s mystery guest for his “In The Pit” segment. We saw the 3 Live Kru defeat Team Canada for the Tag Team Titles. We saw Jeff Jarrett defend the NWA World’s Heavyweight Title against Jeff Hardy, thanks to the interference of both Scott hall and Kevin Nash, which was almost obvious, but also pretty much required. If you didn’t expect a swerve, you probably wouldn’t have bought the PPV, now would you? I didn’t think so… We even saw the return of “The Macho Man” Randy Savage, as well as my cataclysmic defeat at the hands of the NEW Director of Authority, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes.
Wait a minute! TNA didn’t even put me on the ballot? Figures… Well, that does it! I’m not talking about TNA anymore! Or, at least, not until my next column, which could be sometime in the next month, depending on when I get around to writing it. For now, though, I’m going to talk about WWE. Wait, scratch that! John Cena’s barely alive, some punk with an afro and an apple fetish is the US Champion, Randy Orton’s getting buried for some unexplainable reason, and Triple H is, ONCE AGAIN, pushed to the moon, as if he even needs it! There’s nothing positive to talk about, and therefore, until WWE stops sucking… NO PRESS FOR YOU!!!
So I guess that leaves Ring of Honor, but since I haven’t seen a Ring of Honor show in… well, EVER, I guess I need to think of something else.
Maybe I should just start my own promotion. You know, I could buy a couple rings, rent a building or two, raid a few locker rooms, train up a few new guys, build up a roster, get us some TV time and put on some shows. That sounds pretty cool. Unfortunately, I’m broke, so I can’t afford to do that right now. But I could always think about it. And there’s nothing that says that I can’t at least put together a short-list of talent I’d like to acquire once I get that kind of cash. So exactly who would I go after?
Well, let’s start off with the most amazing athlete in all of Professional Wrestling today, AJ Styles. The pure, raw talent of AJ Styles is nearly immeasurable, and with each passing match, AJ seems to come ever closer to refining himself into one of the greatest performers this sport/show has ever seen. There’s just one problem – the folks at TNA aren’t stupid enough to just let AJ go. Acquiring AJ Styles from TNA would be like trying to lure Shawn Michaels away from the WWF circa 1995. Yeah, you could do it, but it’d be one hell of a bidding war. Besides, AJ has already said he wouldn’t leave TNA for the WWE, so why would he leave TNA to work for me?
Since I don’t expect AJ to be a realistic acquisition, then I’ll go after the next best thing – Petey Williams. He is the Jerry Lynn to AJ’s Rob Van Dam. The similarities in style and appearance are hard to ignore, and while Williams is not at AJ’s level yet, he could very well be by this time next year, if TNA continues to push him as strongly as they have. His Canadian Destroyer is, by far, the most impressive finisher on the market today, which is both Williams’ blessing and curse. With Petey Williams, the talent is there, but, much like Diamond Dallas Page and the Diamond Cutter, the finisher may in fact be more marketable than the talent performing the move. If that’s the case, a future shot at WWE might not be in the cards for Petey, not that it’s necessarily a bad thing. WWE has a bad record pushing smaller wrestlers, so he may not be missing out on much.
Christopher Daniels is a another talent which, for some reason, has been overlooked by the folks at WWE. As for why, only God knows. Much like Chris Jericho, Daniels is a complementary worker whose strength is in making everyone he works with look better than they could on their own. He is an accomplished wrestler with almost a decade of experience, an intriguing gimmick, and an excellent work ethic. If there is one worker I feel could make or break a company simply with his presence, Christopher Daniels is that man. Someone with this kind of talent, who can help you create and establish new stars is crucial to the success of a wrestling promotion.
Then, there’s Paul London. London isn’t quite the athlete AJ is, nor has the experience of a guy like Christopher Daniels, but London has a lot of heart and a great deal of potential not only as a performer in the ring, but as a character. Paul London hasn’t really had the opportunity to develop a persona in his time with both TNA and WWE, but hopefully he will. I see London as a babyface in the line of a Ricky Steamboat or a Sting, where he is approachable and trusting, who seemingly represents the best of human nature. Whether he can actually pull that off or not has yet to be seen, but there’s no harm in trying, right?
This next choice may seem a bit contradictory, considering my attitude towards all former Natural Born Thrillers, but I would seriously consider Mark Jindrak as a potential talent. The athletic ability is there, and his time with OVW has seemingly worked out some of the problems Jindrak had in WCW, but I’m not completely convinced that he is completely ready for the WWE. I would have rather seen Jindrak spend some more time on the road, honing his craft in smaller promotions before he got called back up to WWE. In fact, I would like to think that a tour of Japan would really be good for him at this point in his career, where he is still trying to figure out his style. The exposure to the Japanese Style helped Mike Awesome find his voice, so to speak, in the ring, and for a guy like Mark Jindrak, who, much like Mike Awesome, is a big man with aerial tendencies, the exposure to Japanese Wrestling could only benefit him in the long run. To be honest with you, I’d much rather see some Japanese Promotion get a hold of him, would he ever to be released from WWE, then try to get a hold of him in a year or so and see how he’s changed.
I’d like to take a look at Samoa Joe, who I believe still is the RoH Champion as of this writing. I hear a lot of good things about this guy, and I just want to know if what I have been hearing is truth or hype. Supposedly, Joe is another big man who can fly. And, since he is in RoH, he’s got to be able to wrestle. The one thing about RoH is that they don’t hire lame-duck wrestlers, so for Joe to be their champion says a lot about him. I’m still not ready to say that I’d put him on my fantasy short-list, but I do have an interest in seeing just what he can do.
Low-Ki remains one of my favorite X-Division stars, despite the fact that he hasn’t been in TNA for quite some time. When I first saw Low-Ki, I was very impressed with his combination style of mixing the martial arts with Japanese high-flying and submission wrestling. In fact, I was more impressed with Low-Ki than I was with AJ Styles when I first saw him. The downside to Low-Ki is that he doesn’t seem to have much in the way of defense, being a mostly offensive wrestler, much like Rob Van Dam or Hulk Hogan. There is a market for such workers, but it does at times seem rather unrealistic that someone has little to no defensive repertoire and still wins wrestling matches. Remember that Larry Zbysko line about Wrestling being a “Game of Human Chess”. If all you ever do is attack, you’re going to leave yourself open, and if you’re unable to defend yourself against those attacks, you’re going to lose, period. But, because Low-Ki’s offense is often so spectacular, there’s a good chance that most fans will never notice, or care. Keep in mind, no one ever complains about Rob Van Dam having too much offense…
Miya Moto catches my eye. I’ve seen some of his work in TNA, but unfortunately, I’ve yet to see him work a singles match, so I only have a small idea of what Miya Moto is capable of. He’s someone I’d look at more before making a decision.
Some Internet fans will whine that I’m wasting my time with Justin Credible. Why? I don’t know, and I really don’t care. I need a heel, and Justin fits that bill for me. He’s a complete assh*le in character, someone you can easily hate. That’s a kind of character you need to have on your roster, and hopefully, that heat, combined with the name, will help draw fans.
I’m not entirely sure on whether Shane Douglas is still wrestling or not, but if he is, he’s doing so Independently. Since it’s safe to say the Franchise is in the twilight of his career, it may be impractical to approach Shane for any sort of in-ring role. As an on-air personality, a creative team member, and/or an agent, though, he would be an invaluable asset to any company he works for. I wonder if TNA has considered putting Douglas in the role of color commentator, and have Don West do the interviews on Impact. Douglas’ character and presentation is better suited to analysis and commentary, while Don West’s energy and enthusiasm would better suit the role of backstage interviewer. That’s my opinion, anyway. Might be worth looking into…
Jonny Storm hasn’t done a whole lot in the United States, but he’s definitely a talent worth considering. I’ve seen him work with both XPW and NWA-TNA, and of what I’ve seen, I have reason to believe that he’s worth investing in. The best way to describe Storm is mention some of the people he reminds me of – Teddy Hart, Paul London, Billy Kidman, and Alex Shelley. He’s a mix of all of these styles who could easily compliment the evolving styles of most American X-Style Wrestlers these days.
Speaking of Alex Shelley, I might as well put him on the list, too. As far as I’m concerned, Shelley is a polar opposite of Paul London, or the “Anti-London” if you will. Where Paul London is more of an aerial wrestler, Shelley is a more grounded worker. Where London seems to be the quintessential babyface, Shelley comes off as the quintessential heel. These two could have a great feud if ever given the opportunity.
Frankie “The Future” Kazarian, who is known just as Kazarian in TNA, has really impressed me lately. After his performance in the X-Division Battle Royale this past Sunday at Victory Road, being the first man in the ring and the last man eliminated, I have nothing but respect for Kazarian. But it’s not the in-ring talent that impresses me so much as the persona that lies just beneath the surface. Kazarian has this sort of Scott Hall-like presence which I would honestly like to see more of. He calls himself “The Future” and “The Coolest”… I want to see more of THAT guy on TNA Television. How come we don’t see more of the cocky/confident guy who’s too cool for the present? How come TNA has to focus so much on his in-ring talent when Kazarian is MORE than just a talented wrestler? He’s a walking Charisma Time Bomb just waiting to explode! Somebody give this guy some mic time already! I understand TNA is more about the action and less about the BS, but sometimes, you need a good promo. If Jeff Jarrett can spend 5 minutes a show running his mouth and Monty Brown can get promo time every other week, why can’t Kazaraian? It’d be nice to see a heel carry a feud in the X-Division with something stronger than just “So-And-So is an Amazing Athlete with an Annoying Manager”… Well, besides Kid Kash.
I’d put Monty Brown on the list, but there is no use. For one, TNA won’t get rind of him. He’s got too much heat, and despite the ‘Net’s OBVIOUS hatred of the man, he makes the live crowds at the Impact Zone happy, and a lot of TNA fans seem to actually… gasp… like him. Second, if TNA actually were to lose him, they’ll lose him to WWE. I’m not saying they MIGHT lose Monty to WWE, I’m saying they WILL lose Monty to WWE. It’s almost inevitable, really. The same goes for America’s Most Wanted. If AMW doesn’t head to WWE once their new TNA contract expires, I’d be surprised.
I still believe that Jamie Noble has been severely overlooked by just about everyone in the United States. I don’t know why that is, other than the idea that maybe American promotions don’t really know what to do with a crusierweight power-brawler. Beyond that, Noble has the talent and the charisma to be a major player for a promotion, if only given the chance to prove himself to wrestling audiences. Perhaps now that he is no longer with WWE, he may find his niche working in Japan, or for an American Promoter who can find a way to use him.
I also believe that there is a better role for Shane Helms than the Hurricane. Somewhere outside of Cartoon Land, closer to a place we call Reality, there might be an arrogant jackass deep inside Gregory Shane Helms that, combined with a larger-than-life presentation, will reinvent him into something that will allow him to utilize his full talents. Right now, he’s a super hero. I see him being more convincing as a quasi-realistic, egomaniacal super-villain that is equal parts Franchise, Buff Bagwell, and Y2J. Take your pick. Either way, somebody has to put him in a better role with better wrestlers soon, because right now, he’s heading to the same level of Gimmick Hell as Avatar and Aldo Montoya.
There’s plenty more wrestlers I could discuss, but this column has gotten too long, and I really need to wrap this up and post it before I lose interest in putting out this column altogether. If you have any comments, questions, or anything else you’d like to share, feel free to write me at TheMaverickMJ@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading, and feel free to come back again for another installment of The Trademark Rants!
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