TNA - the way forward?

I will preface this post by saying that I haven't read any spoilers apart from the fact that it will be Roode v Sting at Victory Road which I presume will be a non-title match as it wouldn't make any sense to have it for the title while simulteaneously building up Roode v Storm for title at Lockdown.

Following Angle's interference in the title match last week, I think its pretty obvious there will be a feud between Angle and Hardy which has the potential to be pretty good. I'd start it off with them at Victory Road with Kurt Angle getting a cheap win. This could continue into Lockdown and I'll come to this later.

Storm and Bully Ray still seem to have unfinished business and so with Roode occupied at Victory Road, I'd have one more match between them with Bully Ray getting a title shot down the line if he wins. This keeps him relevant in the title scene. As always in TNA, things aren't so simple so I'd have a returning Abyss interfere in this match so they can begin a feud keeping Bully Ray out of title picture for a while.

This would give 3 reasonbly strong matches for Victory Road all leading to Lockdown.

One of the main matches at Lockdown is the Lethal Lockdown match and with Immortal being the only main group left (that's up for debate), Lethal Lockdown could feature Angle, Bully Ray, Steiner and Gunner against Hardy, Abyss and 2 others, possibly garret bischoff and RVD as both have issues with Gunner.

The AJ, Kaz, Daniels love triangle is keeping them on screen without really doing very much and needs to come to a head at some time so Lockdown would be the ideal setting.

Moving on, I'd say its likely Storm will win the title at Lockdown but having already faced most of the top contenders there needs to be someone new brought into the mix for the summer shows. perhaps a split between Morgan and Crimson could lead to one turning heel on the other (I know, I know, that's never been done before!!!) and the winner of their feud finally getting a shot. I'd say crimson more likely as they need to make the most of his unbeaten streak.

Any thoughts on how anyone else would like to see things progress?

I think the major problem that TNA has (and remember, I am a huge fan) is that it is not always clear what is going on.

The title picture at the top is great and the same with the X division/ knockouts.

However, mid card is a mess. I am glad that Joe/ Magnus are the tag champs now, and it allows MM and Crimson to move on to the top title.

I dont even know who holds (or if there is) a Global or TV title anymore.

I personally, would get rid of all the stables they have and start again building properly defined stables.

So to break it down:

Top flight stuff for the belt:

Storm
Roode
Morgan
Crimson
Hardy (as a token big name in there)
Possibly Anderson if he comes back
Bully Ray

Midcard matches (incorporating some tag teams which I think should be used as a way to get peple over for a top push)
AJ & Daniels
Joe & Magnus
Angle
Gunner
Kaz
MCMG
+ the X division
(plus others I cant think of currently)

And I would keep the X division belt on Austin Aries for the whole year - the guy is brilliant and should be able to elevate any of that midcard.

I would also point out that the midcard is not a reflection n ability but just a reflection that you cant have too many at the top table at one time. Any of those could go on and be champ again (ie Styles, Joe etc)

They have corrected so many wrongs recently, I really hope they continue doing the things they have right and get better in other areas too.

Incidently I believe Robbie E is the TV Champ right now, which is a shame because I always felt TNA had such a strong upper mid card that they could really make something of that title.

If you take Roode, Storm, Hardy, Bully Ray and maybe Angle as the current title scene then the TV title could be fought between the likes of AJ, RVD, Anderson, Pope, Morgan, Crimson etc. It could really establish itself as a strong 2nd tier title (have it like the IC title used to be), get it defended on TV regularly (sort of the point of a TV title) and you can bring younger guys into the division to see if they are ready for the main event in the future.

I still think TNA could do this whenever they wanted but they have no real desire to look beyond the world title in any great depth at the moment.

Adam D

That's why I tended to stay away from mid card as it doesn't seem to have much fluidity.

It seems like if AJ isn't involved in main events, the easiest thing is to have a friend turn on him which after the 100th time is a tad stale.

Tag team was the best part of TNA for a while but with injuries to MCMG and the splits of 3D, beer money, there is a real need for new teams to be brought in.

Agree with Aries, there is no need to have anyone take belt of him for a good while and when it happens it should be a complete shock so as to elevate whoever takes it off him.

Not sure what is happening with Anderson but there is also the potential of introducing him to title scene if Roode retains at lockdown as it would be fresh.

Sarsippius

I don't really buy into Robbie E as TV champ, I think like you it should go to someone a bit higher up e.g. Crimson.

Give it to him and have him defend it each week so as to keep his undefeated streak going and eventually when time comes he can challenge for world title.

Nice post Mort - I like all those ideas.

Robbie E is an annoying little git.

Persona-wise he's a bit like Roode's tamer little brother, with the added irritation of his prettyboy theatrics (a dash of Zema Ion there).

I don't think I've seen him have one decent match, without his minder interfering to get him the win. Even Bully Ray puts in an honest performance now and again (although he usually loses). I also think Robbie T is wasted. If they were a tag team I could see the point in pairing them up, but all he does is act as a special enforcer to make sure his "mini-me" keeps the belt.


In addition to what Mort said, I think TNA could probably do with bringing back whatever belt Jeff Jarrett left with (anyone know what that was?) I know you can have too many and risk devaluing them, but I think they have a big enough roster to carry 5 belts. What have we got:

Men-----------------Ladies
Heavyweight-------------Knockouts Champion
X Division
Tag Team.....................Tag Team
TV Champion
Other?

I'd agree with Adam that they've done a good job in sorting out the heavyweight title scene and the Knockouts, to a lesser extent. They now need to get the rest of their roster aligned with a particular scene and build appropriate feuds.

They've paired a lot of singles fighters in tag team matches and even given RVD a shot at the TV title. The others have been put in feuds that haven't really gone anywhere (such as RVD and Daniels).

I suppose one easy solution would be to create a few new tag teams and give them real identities, instead of going for the temporary pairings they've done so far. Maybe they wouldn't need another title if they could get a good tag team scene going.

On a loosely related note, I wonder why there is such as disparity between the number of belts for male and female wrestlers? I'd have thought there were enough Knockouts for them to have at least 1 more title.

dyrewolfe

I think Jarrets was the Mexican Heavyweight title through AAA perhaps so maybe they couldn't defend it on their show but if they could it would be a good idea to put it on one of the mexicans and maybe introduce some more mexican wrestlers.

Not sure about another title for knockouts unless its used on Xplosion or house shows as there is probably enough for knock outs on main shows.