D'Angelo Dinero Says He's Done With TNA

[daddyJ_t]

i think he could get over with the wwe. look at the number of people he could make relevant again. jtg, r-truth, brodus clay. hell even for that matter, bring back the godfather for a bit to help him get over or get established with some sort of kliq or stable. not exactly a nation type stable. but perhaps a swith between n.o.d./ministry/right to censor type deal. maybe even expand to big e langston once hes done with aj and ziggler. if he keeps the pope gimmick he can even use big zeke as a prophet type like devon did with batista when he first started. the possibities are endless right now if he were to go to the wwe and used correctly. even a mouthpeace for somebody that sucked like jtg.

[Papa Pillman]

The only way he was going to be useful was with some level of re-packaging, shifting him to being a darker character. And it seemed they didn't have the desire to go that route. This really isn't a big deal, especially if they paln to flesh out the roster by using more relevant indy guys as gut-check competitors in 2013. I doubt he will be missed.

As for the Pope himself, he should be fine. I assume he'll do some work in Japan(which could do his ring work alot of good) and probably end up as a regular for Extreme Rising and similar east coast Indys.

[HBsam31]

I don't see this as a huge loss, but I think they could have done a lot more with pope than they did. He was really entertaining to me on the mic, and always enjoyed his in ring work. He had a ton of momentum going for him at the time he was number 1 contender then he just kind of went down from there. I can't see why he couldn't have helped out the x division if he was going to be a main event guy. I guess though if he didn't succeed by now then he probably wasn't going to. I think he is a talent that both TNA and WWE dropped the ball on.

[hatehabsforever]

I for one am shocked and disappointed to see the Pope gone from TNA. After the stellar program he worked with Devon's sons and the frequency with which he has been utilized on Impact for the last year or so, I felt the sky was the limit for this guy. I mean he had pretty much everything the folks at TNA covet- he used to work for the WWE.

Look, truth be told, he could and probably should have been utilized better. He was a decent enough talent with reasonable mic skills who could have been a mainstay in the mid card or in the X-division. I actually didn't mind Dinero at all. But the fact that he is gone after either being misused or underused for ages is hardly shocking, and his loss leaves no void whatsoever. Plus, didn't he recently complete some college training or get a degree in something at a university, I seem to recall reading something about that on here. My guess is he saw he had no future in TNA, he probably knows WWE is not an option, and he's been planning for a future outside the business. So again, hardly a surprise that he's leaving.

Of course, there's always the possibility that this is a TNA-esque swerve, and that the Pope is actually a pivotal component of the Aces and Eights storyline. It would fit with the general lack of consistency associated with these dudes, and would make about as much sense as everything else over the last seven months or so. But in this case, I doubt it. He's gone, and if it weren't posted on twitter, I doubt anyone would have even noticed.

[Spinebreaker]

Originally Posted by It's Damn Real!

This is a poor argument against Pope's talents.

1. Rob Terry being on television can produce perfectly adequate entertainment, as was witnessed by the "Bro Off" a few weeks ago on IMPACT. It's absurd to assert that he can't be seen on television, or PPV, so long as his role is relegated (as it always has been).

2. Who watches OVW, and what does that have anything to do with Pope, who was on a program that was actually on television?

Wasn't arguing against Pope. I enjoy his work. My point is that TNA is happy to give many, very low talent individuals PPV time. ANYONE frm Jersey Shore for example. Just because someone appears in a PPV doesn't arbitrarilly mean the are good. (Again, in the Pope's case, I think he's a Good worker, Very good on the mic and he has a look... He's solid mid-card talent at LEAST.)

1. Sorry, just gonna have to agree to disagree on this. Rob Terry brings nothing but physique to the ring. Mic skills are none existant. Wrestling is atrocious... This is the man who, despite being genuinely enormous, couldn't lift Desmond Wolfe. Who twice managed to fall over his own leg. The man who had a run of 11 Televised botches in a row. The man who managed to botch a backward roll in the 'bro-off'. I'm glad he's OVW chap, and as such will be off TV for a while. As far as I'm concered, 'Bigger Rob' does nothing for an arena but use more of it's oxygen.

2. Again, the point was that appearances on PPV do not arbitrarilly mean someone has wrestling talent.

[Lowdown]

I was just thinking about how Pope was holding up yesterday. It's not a major loss for TNA per se, but it does hurt them in regards to bolstering the X division and, dare I say, the TV title picture. Pope definitely had the tools to progress within the company, so I really don't know why he faltered. I don't see him going back to WWE; perhaps he may go to ROH or NWA Hollywood.

[GameOver]

Hmm my first thought on the headline was Jeff Hardy was leaving lol, while he was still champ
as for Pope, when was he last time he was on TV anyway? he hasn't been on TV since the BFG series correct?. Other then a cameo on Explosion
Pope is talented in ring, much better as Elijah Burke in WWE IMO but he atleast got a half decent gimmick over in TNA but with injuries and a useless booking team he was booked into irrelevancy.

Wish him well in his future endevors, can't be much worse then working for TNA and not even being on TV.

[ManureTheBear]

Just thinking out loud really, but didn't D-von tweet that he was leaving too?

Are we the victims of TNA's latest work? I belive we are! I just hope Pope isn't a huge player in A&8's. At least he's a bigger name than Knox, so I'll be happy if he's involved.

On the other hand, maybe TNA is working the smarks? Wouldn't THAT be a swerve? It'd be a mini-angle with Devon going: "You thought that this was a work? Well, screw you guys! Pope is gone! We take out anybody we like!"

Then the kiddies watching at home would be confused, the women would be alienated and the men would be smug. Go failure!

[Rayne]

Originally Posted by It's Damn Real!

In what sense? You know I haven't watched WWE in years, so I'm arguing from ignorance here, but despite not being a fan of The Miz, how can you deny he's a star? I distinctly remember him doing the rounds on talk shows, cutting promos, working angles with the company's top stars, etc. Is he not doing that any longer? Is he not on television?

Like Dinero, he got hot for a bit. The WWE has the resources to play that much larger than it was; I don't recall TNA doing any major media in their buildup to BFG this year (could be wrong.) After that Wrestlemania, he vanished for quite a while. He's back doing the whole "wrestler's tv-show-within-a-show" bit, which is always a sign that a promotion is looking to get behind a guy.

But at WrestleMania 26, he had no business being in that position at the time, as evidenced by the buildup, which was centered around how The Rock would referee a match with John Cena, with the purpose of selling a match at WM27.

[MisterRob]

Unlike many others in this thread I DO feel that this IS a loss for TNA. I feel that way because the future of TNA isn't guys like Sting, Rob Van Dam, Bully Ray, etc.. its young talent like the Pope who would be the future stars to carry on when all of the older veterans are gone. This is clearly, in my opinion, a big missed opportunity for TNA. I can't see how anyone can argue that the Pope had all of the tools to be a star, certainly a great talent on the roster.. he has mic skills, he has charisma, he has a good look, and he DOES have good in ring ability. TNA dropped the ball and for whatever reason, obviously behind the scenes issues, they didn't use the Pope to the fullest these past few years.

Pope was being used initially in TNA and was becoming a quality talent for them and reaching his potential as a heel character. But the past few years that just stopped, and it's a shame he's gone now and won't get the chance to regain momentum and become a future star for the company. He certainly had far, far more upside then over half the younger roster TNA has.

I wouldn't mind at all seeing him find his way back to the WWE, if he gets that opportunity. I think there's a lot of potential for Pope's character in any company, both for his own development and to enhance the development of other young talent through a stable.

This could certainly be a swerve by TNA, although its not a very good one if it is. He'd make a better fit in Aces & Eights, and be a more prominent member of them, then the names they have right now in that stable, that's for sure.