Did TNA Drop the Ball with Crimson?

[Rasha]

After a solid debut as Jarrett's MMA opponent and then a pretty significant hyping with the second coming of "THEY" proclamations, Crimson (Tommy Mercer) has vanished from relevance. He hasn't spoken a word or appeared in a match, only being seen on Impact as a warm body to run down and provide backup when chasing Immortal out of the ring.

I see this as a major blunder by TNA. Why invest the time in the kid, who seemed to be delivering on the investment, only to back-burner him this quickly? You're telling me he couldn't get a mini-feud with Rob Terry or Matt Hardy? Or what about a push for a vacated TV Title? Hell, why not have him tag up with his "big brother" Amazing Red and take on Gunner and Murphy in a contenders match?

I know these are all small things, but just dropping him from all worthwhile visibility completely wastes the time you spent on him just a month ago. I know TNA's limited by a big roster for just two hours of TV time, but when I think about the time blown on the Team 3D feud or Joe/Pope's lackluster spat I can't cut them much slack.

 

[Papa Pillman]

So far I see what you're saying... but I can give Russo/booking the benefit of the doubt since they are trying to throw this together on the fly. It's presumably still early in the development of this story and Crimson may still get the chance to play a role. Everything seems to be building toward the March 3 Impact!, so if he still doesn't appear to have a role coming out of, or shortly after, that date then it may be time to start asking this question.

 

[The Chosen One of WZ]

First off worst name ever.

Second of all I never really found him relevent hes just another good guy to help. He might get a push sometime later but I don't see one anytime soon. Hes really nothing special compared to the other talent.

 

[Notorious718]

I can understand where you're coming from, Rasha. But I do think you might be jumping the gun a little bit. Like Papa Pillman said, there is still a lot of building up to be done for the March 3rd Impact edition. I still think Crimson will play a major role in the storyline by that date. However, if he does not work a match or do anything besides come to the rescue of Fortune and the rest of the anti-Immortal coalition during run-ins then I will have to agree that TNA may have dropped the ball on him. I think we'll have to wait until March 3rd at the earliest to see if that's true.

 

[mikevenom00]

great debut really thought they were building to sumthing good.... i think theres still time to get crimson involved... he really needs a one on one match on impact againest a desent worker to really get him over and in the top side of the roster..... they havent dropped the ball yet but they cant wait too long coz u know hell go cold and get forgottin about very quicky......

 

[dre day]

He looked like a beast. I geuss it was a let down. He couldve or look like he couldve been in line 4 a title shit. TNA missed the boat with him, nobody knew or seen him. I geuss they will let him go 2 vince take a number and get in line get lost or screwed over by the wwe homegrown talent. Just like wcw, ecw, awa, uwf,iwccw,and everybody else

 

[Dzone]

To poster a few posts ago, I like the name xD (if it wasn't for his brother being called "Red").

I'm lost going TNA and Mercer have a fall out so he can go WWE... people like him, Wolfe, Joe, AJ, Morgan would be great... (i know some of those have had tryouts before but still)

To answer the question they have severely dropped the ball but I think he's more of a long term asset than a short term star.

 

[snoopy]

I personally don't think Tna has dropped the ball with Crimson, It's just the case of them taking it slow with him to make sure he's ready! He's been around the mainevent scene since he debut and he's been running whit Kurt Angle and at house shows wrestling Jeff Jarret. He's a rookie who has little experience how little I'm not sure, But this to me is Tna taking their time and making sure he's ready in a singles match. So I say just be patient, He gets a match this week so we'll see!

 

[TellMeWhy]

This is silly. How could TNA have dropped the ball when they never had the ball rolling in the 1st place. We all know Crimson's original role was to be the 'Hitman' for the new Main Event Mafia but we all know what happened to that storyline once Booker T and Nash signed with WWE. Even though TNA is known for dropping balls, no ball has been dropped because Crimson wasn't a rolling or bouncing ball. It's not like he was a world champion contender that stopped appearing on tv. He never got used to that extent or any real extent besides a few appearances for a ball to be dropped on. Hell, he could just be getting started because at the end of the day, he is still the man who took out Abyss with Janice so maybe when Abyss comes back, those 2 can get a feud going.

 

[Rayne]

Wrestling organizations do this all the time, intentionally, and yet people haven't caught on yet. People are assuming that just because Crimson very briefly held a high profile role, he was being put on the fast track to the main event.

If you just introduce A. Guy and have him wrestle on the low undercard, and win, or lose- no one gives a shit. He's there, and he's occupying camera time. It happens a lot still (hi, Tyler Reks), because there are lots of new guys and only so many good roles. Sometimes, however, you take a new guy, jam him right at the top of the card- say, by having him join a stable with a mega-over heel, or, say, having him presage the second "they". He gets attention right away from the fans, who become curious in his story. He can then settle in comfortably in the mid-card with attention garnered already for him, without the tedious and often unsuccessful builds of other newbies that take months.

It's surely a sign of faith in Crimson that they chose to give him the rub the way that TNA did. But don't assume that getting a big rub means you're the second coming.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

And the impatience of the IWC rears it's ugly head once again...

Rasha, come on, man — dropped ball? He just competed not two weeks ago on iMPACT! in a tag-team main event, did he not? You know as well as I do that TNA has a very large roster and cannot possibly feature every wrestler on the show week-after-week unless they are involved in the highest profile angles, which Crimson is not. He is a part of the angle, but he's not the angle (the way Jeff Jarrett is to his, that is).

You people need to exude a little more patience when it comes to things like this. The kid is young, and still quite green — give him time.

 

[UltimateHitman]

While I see what people are saying about giving it more time, I also have one question towards that. Why? Why in the blue hell would you take a fresh, impressive young star that obviously had something, the "it" factor if you will, that was obviously over and impressing the crowds, and just up and quit? Why give these obviously lackluster f'n stories precedence over a possible big up and comer? It's not like it's that hard to come up w/a story for him. They're writers, it's what they do. Show some proficiency.

You can build somebody up slowly while keeping them in the spotlight/on-air time. Look at what WWE has done w/Miz, Morrison, Sheamus, et. al. They were all green, but given a chance on screen and allowed to build. Sure, not all of the WWE's newer guys have built yet, but even Drew McIntyre, after a bit of a rough start, is beginning to pick up some steam. If Vince would have stopped using him he wouldn't have evolved as he has. Will he keep the ball rolling? Who knows. But they're utilizing him more than TNA is using Crimson.

Crimson is a cool ass name, the guy has got the look, and he has shown he has talent in the ring. Use it on tv to your advantage. Not everybody is perfect, even the so called "veterans" (which was evident by Orton's botch job and subsequent breaking of Punk's nose). R-Truth botched twice in a major Raw match but still went to the Elimination Chamber. And even though he was eliminated fairly quickly, had a decent showing while he was in it. It all boils down to having faith in the young guys, giving them the ball, and seeing what happens.

Hell, if they were that worried about it, why even put him in that high of a profile situation right out of the gate? If they didn't see something in him, why plug him directly into THE main storyline? You say "Oh, they don't want to rush him". Um, news flash, people. They already did w/his debut. Quit making excuses for TNA's poor decisions and trying to justify them. His entire debut wasn't "taken slowly", so why start now after such a strong showing?

It's because Russo is so worried about the big, quick, shock pop that he fails to plan for any follow up to it. I'm going to say that is a big problem that I'm noticing.

It's not even the fact that these big "surprises" or "announcements" or "history changing events" end up not living up to the hype and becoming disappointments. It's the fact that even if they get something right every now and then, and it gets any sort of positive reaction, then they act like they don't know what to do after it happens. They instead (and I guaran-damn-tee they sit backstage and do this) start giggling and bouncing in their chairs and saying "Oh, shit! Did you see how well that went over? Ok, let's start planning the next big 'shake up'!" without even building the one that just showed some promise. They instead put it on the backburner, looking to "ride" that wave, no matter how big or how little, by trying to add more quick pops and "next big things" and in the process killing the wave before even giving it time to roll into shore.

You can say I'm not a writer, you can say I'm not a booker, but what I've said is apparent. It's like Russo is writing w/ADHD or even only on short term memory. He can't see the big picture, he doesn't plan for the long haul, and what was evident even back during the days of WCW is evident now. And no, I'm not a booker, but I probably damn well should be. Dixie, if you're out there, consider this an application. Get in touch and I'll send you a resume.

 

[Montague]

Sure TNA has currently dropped the ball but one thing the did right at least is not take him off tv. He is still one the the guys that go down to make the save whenever a face is being attacked so that keeps him in sight when ever TNA gets it through their thick skulls that this guy deserves a good feud maybe for the TV Title or maybe for the Tag Titles with Red.

 

[PhD]

So far I see what you're saying... but I can give Russo/booking the benefit of the doubt since they are trying to throw this together on the fly. It's presumably still early in the development of this story and Crimson may still get the chance to play a role. Everything seems to be building toward the March 3 Impact!, so if he still doesn't appear to have a role coming out of, or shortly after, that date then it may be time to start asking this question.

See, I think you've hit the nail on the head, but you err in presuming Russo won't just shit the bed like he always does. When has a Vince Russo storyline booked on the fly, with no thought to long-term development of new talent, ever paid off? People are always saying 'Well wait until X, and then we can decide if the angle was a bust or not,' as if that's an excuse for fucking stuff up on a weekly basis. It'll just be some dumb fucking swerve, and there's no way it will involve any new talent, because no one in the company has any clue how to build someone who doesn't have a built-in fan base.

 

[twiztid jay]

as i see it he is still involved in the storyline and is still on the roster.. so i do not see how they dropped the ball.. nobody knew this guy and now alot of people know he's crimson so how is that a dropped ball?? plus you never know with tna he could be world champ in the next month.. that's what i hate yall never give any company time to produce a story line and character. quit being so impatient...

 

[DethMetal]

For Odin's sake dude, he just got there! Give him some time. TNA dropped no ball with him because the ball wasn't rolling to begin with. He still took out Abyssmal right? When he comes back, they'll feud. Maybe a feud with the irrelavent Hardy. Crimson is gonna be huge. But he must get rolling first.

 

[jobesukulele]

As long as TNA itself remains a dropped ball, everyone in it shares the same fate.

 

[AntiChristDeicide]

For Odin's sake dude, he just got there! Give him some time. TNA dropped no ball with him because the ball wasn't rolling to begin with. He still took out Abyssmal right? When he comes back, they'll feud. Maybe a feud with the irrelavent Hardy. Crimson is gonna be huge. But he must get rolling first.

Agreed he just got there, so they have to give him time. What i would do his put him with Abyss because he is the one that put him out, or make him tag with Amazing Red or make him feud with Rob Terry.

 

[Rasha]

And the impatience of the IWC rears it's ugly head once again...

Rasha, come on, man — dropped ball? He just competed not two weeks ago on iMPACT! in a tag-team main event, did he not? You know as well as I do that TNA has a very large roster and cannot possibly feature every wrestler on the show week-after-week unless they are involved in the highest profile angles, which Crimson is not. He is a part of the angle, but he's not the angle (the way Jeff Jarrett is to his, that is).

You people need to exude a little more patience when it comes to things like this. The kid is young, and still quite green — give him time.

Fair enough IDR, but I think my "impatience" is more concern because of what I perceive to be a collective attention deficit among the modern wrestling audience. Wrestlers can gain and lose heat much faster now than they used to, and that's particularly true with TNA over the WWE because you don't have multiple shows reminding people throughout the week of things that happened.

It's one thing when a guy like Doug Williams disappears for a few weeks. He has more skins on the wall and can come back with some credibility. But Crimson was BRAND NEW and, other than doing the world a favor and putting Abyss out of action, has nothing else to his name. The less there is to remember about you, the faster you fade from relevance. I just think TNA is playing it dangerously with this guy's momentum if they intend to make him a star quickly.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Fair enough IDR, but I think my "impatience" is more concern because of what I perceive to be a collective attention deficit among the modern wrestling audience. Wrestlers can gain and lose heat much faster now than they used to, and that's particularly true with TNA over the WWE because you don't have multiple shows reminding people throughout the week of things that happened.

It's one thing when a guy like Doug Williams disappears for a few weeks. He has more skins on the wall and can come back with some credibility. But Crimson was BRAND NEW and, other than doing the world a favor and putting Abyss out of action, has nothing else to his name. The less there is to remember about you, the faster you fade from relevance. I just think TNA is playing it dangerously with this guy's momentum if they intend to make him a star quickly.

I don't disagree, I just don't think it's a [legitimate] worry with Crimson just yet. At best it's a conjecture of concern, which is understandable, but still not legitimate until it actually happens.

The way I see it, Crimson's attempted murder on Abyss is going to be addressed when Abyss returns on March 3rd, and at that point, Crimson will officially be involved in his first feud, with Abyss.

Until he comes back, what's the point in getting him involved with some one or two-week mini-feud that would have no payoff and do nothing for him except put him on television for the sake of having him there?

He's doing just fine right not as a run-in/stand-in for segments involving tensions between Immortal and Fortune + Angle, Steiner, Crimson, and until Abyss is actually back in action (unless he's not coming back on the 3rd, and instead will be months out) he is exactly where he needs to be.

He's not a Desmond Wolfe here — Wolfe had his legs cut out from under him. Crimson came in hot and has cooled slightly but that's a requirement, because he's not going to be main-eventing. He's going to be working a mid-card angle that'll help to fill out the feud between Immortal and Fortune+.

 

[MachoMadness1988]

It's WAY too early to say "they've dropped the ball" on this one. Crimson just debuted not that long ago. He hasn't even had a debut singles match yet. From what they have done with him over the last few weeks, he has looked majorly impressive.

Patience is a virtue. Superstars aren't born over night. It's a process. He is still has work to do and still needs to be built up.

No, they haven't dropped the ball on this one. They still have pleanty of time to shape and mold his character...and that's what they are doing.

 

[CrayzChris]

And the impatience of the IWC rears it's ugly head once again...

Rasha, come on, man — dropped ball? He just competed not two weeks ago on iMPACT! in a tag-team main event, did he not? You know as well as I do that TNA has a very large roster and cannot possibly feature every wrestler on the show week-after-week unless they are involved in the highest profile angles, which Crimson is not. He is a part of the angle, but he's not the angle (the way Jeff Jarrett is to his, that is).

You people need to exude a little more patience when it comes to things like this. The kid is young, and still quite green — give him time.

This is TNA's fault. They brought this guy in and threw him right into the main event picture. He was the center of this "huge" angle. Wasn't he the one who kept stalking Immortal and telling them that "THEY" were coming? Now, while you might be ok with Crimson simply being the Paul Revere of TNA...I think he should still be included in this angle. He obviously has a relationship with "the new They", since he was the one to break the news.

He's been getting a good push over the past few months - AND people are taking notice of the guy. He's good in the ring, he has a good look, and most of all, the crowd is behind him. USE HIM. Sometimes, something just works. Time doesn't necessarily matter. TNA was finally doing something right, and was on the verge of creating their own star for once, and they did drop the ball.

I understand that TNA has a huge roster and all that nonsense - but shouldn't they fire some of these guys then? Wouldn't it be in TNA's best interest to drop the dead weight, so that guys like Crimson or the Machine Guns could actually be regulars on their programming? You cannot build stars if they are on TV one week, and then we don't see them again for two weeks.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

This is TNA's fault. They brought this guy in and threw him right into the main event picture. He was the center of this "huge" angle. Wasn't he the one who kept stalking Immortal and telling them that "THEY" were coming? Now, while you might be ok with Crimson simply being the Paul Revere of TNA...I think he should still be included in this angle. He obviously has a relationship with "the new They", since he was the one to break the news.

No, they threw him into a main event angle that involves a number of wrestlers as it's Immortal v. Fortune +, not Crimson v. Jeff Hardy for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

He was the messenger of the return They angle, and immediately entered into a would-be feud with Abyss when he attempted to murder him on television with "Janice". The fact Abyss is hurt means Crimson is on the side-lines for the time being, until Abyss returns to confront him about what happened and the two actually continue their feud. It would be monumentally ******ed of TNA to bypass Abyss entirely, despite him being stabbed in the back with a fuckin' 2x4 laden with nails, just to get Crimson into some other angle elsewhere within the main event picture.

He's been getting a good push over the past few months - AND people are taking notice of the guy. He's good in the ring, he has a good look, and most of all, the crowd is behind him. USE HIM. Sometimes, something just works. Time doesn't necessarily matter. TNA was finally doing something right, and was on the verge of creating their own star for once, and they did drop the ball.

He was just used two weeks ago in a main event tag team match.

See above regarding a more stable and semi-permanent feud.

I understand that TNA has a huge roster and all that nonsense - but shouldn't they fire some of these guys then? Wouldn't it be in TNA's best interest to drop the dead weight, so that guys like Crimson or the Machine Guns could actually be regulars on their programming? You cannot build stars if they are on TV one week, and then we don't see them again for two weeks.

I agree to an extent, but that's an entirely different discussion that I'd rather not spam this thread with, but I'd gladly discuss it with you if you wanted to create a thread about it.

 

[Kitten Cutter]

You ever notice the real TNA fans always have the same answer whenever a wrestler isn't getting over or isn't being used...

"Give it time."

Meanwhile, the haters uses the same variation of why things go wrong...

"Russo is to blame."

While I dislike Russo and his booking style, I won't throw every single problem on his back. In this case, however, he deserves it. You're telling me at Against All Odds, the 6-man tag couldn't have been an 8-Man tag? (Maybe Rob Terry\Gunner\Murphy\Hernandez vs. Steiner\Beer Money\Crimson?) It's been months and Crimson hasn't had a singles match yet? The guy debuted scaring Jeff Jarrett away and that was it? We haven't seen him with his "brother" Amazing Red, we haven't seen any progress in his in-ring style (the handicap match showed next to nothing) and we havent even seen a response to spiking Abyss in the back. In fact, the Immortals haven't even mentioned\acknowledged it! Wouldn't stabbing your biggest guy in the back with a 2 x 4 be something you worry about?

I think the issue is that with the Plan B, Crimson wasn't written effectively. He talked on for a month or so about how THEY are coming and he was their messenger. Well, since THEY revealed themselves, Crimson has had nothing to do with Fourtune. He doesn't come out with him (from what I've seen he only aids them when they get outnumbered) and he doesn't say a thing about them anymore. Fourtune is tough enough on their own, and having Steiner and Angle as his "stable" doesn't do anything for him personally. The writing is completely thrown off, which stinks because I gave Russo credit for even having a Plan B, but obviously it wasn't well thought out.

To say they dropped the ball is true, because Crimson could benefitted being the new muscle of the Main Event Mafia and gotten a rub from the other members. Instead, we're waiting, and hoping, that the guy gets a feud with Abyss to show off what he can do.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

You ever notice the real TNA fans always have the same answer whenever a wrestler isn't getting over or isn't being used...

"Give it time."

Meanwhile, the haters uses the same variation of why things go wrong...

"Russo is to blame."

At least you're objective...

While I dislike Russo and his booking style, I won't throw every single problem on his back. In this case, however, he deserves it. You're telling me at Against All Odds, the 6-man tag couldn't have been an 8-Man tag? (Maybe Rob Terry\Gunner\Murphy\Hernandez vs. Steiner\Beer Money\Crimson?) It's been months and Crimson hasn't had a singles match yet? The guy debuted scaring Jeff Jarrett away and that was it? We haven't seen him with his "brother" Amazing Red, we haven't seen any progress in his in-ring style (the handicap match showed next to nothing) and we havent even seen a response to spiking Abyss in the back. In fact, the Immortals haven't even mentioned\acknowledged it! Wouldn't stabbing your biggest guy in the back with a 2 x 4 be something you worry about?

No, I'm telling you at Against All Odds the 6-man tag shouldn't have been an 8-man tag, because that angle is all set up now to have Steiner and Terry feud (they're having a pose-off this week on iMPACT!), as well as Beer Money Inc., and Gunner & Murphy feud over the TNA World Heavyweight Championships. Why would Hernandez feud with Crimson when he's already feuding with Matt Morgan? Why would Crimson jump right past Abyss, who he attempted to murder not a few weeks prior only to enter another feud? That would just give oodles of fodder to TNA's nit-pickers who love to pick up on and exploit all of TNA's most minute short-comings. All you'd hear had this happened is "Yeah, remember Abyss, the guy he tried to kill? Guess TNA doesn't understand logic..."

I think the issue is that with the Plan B, Crimson wasn't written effectively. He talked on for a month or so about how THEY are coming and he was their messenger. Well, since THEY revealed themselves, Crimson has had nothing to do with Fourtune. He doesn't come out with him (from what I've seen he only aids them when they get outnumbered) and he doesn't say a thing about them anymore. Fourtune is tough enough on their own, and having Steiner and Angle as his "stable" doesn't do anything for him personally. The writing is completely thrown off, which stinks because I gave Russo credit for even having a Plan B, but obviously it wasn't well thought out.

Even if it wasn't, that point is moot – Crimson is set to feud with Abyss, regardless of who "They" actually were. Even if They was the MEM, he'd have no "place" there, either, because he's not a former World Champion anyway, so him having anything to do with Fotune is irrelevant. I already explained this before — Angle, Steiner and Crimson are aligned with Fortune. They are not a part of it.

To say they dropped the ball is true, because Crimson could benefitted being the new muscle of the Main Event Mafia and gotten a rub from the other members. Instead, we're waiting, and hoping, that the guy gets a feud with Abyss to show off what he can do.

Wrong, because he'd still be feuding with Abyss, guy. Had the MEM have returned, they'd still be facing off with Immortal regardless, and even if Fortune hadn't turned, you'd be seeing Crimson v. Rob Terry or Kazarian at max, so what does it matter?

He is fine where he's at right now.