Did TNA Drop the Ball with Doug Williams?

[Just Do It]

Just seen this interview from the Bloodstained Memoirs film company: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zWoM7kENBw

Now keep in mind this was BEFORE Doug signed with TNA. He seems to have such a solid head about him just wrestling in England and American indies. Keep in mind he would continue doing this for a few years, then get experience in Japan. By the time he ended up in TNA, he must have had SO much knowledge.

TNA did use him OK, but why is he still not there? He had some excellent matches, and he could still be having excellent matches? Even with his recent appearance in the UK, he seemed so comfortable and in place there. He wouldn't break the bank to bring in and would be worth every dollar.

What do you think? Would you like to see Doug Williams back in TNA?

 

[Starkist]

Not really no. Well in my opinion they didn't. He was a great wrestle who was a decent heel who had a pretty cool finisher. The Chaos Theroy was really the only thing Williams had going for him besides his wrestling style. He is up there in age and TNA has the better of the three from the former British Invasion group. Terry blows, and Williams was a great wrestler just to old and never caught on to the crowd. His TNA X - Division run was mildly entertaining at the least. TNA did not miss the ball with him at all. They did the best thing by letting him go.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Williams was pushed fairly strongly for a while and that's pretty much all he deserved. He isn't a headliner, he's a mid-carder and TNA has a revolving door with those. If he's underused, then so are 80% of the other guys who've been to TNA.

 

[Eyebrows]

Yes, but he wasn't the only case. He wasn't a main eventer but he was a solid hand for the mid-card or tag divisions. Putting him in Fortune was a mistake and he kinda drifted to the background after that. He was great in the ring and I think he was underrated on the mic as a pompous Brit. His 'anti-highflying' gimmick was fun.

However, TNA's mid-card booking in 2010/2011 was like a kid with ADHD. They focused on Abyss and that daft HOF ring then got bored, they pushed Lethal hard and then he got released, seemed to have a hard-on for Brian Kendrick for a while then he left as well. Williams was just another example of someone who they wrote about one main angle for then never bothered to give much thought to a follow-up storyline.

 

[MrPlatano1989]

Back in the day I felt he was underused because I wanted to see a main event boutbeing build between him and Angle! Since then TNA proved they knew his worth and how to use him! They paired him with Magnus which helped tons for his development, feuds with the young Beer Money, and then they eventually had him at OVW! Whereas we wanted a bigger spot for him, TNA knew what they wanted him for, and in those regards they didnt drop the ball at all, they helped form a lot of great young talent through Williams experience and veteran leadership!

 

[BigBombB]

The only real problem I saw during that time period was that he never felt "legit". Guys like William Regal never made it to the very top of the business but there wasn't a person watching who didn't buy him as a legit badass in that ring, regardless of if he won or lost. They jobbed out Williams so mercilessly to 'top guys' so many times that it was nearly impossible to take him seriously and that has plagued all of his appearances since.

When they finally had him in a good gimmick when he was X-Division champion, they had a chance to make him a solid staple in the TNA midcard that, if he had been able to gain credibility, he could have helped give legitimacy to other talents coming up. Unfortunately, as soon as he lost the belt he was back to being a nobody, jobbing without remorse to guys that simply did not deserve to defeat him as easily as they did. It is sad that I felt it appropriate, given his stature in TNA, that EC3 defeated him so quickly when under better circumstances they could have had a long match that made EC3 look even better.

But EC3 HAD to squash Doug Williams because everyone else has and if he had a long match with Williams then he would have looked worse instead of better. This is where WWE, despite many of their problems, has always been strong. Even when their badasses lose, you don't feel like they have lost that aura when they do. A long match with William Regal, despite how far he has fallen at times, still adds to a wrestlers credibility and that is where the ball was dropped on Williams.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

The only thing I think they failed to capitalise on was him feuding with Angle. They had one brief encounter on Impact and it was superb, they could've had great matches together.

I enjoyed his X Division title reign. He was booked quite well when he left Fortune and had a nice feud with AJ. They would have a match for the TV title I believe, the stipulation being if Doug won AJ would have to leave Fortune. But AJ got injured so the match never happened. And Doug just fizzled out after that.