Mr. Artistic guy
Better Off This Way
I don't mean this as some sort of reply to his loss last night, nothing wrong with that under the circumstances.
I'm a stories guy. I watch wrestling because I like the characters and the stories, the little things that get people engaged into a match to make it all the more worthwhile. But if there is one place in wrestling where you don't need stories to sell matches, it's the X division.
It's no secret that the X division is going through a bit of a slump. Ever since Austin Aries chose to relinquish the belt that he brought new prestige to, there's not much to be had for the division as a whole. There's a couple of new (or old) faces like Kenny King, Dutt, it looked like Dakota Darsow maybe even got a contract at some point, who knows? But these people haven't been given a real chance or a real platform upon which to show they can do more than just entertain IN the ring. TNA didn't even promote the X division match that took place last night, and despite that people got really into it over the course of the match. And I have to attribute a lot of the responsibility for that to Dutt who put on one hell of a performance.
Like I said, the X division doesn't NEED great stories. It helps, but it, unlike in other situations, can only enhance the matches so much. The X division can survive and even thrive off fast-paced, high-flying, inventive, exciting competition and although Xema Ion is one of the very best competitors TNA has, I feel like last night I saw the very best and it wasn't him. Xema is young and has plenty of time to continue to develop his abilities, Dutt has clearly already successfully done so. As a guy who never got to witness Dutt in his first run in TNA, I wasn't far short of amazed as to what he could do in that ring. It wasn't merely the speed and extremity of aerial ability he possessed, it was his creativity and on-the-spot thinking that convinced me that he is the guy who could bring the X division back to the place it once held in the heart of many fans.
Give Dutt the title, have him face off against the new faces of TNA and produce one stellar experience after another and people will watch again for the same reason they did before, to see things they could never have imagined beforehand. Dutt reminded me of Aries a year ago when he re-entered the company, red-hot, focused, willing to do anything to impress the audience and with little left to lose on a last chance ticket. That is the recipe for the perfect X division leader. And so I call people to arms. Have Sonjay Dutt as X division champion, you won't regret it.
I'm a stories guy. I watch wrestling because I like the characters and the stories, the little things that get people engaged into a match to make it all the more worthwhile. But if there is one place in wrestling where you don't need stories to sell matches, it's the X division.
It's no secret that the X division is going through a bit of a slump. Ever since Austin Aries chose to relinquish the belt that he brought new prestige to, there's not much to be had for the division as a whole. There's a couple of new (or old) faces like Kenny King, Dutt, it looked like Dakota Darsow maybe even got a contract at some point, who knows? But these people haven't been given a real chance or a real platform upon which to show they can do more than just entertain IN the ring. TNA didn't even promote the X division match that took place last night, and despite that people got really into it over the course of the match. And I have to attribute a lot of the responsibility for that to Dutt who put on one hell of a performance.
Like I said, the X division doesn't NEED great stories. It helps, but it, unlike in other situations, can only enhance the matches so much. The X division can survive and even thrive off fast-paced, high-flying, inventive, exciting competition and although Xema Ion is one of the very best competitors TNA has, I feel like last night I saw the very best and it wasn't him. Xema is young and has plenty of time to continue to develop his abilities, Dutt has clearly already successfully done so. As a guy who never got to witness Dutt in his first run in TNA, I wasn't far short of amazed as to what he could do in that ring. It wasn't merely the speed and extremity of aerial ability he possessed, it was his creativity and on-the-spot thinking that convinced me that he is the guy who could bring the X division back to the place it once held in the heart of many fans.
Give Dutt the title, have him face off against the new faces of TNA and produce one stellar experience after another and people will watch again for the same reason they did before, to see things they could never have imagined beforehand. Dutt reminded me of Aries a year ago when he re-entered the company, red-hot, focused, willing to do anything to impress the audience and with little left to lose on a last chance ticket. That is the recipe for the perfect X division leader. And so I call people to arms. Have Sonjay Dutt as X division champion, you won't regret it.
