Abyss
Good: He is THE big guy in TNA, he has been around for nearly the entire history of the organization and is willing to put his body on the line for the good of the product
Bad: He was better off as Joseph Parks, the reinvention of Abyss has done nothing to restore what has been a horribly damaged character, and the Mankind/Kane ripoff association has never been overcome
Austin Aries
Good: Consistent top level worker, can cut a solid promo, has been treated like he matters for a long time in TNA and is one of their most solidly engrained stars at this point
Bad: I can't think of a feud he had since his career defining one with Robert Roode that was anything other than filler, as much credibility as he has, it is hurt by the endless 'second banana' treatment, and no matter how much they want him to be, he is no CM Punk, his promo skills alone will not carry him
Bobby Roode
Good: The best thing going in TNA right now and, quite frankly, for a long time, he is another longterm TNA mainstay and one that has deservedly engrained himself in the main event, with the right opponent he could single handedly make TNA relevant again
Bad: A lack of people to work with that can keep making him a bigger deal, he may hold the record for longest reigning TNA champion but a lot of his wins during that period were tainted by bad booking (ex. Joker Sting...just, why?)
Bram
Good: A new face without the stink of being a WWE castoff as far as casual viewers are concerned, TNA seem to want to keep him relevant
Bad: I realize I'm supposed to take him seriously but he comes off like generic bearded guy #27 rather than some new, revolutionary character within the TNA world, he is already being lost in the shuffle even as he is churning out some good work
Bully Ray
Good: His reinvention has produced some of the best content on TNA television for years, he is a legit selfish jerk who is big enough to back it up and with a laundry list of credentials for why he deserves everything he has gotten, he is the best natural heel in the business and has never been better
Bad: He is not the guy to carry TNA as a good guy, that is his biggest weakness, as a good guy he is midcard quality at best which hurts the overall show, he is one of their best acts but is rarely used in a way that maximizes his worth
DJ Z
Good: When he was on the independents he was a big deal, his risk taking and zany style stood out from the crowd
Bad: Since coming to TNA he has potentially been the absolute worst void of personality on the roster and I say this because he actually stands out and still can't get people behind him, I get it when the generic looking guys get nothing, but when you were the best guy in the X-Division for a while and people still didn't care, that is a tough problem
Eric Young
Good: He is a 'solid hand', now that he is a former World Champion he has inherent credibility when putting over other guys, and he has an appeal that goes beyond wrestling
Bad: We all know how badly he has been booked for most of his career, a brief jump to the top can distract from that but will never fully overcome it, he is a great worker who was dealt bad cards from the get go
Ethan Carter III
Good: Currently the top heel in TNA, has a good mind for the business at a young age, he understands how to work a character and is improving every time he steps into the ring
Bad: There isn't a lot, he has overcome any stigma that may have come from his bad WWE run and is making the most of his opportunities, it is unfortunate that he is running into the same problem Bully Ray had as a heel, there isn't a face big enough on the roster to make an impact on a larger scale
Gunner
Good: He worked with James Storm, right?
Bad: He can be on my television screen as I'm watching the show and I still forget he is on the roster, despite his in-ring intensity there is absolutely nothing else that makes him stand out which is a shame because he definitely has untapped potential
James Storm
Good: Another good heel who makes a surprisingly good 'tweener face', another of the old guard in TNA that can make a lot out of a little
Bad: In a company desperately in need of a face, he is wasting away as the number two heel, the build to his face run was so good that he could have started to become a real commodity in the wrestling world but the storyline ended up dying out before it even got off the ground, Storm is the ultimate victim of other people's failures
Jeff Hardy
Good: Still one of the most marketable wrestlers in the world, when he cares he can be a legitimate main event player bigger than anyone else on the roster, and he is one of the few natural faces in the business
Bad: His weaknesses are obvious and easy to get around but TNA insists on making them apparent every week, while Hardy has been the subject of a few newsworthy events in his TNA tenure (including one that should have seen him banished from the roster), the complete lack of direction for his character has been obvious for his entire tenure
Kenny King
Good: He is above adequate in nearly every area
Bad: He doesn't stand out in any area
Bobby Lashley
Good: The look, the presence, even his wrestling ability has improved significantly since we last saw him, he is easily the best champion TNA has had in a while
Bad: Worst promo in the business, Brock Lesnar may not be eloquent but at least he is still scary when he talks, Lashley gets out one word and there may as well be a laugh track accompanying it, he is a great overall talent but is poison on the microphone
Low Ki
Good: He won the same season of NXT that Bray Wyatt was on, he was one of the best X-Division champions ever, he has been a part of some of the most impressive matches in the past ten years, he lives his gimmick and continues to thrive despite bad situations
Bad: TNA quietly redebuted him in a "oh hey, and this guy is back!" kind of way then wonder why the segment drew the lowest rating of the show (to be fair, he was facing DJ Z), if the company doesn't care enough to get behind one of their veteran talents, why should the viewers care?
Magnus
Good: When he was with Doug Williams he seemed like the future of TNA, he had the look, the swagger, and a natural suaveness that stood out from the rest of the roster
Bad: He still seems green despite being in TNA for a while now, his championship run was more forgettable than Eric Young's, and it seems tag team wrestling may be the best fit for him yet his singles push continues on
Manik
Good: Under the costume is a solid worker
Bad: Suicide went nowhere and Manik is his cheap knockoff, why are they so certain this gimmick is a good gimmick? It really, really isn't
Matt Hardy
Good: The other half of the top tag team of the last twenty years, he has made a name for himself on the independents and seems to have some new momentum because of it
Bad: As hard as he works, his physical limitations are visible and hinder his high impact style, he has never been a great mic worker so there aren't high hopes that he will manage a Bully Ray-esque career turn around
Mr. Anderson
Good: He is a recognizable face with a recognizable gimmick
Bad: The train went a long time ago and there is no attempt to change the course
MVP
Good: World wide credibility as a top midcard talent who never seemed to reach his full potential in the WWE
Bad: If this is the peak of his potential then perhaps the WWE was right not to push him any further, he is a very solid overall worker but lacks that "IT" factor when it comes to the delivery, perhaps he is merely another victim of TNA's "everyone is equally irrelevant" problem
Rhino
Good: For TNA World Champ, well known in the industry, is keeping in good shape and plays his character incredibly well
Bad: When he is intense he is a player, when he isn't intense he is a horribly watered down version of himself, Rhino has been the later for too long but, if he returns to the former, then he can be a good addition to the roster, just stop trying to give him more character, he is the kind of type casting that works
Samoa Joe
Good: The most marketable guy on the roster that was never marketed, ROH Legend, well respected veteran, and a rare genetic freak that has been responsible for some of the best television TNA has ever produced
Bad: Sadly that good television was long ago and while his spark seems to have returned, TNA are at such a loss for what to do with him that he continues to aimlessly wander rather than becoming the definitive face of the organization
Samuel Shaw
Good: This guy is so good that he has made some of the least bearable people on the roster seems relevant, his gimmick is far from PG and he is the perfect kind of guy to start building up in the background while other top heels have their day
Bad: He may need to sharpen up a bit more in the ring but, so long as he keeps playing his character, weaknesses can be covered up with performance
Sanada
Good: While TNA isn't exactly on the level WCW was, Sanada is clearly being made into the modern day Muta, right down to Muta being the one to put him over, so here is a guy destined to be a huge star in Japan that can offer some big match-ups while he remains in TNA
Bad: He is a short term player, certainly won't be cutting any major promos, and American companies are terrible at explaining to the audience why Japanese stars matter at all
Tigre Uno
Good: The former Extreme Tiger has always had a good look and it seems he has stepped up his in-ring abilities significantly
Bad: While he is marketable, TNA has a history of killing off masked gimmicks rather than exploiting them for all they're worth
TEAMS
The Menagerie
Good: At face value, this is a perfect collection of talent, harkening back to the early days of wrestling when it was nothing more than a sideshow at a carnival while giving a guy like Mike Knox a needed personality upgrade
Bad: They just...aren't really working. Knox is trying hard, Terry is still a beast, Rebel is hot, but Crazy Steve is a mess, a bad kind of mess, and he is the one that really needed to carry the in-ring load for this group. They stand out as unique but they don't stand out like they will ever be a credible threat in the main event and that is ultimately what hurts them the most.
The American Wolves
Good: ROH Legends, one of the few straight up tag teams in the world, and as a team they have made a good name for themselves prior to entering TNA
Bad: They just seem like a couple of guys you could meet in any bar across America, not an elite level tag team. The ROH style just does NOT make for compelling story telling, the most important part of being a great tag team. As it is, Richards and Edwards are two talented guys that no one gives a damn about because no one can get invested in them.
The Bro Mans
Good: It is disturbing that they are legitimately the best team in TNA, they work their gimmick, they can wrestle, they can cut promos, they are a complete package which is baffling considering...
Bad: Neither one of these guys matters at all yet somehow, as a team, through one of the rare times TNA was persistent in trying to get a team over, they are one of the most credible teams in the business. Robbie E, despite wallowing at the bottom of TNA forever, is actually a surprisingly talented guy. And who in the hell is Jessie Godderz? Oh, the guy from Big Brother? WHY ARE THESE TWO ONE OF THE TOP TEAMS IN WRESTLING TODAY? I am legitimately so lost and, yet, I can't deny that what they're doing works. It really, genuinely, works. And while it's good that they are a good team, it is bad for tag team wrestling as a whole that there are no teams outside of the Wyatts that really eclipse them.
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So, in my opinion, if TNA wanted to maximize the quality of the roster they are working with RIGHT NOW, the top of their roster would look like this:
Top Faces:
01. Robert Roode (working hard, 'earned it', still fighting to be at the top, inspiring kind of gimmick)
02. Jeff Hardy (self explanatory)
03. Austin Aries (continue his solid upper midcard work with up-coming talent)
04. Eric Young (work that underdog gimmick for all it is worth)
Top Tweeners:
01. Samoa Joe (should be the top guy in the company, just being himself)
02. James Storm (he has that kind of Stone Cold demeanor that makes it tough for him to be a full on face and he is good enough to make it work)
03. MVP/Bobby Lashley (they are a good anchor point so long as they are only out for themselves)
04. Abyss (Joseph Parks is a face, Abyss is a heel, so much can be done with that)
Top Heels:
01. EC3 (he isn't ready for the belt yet but he is definitely ready to be given the ball as a main eventer)
02. Bully Ray (proven top heel, can work programs with the next top face that EC3 isn't working with)
03. Samuel Shaw (still a midcard staple but rising fast, give him a good angle with a guy higher up the card and better in the ring)
04. Magnus (being a former World Champ is relevant but he has a lot of development to be done still)
Low Ki, Sanada, and Tigre Uno make for a solid X-Division, maybe bring in one other top name, use the rest as jobbers.
The Knockout division is bolstered by Gail Kim, who managed to make a match with Taryn into big news in the wrestling world, and that they have their top drawing team in the Beautiful People back together.
Lashley can remain champ for a while but numerous other guys should be clearly elevated over top of him (note: NOT by him jobbing to them, by building their characters up) so that when he loses the belt there is a huge bolster to the entire product.
Good: He is THE big guy in TNA, he has been around for nearly the entire history of the organization and is willing to put his body on the line for the good of the product
Bad: He was better off as Joseph Parks, the reinvention of Abyss has done nothing to restore what has been a horribly damaged character, and the Mankind/Kane ripoff association has never been overcome
Austin Aries
Good: Consistent top level worker, can cut a solid promo, has been treated like he matters for a long time in TNA and is one of their most solidly engrained stars at this point
Bad: I can't think of a feud he had since his career defining one with Robert Roode that was anything other than filler, as much credibility as he has, it is hurt by the endless 'second banana' treatment, and no matter how much they want him to be, he is no CM Punk, his promo skills alone will not carry him
Bobby Roode
Good: The best thing going in TNA right now and, quite frankly, for a long time, he is another longterm TNA mainstay and one that has deservedly engrained himself in the main event, with the right opponent he could single handedly make TNA relevant again
Bad: A lack of people to work with that can keep making him a bigger deal, he may hold the record for longest reigning TNA champion but a lot of his wins during that period were tainted by bad booking (ex. Joker Sting...just, why?)
Bram
Good: A new face without the stink of being a WWE castoff as far as casual viewers are concerned, TNA seem to want to keep him relevant
Bad: I realize I'm supposed to take him seriously but he comes off like generic bearded guy #27 rather than some new, revolutionary character within the TNA world, he is already being lost in the shuffle even as he is churning out some good work
Bully Ray
Good: His reinvention has produced some of the best content on TNA television for years, he is a legit selfish jerk who is big enough to back it up and with a laundry list of credentials for why he deserves everything he has gotten, he is the best natural heel in the business and has never been better
Bad: He is not the guy to carry TNA as a good guy, that is his biggest weakness, as a good guy he is midcard quality at best which hurts the overall show, he is one of their best acts but is rarely used in a way that maximizes his worth
DJ Z
Good: When he was on the independents he was a big deal, his risk taking and zany style stood out from the crowd
Bad: Since coming to TNA he has potentially been the absolute worst void of personality on the roster and I say this because he actually stands out and still can't get people behind him, I get it when the generic looking guys get nothing, but when you were the best guy in the X-Division for a while and people still didn't care, that is a tough problem
Eric Young
Good: He is a 'solid hand', now that he is a former World Champion he has inherent credibility when putting over other guys, and he has an appeal that goes beyond wrestling
Bad: We all know how badly he has been booked for most of his career, a brief jump to the top can distract from that but will never fully overcome it, he is a great worker who was dealt bad cards from the get go
Ethan Carter III
Good: Currently the top heel in TNA, has a good mind for the business at a young age, he understands how to work a character and is improving every time he steps into the ring
Bad: There isn't a lot, he has overcome any stigma that may have come from his bad WWE run and is making the most of his opportunities, it is unfortunate that he is running into the same problem Bully Ray had as a heel, there isn't a face big enough on the roster to make an impact on a larger scale
Gunner
Good: He worked with James Storm, right?
Bad: He can be on my television screen as I'm watching the show and I still forget he is on the roster, despite his in-ring intensity there is absolutely nothing else that makes him stand out which is a shame because he definitely has untapped potential
James Storm
Good: Another good heel who makes a surprisingly good 'tweener face', another of the old guard in TNA that can make a lot out of a little
Bad: In a company desperately in need of a face, he is wasting away as the number two heel, the build to his face run was so good that he could have started to become a real commodity in the wrestling world but the storyline ended up dying out before it even got off the ground, Storm is the ultimate victim of other people's failures
Jeff Hardy
Good: Still one of the most marketable wrestlers in the world, when he cares he can be a legitimate main event player bigger than anyone else on the roster, and he is one of the few natural faces in the business
Bad: His weaknesses are obvious and easy to get around but TNA insists on making them apparent every week, while Hardy has been the subject of a few newsworthy events in his TNA tenure (including one that should have seen him banished from the roster), the complete lack of direction for his character has been obvious for his entire tenure
Kenny King
Good: He is above adequate in nearly every area
Bad: He doesn't stand out in any area
Bobby Lashley
Good: The look, the presence, even his wrestling ability has improved significantly since we last saw him, he is easily the best champion TNA has had in a while
Bad: Worst promo in the business, Brock Lesnar may not be eloquent but at least he is still scary when he talks, Lashley gets out one word and there may as well be a laugh track accompanying it, he is a great overall talent but is poison on the microphone
Low Ki
Good: He won the same season of NXT that Bray Wyatt was on, he was one of the best X-Division champions ever, he has been a part of some of the most impressive matches in the past ten years, he lives his gimmick and continues to thrive despite bad situations
Bad: TNA quietly redebuted him in a "oh hey, and this guy is back!" kind of way then wonder why the segment drew the lowest rating of the show (to be fair, he was facing DJ Z), if the company doesn't care enough to get behind one of their veteran talents, why should the viewers care?
Magnus
Good: When he was with Doug Williams he seemed like the future of TNA, he had the look, the swagger, and a natural suaveness that stood out from the rest of the roster
Bad: He still seems green despite being in TNA for a while now, his championship run was more forgettable than Eric Young's, and it seems tag team wrestling may be the best fit for him yet his singles push continues on
Manik
Good: Under the costume is a solid worker
Bad: Suicide went nowhere and Manik is his cheap knockoff, why are they so certain this gimmick is a good gimmick? It really, really isn't
Matt Hardy
Good: The other half of the top tag team of the last twenty years, he has made a name for himself on the independents and seems to have some new momentum because of it
Bad: As hard as he works, his physical limitations are visible and hinder his high impact style, he has never been a great mic worker so there aren't high hopes that he will manage a Bully Ray-esque career turn around
Mr. Anderson
Good: He is a recognizable face with a recognizable gimmick
Bad: The train went a long time ago and there is no attempt to change the course
MVP
Good: World wide credibility as a top midcard talent who never seemed to reach his full potential in the WWE
Bad: If this is the peak of his potential then perhaps the WWE was right not to push him any further, he is a very solid overall worker but lacks that "IT" factor when it comes to the delivery, perhaps he is merely another victim of TNA's "everyone is equally irrelevant" problem
Rhino
Good: For TNA World Champ, well known in the industry, is keeping in good shape and plays his character incredibly well
Bad: When he is intense he is a player, when he isn't intense he is a horribly watered down version of himself, Rhino has been the later for too long but, if he returns to the former, then he can be a good addition to the roster, just stop trying to give him more character, he is the kind of type casting that works
Samoa Joe
Good: The most marketable guy on the roster that was never marketed, ROH Legend, well respected veteran, and a rare genetic freak that has been responsible for some of the best television TNA has ever produced
Bad: Sadly that good television was long ago and while his spark seems to have returned, TNA are at such a loss for what to do with him that he continues to aimlessly wander rather than becoming the definitive face of the organization
Samuel Shaw
Good: This guy is so good that he has made some of the least bearable people on the roster seems relevant, his gimmick is far from PG and he is the perfect kind of guy to start building up in the background while other top heels have their day
Bad: He may need to sharpen up a bit more in the ring but, so long as he keeps playing his character, weaknesses can be covered up with performance
Sanada
Good: While TNA isn't exactly on the level WCW was, Sanada is clearly being made into the modern day Muta, right down to Muta being the one to put him over, so here is a guy destined to be a huge star in Japan that can offer some big match-ups while he remains in TNA
Bad: He is a short term player, certainly won't be cutting any major promos, and American companies are terrible at explaining to the audience why Japanese stars matter at all
Tigre Uno
Good: The former Extreme Tiger has always had a good look and it seems he has stepped up his in-ring abilities significantly
Bad: While he is marketable, TNA has a history of killing off masked gimmicks rather than exploiting them for all they're worth
TEAMS
The Menagerie
Good: At face value, this is a perfect collection of talent, harkening back to the early days of wrestling when it was nothing more than a sideshow at a carnival while giving a guy like Mike Knox a needed personality upgrade
Bad: They just...aren't really working. Knox is trying hard, Terry is still a beast, Rebel is hot, but Crazy Steve is a mess, a bad kind of mess, and he is the one that really needed to carry the in-ring load for this group. They stand out as unique but they don't stand out like they will ever be a credible threat in the main event and that is ultimately what hurts them the most.
The American Wolves
Good: ROH Legends, one of the few straight up tag teams in the world, and as a team they have made a good name for themselves prior to entering TNA
Bad: They just seem like a couple of guys you could meet in any bar across America, not an elite level tag team. The ROH style just does NOT make for compelling story telling, the most important part of being a great tag team. As it is, Richards and Edwards are two talented guys that no one gives a damn about because no one can get invested in them.
The Bro Mans
Good: It is disturbing that they are legitimately the best team in TNA, they work their gimmick, they can wrestle, they can cut promos, they are a complete package which is baffling considering...
Bad: Neither one of these guys matters at all yet somehow, as a team, through one of the rare times TNA was persistent in trying to get a team over, they are one of the most credible teams in the business. Robbie E, despite wallowing at the bottom of TNA forever, is actually a surprisingly talented guy. And who in the hell is Jessie Godderz? Oh, the guy from Big Brother? WHY ARE THESE TWO ONE OF THE TOP TEAMS IN WRESTLING TODAY? I am legitimately so lost and, yet, I can't deny that what they're doing works. It really, genuinely, works. And while it's good that they are a good team, it is bad for tag team wrestling as a whole that there are no teams outside of the Wyatts that really eclipse them.
----------------------------
So, in my opinion, if TNA wanted to maximize the quality of the roster they are working with RIGHT NOW, the top of their roster would look like this:
Top Faces:
01. Robert Roode (working hard, 'earned it', still fighting to be at the top, inspiring kind of gimmick)
02. Jeff Hardy (self explanatory)
03. Austin Aries (continue his solid upper midcard work with up-coming talent)
04. Eric Young (work that underdog gimmick for all it is worth)
Top Tweeners:
01. Samoa Joe (should be the top guy in the company, just being himself)
02. James Storm (he has that kind of Stone Cold demeanor that makes it tough for him to be a full on face and he is good enough to make it work)
03. MVP/Bobby Lashley (they are a good anchor point so long as they are only out for themselves)
04. Abyss (Joseph Parks is a face, Abyss is a heel, so much can be done with that)
Top Heels:
01. EC3 (he isn't ready for the belt yet but he is definitely ready to be given the ball as a main eventer)
02. Bully Ray (proven top heel, can work programs with the next top face that EC3 isn't working with)
03. Samuel Shaw (still a midcard staple but rising fast, give him a good angle with a guy higher up the card and better in the ring)
04. Magnus (being a former World Champ is relevant but he has a lot of development to be done still)
Low Ki, Sanada, and Tigre Uno make for a solid X-Division, maybe bring in one other top name, use the rest as jobbers.
The Knockout division is bolstered by Gail Kim, who managed to make a match with Taryn into big news in the wrestling world, and that they have their top drawing team in the Beautiful People back together.
Lashley can remain champ for a while but numerous other guys should be clearly elevated over top of him (note: NOT by him jobbing to them, by building their characters up) so that when he loses the belt there is a huge bolster to the entire product.
