The Pope D'Angelo Dinero: Quite Possibly The Best Choice For TNA Champion

[Uncle Sam]

I don't want to like The Pope. I really don't. I want to be all cynical and sarcastic, like I usually am, and make jokes about how I can't tell the difference between him and Orlando Jordan. Unfortunately, I've been a pretty big fan of The Pope since he told Desmond Wolfe that it was gonna get "funky like a donkey".

I mean, this is a company that has Jeff Hardy, Rob Van Dam, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Kurt Angle, Jeff Jarrett, Mick Foley and Sting. I'd still much rather have The Pope as the world champion.

His push hasn't been entirely un-Kaz-like. Well, at least he wasn't getting absolutely destroyed one week and being given a world heavyweight title shot as what I can only guess was compensation the next.

Maybe I just like the idea so much because it's something new, something fresh. Out of that list, those people have all been world champion at least twice. Well, not Samoa Joe but you get my point. First time champions are often just more appealing to me.

I have no elegant way to round off this post so I'm just going to stop abruptly here.

 

[a0161613]

Yeah Pope is pretty awesome. While I think he should be the next champ I cant see it. I imagine AJ will retain at Lockdown I think Hardy and RVD will both get their chances and Hogan will find it irresistable to give the belt to one of them.

Pope and Wolfe should be allowed to develop this feud. I would get the Global title involved and get them to raise the credibility of that. Pope's time will come but maybe not yet. He is far too good for that, just maybe not yet.

 

[CBCS]

I have to agree with you. The Pope is a great character. He has good chrisma and is good on the mic. I would still like to see the character grow as I know he will. I like it when he said he would "pimp slap" someone. That needs to be in most of his interviews. Maybe come up with a "finisher" named that.

I would also like to see some kind of weekly skit featuring the Pope, consisting of some killer interviews or even him interviewing people. It could be called, Big Pimpin with the Pope. Thoughts?

 

[gd]

Pope is decent enough for a midcard guy, but I definetly don't see him as main event caliber. I have no idea what the hell he's saying half the time and he looks like a cartoon character with his stpuid bandana over his mouth and the like.

I guess a month or 2 title reign wouldn't be too awful, but I'd much rather see them keep the belt on AJ for an extended amount of time than have the Pope as champ. Hell, I'd rather have Abyss as champ at this point.

 

[Boondocks]

I think thep Pope has a good character, good in ring ability, and good mic skills. Although I would really love to see him win the title at Lockdown, I also think he shouldn't for a couple reasons. 1) I think, if they develop the "Pope" character, they could make it way more popular of a character. And by doing that, instead of him getting a month long title reign, maybe stretch it to like 7 or 8. 2) If they have AJ keep winning as his heel character, they make his character develop. Remember in WWE when Randy Orton had a big lengthy title reign about a year ago? When he kept winning, he became a bigger heel. TNA could do this with AJ and then maybe his heel character will seem worth watching. And to Nephew Disarray, I'd rather not have Abyss as champion, because if you can't tell, he's becoming a Hulk Hogan knock-off, and we don't need that AT ALL.

 

[ScreaminNormanSmiley]

the pope gettin the title would definatley be pimpin. he is one of the most unique and enntertaining wrestlers going today. hell i bet popes shits have more charisma than aj and abyss combined and those two are having a title match at destination x. dont get me wrong aj can wrestle unbelievabley but he has no personality, hopefully flair can help with that. pope is also really entertaining in the ring, im not a fan of hhis finisher but if he develops a new finisher he would be nearly perfect. wwe really dropped the ball when they let him go because even though hess not at that level yet, pope could become the next rock. he definatley deserves a title reign

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

I like The Pope. I think he is entertaining as hell on the mic, and decent enough in the ring. I just get a "gimmicky" feeling from him. I think he needs to tone down his attire a bit, it just looks too gimmicky. His promos are funny, but seem a bit too manufactured. Everything he says, while entertaining, seems too scripted. So while I definitely see him as a World Champion, I hope that doesn't happen yet.

I would love to see AJ carry the belt for quite some time, EDIT: As a heel. I always think it's more interesting to see face guys CHASE the belt. WHen they get the belt too quickly, it's a bit underwhelming. Over the next year, I would like to see guys like Pope, Samoa Joe, Jeff Hardy, and RVD really chase AJ. Have great matches, with AJ pulling out the win. At least for a while, I think that would be the best way to go.

 

[Tenebrous]

Not to chuck rocks at those wanting AJ Styles to carry the title for a lengthy period, I think what you mean is that you want him to be a heel champion for a lengthy period. He has been the champ 6 months.

I like the Pope and I think he is developing nicely. I honestly don't see him winning at Lockdown; though it would be fresh. Do I think he is the best choice for TNA champion--among the best with possibly Desmond Wolfe, Mr. Anderson (because people what to see him get his ass kicked) or Samoa Joe (once his old character returns).

Unfortunately I think AJ will lose to a Jeff Hardy or RVD which honestly does nothing for the company. TNA can use the big names for exposure but needs it's homegrown talent to carry the load. I got off track a little but to answer the question, I think the Pope is among the best choices but not the best...at least not yet...

 

[TheDaneTrain]

I completely agree, I think AJ staying champ for a while would be a really great thing for AJ's character.. A while back when asked what 5 WWE wrestlers would TNA want and the answer was "randy orton, randy orton, randy orton, randy orton, and randy orton" TNA needs a character like Orton.. Especially because they have people now like Jeff Hardy, RVD and Pope.. the crowd is totally behind those guys... But TNA will become boring quickly if these guys don't have to actually battle to get the title.. I mean if Jeff Hardy is the champ in the next two months thats gonna seriously counter productive to TNA's overall product.. not to mention.. if TNA wants to be taken seriously as a competition to WWE.. They need to enforce the guys they have and then build the WWE guys up too.. having WWE guys come in and just walk all over the champs would be really a bad thing.. I think it would be much more interesting to watch AJ fight all these guys and win and retain for at least a good 7-9 months.. it would put AJ over sooooo much as top heel and it would make there product so much more interesting.. Cause then we'd all sit back and watch wondering who is gonna win the match... Instead of.. "oh he's a wwe guy.. and he was really big there... so he's gonna win the title at the next PPV".. AJ Styles being top heel if done correctly could lead TNA to a much higher weekly viewership and could actually cause a really threat to WWE...

 

[Live2inspireX386X]

I would have no problem with the Pope havin a run as world champion I think it could make for some refreshing main event fueds and as long as it goes well it TNA will be able to trust the championship with younger talent, while we are on the subject I could also see RVD and/ Or Jeff hardy geting a championship run as well

 

[EStreet]

AJ should stay champ, agreed, it is much more interesting having the Heel as champ. However when they do switch the belt to a face, i agree it should be the Pope.
TNA needs to keep belts on home grown talent to keep them credible and not make the company look overrun by has-beens or brought in ttalent. Pope has Mic skills and can put on exciting matches with just about the entire roster. I worry that Abyss will get the belt which will only read as Hogan giving "his boy" the belt. Abyss also rarely puts on exciting matches that dont involve some kind of weapon. Pope needs to develope some catch phrases and can be the mouth of TNA, trash talking, humerous, and as a champ can be the future of the company...time for TNA to take a chance, heck even WWE gave Shemus the belt to promote the guy.

 

[Schizophrenic]

I do think it would be good to have AJ as champ a while longer. They are trying to make him the face of the company and especially trying to mold him into the next "Man" it would make sense for him to keep the title longer. Plus I am a sucker for long title reigns as it makes the champion and the title look more legit. And we haven't had a year long or longer title reign in some time. I believe the last was John Cena but considering he was facing the same opponets it wasn't as exciting. If TNA keeps AJ's challenger's fresh and new (with of course one or two repeat opponets) then they could easily make AJ look like a great champion and the man who defeats him look like the best of the best.

With that said I enjoy Pope highly. Grantit I'm a bit of a mark for him I feel he is one of the best in TNA on the mic and in character. I will admit that compared to Desmond Wolfe or Kurt Angle he's not at that level but the guy is good at what he does. He's entertaining and gets the crowd going. He would make a great "people's champion". Let me explain first before I have people freaking out yelling "He's not The Rock!" I am not saying he is. But he is a great "everyman". He's the guys that everyone says can't win the big one. He reminds me at this stage in the game that Jericho did before he won the Undisputed Title. I think it's only a matter of time before Pope has the trigger pulled and he gets the Title.

 

[DarrylDSmith]

Did the Pope ever get his title shot at AJ Styles? I mean that was the purpose of the 8 card tournament...or whatever it was called. Maybe it happened when my DVR didn't record TNA or something, but I don't recall him getting his title shot.

 

[Vintage]

The tournament was for a title shot at Lockdown, the PPV after Destination X which is coming up.

I don't think it's too soon for Pope to win it but he would be put to better use with the Global Title. They can let Pope rename it a 3rd and final time maybe to the TNA TV title, which wouldn't be out of character and allow him to develop a little more. The title gets elevated and gains prestige, pope gets weekly exposure and elevates over time.. everyone wins. I really hope they don't give him the Hardy push by letting him win the title to drop it right back and fight to get it back for like 6 months.

 

[Chauncy Talon]

The Pope as TNA Champion would be amazing, but TNA loves to bring you up to the top of the mountain and not place your flag there. Kaz, Hernandez, Morgan, Monty Brown all had Future Champion written all over there face. These guys busted their ass, but was put on the back burner for somebody that "fits" the company moto.

The Pope is one of the hottest things in pro wrestling today, but how can you give Abyss a World Title shot for not making it to Grand Finals in a tournament the month before? Watching lesbians use strap-ons each other makes more sense then what TNA has done with their top talent.

 

[Heat Daddy]

I think a program featuring Styles, Hardy, RVD, Angle, Anderson, Wolfe, Joe, Hernandez, The Pope and any other entertaining star would be very exciting for TNA right now. I really don't care for Abyss vs. Styles because I'm personally burnt out on speed against power matches and their feud is stale to me. Don't we see this in WWE all the time? I mean, Undertaker, Kane, Big Show, and Khali usually face guys who rely on speed and agility in hopes of scoring a win. Taker vs. Michaels, Kane in Money In The Bank again, and Big Show and Miz against Morrison and Truth at WM26 are all examples of this. Mysterio usually battles big men also. TNA should stop trying to beat WWE with imitation. I still love WWE but TNA should follow the original Paul Heyman ran ECW's example and do their own thing. A program where everyone is hungry for the World Title ultimately resulting in Pope winning it while solidifying and reinventing others involved would be exciting all the way around. Pope is constantly getting better on the mic and is fun to watch. His elevation would definitely create a buzz for TNA and open the door for countless feuds and PPV's. It just can't happen overnight. It needs to develop over several months while TNA builds momentum. Right now, TNA just looks generic compared to WWE. It's time for them to cross their own line.

 

[capoxstatus]

I will get it out of the way and say im a pope mark ever since the wwe. I was pretty happy to see the pope go to tna and get a push. I saw him along with hernandez and morgan as future champs.
Then bischoff and hulk took over and since then an abundance of talent that they would either like to push right now or in the future have been brought in. It looks like guys like kennedy, rvd, abyss, jeff hardy (if he works out his legal stuff) are going to be in the mix for the title as well as guys already there like angle, joe, aj, sting, etc. The pope could very likely be lost in that shuffle, then you add guys like wolfe, hernandez, and morgan that could be possibly be vaulted to the mainevent status and title shots and it gets even more cluttered.
The thing that is saving the pope is that the crowd digs him, and is way over with them. Add that to his charisma, mic skills and decent in ring work, bischoff and hogan have to take notice of that.
The thing i see happening is when they need either a face champion or transitional champion, the pope will get the nod, which in itself is both good and bad, because another favorite of mine, christian in tna, was seen as a transitional champion, but hey he made it work and i think if the pope is stuck with that type of run he can make it work. Either way i hope the pope gets a title run, and shows tna that hes the right choice.

 

[Heat Daddy]

The Pope as TNA Champion would be amazing, but TNA loves to bring you up to the top of the mountain and not place your flag there. Kaz, Hernandez, Morgan, Monty Brown all had Future Champion written all over there face. These guys busted their ass, but was put on the back burner for somebody that "fits" the company moto.

The Pope is one of the hottest things in pro wrestling today, but how can you give Abyss a World Title shot for not making it to Grand Finals in a tournament the month before? Watching lesbians use strap-ons each other makes more sense then what TNA has done with their top talent.

I totally agree. I really went in hard with my post. Abyss and Styles is old news. I'm tired of seeing the same guys getting pushed in TNA while they keep claiming to be different and call themselves shaking up Monday nights. I forgot about Monty Brown and Kaz and what happened to the big Hernandez push? The Pope is in prime position to be the TNA breakout star that WWE slept on. I mean, once former WWE stars hit TNA, many fans forget about them after the initial hype. A long, drawn out, bloody climb to the top for The Pope would be extremely exciting and something that TNA needs to attract attention. Meanwhile, every other important TNA star is chasing the title and beating the snot out of each other in the process. I'll always be a WWE mark at the end of the day but I enjoy both organizations and it's better for the fans when they compete. TNA needs to stop pretending and "Cross The Line."

 

[aphazel1]

I like Pope as a wrestler but disagree that he should be considered the "best choice" for TNA's champion because the Pope character is too goofy and cartoonish. Is this really the character you want to carry the company when it goes up against Raw on Mondays? If he is going to be taken seriously as the company's top guy, he would have to have a drastic overhaul done to his on-screen persona. Besides, I doubt he'll win....this is more than likely a way to build up AJ's championship resume.

I don't think AJ should lose the belt for a while, but if he did, I think there are a lot better choices in TNA: Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle, Abyss, Mr. Anderson, Jeff Hardy, Matt Morgan, and if done right, Robert Roode or Eric Young....

 

[Schizophrenic]

I like Pope as a wrestler but disagree that he should be considered the "best choice" for TNA's champion because the Pope character is too goofy and cartoonish. Is this really the character you want to carry the company when it goes up against Raw on Mondays? If he is going to be taken seriously as the company's top guy, he would have to have a drastic overhaul done to his on-screen persona. Besides, I doubt he'll win....this is more than likely a way to build up AJ's championship resume.

Is it any differnet than when Mankind won the WWF title? Mick was in an incredibly goofy phase in his career when he won the title, but like Mick Pope becomes all buisness in the ring and that's where it counts. I personally like the character being funny and nonchalant. It's different than the usual angry guy.

 

[Tastycles]

I just don't buy him as a World Heavyweight Champion. He's too small, and unlike people like AJ Styles he isn't good enough in the ring to make it believable. Is Pope an entertaining wrestler? Absolutely. Is he going to be the man who can take it to the WWE when he is on top? No. Of course he isn't. Elijah Burke isn't a draw, and now isn't the time for TNA to take risks or experiment, particularly not with their main event programme. They need to put whoever is going to get them the most appeal right now, and that man is, if he doesn't go to prison, Jeff Hardy.

 

[TLC]

I really like The Pope. When he was Elijah Burke I thought he was utter shit but look what a gimmick change can do. I find him very entertaining and I can see him as TNA champion at one point but not any time soon. As much as he has grown on me I don't think he is the person to lead TNA at this point in time. The man who should do that as Tastycles just put is Jeff Hardy. As long as Jeff doesn't fuck up then he should be the man TNA use if they want to try and get some better ratings.

On topic. I see Pope winning the title but give it 6 months to a year and i'm sure he would be ready then.

 

[Suneeboy]

Pope the best choice? No. Doesn't have the credibility yet.

The Pope's first title in TNA shouldn't be a World Title. The character needs to taste the main event, suffer defeat, and learn how to overcome that and climb the mountain again. Let him work a Global Title program, and dominate the midcard.

Its not time to take the title off of AJ.

EDIT: Actually, he can be a World Champ, but he can't in his current state. I feel he would need to be a heel to have the title. He's not the best choice, but if that is the route they go, there has to be some more character development.

 

[D-Man]

I just don't buy him as a World Heavyweight Champion. He's too small, and unlike people like AJ Styles he isn't good enough in the ring to make it believable. Is Pope an entertaining wrestler? Absolutely. Is he going to be the man who can take it to the WWE when he is on top? No. Of course he isn't. Elijah Burke isn't a draw, and now isn't the time for TNA to take risks or experiment, particularly not with their main event programme. They need to put whoever is going to get them the most appeal right now, and that man is, if he doesn't go to prison, Jeff Hardy.

I agree with this.

Sorry guys, but I really can't stand the Pope. He's WAYYY too over the top for me. From his lack of size to his lack of credibility, I just can't see him carrying the TNA torch into the modern-day Monday Night Wars. He really has no track record of being someone that can take on a world title. He never rose to the top of any promotion that he has ever been a part of and doesn't know what it takes to be on top, especially in a company that's taking aim at a billion dollar conglomerate and trying to overthrow them.

Can he cut a good promo? Sure... if you like someone to talk to you who's a hybrid of Muhammed Ali and Gary Coleman. Can he go in the ring? Yeah, he's a solid worker and has a very exciting finisher. But this guy has not proven himself to be a world champion of the #2 promotion in the world yet.

Sorry, it's sad but true.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I don't hate the Pope but I think him being TNA Champion should be a long way away. He hasn't impressed me that much on the mic and in the ring than he did when he was in the WWE. I wouldn't take a chance on him just yet because he isn't a huge draw and someone like Hardy would be a better fit for champion after Styles. I would say he needs to change his finisher if he wants to become more credible but I guess it could be worse.