Can The Band help Eric Young breakthrough as a performer?

[It's...Baylariat!]

Seems as if they're willing to put Eric Young with the 'big boys' in Nash, Hall, and Waltman. To me, this is an interpretation of TNA brass wanting Eric Young to sink or swim. I think it's good that they're doing this as Young is a solid in-ring performer who needs to have the benefit of a manager or a mouth piece. So the question is can Hall, Nash, and Waltman help Young breakthrough as a big time wrestler? Think they'll hold him down?

 

[King Blitzkonic]

Feuding with Hall and Waltman isn't doing any favors for EY. Kevin "Too Old and Feeble for This" Nash and Scott "I drink better than I ever wrestled" Hall should have hung up the boots a long time ago and Waltman...well I can't think of too many people who give two shits about him. I certainly don't.
Now let him have a good feud with someone like Joe or Daniels, maybe Kaz and Doug Williams, and THAT will determine if EY becomes a "breakthrough" or no. Notice that I mentioned "homegrown" talent (though Joe came from ROH he made his own name in TNA too).
I have to highly disagree that EY needs a mouthpiece though seeing as I thought he did rather well as the mouth for World Elite. Give him some mic time that doesn't lead to a brawling and take it from there.

 

[BooCocky]

I always liked EY. I always found him entertaining and at times TNA agreed with me. He'll have a good feud then fall off the face of this earth. They just don't know what to do with him. I don't think this will hurt him or help him, I just think this will give him a long program with a decent payoff. This will give him TV time and help develop his character. EY isn't meant to be a big star, he's a solid performer who can pretty much mesh with everyone. So no, this isn't going to make him a star. nor is this going to hurt him.

 

[mikeyboy]

i hope it helps, ey is a great talent and deserves a big push . i hope he dosnt get lost in the shuffle there is alot of talent in tna right now competing for top spots. he has always been entertaing to watchand has proved he can play face or heel very well i guess being in a progam with these guys puts him in the spotlight and lets hope he can rise to th occasion.

 

[Scotty]

I completely agree with you Lariat. I do think that Eric Young has been given the ball and now will be the time to see if he can run with it. They have been slowly molding EY's character from a cowardly heel relying on others to protect him into a bad ass face that doesn't wait for anything and takes matters into his own hands. They have put him with the big boys and I fully expect Eric Young to not only come out of this feud as a big time face, but as a face that wins.

Another reason why I believe they have a lot of faith in Eric Young is that they gave him a clean win over Waltman. If they had no faith they would have had him job to Waltman or at least lose to an underhanded tactic.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

You are going to get two kinds of answers from two types of fans. You are going to get the TNA super-mark, nut-jobs who actually believe that Hall/Nash/Waltman were NEVER stars. They believe that somehow guys like Joe, Daniels, etc., who have nowhere NEAR the name recognition of a Scott Hall (who was a GREAT wrestler in his day, you moron), can help put EY over much better. I agree that Hall and Nash are well beyond their prime, but they are still relevant, and name recognition goes a long, long way when building a new star.

Then you will get the old school fan (like myself), who thinks Hall/Nash/Waltman are going to really help this kid. Nash is great on the mic, and that seems to be rubbing off on EY. Hall and Waltman, while well past their prime(s), but are still big names, and to even be in a feud with them will give EY a boost in popularity.

This is a sink or swim deal, though. He and Waltman (who can still wrestle) are sort of going one-on-one in this feud, and that will help EY showcase his actual in-ring talent. Being a part of this can't hurt him. It can only help, and he is going to have to help himself.

 

[mistico88]

i dnt think so cuz he's not a big name in tna like that and plus scott hall and waltman r too old plus nash they should just kill that fued

 

[King Blitzkonic]

You are going to get two kinds of answers from two types of fans. You are going to get the TNA super-mark, nut-jobs who actually believe that Hall/Nash/Waltman were NEVER stars. They believe that somehow guys like Joe, Daniels, etc., who have nowhere NEAR the name recognition of a Scott Hall (who was a GREAT wrestler in his day, you moron), can help put EY over much better. I agree that Hall and Nash are well beyond their prime, but they are still relevant, and name recognition goes a long, long way when building a new star.

Then you will get the old school fan (like myself), who thinks Hall/Nash/Waltman are going to really help this kid. Nash is great on the mic, and that seems to be rubbing off on EY. Hall and Waltman, while well past their prime(s), but are still big names, and to even be in a feud with them will give EY a boost in popularity.

This is a sink or swim deal, though. He and Waltman (who can still wrestle) are sort of going one-on-one in this feud, and that will help EY showcase his actual in-ring talent. Being a part of this can't hurt him. It can only help, and he is going to have to help himself.

I happen to be an older-school fan, and the only reason that I don't think that "the Band" will be much help is that those 3 guys, while able to go well about 10 years back, aren't able to get it done in a decent match now(maybe Waltman can but the other two can't). I'll agree that Hall was pretty good IN HIS PRIME though.

To me, the potential embarrassment that EY could suffer having to deal with Hall and Waltman (and Nash to a lesser extent) outweighs any rub he may get from these "big names". It's time for TNA to distinguish itself from WWE and putting Hall and Waltman in the bin (where they belong) is a nice start IMO. If they're serious about actually giving EY a push for a change then they need to hurry up and get this "feud" over with and let EY be one of the stars to bring back the no-limits attitude of the X-Division.

And the guys that I named for potential feuds with EY are guys that he's wrestled with and against in the past that have been pushed over him. At least this is better than paranoid, piss-in-my-pants-over-pyro EY.

Side note: Waltman never really WAS a star, his heat came from no one giving two shits about him

 

[Dagger Dias]

Being involved in this angle with "The Band" (Anyone else HATE that name?) can really help Eric Young in my opinion. He'll need to get put over, obviously. These guys were huge names back in the day and working an angle with them can be beneficial if Young gets put over because he would gain momentum from a victory over big names, even though they are far past their primes. I don't think they'll hold him down, however I'm a little concerned. If, for whatever reason, Young doesn't get put over during this angle, there's no way he could recover. If you can't defeat guys this far from their prime, then your character will never be taken seriously again. He had a better chance of making a name for himself with the Global Championship but TNA already messed that up.... hopefully they won't mess this angle up too.

 

[Blade]

It's certainly possible. It all comes down to whether or not The Band will completely outshine EY or not. As we've all seen, Scott Hall can run rings around Young promo-wise. So it's up to Eric Young to excel where the Band cannot at the moment, in the ring. It won't take much effort for Young to become better than Hall and Waltman in the ring, but he has to be good enough so that the difference between his in-ring quality and the Band's promo quality make Eric Young stand out more. But yes, to an extent, I think he can do it. Now it all comes down to Young being booked properly, he needs a few big wins under his belt before he can progress.

 

[Agent_of_Anarchy]

I think the Band will help EY alot. Its already got him a spot at the PPV afterall. Think of where he would be without Nash? Probaly lost in the shuffle like alot of other guys. I don't see Syxx-Pac or Hall staying around after the PPV anyhow, and things will probaly go back to Nash being Young's bodyguard/advisor, which is a good spot for him. EY definately has a future in TNA and I can't see how the Band could really hurt him. Unless they have him job to Hall.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I'm not sure it's The Band helping EY here as much as it is Nash. Hear me out...

I don't intend to intentionally compare EY to guys like Shawn Michaels or (X-, Syxx-)Pac, but both are living, breathing and walking proof of the [name] power of Kevin Nash when it comes to pairing relatively (operative word here) unknown wrestlers in need of a big-time rub or push with a man of his stature.

I absolutely hated Eric Young not a year ago, and I loathed the World Elite when it was formed because I though EY was far too young and inexperienced to make me actually care about what his character was doing at the time (I mean, let's be honest – it was a Hart Foundation re-hash right down to the anti-American sentiments, and it failed miserably), but the EY I'm seeing with Nash as a mentor and a mouthpiece is actually very compelling and has the potential for a pretty big-time draw, despite the fact that Hall & Nash are the "big names" associated with the feud. While those two may be the sale, the workhorses here will be Pac & Young, and I do agree with the OP that in this sense The Band is gonna help put Young over like crazy through this feud.

 

[Deexter Jorgan]

well seeing the match he had with Waltman I can see more good to this situation then bad IMO, Eric Young is a hard worker, has a strong look and can put on some decent matches, his uber push kind of stalled once the World Elite broke up so having him in this situation is a good thing.

Nash has helped alot of young stars get over, look at the machine guns, black machismo to name a few, hopefully having Nash paired with Eric should give him that push through the glass celing that he deserves, my favorite match was actually the waltman Young match from mondays Impact, he really destroyed Pac and made a big name for himself in the process, did you hear the crowd reaction as Young put waltman in that power driver?, it was awesome.

 

[Super Crazy]

I'd definitely have to say I agree. This is sink or swim time for EY. I have always been a fan of his, dating back to his Team Canada days, and I think this role suits him well, and that role being the kind of bad ass, don't screw with me, sort of guy.

This all depends on whether or not he can take the ball and run with it. I knew them pairing him with Nash was giong to work in his favor and help get him over some more, but I thought he would be a heel. This feud is showing a side that I never knew he had. If he can keep his momentum going I can eventually see him stepping into the top tier of TNA wrestling.