Christian York: Yay or Nay?

[It's Damn Real!]

For me, it's yay yay yay, and hip hip hooray for TNA finally realizing (at least I hope) that this whole Gut Check angle has been on a steady decline from the onset based on the fact that they're constantly inviting NOBODIES to waste valuable television time, only to be granted a "contract" with TNA, only to never appear again, or denied and sent off without anyone else batting an eye.

I've said since the thread I started on revising Gut Check that they should be operating it in the opposite direction — invite veterans, not rookies and prospects, and see who still has something left in the tank to provide TNA. Find talent, not potential. Potential can be found without wasting valuable television time on a segment no one gives a shit about.

[YOUTUBE]ge1MrHF4cX8[/YOUTUBE]

This York guy was a wee bit sloppy, but that can be shored up, I'd imagine, with a little coaching seeing as he hasn't been on television wrestling live in years.

Again, I say yay.

What do you think?

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

Absolutely yes. And I want him straight on the main roster too. The X Division needs more bodies right now. I'd have liked him to win too, just to really show he's not to be messed with. Him vs RVD, they could get some good mileage out of that.

Would be nice if a poll was added to the thread too. I expect he'll get an overwhleming yes on the Twitter poll. I'll be very surprised if he's turned down, they'll obviously bring up his age but I think he should still be accepted.

 

[SpecialFNK]

I pretty much agree with it all.

I don't like how they bring in young guys who aren't ready. then they see potential in them, and when they give them a contract they ship them off to OVW.
that's just stupid. if you see potential in them, you should be able to see that in previous wrestling work. so sign them and send them to OVW that way without having to have them on TV taking up air time. Alex Silva got a contract, awhile ago. I don't think I've even seen his name mentioned once since then. what was the point of that?! TNA could have signed him to OVW without having to go through Gut Check. a majority of your audience isn't going to care about someone like Alex Silva.

Christian York was good enough to get a contract, and to start in TNA right away. he can be useful in the X division right now.
I also agree some of what he did was slow and sloppy.

most of this Gut Check thing has been a waste. not that the wrestlers they have signed don't have potential, but there was no need to have them on TV introducing them to viewers if you're not going to see them for a long time after that. there isn't enough air time for the talented wrestlers they have already.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Reminded me of a Jerry Lynn type. Slowed down and kind of weathered but far from over the hill and more potential for support than some of the regulars. He should get a shot. I think there may actually be money to be in made in his story and ability to create a new story of last chances and redemption.

....or TNA could just team him with the Robbies.

 

[Slash-LN]

I don't know if they mentioned it but he used to team with Joey Matthews before Matthews was in WWE. I want to say they both wrestled in OMEGA with the Hardy's and that group but I could be wrong about that.

He's quite a bit bigger than I remember him being which they mentioned during the match.

If they are going to bring in veterans like this then he would be a great start. As the people above me said he would be great to bring in and work in the X Division which could really use a boost.

I'd say yes but only if he's coming straight into the main roster and not wasting away in OVW.

 

[Notorious718]

I'd say he's easily had the best showing out of all the Gut Check contestants up to this point. Based solely on his performance last night, I'd say absolutely yes. Hell, I legitimately thought he actually was going to beat Ion. He had a great match with Ion and I'd love to see the both of them actually have a feud. The X Division could use some fresh talent and Christian York was actually surprisingly athletic for a guy with his size and physique. I'm not really sure how much charisma the guy has on the mic though so I can't judge him in the promo department. But that aside, my answer is an overwhelming yay. But bring him straight to television, for fuck's sake.

 

[PRMETFAN]

What "Gutcheck" were you guys watching not the same i did apparently. I was rooting for the guy but i though he was horrible. It looked like he missed a jump and tried to sell it as a "counter" when he did a cartwheel, the backflip kick was horrible even if it had landed hard its hard to believe anyone could sell that as "damaging" ,at some points he had to go into super slow mode just not to miss a spot. bad bad bad!!!

 

[Lowdown]

I liked what I saw out of York last night. He can go for sure, with a little bit of fine tuning. Hell, I'm not the only one who thought he was gonna beat Ion. This looks to be another legitimate contender for the X division title, if they vote yes, which they should.

 

[Pink Hole Slam]

I wouldn't say that York was good but he wasn't terrible either. The pro's of having him on the roster out weight the con's. Not sure how it came across on television but the live audience in the Impact Zone was into him. Everyone thought he was going to beat Zema after a while. Bring him on board.

 

[Uncle Phatso]

York went over well with the crowd, and got me into the match. You can nit pick all you want, but the two or three mess ups were outweighed by the rest of the match. I saw the cartwheel and the kick, and more. It did look like he had to slow it down, but Tbh so did most of the people before him.

He came across legit, a few of the gut check people kind of made me cringe. Well outside of Joey Ryan... all of them have really made me cringe. If Tna looks over this guy, then Idk...

 

[Skairipa Matrix]

Without a doubt York should get a YES! I thought he was going to be the first one to win the Gutcheck match even and I thought the guy was impressive. Like GSB said he reminds me of Jerry Lynn (hell he even looks a bit like him) and he could be used for the X Division right away.

Will be shocked if they don't sign him but lets hope he doesn't rot away in OVW after getting his contract.

 

[HBsam31]

I thought he was the best Gut Check participant so far along with Joey Ryan. You could tell he wasn't quite up to speed, but I think a little work would fix that. I liked the fact that they used a veteran this time, and even mentioned his short past with TNA. I would like to see more of this instead of the unknown guys. I give York a yes for sure.

 

[TylerFloyd5283]

Great build, Great look, and actually seemed to connect with the crowd, which means charisma..........first time I didn't change the channel during a "gut check" match........he started a lil sloppy and it seemed Zema Ion had to slow down for him but York show great athletism and good move set.......... the ending I felt was a bit weak but thats a small compliant, id love to see him back immediately...I only see him getting better with a HUGE upside....FINALLY PLEASED WITH A GUT CHECK!!!!!!!

 

[Otacon]

he may not have time to join the TNA roster yet. He has just signed on to play the lead in the prequel to "The Wrestler".

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

It's somewhat ironic that he tagged with Joey Matthews, because while I was watching Christian York's Gut Check segment, I wrote on Twitter (I think) that he reminded me a lot of Joey Mercury. They should bring Matthews to TNA, and re-create MNM without Johnny Nitro.

It's a yes from me as well. He's got the best look of any of the Gut Check contestants thus far. The only one with a better character has to be Joey Ryan, but I think York could be a bigger player long-term. The thing you have to ask yourself is: why is a guy that has tried out for every major wrestling company of the last two decades not already at least a small household name? Check out York's wiki profile; this guy has done work for ECW, WCW, WWF/E, Ring of Honor, and TNA. He's been to Memphis and wrestled in Chicago. He's teamed with some great guys, and there's a laundry list of opponents he's had on the independent circuit. So that kind of begs the question, is there something vitally wrong that we the fans don't see, but wrestling management does?

 

[Alex]

Yes.

He's been the only other contestant besides Joey Ryan that I give a damn about. He's great in the ring and has some personality (compared to Alex Silva and that other guy) but it does beg the question, why hasn't he been signed by a major promotion.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

York went over well with the crowd, and got me into the match.

That's not really saying much. The fans in the Impact Zone will cheer for almost anything that's put in front of them. For instance, look at the positive responses every other Gut Check competitor has gotten from them despite the fact that they've almost all been absolutely awful.

That being said, York, aside from Joey Ryan more than half a year go, is the only one of the Gut Check competitors to show any real ability whatsoever. I thought York did pretty well in his match against Ion. He wasn't amazing or anything but the guy looked pretty solid overall.

Having a veteran, somebody that's actually been out there in wrestling for years & actually looks as though he's managed to learn something, was a nice change from the extremely dull & uninteresting snoozefest Gut Check has become. Unfortunately, I don't look for TNA to ultimately stick with the format they've had with Gut Check.

In some ways, I guess based on his look, York put me in mind of a Jerry Lynn type of guy, or maybe the Randy "The Ram" Robinson character Mickey Rourke played in The Wrestler. Like Jerry Lynn, the guy is also pretty well known on the independent circuit, including a brief run with the NWA World Tag Team Championship with Joey Mercury back in the early 2000s.

I say give the guy a contract. He towers above almost every other wrestler, male or female, that's been featured on Gut Check.

 

[Papa Pillman]

I have been a big fan of York, and more specifically the York/Mattews tag team since their original ECW run. At that time I thought they were one of the next great tag teams in the business, and had ECW not folded, I still think that may have been the case.

Guys like York are the reason that I was excited about the gut check concept. I thought it was going to be a monthly audition for the top Indy talent not currently signed to an exclusive contract by another organization. I was expecting to be teased with matches from guys who were actually roster-worthy and readily recognizable to well-versed Indy wrestling fans like myself, but prior to York, Joey Ryan has been the only other "contestant" who met that criteria. Aside from those two we have been subjected to watching either green developmental level workers(ie. Shaw, Silva, Hendrix), or worse yet, teenage kids or out-of-shape nobodies.

I thought the decision to do gut check would be more inspired by what they have done with the X-division tournaments that preceeded the last two Destination-X events. Those tournaments provided TNA fans with either permanent or temporary roster spots for guys like Kenny King, Sonjay Dutt, Tony Neese, Kid Kash, Shima Xion, and most notably of course- Austin Aries. And that is not to mention that it has given us the chance to also see matches from solid talents like Gargano, Rave, Yang, Bentley and Blk Jeez as well as elite workers like Lo Ki, Jack Evans, Jigsaw, and Scorpio Sky. If gut check would routinely feature that same level of talent on a month-to-month basis then it would be a massive success that could truely re-invigorate the roster, especially the thin "X" or tag divisions.

I hope TNA sees the fan response from this week's match and realizes that the Gut Check concept is best used on guys who are legitimate main roster candidates like Christian York.

So to end the rant and answer the question...
YES to York. He can help the X-division, has real unique history with the company having wrestled on the first show, he's a well-traveled veteran who has wrestled for every major promotion of the last couple decades, he still has a good look and move-set, and he looks to still have some mileage left. What more are you looking for??

 

[Zeven_Zion]

Great look, seems to be able to cut a decent promo, not too bad in the ring. I'd say yeah but the only thing that annoyed me was how slow he was during some moves. It took him far longer than it should to bounce off the ropes, the delayed carthweel was horrible and the spotty moves he did were good but when you slow down THAT much it looks so fucking fake. Faker than it should.

I like him, just cut out the slow-ass moves and keep it simple.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Yay. Christian York was cool back in ECW, hes still cool to me now. Dude is one of the few cases where had he been given the chance when he was younger he'd have done something notable in the business, not that he hasn't, one-half of one of the top tag teams in the late nineties isn't too bad, a young tag team at that. He can go, he can speak, he has a good story and unlike say Sam Shaw or Alex Silva we actually know something about this guy, something interesting, something that makes you want to care.

There is no reason to reject Christian York. If Sam Shaw got a yes, there is truly no reason.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

he may not have time to join the TNA roster yet. He has just signed on to play the lead in the prequel to "The Wrestler".

I doubt that'll factor into the decision at all. TNA has never showed reserve before with letting their performers expand their careers, especially into film. Kurt Angle, The Pope, Kevin Nash, etc. have all shot films, from my recollection, while under contract to TNA in the past.

 

[UltimateHitman]

I thought he looked pretty good in his debut.

He has a natural charisma that came through in his interaction with the crowd, and his gestures and facial expressions in the ring, too.

He just seems to have a certain quality to him that stands out, for some reason. I think the guy could be a pretty valuable talent to have around.

 

[Cena's #1 In My Heart]

First off who are you to say that NO ONE likes gut check? I love the opportunity to watch new talent test themselfs. And I love being able to hear TNA agents opinoins on them. So go smurf yourself.

Christian York has the look, reminds me a bit of a more cut CM Punk. But he is like bigger and more muscular than half TNA's roster.. it almost seems like he would need to be a great wrestler and put high up on the card for people to believe in him. Especially since he's a "veteran".

His in-ring abilities seemed solid, but didn't seem to flow just right. Like he was a little cautious at times or something. But I'd still give him a contract, he looks like he could be a menacing matchup for the likes of AJ Styles. Make York into a vicious heel or something.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

YES

I am really happy to see Christian York appear on TNA, I have been a fan of his ever since he teamed with Joey "The Future" Matthews in ECW back in the day. I had a ECW "Hard Hitz" DVD with Matthews/York vs Swinger/Diamond and thought that Christian and Joey were fantastic, like an ECW version of The Hardyz

Now although that was 10 years ago, I still think York has what it takes. He is so much more muscular than he was then, and has hammered the fake tan but I definitely think TNA should hire him and give him another shot at the big time. Yeah it looked like he has slowed down a bit, but he did pretty well in that match. He is far better than ANY of the other Gut Check competitors, even Joey Ryan and I think he could be a great addition to the X-Division.

I just hope they sign him, TNA needs Christian York!

Here is a clip of York/Matthews from back in the day in a WWF dark match

[YOUTUBE]HJCwCoIt4k0[/YOUTUBE]

 

[The Marauder]

I've been watching for a good while and watched Christian York since his ECW days and said this kid got talent. Now, if Snow/Tazz/Prichard says "No" they really need to revamp Gut Check. Cause you can piss a lot of TNA/wrestling fans that care about the show, yet that a talented wrestler like York is not on your roster. Now the match itself was good, Ion was keeping his cool, and York had the crowd behind him. Keep it up York.

If he gets a contract to TNA wrestling? Here's the outcome...

1) Impact Wrestling should be easy enough to put this guy anywhere. Wheather it's feuds, 5 star matches, and championships. The problem with that is the booking team and their habit to often overlook value of the wrestler. This guy has options. A lot of options.

2) Good look, very solid in the ring, a cup of coffee in TNA, a contract, and a solid fanbase that's behind you. The future looks bright for York.

3) With York on the roster it may give TNA booking/writers a shot in the arm they need to bring more establish wrestlers from the indy's that want that shot on national television. To have a name that everyone will be talking about instead of word of mouth.