Ethan Carter III is Coming to TNA

[It's Damn Real!]

No video online yet, that I've found, but it was a text-only vignette that ran just prior to the Sabin/Manik X bout. Really simplistic, but based on the style of the logo and after a quick Google search, a Gut Check contestant named "Ethan HD" seems to be the leading candidate at the moment. He's apparently a rapper.

This would also tie into the reports of new talents coming into TNA.

As usual, I know absolutely nothing about "Ethan HD", assuming it's him, and even if it's not, I'm not likely to know the guy it actually is either.

Any intelligent guesses or inside tracks on this? Remember — this is still a NO SPAM thread in a NO SPAM forum. Your responses better have reason and substance.

 

[Slash-LN]

Just doing a quick Google search of Ethan HD and he posted this on Twitter

"...and I'm just sittin' here whistlin' Dixie."

I don't know if that is a subtle remark about Dixie Carter and TNA or what but given what you said it could be an indication that it is him.

 

[JJYanks121]

I have no inside information on this nor do I think it truly matters. With that said, I think TNA is getting it right here.

It's very possible to take a guy that's unknown and make him meaningful quickly by hyping him up. Vignettes, teasers, and the like can make a guy who is in a new gimmick or a guy new to TV look important. It's an age old tactic and it usually works.

I'm already a little intrigued on who this guy could be. That's more than I can say for half the roster. It's also more exciting to see what this guy, who likely isn't famous, can do rather than bringing in the latest guy that WWE has fired.

It's just a short video, but it's a great start. Do more of this to get the new talents over. I guarantee it'll work.

 

[3drinks]

Of course. I should have known. I saw the vignette tonight and was utterly baffled, but your surface probing clicked the light bulb on for me. Ethan HD is an independent wrestler from Portland Uncut Wrestling over here in the Pacific-Northwest (it's a local regional promotion). He's a pretty solid worker from what I've seen in Portland, so I will be looking forward to where they go with him.

 

[Blade222]

Ethan HD wrestles as well in Championship Wrestling From Hollywood (http://www.hollywoodwrestling.com/). He is billed as from Chicago, and has "a street value of 23 million".

 

[Papa Pillman]

The way the promo video had his name "blinged out" would seem to fit Ethan HD's CWFH persona. Also TNA has pulled a decent number of wrestlers from CWFH for Gutcheck, last year's Dest-X tourney, etc. over the last year or so. This seems to point to Ethan HD almost surely being the guy.

He probably wouldn't be good for anything beyond X-division depth though. He has decent size and look for the division but isn't much more than passable in the ring(though he does move pretty well for his size). His appeal is for sure his character and mic work, but it can also get kind of annoying. I would liken his promo style to that of a 2nd rate Chris Jericho knockoff. You'll best know what I mean by that the first time you hear his delivery, especially when mentioning taking a wrestler to the "danger zone".

He's from the Pacific Northwest, but in CWFH he is billed as the "Chi-Town Urban Emperor".

I don't get why they would hype his debut heavily, aside from a lot of title success in some smaller Oregon and Vancouver based promotions, he has mostly been a lower/midcard jobber-type. And even with his strengths, he's not overtly talented and may seem in over his head appearing for a national promotion like TNA.

With all the top Indy talent that's out there, it's a sad state of affairs that TNA would really be willing to settle on this guy as a main roster addition.

 

[Jstrike]

we already seen lei'd tapa is comming, and i felt this was alittle desperate for tna. to get people talking, now no one has even mentioned leid tapa. but there mentioning ethan. i dont know ethan hd and i dont care to know ethan hd.
who knows who ethan is? i dont really care honestly i would be alittle concered to take a mma look and see if there any guy who is named ethan. tna has promised big talents i believed them and was dissapointed. so this time im already gonna slam this whole ethan angle, cause tna will do what tna does best and that is dissapoint us fans. tna has enough wrestlers quit bringing new wrestlers on it. use the ones you have i mean gosh!

 

[Stinger]

Last night's promo for Ethan reminded me of the promo that TNA played before Robbie E and Cookie showed up in October 2010.

From what I've read in this thread, I'm really not too thrilled to see this guy debut if it is indeed this Ethan HD guy. From the sounds of it, it sounds like this guy should be feuding, or even teaming up, with Robbie E and Jesse once he arrives, and I don't think that's what TNA needs right now. Instead of signing a guy who is a jobber on the Indy circuit, just bring back someone like Crimson instead.

 

[T2KFreeker]

Don't know. If it is Ethan HD, the guy really isn't a bad wrestler. He has some solid in ring skills and could surely improve over time. Obviously someone sees something in him. His work at CWFH has been solid and his promo work isn't half bad. He's better on the stick than Kazarian is. I know he has quite a few fans, but as good of a wrestler as he is, Kaz can't work a Mic, so if he brings solid Mic Work and a good solid ring style, I don't see why nobody would want to know who he is. He could end up being good with the right training and could be a huge benefit to getting the X-Division back to where it needs to be, which is on top.

 

[Papa Pillman]

TNA aired a new "Ethan" vignette on the latest episode of Impact:


It is obvious from this video that Ethan is former WWE developmental talent Derrick Bateman, real name Michael Hutter. Hutter had a TNA tryout back in August at the Cleveland Impact taping.

You don't see his face, but it is very obvious from his voice. Also his size and full head of dark hair are other strong giveaways.

After logical speculation that Ethan HD would be the reveal, this is a very welcome surprise. Hutter was an extremely entertaining personality on NXT, especially in his backstage interactions with his pro, Daniel Bryan. His ring work is solid, but more importantly the guy has too much charisma not to get over, not to mention a good look. He got a long run through WWE developmental, so he is prepared for this stage, but without a presence on their main roster, he hopefully doesn't carry the "WWE reject" stigma that so many people seemed to be obsessed with.

Signings like this are exactly what TNA needs if they plan to bolster the roster with fresh faces.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I have no idea who that is, but I read a little while back that he apparently had a dark match try out with TNA, so that makes a lot more sense than the Ethan HD guy that was originally being speculated .

Just a quick Google search shows he's got a great physique and looks huge, but I'll have to actually see him in action before I can give all that adequate a read on him.

Just out of curiosity, why was he released from WWE? Did he ever make their roster, or was he just a spring cleaning victim?

 

[Papa Pillman]

Just a quick Google search shows he's got a great physique and looks huge, but I'll have to actually see him in action before I can give all that adequate a read on him.

Here's a quick match between Bateman and his pro Bryan that shows a little of what he can do:


But here's more of a look at what really makes him standout:

Just out of curiosity, why was he released from WWE? Did he ever make their roster, or was he just a spring cleaning victim?

He got TV exposure on NXT, but never was a true member of the main roster.

And yes, he was a spring cleaning victim released back in May, the same time they released Dolph Ziggler's brother amongst others. Just a casualty of the numbers game.

 

[justavictim82]

If it is Bateman, I will be excited. He has a lot of potential, a good look and is really good on the mic. He seemed like he was being wasted on the NXT roster and everytime he was about to make a jump to the main roster, he got hurt. If he can stay healthy and spice up the move set a bit (it is a little bland) he would fit nicely into the X-Division

 

[Jaredtyler]

derrik bateman has been reported as ethan.
this will be a great debut, i think ethan will be a good wrestler in tna.
i for one thinks that tna actually did something smart for a change.

 

[Sweettre15]

Apparently Ethan's full kayfabe name is Ethan Carter III: https://twitter.com/EthanCarterTNA

I wonder if this will end up being an angle where he's Dixie Carter's son or something

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

Isn't it weird we saw last night's segment billed as "earlier tonight" when it was part of the exact same segment we saw last week? Ha, well anyway I've seen very little of his work so I hope he impresses me. Will he debut at BFG perhaps?

And yeah the Carter surname is quite odd indeed...

 

[Jstrike]

i expect tna to let him debut on bound for glory!
i would love to see ethan vs erick young at bound for glory!
tna would not get anyone to buy this over the match, but these guy's could literally have a decent match! and i think tna fans would benefit from him.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I'm not sure why Jtstrike is screaming at everyone, but the vignette's they are running right now are sweet. He seems to have a great look, and plays the cocky heel well based on what little we've seen of him yet, but I'm withholding judgement until I actually see a body of work, not just a body.

Lai'D Tapa, for example, is a great body/presence, but the moment she has to actually work (physically), it's all out the window. She's shit. I'm hoping Carter isn't.

 

[Slash-LN]

Now that we 100% know who it is I'm going to say that I'm so glad it's not that other Ethan dude. I'm just basing that off his Twitter account.

As far as who it actually is I'm not totally familiar with him. I watched some of his NXT stuff with Daniel Bryan and it was entertaining but I haven't watched enough to really have a strong feeling one way or the other.

It will be interesting to see where they go with the character and how well he fits in with the roster.

 

[Stinger]

It will be interesting to see where they go with the character and how well he fits in with the roster.

This is what I'm very curious to see myself. With Dixie playing the role of the evil boss, I'm wondering if Ethan is supposed to be her son or nephew, is he going to get a major push right off the bat? I sort of hope not, but at the same time it wouldn't make sense for Dixie to bring in a family member (I know it's kayfabe) and have him be buried in the mid-card during her current heel run.

It also annoyed me when they showed the same vignette from last week with the caption "Earlier Today" at the bottom of the screen. I have a feeling Ethan is going to be a much better, and much less sleazier, version of Joey Ryan. I'm looking forward to seeing his debut.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

I'm not getting my hopes up, even though I enjoyed what little I saw.

I was hyped for Joey Ryan and we all know what happened. TNA has a problem with introducing cool or potentially cool people and gimmicks, hyping them up and then not having them be seen or heard for weeks before they reappear again picking up where they left off, only at this point people have either forgotten about them or don't care anymore.

Manik, Joey Ryan, Orlando Jordan, Heel Sabin and a slew of others I can't even remember but I know are in there somewhere.

Either way, it looks good so far and if the name is not a coincidence, it'll be nice for him to be related to Dixie somehow. She obviously has an agenda and she can't fight so it makes sense that she brings someone in to do her dirty work.

Corporate Champion anyone?

 

[The Eighties]

Bateman looked like he had more potential than Curtis when they were on NXT together but something didn't quite click for him. This new gimmick looks good, kinda like Ben Stillers cheesy action movie star from Tropic Thunder, I can see EC3 catching on and hey, he's a Carter so maybe he's related!

 

[SpecialFNK]

did anyone pick up what he said tonight? he said during his promo that he is going to make aunt D proud at BFG. I didn't really put it together right away, and I was thinking what, aunt D? them bam, it made sense. ..who has a D initial? Dixie! they both have the last name Carter. so I'm going to have to guess that Ethan Carter will debut as Dixie Carter's nephew at BFG. with that you have to think he gets involved in the AJ/Bully match, which Dixie just tonight after the show made to be no DQ.

 

[Slash-LN]

did anyone pick up what he said tonight? he said during his promo that he is going to make aunt D proud at BFG. I didn't really put it together right away, and I was thinking what, aunt D? them bam, it made sense. ..who has a D initial? Dixie! they both have the last name Carter. so I'm going to have to guess that Ethan Carter will debut as Dixie Carter's nephew at BFG. with that you have to think he gets involved in the AJ/Bully match, which Dixie just tonight after the show made to be no DQ.

People made the Carter connection a week ago when they ran the promo announcing his full name.
As soon as he said Aunt D it was instantly picked up in the live discussion tonight.

On topic I'm actually getting hyped about him and am curious to see where this goes with his character.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

Good to see a thread on there give some love to a Portland wrestling guy. The scene out here is so dead unfortunately, aside from Portland Uncut and a few other minor places. Piper is out here and is pretty active in the community from what I understand, but that's about the extent of it. Definitely not what it used to be, that's for sure.

To the point...Derrick Bateman. Woot.