Gunner is the *NEW* TNA Television Champion

[Rasha]

The dormant TNA Television Title was vacated tonight and, in a total Immortal power-play, Gunner claimed the belt in a three-way against fellow Immortal members Rob Terry and Murphy.

Surprisingly, I liked the move to book that match. Immortal has been severely weakened by Fortune's betrayal and what happened with Hardy, so they needed something to keep some shred of dignity and at least ONE title to use as leverage.

I'm intrigued by the decision to put the belt on Gunner. He does have a good look to him so I'm curious what he's got on his own. The more predictable move of putting it on Terry would have put me to sleep, so glad to see they're taking a chance on someone new. I just hope they give Gunner a first name now.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Murphy to me seems like the one among the group with the better personality (and the ability to actually speak), so frankly I'd have gone that route personally, but I'm OK with the move as it was done here —*just have no idea why they put the belt on Abyss in the first place if they thought there was a chance he'd never even defend it before having to give it up.

Terry would have been a two-time Champion had he won, but I don't really believe he'd be best served for Immortal as the title-holder in this case — Gunner and Murphy need the push more.

 

[MachoMadness1988]

I though that they actually made the TV championship look like it meant something tonight. Especially the promo before the match. Hopefully that is a good sign for the future of the title. Gunner is a former NWA heavyweight champion for some indy company. He should be a good champion, and should do good things for his TNA career. I'm kind of disappointed that this pretty much means the end of Gunner and Murphy as a tag team right now. I think the tag team divison could us them right now.

On a side note, I would like see the TV championship belt be re-designed.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I find myself wondering if the TV title is cursed. Mediocre doesn't even begin to describe the history of the title and now it's being carried around in TNA by a nobody.

Of those three turds that were competing for the title on iMPACT! tonight, Gunner does seem to be the best choice when there are no good choices. I've just seen absolutely nothing whatsoever out of Gunner or Murphy to be even slightly impressed. They completely bombed out in the tag team scene, maybe winning one match that I can think of off top of my head, and now one of them is a singles champion.

I guess one good thing abut a worthless championship is that it can't possibly get any worse for it. It's pretty much at rock bottom at this point so you can put it on anybody and it's not likely to matter.

 

[CelticCorey]

Gunner, fucking GUNNER is the new TNA TV Champ.

I mean, I will agree that it looks like that it did mean something tonight based on buildup but holy crap I don't like any of these guys. I actually wish we'd get more heel vs. heel matches because I think it's pretty entertaining when heels insult each other.

But damn none of these guys entertain me at all. Immortal used to be loaded and have promise. Now it's these three, Jarrett and the Hardy's and the non-wrestling Flair, Hogan and Bischoff *YAWN* NEXT!!!

If Hernandez or Ray or both joined, it would be much better.

 

[itssoeasy123]

Gunner!

Really? One of the security guy's who have never spoken in their lifetime is a champion.

And what was the "Abyss hasn't been able to defend it." Of course Bischoff, he was stabbed week's ago!

I honestly do not see how anyone can benefit from this Championship win?

 

[nick p999]

They guy has potional but i think he being used to counter sheamus rain and be just as ruthless. Next couple weeks i wanna watch carefully if those 2 will have the same style.

 

[Kenny Powers]

I thought Murphy won the TV title? Its pretty bad when someone doesn't even know who the hell is Television champion or can make the difference between two team members. Gunner & Murphy might as well be called Ding and Dong or Assassin 1 and 2.

The title means nothing and will probably continue to mean nothing unless someone like Doug Williams, Jay Lethal, or AJ Styles brings credibility to it.

 

[Slack]

To correct the first guy, Gunner is actually a former NWA Anarchy heavyweight champion, former NWA Anarchy tag champion, former NWA National champion, he lost that title when he signed with TNA, and I"m not sure if he is still the SAW International champion or not.

Now I find this funny because folks complain that TNA aren't building up any new stars, then when they try, people complain that it isn't the right guy. I like the idea of Gunner wearing the belt. Give the guy a chance to break out on his own and see what he can do.

 

[UltimateHitman]

Yay. Gunnar.

What they should have done was leave Terry or Murphy out and inserted Crimson and given it to him. Then actually build some feuds and storylines around that and try to give it some relevance again.

So, 3 members of Immortal get tossed into a match for a title. Sounds pretty lame to me (thank God I actually missed that match). They're supposed to be this "tight knit" unit and they put 3 of their own guys out there to fight amongst themselves.

If the belt was going to go to Immortal, least they could have done was have one of them against 2 other guys and had the other 2 members help the guy win. Would've made more sense.

Sense. heh. hehheh. heeheehee. Sense, from a show that is so dis-organized it's embarrassing (with Vince Russo as the booker). Never mind, what was I thinking?

 

[CelticCorey]

To correct the first guy, Gunner is actually a former NWA Anarchy heavyweight champion, former NWA Anarchy tag champion, former NWA National champion, he lost that title when he signed with TNA, and I"m not sure if he is still the SAW International champion or not.

Now I find this funny because folks complain that TNA aren't building up any new stars, then when they try, people complain that it isn't the right guy. I like the idea of Gunner wearing the belt. Give the guy a chance to break out on his own and see what he can do.

There are a lot of guys who could've been the right guys. I have been a huge proponent of newer and younger talent. I would love to see new guys in the main event and I think a lot of people could've made fine T.V. champions. But I mean Gunner, fucking Gunner. Both of these guys, from what I've seen, can't wrestle for shit. You could take the belt off of Gunner, substitute it for nearly ANY OTHER WRESTLER on the TNA roster and I would've been PERFECTLY FINE WITH IT. And I would've said so too. I don't like ANY of these three guys.

AJ, Shelley, Red, Kendrick, Devon, Ray, Sabin, Crimson, Pope, Suicide, Wolfe, Williams, Hernandez, one of the bucks, Neal, Moore, Joe- ANY OF THESE COULD'VE BEEN TV CHAMPION AND I WOULD'VE BEEN PERFECTLY FINE WITH THAT!!!! GUNNER FUCKING SUCKS!!! END OF STORY!!!!

 

[Joe's Gonna Kill You]

I really like the move to put the TV title on Gunner he is a really talented wrestler. I've seen all of his work from NWA as Phil Shatter and I have also seen him Live at a TNA house show and he was Really Good and I was Very Impressed by his wrestling skills. The man was the NWA World Champion for 25 months I think hes good enough to have a Good reign as TV Champ if TNA allows him to be by giving him TV.

 

[iwinulose]

really!? so, they have abyss win the title, then he gets injured, now immortal is in possesion of the tna tv championship??? well thats a kinda very stupid storyline, highly disappointed with such short sighted decisions on tna's part.

 

[phlewfy]

Yup! You can really tell who are the wrestling fans and who are the sports entertainment fans in this forum.

Gunner aka Phil Shatter is one heck of a talented wrestler. Sure he hasn't really done anything of note since his arrival in TNA, but the man can work. I have seen a bunch of his matches over the last few years and have been impressed by his in ring talent. The guy is 28 or 29 years old and he is a fresh face. I just hope TNA gives him some matches to showcase what he can do. If TNA does let him show his in ring ability, he will win some of you guys over. Nice and subtle move on TNA's part to give this guy a quiet push. Hopefully they don't bungle it.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

This was terrible. Spin it how you like, he's a security guard. No one knows who he is, and no one cares. Plain and simple. He won't be a star, neither of them will be. I don't get it.

You have dozens of guys on that roster who could benefit from having that belt. Dozens. The ******ed-looking security guard doesn't need it. He shouldn't be wrestling at all, if you ask me.

And the match itself..what in the hell was that?? It was two minutes, at most, and all three guys are terrible. I don't get this move, not one bit. Then again, I haven't understood much of what Vince Russo has been doing for the past 12 years, so I guess it shouldn't be shocking.

 

[Slack]

Actually it was the NWA National title, he never held the NWA World title. The time was dominated mainly by Adam Pearce.

Yes there are alot of guys that could have been TV champion and people would have complained about each and every person that was listed. I mean for example, what did Crimson do in your mind to earn the TV title? I mean Shatter is at least part of the top group in TNA and was a minor player in that whole Immortal taking over. Crimson came in starting off with a major angle and now what is he doing. He's now taking indy bookings. When was he on TNA TV last? About a month ago I think, so what exactly did Crimson do to be the TV champion? In short, less than Shatter.

Now you all do know that Shatter isn't a security guy anymore. And plus that's a pretty weak argument. Oh he shouldn't be a champion because he was a security guard. Wrestlers like Batista and Kevin Nash were introduced as bodyguard types in the WWE. Sylvan Grenier was introduced to the WWE as a crooked ref.

 

[MancMark]

I've never seen him wrestle properly before (and still haven't after that 2 minute match) so I won't comment on his in-ring ability. It seemed a strange choice. But then I wouldn't get too excited, they'll probably squash him next week or job him out to Bully Ray.

 

[neildittmar]

I didn't like the whole situation with the TV title last night, as it really made no sense. Gunner and Murphy haven't even established themselves as a credible tag team yet and now one of them holds a singles title, obscuring their "roles" in Immortal (let alone TNA) even more. Rob Terry is slowly drifting into that incosequential/never-was territory that a lot of big men find themselves in shortly after the shock factor of them being big eventually wears off. Last night didn't help.

As for the title itself, being the TV champion traditionally (ie; WCW, ECW) means a number of things. First it signifies you as one of the best, if not the best wrestler on television. Can anybody in their right mind say that about any of the three competitors last night, particularly the guy who walked out with the title? None of these guys have established track records of anything resembling greatness in the company in any capacity.

The TV championship is also (again, traditionally) the step up to bigger and better things as a singles competitor. When one-half of a tag-team has won the belt, that wrestler has been identified as a "player", gone forward to (at least temporarily) elevate his game as an individual competitor and leave the tag-team scene. Does this move signify that Gunner and Murphy are due for a split so soon after being legitimately packaged together as a team? That's inconsistent to say the least.

In the special case of ECW, the TV championship was more akin to a U.S. or Intercontinental title. That is, a title for a strong mid-card wrestler to hold and defend while he is built up a bit more to be a main event player. Rob Van Dam immediately springs to mind. Gunner just recently started officially wrestling in TNA. He's not anywhere near that level yet... he simply can't be due to lack of ring exposure in his limited tag-team pairing with Murphy. Moreover I don't think, other than last night, he has actively competed in a televised singles match.

The only plus I see coming out of last night is that Gunner looked like he really wanted it. He showed shades of establishing himself as a credible singles wrestler and took a step towards becoming established. I can't help but feel that this same progress could've been made with a "jobber squash" against Brian Kendrick, not a TV title win. Too much too soon doesn't even begin to cover what's wrong with Gunner picking up the TV title.

Hopefully he'll run with the belt and really show some of what makes a number of folks on here call him a great NWA/indy wrestler. For now, I personally have my doubts.

 

[AntiChristDeicide]

I though that they actually made the TV championship look like it meant something tonight. Especially the promo before the match. Hopefully that is a good sign for the future of the title. Gunner is a former NWA heavyweight champion for some indy company. He should be a good champion, and should do good things for his TNA career. I'm kind of disappointed that this pretty much means the end of Gunner and Murphy as a tag team right now. I think the tag team divison could us them right now.

On a side note, I would like see the TV championship belt be re-designed.

That doesn't exactly mean the end of the tag-team, as he could have both belts. Anyways i liked the way the gave Gunner the TV-Title and he truly looked like a badass heel ( the look of his eyes).

 

[Trance Metaphor]

With this move, the TNA TV Championship has become the most useless title ever. It's a prop that never gets defended, and the rare occasions it does get defended? It predictably changes hands. What TV Champion has successfully defended the title? With all the hot potato going on, a guy that hasn't proven himself in TNA or has put on any remotely interesting/good matches in TNA is the new TV Champion. Okay, maybe Gunner will get a chance to showcase his skills as a singles Champion, but I have a feeling that won't happen 'cause his first title defence will mean...a NEW Champion!

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Problem with the title is that it's not used as a stepping stone of any kind in the company the way the TV title was used in WCW. Guys like Luger, Booker T, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Scott Steiner, Konnan and DDP carried that belt at one point or another in WCW, and almost all went on to become major players for the company afterward.

The guys holding the TV title in TNA should be the kind of young guys who have that main event potential who've yet to really deserve that spot — guys like Crimson, Desmond Wolfe, Pope, Magnus, Williams, etc. It should be used as a mid-card to upper mid-card championship that allows those guys to get a taste of what holding a championship is like while helping to build their credibility as eventual big-name players. Unfortunately it's being passed around like a dirty magazine in an Army barracks to the kind of guys who simply aren't ready for that spotlight and who continue to devalue whatever potential it has/had by failing to defend it and consistently having it change hands without feuds or builds.

 

[ABMorales787]

Yeah. The only thing I can applaud here is the continuity. Like Tenay said: "I like Immortal's odds." I'm pretty damn shocked Matt Hardy was nowhere to be seen. He would've been an improvement over any of the three guys actually fighting for the belt. One can only hope that this will lead to a member of Fortune taking it in a future point (that's hopefully not to far off). Maybe Roode or Kaz. Or hell, give it to Morgan and reward him for his shortcoming main event pushes. Just actually do something with the belt instead of looking promising just to fall short.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

That's actually a great point, KJ — why not Hardy? Guy has busted his ass since getting to TNA and came in in fantastic shape compared to his dying days in WWE. Would have made for a great reward had they simply given him the title instead of one of Gunner, Murphy or Terry.

Frankly, I'd rather they gone that route. Right now he's the best wrestler in the entire stable now that Jeff is MIA and while Ray is still undetermined.

There could be a method to the madness, though — we've seen little of Gunner since joining TNA, especially in the ring, so this could be a good thing. Gotta give it time.

 

[klunderbunker]

I'm not sure about this yet but I'm also not sure if it was a bad idea. Definitely points for trying someone new and also it gives us a way to remember who is who. However on the other hard Gunner is a singles champion. It's something I'm going to have to get used to, but it's someone new and it's not Abyss. As was said elsewhere in here, Matt not getting it was odd, but maybe they have other plans for him. I'm not completely opposed to this but it depends on where it goes.

 

[AntiChristDeicide]

That's actually a great point, KJ — why not Hardy? Guy has busted his ass since getting to TNA and came in in fantastic shape compared to his dying days in WWE. Would have made for a great reward had they simply given him the title instead of one of Gunner, Murphy or Terry.

Frankly, I'd rather they gone that route. Right now he's the best wrestler in the entire stable now that Jeff is MIA and while Ray is still undetermined.

There could be a method to the madness, though — we've seen little of Gunner since joining TNA, especially in the ring, so this could be a good thing. Gotta give it time.

Well yeah Matt Hardy should have been in the match at least instead of Rob Terry, (only because he had it before ). But you know the story for the time being , he has to take care of Jeff in real life (remember Victory Road) so he couldn't possibly be there at the moment.