Gut Check and the X Division Tournament

[Wrestlefan27]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the point of Gut Check is to show us new up and coming talent that we wouldn't get to see otherwise, right?

What is the point of Gut Check if TNA is just going to trot out these new performers for the X Division tournament?

I thought the matches were great, but I was like, "Who are these guys? Why is this not a Gut Check match?"

They showed new, innovative moves, their timing was on, they got to cut promos after the matches.

I just don't understand the redundancy.

I would rather they did away with the Gut Check and showing us the idiotic "reasoning" of the judges (that upsets me when I disagree) in favor of just having televised tryouts.

Opinions?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I didn't really think of that. It does seem redundant on the surface but, at the end of the day, reality sometimes has to kick in. TNA is doing an X Division themed ppv with Destination X just as they did last year. The problem with that is that they're extremely short on relevant X Division wrestlers and the Gut Check concept hasn't been around long enough to do bring in new X Division guys.

Also, I think the point of the Gut Check concept, kayfabe, is to kind of bring in talent that TNA officials can look at and see as being "the future" of the company. The vast majority of X Division guys who've come & gone in the 10 years TNA has been around are wrestlers that are/were never going to rise higher than the X Division. I don't think that perception has really changed all that much. We'll probably see some more X Division guys we haven't seen before next week as well, with maybe 3 or 4 guys in total sticking around after the Destination X ppv is finished. For instance, that guy Rubix might not show up again next week, same goes for Mason Andrews.

As for the X Division tourney at the ppv, I'm a little confused. TNA annouced yesterday online that there's going to be an Ultimate X match to determine the new champ. Last I heard, that announcement was still there but they announced a tournament last night. What might happen is they have a tournament comprised of some relatively quick matches at the ppv with the winners of each match moving on to compete in Ultimate X to determine the new champion.

 

[TellMeWhy]

So what are you saying? Are you saying that every new talent that comes in TNA now has to go through a Gut Check process? Gut check is for those that would normally be overlooked getting a shot to land a contract. It's an extra opportunity. It doesn't mean every new talent in TNA should have to go through that screening process. That's like saying WWE should get rid of the NXT and Tough Enough concepts due to new guys getting to debut on TV throughout the year. I look at Gut Check as just another way to give new talents an intro coming in without doing a video package.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

I don't think anyone outside of the eventual winner is guaranteed anything and, in concept, it should be much harder to win two qualifiers and then Ultimate X to ensure a contract than garnering one through the Gut Check format.

 

[Dieter_Von_Cunth]

Gut check isn't limited to x division participants only. They had a knockout do the gut check yesterday with Taylor Hendrix. In the episodes to come, you will see all types of wrestlers compete not just x division guys.

 

[dadubay]

Sonjay Dutt is an old TNA guy so they aren't just bringing in new guys. I like the concept. It was great to see Scorpio Sky on TV. Does anyone know if Rubbix was an indy guy under a different gimmick?

 

[blockanWo]

So for those confused. There is a tournament to determine who is going to participate in the Ultimate X match, it consists of new and current stars.

Just think of it as a similar situation to last years contract tournament. Some of the guys are fillers whereas some of them will probably get hired. It was great seeing Sonjay Dutt back, hopefully they can get some of the other loved, former X division guys back. Id kill to see Petey Williams back.

 

[ABMorales787]

The guys picked for the X Division showcase obviously have notable experience due to their high-flying styles. In contrast, the Gut-Check wrestlers are still relatively fresh and have no real style yet due to still being relatively young and inexperienced. The diference is clearly there and pretty blatant too so it's certainly not redundant.

 

[waylon p]

Jigsaw was in the vulture squad over at ROH, with jack Evans and ruckus. I remember them in a program against resilience, consisting of Austin aires and (I think) Matt cross and Erick Stevens.

 

[Pera]

Right, so just say Randy Orton is released from the WWE tomorrow, he should have to go through Gutcheck? Gutcheck is just another segment where it gives an opportunity to talent that is often overlooked elsewhere. Doesnt mean EVERY talent that joins TNA in the future should have to go through that segment.

 

[Wrestlefan27]

I think my point went misunderstood. I'm not saying that every new face has to go through Gut Check. I'm just saying that a drawing point of the Gut Check concept is that you get to see new talent that you don't normally see. It makes it redundant and takes away from its novelty when you do that in an outside situation. It's a headscratcher to me. The difference in talent/experience between the X tourney guys and the Gut Check guys was not obvious, as it was the first appearance for all of them. The Gut Check guys weren't given much time to perform, and there's no way of differentiating. To the lay fan, the X division guys that just appeared could be "talents that may not otherwise get a chance to be seen" just like the Gut Check people.

I like seeing the new faces and talent in the X Dvision.