Hallelujah, Hallelujah, he has returned!

[It's Damn Real!]

... and a pimptacular return at that, no?

If you haven't seen by now (shame on you), "Pope" D'Angelo Dinero just returned from a two-month hiatus with the company while healing from his shoulder surgery, and the reception from the congregation was resolute with adoration and support – hell, Pope even shed a couple of pimpin' tears as a result!

He let the audience know that he wasn't fooled by Mr. Anderson's "deceptive ways" (referring to his recent face turn), and that he hadn't forgotten about what he did to him in the first place, but that in his return, his focus was still the same as before he left to begin with – to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

Cue Kurt Angle v. the TNA Top-10, and Angle v. Pope at Victory Road 2010 is born.

Sounds to me like these two may not necessarily feud seeing as they're both faces at the moment, but the match at VR should be fantastic all things considered.

--

That said, it's Q&A Time!

• What did you think about the return of "The Pope"?

• Provided he doesn't feud with Angle following their match at VR, what's next for him – a follow-up with Anderson, or perhaps a retread to Desmond Wolfe? Why?

• Is Pope still Pimpin'?

 

[Money Inc.]

Pope had a very nice return promo...

Call me crazy but IMO they will turn him heel the first chance they get. Looking at their main event guys on their roster right now (also including the top mid carders that bounce back in forth into the main event scene) I'm counting 9 baby faces and 5 heels.

A part of those five heels I'm counting AJ Styles who looks like he might be the odd man out of Fortune and teasing a possible return to baby face. I'm also counting Sting who is "suspended" indefinite even though all of us can already foreshadow Icon vs Hulkamania Bound For Glory already. With that being said, If Pope stays face, he's either going to have to head to the X-Division or turn heel for him to get anywhere for story line purposes.

And yes Pope is still pimpin'

He's got the charisma to stay face or turn heel, but I just don't see the feuds out there for him to continue as a face. Is anybody really going to pay money to see Pope vs Wolfe for the 20th time?

 

[Sting's Bat]

That said, it's Q&A Time!

• What did you think about the return of "The Pope"?

It can only be a good thing for TNA if they use him properly, however i really hope that "if" he loses to angle at VR it will be done in a way that doesn't bury him.

•

Provided he doesn't feud with Angle following their match at VR, what's next for him – a follow-up with Anderson, or perhaps a retread to Desmond Wolfe? Why?

Well if he beats angle is could lead to a good thing for both of them, angle could go psycho obsessive i must beat him moster heel while the pope could be put mega over by denying the newly turned heel angle.

As for his fued with Mr Anderson considering his SCSA type tweener turn he has going atm im not sure if a return feud could be booked well by TNA at this time, however if what happened last night is followed up on Anderson may well be going heel again after a program with Hardy which after that ends a Pope-anderson fued will be easier to book.

As for a Wolfe-Pope program considering this whole chealsea thing is yet to be resolved idk how that will work.



•

Is Pope still Pimpin'?

I felt a swell of interest when his intro music hit. His work on the stick is still good hopefully he's not too rusty from all that shelf time especially going up against angle.

 

[Ferbian]

• What did you think about the return of "The Pope"?

I loved it, first time I've properly seen a promo from Pope, and I think it was pretty good, WWE certainly let go of quite a talent there, and I loved the play on words that he constantly threw around.

It was a very well handled return, the crowd was good, as well as Pope being great to keep the crowd entertained, especially with the whole "I couldn't have done it without support from mama pope, father pope, Dixie pope and Pope Hogan" which had me chuckling a little bit (I know I might have gotten a bit wrong)

• Provided he doesn't feud with Angle following their match at VR, what's next for him – a follow-up with Anderson, or perhaps a retread to Desmond Wolfe? Why?

I think it all depends on how it turns out against Angle, if Angle looses I could see him doing something semi bragging or something along those lines, without coming off as a heel.

Or if he looses, there's a lot of potential to what he could go on and do, he'd probably be wrestling with someone who's not doing anything most likely, because putting him in a feud with Anderson would probably not be the greatest idea considering Anderson has Jeff Hardy right now to deal with in terms of storyline.

• Is Pope still Pimpin'?

I can't really say, seeing as I haven't seen much from Pope, but he certainly came off very energetic and entertaining, and he did poke a lot of the Pimpin' part, so I guess a yes is the right answer.

 

[nightmare]

pope is and always will be pimpin'. vince let go of a star...

his return was great, fantastic reception from the impact zone. he is one of the few guys who can leave and slide right back into the picture. he is a great wrestler who can definately have a nice run at the title.

unfortunately angle is standing in his way... not good for pope. this will be a great battle but imo kurts not going to lose. if pope is the cadillac of wrestling, then kurt is the rolls royce of the ring. kurt will win but definately put pope over in the process. he needs to stay around the title hunt for a bit, but i think that he will be more at home with a nice run tin the x-division. (which only consists of about 3 people at the moment)

 

[Goliath Uterus]

I was very excited to see Pope return last night, he is one of my favorite wrestlers in the world right now, and it was a shame that he got that injury when he did. This match with Kurt Angle should be interesting, I think it may be a forgone conclusion what the outcome of the match will be (Kurt Angle winning).

I think after this mini feud with Angle, they put him in a feud with either Wolfe, or Kazarian, or some upper midcard heel, hell, they may even put him in a feud with AJ if AJ stays heel. And yes, Pope is still very much pimpin, he cut one hell of a promo last night, and was very over in the iMPACT! zone, expect big things from the Pope the rest of this year.

 

[Palange420]

Honestly, i love the pope and im glad hes back. They need to cash in on this oppurtunity and put the title on him soon, not too soon, maybe have him wait for it and build up suspense with the fans to get him even more over. He is an amazing athlete and is very over w the crowd and also is pimptacular on the mic, so therefore, i think it would be very stupid to turn him heel, they need to capitalize on this and make this guy their number one, they need new younger talent other than AJ to be the face of the company if they wanna go anywhere in the future.

 

[gd]

• What did you think about the return of "The Pope"?

Great return promo, for sure. Reminded me why I didn't think he's was utter shit before the injury. The crying may have been a little over the top, but whatever. Perfect way to bring him back and get him into something major right away.

• Provided he doesn't feud with Angle following their match at VR, what's next for him – a follow-up with Anderson, or perhaps a retread to Desmond Wolfe? Why?

I'm assuming a loss to Angle and that's that, which is just fine. I'd say he'll have to go after Anderson next. Sure, it'll be somewhat of a face/face feud, but since he adressed it and it makes sense, it's going to happen. Plus, it's not like there are any heels that he can feud with, Wolfe being an insignificant jobber at this point, of course.

• Is Pope still Pimpin'?

I believe so, as I don't think I've heard anything about the authorities getting wind of his activities yet.

 

[a0161613]

Oh my brother, testify!!! Praise be, praise be, I have a reason to watch Impact this week.

Pope is awesome! There is no doubt in my mind that this guy could be the future face of TNA. I love the gimmick which works great as a face but has potential to be just as good as a heel, his ring work is great and has a good work rate. His style is fairly unique and that will serve him well as he could fit anywhere. Certainly he has shown the ability to cut unique and funny promos.

The Angle match could be his breakout match - Angle doesn't have bad matches with decent talent - and I can't wait to see how that goes down.

 

[goodlay]

Pope is pimpin' right now and he had a great promo on iMPACT last night. While I feel he'll lose to Angle at Victory Road, I feel he's still getting a good push right now. Whatever the "it" factor is, he has it. He never reached his full potential in WWE, but they really lost one in the Pope. I don't know if he'll be a world champion anytime soon but Kurt was right on the money when he said "You're the future of TNA, and the future looks bright"

 

[ABMorales787]

Oh my brother, testify!!!

Wrong catchphrase.

I loved the return. Especially the video before he came in. People say Kurt may have done wrong by coming in, but it can't be worse than when he interrupted Triple H's return on 2002. He was respectful to D 'Angelo and setup the match nicely. However I see the problems with Anderson leading both men to tweener roles. As Pope tries to expose Anderson and Anderson tries to convince Pope. I's been back and forth thus far and they can keep it that way for a bit longer. Glad to have the man back. He hasn't skipped a beat.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

• What did you think about the return of "The Pope"?
I think it was good, he is one of my favourites at TNA...and him being a face is really him better than be a heel..he's like the rock of TNA...

• Provided he doesn't feud with Angle following their match at VR, what's next for him – a follow-up with Anderson, or perhaps a retread to Desmond Wolfe? Why?
The match sees Angle winning of course cuz he will rip though the top 10..I think he should feud with Anderson, i think he and Wolfe are kinda done...I hope after BFG, if Angle wins the world title, he can go after the title again, maybe as a heel?? who knows..and then we could have a really good feud between the 2 can't we???

• Is Pope still Pimpin'?
Of course he is, with that theme and his looks, he is pimpin' all the way to the top..

 

[Pepe Silvia]

I'm rather ecstatic that Pope's back, as I have been getting rather bored with TNA lately. Whilst I am one of the biggest supporters of TNA on this forum, I've found myself just bored with some of the angles lately. There hasn't been a single segment involving Elijah that left a bad taste in my mouth, which will most likely be replacing some segments of lesser importance.

My only problem is that I don't see how there could be any build up for the Victory Road match-up, other than placing him in a tag team match alongside Angle, facing someone of the likes of Beer Money or another established heel tag team. IF this happens, expect a bit of a Can You Top This segment between Pope and Angle, or one of the two blind tagging themselves into the match. Not necessarily heel tactics, but more of a way for Pope to send a message to Angle. (Which he kind of needs to do to prove he can still go against arguably THE best performer in the history of TNA.)

I fully expect Pope to lose to Angle; I doubt Angle will retire soon, and Pope said "EIGHTY PERCENT!" about twelve times in his promo. He's stressing the fact that he's not at his fullest, which won't make a loss to Angle seem all that bad on his record. I can also somewhat see him getting a bit of a nudge from Angle, in the same way that Mike Morgan (HUH?) was given one in his match at Bound for Glory this past October. Because of Pope's rave following, however, expect him to use it to catapult himself into a feud with an established heel; I certainly wouldn't mind him going up against AJ until the next PPV, as we never really got Pope's retribution match after AJ drove a pen into his eye.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Pope is definitely pimping my friends. He had a great heartfelt promo and he should tear the house down against Kurt Angle at Victory Road. The only thing I'm worrying about is will Pope be ready to go? He said he was 80% so hopefully that is enough for him not to re injure his shoulder. Pope has injured that shoulder too many times over the past few months so I hope that it stays intact.

As for the future? I highly doubt Angle will lose any of his matches since there is no way he is ready to retire. I think the Pope will have a good match with Angle, but come up on the losing end. I do think that maybe Mr. Anderson or maybe even someone else will cost The Pope his match against Angle.

Pope will probably feud next with either Mr. Anderson, Fortune, or someone like Matt Morgan. I would love to see a Morgan vs. Pope feud. There is so much talent in TNA right now that practically anyone on the roster could be a main eventer. Here is hoping that Abyss, Sting, and Jarrett step down so the young blood can take over.

 

[LitasRevenge79]

All I can say is HALLELUJUAH for the return of the Pope!!

I for one was truly amazed at the amount of respect and loyalty from the fans in that impact zone watching my tape of impact. I was amazed to see how touched Pope was, I don't think I've ever seen any wrestler have such an emotional return like that (save for JJ when he came back after his wife's death.) But back to the Pope, I say that was probably THE promo that will cement his spot in the company. Now, on to the end of the matches. I, for one, after Victory Road, wouldn't be too suprised if he's back in a feud with Anderson considering the end of the show the other night with Hardy/Anderson/RVD/Abyss. I truly, and with all my heart do want to see Pope make it to the top. He had been working hard and then that nasty shoulder injury did take him out in his prime, that had to be rough emotionally and physically on someone as gifted as him. I will be one of the members of the congregation doing my dance of joy when he makes it to the top of the chain.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I've never saw the greatness in Pope everybody else sees and never will. To me, he is just a slightly more interesting Anderson in terms of mic skills because Anderson annoys me when he opens his mouth. It's guaranteed that Angle is going to beat Pope in what would probably be a decent match. After Victory Road, I see Pope feuding with Morgan or Wolfe. I see Styles, Joe, Hardy, Anderson, Abyss, Sting, and Lethal getting more chances of title shots than I do Wolfe. Maybe by the end of the year.

 

[Барбоса]

If TNA and in particular Angle are serious about using Kurt's climb up the ladder to give some rub to younger talent then the upcoming contest between Angle and Pope at Victory Road should end in some kind of tie, either a time-limit draw or a double pin. That way when Angle eventually wins a rematch at Hard Justice then Pope will not have had all of his momentum taken away.

That would also generate more interest in Angle's climb up the ladder by giving the impression that it is not a foregone conclusion that he will reach the top and win the TNA title

 

[The Gribbler]

To be perfectly honest, the pope is one of the only reasons I watch TNA anymore. I turned on TNA and watched until the minute the Pope promo ended and switched the channel.

He has become so very entertaining and I would watch and Impact show built around him.

Anyway I think his return was handled well and the match with Angle should be good, but I think I would have rather seen him handle Anderson first.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

The Pope is so entertaining, he has a great look, great entrance, great music and is so talented in the ring.

He is DEFINATELY still pimpin!!!!

Dinero is certainly someone TNA need to keep in the spotlight as he can all the skills to be one of the top guys in the company for the forseeable future, but I think now he could benefit from a long term X-Division title reign, to restore some credibility to the division, even as the X Champ he could still wrestle against some of the main eventers in no title matches, but just having a star like the Pope as the X-Champ could do great things for the division.