Jay Lethal Getting Pushed, Hard!

[gd]

The guy just beat AJ Styles on PPV yesterday. Really, it happened. Wouldn't have imagined something like that happening just a few months ago, but it did. Instead of focusing on how far AJ has fallen, let's focus on how much Lethal has risen.

He's dropped the Macho Man gimmick, which actually was quite entertaining, in exchange for no gimmick really, other than being a normal black wrestler that isn't defined by stereotypes, which is a gimmick in itself, really.

Sure, he isn't the best in the ring or on the mic, but he's at least really solid. It appears he may actually be getting a legit push at the moment, likely something involving Kaz and Flair, with an outside shot at becoming #1 Contender.

What do you think of Lethal rising from the ashes recently? Does his push please you? Has he done enough to become your token black guy?

Personally, I'm quite enjoying it.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

It looks like he's getting a push but I don't expect it to lead a world championship. Maybe a title shot at a lesser PPV in a few months at the last. He beat Angle clean three years and all that got him was a lackluster feud with Sonjay Dutt. Hopefully it'll be different this time around. He's only 25 so if it doesn't happen this year, he has plenty of times provided he stays in TNA.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

No chance in hell this is leading to a WHC spot, but I'm glad to see that Lethal's answered the call from being that comedy jobber he was with Consequences Cena to being a legit mid-card performer like he is/was last night.

I'd imagine he took a bit of the spot Dinero was likely supposed to hold, but if I can say fuck that noise for a moment, congratulations to Lethal for taking advantage of a situation that presented itself. Injuries happen, and I'm sure Pope will rebound, but I couldn't think of a more deserving guy than Jay to get that push.

High mid-card is where he belongs right now, so I can certainly appreciate what he's been able to put on for us.

 

[a0161613]

I've always been entertained by the guy. He works hard and even when the Black Machisno thing was getting stale, he was entertaining.

I called the Lethal win and it does not surprise me. It ties in with this abhorrent Flair/Kaz thing that AJ is going through.

I hope this leads somewhere but I am sure he is the flavour of the month. I doubt anything will come of it because TNA change who they push every month.

 

[closet_fan]

i don't see anything special about him besides the fact that he does good impersonations of flair and macho man.

honestly, i think he's getting a little bit of a push simply because flair likes him.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

Yes, he's being pushed, but it won't go as far as challenging for the world title though...

It's weird when TNA pushes someone, they end up burying someone as well..e.g. Styles, this guy just had a long world title run, now where is he? loss after loss...

 

[MB1025]

AJ Styles is the type of wrestler that doesn't get buried. It is like if Jericho lost a match to Morrison. It makes Jay Lethal look legit and further moves the storyline of Style/Flair/Kazarian.

 

[nbieclkl91]

TNA should create a new "4 Horsemen" Stable. Have Flair be the manager, AJ the main-eventer/leader, Kaz as the upper-mid carder/X-Divisionist and Beer Money as the tag team. Have them feud with RVD, Lethal, and MCMG to start maybe and then after a few months of dominating TNA have the group turn on AJ which causes him to turn face again. Have AJ and Lethal team up to take on the group. This could help make Lethal more interesting and it would be the best way to turn AJ face again

 

[Tiger Chaos Theory]

His abandoning of the Machismo gimmick pleases me quite a bit.

I'm guessing by from the ashes you mean midcard obscurity, in which case I'm thoroughly enjoying his push so far. It's as you said, he's at least solid in both mic work and wrestling ability (I would rate him higher, but that at least is there for a reason) so I have no quarrel with him being in a uppercard feud. In fact, I'm kinda happy he's getting the push.

I see him getting a title shot every year or two, but never winning it unless by fluke victory. I'm just not sure he's got what it takes to be the face of a company yet. But as pointed out, he is only 25 so he has plenty of time to improve.

Is he my token black guy currently wrestling? Well, the second closest is Kofi Kingston. And I don't like Kofi Kingston, so yes.

AJ Styles is the type of wrestler that doesn't get buried. It is like if Jericho lost a match to Morrison. It makes Jay Lethal look legit and further moves the storyline of Style/Flair/Kazarian.

Don't go making too much sense there guy, this is the TNA section.

 

[Lazerball]

someone had it right, hes jus filling the void pope left, thats it, hes not great in the ring, has no gimmick, little mic skills, and really he didnt beat AJ, AJ lost his footing, Pope will come back and lethal will go back to being nothing.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I've always liked Lethal, and I'm glad he's finally getting a push with out having to do the Randy Savage routine. Although, as others have already said, I don't think Lethal will get near the world title, but he could make his way to the top of the mid card. I really enjoyed the segment between Flair and Lethal weeks ago, and Lethal has really been on a role ever since. Still, even with the victory over AJ at Slammiversary, I don't think Lethal is going to do anything major. He might get near or win the X-Division title. Or he could continue to feud with Flair, AJ, and Kaz, but I really don't think Lethal will become a consistent top player in TNA.

 

[jccool420]

Hopefully this is just the seeds being planted for AJ to take some time off and come back as a strong face again... Because I see no point in putting Lethal over AJ... Lethal will probably never be a World Champion... He is great in the ring, but he doesn't have the look or charisma to be Main Event...

When he is impersonating Flair or Macho his charisma oozes out his ass, but as himself he is lame...

That's a bad thing for him because an impersonater is very entertaining but will never be taken seriously...

What can they do with him next? A fued with Kaz? And I bet they put Kaz over... Just to build him up as a heel to fued with AJ down the road...?

 

[KoC417]

Hopefully this is just the seeds being planted for AJ to take some time off and come back as a strong face again... Because I see no point in putting Lethal over AJ... Lethal will probably never be a World Champion... He is great in the ring, but he doesn't have the look or charisma to be Main Event...

When he is impersonating Flair or Macho his charisma oozes out his ass, but as himself he is lame...

That's a bad thing for him because an impersonater is very entertaining but will never be taken seriously...

What can they do with him next? A fued with Kaz? And I bet they put Kaz over... Just to build him up as a heel to fued with AJ down the road...?

VERY untrue! What he could do next is actually join forces with Ric Flair and WIN some World Titles all the while Flair is in the background soaking up some limelight and saying "See everyone that has to do with me becomes a World Champion." Could lead to an intense Lethal w/Flair vs. AJ (as a monster face) later on down the road.

Lethal does have the ability and I think if you stick a proven champion/mouth piece like Ric Flair next to him he could go places big time. Hell you could even have Lethal, Flair, Flair (his son I'm speaking of) and perhaps a 4th join forces. That could propel Lethal to an even higher level. IMO that would be interesting.

 

[ABMorales787]

VERY untrue! What he could do next is actually join forces with Ric Flair and WIN some World Titles all the while Flair is in the background soaking up some limelight and saying "See everyone that has to do with me becomes a World Champion." Could lead to an intense Lethal w/Flair vs. AJ (as a monster face) later on down the road.

Lethal does have the ability and I think if you stick a proven champion/mouth piece like Ric Flair next to him he could go places big time. Hell you could even have Lethal, Flair, Flair (his son I'm speaking of) and perhaps a 4th join forces. That could propel Lethal to an even higher level. IMO that would be interesting.

Well in my opinion, that would be dumb. Even for Russo's standards. TNA is not gonna take a guy who's getting a steady push as a face and abruptly turn him into a heel. Why? They did it already. His name is Kaz. You just basically wrote what, in essence, TNA is expecting from Kaz. Jay Lethal getting a good, solid push opens a few doors for TNA right now. 2 being things we complain about oftenly. Those being the Global and X Division belts. The X Division itself was horribly booked back in 07-08, but one thing was certain, he was the face. Now he's more credible than even. He has a better presence with the crowd now than before and isn't a carbon copy of a guy he looks nothing like. You can basically sum up Jay Lethal as TNA's answer to WWE's Kofi Kingston.

 

[Kenny Powers]

I'm glad to see Lethal getting a push, I just don't think it will lead to anything significant. Maybe he can take out all of Flair's cronies, but there isn't much else. I wouldn't mind seeing Lethal in the X Division or actually competing for a championship like the Global title after Rob Terry's stank is off of it.

Lethal and Wolfe could have some decent matches since both of them are floating in limbo right about now. I don't think Lethal in main event material, but you never know. Bischoff, Flair and Hogan seem to be really high on Lethal at the moment so anything can happen.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

So, anyone keeping track of how many victories this is in a row for Jay? The guy is on fire!

I guess those dirt sheet reports of TNA being very high on Lethal are true if the level of this push is an indication of their intent.

A few months ago, had you told me TNA would be pushing this guy this hard, even using his brother (Mohammed) in an angle, I'd have told you you were crazy, but I'll be god damned if it isn't happening. Good on you, Lethal.

My only worry here is that while Lethal's push is great, once this angle with Flair subsides, will he fade into obscurity again? I mean, let's not sit here and pretend he didn't take the TNA X Division championship off Angle a few years ago – clean, might I add – and that's a pretty big feat considering how seldom Kurt loses a match. He didn't go very far following that, so I'd hope the same trend doesn't follow him here...

 

[LitasRevenge79]

I've always liked Lethal no matter what gimmick he's taking on. Whether an X Division kid, Macho Man, or Flair profiler. If I have to say, the Flair one seems to be the most entertaining, for sheer fact that you have him bouncing off the real thing. You just can't beat that for comedy-and storyline. I don't think it has to do with his comedy chops, trust me, I've seen him work on indy scenes, and this is one hard working guy. I do think it does help that he has this innate ability to emulate his idols, which can be something people will remember in the long run, along with his incredible athletics. I for one to think his Lethal Combination is one spectacular move no matter how many times I see it, along with his backflip when he bounces off the ropes. This guy, with the right mentoring, I see taking top card stat, hopefully sooner rather than later.

 

[GameOver]

Personally i like the way he is atm.
I was a big Macho Man fan and that Black Machismo gimmick was very entertaining but other than the gimmick he wasn't getting anywhere, he just seemed like a little guy with big charisma

Now he's dropped the macho gimmick and has changed to a Ric Flair parody, possibly cause Hogan despises Randy Poffo, funny he was saying he grew up wanting to be a little Ric Flair, yet his gimmick and in ring style was that of the Macho Man lol.

Anyway, he's getting some repect now with a push, and well deserved. Does he get a title run? Possibly, it wouldn't harm the product in a huge way.

Who else could do it
RVD isn't doing it for me, he's entertaining and all but is very one dimensional,
Sting hasn't had that IT factor since the pre NWO days,
Jeff hardy/Mr Anderson are going nowhere fast atm
Desmond Wolfe is getting crushed for whatever reason
The Pope, another one with potential that they don't see
Douglas "Basham" Williams, same deal as the Pope, he has it but atm he is carrying the X-Division (what's left of it)

Abyss, the supposed future (guess they saw the light on that one b4 it ruined them)
Kurt Angle is taking a back burner to give someone else some air time (kudo's Kurt)

So who else is there? Jay Lethal & AJ Styles two great wrestlers,
Lethal has the edge, good in ring, big charisma and a comedian
AJ Styles, great in ring. No personality

JAY LETHAL, the winner and New World Champion. for a few weeks atleast b4 they bury him and bring someone new in that will revolutionise the sport and be the biggest hiring in TNA history. LOL