If you really thought they were gonna execute a title change on Impact last night then you are the one not using common sense.
Yes they are going on the UK tour without Jeff Hardy. But why does that necessitate a title change? How is Jeff Hardy not making the trip an F-you to the UK crowd? They even put Sting on the tour in his place.
Why was Sting not on the tour to begin with?
It necessitates a title change because for FOUR weeks the champion of TNA, the top star of the company, the FACE of the promotion, the MOST important wrestler on the roster, is nowhere to be found. Is not going to be there, not going to be promoting the company or the next PPV, and not going to be wrestling for the loyal fans who paid to see a product that DEMANDS the champion of the f'cking company be present. That's what a champion is in that place for.
It's a slap in the face to the UK fans because they've been loyal for YEARS, they've helped grow and expand the audience and TNA as a product overseas, even more then it's grown and expanded NATIONALLY, and instead of getting to see TNA's champion wrestle (or even be there in some capacity) they get nothing. If you don't think that's a big deal then you clearly know nothing about business and promoting a business.
You really think Daniels taking the belt across the pond somehow changes the way that the shows would draw? Or that it would really do much to alter fan's perception of him or the tour itself?
If you think it doesn't make a difference that the face of the company and the World champion is non-existent for the entire UK tour, then you're out of your mind.
Do you honestly think it would be a smart move to build to a Lockdown main event between Hardy and Daniels?
As opposed to leaving Jeff Hardy non-existent for four weeks? Jeff Hardy is going to come back and what... main event Lockdown against the entire Aces & Eights stable? Against some credible opponent like Devon or Doc? Or are they just going to allow a stable angle to get the rub for four weeks and then hot shot a main event feud with him defending the title against someone else entirely, with half the build up they COULD have had?
Sounds like a much better idea then having Daniels, one of your best and hottest talents right now, in a feud that makes sense and builds up all the way to Lockdown and gives the fans something they can get behind and anticipate: Jeff Hardy returning and reclaiming his championship.
I won't disagree that Daniels has clearly been amazing with this current character and I won't discredit what he has meant to TNA's existence as a whole, but do you really think that a short lameduck title change just so that Daniels can parade around as champ for four weeks of TV in England is the ultimate show of appreciation for his accomplishments?
I believe him becoming TNA World champion and having that accomplishment is something he definitely deserves, yes. And I also believe that him being given the title and placed in an angle that makes sense and builds towards something.. such as a PPV rematch at Lockdown with intelligent, good build up to it.. is much better then him losing cleanly to Jeff Hardy and then being brushed aside for someone else to main event, or being overshadowed by Aces & Eights, as a show of appreciation to being one of the best things in the entire product for this past year. Thank you, Daniels!
Do you really want to start "hot-potato-ing" the belt around again after all the work that has been put into reestablishing its relevancy over the last fifteen months?
I don't see how Daniels being World champion, even for a shorter reign then others, is "hot-potato-ing" the belt. Daniels is one of the best performers on the roster, has had one of the best years of anyone on the roster, is credible and deserving, and should only be seen as a name that adds to the history of the title. Him winning the title from Hardy, then being involved in a good build up to Lockdown and a rematch, and then Hardy even winning back the title in that rematch, does nothing to hurt the championship. I think you're confused about the term"hot-potato-ing".
The great thing about having the longer build to Lockdown is that they can write Jeff off the show for next four weeks, while still having plenty of time to build the title match for Lockdown once the UK episodes air. Also having A&8s be the ones who took Hardy out is logical and consistent to the angle and continues to garner them heat.
The great thing about the longer build to Lockdown is that they could have taken the title off Hardy, considering he isn't able to do what he's suppose to do and BE the face of the company for a month, establish Daniels as a credible main eventer and champion.. build to a rematch between the two that the fans can anticipate and enjoy, while giving Daniels time to shine in the spotlight (being as good as he has been in the main event scene instead of in the mid-card scene)... and then have a PPV main event at Lockdown that actually makes sense, tells a story, and returns the title to Hardy in a way that helps the buy rate.
Instead you'd rather write the CHAMPION off the show for a MONTH and still have "enough" time to put together an angle and a main event that is satisfactory. Oh, and give a STABLE all the heat, instead of a heel who can actually WRESTLE the champion in the main event of the PPV. Great logic there.
The UK audience is getting two double television tapings and seeing every prominent member of the roster(including Hogan and Sting), but you are implying that the whole trip is an insulting bust because a prop in the show isn't making the trip?
They're not seeing one important, prominent member of the roster: The WORLD CHAMPION. The face of the damn company. It's not that difficult to grasp. Hogan and Sting don't wrestle, what are they good for in terms of giving the audience something they want to see on the tour, in the main event of the shows?
Since when is the top star in your company a prop?
If your problem was with the crowd not getting to see Hardy himself, that's one thing. But being so worried about them seeing the "champion" no matter who that might be even if it meant a pointless, temporary, crash-booked title change is something totally different.
They're one in the same! Hardy himself is the CHAMPION. The champion, the face of your company, and the most important wrestler on the roster at this moment, is HARDY. You don't buy a ticket to a concert and then not be disappointed or outright insulted if the HEADLINER is suddenly not on the tour, but replaced by a famous name that no longer SINGS.
Hardy needs to stay as champ for now. The only other thing that would have made sense would have been for him to drop the title at Genesis. Since that didn't happen he needs to carry the belt until Lockdown when they can sell a logical main event that will draw- likely a rematch with Aries.
Why does Hardy need to stay as champ for now? What's he doing in the next MONTH that he NEEDS to be champion for? He's certainly not wrestling or promoting the Lockdown tour, is he?
And now you'd rather see a rematch that makes no sense, as Aries is involved with Roode and another angle right now and not Hardy at all. It's also a rematch that doesn't have any interesting storyline, and one we've already seen before..
As for the A&8s stuff last night you're mostly right. Taz's promo came off as basically pointless and I'm not sure where they were going with it unless it was to stress the fact that there is still someone above Taz pulling the strings and start to tease that person's reveal.
But no matter how you feel about A&8s just suggesting off-the-wall nonsense like Daniels and Kaz, who in no way fit the mold of the group, should be added as members just to increase the gang's credibility is assinine. Instead of turning it into a NWO-redux and adding every relevant heel possible to try and stoke the dying embers of the angle, why not just let it play itself out and trust that it all wraps up neatly over the next couple of months. Putting the belt on Daniels or Anderson(really? Anderson as champ right now?
) and then calling them A&8s members doesn't help fix the angle, it would only come off as desperate and stupid. Those types of proposals are far stupider than anything that you are bashing TNA for doing to begin with.
They fit the mold as much as Devon does. Or Mr. Anderson. Or f'cking Taz, for that matter. And Daniels and Kaz actually could fit into the "revenge" idea of Aces & Eights, with some sort of reason to be against TNA and the people running the show like Hogan, especially the way Daniels has been neglected by TNA, and never been given what he deserves. Taz doesn't. Mr. Anderson doesn't. I think you're incredibly short sighted and your entire argument shows that.
