Pope shoots on Hogan; Prelude to Bound for Glory?

[It's Damn Real!]

Anyone who follows wrestlers might have seen it, but for those who don't, and especially those who haven't heard of this yet, Pope D'Angelo Dinero posted a worked shoot on his Twitter page called "Deception" in which he parodies the video Hogan posted earlier this week from his bed in the hospital where he said "The doctors have been pumping me all full of crap, much like I have been TNA,".

Video link is here: http://qik.com/video/12461245

Jason Powell of PWI believes the plan is for Pope to team with Kevin Nash and Sting for a six-man tag-team match against Samoa Joe, Jeff Jarrett and another wrestler at Bound For Glory this October, citing that the video will coincide with the storyline accusations that Nash and Sting have been making about Hogan and Bischoff for months now.

Obviously following the loss to Anderson, Pope didn't have much purpose heading into BFG, and I'd imagine TNA would want him on the program – thoughts on including him in this angle? Concerns?

 

[goodlay]

I think it works. This angle hasn't really been spectacular by any means, but I'm interested to see who turns out to be the heels here. I think if you put Pope with Nash/Sting, then it really makes the fans wonder who the good guys are here. Or is this the beginning of a Pope heel turn? We'll have to wait and see.

My only thing is that I'm disappointed to see Pope in this type of match at BFG. Though after getting cut out of the World Title picture for now, what else does he really have to do right now? This makes sense, and hopefully it will only help improve the storyline. Also, if we have a six man tag, who's the third man for Jarrett/Joe? I want to say Hogan because of his involvement in this angle, but I don't want to say Hogan because I do NOT want to see him wrestle.

 

[The Best At What I Do]

Well that was a little disturbing. I heard the third man (no pun intended) in that match was supposed to be Hulk Hogan. Not sure how possible that will be with him just getting out the hospital however. Personally I don't have a problem with Pope getting involved in this. Joe is giving his team a worker than can still go so it's only fair the bad guys (or are they the good guys?) has some young blood as well. Pope has also lost a ton of momentum since being injured and getting left off TNAs biggest ppv of the year wouldn't do him any favors.

 

[Joe's Gonna Kill You]

I think that this is a smart idea to have Pope side with Nash & Sting against Joe & Jarrett with most likely Hogan siding with Joe & Jarrett to face Pope, Nash, and Sting in a 6-way tag at BFG. Pope and Joe can carry most of that match and make it decent. I really don't have a problem with Hogan being in this match because he would have little to no involvement in the ring. This also means that Pope has probably turned heel and it will be interesting to see a Heel Pope, and this is a good way to get Pope involved at BFG.

 

[shattered dreams]

I like Pope here. I think the future of TNA is Pope vs Anderson, pick whichever one you want to be the heel. If they do this third man story then I see Pope as face. Just since I found it interesting when thinking about it I'll throw it out there, if Goldberg was the third man in this inverted "third man storyline," how would you feel about it? By inverted I mean the third man comes to the rescue of those that appear to be defending the company only it turns out they were the bad guys all along.

 

[Rampage Bentley]

I'm all for Pope being in the match and have no problem with this.

What I'm tired of are these turn on a dime face/heel switches TNA loves to do. There's no explanation for most of them, one day Beer Money, Kazarian, and now Pope are faces then out of nowhere they're heels and it's like we're supposed to just not question it.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

A program between Pope and Hogan would be most interesting, and I imagine Pope shredding Hogan to pieces (if allowed mic freedom). But I dunno, Pope is very good face and he's surely done this whole video thing to test the water for a possible heel switch.
Don't dig that.
Pope can be a huge babyface star. Keep him face, a lone wolf of sorts who does what he wants, says what he wants. Kinda like a tweener but with that loose cannon persona.
His mic-skills are good, matches stellar, but most importantly his gimmick just highlights all that's fun about him. Fits like a glove. So, keep him a face, don't turn him yet and let him run down the random face here and there, to get him that 'ohh snap!' pop.

 

[cyborg2040]

Call me crazy, but I think Hogan's latest back injury, and hospital stay isn't real, and is part of a storyline. It almost makes me think that Jarrett and Joe's partner in the six man will be a surprise partner that turns out to be Hogan. Either that or they wait until the live Impact to revel Hogan as the partner.

 

[shattered dreams]

It would not surprise me if Hogan was the red herring third man. Hogan is announced as the not so surprising third man at the beginning of the match. But someone else, or something else, unexpected of high interest happens later in the match.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

I'm all for Pope being in the match and have no problem with this.

What I'm tired of are these turn on a dime face/heel switches TNA loves to do. There's no explanation for most of them, one day Beer Money, Kazarian, and now Pope are faces then out of nowhere they're heels and it's like we're supposed to just not question it.

Wrestlers have heel turns. BIG SURPRISE. Besides, Beer Money and Kaz turned heel a LONG time ago. Pope's not been a heel in a very, very long time. How is that "turn on a dime" - I'll never know. Beer Money turned heels 'cause they were sick of sucking up to the fans. They did everything they could to earn their trust - couldn't - so they turned on them. Kazarian turned heel - mainly - to join Fourtune. And Pope? Well I don't think he'll turn out to be a heel anyway, I'll get to that in a second, but even if he does, it's pretty logical ( if you saw Reaction ) - He got his ass beat against Anderson, his ego's hurt, he starts pointing fingers, claims he's been held down, runs to Nash and Sting and joins their agenda to soothe his pain. Yeah, there's your explanation.

On topic : I really like what TNA's doing with the storyline, EVEN THOUGH I think they kind of let the cat out of the bag this week.

Here you have Dixie acting all pissed off that Bischoff took that decision. Then you have Pope,Nash and Sting talking about Deception - the Deception being that Hogan and Bischoff are not here to help, but instead they're full of shit. Then Nash goes ahead and says that Hogan runs this show just by being on the roster. It's like they said "Hogan and Bischoff are "THEY" ", without actually saying it.

I can see Nash, Sting and Pope being heels for a couple of weeks, until Bound for Glory, until it turns out that the real heels were Bischoff and Hogan and a bunch of other goons ( Abyss was connected and loved by Hogan since he stepped foot in TNA ).

Jarrett is with Hogan and Bischoff too. Joe is with Jarrett. And wasn't it Samoa Joe who got kidnapped a short while after Hogan came to TNA? He was the first guy to speak about "they", and now he's on THEIR side.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Pope was speaking to Nash and Sting tonight on Impact, and it looked like he was once on their side. I just hope we don't see Hogan involved in whatever match up Pope has or anyone else. If he wants to be at ringside then that is one thing, but I hope he doesn't wind up wrestling in the ring. If Pope aligns himself with Sting and Nash then I wouldn't shocked if Hogan turned heel and joined them. I think this whole deception angle is going to end with Hogan and Bischoff being heels. I don't know what for though except total control of TNA.

 

[K4P-Unleashed]

I would rather have someone like Samoa Joe playing this role, while Pope is Jarrett's support, but I don't really care in this case. Pope is flying under the radar right now. He's not standing out but he's not blending in, which is very interesting. I want to see where this goes, but then again, I don't know if I do. I don't care for Kevin Nash as far as an in-ring competitor is concerned anymore, so a bigger role wouldn't attract me. We'll see where TNA takes this - then get back to me later.

 

[MB1025]

Right now it is set up perfectly for a new NWO to happen and all the players are int he right place for them to actually make it look like they could run the company and have the wrestlers and power to do it. Everyone has been screaming for a real heel in TNA. How much heat would Mr. Anderson get if he not only turned on Hardy, but also "retired" Kurt Angle by cheating in the same night. So now you have your leader and the world title in Mr. Anderson. Now you have Hogan, Bischoff, and Jarrett. They all in some shape have control in the company and just like when Bischoff turned heel all 3 of them can call the shots from a management standpoint and out way Dixie Carter. Now that leaves Samoa Joe and Abyss as the Hall and Nash of the group. When Hall and Nash got to WCW they had a thug mentality and beat anyone and everyone up at the drop of a dime. Well Abyss and Joe may not be these cool and hip wrestlers, but they do have a thug mentality where they will beat people up when ever they feel like. So now you have Anderson who is an amazing heel, and 2 bad ass thug/monsters who can legitimately beat up anyone on the roster and do the dirty work for the group.

Now if anyone remembers the Horseman in WCW in 96-97 where heels to the WCW roster, but became face a when WCW turned to them to get rid of the NWO and also stayed heel when not fighting them. This is where Fourtune comes in. They may be heels, but they are goign to fight for their company where Ric Flairs biggest rival is trying to destroy. Flair now has a purpose because he can blame Bischoff and Hogan who he has "real" life heat with for destroying WCW now doing it to TNA. So now you have Fourtune (TNA Guys) vs New NWO (Mostly TNA guys). This is where people in the company can start picking sides or staying neutral. They can draw this out for a very long time and have different types of match ups. I wouldn't be surprised to see and find out The Pope had been planted by Hogan to be with Sting and Nash and turn on them and join the NWO at BFG. So here is the NWO roster coming out of BFG.

Management
Hogan
Bischoff
Jarrett

Wrestlers
Mr. Anderson
The Pope
Samoa Joe
Abyss

Imagine all these people in the ring to end BFG beating the hell out of Angle, Jeff Hardy, and the rest of the TNA roster all while Hogan, Bischoff, and Jarrett are calling the shots.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

Right now it is set up perfectly for a new NWO to happen and all the players are int he right place for them to actually make it look like they could run the company and have the wrestlers and power to do it. Everyone has been screaming for a real heel in TNA. How much heat would Mr. Anderson get if he not only turned on Hardy, but also "retired" Kurt Angle by cheating in the same night. So now you have your leader and the world title in Mr. Anderson. Now you have Hogan, Bischoff, and Jarrett. They all in some shape have control in the company and just like when Bischoff turned heel all 3 of them can call the shots from a management standpoint and out way Dixie Carter. Now that leaves Samoa Joe and Abyss as the Hall and Nash of the group. When Hall and Nash got to WCW they had a thug mentality and beat anyone and everyone up at the drop of a dime. Well Abyss and Joe may not be these cool and hip wrestlers, but they do have a thug mentality where they will beat people up when ever they feel like. So now you have Anderson who is an amazing heel, and 2 bad ass thug/monsters who can legitimately beat up anyone on the roster and do the dirty work for the group.

Now if anyone remembers the Horseman in WCW in 96-97 where heels to the WCW roster, but became face a when WCW turned to them to get rid of the NWO and also stayed heel when not fighting them. This is where Fourtune comes in. They may be heels, but they are goign to fight for their company where Ric Flairs biggest rival is trying to destroy. Flair now has a purpose because he can blame Bischoff and Hogan who he has "real" life heat with for destroying WCW now doing it to TNA. So now you have Fourtune (TNA Guys) vs New NWO (Mostly TNA guys). This is where people in the company can start picking sides or staying neutral. They can draw this out for a very long time and have different types of match ups. I wouldn't be surprised to see and find out The Pope had been planted by Hogan to be with Sting and Nash and turn on them and join the NWO at BFG. So here is the NWO roster coming out of BFG.

Management
Hogan
Bischoff
Jarrett

Wrestlers
Mr. Anderson
The Pope
Samoa Joe
Abyss

Imagine all these people in the ring to end BFG beating the hell out of Angle, Jeff Hardy, and the rest of the TNA roster all while Hogan, Bischoff, and Jarrett are calling the shots.

I got excited just reading it...

It's too big of a nWo rip off but hey, fuck that, IF it comes out this way - it's going to be entertaining. Think about it. Each and every member of the nWo you suggested and Fourtune can wrestle their asses off on any given night. They're all young, healthy, talented, have great gimmicks, so on and so forth. Having a little real life facts added to the whole purpose of the storyline will not hurt.

If TNA manages to re-establish the X-Division with Lethal at the helm, bring back Daniels and a few of the good 'ol X-Division guys. Keep their tag-division as awesome as it is and make it even bigger if they can, and add some good K.O's to the K.O Division ( possibly a return of Awesome Kong or ODB, plus Katie Lea Burchill and maybe Mickie James if she's up for it ) - and voila, I think we'll see some cool stuff happen in TNA.