Report: Jesse Neal Leaves TNA

[It's Damn Real!]

This from PWInsider:

It has been confirmed that Jesse Neal is on his way out of TNA.

As part of TNA's new relationship with Ohio Valley Wrestling, they have been approaching talents who don't regularly appear on TV and asking them to relocate to Kentucky to train at OVW.

Neal turned down the request and will be leaving soon.

--

Honestly, I can't say I'm that surprised. Neal isn't exactly a "name" or ratings grabber in any sense. At best he's a mid-card/tag team wrestler who was IMO near the bottom of TNA's talent barrel.

I'd imagine TNA would continue to ask lesser used talents to head to OVW in helping to establish a presence there, but with Neal refusing I doubt they're missing out on much anyway.

--

I guess the real question becomes: what becomes of Shannon Moore now that his tag-team partner is out the door?

Anyone actually upset to see Neal go?

 

[Clem]

I'm not surprised to see this happen. Just last night I was contemplating who could be cut from TNA's roster without doing any damage and Jesse Neal was one of the first names that sprang to mind.

Ink Inc weren't going to be the ones to turn the tag team division around, so why bother sticking with them. This way, at least Shannon Moore can focus on other divisions and has a chance of redeeming himself.

 

[LegendKiller716]

I'm upset that Neal is leaving because I'm a big fan of Ink Inc. I think they're a real good team and TNA needs that right now. I hope, if Neal is in fact leaving, that Shannon either gets a new tag partner or has a presence in the X-Division.

 

[Griborn]

I am surprised and not at the same time...

Talent barrel, yea... alright, mid-card at best.. you got me there. They used Ink Inc for basically the purpose of who else is there?

But, they just brought in Von Eerie aka Toxxin (his wife I'm pretty sure)... what was that like a month ago?


I dunno, I guess ultimately I'd like to see Shannon Moore do well, and I don't know how this is gonna affect him.

 

[Tiger Chaos Theory]

Could not be missed less.

Neal is the definition of mediocre in the ring, completely devoid of enough personality to get himself over without the american flag. (Much the same way MexAm relies on cheap heat for boos.) Ink Inc. was a good team because Shannon carried the offense and made those matches fun, Neal would take the offense and hit a spear, that was his whole contribution to their team wrestling.

Shannon Moore I hope goes either into the X-division or gets a new partner, perhaps Mark Haskins. I do not want to see him sent down to OVW, but I assume he may just leave like Neal.

 

[shattered dreams]

Shame they didn't have this deal earlier. Jessie Neal would have been a good candidate to go get some development but since TNA didn't have such an option he eventually found his way on to tv. I won't miss him and I think the guy still definitely needs quite a bit of developing if he ever wants to be relevant.

 

[Lowdown]

Its either or for me. Granted Neal was ok working in a tag team with Shannon Moore. But they never really held my attention span compared to Beer Money and MCMG. Its not like he was fired, this decision was all on him. I thought it was surprising considering Ink Inc was fresh off the title match from Sunday. In any case losing Neal won't be a major blow to TNA.

 

[Kenny Powers]

It's best for both parties for Neal and others to go to OVW. I don't know what TNA will do with Shannon Moore and Toxxin of Ink Inc. Maybe those two will still be together or split up and do their own things in the X division or knockouts division. Hopefully we will see more go to OVW like Rob Terry or the new X division guys like Sorrenson or Haskins. These guys still need more time to develop before being thrown on Impact every week.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Not that surprised, don't really care.

Truth is he got a contract off a sob story, a bit like some candidates advance in American Idol of The X Factor, he'd a heart breaking story so he immediately qualified in the eyes of TNA for a contract because that is what you want in a wrestler, a great story about your friend dying. And if I seem mean and callous saying this, I'm not really, anyone with sense knows it's true.

What I'm more interested in is who else will be reporting to Ohio for some development. God only knows there are a few who can instantly drop down. Murphy is probably gone down, Gunner could do with some improvement, I'm sure there are more but none really coming to my mind. Neal was a perfect fit for Ohio, he has limited talent and a decent look, really he should have taken it because chances are WWE won't take him.

 

[yur_momma]

the poor guy is/was on welfare while on the roster anyway because tna doesnt pay their workers any kind of decent wage (remember madison was the womens champ and working at a sunglasses hut in a mall LOL). its probably why they hired his girlfriend so they could maybe make ends meet but i guess they are back to square one now.

 

[Masson26]

Given the miniscule amount TNA pays talent that appears on Impact everyweek, i doubt they are gonna pay enough to developmental workers, to make it worth anyone actually relocating to Kentucky for.

 

[JWGunslinger]

Doesn't really phase me, I like Ink Inc and I was hoping they would win the tag team titles from Mexican America but no dice there. I don't think the loss of Neal is going to do any real damage to the roster and when the Motor City Machine Guns get back I think that everyone will forget about Ink Inc. It sucks for Shannon Moore but I don't see him lasting much longer, the two of them were tag team wrestlers and alone I don't really see Moore having much success.

 

[New Hot Fed]

Thank God the lameness that is Ink Inc will disappear. Time to release Shannon Moore too.

 

[Alex]

What I saw hanging Ink Inc back was Neal not being that great, I mean Shannon Moore was pretty much carrying the group. If Neal had gone to OVW for a bit, improved a bit in the ring and came back up I honestly think that they would have been tag champs pretty quickly.

If Neal does leave where does that leave Shannon Moore, I mean he's certainly a decent wrestler, he may be able to fued for either the X-Division or TV championships.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

So what'S happen to Neal's girlfriend now. She just got hired to managed INK Inc. and now with Neal leaving, what do you do with her? There'S really not much place in the knockout division and who do you outside keeping her as a manager for Shannon Moore, you really can't do anything else with her.

The other thing is that TNA is deperate need of establish tag team beacause their tag team division is in awful shape. Even the WWE tag team division is in better shape then TNA right now.

So i'm happy for Neal for standing up for himself and not accepting to get demoted and send to OVW and i hope more talents stand up to TNA management on this point.

 

[Theo Mays]

I quite like Jesse Neal. Him and Shannon were growing on me as a team and I was hopeful that they were going to take the straps off Mexican America. Sure Neal could use the in ring training, but I understand where he is coming from on not taking the demotion. I imagine Toxxin is on her way out too, as I can't see her doing anything without him. Neal seems like a great kid, so hopefully he catches on somewhere.

As for Shannon, I think he will be okay. The X-Division is still in need of some help as Sorenson, Kash, and Aries can't carry it themselves. In fact I think Shannon and Aries could put on a hell of a show and really put a nice little spark in the X-Division.

 

[Con T.]

I feel for Jesse, as it seems the big issue is moving to Lexington, and making that much of a transition to OVW may not be fiscally possible for they guy. I can only hope that the guy wasn't insulted by management asking him to move to OVW, because the fact is, he is very green in the ring. I think he has a character that can be played off, and has potential. That said, if this comes out that Neal just didn't want to go to OVW, I'm not going to feel bad. If the guy just didn't have the money to move to Kentucky, then I feel really bad for the guy.

This whole "Go to OVW" thing is really going to bother me, however, if Garrett Bischoff is not sent to OVW. Look, if anyone's got the money to go to Lexington for the next few months, and severely needs it, it has to be Garrett Bischoff. If he's not sent, while people like Jesse Neal have to leave the company because of this, something is going to bother me about this whole issue.

 

[yur_momma]

the poor guy is/was on welfare while on the roster anyway because tna doesnt pay their workers any kind of decent wage (remember madison was the womens champ and working at a sunglasses hut in a mall LOL). its probably why they hired his girlfriend so they could maybe make ends meet but i guess they are back to square one now.

ok apparently madison is part of the wz forums because she chewed me out and neg repped me and called me an idiot for getting this wrong. it was taylor wilde. i aslo got chewed out for it being the tag belt and not the wommens title. wrong.

"I was working at Sunglass Hut at a mall in Mississauga, a job that could be maintained by a monkey, so standing around for six hours earning minimum wage wasn’t the issue. But after serving this one customer for an extended period of time he ever so politely uttered, ‘Aren’t you the TNA Woman’s Knockout Champion?’ I handed in my resignation that day."

so ShatteredDreams should i neg rep you somewhere and call you names too? typical wz....i cant be mad, its not like i dont expect it.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I can't say Neal or Ink Inc. in and of itself has interested me all that much.

Since coming to TNA, it just seems that Neal hasn't had much of an overall direction. He was generic when he arrived, he goes away, then comes back with the punk look and, along with Moore, seemed to swing between being a heel and a face depending upon whatever mood TNA was in.

At the same time, TNA needs tag teams right now as their tag team picture hasn't looked this bleak as long as I can remember. I guess there'll be a few "thrown together" teams popping up before long.

 

[SpecialFNK]

I'm very disappointed. Ink Ink was a good tag team. they should have had the belts way before now. but instead TNA gave the belts to Mexican America? and British Invasion before that? total BS. Ink Ink had a great team look. whether they could wrestle at a high level in the ring was secondary IMO. they were together great because they were 2 guys with their looks that fit together. it wasn't like throwing 2 odd guys together and making them a team.

what does TNA do now with Shannon Moore? and Toxxin? does she remain with him? does Moore go into the X division?

what does TNA do now with the tag team division?
Mexican America, British Invasion, AND?
hell TNA might as well release Anawhatever from Mexican America and use Hernandez in singles, then split up British Invasion and use them in singles too.

 

[Dizzy]

I feel for Jesse, as it seems the big issue is moving to Lexington, and making that much of a transition to OVW may not be fiscally possible for they guy. I can only hope that the guy wasn't insulted by management asking him to move to OVW, because the fact is, he is very green in the ring. I think he has a character that can be played off, and has potential. That said, if this comes out that Neal just didn't want to go to OVW, I'm not going to feel bad. If the guy just didn't have the money to move to Kentucky, then I feel really bad for the guy.

This whole "Go to OVW" thing is really going to bother me, however, if Garrett Bischoff is not sent to OVW. Look, if anyone's got the money to go to Lexington for the next few months, and severely needs it, it has to be Garrett Bischoff. If he's not sent, while people like Jesse Neal have to leave the company because of this, something is going to bother me about this whole issue.

Why are you making excuses for the man? He lives in Cali and travels each and everyday for TNA World Tour events. He also travels to Orlando for tapings and PPVs. How does he not have money? TNA pays for travel but if you are personally traveling then it is not in their hands.

The fact is he was offered training can he felt it was demoting him. He also I read feels he should have been Tag Team champion by now which is extremely arrogant considering It took MCMG 6 years to win their first titles.

He doesn't want to go because he doesn't feel he needs it, he feels he should be used more and he probably doesn't want to be away from his girlfriend.

I'm not sure where money comes in to it.

 

[trashboy]

I'm not surprised he's leaving, he sucked anyway. But they just brought in Christina Von Eerie aka Toxxin. What happens with her? she seems out of place to me without Ink Inc around. I guess she could stick around for the Knockout division. I've never seen her wrestle, but from what I've seen on TNA TV, she doesn't seem that great. She looked sloppy running in the ring to tackle one of the chicks.

 

[blockanWo]

I'm not surprised he's leaving, he sucked anyway. But they just brought in Christina Von Eerie aka Toxxin. What happens with her? she seems out of place to me without Ink Inc around. I guess she could stick around for the Knockout division. I've never seen her wrestle, but from what I've seen on TNA TV, she doesn't seem that great. She looked sloppy running in the ring to tackle one of the chicks.

She wrestled at the last PPV and she impressed me. I hope she sticks around if at very least a valet for Shannon Moore/KO.

 

[Masson26]

Why are you making excuses for the man? He lives in Cali and travels each and everyday for TNA World Tour events. He also travels to Orlando for tapings and PPVs. How does he not have money? TNA pays for travel but if you are personally traveling then it is not in their hands.

The fact is he was offered training can he felt it was demoting him. He also I read feels he should have been Tag Team champion by now which is extremely arrogant considering It took MCMG 6 years to win their first titles.

He doesn't want to go because he doesn't feel he needs it, he feels he should be used more and he probably doesn't want to be away from his girlfriend.

I'm not sure where money comes in to it.

Thing is TNA does NOT pay travel costs unless your high up on the card, therefore workers have to take flights and hotels out of the small amount they already pay

 

[Rampage Bentley]

Why are you making excuses for the man? He lives in Cali and travels each and everyday for TNA World Tour events. He also travels to Orlando for tapings and PPVs. How does he not have money? TNA pays for travel but if you are personally traveling then it is not in their hands.

The fact is he was offered training can he felt it was demoting him. He also I read feels he should have been Tag Team champion by now which is extremely arrogant considering It took MCMG 6 years to win their first titles.

He doesn't want to go because he doesn't feel he needs it, he feels he should be used more and he probably doesn't want to be away from his girlfriend.

I'm not sure where money comes in to it.

What the hell are you talking about? TNA doesn't pay for anybody's travel... they stopped doing that years ago, like when they first got on SPIKE TV.

And what do you mean "How does he not have money?" The dude is on food stamps, cause TNA doesn't pay dick.

Yes, going to OVW would only benefit him in the ring, but it wouldn't benefit him financially. If he had a guaranteed contract where he was making a decent living that'd be one thing, but Jesse Neal gets paid per appearance, so why should he uproot his life and move across the country so he can consistently not be paid? Sure, it'd help his in-ring and mic skills, but it's a stupid business decision.