Success, Bust or In Between: Jay Lethal

[It's Damn Real!]

They're back!

Most of you know the series by now, I'd hope, but for those of you who don't, here's the run down:

• Former talents of TNA are to be critiqued regarding their work with TNA, and only their work with TNA for the basis of these polls.
• Any work from the performer that was not done during his/her tenure during TNA should not factor into your vote.
• You can vote them either a Success, a Bust or In Between if you don't feel they deserve either extreme.

In addition to your vote, I'd like to know why you feel the way you do. Why was this particular charater a succes, a bust or In Between?

Next in the series is Jay Lethal.

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Homicide
Years with TNA: 6 (2005-2011)
Number of titles runs: TNA World Tag Team Championship (x1), TNA X Division Championship (x6)

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Notable Feuds:
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• Samoa Joe (2006)
• Kevin Nash (2006)
• Petey Williams (2006/2007)
• Chris Sabin (2007)
• Sonjay Dutt (2007)
• Main Event Mafia via TNA Frontline (2008)
• Beer Money, Inc. via Lethal Consequences (2009)
• Motor City Machineguns via Lethal Consequences (2009)
• Ric Flair/Fortune (2010)
• Robbie E (2011)

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Other Accomplishments:
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• Debuted in TNA in December of 2005 losing to then X Division Champion Samoa Joe
• Won the World X Cup with Chris Sabin, Sonjay Dutt and Alex Shelley in 2006
• Voted X Division Wrestler of the Year in 2007
• Participated in the first-ever "Paparazzi Championship Series" with Alex Shelley, Sonjay Dutt and Senshi
• Is well-known for his "Black Machismo" gimmick where he emulated "Macho Man" Randy Savage, as well as his impersonation of Ric Flair
• Was an original member of the TNA Frontline
• Was one half of one-time TNA World Tag Team Champions "Lethal Consequences"
• Worked a small Open Challenge contest in 2009 where he lost to both Jim Neidhart and Tatanka
• Shares the record for most X Division title reigns with AJ Styles (6).

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Previous Polls:
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• Christian Cage – 87.72% Success, 12.28% In Between, 0% Bust
• Booker T – 46.43% Bust, 33.93% In Between, 19.64% Success
• Petey Williams – 52.50% In Between, 35.00% Success, 12.50% Bust
• Gail Kim – 61.54% Success, 19.23% In Between, 19.23% Bust
• Senshi – 66.67% Success, 28.57% In Between, 4.76% Bust
• Monty Brown – 54.05% Bust, 27.03% In Between, 18.92% Success
• Awesome Kong – 82.61% Success, 13.04% Bust, 4.35% In Between
• Christopher Daniels – 68.97% Success, 20.69% In Between, 10.34% Bust
• Consequences Creed – 80.77% Bust, 19.23% In Between, 0.00% Success
• Sheik Abdul Bashir – 44.00% In Between, 44.00% Bust, 12.00% Success
• The Naturals – 48.00% Bust, 28.00% Success, 24.00% In Between
• Traci Brooks – 61.29% Bust, 25.81% In Between, 12.90% Success
• Johnny Devine – 79.31% Bust, 17.24% In Between, 3.45% Success[/i]
• "The Franchise" Shane Douglas – 35.90% Success, 35.90% Bust, 28.21%% In Between
• Sabu – 43.59% Success, 33.3% Bust, 23.08% In Between
• Homicide – 62.50% In Between, 21.88% Success, 15.63% Bust

 

[This Is My Name Thank You]

I would have to say he was in between, only due to he had a huge push going an it jus stopped. Lethal is damn near good an i think he's better then Kofi Kingston as for my friends compair him too.

Lethal has a good wrestling style, a high flyer with some good awerness in the ring. Not the best technical wrestler but, he is still damn good.

He's in between in my eyes for he could never get over with the impact crowd (which can be a make or take crowd) an i believe it is what hurt him.
He got stuck with cool gimmicks but they just went no where for him an he seemed lik an after thought.

i always wished lethal would go heel an jus bring meaning to the X division, where he was amazing at. The guy can move solid in the ring can hype a crowd up too. It just wasn't enough apperantly.

Lethal was succesful an had some good fueds an some good matches specially with sonjay. The Ric Flair angle was awesome he did a damn good job as the nature boy, got a rub an then he gets FIRED!

An also im not 100% sure but wasn't his first match against Abyss an Abyss destroyed him in 3 mins with a huge black out slam? i don't believe it was against Joe tho.

So in my opinion Lethal is In Between, wish he could be more for im a fan of his work.

 

[Vinco Menz]

My vote is that Jay Lethal was in between. Jay Lethal was a solid midcarder that was great in the x-division, but he was never really main event material. He was solid in the ring, but was only ok on the mic which caused nim to never really got too over with the crowd, and the time when he was most over, he was just impersonating Randy Savage. Bottom line, Jay Lethal was never a top draw. He was just a solid middle of the road guy.

 

[RJB1976]

I'm really hoping that Lethal DOES NOT sign witht he WWE. Because what they will do with him is what they usually do. Give him a weak intro to the audience, have him win a few matches, and then he becomes a goto squash guy! He will get buried like Kaz, Monty Brown, Chris Harris all have before him. I'm willing to bet that in 6 months, Kong will be gone from the WWE after she drops a match to beth Phoenix, and then becomes a comic love interest for the great Khali.

 

[Somewhat Large Gonzalez]

In between.

His feud with Ric Flair made it seem like he was set for a major push, but they fumbled the ball. I'm a big fan of Lethal, and I strongly believe that he could have been one of the top guys in TNA. You can't say that he was a bust. Black Machismo was a popular gimmick, and Lethal Consequences was a marginally successful tag team. However, he was never given the opportunity to enter the main event. 'Tis a shame.

 

[4-Real]

Lethal was a success.

Just because he never reached the Main Event, does not make him, by any stretch of the imagination a failure. First off, he managed to hold a job in the company for six years, which speaks volumes itself about how he conducted himself, took care of himself throughout his stay. He had a unique gimmick, and was the heart and soul of the X-Division for much of that time. He had memorable feuds with the likes of Sonjay Dutt and Johnny Devine, plus that Ric Flair storyline was very memorable, and he did everything he possibly could to take advantage of the opportunity. Naitch even put him over! Then TNA just stopped booking him as an upper-mid, and eventually, after growing reasonably tired with TNA's erratic booking methods, he was let go.

He is 100% better than Kofi Kingston. He works cleaner, botches fewer moves, and while smaller than Kofi, he doesn't come off quite as annoying looking to the viewer, and that, in general leads to better matches.

So just because JL 2.0 never broke the glass ceiling of the mid card, does not mean he wasn't considered a success. He gave himself a strong run in TNA, and that tends to lead to at least a look from WWE. And should he sign there, he'll get a bigger paycheck, better exposure, and with all the programs WWE has now in days for new superstars (NXT, Tough Enough, etc,) he could at least have a shot to prove his worth. I hope he does go to WWE... he's that unique.

So due to carrying the X-Division, playing a unique gimmick to a tee, and playing an important role in the 2010 TNA Power Struggle storyline, I'd definitely call Jay Lethal a success.

 

[MoeIsBetter]

Jay Lethals personality works MUCH better in WWEs PG era than TNAs adult themed show. He really could shine in WWE.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I would actually label him a success. Lethal, though not my cup of tea by any stretch, was actually a credible wrestler, and did anything asked of him, including some of the more ridiculous gimmick matches in TNA's history, like that awful "Black Tie and Brawl" match from Hard Justice back in 2008.

The problem with him, and guys like him, is that TNA is no longer the same glorified indy federation they survived for so long in. The landscape is changing, and with it guys like Lethal don't really have a place. That's not to say he won't at some point in the future, but right now? Nah.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I was never a fan of Jay Lethal. I always thought he was pretty boring and bland when it came to personality and charisma. His impersonations of Randy Savage and Ric Flair were hilarious and entertaining, but the regular version of Jay Lethal never excited me.

Although, Lethal could go in the ring. He could produce some good matches, and he could always be counted on to carry the X-Division Championship. Lethal was a consistent performer, and he does deserve a lot of credit for that. So with all that said, I would have to say Lethal was in between. He isn't one of the guys who can make or break a wrestling promotion, and TNA can survive without him.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Generally speaking, I was never really into Jay Lethal all that much. I thought he was usually pretty fun to watch inside the ring at times but the guy just never clicked. Personally, I think the whole Black Machismo bit kinda turned me off. He always seemed like he was just a Macho Man impersonator. Just like an Elvis impersonator, Lethal copied some of Macho Man's best moves, his mannerisms, his wrestling attire and his vocal stylings but he wasn't the Macho Man.

I always wanted to see what Lethal had apart from being able to do good impressions of Randy Savage & Ric Flair. When we finally did start to see the real Jay Lethal, what we saw was a flat, boring man with no charisma or personality of his own. He was given a pretty decent push but it just fell flat because Lethal as himself is just...well flat.

At the same time, however, Lethal was someone that could be counted on to do whatever was asked of him. He was a 6 time X Division Champion and while that may not sound like much these days, Lethal was always a solid mid-card guy inside the ring. So, I'll rank him as in-between.