The De-Push of The Pope

[Kitten Cutter]

While people ponder the retirement of Kurt Angle and the sanity of TNA management by putting the belt back on Jeff Hardy, I will ponder the downfall of one of my favorite wrestlers and the reason I started watching TNA," The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero.

He started in the WWE in 2006 as a mouthpiece to Sylvester Turkay (avoiding becoming a member of the Spirit Squad), then stuck around as a commentator, then went to ECW and became leader of the New Breed, then when ECW was phased out, he stuck around doing next to nothing until the end of 2008.

In 2009, he shows up in TNA with a new gimmick and had a multitude of good matches both as a heel then face, but didn't do anything of note. In 2010, he had promise by winning the 8-card stud tournament, but lost to A.J. Styles. After fending off injuries, he kept coming close to the World Title in various situations, eventually losing every time. Finally, at the end of 2010, he aligned himself with a heel Sting and heel Kevin Nash, only to have both of them leave, with Pope staying (well, going back to) face promising to "fight the good fight." The good fight resulted in threats to Eric Bischoff and multiple losses to Abyss, the last culminating in a casket match. The next week, The Pope had a gospel choir and haunting music promising he'd be back. The week after, we see a mysterious cameraman (later revealed to be Okada) following Pope on behalf of Samoa Joe to reveal what a scumbag he really was. The feud makes partial sense since Joe and Pope never liked each other anyway, but both men lost big PPV matches and seemed to give up on their respective feuds with the Immortals to face each other. Their actions led to their match in which Joe dominated and won via submission. Pope tried to get his heat back by taking out Okada and busting Joe open, but in the end it didn't matter. His career seems to be in a continuous, monotonous spiral.

What's shocking in his 4 year career is that he has never won a title. Not one. No Tag Team titles, no X-division titles, no Intercontinental or U.S. titles, and not even the old ECW title that they were giving away at one point. The only belt on record that he has ever won was one stint in Ohio Valley that he lost to Matt Morgan. We've seen a lot of lesser wrestlers win titles. Orlando Jordan has been US champion. Eric Young was Global champion. Madison Rayne was given the Knockout Title months ago by Tara. R-Truth\Ron Killings has won a litany of titles. Even Pacman Jones has won a belt!

It confuses me how The Pope can be so good in the ring (his style is a little unorthodox but effective with his boxing background, plus he has a fresh finisher reminiscent of the Stinger Splash) and on the mic (he yells a lot but he believes in his character and is flawless in his delivery) can only have one Ohio Valley title on his resume and none in either major organization. Right now Abyss is sitting at home as a champion while the TV title collects dust. Eric Young is walking around with a phony belt around his waist. And The Pope just got squashed by Samoa Joe, and while the feud may seem to be continuing, what will it lead to? A World title? The TV title? Teaming up with Samoa Joe or Bully Ray or whomever for the Tag Team titles?

So, my questions to all of you is this:

Will this feud lead The Pope to a title?
Do you think he has deserved at least one title in the past?
And...will his career be a waste if he never wins a title?

 

[Rampage Bentley]

You know, for a while Pope was the only reason I even watched TNA, but I think the Pope has grown kind of stagnant. It's more than just a de-push, it almost seems like he's hit the glass ceiling and he knows it.

His promos haven't been good in quite some time, his in-ring abilities are still pretty decent but I think he's experiencing the same feelings Matt Hardy was about two or three years ago, let's hope he won't deal with it the same way.

But to answer your questions....

1. No, I don't think this feud is anything more than filler. They had no idea what to do with Joe or Pope so they just kinda mashed them together.

2. Yes he most certainly deserved to be the one to beat AJ Styles for the TNA title last year, as I thought RVD's run was a joke.

3. No, I don't think his career will be a "waste" if he doesn't win a title. Jake the Snake Roberts never won a title, I wouldn't dream of calling his career a waste.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Pope is one of my favorite wrestlers in TNA as well. Many people find him overrated but I think he just needs to improve a bit mostly in his promo delivery style, which means he has to yell a bit less. But coming back to the point, I just find it annoying the way TNA has treated him. He had two huge chances of getting over and TNA blew both of them. I believe that he should have won the Heavyweight Title from Styles when he won the 8-card tournament. Instead TNA went with an over the hill RVD. After that TNA could have pushed him as a huge threat to the Immortal faction but they nonsensically turned him heel. Right now he is stagnating in the midcard and hasn't even won a title to date and he a wrestler of his ability does not deserve to be treated so shoddily.


To answer your questions:

Will this feud lead The Pope to a title?

I do not think so at all. I like this feud more than a lot of people do but I cannot argue that it is a meaningless one. I liked the booking at Against All Odds last night. The manner in which Pope tapped out quickly to attack Joe showed us a new side of his character and gave him good heat. It showed that he wasn't bothered about the outcome of his match and just wanted to hurt Joe. It was a good way of adding intensity to his character.

But the only way Pope can win a title out of this feud is if he joins The Immortal faction. It won't be the worst thing to do as there is a face-heel imbalance on the roster currently and there are just too many faces opposing Immortals. It would also get Samoa Joe involved in the main storyline and that can only be a good thing considering how over he is with the fans.

Do you think he has deserved at least one title in the past?

Like I have already mentioned, I believe that he would have made a better champion than RVD. In any case he should have at least won a midcard title in TNA by now. He has been extremely over with the fans on more than one occasion and deserved to be rewarded.

 

[Post]

You know, for a while Pope was the only reason I even watched TNA, but I think the Pope has grown kind of stagnant. It's more than just a de-push, it almost seems like he's hit the glass ceiling and he knows it.

His promos haven't been good in quite some time, his in-ring abilities are still pretty decent but I think he's experiencing the same feelings Matt Hardy was about two or three years ago, let's hope he won't deal with it the same way.

Yes totally agree! His promos have been awful! I did laugh my butt off with the whole "Pope is a forgiving Pope, Is Joe a forgiving Joe?" But that was the exception.

In ring work is good. They just need to get him the hell out of this feud with Joe and either limit his speaking time or really script and practice.

Pope still has a lot of potential. He needs to be himself and stop trying to be the Pope that he thinks everyone wants. His promo work lately is trying much to hard...

 

[Trance Metaphor]

The Pope slowly shriveled into obscurity after winning the 8-Card Stud Tournament. He got his TNA World title shot(s) and that was that. His hype was killed almost immediately as he had arrived in TNA. That's not a good thing. The only thing I remember about him recently is his alignment with Sting and Kevin Nash and that was a few months ago. He's good in the ring, but his constant losses are hurting him and making him look weaker than he was before. Also, his promos aren't the best the company has dished out either. Both him and Samoa Joe are currently stale, because they've lost something that made them both special at one point -- dominant among the ranks.

 

[Lucha-Libre is wrestling]

Well to be honest TNA threw The Pope under the bus, How?
1. He was suppose to save TNA with Nash and Sting. ( This was scraped )
2. Easy E and Immortal paid off his family to turn on him at a PPV . ( This was scraped)
3. TNA tried to bring him back or revive him out of a coffin on Impact after he lost to Abyss in a coffin match on PPV. ( So how this went from Abyss to Joe )
The problem is that TNA is not consistent with the Pope's story-lines, thats the reason he is getting stale. They are also doing the same to Joe and the whole X-division, don't be suprise if the same happens to MR. Anderson,Matt Morgan and RVD.

 

[EStreet]

I remember a few months ago when people were drawing comparisons between the Pope and a young Rock....Pope has a great catch phrase "Pope is Pimpin", is flawless in his delivery of promos (amazing how Jeff Hardy can be a stumbling world champ)...and has the build and athletic look to compete against anyone.

Yet somehow they stuck him in some odd story lines that didnt play out as planned and he ended up in a state of being a somebody in TNA but going nowhere.

It is ironic that the two biggest misuses of talent - Joe and Pope - are in a feud against each other for no title on the line with no real end game except to keep occupied.

 

[Rayne]

People are just realizing now why Elijah Burke never caught on?

Just because a guy catches fire for a few months doesn't mean he's the Next Main Event. And D'Angelo Dinero did have a few months where he was one of the hottest things going in TNA. But he's still got a lot of work to do. He can lay down a great promo; but he can't lay down a great promo every night. (To be fair, no one in TNA right now can lay down a great promo every night.)

All that being said, he's in a good place right now. He hasn't been buried; he just hasn't been pushed to the moon like some people seemed to expect he would be. He's chugging along, visibly, in the mid-card, from which he could believably rise from next week if required.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I honestly think that the guy is pretty overrated. I can't stand the way he gives promos, it just irritates me. Pope does have some genuine ability in the ring and I know that he can be good on the mic of he just alters a few things here and there.

Pope has become an IWC darling but he's not nearly what he's been hyped to be by internet fans. He needs to ditch this street preacher or pimp or whatever gimmick it's supposed to be because the bloom is off the rose. I think it's time for a new approach, a new style on the mic and just a change in how he's presented because I don't see anything big for him where he's at right now.

 

[Calderownz]

So, my questions to all of you is this:

Will this feud lead The Pope to a title?
Do you think he has deserved at least one title in the past?
And...will his career be a waste if he never wins a title?

1. Doubtful. Joe and Pope seem to be two good wrestlers they don't want to let go of but have nothing for them. Obviously, they are better suited for TNA. However, this is a wasteful attempt at using them. They should end this feud with Pope getting a win to bring back the balance and make Joe lose due to some interference or what have you and let them move on.

2. Sure. Then again, he has slowed down in terms of his promos as well. His in-ring stuff has maintained, but it was never GREAT enough to carry him. Still, he might be still rising if he were given the title during that feud with AJ Styles.

3. No. Especially not in the long run. In the short term, however, if done correctly, will only help the company and his career.

 

[IceMalenko]

I loved Elijah Burke and was very excited when he came to TNA, but recently, I haven't cared about D'Angelo Dinero OR Samoa Joe (sad as I used to get so excited for them). I don't think it's so much a "de-push" as crappy storyline. People like The Pope, people like Joe, so I can see the current line of thinking, but it's a dumb storyline.

If Abyss is out for awhile and there's a tournament for a new TV Champion, I could see new life in The Pope. I think this would be a GREAT title for him to have, as he's charismatic on the mic and pretty good in the ring and can definitely get over with the fans.

 

[Tech N9ne]

I don't think this is leading anywhere positive for The Pope. I think he has started to become lost in the shuffle, as he sort of did in WWECW. I think the fact they turned him, and had him feud with Joe (Another guy lost in the shuffle), was an solid indication that he was losing steam. Joe and Pope BOTH are falling down the ladder at this point. Having them face off in a feud was not a good sign for them.

It was kind of like they took 2 guys that were fading and just stuck them together for lack of any better ideas for them.

Pope is good on mic and good in ring. I think he gets a little carried away in his promos. If he went back to WWE, I think they would regulate what he does a lot more. Thus, forcing him to tighten up his shit. I think WWE could really use him, and more so, HE could use WWE.

He has a history there, no matter how irrelevant or small it is. I think he could step back into WWE and make a solid impact. As for him being in TNA. I think they have just let him fall too far. He seemed like he went from being on the cusp of greatness, to being back at the bottom.

Sometimes, it seems getting close to the Main Event, and then falling back down, is worse then not having your shot yet. He got his shot, and obviously someone or some people, didn't like what they saw.

 

[Dean Winchester]

The Pope was suppose to be feuding with Immortal but now he was turned from a babyface to a heel in a boring feud with Samoa Joe. So I say the Pope has been greatly depushed.

 

[D-Man]

As I stated in the LOLTNA Spam thread:

For the record, I called it. The Pope was always a flash in the pan. He had a nifty entrance and decent mic skills right up until the time when TNA decided that he was so good that he no longer needed a script and could ramble on for as much and as long as he wanted. You know, kind of like Ric Flair and Eric Bischoff do now.

Pope was good when he was limited and before he fell victim to 40 face/heel turns within the course of two weeks.