The Hall Of Fame Rings Storyline: Bad Push Idea Or A Subtle Jab?

[ABMorales787]

I'm actually surprised nobody's made a thread to discuss this story. Instead we get jabs at Abyss.

The story around the HOF rings is that Hulk Hogan gave his to Abyss to give him confidence. Stop and think there. Hulk Hogan gives his WWE granted HOF ring to a wrestler people here have pointed out to be mediocre. He then received a push and now sports ketchup and mustard stains on his wardrobe. Ric Flair wasn't pleased by the disrespect given to the HOF and took action, eventually loosing his ring as well. This second ring was then granted to Jay Lethal. Another one to think about here. He mimic's Randy Savage. A man many people wan to see in the Hall Of Fame, but Vince isn't too fond of. Is there more to this selection that just a comedy act and a bad push?

TNA has seemingly made it a weekly deal to bring these HOF rings on to the spotlight as if they were some prize to be fought for. Its obviously not the case. A Hall Of Fame ring is not a championship. It is a symbol of recognition for the dedication to a profession. In this case, pro wresting. Its no mystery that the WWE Hall Of Fame can be a bit biased, but to have its name dragged in the mud like it is on iMPACT! every week seems wrong. I get that TNA want's to be a big name. And to do so you have to go through extreme measures, but this seems a bit too far off the line here. Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair are arguably the 2 top names of wrestling, yet they have the representation of all their work tossed around like if it was the European title.

Whats your opinion on this unusual storyline?

 

[emilygoindown]

I hate this storyline; TNA and hogan going around getting WWE rings involved in the storylines. They are pritty much advertising wwe and making it look good-they are saying: "yes wwe is the top brand because they have the highly respected hall of fame which showcases wrestling history and made us what we are today". Its stupid and they shouldent be making wwe look good. Admittedly i dont like TNA, and one of the major reasons is because of stupid storylines like that. They need to stop this stupid story and stop making wwe look good. Though wwe is better so maybe they are just trying to admit it lol

 

[waylonmercy]

In one sense them losing their HOF rings is as offensive as Kurt Angle losing his medals either by someone stealing them or just losing a match. In all the cases I personally find it offensive as the rings and medals are supposed to be the most prestigious forms of recognizing their accomplishments in their field of athletics. The peak of amateur wrestling is a gold medal at the olympics. In Wrestling the most prestigious form of recognition today is being inducted into the WWE hall of fame. I think they should put their foot down and stop such angles from occuring with the power they possess.

Just my two cents.

 

[thecrock0984]

Honestly think this storyline just shows why TNA is moving back to Thursday nights. Its terrible! Abyss gets power from Hulks Ring??? Really??? Really??? Lame. I had high hopes from TNA but its over for them. They out it all on Hogan and Bishoff to come in and save the product and it aint happening! Gotten worse in my opinion. Everything about TNA now just seems mediocre. The run in's to the ring just seems small compared to WWE. Hogan starts off bout every show, its all about Hogan. Just aint gonna happen for TNA sorry. Think theyd be better off honestly with no Hogan or Bishoff. And Flair as the main guy running things. His promo's to this day are still fresh and lively. Where as Hogan, boring. Same Whatcha Gonna Do... Brother. Sorry TNA. Nice try. But I dont give them many more years before they are done. Bring Beer Money, Jay Lethal, Desmond Wolfe, The Pope, and AJ to the WWE and lets see what they can do!

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'd have to say that it feels like both a bad push idea and a subtle jab at the same time. I think it's fair to say that a healthy majority of TNA fans aren't all that thrilled with Abyss being put in such a prominent position within TNA. Let's face it, the guy simply is not nearly good enough to warrant such a push. Hogan giving him his ring I do think is something of a slap in the face towards the WWE. Since Hogan signed with TNA, there have been times that he's gone out of his way to jab the WWE here and there. At the same time, however, TNA has given something of a contradictory message. TNA sometimes makes jabs at the WWE while highlighting its sigificance at the same time. It doesn't really make sense.

I don't know if this is true or not, but I've read reports that Ric Flair was upset at the idea of turning over his HOF ring as part of the storyline. Flair hasn't said anything bad about the WWE since his debut and I wouldn't be surprised if he'd been asked and outright refused. However, he ultimately did go along with it.

 

[dionlyone18]

my thought is tna needs to worry about why cant get over a 1.0 in ratings unless its wehn the wwe is stuck overseas and not passing around a honorable ring like its a title belt..its like saying abyss is in the HOF...REALLY??? REALLY?? stop copying wwe and sit back and take notes on why they kick tnas butt in the ratings....i guess they wont learn there lesson till we have "the very last episode of WCW..i mean TNA"

 

[MediaGoon]

I was just wondering if anyone realizes hogan and flair both have wwe hall of game and the pro wrestling hall of fame rings. now I do not know which rings they are using in this angle but both rings look similar.

 

[Fallen Angel 21.3]

In all fairness, Bishoff is always wanting to do something that causes confusion and piss a lot of people off. In my mind Easy E is doing what he did back in the 90's where they hired a female wrestler who just won the women's title on night and then the next night had her throw that belt in the trash. Granted they aren't throwing those rings in the trash and they aren't giving to garage wrestlers, but having them being handed off to different people every week is sorta like what he did in the 90's. In my mind I thought Hulk was bigger then this i mean you have 2 out of the 3 smarest men in wrestling that should be helping TNA get its head out of there asses and bring them to the promise land. I for one want them to be a success because profit is always better when 2 companies are competing.

 

[Mr-excitement]

I guess they thought this angle would be controversial - but it is just lame. Bischoff is trying to rile up fans, and it isn't happening. What is really sad is once TNA folds, RVD, Foley, Hogan and Flair will be talking about how horrible it was to work there just like everyone said after WCW.

When this angle comes up, they will all claim they were offended by it. Not buying it. They are right where they want to be. Flair has pissed through his money so bad, that now he will do anything for a few bucks. Hogan needs to believe it is still 1985 and that he is still the top name in the business.

Bischoff thinks he can catch lightning in a bottle again and honestly, he can't. TNA will NEVER be competition for the WWE and sadly the WWE is horrible right now.

I wish someone would do a good studio show without trying to be the WWE.

 

[GetsHeat]

First thing.. TNA is in shape at all for jabs and I don't see it as a jab at all.

It's a joke.. I mean I have no problem with Hogan giving it to Abyss, it was in character.. the power thing.. whatever it's a confidence booster.. but now that Flair has arrived in it with his ring.. ring vs ring matches in the main event.. it's really getting ridiculous.

This is just typical TNA, they don't know when to call it quits. Instead it just gets more and more ridiculous until it becomes an absolute joke.

 

[T2KFreeker]

This whole thing is just like when WCW had the WWE Women's title thrown in the trash and when TNA copied it and had Rhino throw away the "ECW" title supposedly. I can see this being "Controversial" and all, but really, it has fizzled out. Even though I am not a huge WWE fan, I do have respect for the Hall of Fame and this whole thing is just wrong. As for the whole Abyss thing. Well, I used to really like Abyss when he was a one man wrecking Ball. I had fun watching him destroy his opponents when James Mitchel was his manager. It worked well. The problem is that them trying to add depth they have turned him into a piss poor excuse for a Hulk Hogan Knock Off. Really, I want to see Abyss monster out again and lose the red and yellow and stop coming out to Hulk Hogan's WCW music. The Magical ring thing needs to stop because unless they get Earl Hebner involved acting out the Golemn role over the "Preciouses", this thing can't get any worse than that. Please just stop and let the wrestlers do what they do best. Personally, I didn't NEED Hulk Hogan in the 80's, and I really don't need a horrid copy these days either. Thing is that it worked at least in the 80's.

 

[The Lion Tamer]

Bottom line... TNA continues to build its story lines and identity around the WWE. There is a major problem if that is what you choose to be the basis of your company. I understand that everyone responds to the competition (Wal-Mart and Target both take each other's ideas all the time), but to build a major storyline around the importance of another companies product is to sell your own talent short.

 

[pgerasucks]

i think you all need to learn what you guys are talking about and find something else to hate on because those are not wwe hof rings they are the pro wrestling hall of fame ring........that being said i think tna had high hopes for abyss but it didnt work out thats why he got the ring and the only reason jay lethal got the ring is to give him a character change thats why he came out and had a conversation with flair as jay lethal and not macho man.....and its hogan and flairs ring let them do what they want to with them so to answer your question i think it was neither

 

[Rayne]

i think you all need to learn what you guys are talking about and find something else to hate on because those are not wwe hof rings they are the pro wrestling hall of fame ring........

Sooooo then, who operates the "Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame"? Where can I visit it? You might want to take a powder on this one.

Whoever had the idea for this storyline should be beaten with a wooden spoon. The only thing it has going for it is that it puts a legends like Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan in the same ring at the same time as two guys they'd really like to push- AJ and Abyss. Without even discussing the successes and failures in pushing those two, the rest of the gimmick seems designed to remind me that the RAW is on. Constant mention of the "Hall of Fame" rings (no, there is no "pro wrestling hall of fame", unless it's ran out of someone's garage). WAY too much camera time for Hulk Hogan. Ric Flair dominates the mic when he's with AJ (not that he isn't GOOOOOOD on a mic), and while AJ is definitely having the master rub off on him, it's not a TNA guy running the show, it's an ex-WWE guy. Let's see how many people whiff on the shades of meaning in that one.

And that's what kills me about the Abyss/AJ storyline. They are, right now, TNA's top two 'homegrown' guys. Why are they in a storyline surrounded by ex-WWE legends? Everything about TNA seems to remind me in a very, very conscious way that I'm not watching WWE, and I do not mean that as a positive. That's how I should feel, but instead I then proceed to wonder why I'm not watching WWE. (It's because their programming is pretty bad also. Definitely a nadir for pro wrestling these days.)

 

[THE Madcap]

I really and truely cringed when I 1st saw TNA mention the HOF rings. I hoped and prayed that it wasn't a WWE thing, but alas it was... I took this as TNA saying "hey Vince, we have 2 of your biggest ever stars and we can do what we want with them". Disrespecting the HOF rings is up there with disrespecting titles IMO and in true TNA fashion, they've already run this to death. Initially, it made "some" sense, with Hogan giving up his prized possession to give Abyss a confidence boost, but then it got a bit silly.

What's the end of this storyline going to be? Both rings getting thrown off a bridge? I shudder to think...

More reason for me NOT to watch TNA.

 

[HT UK]

I hate this storyline so much! The damn rings are talked about and defended more than the actual TNA belts

 

[Slapnutjoey]

Sooooo then, who operates the "Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame"? Where can I visit it? You might want to take a powder on this one.

Whoever had the idea for this storyline should be beaten with a wooden spoon. The only thing it has going for it is that it puts a legends like Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan in the same ring at the same time as two guys they'd really like to push- AJ and Abyss. Without even discussing the successes and failures in pushing those two, the rest of the gimmick seems designed to remind me that the RAW is on. Constant mention of the "Hall of Fame" rings (no, there is no "pro wrestling hall of fame", unless it's ran out of someone's garage). WAY too much camera time for Hulk Hogan. Ric Flair dominates the mic when he's with AJ (not that he isn't GOOOOOOD on a mic), and while AJ is definitely having the master rub off on him, it's not a TNA guy running the show, it's an ex-WWE guy. Let's see how many people whiff on the shades of meaning in that one.

And that's what kills me about the Abyss/AJ storyline. They are, right now, TNA's top two 'homegrown' guys. Why are they in a storyline surrounded by ex-WWE legends? Everything about TNA seems to remind me in a very, very conscious way that I'm not watching WWE, and I do not mean that as a positive. That's how I should feel, but instead I then proceed to wonder why I'm not watching WWE. (It's because their programming is pretty bad also. Definitely a nadir for pro wrestling these days.)

http://www.pwhf.org/ Here you go. You wanted info on the Hall of Fame. I dont think they are using the WWE Hall of Fame Rings.

 

[No Gimmicks Necessary]

i think you all need to learn what you guys are talking about and find something else to hate on because those are not wwe hof rings they are the pro wrestling hall of fame ring

http://www.pwhf.org/ Here you go. You wanted info on the Hall of Fame. I dont think they are using the WWE Hall of Fame Rings.

Those Hall of Fame rings are not WWE Hall of Fame rings. They are from the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame,

People who don't pay attention disappoint me.

To those that are arguing that they are using Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame rings and not WWE Hall of Fame you are wrong and I would suggest you play closer attention to the storyline if you're going to bother commenting on it. They did the sit-down interview with Flair a couple of weeks and said he got his ring "in a ceremony in front of 18,000 people." The people at the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame would crap themselves if they could get half that many to show to one of their inductions. A couple of weeks before that after Hogan had initially given Abyss the ring Taz had mentioned how he had been present when Hogan had received his induction- a fact true of the WWE Hall of Fame, but not the PW Hall of Fame. And beyond all that the little WWE logo on the ring has been visible at various points during the angle. So arguing that they're not WWE rings is asinine, pure and simple- there is no debate. So I suggest you learn what you're talking about my deluded friend.

However, and yes I hate this angle, if you're going to do this type of story you're better off using the WWE Hall of Fame than the PW Hall of Fame, anyways. The main reason being the widest majority of the mainstream wrestling audience has NO idea a Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame not controlled by Vince McMahon even exists. I'm not putting the PW Hall of Fame down, its just the facts.

 

[Suneeboy]

I really don't want to comment much in this thread, because it's been discussed to death about not only how bad the story line is, but also how much we hate seeing Hogan and Abyss on television these days.

Those Hall of Fame rings are not WWE Hall of Fame rings. They are from the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame, which has all of wrestling's legends from all promotions, including Hogan and Flair. So the story line is not "stupid", once you realize that they aren't talking about their WWE rings. The story line is "stupid" because Abyss is shit, and Hogan is annoying.

 

[Optimist Prime]

I personally don't like this storyline but it is at least somewhat innovative. They're trying to use a similar storyline to the NWO (albeit, not even close to as successful or impactful) but where they take things from the WWE and utilize it in the new company to gain popularity.

WCW was actually sued on several ocassions by the WWE for making it seem like the NWO was actually WWF characters (Scott Hall originally acted almost exactly like Razor Ramon when he first appeared) and of course it was one of the greatest (if not the greatest) wrestling storylines of all time.

Today, since the NWO storyline has already been done with...they seem to have looked to a somewhat similar style thing using WWE Hall of Fame rings.

Unfortunately, thus far it comes off as ridiculous and somewhat childish with the Abyss character. Perhaps other wrestlers would have made it seem more adult-like or at least respectable...but Abyss comes across as a little kid (or perhaps slow or mentally challenged) being all excited with the ring where it even gives him Hulk Hogan's "powers". It goes a little too far. Had this been the early 90's or late 80's with all of the gimmicks geared toward younger children...perhaps it would have worked but having TNA knockouts in lingerie one minute, Abyss gaining power from a ring the next, and finishing it off with Ric Flair covered with more blood than Stephen King's "Carrie"...it just doesn't fit in with the product and continues to confuse everything.

As for Jay Lethal, it's a decent idea (shot at not putting Savage in) but I think TNA has more important things to be worried about at this time. Being concerned with Randy Savage's legacy shouldn't really be their priority #1. I absolutely loved Randy Savage and I think Vince McMahon's whole childish vendetta he has against him is ridiculous but I don't think it's TNA's job to worry about that. Besides, technically speaking, Jay Lethal was "Ric Flair" when he accepted Flair's ring.

I think they need to think of something a little better than this. Their storylines are all over the place and hard to understand for the most part.

 

[Rayne]

I can't say I feel too guilty about not knowing there was an actual professional wrestling hall of fame. If anything, not knowing underlines the insignificance of the organization. If that's the case, why doesn't TNA just name drop CZW and IWA:Mid-South, for the dozen people who would latch onto that?

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

i think vince will definitely get someone to induct macho man next year...if its a themed wcw hall of fame...why have a wcw themed hall of fame without one of the best...plus he spent his early years in wwe, having argubaly the best wrestlemania match ever againg steamboat...

i hatethe storyline, it isn't taking abyss anywhere either, does he have the tna world title?

 

[hardy8778]

Its worse than the whole undertaker vs big show storyline in 2008, or the nasty boys vs team 3d which was just plain stupid even though team 3d is just as old as the nasty boys or younger don't kill me for saying that they just need to have a better way of making story lines in Tna wrestling. We as the fans need better story lines and also if we don't see better story lines and this is known as a fact us fans will just end up watching WWE again which is a little more better with there story lines.

 

[JoeyDice420]

Wait a minute,Wait just a Minute....Now if i can recall properly,all you TNA marks were toting how TNA is going to beat Wwe in the ratings and how there the "Next Big Thing" (No Brock pun intended) But if you look at the Ratings,the PPV buys,Merchandise,etc etc.Tna is in a Worse situation then it was Pre-Hogan/Bischoff.Before these 3 greedy fucks came into the picture,i actually started seeing TNA as a moderate competition for Wwe,but Now...Its going down the damn toilet.The brought in Jeff hardy,who was a HUGE success in his Last wwe Run,what has he done memorable?...They brought in RVD who had moderatly big sucess in Wwe,what has he done memorable?....Win the TNA title that has no prestige?...Wonderfull...They brought in Kennedy/anderson,who people claim is the next austin..(Dont see it at all) Yet you have a pretty decent roster over all..and they cant do squat with any of them..The 1st time i heard of TNA i turned it on that following thursday night,and what did i see?...FUCKIN SHARK BOY and Curry Man...C'mon now..from there on out i knew it would be a shit company that isnt going to amount to nothing...Lets face it...Hogan doesnt draw anymore,Flair doesnt draw anymore,and you have people like Mick foley,angle etc who i used to respect until they jumped ship..Sooooo..tna...Nah nah nah nah,nah nah nah nah,hey hey hey..Goooood bye!!!

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

I respectfully agree AND disagree Riaku's post, here's why. The WWE 1st of all doesn't give out rings, they give out plaques, I believe, so correct me if I'm wrong. TNA has the obligation to entertain its fans and thus, feels they are "entertaining" said fans by giving out Hall of Fame "Rings". Thing is, we all know which HOF they're speaking of, however, TNA isn't stupid enough to risk tremendous legal action being sought by the WWE by stating "on-air", "We are hereby doing an angle where TNA will give away any property thereby any likeness whatsoever that can be meant to seem to belong to WWE, WWE Superstars or WWE, Inc.". That being said, TNA CAN give away a ring, so long as they never mention the name WWE in connection to the ring.

Now...The bigger point I am trying to make is that, even with that being said, it's still tasteless, tacky, ingorant, in poor taste and done involving people who are NOT going to go over well with the fans, thus in other words, make the fans grow closer to the stars (in this case Abyss & Jay Lethal), instead, they make fans cringe and say to themselves simply, "this shit sucks". For a paycheck and a few minutes on TV, Ric Flair officiall sold whatever respect and dignity he had left in both himself and from the fans and allowed a silly storyline to involve him. TNA really has nothing else going for itself. Their product is below-grade & instead of realizing this and creating FRESH products & storylines, they instead choose to give their fans another reason to be like, "what's over on RAW" by subtly mentioning the competition's product or something about the competion. That may have worked for WCW but TNA is NO WCW, even in WCW's declining years. Fans were already familiar with WCW's product and could understand why WCW did certain things, now, fans are just left wondering what's TNA's problem.

So, I truly believe, in the long run this will be another nail in the coffin of TNA. The meer fact that TNA had to go back to Thursdays is reflective of this one storyline. Instead of offering compelling, entertaining and orginial storylines (WITHOUT mentioning directly or indirectly WWE), they do the opposite. I am not interested in seeing Hulk Hogan or Ric Flair parading around, especially in this light. I wouldn't say this is an unusual storyline (I've seen more unusual ones) but it isn't entertaining whatsoever. Hope TNA gets it together, but honestly, I doubt they will.