The Knockout & X Divisions Are Irrelevant: Is The Tag Team Division Next?

[Jack-Hammer]

Over the course of the past several months, I think it's become noticable that the tag team picture in TNA isn't quite what it used to be. Back when Beer Money & The Motorcity Machine Guns were in the midst of their second title feud, I read a few posts expressing concerns over tag team wrestling in TNA. With the absence of The Guns due to Alex Shelley's broken collarbone, it seems that a lot more people are noticing just how off things are.

As of right now, TNA's tag team scene either consists or has recently consisted of Beer Money, Ink Inc. Generation Me, Gunner & Murphy and Eric Young & Orlando Jordan. With the formation of Mexican America, there's always the possibility that Hernandez and El Anarchia or whatever his name is will throw their hats into the ring. The concern stems from the fact that none of these teams measure up to Beer Money and/or that TNA looks to be running angles in which many of these teams are on the verge of breaking up. We saw the latest hint of it last night with Ink Inc, GenMe have spent more time in wrestling matches against one another the past few months than they have as a team, Gunner & Murphy were a jobber tag team and Gunner currently is a singles champion while EY & Orlando Jordan are just TNA's version of Santino & Koslov with the exception that they're not really over.

I mention the Knockout & X Divisions because we've all seen how they've declined. Neither of them seem to be especially important in TNA nor have they been for a long while. Their glory days do seem to be well behind them and I think that there are several reasons for that. The talent that made them relevant are no longer with TNA. For whatever reason, they're just gone. Another reason I think is that alent that has remained with the company have been moved to other spots within the company. Maybe the wrestlers that been put there to fill the void simply don't have the talent of their predecessors. TNA itself no longer seems to devote all that much time or energy into them to make them relevant. Or, and this is one I think is pretty much on the money, it's a combination of all those things to one degree or another.

For me, it just seems that the tag team scene in TNA is traveling down the exact same path as the Knockout & X Divisions went. What do you think? Could the tag team picture just be going through a temporary drought or could these be signs of troubling times for the one area in which EVERYONE can agree TNA has been killing the WWE in for a good many years?

 

[Rayne]

It's a different kind of show now.

Before last year, TNA was a wrestling-driven company. The storylines weren't overly thick or convoluted; people watched for the matches, and there was also story there. The new production team is favoring a more entertainment based approach, despite their promotion of themselves as a wrestling company. The diminishment of the Knockouts, X-Division, and Tag Team divisions are a result of this. A higher percentage of segments are being dedicated to the top tier of the card, so there's less time overall to go around.

The X-Division is all but a natural casualty of this; the whole concept of the division is that it's wrestling-based. I expect to see the X-Division title removed entirely within the next year.

What's happened to the Knockouts division is just freakin' tragic. Two years ago they were the hottest thing going in wrestling. To expect that to continue indefinitely was naive, but they completely failed in using the popularity of The Beautiful People to develop other female wrestlers for the future. Now that TBP is well past when they were on fire, there's no one left to do any building. It's like a rundown building that housed fancy department stores at the turn of the last century, but now sits as a derelict wreck that no one wants responsibility for.

Tag team wrestling as a whole is on the decline. Compare now to 10-15 years ago. Almost all of the teams are individual focused, because wrestling has shifted to a personality driven industry as opposed to a performance driven one. There are no more Smokin' Gunns, no more Demolition, no more Legion of Doom. All of the top tag teams, both WWE and TNA, are individuals waiting to be broken out into the singles division.

Tag team wrestling's decline is just a symptom of the changing industry as a whole. TNA just happens to be the last place on television where it was any good. If you still like watching good tag team matches, there's always ROH and Chikara.

 

[Kaelthes]

It is funny Jack-Hammer, I was just thinking the same thing last night, and I logged in to post something similar to this..
I do think that the Tag Team division, really has lost stars who could have brought enough to the table, to keep the division running... Like you said, Alex Shelly has a broken collarbone? I think that without the Guns, and with the recent loss of Team 3-D, there are not many tag teams left. If Ink Inc. Splits, and Generation Me splits, who is left to even show a threat to the titles?

The X-Division in my eyes, has lost quite a bit of prestige... I think in 2009, at destination x, was one of the best matches I have seen in the X-Division. The match included Suicide, Alex Shelly, Chris Sabin, Jay Lethal, and Consequences Creed, in the ultimate X Match. This was the time when there was a few good athletes who brought something to the X-Division... Now, they are down to Kazarian? And who else am I missing who is actually an... X-Division competitor? Not just some massive size guy who can toss a few men around the ring.

Finally, you mention the Knockout division? I do think that it has gotten a bit stale.. But I personally am a HUGE Women wrestling fan. I belive that TNA (and I mean TNA ONLY when I say TNA) has the women they need to make a great Knockout division. Tara, Angelina Love, Katie Lea Burchell (Winter), Sarita, Allisa Flash, Roxi, possibly Taylor wilde?, Madison, Mickie James, Daffeny, Rosita, and Velvet Sky.. this has quite a bit of potential, just not being used right.


I am not a TNA basher, I love TNA more than WWE... by far... but I think that if TNA would stop attempting the comedy, and use the actual talent, correctly, the divisions would be much better. Examples, Orlando Jordan, could have been a good TV champion, or even X division, but is now a gay man... Eric Young, is a mental monkey now? He was a good star.. These are two examples, that I wont stop stressing.

I think that if TNA can fix that, and a few other adjustments, they can be back on the road of sucess.

 

[Derrtown]

Knockout division is just fine. 2 matches per show with multiple promos. Sarita, Love, Sky, Rosita, Winter, James, Tara, and the champ Madison Rayne are all involved in something.

Cant really argue with the X division but its been dead for years and the Tag team division will pick up once MCMGs come back.

 

[Kenny Powers]

TNA used to kill WWE in everything that included X division, Knockouts, and tag team wrestling. Now Impact has turned into a bad rerun of Raw from 2009. Team 3D has split, Motor City Machine Guns haven't been on television for awhile, GenMe has pretty much split up, and Ink Inc. are on the verge of splitting up. That only leaves Beer Money, the security guards Gunner and Murphy, and maybe Eric Young and Orlando Jordan.

A pretty sad state of affairs for tag team wrestling in TNA. I guess Hernandez can form a team with his new tag team partner in a version 2 of LAX. If Beer Money ever breaks up then there will be no credible teams left. The main focus in TNA right now is the Fortune/Immortal storyline. Everything else is just filler. It would be nice to see TNA take the tag team and X division serious again.

They don't have to devote the entire show to them. Just take a few of many Immortal backstage skits and actually have an X division or tag match. Its not that hard, even if there is only 2 hours in a program.

 

[finoj05]

The X-Division is supposed to be making a comeback within the next 6 months, thus the reasoning for moving Destination X.

The tag team division has always gone up and down in TNA, I'm sure it will recover at some point.

The Knockouts Division, meanwhile, is actually getting a decent amount of time and Madison Rayne is arguably one of the best female heels of the decade. She is such a screeching annoying heel that has been booked strong for months on end with a long-term storyline with Tara. The division has some annoying story lines but it ain't all bad.

 

[He's Phenomenal]

Not sure I can agree with the OP's assessment of the Knockouts division. The Knockouts division has more focus and is the best its been since I started watching TNA (Bound For Glory 08). The Beautiful People, Maddison Rayne, Tara, Mickie James, Sarita and Rosita are all featured on a regular basis and all involved in a story. I'm not a fan of womans wrestling but its definately the best womans division I've seen.

The X-Division has less guys in it now than previously and doesn't receive as much focus as it previously has, but that's not a bad thing for me. Id much rather watch guys like Mr Anderson, Rob Van Dam etc than Jay Lethal (unless he's doing impressions?), Amazing Red, Daniels etc. Sure they are entertaining in the ring but they're not the sort of guys that make you tune in each week to see where their characters are going.

When the Guns return, the tag division will be up to scratch again. Ink Inc and Gen Me haven't split yet, so they are still very much a part of the tag team scene. What wrestling company can rival a tag division that consists of Beer Money, MCMG, Gunner & Murphy, Gen Me, Ink Inc, EY & OJ and possibly Crimson & Steiner?

 

[perucho1990]

Madison has to drop the belt to Mickie in order for the KO division to be revelant again, then re-sign Roxxi,ODB and Melissa. Thats and easy way to fix the division.

The X-division is dead, just have the guys to be the part of the tag team division, I know that most of the smarks liked it 4-5 years ago, but that was because TNA was ROH-lite.

 

[AntiChristDeicide]

The x-division just got two stars el Anarchia and Divari. As for the tag-team division, you could team el Anarchia with Hernandez and you have a tag-team. Don't forget about Steiner & Crimson, and when shelly will be back so will the Motor City Machine Guns.

 

[shattered dreams]

The KO division is arguably more "relevant" than it ever was. Relevance has nothing to do with quality of wrestling. Relevance is about stories and as a whole I do not think the division has ever had more focus on as many different KOs at one time.

How does them making stories with apparent plans to break up some teams mean they are not planning to replace them with new teams? Seems to be a big part of your argument and it certainly does not seem to be the case. Especially since they have already debuted a new team with Steiner and Crimson. It isn't just about the teams though. It is the emphasis and style that keeps the tag division going in TNA. That isn't going to significantly change. Just keep respect for the belts, which is accomplished by Beer Money holding them, and then as soon as the desired transitions are complete the division is still thriving.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

The KO division is arguably more "relevant" than it ever was. Relevance has nothing to do with quality of wrestling. Relevance is about stories and as a whole I do not think the division has ever had more focus on as many different KOs at one time.

I have to agree with you. TNA do seem to be improving the KO's division right now. They have an excellent roster of female talent so I cannot say that the division is in any form of trouble. Madison Rayne has been an excellent heel champion, but I hope we see her drop the title soon in order to shake things up a bit. With Velvet, Angelina, Tara, Mickie and others there should be no problem is keeping the Knockout division stong. They appear on every impact and have a couple of storylines going all the time. I think this is one area that TNA is currently beating WWE. I hope TNA try and resign Gail Kim if she becomes available soon as she could boost the division even more and actuall get a chance to wrestle instead of being wasted in WWE for some strange reason.

However, the Tag Team division does look a little thin now. I am hoping this is only a temporary thing and TNA are planning on strengthening the division by signing/creating some new teams as Beer Money look set to split soon (good decision as Roode needs to go singles) and MCMG are also rumoured to be breaking up (bad decision, they have much more value as the best team in the world today). Ink Inc are worthless, Generation Me look set to break (why? can toy see either getting over as singles wrestlers?), so I hope that TNA have something lined up.

TNA have always had a better tag team scene than WWE, and I would be disappointed to see them following Vince's lead and completely disregarding tag team wrestling as it gave them something different to appeal to fans with that WWE didn't have. It would be a shame to see this taken away by ignoring what was a very strong area for TNA

 

[ABMorales787]

Yeah, the KO's are more alive than ever even if they aren't having Kong/Kim classics every week. As far the X Division, it seems to always find a way to cling to something. It's consistently on PPV even if there isn't any real backstory. Not exactly too weird, as that's been norm since 2007.

 

[eezy1]

I have to agree here aswell. The K.O division is shit hot right now. The emphasis is falling more on the knockouts that can actually wrestle and put on a decent match which it needed. Mickie and Tara are standing out above the rest right now and Rayne is coming along brilliantly.

Love n Velvet arent strong enough to carry the division but make adequate mid-card knockouts. Personally id like taylor wilde back and Sarita needs to be in the title picture soon.

Just no pleasing some douchebags onhere