The Main Event Mafia, a retrospective.

[Reddannihilation]

As most of us know the MEM was the primary storyline for Tna during the end of 2008 and the majority of 2009 and while it was compared to the nWo the actual angle had more in common with the failed New Blood angle in WCW at least from the overall story perspective, with the veteran performers taking on heel persona's and vowing to keep the young guys down. Obviously the big difference was that unlike WCW people actually got behind some of the young TNA stars. From the begining many quickly wrote off the angle as being another example of wrestlers who weren't TNA originals dominating the TNA main event. In many respects the angle succeeded with AJ Styles getting put over Sting, Matt Morgan making what seemed to be the jump into the main event and the recent acquisition of Bobby Lashley demonstrating some genuine in ring skill against another TNA original Samoa Joe.

However, as of right now in the middle of 2010 the wrestlers chosen to go over in the MEM storyline haven't really experienced the success the angle was supposed to provide. Samoa Joe has been placed back in the mid-card randomly attacking people although it's yet to be seen if his character revamp will pay off in the end. Matt Morgan went from facing Kurt Angle to being in thrown together tag team action against various mid carders before turning heel again and just recently having a confrontation with Kurt Angle again. Lashley left TNA to pursue MMA and Beer Money Inc. and the British Invasion, both young teams the angle tried to get over, have either been dropped to being Ric Flair's henchmen or disbanded, respectively.

When it comes down to it, AJ Styles was the only wrestler who really benefitted from the angle and in all honesty he was already massivley over among the TNA audience. But, some of the blame for the lack of followup on the MEM angle has to be put on the arrival of Hogan and Bischoff due to their decision to reboot TNA. So my question is, do you think the MEM angle was successful? Do you think it was unsuccessful? Or do you think the angle was simply made irrelevant once Hogan and Bischoff took over?

 

[The Viper Orton]

I still think that MEM was one of the best things TNA had, until Samoa Joe joined them. Joe vs Kurt was the biggest match in TNA and I dare you say you didn't want to watch them wrestle for the fourth time. At all wrestling in 5 years, I never enjoyed a rivality as much as I did with these two and when Joe gave the belt to kurt, it wented to the direction of being lost and somehow beginning of breakup. I always liked how sting hated what MEM members did and Matt Morgan hanging. I feel jeff jarret had a hand in ruining it (dont ask me why).

anyways I choose it as being successful.

 

[SuperKnockout]

WHO DIDN'T CHOOSE IT TO BE SUCCESSFUL? MEM was HUGE. I think they were great 2008-2009 but today, they would not fit in, unless of course the band became a group with more people.

 

[darbare]

It was a huge success in that helped out AJ and Joe alot.....its pretty irrelevant especially now since AJ is heel, Sting is heel....booker t is gone....angle is face now...steiner is gone....nash is in the band...traci and jenna dont have jobs anymore lol....it was cool while it lasted and was a personal success to me in that it was the sole reason I started watching TNA....i would say upper in between to low success....also remember that many or even most fans wont remember it one day like DX or NWO...

 

[UFOcalling]

I think the Main Event Mafia was a success as well. As it was already mentioned, the MEM-angle was extremely similar to WCW's (failed) "New Blood" angle from the late nineties/early 2000s. Hell, even WCW's LWO was similar...for those that don't remember: Eddie Guerrero started the story line, and said that he was sick of seeing all the luchadores fight each other, and that got the ball rolling for us to see some new feuds and matches.

All of these angles were employed for the same reason: to start new story lines/feuds that hadn't been seen before, and to try and elevate some new talent.

TNA's Main Event Mafia-angle was by FAR the most successful one of it's type, even if it was just a re-hash of an old idea. It was extremely well-done, and was ended before it got too stale. This angle was a GREAT idea. No one wanted to see the same few guys in the main-event on every PPV, and this was a great way to showcase the younger talent.

I don't think the angle became irrelevant because of the "Hogan Regime", it became irrelevant because it ran it's course. Booker left TNA, Nash needed to get away to reform the nWo, Steiner was/is damn-near crippled, Taz became an announcer (which was inevitable), and Joe never really belonged there anyway.

Hogan & Bischoff shouldn't be blamed for the MEM's demise, the angle had exhausted itself by the time they got there. The Main Event Mafia was great while it lasted, and the angle accomplished all that it needed to.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'd have to call it a failure overall because it didn't really elevate the standings of anyone. What we saw for close to a year was, primarily, membes of the MEM going over TNA talent almost every single match that took place between the MEM and the TNA Originals. Too many members of the MEM could no longer cut it in the ring, but still went over the younger talent and that accomplished little more than making the younger talent look weak and inferior. The World Elite's association with the MEM was essentially a big bust and both factions were allowed to just slip peacefully into oblivion instead of going out with a bang.

I know a lot of people try to use AJ Styles as an example of a wrestler that's benefitted post MEM but Styles has been a big star in TNA for years. Styles would have eventually been TNA World Heavyweight Champion if the MEM storyline had never taken place anyhow.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

The Main Event Mafia sounded good on paper, but overall, this stable really wasn't as special as it could've been. Putting together a stable with Kurt Angle, Sting, Booker T, Scott Steiner, and Kevin Nash who are all former world champions, looked like it would be a great idea, but besides Kurt Angle, no other member of this stable could put on a five star match anymore. I can't name one memorable match any member of the Mafia had while this stable existed.

Another mistake this stable had was the leader. I'm not saying Kurt was a bad heel, but wasn't Sting the one who started the quest for respect from the young guys? Shouldn't he have been the Godfather from the start? I know Sting was declared the leader as this stable was preparing to come to an end, but by that time, it was too late. The Mafia had already lost what ever mystique it might've had.

Then there was the Samoa Joe situation. Joe returns, and he returned with a vendetta....destroy the MEM. You would think the Mafia, a stable made up of former world champions, and bad asses, would be able to take Joe out, but what did they do instead? They payed him off, and he joined the gang. I know Joe is a former world champion, but he can't be put on the same level as guys like Angle, Nash, and Booker T as far as star power goes. This was another move that made the Mafia look incredibly weak.

So I would have to call the MEM a failure. This stable won't be remembered or mentioned in the same breath as the Horsemen, the NWO, or the original DX. This stable will just be remembered as something that never really worked out.

 

[MooseDaddy]

The main event mafia to me wasn't very exciting. Granted I came in at the end of the MEM time but it just seemed like a joke. It seemed like a group of people who didn't want to job to anyone else so they got together and said we aren't putting anyone over. Steiner was painful to watch in the ring and I felt his promos were just awful and Booker T, I couldn't understand what he was saying most of the time. All of them were great in their prime but only Kurt Angle really has any "GO" in him now.

 

[TheAnimal]

I think its a failure in that if you look at how it affected their future, it hasnt.
When WWE had evolution it gave them Orton and Batista as new stars, which created possibilities.
The MEM, well for the members left, it has had no bearing on their careers really. It is pretty forgettable. It didnt give them anything new and it didnt gain TNA anything as a company (ratings buy rates etc). Maybe its a bit unfair to say that because it wouldnt of occurred over night but i cant see how it has helped them in the long run.

 

[TellMeWhy]

I think its a failure in that if you look at how it affected their future, it hasnt.
When WWE had evolution it gave them Orton and Batista as new stars, which created possibilities.
The MEM, well for the members left, it has had no bearing on their careers really. It is pretty forgettable. It didnt give them anything new and it didnt gain TNA anything as a company (ratings buy rates etc). Maybe its a bit unfair to say that because it wouldnt of occurred over night but i cant see how it has helped them in the long run.

Wrong wrong, TNA's gained an additional 500,000 viewers to about 800,000 new viewers when the MEM angle was going. And according to some reports the buyrates of 2009 were slightly higher than buyrates of the prior year. Also the Sting vs. Angle match on Impact had set a record for TNA at the time for the most watched quarter hour in TNA history. To say the MEM wasn't a success is crazy. The shows were much more exciting and there was always a sense of drama in the air.

They also helped out the future of TNA. They put over Samoa Joe when they bought Joe into the MEM because it proved that Joe was too powerful. That instantly put Joe over! They put over EY and the World Elite when MEM disbanded yet EY's World Elite was still standing. They put over Matt Morgan and brought him to the forefront and it put AJ Styles back on the map. To say it didn't do anything is nuts. It did what it did. The problem was when JJ got suspended and Russo took over the creative team, he didn't know where to lead the angle anymore, so he disbanded everything without any real conclusion.

From drawing better ratings, to putting over talent, to creating good weekly shows, how could anyone not say this angle was a success. MEM=TNA's biggest success until this day!

 

[TheAnimal]

I think TNA viewer increases are too sporadic and never sustained. It didnt go anywhere really.
Kurt Angle would have put Morgan over anyway because the matches were that good and he is that good, i dont really credit the MEM angle for that. I think the way it was booked with Joe was stupid, he wandered around with a machete! To be fair, maybe he didnt help himself by coming back from his injury having put on a lot of weight. I think putting him in it was a mistake because i think Joe has always been best as the SCSA type of character who doesnt trust or need anyone.
I dont think the World Elite was ever viewed as a threat to the MEM except for the outnumbering thing, which isnt helping individual stars. EY probably got over because he wasnt acting like a clown really, for the first time in a while.

 

[MisterRob]

They also helped out the future of TNA. They put over Samoa Joe when they bought Joe into the MEM because it proved that Joe was too powerful. That instantly put Joe over!

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Joe was already over before this storyline, for one. And the truth is, after this storyline and what they were doing with Joe, TNA then scrapped the entire direction Samoa Joe was going in and altered it completely, as you can see by present day Samoa Joe. So in fact this storyline has no meaning because they've entirely backtracked with Joe, making what happened during the MEM meaningless.

They put over EY and the World Elite when MEM disbanded yet EY's World Elite was still standing.

And where is World Elite now? It's gone, more then half the members are non existent, and Eric Young has become a completely different character as a member of the Band compared to what he was in World Elite, proving the World Elite had no lasting effect at all and nothing was accomplished with their angle.

AJ Styles back on the map.

When in the world did AJ Styles ever leave the map?

MEM=TNA's biggest success until this day!

That's not saying much.

MEM was a failure because it accomplished nothing in the end. It didn't help build and put new talent into the main event or create them as new top stars; AJ Styles was already a top talent, as was Samoa Joe because the character he was developing during this time was scrapped and now has gone in a completely different direction because what they did with him during the MEM was a failure. Every other young talent that was being used to any real degree during this time is either gone or they're in the same place on the food chain as they were before it. Even half the MEM are gone! Nothing they did during this time has made any lasting effect on current talent or raised the bar for them. The entire angle has had no lasting effect on the company as a whole, which is proven by the fact they've dropped back to less of an audience and less ratings then they've had in past years.

TNA was not put in a better position after this angle finished then before it started, and that's the sole defining reason why this angle was not a success.

 

[swanton999]

i didnt like it