The Pope Gone?

[The Man They Call WMD]

"The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero posted the following statement on his Twitter account today.

"My time has come, It's time to move on. I've served well. Hope none has been disappointed; hope my hard work has been Applauded & Appreciated."


Thoughts/Theories?

 

[T2KFreeker]

If he is gone, I wish him luck. He's a very talented guy and I find it hard to believe that he and TNA couldn't come to some kind of arrangement. He's good enough that he will land on his feet and end up somewhere. I can almost guarantee that if things are south with him with TNA at the moment, as long as it isn't political, we will see him again in TNA one day.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

Good luck to The Pope. Always been a fan of his. Hopefully he'll come back to TNA one day and get a fair shot OR he'll go to WWE and become something. Either way, he needs a bright future whereever he goes.

 

[underdog217]

I am betting on the fact that he is gone, he likely signed a 2 year contract which would be up today seeing as he debuted in late May of 2009. I wish the pope luck and hopefully he returns down the line seeing as he had a great character

 

[Brian in Austin]

"The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero posted the following statement on his Twitter account today.

"My time has come, It's time to move on. I've served well. Hope none has been disappointed; hope my hard work has been Applauded & Appreciated."


Thoughts/Theories?

So TNA lets another talented hand walk away and they keep the likes of Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, Hernandez, Matt Hardy, etc.

Amazing.

 

[MB1025]

I bet he is talking about graduating from school.


Why not just say he left and thank everyone. Instead he is being cryptic. He is trying to get people talking. It doesn't make sense that he would countdown his contract being up for 2 months.

 

[neildittmar]

Barring a twitter hack, I'd say this is Popes farewell to the TNA... er... Impact Wrestling audience. Again with the exception of some shenanigans, it's quite difficult to see how this isn't Pope saying his goodbyes. Given his involvement in the company, it can't come as too much of a surprise either.

That horrible feud with Samoa Joe immediately springs to mind and was probably the one that did him in. I had no interest in that storyline, nor any desire to see how it would play out. It was ill conceived, convoluted, and provided no recognizable "payoff" in the end. Even before that though, what was he doing? Wrestling Abyss in casket matches? C'mon.

I was a big fan of Pope... still am actually, but it was his time to go. If what we've seen in the last few months or so is what Pope (or Impact) had planned long-term, then I'm both glad and appreciative that he's gone. Pope needs to be booked (or book himself) a certain way to get over. His early TNA days saw much of this and he got a lot of positive response initially. Unfortunately, he got worse over time and was probably more a victim of shoddy booking than not being able to play his role.

Pope will be missed, but if the short-term past was indicative of his long-term future, he needed to go regardless of whose fault it ultimately is/was... no doubt about it.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

So TNA lets another talented hand walk away and they keep the likes of Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, Hernandez, Matt Hardy, etc.

Amazing.

You do realize that Pope is another "WWE Reject" in your book? What's the problem? Another one gone! Woo hoo, right? Or will you bitch and moan and cry like a sissy about everything? A wrestler lost his job. AW MY GAWD!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MB1025]

I have said it before that the past couple of months ( maybe since coming back from injury ) The Pope has been uninteresting and seems like he isn't giving 100 percent. I don't know why, but in the wrestling business you have to give 100 percent all the time, regardless of what the company does to you, or you will be either fired or held down. So if he is indeed gone most of it is his own fault and part of it is TNA's.

TNA can only help or hurt you so much. If you go out there and are performing below your abilities both on the mic and in the ring then what else can TNA do for you. I haven't seen the passion on the mic or in the ring from him since his program with AJ Styles.

Anyways I still think this not TNA related, but we will see.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

He could have done more, but after winning the 8 Card Stud Tournament, he's been on a downward spiral. I hate where Samoa Joe is also. While their program wasn't interesting, their matches had some boom. After he kind of lost his momentum, there wasn't anything left for him to do in TNA. He could have improved himself, but with all the big names taking up the top spots, I doubt he would have been used in anything relevant or exciting. Oh, and D'Angelo Dinero > Abyss any day. I don't understand why he was on the losing end of that stupid feud.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

He could have done more, but after winning the 8 Card Stud Tournament, he's been on a downward spiral. I hate where Samoa Joe is also. While their program wasn't interesting, their matches had some boom. After he kind of lost his momentum, there wasn't anything left for him to do in TNA. He could have improved himself, but with all the big names taking up the top spots, I doubt he would have been used in anything relevant or exciting. Oh, and D'Angelo Dinero > Abyss any day. I don't understand why he was on the losing end of that stupid feud.

Like I said in another thread, I believe Pope's gimmick is not doing him any favors. You can't have a Main Eventer like Pope who comes out and talks like a priest, it's just silly. That sort of persona is just idle. Pope also slacked quite a bit over the last year, he didn't get himself out of that shitty situation. And before someone goes "well they booked him in a shitty feud", don't forget that Bully Ray was in an even shittier feud with D-Von, he shined like a son of a bitch and MADE that feud, and the feud turned into a signal to TNA management that Bully Ray is one HELL of a talent and look at where he is now - a step away from the Main Event. He's not an amazing wrestler but he's talented as hell, he bashed his way out of that feud, impressed, shattered the "tag team guy" stigma and is now on fire as a heel. If you impress - TNA will reward you. There's a reason why Pope never went anywhere. He simply didn't give management any reason to believe he'll be useful.

Same goes for Samoa Joe. TNA won't push you because you're an IWC darling or "just because". They have no use of Joe unless he shows real potential, and the facts remain - Joe has gotten lazy, boring, fatter and sloppier. Last week he faced Crimson and no-sold half of his moves, didn't jump like he should've when Crimson had to lift him up so it looked like a botch, as if Crimson was a weakling. Joe has just gotten lazy and that's why he's not pushed.

I hope Pope comes back after a while with a new gimmick and passion for what he does. He can do it, why he didn't is beyond me.

 

[Brian in Austin]

You do realize that Pope is another "WWE Reject" in your book? What's the problem? Another one gone! Woo hoo, right? Or will you bitch and moan and cry like a sissy about everything? A wrestler lost his job. AW MY GAWD!!!!!!!!!!!

No, by the sounds of it, this was a mutual agreement between Pope and TNA. I'm sure as each moves forward that both parties will be just fine. I do believe that he's a talented hand and could have provided them with another boost had the writing been there for him to do so. It will be interesting to see if he winds up back with the WWE or if he decides to go to ROH. I'd really like to see him get a chance to run with the ball even if it's as a mid-card champion like a tv or a u.s. champion.

 

[Iversen]

The count down etc makes it seem like Pope had probably decided to leave and wanted to rather than TNA not giving him a contract or whatever. Wish him luck I'm not a huge fan but the guys obviously got something about him because a lot of other folk seem to be.

 

[Swarles Barkley]

You do realize that Pope is another "WWE Reject" in your book? What's the problem? Another one gone! Woo hoo, right? Or will you bitch and moan and cry like a sissy about everything? A wrestler lost his job. AW MY GAWD!!!!!!!!!!!

Jump to conclusions much? Nowhere did the previous post suggest anything regarding "WWE rejects." Little defensive, aren't we?

Pope is a talented dude who never got his chance in WWE. In fact, seeing the latest turn by R-Truth, Pope could have fit that role very well.

Pope will land on his feet, and if he's gone from TNA, he's better for it. Dude has talent in spades, TNA (nor WWE) seems to have been able to harness that talent properly.

 

[Slyfox696]

So TNA lets another talented hand walk away and they keep the likes of Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, Hernandez, Matt Hardy, etc.

Amazing.

Pope will land on his feet, and if he's gone from TNA, he's better for it. Dude has talent in spades, TNA (nor WWE) seems to have been able to harness that talent properly.

Talent? What talent do you keep referring to? At this point, the only talent he seems to have is the talent of making people not watch him work. In the wrestling business, that's hardly what you want to be known for.


People like the two of you don't seem to understand, or refuse to accept, the basic premise of pro wrestling. You have to be part of the machine that draws fans, and to do that, you have to be part of the entertainment. If you can't draw fans, and you can't help other workers draw fans, then you're obviously not entertaining, and the promotion doesn't want you.

If Pope D'Angelo Burke ever proves he can draw fans, he'll get a job with a major promotion again. It's really that simple.

 

[DethMetal]

If he's done, damn. I really liked the Pope. First my girl Daffney, then Jay Lethal, and now the Pope? TNA is just flushing money down the toilet. If he is gone, I hope he goes back to the WWE and actuallt makes and impact.

 

[Brian in Austin]

Like I said in another thread, I believe Pope's gimmick is not doing him any favors. You can't have a Main Eventer like Pope who comes out and talks like a priest, it's just silly. That sort of persona is just idle. Pope also slacked quite a bit over the last year, he didn't get himself out of that shitty situation. And before someone goes "well they booked him in a shitty feud", don't forget that Bully Ray was in an even shittier feud with D-Von, he shined like a son of a bitch and MADE that feud, and the feud turned into a signal to TNA management that Bully Ray is one HELL of a talent and look at where he is now - a step away from the Main Event. He's not an amazing wrestler but he's talented as hell, he bashed his way out of that feud, impressed, shattered the "tag team guy" stigma and is now on fire as a heel. If you impress - TNA will reward you. There's a reason why Pope never went anywhere. He simply didn't give management any reason to believe he'll be useful.

Same goes for Samoa Joe. TNA won't push you because you're an IWC darling or "just because". They have no use of Joe unless he shows real potential, and the facts remain - Joe has gotten lazy, boring, fatter and sloppier. Last week he faced Crimson and no-sold half of his moves, didn't jump like he should've when Crimson had to lift him up so it looked like a botch, as if Crimson was a weakling. Joe has just gotten lazy and that's why he's not pushed.

I hope Pope comes back after a while with a new gimmick and passion for what he does. He can do it, why he didn't is beyond me.

Wow. So you're saying it was his fault that he was booked in the storyline with Joe? I thought he did some good work in that short-lived feud and came out of it with some real heat. Then, like TNA does, they just switched directions moving Joe to a feud with Crimson and dumping Pope to the side.

My guess is since his contract was up and they weren't interested in renegotiating with him, they had no interest in giving him a quality storyline with the company.

It's a shame, but they just let another talented hand walk away and got nothing in return. By your own admission, Joe is not showing his value, so why is he still there? Flair has had all kinds of issues to include now a shoulder issue. Jeff Hardy. Well enough said there with that brilliant move by TNA management. Hogan can barely walk, Bischoff is all but useless now as a character, RVD openly smokes weed, MCMG smoke weed, one of them is injured, they have Amazing Red now wearing a mask cause his talent wasn't getting him over. They have Daniels or is it Kaz again, playing Suicide to get Sangriento (Amazing Red) over. Ink Inc. were feuding with each other until we had Mexican America come along now that feud was like it never happened. There was the Kurt Angle retirement that never happened. There was Sting face, then MEM Sting, then he disappeared, came back, left again, came back as a face. Now he's champ since their previous choice is a burnout drug addict about to do jail time. Now comes word they might actually be considering a Hogan v. Sting main event PPV and I have to ask, WHAT????? Are the writers using the same drugs as Hardy? Cause if they think anyone wants to see Hogan hobble out to the ring, strain to hit his poses, pulling another muscle in the process, then have Sting job to him to get the title back in Immortal, can I just tell you? NO WAY!!!! That could signal the end of TNA. Hogan doesn't need to be champion and you guys don't need to see him as Champion. What they need is to offload all the freeloaders and old men who need to retire, build their brand as a true alternative to WWE giving fans some new stars to watch, and building their reputations in the business rather than continuing to kiss the HOF rings of Flair and Hogan. This notion that TNA can't survive without Hogan, Bischoff, and Hogan is beyond ridiculous and if there's even a grain of truth in it, then how bad is TNA?

 

[Brian in Austin]

Talent? What talent do you keep referring to? At this point, the only talent he seems to have is the talent of making people not watch him work. In the wrestling business, that's hardly what you want to be known for.


People like the two of you don't seem to understand, or refuse to accept, the basic premise of pro wrestling. You have to be part of the machine that draws fans, and to do that, you have to be part of the entertainment. If you can't draw fans, and you can't help other workers draw fans, then you're obviously not entertaining, and the promotion doesn't want you.

If Pope D'Angelo Burke ever proves he can draw fans, he'll get a job with a major promotion again. It's really that simple.

Oh I admit I wasn't watching that horrible feud/storyline with Joe. It was stupid from the beginning, but Pope, for the little that I did watch it, was carrying that feud. It's not his fault if the writing is so bad that he can't overcome it in the ring. Pro wrestling is about storytelling, not about a wrestler getting you to watch. You can be the best "wrestler" out there, but if the storyine you're in stinks, no one cares. Take Christian. A lot of folks were outraged that they took the strap off of him saying he deserved more of a run. And I admit he's a good hand. But really? What storyline did they have him in? He was feuding with ADR who quickly moved to a feud with Edge, then to Raw. Christian had a short feud with ADR, then essentially was filler during Smackdown as Edge and ADR became the focal point. So his talent couldn't overcome the writing to give him the chance to shine.

Fact is TNA has bad writing and they have had for a long time. They have too many wrestlers on their roster and not enough airtime or writing to go around. It's why they can just throw Tommy Dreamer suddenly back on tv in a storyline where he comes out and piledrives AJ out of nowhere and is working for Bully Ray without explanation. (more of the throw spaghetti at the wall and let's see what sticks.)

 

[Slyfox696]

Oh I admit I wasn't watching that horrible feud/storyline with Joe. It was stupid from the beginning, but Pope, for the little that I did watch it, was carrying that feud. It's not his fault if the writing is so bad that he can't overcome it in the ring. Pro wrestling is about storytelling, not about a wrestler getting you to watch. You can be the best "wrestler" out there, but if the storyine you're in stinks, no one cares. Take Christian. A lot of folks were outraged that they took the strap off of him saying he deserved more of a run. And I admit he's a good hand. But really? What storyline did they have him in? He was feuding with ADR who quickly moved to a feud with Edge, then to Raw. Christian had a short feud with ADR, then essentially was filler during Smackdown as Edge and ADR became the focal point. So his talent couldn't overcome the writing to give him the chance to shine.

Fact is TNA has bad writing and they have had for a long time. They have too many wrestlers on their roster and not enough airtime or writing to go around. It's why they can just throw Tommy Dreamer suddenly back on tv in a storyline where he comes out and piledrives AJ out of nowhere and is working for Bully Ray without explanation. (more of the throw spaghetti at the wall and let's see what sticks.)

Pope Burke has been in TNA for a couple of years, and received a HUGE push two years ago with a World title match at Lockdown (which was underwhelming...trust me, I was there). The fact is Pope never has shown the ability to get people to care about him. And contrary to popular belief, it's not creative's job to get a guy over. It's the responsibility of the wrestler to get himself over.

Now, that's not to say booking can't hamstring a guy, but Burke's never really had that. He was given solid material in WWE and, at least two years ago, he was given solid material in TNA. He just could never get people to care enough about him. You can only blame creative for so long. At some point, a true superstar is going to make it big, regardless of what he's given. Hell, Santino Marella has been given some of the shittiest material in wrestling history, and he gets far bigger pops than Pope ever has.

Guys with talent always make something of themselves, as long as they're willing to work hard. If Pope has the talent you say he does, then he'll reach the golden ring. But he's yet to show that ability.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Well if he is gone from TNA or Impact Wrestling as they call it, its no real lose. Pope has been spinning his wheels ever since he came back from injury. He has been involved in underwhelming feuds with Samoa Joe for the past few months now. He turned heel but the fans still didn't get behind him. He was pushed to the main event against AJ Styles, and you could hear a pin drop from the crowd. I thought Pope had great potential when he first came to TNA, but he became all sizzle and no steak. I'm sure the door will always be open for him, but for now there isn't much left for him to do.

 

[Brian in Austin]

Pope Burke has been in TNA for a couple of years, and received a HUGE push two years ago with a World title match at Lockdown (which was underwhelming...trust me, I was there). The fact is Pope never has shown the ability to get people to care about him. And contrary to popular belief, it's not creative's job to get a guy over. It's the responsibility of the wrestler to get himself over.

Now, that's not to say booking can't hamstring a guy, but Burke's never really had that. He was given solid material in WWE and, at least two years ago, he was given solid material in TNA. He just could never get people to care enough about him. You can only blame creative for so long. At some point, a true superstar is going to make it big, regardless of what he's given. Hell, Santino Marella has been given some of the shittiest material in wrestling history, and he gets far bigger pops than Pope ever has.

Guys with talent always make something of themselves, as long as they're willing to work hard. If Pope has the talent you say he does, then he'll reach the golden ring. But he's yet to show that ability.

Ahh, but I disagree. Santino has been given material that works FOR HIM. He's been able to use his comedic skills (making up for his lack of in-ring skills) to get him over with the fans. In other words, the writing played to his strengths and not to his weaknesses.

Pope was put in a feud with a Joe, a guy who outweighed him by what, 100 pounds in some sort of a duel stalking storyline? What was that? In what way did it serve Pope's strengths? Instead, it made him look weak as he had to then play the role of someone with a duel life, when his character by itself was strong enough to be in a feud, even if it needed to be with Joe.

Point is, the writing was bad and hurt his chances to succeed in getting over during that feud with Joe. Back when he was fighting against Hogan and the lot of them, he had something going had they gotten him teamed up with guys like AJ and the rest as we see Fourtune today. Instead, they wore him out and pushed him aside and took him off tv with an injury if memory serves. In other words, the writing again put him at a disadvantage and in a position where he could only look weak. When you're asking a guy to play a weak role, how in the world does he get over with the fans? It's like asking Christian to job to Orton for the title and even though they had a good match, Christian comes out of it looking like a weak champion because he only held the belt for 5 days. Now he's got to turn heel to get that strength back. Otherwise, it's back to the midcard for him again. Bad writing! (But I get why they put the belt on Orton which once again speaks to the writing.)

 

[Clem]

While I think his time in TNA did him the world of good, I don't think I'll miss him one bit.

The fact of the matter is they gave him a wonderful opportunity, pushed him to the top of the card and he couldn't compete with the bigger names.

So then he drifted aimlessly for months on end and eventually struck up a TERRIBLE feud with Samoa Joe that did neither man any good.

Maybe if he'd have set his sights lower, maybe gone after the X-Division Title or the TV Title, he could've staked out a spot in one of those divisions and he wouldn't have had to go anywhere. But he didn't.

 

[akathelaw]

The really unfortunate thing about Pope is that unlike a lot of wrestlers today, Pope had actual charisma. He's a solid worker, he can cut an entertaining promo and he seems to have that "star quality" so many lack. I had high hopes for him when he joined TNA initially. It seems as if his "Pope" gimmick was not very well thought out and really ended up shooting him in the foot. Had Pope stayed the course on the character he started with, an egotistical tough guy with unique fashion sense and a lot of cash, he may have felt like a modern day Ric Flair as TNA World Champion. I did not care for the religious tones that were seemingly forced on him by creative, proving just how uncreative they are. I'd like to see Elijah 'Pope' Burke show up in WWE again, or possibly ROH.

 

[Brian in Austin]

The really unfortunate thing about Pope is that unlike a lot of wrestlers today, Pope had actual charisma. He's a solid worker, he can cut an entertaining promo and he seems to have that "star quality" so many lack. I had high hopes for him when he joined TNA initially. It seems as if his "Pope" gimmick was not very well thought out and really ended up shooting him in the foot. Had Pope stayed the course on the character he started with, an egotistical tough guy with unique fashion sense and a lot of cash, he may have felt like a modern day Ric Flair as TNA World Champion. I did not care for the religious tones that were seemingly forced on him by creative, proving just how uncreative they are. I'd like to see Elijah 'Pope' Burke show up in WWE again, or possibly ROH.

Same here. I felt like they were heading the right direction with Pope and then did a 180 on him and ruined any chance he had to blossom. There was little continuity to what was being offered to him via storylines. Not sure how much the talent have a say in their storylines, but if he had a say, then it was his mistake to go the direction he did. The whole religious overtones were really too much and weren't even needed to move the Joe/Pope feud along. It could have been handled differently and I believe speaks to the overall lack of depth to the creative writing for TNA.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

If this is true, then I can't say I care too much about this.

I could never understand what so many people see in Pope. The guy does have a unique character, but he never did anything to wow me, and I don't see any signs of a superstar in him. His recent feud with Joe was awful. Pope was supposed to be one of the guys who was going to help fight the conspiracy during the whole 10-10-10 mystery, but he wasn't able to gain any momentum from this push. I always thought Pope was decent enough in the ring, but I think he's as solid mid card guy, and I could never buy him as a main eventer.

This is another one of those losses that shouldn't hurt TNA, and Pope's absence shouldn't be too big of a deal.