The Pope Gone?

[sfury2005]

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.

I don't know how much control over the storyline he has but I do recall once hearing he was given free reign for his character when he first joined TNA. So I'm pretty sure the character was his idea but not sure how much of what he said and did was him and how much was the writers.

Here's an interview he did last October for a paper known as the Post and Courier. Towards the bottom he talks about how much he was allowed to do. It in the section title "Good on the stick".
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/oct/03/tnas-pope-destined-stardom/

 

[sfury2005]

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

Are you sure about him debuting in May of 2009? From everything I can find he debuted in August of 2009. I also see that in November of 2009 Dixie tweeted she had just signed the Pope to a long term contract extension. To me a year and a half isn't a long term contract but I guess we shall see.

They took down the 5-13-11 countdown and replaced it with a picture of him graduating around midnight.. They also left up the TNA schedule for May under his schedule area along with the links to his TNA mechandise. We shall see if he really did leave TNA but I'm not so sure he did.

 

[t619]

If i remember correctly, when pope was maineventing tna ratings went to the toilet. I get the feeling pope asked for his release. didn't he retire a few years back?

 

[Dizzy]

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.

For god sakes, he's pursuing a career in Criminal Justice. He just graduated. Do you all not read? It's almost embarrassing.

Why would TNA push a guy they probably knew would leave once he's done with his degree?

And people here try to say what TNA does is illogical? Come on now.

 

[AntiChristDeicide]

For god sakes, he's pursuing a career in Criminal Justice. He just graduated. Do you all not read? It's almost embarrassing.

Why would TNA push a guy they probably knew would leave once he's done with his degree?

And people here try to say what TNA does is illogical? Come on now.

You are right, he just graduated and is going to do criminal justice. Its sad that he might be leaving TNA, but its his choice. TNA probably knew of his decision, and decided not to push him to high in case he would be leaving that logical booking in my book.

 

[Superstar77]

I started a thread similar to this believing that the Pope might be leaving TNA. Now I think all of this might have to with him getting his degree in Criminal Justice. Though what he wrote on Twitter you would get the impression that have might be leaving TNA.

If he does decide to leave TNA and wrestling altogether I will respect his decision. However, I would think it would be a shame because he's a talented guy who IMO can be a top guy if given the chance.

 

[Ferreira]

I don't think he is gone.

Well, I don't know if he would get a job in the US that he would like if he left. Look WWE, doesn't want him, they released him, it's not like he is way better than he was at WWE, no, he is at the same level, he was good at the WWE but didn't want to use him, TNA used him. I doubt Burke would like to come back to WWE road schedule too.

Burke just made a promo about Wrestling Matters that aired today (or will air after today) so it doesn't make sense to air a promo with a guy you just released or contract has expired, I don't believe that TNA would be that careless.

Anyway, I like his character but at the same time every promo he cuts feels like the same, they are good, but just the same...

 

[Zeven_Zion]

I'm starting to think that it's both him leaving pro wrestling and graduating. Maybe he just wants to pursue a career in what he majored in. Perhaps it was clear to him and management that as soon as he finishes up with school he'll just go ahead, leave Impact Wrestling and journey down another path. I can respect that.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I think that Pope probably felt that he wasn't going to cut it in pro wrestling. I think that he is 33 and he also suffered a major injury recently. He has been somewhat popular, got decent pushes, but he has never won a title in a major promotion. He isn't going to get any younger of fitter from here on. His time should have probably come a lot earlier. So, I think that he probably decided to give up wrestling and concentrate in some other field of work. His injury might have played a part in his decision.

I liked the guy when he first showed up in TNA. He was decent in the ring, good on the mic and had a unique character. But as time went on, it was clear that he was unable to make much of an impact. I also had a feeling, judging from his interviews that he thought that he was much better than he actually was. He thought he was a finished product but in reality he just had some talent but needed to work real hard to succeed.

 

[Chess]

I thought The Pope was going for sure. Now he is in an advert promoting Impact Wrestling and stating wrestling matters and that is why he is in TNA. Confused?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYkzlFPuq5E&feature=player_embedded

 

[GrandSword]

I don't he's actually ever said he's quit, it just speculation that's got out of hand.

 

[UnBEARaBULLfan]

Pope worked a match at this weeks tapings for xplosion against suicide, so as usual this is people reading into something and looking like morons when there was not even a hint he was leaving TNA.

 

[JJYanks121]

Well, at this point we're not sure if he's leaving but quite honestly, I wouldn't care if he did. I agree with Zevon on this one (did I just say that? hehe) in that his gimmick hinders him. Hell, I said that literally when he came into TNA and I was called out on it! His gimmick never made a ton of sense as he was a street preacher from New York with a southern accent, but the real problem is that he is too gimmicky to work in the main event. How can you take a feud with him seriously when he talks in that dumb ass voice?

The truth is, he came from WWE and I think people wanted him to be a guy that was talented that WWE dropped the ball on so that it would prove WWE wrong for not pushing him, but it's just not there. He's never been all that entertaining, he speaks in circles and uses horrible public speaking faux pas like "you know what i'm saying" about 7 times each promo. Thus, the mic skills were never there for me and his ring skills were average at best. That said, some people can actually overcome this, but he can't.

If you aren't great yourself, you can make your opponent look good in that you can sell a feud well. He never did that as I can't remember a single instance where Pope made me care about the feud he was in. His feuds were just kind of there and I never cared if he won or lost. That's the sign of someone that fans wouldn't and shouldn't care about.

If he is moving on to another career, power to him. I'd recommend talking in a normal voice if he does though! If he stays with wrestling, I'd go take an acting course or 5 to learn how to react to situations and how to cut a promo in a normal voice. A little extra work might help him become an asset to someone in the future. At this point though, he's just a guy with no potential that some in the IWC hyped up a while ago for some reason. He was never all that good and that reality is finally starting to sink in.

 

[Joe's Gonna Kill You]

Update:

TNA Star The Pope D'Angelo Dinero clarified recent twitter posts in an interview with PWR Radio.

Dinero stated that the tweets posted were actually from his website administrator resigning from his post and saying farewell to everyone. Dinero stated he has zero plans to retire or leave TNA.

 

[GrandSword]

Pope is awesome, he's just booked poorly. He just became heel instead of a big time turn that would have helped him and Joe. Just lazy booking as usual from creative. Pope has all the tools and I think his gimmick is great. He's a pimp, an ego driven wrestler who refers to uimself in the same person and backs it up in the ring. He has had some great matches and deserves to be pushed.

At AAO he had three back to back fun and exciting matches and proved that if he is booked well can be $$$$ for TNA.