Personally, I don't really think so. Sure, he's way over with the crowd for some reason, but I really don't see the big deal with him. His rambling promos are somewhat entertaining, and he's average in the ring, but that's it. Doesn't really scream "main eventer" to me.
Well nobody could ever call Hulk Hogan a technical wrestling great etc. He was way over with the crowd though and look at the success that gave him. At the end of the day, if somebody is one of the most over people in the company, these companies usually take advantage of this. So using your argument, you could have Doug Williams in a main event with his great wrestling skills including that SICK Chaos Theory suplex, but The Pope would be a safer bet with how over he is.
I personally think his ring skills are pretty great. His selling of moves is particularly expert so I think that's why he is a perfect choice. AJ as a heel with Flair beside him could potentially see a long title reign to get him really over as the face of TNA. So why not have a competive match where AJ walks out on top and Dinero sells his moves to make him look like an absolute star. It will be in a cage if it is Lockdown too, if Hogan / Easy E keep with tradition, so you know Dinero will sell the steel at one point.
I don't think Pope is ready to win the title just yet, but this could be a great way to test the waters and make AJ look legit. Beating Joe then Pope would ensure he has beaten two of the most over face's in the company.
Kayfabe wise, it's even worse. He lost to Orlando fucking Jordan a few weeks ago. Now he's main eventing? I know he beat AJ as well, but they played that off as a fluke thing, or something.
They played it off that OJ took advantage of an injury. Then they also had Pope win on the rematch where they claimed Pope was at full health. So they more than made up for that.
Furthermore, the fluke win is perfect for this. If they had Dinero win on TV without it being a fluke, so close to Against All Odds where Joe would face AJ, people would have claimed more than anything Dinero should have had the shot. AJ beat Joe, Pope won the tournament and now the fans have seen Dinero do it once but AJ can call it a "fluke" and then the fans can find out for sure at Lockdown. The build-up has worked perfectly in my opinion.
I get TNA's problem though. With Sting likely kidnapped and Jarrett and Foley supposedly being too old, they don't have many main event options. Angle/AJ has been done a lot , so that's out the window. Same with Joe Anderson may be a possibilty, but a heel/heel matchup would not be a good idea, especially right now.
Something we agree on man. I think right now Dinero is the only real option. I think we may see Jarrett eventually get his title match after rising from the bottom of the company. For now we have Pope as contender in April. Maybe Hernandez after a feud with Morgan (Seeds were planted at the PPV for Morgan to turn heel so you know they won't hold the belts that much longer). Then you might even somehow be able to make Abyss credible by then to take on Styles after them. And before you know it Sting might even be back on TV after all of this or Jarrett could have rose up the rankings again.
All in all, I think The Pope is the best option right now. I don't expect him to take the belt, but this is his first shot in the main event scene and can only benefit him greatly.
Good post btw Disarray. Major props. You're asking the questions no-one really considered.