The Problem with TNA Heels

[klunderbunker]

Think about this for a minute. Right now, the top heel wrestler is Jeff Hardy. He's been under Hogan, Flair and Bischoff his entire time in that spot. Before him, Abyss was top heel. While he was top heel he was a servant of THEY and was seen as a messenger. Before him, AJ Styles was top heel and he was mentored by Flair who AJ looked up to the whole time. Before that the Mafia was the dominant heel stable. Before that, the top heel was Booker, Christian or Angle depending on how you look at it. That was in the summer/early fall of 2008.

It has been almost three years since TNA has had a single heel (and when I say that I mean having the heel be the main act. For instance Miz is a solo heel since Riley clearly takes orders from him) as the top thread. As a fan, the basic idea is good guy vs. bad guy with the bad guy dominating for a very long time until the good guy rises up and beats the bad guy. Then another bad guy gains power and beats the good guys down again.

The problem in TNA is it's been forever since there was a guy that didn't answer to anybody or didn't have a mentor that was above him or wasn't part of a stable. Why is TNA so afraid to let one guy dominate things? Having a lackey or two is fine, but why can't we get a big bad in TNA that is one guy?

 

[Fourtune-4]

I understand what you mean, they dont have any bad-ass heels, someone like Edge or something, someone who doesnt care about anyone but himself and is very dominant, not the cowardly heel. But I also see that they are trying to get there. Guys like beer-money, kaz, AJ, abyss, matt morgan have all become legit characters, they are not ready yet to do it all alone, but they're making huge progress with them.

 

[superstitionstx]

I think it has something to do with the fact that TNA is obsessed with stables. They are trying to re-create that NWO glory, and its never gonna happen. If you remember WCW, it was a lot similar to what you are describing here. There was NWO, Filthy Animals, The Flock, and on and on and on. They don't have enough confidence to build one person as a mega heel. Not hating on TNA, just saying...

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Because of who's in charge and who's booking.

As superstitionstx noted, TNA has been centered around stables (especially heel stables), just like WCW was. If you think back to the days of Nitro (ah, the memories), WCW certainly had the requisite talent to do the same as you're asking TNA to do, but never did, because they went the opposite route by using the heel groups to build a mega face (Sting) who then took down the powers that be.

I'm not sure TNA is doing the same, but either way their reliance on the use of stables is what prevents a mega-heel from ever emerging, and unfortunately I'm not sure why. Could be a lack of confidence in any of the would-be mega-heel stars, or it could simply be that they don't see the value in booking that way (as opposed to the way they are now).

 

[CaptainZaltan]

If I had to guess at the purpose behind the booking, I'd assume that it was done in order for TNA to hedge their bets. Rather than handing over the reigns of heeldom to a sole individual, TNA can pair a younger main event heel with an established mentor to back them up just in case they aren't capable of holding the position themselves. They've done the same with the faces on occasion as well; such as mentoring Frontline under Rhino, or having Sting lead efforts to topple Planet Jarrett, or even going back to Randy Savage helping the faces defeat the Kings of Wrestling.

There's nothing really wrong with the method itself. After all, it's how the WWE put over Batista and Randy Orton, and even HHH himself was once subservient to the Undertaker in the Corporate Ministry. TNA's problem seems to be knowing when to let their talent carry themselves under their own power. AJ Styles has had his training wheels taken off and put back on so many times that his character is starting to seem like the type that should be wearing a helmet to the ring.

 

[PhD]

I think it has something to do with the fact that TNA is obsessed with stables. They are trying to re-create that NWO glory, and its never gonna happen. If you remember WCW, it was a lot similar to what you are describing here. There was NWO, Filthy Animals, The Flock, and on and on and on. They don't have enough confidence to build one person as a mega heel. Not hating on TNA, just saying...

This seems like the most appropriate way to view the situation. Russo's stable fetish is behind all of this, because the guy really doesn't have an original bone in his body. As such, we're going to continue to see talented workers held down by recycled angles. Wouldn't you love to see Robert Roode as a bad-ass heel who doesn't need an army of henchmen? I guess we can always hope...

 

[finoj05]

The Rock, when he was the top heel, was following the orders of Vince McMahon. Same with HHH as well for a while. HHH was managed by Ric Flair for 3 years. Same deal. TNA isn't the only company that does this.

Kurt Angle was the #1 heel in TNA and worked alone for quite some time. Jeff Jarrett, after Planet Jarrett fell apart, was also alone for a while. Booker T was the #1 heel in 2008 for a few months and he was alone as well.

TNA has had a slew of big stars from the past come in that can work as authority figures/managers. You rather Hogan and Flair wrestle or manage the talent? They sure as hell cannot be lackeys.

Yeah, it's been 2 1/2 years since their was a lone heel but is that REALLY much of a problem? It's a trend, yes. WWE has also had a chickenshit heel character as it's top heels forever as well. Does not make it the #1 fail of the company.

 

[SpecialFNK]

who does TNA have that would be a top heel alone?
wouldn't be Jeff Hardy now that his brother is there. is Abyss really someone to main event heel?
I think Abyss could be a well used monster, but I don't buy him as a potential champion.
Anderson could be someone to be alone, but he is face now. I think he could have been a great heel, but I also buy him as face.
Angle is someone else I think is better face.
Matt Morgan is a beast! could he be a major heel to work alone? right now he is face in the feud with Immortal.
maybe Robert Roode for the future? I think in the future TNA should use him in singles. would he be heel? and when/how do you split him with James Storm?

I'd like to see TNA use Samoa Joe as a heel. he seems like a bad ass who wouldn't take orders from anyone and do things on his own. now it seems like I guess he is face in a feud against Pope who is heel. that's backwards.

 

[Dzone]

They do sort of have or could have a super bad ass heel in Desmond Wolfe. A Bad ass who can wrestle and is British... I like it ;P

Hardy is just not working as a heel they should have kept Hardy a face and made AJ the heel although AJ seems to get more of a reaction when he shows "passion" in the ring like his segment when Sting was going to go a few years back. On the other hand AJ's "You know I can fly" gimmick with Ric Flair had true potential then he got put on the back burner... stupid ex-WWE fetish...

 

[Jack-Hammer]

As others have already stated, it has tons to do with the fact that Vince Russo is in charge of TNA booking. Russo has a hard on for faction storylines, he absolutely loves doing them and it's gotten to the point in which TNA basically relies on stables. As a result, there really hasn't been a "big heel" in TNA for a very long time.

Well, I guess that's not entirely accurate when you consider Hulk Hogan & Eric Bischoff. But, then again, they're two non-wrestling characters/personalities at this point and TNA really hasn't developed strong heel characters on their own. It'd be a nice change for TNA to do so because, quite frankly, I'm burned on on faction based angles in TNA. They've just done far too many of them over the course of the last 3 years and, generally speaking, most of them have been so similar with an nWo theme to them that they just blend in together.

 

[The Mizard of Oz]

The biggest problem I see with the heels in TNA is the Impact Zone. By not touring, the fans become attached to certain wrestlers. So, while AJ Styles may have the actions of a heel, he's not getting heel heat because the fans love him.

The same goes for Jeff Hardy. He was getting massive cheers on iMPACT last week. Really? The guy refers to himself as the Anti-Christ of wrestling, screws Kurt Angle out of his career, and gives a concussion to the biggest face in the company, putting him out of action for two months. But, he still gets cheers.

Faces and heels are always going to be a problem in TNA as long as they run every show out of the same building.

 

[EasyE]

That's a good point. The Impact Zone hurts the show tremendously. There's a reason WCW taped the D shows there & not Nitro.