TNA Championship Rankings; Should They Come Back?

[Rasha]

Ever since the WHC was vacated and the tournament began there's been no mention of Bischoff's ranking system. When we finally have a World Champ again in TNA after BFG, should they bring the rankings back? I thought they were a good idea as they provided instant heat to what would be an otherwise random match between two guys. With Angle's "win or retire" storyline ending, maybe now they could get even more use out of the system instead of having it simply be Angle's personal gauntlet.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I touched on this subject a little when responding to the thread regarding RVD's chances of winning the TNA World Championship if Angle or Anderson come out the winner at BFG. I think the TNA Ranking System needs to stay gone because it was a big reason as to why RVD's run as TNA World Heavyweight Champion was so lackluster.

When RVD was champ, he basically didn't have any significant feud throughout his entire run as there would be a different #1 contender for the title each month. If I'm not mistaken, most of these feuds culminated in a single match that usually took place during a ppv and then RVD moved on to the next contender. One match feuds don't work, especially when they're over the top championship in the company.

Aside from the title situation, the TNA Ranking System in and of itself was used basically as little more than a very long and needlessly drawn out angle revolving around Kurt Angle's return to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship scene. A few of the matches Angle had with the other Top 10 contenders were solid but most of them were quite lackluster and forgettable. The retirement stipulation pretty much killed the angle in and of itself as it took away any potential excitement the match contained. For instance, Kurt Angle wasn't going to be retired by Rob Terry and everyone knew it. Everyone also knew that Angle would at least going to have the title at his fingertips before the remotest possibility of "retiring" would happen. Finally, add onto that the fact that Kurt Angle has signed a 1 year contract extension to TNA means that he's not going to be "retiring" and has really rendered Angle's run through the Top 10 contenders over the course of this summer completely irrelevant instead of just mostly irrelevant.

 

[AndarielHalo]

Back? I hadn't even noticed they were gone. HAHAHAHAHA! Completely forgetting and abandoning any and all mention of some storyline thread or idea after a quick use? In TNA? Noooooo~![/sarcasm


Seriously though, why even bother? It was a pointless system, and once Kurt Angle did his whole self-imposed challenge of putting his career on the line in every match (because apparently TNA is so painfully easy for him kayfabe-wise that he needs to impose his own challenges to make it interesting) pretty much set up the ranking system as just a list of jobbers for Kurt Angle to NOM NOM NOM

It didn't even matter a damn to begin with, as they realized Desmond Wolfe was the fan favorite, and they just went and completely ignored that to set up their own system with all the typical main event players in the list's upper ranking instead.

 

[The Crock]

The rankings definitely don't need to come back. The rankings reflected who TNA wanted in the matches and it was one big experiment. I think this was a huge failure of an angle. Speaking of angle, Kurt Angle was the only reason this was even remotely interesting. He ate up everybody he faced and even that became stale after a while. The rankings weren't logically done, nor were they based on anything. I've seen a number of guys lose a match and actually GAIN a spot in the rankings. They made no sense. Keep them out.

 

[The Shockmaster]

The Ranking System was basically a flop. I see where TNA was trying to go with this. Everyone complains when the same 4 people are in the title picture.This is the case in both TNA and WWE. So why not make a list of contenders that will get a shot at the title if the one before doesnt succeed.

The problem is that good wrestling television resolves around feuds not a constant new person in the title picture every month. During this systems stretch we saw about 3 or 4 people get a chance at the belt. The problem is no one wants to see a just a match but a storyline behind it. A world title feud should definitely get at least 2-3 months.

Many people complain about RVD's lackluster Run with the belt. But in reality even if Kurt or AJ had the strap with the Top Contenders Gimmick playing out, it would have still led to the same boring run as RVD.

I give props to TNA for trying to change the flow of things but some things just have to stay the same. Instead just keep your top 5 main event talent relevant within the show and every once in a while have a 3 4 or 5 way number 1 contenders match. IMO it could definitely work out better then the Top Contender ranking system.

 

[Tougie]

No, it shouldnt return for a simple reason. They dropped it after what 3-4 months? They completely dropped the ball with it and bringing it back after dropping it would be completely pointless. They wrecked Kurt Angles storyline in the process as well.

 

[wushady]

I agree that it should not come back. Like Jack Hammer said one match feuds do not work. In my opinion the World Champion should be involved the biggest storyline in the company, having at least a two to three month feud. The ranking system makes it impossible to do so.

It does get boring when the same people are the only ones getting title shots over and over, but when it was first implemented the same people were always on the top of the list. I think I've seen Hardy face RVD in TNA more times than I did in WWE.

The only good that came from the ranking system was the Kurt Angle storyline. Which he didn't even get to complete the angle. Considering the fact RVD will be back wrestling the night they crown a new champion. Tells me RVD refuses the title cleanly to Angle. I don't see any other reason why they would drop the whole Angle running through the top ten. When many fans were really into that story even though it's pretty obvious Angle would win the title in the end.

 

[Agent-67]

I think the TNA rankings can be a used in a productive way. However, wasting 15 or so minutes to read them off on your once a week show is a terrible idea. The first week, maybe to introduce them. But then use them on the TNA website &/or they can scroll across the bottom of the screen during impact. The idea is not bad, because if you need to fill a spot on a card or show you can build it quickly as #5 vs #6, & you have to be in the top 5 or something to challenge for the World Title. Being in the top 10 allows you to challeng for the X division & Global. These are just thoughts, but it could be used in a positive way in my opinion, just don't overuse it.

 

[World_Series_Attiude]

What if instead of the ranking system TNA came up with a season and playoffs where the wrestlers with the most wins face off in the playoffs. Then at the end of the season we crown a new champ !!!

 

[Kenny Powers]

I hope the rankings system is gone for good. Most of the people selected had no business being in the top 10 or even in the number 1 spot. It took away from the feuds when RVD was champion. Random challengers like Sting were made #1 contender not because they accomplished anything, but because Dixie, Hogan, and Bischoff had a hard on for them. They should just keep it the usual way. There is no need to reinvent the wheel or fix something that isn't broken.

 

[Rulk25]

Yeah Bye Bye. As people have pointed out it actually looks silly because how do you justify guys moving up after losing(or not fighting) and guys going down after winning. It is alos silly when you make a guy the number one contender and then another guy gets a title shot before him , Its like so what exactly does Number one contender mean????

 

[Dzone]

The rankings really have no place in TNA, I would prefer good 1 vs 1 fueds IMO.

 

[wrestlingking]

I for one, thought at first is was cool to have the rankings but the coolness went away fast. It was fun at first to see a different challenger but then the whole not having a real fued sucked. Having the rankings takes away from the champion having a real fued with anyone. Just have a few top guys tryin to be champ. The whole ranking system made RVDs World Championship reign look shitty. Give him back the title and let him have a real reign as TNA World Champion.

 

[Rayne]

This is one of those plot threads that I'm glad TNA dropped.

It sounds like a good idea; it's pretty much ripped straight from the older days of professional boxing, but whoever thought it up forgot that professional fighting and professional wrestling are two different animals. One is about competition, the other is about a drama the audience consents to believe is a competition. The championship rankings reduced the writers options; instead of being able to build up a feud through three pay-per-views, culminating in the Big Match at the Big Pay Per View, they were forced to place a new contender after the old one was beaten, unless they went with some kind of Dusty finish (which they didn't, to their credit.)

If you can't build up a feud, you can't build up drama. Outside of the championship scene, it just existed as a vehicle for Kurt Angle to work with, and go over, every single promising young talent in the company. It probably sounded cool in the writer's room; a plotline you can set up multiple offshoots from, but there aren't many places you can go with it, and you exhaust those quick.

 

[DangerousDave]

The ranking system sounded cool when they first started it, but about a month in you could tell it was a bullshit popularity contest. The way the rankings changed over time made no sense. I think what TNA was trying to do was get a real idea of who the fans would like to see get a push. If this was the reason for the fans voting instead of just the championship committee coming up with the top 10 it was a smooth move on TNA's part. I'm glad its gone and hope it stays gone. As other posters have said, it killed the matches Angle was in simply because you knew he wasn't going to loose. When the Abyss/RVD thing happened the top 10 list was out the window and at that time Abyss was the number one contender. He wasn't even mentioned as a contender or in the elimination matches for the WHC, which proves the top ten list was shit. Obviously the Abyss/RVD at BFG is the bigger angle for Abyss, but that match wasn't announced until after the tournament was over. I think TNA got what they wanted from the top 10 voting and we got the shaft.

 

[Wade's Public Transit Bomb]

Nah. It always seemed to conflict what was actually on TV and TNA's booking ended up looking very stupid (though it doesn't need much help). When it started, they were pushing AJ and Abyss very hard, but who was the number one ranked guy? Desmond Wolfe. Kurt Angle has been the centerpiece of TNA since he arrived, but where did he rank? Number six I believe.

They tried to burial Desmond like the rankings didn't matter. Yet, Kurt Angle ripped through the other guys like the rankings do matter.

 

[Weems2k]

I think the reason why TNA dropped the ranking system was that the fans actually voted for guys like Wolfe, Angle, and Anderson for the top spots, and what we actually got was Abyss, Sting, and Rob Terry which have no business being in the title shot. I always hated these ploys where they say "We Want The Fans input", since that's usually just BS; ie: Cyber Sunday.

 

[CyDeez]

I say it needs to stay gone. I don't think it adds anything at all. Voting and what not, just does not matter to creative and committees. They are going to push who they want to push and decide amongst themselves who should be their face of the company and hold their World Title.

The rankings do not matter at all to me either. What do I care if The Pope is number 10? If he is number 10, he shouldn't have anything to do with the title picture at that current time LOL.

Standings and Records mean NOTHING in a scripted sport!

 

[TNAtion4Life]

Fuck the ratings system. In my opinion it puts too much constraint on what you can do because of the fact that you have to adhere to the rankings first and foremost. it would just become too annoying trying to incorporate angles into the ranking system after awhile.

 

[Lancer]

No i don't see any plausible reason to bring the rankings back. From the beginning, it was pretty obvious what they were: a ratings grab, and a futile attempt to grab new viewers. They were a novel idea, yes, but it was also obvious that they were not 100% accurate. The whole gimmick of computing the fan votes with the wrestler's "recent win-loss record" and "overall performance" in TNA to determine their ranking was bogus. It was justification for TNA management to select their personal favorites for World Title contention.

No, they don't need to come back. And with the whole "They" storyline fixing to play out, there would be no need for Bischoff, Hogan and co. to turn to the fans to determine a contender, as it would not benefit their man Hardy.