TNA Has Money in Gunner

[Trill Co$by]

So you may have noticed this extremely jacked and stacked guy walking around in Immortal with a nice red belt that he seems to like eating on. His name in TNA is Gunner, but if you've ever watched any modern day NWA shows, you'd know him as the former NWA National Champion Phil Shatter... and TNA needs to tap into this guy's natural talents.

The guy is exactly what a booker like Hogan and Bischoff look into and with the right storyline, he can become even better. Right now, he has the television title. And right now, TNA can easily give him someone like Crimson or even Christopher Daniels, and they can begin to market this guy as the future of not only Immortal, but TNA in general.

Since Rhino, I have yet to see them put the World title on a big guy that I can really get behind and right now, the TV title is a perfect chance to test out what Gunner can do on a global audience.

As for Murphy, well honestly, I'd like to see TNA bring in Father James Mitchell or even bring in Jeff G. Bailey and put him with Murphy as his Mikael Judas gimmick. I think he and Abyss could click as a monster tag team that could rival WWE's Brothers of Destruction.

While we're on the subject of Bailey and his clients, I'd like to see them bring in Kimo. He's the guy that pals around with the Hardyz and was at one point a TNA security guard but the guy can really be used as another powerhouse for Immortal, or even as a body guard like character for just Hogan while Sting is on the look out for Hogan.


So yeah anyway, what do you guys think of Gunner/Phil Shatter?

 

[snoopy]

^^^^ Dude you're absolutely crazy if you think Tna should feed Crimson to Gunner! Now I agree Gunner is going to be good young Main Event piece for TNA but they shouldn't and will not feed him Crimson ! Crimson is going to be a bigger star than gunner.

 

[a0161613]

I can't see anything but green in him - I dont mean money, he is as green as the day is long. He is painfully average. If anyone will be able to get something out of him it will be Daniels but still I can't see him being great.

I think they ballsed up this guy by starting him with the jobber security gimmick. That gimmick may be as generic as it gets.

A bit like Gunner.

 

[neildittmar]

As a tag-team, I simply wasn't buying Gunner and Murphy. As I said numerous times, they looked sloppy both in and out of the ring and never quite "gelled" the way I thought they should. TNA tried to elevate them from nameless/faceless security thugs by giving them matching tights, but it did little to solidify the team in my eyes at least. They still looked green as grass.

Gunner on his own... with the TV title? That green may translate into money if the company plays its card (and the character) right. In that 3 way dance with Rob Terry and Murphy, I saw a spark out of Gunner. I'm still of the opinion that he shouldn't have won the TV title straight away, but the match showed Gunner as aggresive if anything. He really stood out amongst the other two competitors and I started believing that he might do something.

Unfortunately, Gunner (and by proxy, the TV championship) really hasn't made an appearance on iMPACT lately. Sure, they'll pan the camera over to him once in awhile while Hogan and/or Bischoff are leading the charge, but Gunner isn't being showcased. If he was still with Murphy as a team, I'd say this was a wise move. Now that Gunner has shown himself to at least want to be a standout, I think not giving him (or the TV belt) television time may be a mistake.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what Gunner can do by himself. I'd like to see him have a long, yet competitive run with the TV title in order to legitimize not only himself, but the championship as well.

Lets see if he's up to it.

 

[Baximus]

Now that Gunner has shown himself to at least want to be a standout, I think not giving him (or the TV belt) television time may be a mistake.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what Gunner can do by himself. I'd like to see him have a long, yet competitive run with the TV title in order to legitimize not only himself, but the championship as well.

Lets see if he's up to it.

If TNA really wants to legitimize the TV Title, they need to have Gunner drop the belt to Daniels and let the Fallen Angel carry on legitimate feuds with the upper mid-card guys who are floating around right now.

Gunner is far too green to be holding any belt, to be frank. Meanwhile, you're telling me that if Daniels beats him for the title this month and then goes into a feud with Pope (preferably an Immortal Pope) over the TV Title then the value of the belt won't go up much more than anything that Gunner can do with it?

The TV Title would have been a cure for the awful Joe-Pope & Morgan-Hernandez feuds we had to deal with for the last four months. If those men had chased the title then they'd have been able to have interesting storylines that allowed them to mix up their matchups AND make the belt more valuable.

Instead, its the jobber belt. Period. Nothing Gunner can do (beyond an illogically huge push) will change that.

Put the TV Title on Daniels.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

When I think of Gunner, the terms generic and average spring to mind along with numerous other labels to describe mediocre.

Gunner has the aura of a jobber surrounding him. It's so solid that you can almost see it. He's had it from the moment he debuted in TNA and, if anything, it's even stronger now. TNA screwed up with him by placing him in the generic, jobber security guard character to begin with. He came across as a mediocre jobber when he was teaming with Murphy and he still comes across that way even though he's carrying a belt in TNA. The Television Championship means less than nothing at this point, the WWE Hardcore Championship had more credibility than the little toy red belt and that's pretty damn bad.

The only time I saw Gunner in the ring since becoming TV champ is when he was involved in that gauntlet match against Anderson a few weeks ago. Anderson's opponents were Gunner, Murphy & Terry and Anderson went through all three of them after a total of about 5 minutes. Gunner is a champ in TNA but Anderson obliterated him in less than 3 minutes.

I see no money in Gunner whatsoever at this point in time. If Daniels can't get something out of him and make him come across as even remotely interesting, then I doubt anyone else on the TNA roster will either.

 

[neildittmar]

Gunner is far too green to be holding any belt, to be frank.

I agree with this and essentially said so in my prior post.

Meanwhile, you're telling me that if Daniels beats him for the title this month and then goes into a feud with Pope (preferably an Immortal Pope) over the TV Title then the value of the belt won't go up much more than anything that Gunner can do with it?

Never said that... in fact, I never brought up Daniels or Pope at all. While there are certainly more credible talents on the roster that should be holding the TV belt, the fact remains that the title is currently around Gunner's waist. There's also something to be said about swapping a title quickly from one wrestler to another, serving to further devalue said belt in the process.

I suppose I'm of the opinion that TNA should make the best out of the current situation, rather than saying "oops, our bad" and flipping champions in short order and without really giving Gunner a shot. Mid-storyline shifts are something that TNA is already criticized for doing fairly often and it may not be the best solution here either.

I say, showcase Gunner and the TV title on television more... possibly in a feud with Daniels or Pope and see how he does. If his indy credentials shine through and he grows that spark he showed in the match he won the belt in, then you not only build stock in Gunner, but the title as well. Having a "beatable champion" is a good thing. Also having your top mid-card talent chasing after said champion, with the distinct possibilty one could actually win keeps that area of the product fresh and hopefully exciting.

All I'm really saying is let Gunner's title reign play out. So far, he hasn't even had much of a chance in singles action, let alone as the TV champion.

 

[Kharma Bites]

Even the thought of a crimson gunner match makes me cringe, its a crap match for both of them as 1 needs heat and the over needs recognition in the lime light, neither of which would happen with such booking

get crimson in with abyss to show his power and have him take some pops(if there is such a thing in the shitty impact zone crowd) for screwing over a high immortal member, and for gods sake change his finisher its awful. for me there is 2 rules to a finisher

1 does it look good
2 can you do it to 99% of the roster

the answer to both is no, but this isnt a thread about crimson

does gunner even have a finisher? the only reason they stuck the belt on him is he doesnt get matches so a member of immortal can lose without losing the belt straight away

ie rob terry, as out of the 3 lower immortal guys thats who should of got it and had a bit of a run with steiner to get him over as a bad ass heel(which he isnt)

gunner really hasnt done anything to impress, but admittedly he hasnt had much opportunity to either, i really dislike it when belts are treated like shit no matter who its on

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I really want to like the guy, but from what I've seen thus far he's only marginally better than his old partner Murphy. The tights and the Immortal spotlight did a lot to credit them as something a little better than security guard fodder, but holding a title in your teeth is not equivalent to having a personality that'll shine all that bright. It's a slightly more aggressive take on Rick Steiner IMO.

The guy needs to talk his way to relevance, and until I see him do so, I'll still hold my reservations about him, because his ring work is simply not good enough to carry him to stardom despite perhaps not owning much by the way of personality.

 

[BritishLion]

IMO Gunner has shown more promise than Murphy but he still hasn't convinced me in the ring. I'll have to judge him by his match with Daniels. I think he has a good look but he needs a new name. Gunner is just too generic for a main eventer.

 

[Savokk]

Out of the three guys in that title match he is the best. Terry is so useless that I think my 10 month old son could be a better champ! Murphy has a bit of skill but nothin more than as lower mid card. Gummer has potential. At the moment he isn't much buthe shows promise. I think if booked right he could be somethin. An angle to turn him against immortal but still heel. Maybe bring some-one into his corner as manager.

 

[wushady]

I don't see much potential in Gunner at all at least not yet. He doesn't have much personality and hasn't really been given a chance to develop one yet. His in ring work hasn't impressed me much either. I can't for the life of me figure out why TNA would put the TV title on him now when his clearly not ready. I thought the whole point of having AJ Styles hold that title was to bring prestige to it. Now they have another unproven talent just like Rob Terry holding it making it meaningless again. I think Russo or whoever booked him to win it needs to realize a title doesn't make the wrestler. The wrestler holding it and the way their booked make the title mean something. I just think he's been pushed to soon and I don't see anything special in him yet. That doesn't mean he wont impress me down the road if pushed right.

 

[ABMorales787]

Mikael Judas was a talcum powder covered piece of turd. He absolutely sucked. I haven't seen much of Gunner, but at the least he shows some degree of a gimmick. He seems like a good enforcer-type. He keeps sticking his nose in the other Immortal wrestler's business and helps them out as opposed to being a butt-monkey like Murphy and Terry. At the least, he'll make adequate food for Daniels who seems to be his next opponent.

 

[Weems2k]

I think it's funny that all the IWC deuchebag losers, and Wrestlezone Idiots blow their loads all over an overrated bore like Daniel Bryan, yet shit on a guy like Gunner who has the makeup to be a possible main event heel. Sure he's green now, but his current gimmick if booked right has tons of potential.