TNA, Making a fool of themselves?

[Pay Per Ghost]

Well see The Pope and Anderson are good cases of a brand new gimmick that shoots to thrill and an old gimmick that is been done very well.

The Pope is very entertaining. His entrance music, attire, the money, everything is just very cool. I mean I know the Impact Zone has a tendency of cheering anyone with two arms (changing now) but this guy has a charismatic persona, and if WWE wasn't PG,I believe, they would love to have this character on their programming.

Mr. Anderson is good on the mic (reminds of Austin circa 3:16) but seriously he needs a better term than 'assholes' to get himself over. He is doing the same mic-announcing shtick as in WWE, but it works, so keep doing it.

However I would like to discourage the term WWE Rejects. Anderson's firing was political to say the least and the WWE creative had nothing for Pope so I don't think this merits them the 'reject' tag.

I do tip The Pope to become a bigger star but a lot depends on how TNA does globally and financially, and if WWE loses the PG and gets Pope...now that would be pimping!!!

 

[wrestlemaniac]

I think it's funny that in the current main event shumozel

OK Who do we have

Hardy, Angle, Pope, Anderson - all former WWE guys, defending TNA against Fortune - lead by a WWE HOF'er
EV2 defending TNA and themselves against Fortune and Abyss
Jarret defending Hogan and Bischoff & TNA "so he sais" against Nash and Sting
Hogan was primarily a WWE legend and a HOF'er

so who's the pure TNA guys in all of this? a couple guys in fortune

I find this kinda funny....i mean angle well yea he's a wwe guy as is anderson. This isn't hardy's first go around in tna but technically he's a wwe guy. When it comes to the pope....well technically he is also a wwe guy but tna actually let him run with his own gimmick and do his own promos which wwe didn't allow him to do and basically made him their own Then we have fortune lead by ric flair. Idk if it's just me but ric screams more wcw than wwe. Anyways....AJ styles....started off in wcw, morgan....started off in wwe....as did robert rude. We have your wcw and ecw guys all mixed up in there so yea...tna just has to worry about how well they utilize different talent, nothing wrong w using non homegrown talent

 

[darkman_96]

Of course they are. Im not watching No Surrender because the reusults are obvious. Putting Mr anderson and The Pope even near the main event area is total crap. They cant wrestle they can take a beating they cant do shit. It does show that they were nobodies in WWE so TNA relies on these nobodies for ratings.

I bet there ratings were better in 2006 than they are today. Atleast back then there were awesome matches when in was Samao Joe and Aj in main event not crappy rejects.

 

[CyDeez]

WWE definitely knew what to do with Ken Anderson (Kennedy). They pushed him in numerous ways. Including the huge Wrestlemania Money In The Bank win. The problem was obviously his injuries. I know people are gonna talk about his beef with Orton and what not, but they let him go for his failure to stay healthy.

TNA is known to have a lighter schedule so there are less chances for him to get hurt.

Pope (Elijah Burke) was given a light push in their version of ECW. But that soon faded and eventually we even lost sight of him. Then he was "future endeavored".

Both guys have talent and if WWE had either one of them they could be really big stars there.

I found it ironic though that the 4 guys vying for The TNA Title in this tournament are ALL WWE guys...

Kurt Angle - Jeff Hardy - Mr. Anderson - The Pope

 

[Bobloblaw]

I'm normally a person that bashes TNA but, I have to say that on this PPV the only thing they dropped the ball on was putting this match after the Kurt and Hardy match. That match was amazing and I have to give TNA credit for a really good second half of the PPV.

Now on the issue of "WWE rejects" I understand/don't understand all the complaining. Pope and Anderson are guys that didn't get the shine they deserved in WWE. Now is it their fault that they didn't get the shot they deserved in WWE, no. Then it makes perfect sense to have them reinvent themselves and take a shot in TNA. Their charaters and in ring work are worth of the main event spots. It would be a moronic decision to also bury these guys just because they didn't start out in the company.

What I also can't stand is that a majority of the "TNA" guys are not even from that promotion originally. They're from the independents and mostly from ROH.This idea of TNA purity just doesn't make sense. I will concede these wrestlers that are getting up there in age and can't really carry the company shouldn't be there. I love wrestlers like Sting, Nash, Flair. The thing I won't do is buy a PPV based on those guys. That aspect I agree with but, this bashing of Pope and Anderson as "rejects" seems to be complaining just to complain.

 

[Super Strudel]

I am new to TNA. This is because of two things:
1) I'm from New Zealand and when I left my country they still were not showing it on TV, and
2) My internet was so painfully slow I could not watch Youtube to see highlights.

Since I've arrived in England, TNA has impressed me. And so to answer the question, no, I do not feel TNA has dropped the ball with Anderson and The Pope.
Anderson is a recognisable face for wrestling fans. Not on the same vein as Hardy and Angle obviously, but enough to stem the curiousity of anyone new to TNA, who has seen him perform in WWE, where despite his injuries, he remained over.
The Pope is someone who could have been over in WWE if given the right opportunity. Instead he was teamed with Sylvester Terkay, who had the charisma of an everyday household kitchen sponge, before hanging out with a vampire in WWECW.
TNA has given these guys a chance to step up, if they want it. There's no shame in that at all. Plenty of companies have done it in the past. Jericho was not a main event player in WCW, he was too busy hanging out with Ralphus. Same with Guerrero (minus Ralphus).
It's a rehashed argument. Pope and Anderson have mic skill and are ok in the ring. TNA didn't drop the ball, they gave it to Pope and Anderson to run with.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

It seems to me that some non-TNA fans these days expect wrestlers to be freakin' born in a TNA ring. Just have their mother spread their legs and blast one baby into the rafters, eh? 'S that what you want?

See, what people don't get is that these "WWE Rejects", didn't get pushed because they were in WWE, they got pushed because they are GOOD! Can anybody deny that? No. So GEE-FREAKING-WIZ, TNA is so freaking dumb for pushing four people that can go in the ring and on the mic! Oh my gaawwddzzz I'll never watch this again!

I guess you're too used to talentless pieces of shit being pushed in WWE, and it's gotten so bad that you can't see real talent...

They can talk, they can wrestle, they can get a reaction out of that crowd ( which isn't too hard, you just need to do a headlock and they'll chant 'this is wrestling' ) - therefore they're Main Event material.

But I bet all the little T-roll-NA's will bitch their asses off if Anderson, Hardy, Pope and Angle got burried right?

"Oohhh TNA is so stoopid they won't push Kurt fucking Angle!"

"Ooohh TNA is so stoopid they won't push Hardy he's like a huge face and the kids like love him and he's like famous!"

...same old same old...

 

[TellMeWhy]

I find it funny how the threadstarter with an ROH sig has the nerve to talk about TNA giving opportunity. Has Pope & Anderson not proved themselves enough to you or something? How many times have released talent from TNA and WWE gone to ROH and main evented or faced top tier talent without even proving themselves in ROH?

Hell you got Haas & Benjamin coming into ROH and facing the ROH world champions without them proving a thing in ROH and just getting a title shot based on their WWE fame. You even had Jamie Noble, a WWE lowecard guy come into ROH and become ROH world champion. I guess ROH is a joke then if we go by your logic.

Really, you need to stop. Is it wrong to give another wrestler an opportunity because they didn't originate from your company? When Jericho, Benoit, Austin, Foley, and Guerrero won the world title in WWE, did you stop and say, "Hey look, WWE is pushing WCW rejects". No you didn't. Stop attaching a reject stigma to TNA. Just watch the show and quit complaining.

 

[Reddannihilation]

TNA in my opinion has done what they have been doing and thats pushing wwe rejects.. For someone to call them the hottest free agent is idiotic.. It's not like wrestlers that get fired have very many choices to make about their next stop...

By your standards The Undertaker, Steve Austin and HHH were all WCW rejects.

The Pope is the same wrestler he was when he got zero response from the crowd in wwe... In tonight's match the fan's gave the same zero response.

The Pope plays a completely different character in TNA, his promos have improved ten-fold and his in ring work has improved too. Considering he's one of the most popular TNA wrestlers among fans and routinely gets "Pope is Pimpin'" chants, I'd question how much you know about his tenure in TNA.

Mr. Anderson is just an injury prone wrestler with good mic skills. He too could not cut in WWE.. fan's didn't care about him then and TNA fan's don't really care for him now..

Yeah 3 injuries, real injury prone. it's quite obvious you aren't a TNA fan, so I'd prefer it if you don't try to speak on behalf of us.

Tonight's match was not at all a main event caliber match.. I rather watch William Regal wrestler then the crap those two put out tonight..

William Regal is a fantastic wrestler. So I don't think your example was very well thought out.

TNA pushes WWE rejects all the time..

and the WWE built itself on the backs of an AWA reject and a WCW reject. This past year their big draw for Wrestlemania was a match between a guy who was considered a tag team wrestler for life and a WCW midcarder.

Rhyno,

Just lost to Abyss.

Jeff Hardy

Hmm, he was the WWE's most popular face when he left, he left on his own accord, he wasn't fired. And in TNA he's won what titles?

Christian

Again 2005, WWE offered him a new contract and he turned it down. Sounds like the only one who got rejected was the WWE's contract. And what do you know, the WWE rehired him no questions asked.

Booker T

He was routinely crushed by AJ and Joe, never won the world title, his only proper reign was a tag title run in the MEM. Try again.

RVD,

Won the title and is now out on the sidelines. Title reign was lacklustre at best and he was pretty much viewed as a paper champion.

Tara,

Made to look weak against Angelina, Madison and Kong.

all became instant champions..

One of those guys hasn't held any TNA titles, one of them had to wait over a year to get a title and one guy hasn't been in the title scene for years. Good try though.

The Jan 4th night Orlando F'n Jordan, Val Venis is announced as a surprises of the "new" monday night war..

And the problem is what?

I actually like watching TNA but it's due to the fact i'm watching wrestlers that I maybe haven't got to see feud before.. TNA had a good thing going when they had tried to establish their own stars

Isn't AJ tv champion? Isn't Douglas Williams X-div champion? Aren't the MCMG's the tag champs?

now they change course again and try to rekindle a bunch of wrestler rejects in EV 2.0.. Only the Dudleys, RVD and Raven are worth watching from that bunch of bingo hall rejects.. some people say wwe turned ECW into a joke however they already were a joke.

Yeah all the EV2.0 guys just got crushed by Fourtune on the PPV. But of course, that means EV2 is getting pushed not Fourtune right?

 

[Tougie]

You seem to not know a lot about history,

Because of a random post I dont know alot about history? Yeah that makes perfect sense.

Just because they're in TNA doesn't mean they're rejects. Both are good at what they do. Both are decent wrestlers and good on the mic.

Kinda does, they were rejected and denied the main event scene in WWE they deserved, especially Anderson. Hell Burke never got the chance for the US or IC title, at least Anderson got that.

So, I take it you didn't enjoy the match?

I actually enjoyed watching No Surrender last night. Pope and Anderson didnt top Angle and Hardy and I didnt expect it to but it was still a really solid match.

If Kane were fired from the WWE because his dentist gimmick failed, then was picked up by WCW, would that have made him a WWE "Reject". The reference to anyone who was in WWE and then is signed by TNA as "reject" presupposes that TNA is already the minor league.

Yeah I think he would have been viewed as a bad pickup and a WWE reject because he wouldnt be where he is today in the wrestling biz with WCW's booking. I get your point don't bitch me out.

One more thing, the TNA PPV was the worst PPV of 2010 with the exception of the Hardy-Angle match

Then clearly you didnt see all the ppv's WWE have produced this year. Must I say "Over the limit." This was a solid PPV and it managed to keep someone like me who has been watching all of his life to sit down and continue to watch the show.

I find it funny how the threadstarter with an ROH sig has the nerve to talk about TNA giving opportunity. Just watch the show and quit complaining.

The nerve, your damn right I got the nerve. Its funny because This whole time I have never said TNA shouldnt be giving these guys the chance, so maybe read what I said. And I do watch the show, I paid my money last night, and I'm not complaining. Did you support TNA with your money sir?

But Anyway thinking about it from when I originally posting, despite it being a random thought I still agree with it. Is signing people WWE throw away a smart thing? Depends on the person and their ability. Angle was a great signing. Hardy, he's crap without the WWE machine but has a ridiculous fan following. Orlando Jordan, yeah we can go without. Most of their roster has been with WWE at one time and its not like this is the first time a pair of former WWE stars have main evented a TNA ppv. Does it make TNA better to have these people WWE ditched? It does because most of them have something to prove and are talented. Sure if people werent "Rejected" by other companies they wouldnt be stars where they are today. But a big difference is that TNA is sending these guys right to the main event spot. WWE always builds guys up, TNA just says "Oh these guys were dropped by WWE. Their (The Wrestlers) fans are gonna be pissed, so if we sign them and put them where their fans always wanted them to be they will watch us more.". That really doesnt work and thats why I said TNA may be making themselves WWE's minor league anyway. WWE rarely signs former TNA talent, TNA always signs former WWE talent. Don't get me wrong I am a TNA fan and have been since early 03 but pushing these guys right to the main event spot doesnt work.

To me 1 fued (Pope with Suicide then he basically got the shot at Against All Odds. And Anderson with Angle) shouldnt be the gateway to a title shot instantly. At least when WWE sends guys right to the top, which was really Lesnar, Sheamus, Taker who all won within a year of debuting....they debuted them right and pushed them right. Pope's injury ruined his chance months ago and one second Anderson is an enigmatic asshole and the next he is back in singles. Bad Booking with good talent, pushing the "WWE Rejects" to the top pretty much instantly....I think TNA is making themselves look pretty ridiculous. Especially when they already have great talent signed. Maybe they can start finding their own talent? And someone better than Jesse Neal.

Anyway, TNA is still going good besides some shitty booking, just a random thought of mine. Now I'm gonna go laugh at the marks who voted No Surrender a 1 or a 2 on the poll.

 

[Davi323]

There is a major difference between guys leaving whatever company they are in specifically to sign a contract, and being released by the company. Some of the wrestlers mentioned as being "rejects" that the WWE took weren't rejected at all...they are guys that refused to stay in their territory because the WWF wanted them, and was willing to pay them more. Hulk Hogan wasn't let go from the AWA, and just happened to be available, Vince flat out stole him from Verne Gagne.

You may be able to make a case for Taker and HHH, I am not sure as to the circumstances of how they came to the WWF. Don't know if WCW released them and they were looking for work, or if they deliberately left WCW for greener pastures. I don't know, so I am not going to argue as why they are or are not "rejects". Basically, not every new wrestler in a wrestling promotion is a reject, it largely depends on the circumstances.

If a wrestler tells his current company, fuck off, I am not resigning my contract, the competition is going to pay me more, so I am leaving, not a reject.

If company tells wrestler sorry, we got nothing for you, we don't think you have much drawing power, and the wrestler is unemployed and then signs with a lesser company for a lot less money, because they don't have any better job prospects? That would qualify as a reject.

Head chef at four star restaurant fired and forced to flip burgers at McDonalds? Reject. Head chef at four star restaurant who quits his job to work at another four star restaurant for more pay? Not a reject.

Not every ex-WWE guy in TNA is a reject. Kurt Angle certainly doesn't qualify as one. But a lot ex-WWE guys are in TNA because the WWE no longer wanted them. A lot of those so called "free agents" were free agents unwillingly, not by choice.

 

[Million Dollar Dream]

Reddannihilation- your very ignorant.. I said I am a TNA fan.. just not a fan of how they have been conducting business as of late... I have been watching tna since day one and I enjoy watching Wrestling doesn't matter what promotion.

The argument people make about steve austin, undertaker and triple h are very weak... Vince re-tooled those three into brand new characters the characters which made them famous are NOT what they were in wcw..TNA takes the same Mr. Anderson, christian, etc and does nothing new to their character. The Pope is the only one Tna did anything creative with.

 

[Vintage]

it's a real simple matter concerning the main even. Based on the finish of the Angle/Hardy match, although clearly that was the main event the ending wasn't going to be a good one to end the show. They did what they had to do but man did that match ruin it for Dinero and Anderson. It's sucks to follow Angle, it's worse when he just carried Hardy to the best match he's had all year. It also was a good show of faith in both Anderson and Pope to main event for the company in the future.

 

[Reddannihilation]

Reddannihilation- your very ignorant.. I said I am a TNA fan.. just not a fan of how they have been conducting business as of late... I have been watching tna since day one and I enjoy watching Wrestling doesn't matter what promotion.

Oh so you're a fan just not a fan. Look we have enough of you "TNA was better in the old days" it wasn't. You want TNA to go back to having no TV deal, weekly $10 PPV's and working out of the asylum, fine you do that.

The argument people make about steve austin, undertaker and triple h are very weak... Vince re-tooled those three into brand new characters the characters which made them famous are NOT what they were in wcw..

I'm not sure how much you know about Steve Austin, but McMahon's involvement with his character development was minimal at best. Austin in WCW was a smart ass heel who constantly belittled Ric Flair for being old, Arn Anderson for being fat and touted himself as the best in the business. Steve Austin in ECW was a loud-mouth who constantly criticised people, spoke out against the WCW authority figures like Bischoff, Rhodes, Flair and Hogan. When he moved to the WWE they tried to make him "The Ringmaster" before letting him go with his own idea.

HHH was Jean Paul Levesque, a pseudo-frenchman who was an upper class blueblood snob. When he moved to the WWF he became Hunter Hearst Helmsley the Conneticut Blue Blood. Wasn't until years later that he got enough pull backstage to remake his character.

TNA takes the same Mr. Anderson, christian, etc and does nothing new to their character. The Pope is the only one Tna did anything creative with.

So when the WWF picked up Chris Jericho, what did they do to change him?Aside from ruin his gimmick in 2008 by making him rant about hypocrites and parasites? What about the Big Show? Yeah he got a name change and that was it. Rey Mysterio has the exact same gimmick he's always had, so did Chris Benoit. Goldberg was exactly the same in WWE as he had been in WCW. The list goes on.

Ken Anderson's "Mr. Kennedy" gimmick was his own creation. But WWE trade-marked the name, so he changed it to his real name Mr. Anderson and took his very successful and effective gimmick with him. The WWE sorely misses Anderson, you want proof it's called the Miz a borderline exact clone of Anderson's heel character. Do you know why TNA didn't change Christian Cage's character? Because they didn't need to. What would you change about Christian? What would you change about Kurt? Or 3-D? You don't change the gimmicks of people who don't need them changed. Pope got a new gimmick because Elijah Burke the amateur boxer was shit, apparently no one told the WWE this hence "Michael Tarver". The Pope wasn't even created by TNA it was Burke's own idea, he ran it past the WWE and they told him no, so he went somewhere they'd let him use it.

 

[GameOver]

I find this kinda funny....i mean angle well yea he's a wwe guy as is anderson. This isn't hardy's first go around in tna but technically he's a wwe guy. When it comes to the pope....well technically he is also a wwe guy but tna actually let him run with his own gimmick and do his own promos which wwe didn't allow him to do and basically made him their own Then we have fortune lead by ric flair. Idk if it's just me but ric screams more wcw than wwe. Anyways....AJ styles....started off in wcw, morgan....started off in wwe....as did robert rude. We have your wcw and ecw guys all mixed up in there so yea...tna just has to worry about how well they utilize different talent, nothing wrong w using non homegrown talent

True but what i'm saying is, in the main event anyway there's too much going on, and they are hardly using any homegrown talent anymore. nothing wrong with using other stars but it's like the main event which is made of 5 groups all fighting each other over TNA control or money (more or less)and few of them are really TNA guys. and at one point those that weren't were all the biggest aquisition in wrestling history apparently

btw AJ Styles was in WWE and WCW the same year.
he spent more time in NWA where he got his start then anywhere else pre TNA going official, but he's a TNA guy

Pope's gimmick is ok atm i won't deny that and do believe WWE dropped the ball with him, he was a star from the get go. He was the chosen one, just like Drew McIntyre, far more talented then Drew ever will be though, and they seem to be phasing Drew out now thank god.