TNA Power Poll (v.3)

[Rasha]

This last edition of the poll came out on 11/5, giving us a PPV and two Impact's to shake things up. There certainly have been some shifts. As always, I love feedback and am happy to debate these rankings.

1. Kurt Angle (LW 1) - Even while he's having a limited role doing these run-ins and vignettes, he's still getting the biggest pops and is clearly TNA's top draw.
   
2. Jeff Hardy (LW 4) - It was nice to finally see Hardy featured like a World Champion the night after Turning Point. However, his move up the list has more to do with other guys sliding than his own performance.
   
3. Mr. Anderson (LW 3) - One nice thing for Anderson is that there's little he could be doing that generates more hype/intrigue than his current absence. His imminent return will make the eventual blowoff match with Hardy a bigger deal.
   
4. AJ Styles (LW 2) - Like the rest of Fortune, AJ's taken a slight personal backseat in the interest of putting over the stable as a whole along with Immortal. Hopefully he gets a good singles program going again quickly. I'd love to AJ step up and play the betrayed leader role instead of Flair in Fortune's feud with Morgan and Williams.
   
5. Matt Morgan (LW 8) - Looks Morgan's push wasn't just a band-aid for Anderson's injury, and that's good to see. You can easily guess that Morgan will be "captain" for a team in some PPV match where he, Williams, and others go up against Fortune.
   
6. D'Angelo Dinero (LW 6) - On the one hand, I like that his feud with Abyss is stretching out beyond one PPV cycle. We need more of that these days. However, I just don't find myself very interested. That probably has more to do with Abyss, but it doesn't do Pope any favors to be stuck in that angle.
   
7. Rob Van Dam (LW 5) - One night he's challenging Hardy from the top of the announce table, and now he's working toward a PPV match with Rhyno? Big drop for RVD, though give him credit for actually making me interested in something involving the EV2 guys.
   
8. Jeff Jarrett (LW 10) - Did you hear the boos for Jarrett when he came out last night? He's getting the job done and hopefully this heel heat will pay off for Samoa Joe when the two finally go at it.
   
9. Samoa Joe (LW 9) - My only fear for Joe is that Angle will come back and basically pull the rug out from under any momentum Joe's building in this feud with Jarrett. He needs to get a meaningful win against Double J that sets him up for something bigger.
   
10. Motor City Machine Guns (LW 7) - So they've beaten Beer Money and Team 3D... now what? The depth problems in the tag division are going to become an issue now.
    
11. Abyss (LW 12) - Abyss needs more scenes with guys like Hogan, Bischoff, and even Hardy to put him over as Immortal's enforcer/executioner. I'd like to see him paired with the newly-turned Rhyno and have Immortal send them after the MCMG's tag belts.
    
12. Brother Ray (LW 14) - Oh good, another Bubba/Devon feud. And even better, more mic time for Bubba! Just what we needed!
    
13. Brother Devon (LW 14) - Do us a favor and just quit. Don't seek revenge. Give Bubba less reasons to cut promos. I beg you!
    
14. Beer Money (LW 11) - Like AJ, they're putting the stable ahead of themselves at the moment and that's part of the business. Still, they're awesome and need to get back to being featured players quickly.
    
15. Doug Williams (LW 16) - The face turn will be a quick boost for Williams. Hope he can maintain it. I could easily see him reuniting with Magnus soon to give the tag division some bodies.
    
16. Jay Lethal (LW 13) - In retrospect, should he have kept Black Machismo going? I'm really starting to think so. He's fantastic in the ring, but something's missing.
    
17. Generation Me (LW 17) - So now what... is Tara going to become their manager? Does she have a thing for guys with bad hair and no muscle definition? Good news for the Bucks is that they get to feud with the Guns by default as the only available heel team.
    
18. Robbie E (LW 25) - I've been fighting it a lot, but I'm going to flip the switch on my Robbie E opinion and give him credit for his heel heat. Now it's time for him to show a more serious/mean-streak side and actually fuck someone up for touching his hair.
    
19. Kazarian (LW 15) - Hey, speaking of the X-Division title... GO GET IT! Put down the Smirnoffs and go do something useful.
    
20. Rhyno (LW 22) - I actually like this Rhyno heel turn and think he could be useful in a mercenary role for Immortal. As I said before, I'd like to see him paired with Abyss to go after the Guns.
    
21. Ink Inc (LW 21) - Let me make this simple. Step One, have Lethal regain the X-Division title from Robbie at Final Resolution. Step Two, have Lethal successfully defend the belt the next week on Impact. Step Three, after said title defense, have Moore run out and swing the Book of DILLIGAF across the back of his head. Have Neal come out wondering WTF's going on, then have Moore take him out too. In other words, set Moore free!
    
22. Tommy Dreamer (LW 18) - Anyone else sick of seing Dreamer constantly victimized? It's getting sad.
    
23. Stevie Richards (LW 22) - I was very impressed by Stevie's match against AJ last week. I would have loved to see Morgan or someone else run-in and actually screw AJ to put the belt on Stevie, because he'd make a nice bridge to getting the TV title back down the roster so it can be used the way it should be.
    
24. Brian Kendrick (LW 20) - Another potential X-Division guy doing nothing. What would you rather see at Final Resolution, a Lethal/Robbie rematch or a four-way between Lethal, Robbie, Moore, and Kendrick? Maybe thrown Kaz in there? Glad we agree.
    
25. Young/Jordan (LW 17/24) - I've been keeping these two seperate as I felt Young was way more over, but now they're just mutually irrelevant. Hopefully the news that E.Y. gained some more booking control when he signed his new deal will get him away from Lotion Boy.
    
26. Magnus (LW 23) - Looking forward to your return.
    
27. Rob Terry (LW 26) - Don't give a shit about yours.

Just two quick points about the rankings:

1. I don't rank the Knockouts because they work on a different plane. Not saying they don't do their part as wrestlers, but once The Beautiful People's entrance is over they suddenly become way less over. Hard to compare that to the men.

2. I don't rank guys like Flair, Foley, Hogan, etc because they're situational and not "full-time" wrestlers. I also don't rank AWOL guys like Wolfe, Sting, Nash, etc. unless they're still being referenced like Angle's been to keep his story going.

 

[LSN80]

I have a slightly different perspective on the rankings...

1. Jeff Hardy- He's the World Heavyweight Champion. They designed a belt specifically for him. He retired Raven last night, after defeating Morgan at Turning Point. He's settled into the role as their top heel better then I could have ever imagined.

2. Matt Morgan- Virtue of his win in a 3 on 1 handicap match vs Fourtune, he's going to be challenging for the World Title at another PPV, and HE gets to pick the referee. He's been on fire on the mic, and held his own with Flair last night. He's the No.1 Contender, which virtually makes him the second most important player in TNA.

3. AJ Styles- He's cemented himself aas the leader of Fourtune after pinning and firing Sabu at Turning Point, then turned aside Stevie Richards the next week. He then lead the removal of Douglas Williams from Fourtune With what he's been given, hes made it work.

4. Mr. Anderson- He's referenced all over Impact, which makes his imminent return all the more exciting. I expect him to play an integral role in the Hardy-Morgan match at Final Resolution, perhaps even as Morgan's hand picked referee. They've devoted an entire storylinbe around him that lead to Morgan's first title shot, so he's still highly relevant in his absence.

5. Motor City Machine Guns- They're the tag team champions who've set aside everyone from Beer Money, Team 3D, INK INc., and Generation Me. They'be been dominating the tag team divsion, and beat the piss out of Generation Me in an empty arena match last night. They're holding the second most important title(s) in TNA right now, and are shoe-ins for tag team of the year.

6. RVD- It's unfortunate he's mired in these meaningless feuds with felllow EV2 members, but I guess its part of the "long road back" to receiving his return match for the title. He's still in the upper tier though.

7. The Pope- Bischoff and "his congregation cost him his match vs Abyss at Turning Point. Pope looked strong in defeat, and has been on fire ever since, both on the mic, and in his continued confrontations with Abyss.

8. Abyss- I really wish he would go away, but he's been an integral part of the Immortal storyline, and defeated the Pope at Turning Point. He's been the "muscle" behind the group, and has played his part well.

9. Samoa Joe- I worry that his storyline will become intertwined with the jarrett/Angle saga, and Joe will get lost in the shuffle again. Still, they're pushing Joe as a killer again, and he's being received well. He has me anticipating the day he gets his hands on Jarrett.

10. Jeff Jarrett- He's been doing a great job of generating heel heat in his chickenshit role. Its the same old same old from JJ, but its what he does best and he's done a good job with it. Tainted or not, he got a submission victory over Joe at Turning Point, which is a big deal.

I couldnt put Angle on my list because he's "retired" right now, and even though they've kept him relevant, he's inactive and hasn't wrestled in over a month. I see The Guns alot higher then you as they actually focus on tag team wrestling in TNA, and they've absolutely owned the division. Hardy has to be number 1 as he's the champion, and when he does wrestle, it feels special. Morgan is number 2 because he's the number 1 contender after beating all of his former stable mates in back to back weeks. I chose to only do a top ten list, but more or less agree with the rest of your list.

 

[Calderownz]

Hard to disagree with the rankings. I think that Joe might have the edge on Jeff Jarrett as the build up only makes you believe he will inevitably get the upper hand. Nonetheless, I like the list. Good job.