"TNA Star" Requires Knee Surgery

[NSL]

The main page just loves these titles, don't they?

So Taz needs to go under the knife. Again. It probably has absolutely no bearing on the product, but it could be a time for a flashback. If he needs a few weeks off for rehab, who will fill in?

Maybe they'll use Jeremy Borash, and write it into a storyline, with him getting an on-screen role back. Maybe they'll give it to Bubba (please no...). Here's what I think will happen.

DON WEST. Why not? He's doing some tour stuff, and he's selling crap like crazy, but he's the only sure thing TNA has for the broadcast booth. what if JB can't handle the job? What if the fans *gasp* can't stand Bubba The Fat Sponge?

I think it could be entertaining in the short term, and it would probably bring back any fans that may have left during Hogan's stint (so far).

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I wouldn't mind Don West returning to commentary. I don't know why some people hate him so much. I thought he brought lots of excitement, and a great level of energy to the commentary on Impact. I also enjoyed his heel turn because the banter between him and Teany was pretty funny.

I really hope TNA doesn't use Bubba. I don't find him entertaining at all, and I don't think he would be right for commentary. He does on okay job backstage at times, but commentary? No.

I don't think JB would be the right man for this. He's pretty bad when it comes to ring announcing because he sounds very rigid and stiff. There's no flow to his speech when he does it, but then again, I would rather see JB than Bubba.

 

[Lancer]

Hopefully they do the right thing and bring DW back to the announce table. While I enjoy Taz's commentary as well, he never has had the seemingly genuine level of excitement that West possessed. Every night, he seemed like a real TNA fan, whose ultimate dream was realized when he became an announcer.

And yes, the heel West was funny as hell too. He and Tenay had some amusing clashes during that time, but that never prevented them from properly calling the matches. Plus, it seemed like they had a natural chemistry. And that had to be a given, since they were a team from Day One in TNA.

I really hope they do not put Bubba in there. Other choices who could be naturals at the table include Kevin Nash, and...here's an idea...Eric Bischoff. He had an okay run as an announcer at WCW. If anything, he is an excellent salesman who could put over the TNA product, and he could shed some light on some of the "shady" incidents happening in TNA management...

 

[Theo Mays]

While I'm not big on Don West, I would love to see him return to the announce table if Taz would miss any time. West and Tenay worked well together and while they weren't the best of teams, they were still solid together and had some good chemistry. I'm a big fan of JB, but I'd imagine that he wouldn't be so great behind the table. He is a shaky ring announcer, so I'd assume is announcer skills are just as shaky. And if they put Bubba the Love Turd behind the mic I will be watching all Impacts on mute until Taz would return.

 

[INDYjon22]

This may be bad but I was a little disappointed when I opened that report and only learned that Taz would need surgery. I was fully expecting to see someone relevant and important to the program, not a commentator who is only viewed from the waist up. A complete misleading title from the main page that did make me a little flustered.

Regardless, this really does not bother me much. He sits behind a desk so he should not miss anytime. Mike Tenay can take care of any interviews that require standing. Also, this "injury" will not be detrimental to TNA either. They will survive with an injured Taz.

Of course, I hope he has a complete recovery and gets well soon. I really see no reason why Taz would miss any TV time besides maybe one night. They could always turn this into a storyline like NSL mentioned, however I do not think TNA is creative enough to do so.

 

[Richard Duggan]

I hope that they would let Don West or Jermey Borash fill in and not Bubba. I dont even understand why Hogan brought him in. Their is also a possibility of someone else, say a former TNA star, or an older wrestler who retired (Like Taz). Mark Madden possibly.....lol.

 

[mister_b1LL]

For a temp fix, I gotta go with Don West. Though Taz has fit in very well in the TNA announce table position, I still feel that Don West is one of the Voices Of TNA. The banter between him and Tenay back in the day was pretty good and the reactions that West used to have made it seem like he was a real fan of wrestling and was really enjoying the action. While his voice can get irritating after a while, I really liked his authenticity. And it's short term so nobody should really argue.

 

[Post]

Well I have to agree that Don West seems like the best choice if indeed Taz does need some time off.

-Don has a great familiarity with the TNA roster and history.
-His color commentary work is valuable and he mostly adds useful info.
-He can be funny as hell. Think back to when they had him feuding with Mike Tenay. They had West bashing Tenay and others in the company and taking shots at people. He even showed up late because he was at a bar, boozing it up. I can just imagine Mike Tenay saying, "Where is Don West?" and then the screen switches to Don sandwiched inbetween Scott Hall and James Storm tossing em' back. I definitely like West as more of a heel announcer, like Bobby Heenan.

Borash could be great. I guess that I just need to see what he can do. I loved him as a stooge to Angle and Foley. He could play a good yes man role. There is no way it will work if he and Tenay are both straight shooters.

I like Bubba and sometimes listen to his radio show, but I don't think he will work for color commentary. He has the tendency to stumble over words and panic. If he gets the nod they need to have someone chirpping in his ear like Vice did with Foley. Bubba could help draw more audience, his fans might tune in throughout the show.

Foley could handle it, but sometimes he speaks over the fans level. I personally like him, but he has a lot of obscure references.

 

[jellmoo]

If, and only if it comes down to Don West and Bubba would I like for Don West to return to the broadcast booth. I can't stand Don West as an announcer. Of course I dislike Mike Tenay as well... But a company that has both Mick Foley and The Bisch on payroll shouldn't have to resort to bringing West back to the booth.

If they get stuck not wanting to use either of those guys somebody in TNA must have JBL's number.

 

[XgringolocoX]

Time off? Tazz's job is to sit the fuck down and talk. Hoow much time does he reeally need? Get some crutches, hobble your ass into work SIT DOWN and run your mouth. It ain't like he's got a huge entrance ramp to walk down in an arena. I doubt he'll miss more than one taping if any.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I wouldn't want to see West filling in but that is probably what would happen. If he does then I'd rather it be like the old days when Tenay and West were two buddies enjoying the matches together.... I was not a fan of West's heel turn because the two of them arguing was a bit distracting to me. If announcers are going to do a face/heel argument with each other they should argue about the product and not about how they aren't friends anymore. I like the idea of Borash filling in, as I think he could make an interesting announcer. Unfortunately it'd be more likely that Bubba gets that chance, and I'm sure none of us want THAT. Hopefully Taz won't need anyone to fill in at all, because I am a fan of his announcing and prefer him over anyone else in TNA to do the announcing alongside Tenay.... but if someone HAD to fill in then I'd pick Borash because he would deserve it more than Bubba or West.

 

[Schizophrenic]

Hopefully he will do the TV tapings then fly out and get it doen so he has two weeks to recover enough to be able to fly back to Orlando and do the next round then go back to NY. I prefer Taz over West. I honestly think that Taz & Tenay are a better team. They play off each other better. Especially when it involves Jaime McGee.

 

[Tastycles]

Classic non story, in my opinion. They have two weeks at a time off, so he could quite easily have the surgery and return before missing work. He doesn't do house shows, or anything except sit down when he's commentating, so he really doesn't need to miss TV time. Most knee surgery is keyhole and your out in a day or two, so I seriously doubt that this will have any discernible impact on Impact whatsoever.