TNA's New Blood

[ramblinroy682]

I am excited about the new blood in TNA. I've said many times that TNA takes flame outs in WWE and turns them into watered down versions of their former characters. See: Mr. Anderson, MVP, RVD, etc. Finally, it appears they they are trying a different route and staying the course.

Yes we still have Drew Galloway and Bobby Lashley who were WWE main show talents, but they feel like fresh characters here in TNA.

But, what has me really excited are the guys who cost themselves shots in developmental because of extracurricular activities gone wrong or guys that wwe didn't capitalize on. Guys like:

ECIII: best heel in TNA. Good mic work. Gets great heat. Good look. Needs to improve in the ring. A solid guy to build on and I could see him having a heel Roode like title run.

Bram: Another good heel, but completely different character than anybody else on the roster. Dude comes off like a blood thirsty psychopath. His hardcore hard hitting style sets him apart from the other young guys.

Eli Drake: never made it to WWE tv as Slate Randall. I absolutely loved his portion of the promo. The man oozes charisma and he was natural on the mic. Very smooth for his first time on national television. He didn't drop the ball. He is a good "fake" pro wrestler. He's not going to scream legitimate wrestler like an Angle, Lashley, Bryan,or Punk, but he 1000 times better than a guy like Cena at this stage in his career. I hope he continues to get opportunity.

Mika: not the talker of the other two in the rising. Didn't jump off the screen. However, looked decent in the ring and seems to have TNA willing to embrace his island heritage as opposed to turning him into a Mexican.


These 4 guys are surely cheaper than guys of days past and add some freshness to a product that was stagnant. The best thing about these 4 is they didn't try to just continue what didn't work in WWE. If it wasn't getting over there, it won't in TNA EITHER. Back in the day, WWE did the same thing with a few flops from WCW. Stone cold Steve Austin, HHH, Diesel, Razor Ramon, Undertaker ....they worked out okay in their new personas.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying TNA is going to be true competition anytime soon, but they sure seem to making smarter moves and putting on better quality tv. And, I am really interested in the newer faces and watching them progress.

 

[Gavschenko]

i really like tna too missed the last two weeks shows but their talent is really good. i disagree what you said about mvp in my opinion he's too good for tna he one of the top guys they have and makes lashley look better than what he is

 

[FromGlasgow]

I completely don't agree, If your an ex WWE guy are you an ex WWE guy for life and should just quit wrestling if your cut from that company?
Its not like the old territory days where wrestlers went all different places theres not a lot of options now on places to go for ex WWE guys,I also think Anderson, MVP, Lashley and EC3 etc from your list have all improved from their original WWE stints.

 

[Radical Canadian Goose]

I completely don't agree, If your an ex WWE guy are you an ex WWE guy for life and should just quit wrestling if your cut from that company?
Its not like the old territory days where wrestlers went all different places theres not a lot of options now on places to go for ex WWE guys,I also think Anderson, MVP, Lashley and EC3 etc from your list have all improved from their original WWE stints.

I agree with this 100%. I hate hearing TNA hires WWE rejects. Like the above poster said, just because you were released by WWE doesn't mean you need to retire.

As for the new blood, if last night was any indication then I am super excited about Eli Drake. The promo was great, the in ring action was pretty decent itself. I think he possesses that IT factor. I am not familiar with his previous work, but may need to take some time to watch it.


I always have enjoyed EC3. He could be the #1 heel in the company by the end of the year.

The influx of talent in TNA is great and I am excited about the future.

 

[Boring]

Why not just call him Shaun Ricker? Name was unique enough. Eli Drake sounds like he's going to be the next ghetto pope, like Elijah Burke.

With that said, Shaun Ricker is just TOO SWEET! Talk about an awesome pick up for once.

Bram, Drew, and now Ricker. It doesn't happen a lot and in this case, it happened much later then it should have. Ricker is a "fkin professional wrestler" and I don't mean no disrespect to that other guy in the rising, it's just a fact of life!

I haven't been keeping up with TNA and it's a shame because a lot of good stuff seems to be going on. For me, I think it was just time along with the day, TNA's current place in pro wrestling, how much wrestling I've seen. I hope I'm wrong in that WWE was just lucky enough to be where it was when wrestling died and has turned it into this mark out moment, low expectation generation - because I would like to see TNA succeed and I think right now they're putting a much better effort then they have before. Some mis-steps and forgettable characters, but intriguing enough to still compete with the hot garbage seen on USA.

 

[whoopin' ass]

I agree, it is smart for TNA to bring in these talents as they have already gotten the experience from wwe but are fresh to most audiences. It isn't bad to bring in ex-wwe wrestlers, it is bad to bring in bad ex-wwe wrestlers and I think after the Hogan years, TNA figured that out as EC3 and the new guys are good talents. Hopefully they can build on this.

I don't think MVP is a watered down version of his wwe character, I don't think it is the same character at all. In wwe, he was the spoiled, overpaid "celebrity" star player - got the big deal because he talked a good game but was more of a pain in the ass than what he was worth. In TNA, he is that veteran who never got his chance due to not playing the game and now, he is trying to turn the tables back on the company and screw them over. In wwe, he wanted to be champ as it meant more money but in TNA, he knows that it isn't about being champ as much as controlling the champ as with both, you have the power. I think they are 2 very different characters.

 

[TDFG]

It's a good time for TNA to get younger/newer talent in, Angle isn't going to have long left and the veterans like MVP can put these guys over in the long term.

I'm sure they aren't costing as much either in salaries which can only be a good thing for TNA.

 

[Glacier]

Other than ECIII, TNA seems to lack for new talent that catches on.

I hope some of these new guys can gain popularity.