What Would Make the X-Division Great Again?

[Evenflow DDT]

For the last 5+ years people have been complaining that the X-Division just "isn't the same anymore".

My question is what made the x-division so great in the first place? Looking back to 2002-2007, there is only ONE storyline that stands out as interesting (Joe/AJ/Daniels), so that can't be it. Very few X-Division guys had great Mic skills is the "glory days" (Sonny Siaki and Kurt Angle are the only champs in that era that could work the Mic). Is the the match length? Do all the matches need to be 20-30 minutes? Is it the talent or lack thereof? Do we need more spot monkeys (Generation Me/Manik/Amazing Red) and wrestlers with zero charisma (Low-Ki/Kid Kash/Sonjay Duty/Petey Williams).

Personally I'd like to see more dominating champions. No more hot potato with the title. I've watched Aries and Sabin trade the title like 3 times in the last month. Plus I'd get rid of Option C, I think it devalues the title if guys are willing to drop it so easily.

What would make it good again in your eyes?

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Of course it's not the same anymore. The guys who were in it, that made it so great, all graduated up the card, and were never replaced. I've been hammering this nail for years here. Who followed Styles? Who followed Daniels? Who followed Joe? No one. They just kept going back to the well trying to force fit Jay Lethal, who is like a thirty-eight time champion — none of which mattered.

Styles, Joe, Daniels, etc. "made it great" not due to story (there were almost never any real stories), but due to their star work ethic and their ability to entertain in the ring. They were a constant source of energy, and their matches were of such a high standard that they were able to be used anywhere on any card to get the crowd into it.

But ultimately, if you want a great X Division again, you need great energy workers again. Get solid, highly entertaining wrestlers who are capable and willing to do the high spots generally associated with the division and give them air time. Simple as that.

 

[Trill Co$by]

Who followed Styles? Who followed Daniels? Who followed Joe?

Austin Aries, Kenny King, Zema Ion, Chris Sabin, Spud, and EC3 are perfectly capable of taking the torch and running with. Star power isn't a problem at all for the division. The problem isn't just one thing, and if it was, the talent definitely isn't it.

TNA as a company has a lot of nooks and crannies that need to be taken care of. For starters, TV taping matches need to be longer and segments need to be cut down. If TNA wants to be the alternative, then they'll have to do it that way. Believe it or not, more matches and less talking CAN sale. It has in the past. Ric Flair made a career out of outsmarting his opponents in the ring, and then taking about a minute or two to brag about it.

Second, for the X-Division specifically, they need to find a way to get people interested. Bring back a few old talents, hire some now ones, and more importantly... utilize them in high profile feuds. Gregory Helms was, to me, one of the most entertaining aspects of Smackdown. When he was added to Team Rated RKO, he was even more entertaining and was believable enough to where he fit with not only that team, but with the entire list of Superstars in the match. He single handedly made the Cruiserweight title scene amazing.

TNA recently did the World Cup PPV, or at least aired it. Why not just bring the World X Cup back and use that? From January to whenever Destination X is, they can use the World X Cup to their advantage. Assemble a team of three from each country, and then have them fight in a points based system. The winning team gets an X-Division Title shot [Captain] and a Tag Title shot [remaining two]. And keep the "Destination X Cash-In" scenario. It helps give the X-Division that legitimacy that they need.

And finally, they need a legit team of writers. Not soap opera writers, or SpikeTV appointed ones, but legit writers. There are rumors that Russo is a Creative Consultant. Fuck that. Give him full power. Vince Russo wrote AJ Styles into the phenomenon he came to be. Vince Russo wrote Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe into awesomeness. The guy knows what he's doing. Yes, he's had a few bad eggs here and there but so has Paul Heyman. Anybody remember Chilly Willie? No? Thought so.

After Russo, get sub-writers who can focus on the X-Division and Tag Division. Do like before and use people from the X-Division to beef up the tag roster. Sanjay Dutt and Jay Lethal were far more than entertaining as a tag team. Maybe you can go out and get Tommy Dreamer and Raven. Those two basically wrote the book on how to get over. Raven beat the hell out of Dreamer for years until finally Dreamer took the victory in Raven's last match. It worked, and most of that was their doing..

Like I said, the current X-Division roster is fine. Of course, adding more would be great, but for now it's fine the way it is. Maybe that's just me, but then again, the topic asked for my opinion.

 

[mlp420]

All the X Division has ever been was spots. At it's best it was ROH/DGUSA/PWG with TV. That's it. There was no magic. If they decide to commit to that stuff again, all they gotta do is bring guys from those promotions in and let them flip all over the place and drop each other on their heads.

I just wanna know why the X Division is the be all end all for some people. IMO good wrestling is good wrestling whether it's the X Division, Knockouts, Tag Teams, Heavyweights, whatever.

 

[kirkt690]

In my mind the perfect example of the x division would be the asylum match on the episode of impact on which Hogan debuted or the 2010 destination x ppv which featured mcmg vs gen me in the best ultimate x tag team match of all time.

 

[rokuma]

The X-Division needs to bring in some talent. Looking on ImpactWrestling.com and their roster, I could only count 5 names that classify as X-Division guys (excluding Daniels/Kazarian because of their tag team): Austin Aries (champ), Sabin (former champ), Zema Ion, Kenny King, and Manik. Only 5 guys on the entire roster? Your division can't thrive with only a limited number of guys.

Within the past several months, we saw former X-Division names such as Petey Williams and Sonjay Dutt return briefly, new faces such as Greg Marasciulo (formerly Trent Barretta in the WWE and he impressed me in the ring), and Chavo Guerrero (released in November). Why not bring these guys back permanently? That'd be 9 guys if you count them all. What about exploring new and fresh faces? Why not look to Mexico or Japan for some lightweight's that American audiences aren't familiar with? WCW did this in the 90s and it revolutionized the business. The X-Division needs a little more time on TV and more wrestlers and it would be fine. It's not about storylines, it's about the quality and excitement of matches. Let's hope they put a focus on it.

 

[Cereal Killer]

Austin Aries, Kenny King, Zema Ion, Chris Sabin, Spud, and EC3 are perfectly capable of taking the torch and running with. Star power isn't a problem at all for the division. The problem isn't just one thing, and if it was, the talent definitely isn't it.

This doesn't make sense. You said they are perfectly capable of taking the torch and running with it, followed by "the talent definitely isn't it." Aries, King, Zema, Sabin and Spud (why is Ethan there?) are all very talented. They've put on some good matches and some excellent ones in the X-Division.

TNA as a company has a lot of nooks and crannies that need to be taken care of. For starters, TV taping matches need to be longer and segments need to be cut down. If TNA wants to be the alternative, then they'll have to do it that way. Believe it or not, more matches and less talking CAN sale. It has in the past. Ric Flair made a career out of outsmarting his opponents in the ring, and then taking about a minute or two to brag about it.

Wrestling is different to what it was in the decade of flashy clothes and big hair. You used to get long wrestling matches followed by short promos backstage where a small man in a suit held a microphone to your face. It's a lot different now. This past episode had enough wrestling and also good promos. I will admit that there were some really long promos this week but generally, I think a lot of time is spent on matches. How long do you want them to be? Wrestling is a lot about storytelling now, promos are really important. They're also entertaining. Watch NJPW or something and tell me if you're really interested or not.

Second, for the X-Division specifically, they need to find a way to get people interested. Bring back a few old talents, hire some now ones,

They've done this on numerous occasions; Sonjay Dutt, Petey Williams, Rashad Cameron, Mason Andrews and many more. What you've probably guessed by now is that it's not the talent that's the issue. It's the time they're given. Not the stars only, but the division as a whole. There has to be enough matches and well developed storylines. We don't really get that any more (excluding Aries/Sabin). It's the same with the tag teams and the Knockouts. There isn't any real story in the mid card sometimes and the stars are always dropped and forgotten for half a year until a sudden return. When one star comes in, another goes out. However, after recent events, it looks like they're trying to fix that with Aries vs Sabin, Madison Rayne vs Gail Kim, ODB vs Lei'D Tapa and Eric Young vs Abyss amongst others.

 

[three count bout]

This doesn't make sense. You said they are perfectly capable of taking the torch and running with it, followed by "the talent definitely isn't it." Aries, King, Zema, Sabin and Spud (why is Ethan there?) are all very talented. They've put on some good matches and some excellent ones in the X-Division.



Wrestling is different to what it was in the decade of flashy clothes and big hair. You used to get long wrestling matches followed by short promos backstage where a small man in a suit held a microphone to your face. It's a lot different now. This past episode had enough wrestling and also good promos. I will admit that there were some really long promos this week but generally, I think a lot of time is spent on matches. How long do you want them to be? Wrestling is a lot about storytelling now, promos are really important. They're also entertaining. Watch NJPW or something and tell me if you're really interested or not.



They've done this on numerous occasions; Sonjay Dutt, Petey Williams, Rashad Cameron, Mason Andrews and many more. What you've probably guessed by now is that it's not the talent that's the issue. It's the time they're given. Not the stars only, but the division as a whole. There has to be enough matches and well developed storylines. We don't really get that any more (excluding Aries/Sabin). It's the same with the tag teams and the Knockouts. There isn't any real story in the mid card sometimes and the stars are always dropped and forgotten for half a year until a sudden return. When one star comes in, another goes out. However, after recent events, it looks like they're trying to fix that with Aries vs Sabin, Madison Rayne vs Gail Kim, ODB vs Lei'D Tapa and Eric Young vs Abyss amongst others.

I think he meant the talent definitely isn't the problem. Personally I would take a less robust X Division roster if the guys in it can really work a high energy, exciting style and have good personalities and personal feuds to work off of. You throw a guy like Austin Aries in their and the division gets a huge boost because he can go in the ring and he's a dynamic character. You really need more guys like that IMO, I will say they have done a good job of giving Chris Sabin something more than "Hey I can wrestle" I'm sure we've all met a doucey guy who has a girl way above his pay grade that he treats like dog shit. So between the Velvet stuff, and having Aries get the best of him you give the guys a platform to do something meaningful outside of just the bell to bell stuff.

Having a whole bunch of the same guys who just have a high work rate isn't going to do much, because just as quick as they come in and gain traction they usually disappear off T.V. I look at everything in 2014 as a reset for Impact, and Aries and Sabin are a good way to start off the X Division.

 

[ramblinroy682]

Austin Aries, Kenny King, Zema Ion, Chris Sabin, Spud, and EC3 are perfectly capable of taking the torch and running with. Star power isn't a problem at all for the division. The problem isn't just one thing, and if it was, the talent definitely isn't it.

TNA as a company has a lot of nooks and crannies that need to be taken care of. For starters, TV taping matches need to be longer and segments need to be cut down. If TNA wants to be the alternative, then they'll have to do it that way. Believe it or not, more matches and less talking CAN sale. It has in the past. Ric Flair made a career out of outsmarting his opponents in the ring, and then taking about a minute or two to brag about it.

Second, for the X-Division specifically, they need to find a way to get people interested. Bring back a few old talents, hire some now ones, and more importantly... utilize them in high profile feuds. Gregory Helms was, to me, one of the most entertaining aspects of Smackdown. When he was added to Team Rated RKO, he was even more entertaining and was believable enough to where he fit with not only that team, but with the entire list of Superstars in the match. He single handedly made the Cruiserweight title scene amazing.

TNA recently did the World Cup PPV, or at least aired it. Why not just bring the World X Cup back and use that? From January to whenever Destination X is, they can use the World X Cup to their advantage. Assemble a team of three from each country, and then have them fight in a points based system. The winning team gets an X-Division Title shot [Captain] and a Tag Title shot [remaining two]. And keep the "Destination X Cash-In" scenario. It helps give the X-Division that legitimacy that they need.

And finally, they need a legit team of writers. Not soap opera writers, or SpikeTV appointed ones, but legit writers. There are rumors that Russo is a Creative Consultant. Fuck that. Give him full power. Vince Russo wrote AJ Styles into the phenomenon he came to be. Vince Russo wrote Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe into awesomeness. The guy knows what he's doing. Yes, he's had a few bad eggs here and there but so has Paul Heyman. Anybody remember Chilly Willie? No? Thought so.

After Russo, get sub-writers who can focus on the X-Division and Tag Division. Do like before and use people from the X-Division to beef up the tag roster. Sanjay Dutt and Jay Lethal were far more than entertaining as a tag team. Maybe you can go out and get Tommy Dreamer and Raven. Those two basically wrote the book on how to get over. Raven beat the hell out of Dreamer for years until finally Dreamer took the victory in Raven's last match. It worked, and most of that was their doing..

Like I said, the current X-Division roster is fine. Of course, adding more would be great, but for now it's fine the way it is. Maybe that's just me, but then again, the topic asked for my opinion.

I remember Chilly Willie. Unfortunately, Heyman didn't create the character. My man Willy used to dance all over Raleigh NC battling the likes of Matt and Jeff Hardy, CW Anderson, Shannon Moore, Shane Helms, Joey Abs( Venom), Night Stick, Christian York, Joey Mathhews, Otto Schwanz, Col. Debeers, and a few others in SCW. So, Heyman can't take credit for character creation. Maybe. Poor signing.

Russo is not the answer. Talent and focus are. Put some talent in the division, give it some meaning, make it about the title and not a storyline. That is what made it great. The guys wanted the title. Period. It wasn't about cheating girls, broken necks, hair spray, etc. it was about being the best wrestler. Do that please.