Who should be TNA's top face?

[Kitten Cutter]

Forgive me if this thread has been done, but I did a search and couldn't find it listed.

I've said in the past that TNA needs a John Cena type face, someone who TNA can market the hell out of to be their hero. Someone to put a face on the franchise. Someone needs to sell T-shirts, and make children's wishes and appear in movies and high-profile events. If TNA is doing their booking correctly, eventually someone will emerge out of the pack and become TNA's white knight.

There are exceptions, though. WCW\NWA built most of their legacy on top heels like Ric Flair, Vader and Hollywood Hogan, and only when guys like Sting and Goldberg emerged did they really put marketing behind them.

I bring it now to the TNA fans. Who should be TNA's top face in your humble opinions? Or do you think Jeff Hardy is a big enough top heel to draw? Or should TNA run the current course? Here are the choices for the poll:

1. Kurt Angle: The greatest wrestler in the world is taking time off, but could come back to get revenge. He's certainly difficult to beat and doesn't have a one-on-one victory or loss vs. Hardy, so the third match would draw interest.

2. Sting: He was once the lone hero who stood up to the NWO, and is TNA through and through. He saw through the deception angle first, but would the fans forgive him?

3. Matt Morgan: The closest thing to a top face right now. If TNA really got behind him, he would have the momentum to be marketable. He could be a better version of Diesel if done correctly.

4. The Pope D'Angelo Dinero: Highly charismatic and not afraid of anyone, The Pope has climbed in popularity and already drew a big task vs. Abyss. To my knowledge he's never had a match vs. Hardy, so the first time ever would definitely be a draw.

5. Mr. Anderson: Except for his injury history, Anderson has the mic skills, the charisma and the in-ring history to be the top guy. Although, it would be hard to market calling people assholes.

6. A.J. Styles: Styles is the only current heel in the group, but I include him because a large contingent want to eventually turn face and oppose the Immortals. Styles vs. Hardy is marketable, and he has been in the company and been the top draw for a long time until his heel turn. It wouldn't be difficult to put him back on top.

7. Rob Van Dam: The former TNA World Heavyweight Champion was undefeated until after Bound For Glory, and still owes Jeff Hardy a lot for that whack on the head. He also never got his rematch to gain back the belt he never lost. If he focuses less on EV2 and more on the Immortals, he could be a top draw like he was in ECW and WWE.

8. Samoa Joe: The wild card himself, he doesn't trust anyone, has no friends, is foul-mouthed and difficult to beat without a lot of help. Sound familiar? If it worked for Austin, why not for Samoa Joe?

9. Jay Lethal: My personal favorite. The guy practically breeds TNA and he'd be the perfect rags-to-riches underdog story. He is amazingly charismatic and works the mic whether he's doing impressions or simply running down his opponent, and throw in his unique in-ring style, and Lethal is an underrated crowd-pleaser.

10. Matt Hardy: I threw him in because of the connection with his brother, and wasn't Matt working on some character called "The Angelic Diablo?" Could there be a tabernacle match between the Angelic Diablo vs. the Antichrist? Another Matt vs. Jeff match may not be awaited anymore, but they've never fought for a top title before.

11. Jeff Hardy is fine as a top heel: You're saying that Hardy can be the next Ric Flair; people will tune in just to see Hardy and hope he gets his ass kicked. Can Hardy actually carry a whole company, instead of just Smackdown? And as a psychotic Antichrist instead of the daredevil goody two-shoes?

12. Someone else I didn't mention: List who you think and tell me why they'll work.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Of those choices, I think I'm going to have to go with Mr. Anderson. Of all the guys listed on that list, with the exception of Kurt Angle, Anderson is by far the most charismatic. He's not the best inside the ring, but he has tons of charisma and his work on the mic can't be denied. While I do think Anderson is somewhat overrated, I think he's the strongest choice at this time.

Kurt Angle, Sting & RVD are three grizzled veterans that've been in wrestling for a long time. However, what TNA needs right now is a fresh face in the top face spot in the company. With the Immortal/Fortune alliance going on, TNA needs to use this opportunity to elevate someone new into that top spot. TNA has a history of using the younger talent to prop up the older veterans rather than the veterans helping to elevate the younger talent and it needs to stop quite frankly. Using Anderson as the "leader" of the wrestlers that will be behind Dixie Carter getting the company back just makes sense at this point.

Matt Morgan simply is not ready. I don't think that Morgan will ever be the top face of the company. I just don't see long term success with him. It's more of a feeling than anything else. AJ Styles & Samoa Joe have both been in that position before. I prefer Styles as a face but he had the top face spot for a long while. Samoa Joe doesn't have the charisma to pull it off quite frankly. Jay Lethal has been nothing but lackluster since his feud with Ric Flair ended, Dinero is someone that's also simply not ready for the top spot and there's no guarantee that Matt Hardy will even be in TNA. Dixie's mother is in charge of TNA's purse strings now because Dixie was throwing good money after bad in bringing in these hugs names and getting little in return for it. Even if he does, Matt Hardy is completely overrated. He's never been interesting unless he's riding his brother's coat tails or is feuding with someone much more talented than he is to carry him. As for Jeff Hardy himself, I've found him to be quite lackluster overall since coming to TNA. Even though he's TNA World Champion right now, he's not the top heel, Eric Bischoff is. Hardy has been used sparingly and has had virtually no presence in his upcoming match with Matt Morgan.

Of the guys listed, Anderson is someone who not only needs it but I think has the best shot of pulling it off at this time.

 

[wwetv21]

are u guys kidding me!!!!!!!!!!! aj styles is obviously the face of tna, someone who was there since day 1 and built the x division and made tna more bigger before. and since he the guy who started it all why not have him be the one to reclaim the company that he built from immortal.

 

[Tech N9ne]

Mr. Anderson will get his time soon enough.

I say it should be Kurt Angle. TNA is trying to become a successful company and no matter what any of them say, they want to rival/pass WWE's popularity and success.

I think at this exact point TNA is at, Kurt Angle seems to me to be the most logical choice. I like Anderson, and I am not saying he shouldn't be or does not deserve his push. He most certainly does. But, as TNA tries to lessen the gap between where they (TNA) are, and where WWE is. A true FACE of the company is what they need. What better way to become established and hold credibility and relevance in their business?

Have the front runner of the company, the FACE of it, be someone that is already established. I think TNA has plenty of talent all around. Young, Old and in between.

Mr. Anderson, right at this second, is somewhat regarded as a guy who couldn't make it in WWE because he couldn't stay healthy. So in a sense, to a lot of WWE fans and beyond, he is sort of a reject. I truly believe he will have his time.

But I believe as they try to move forward, credibility is something they need, and do not have much of. That is where Angle comes in. Angle has basically carried TNA for about 4 years now. He and only a few other guys were able to keep TNA relevant, even if only on a smaller scale of relevance compared to WWE.

Kurt Angle succeeded in WWE and has defeated absolute legends in the business and WWE legends in particular.

He only has a short amount of time left. He will probably end up back in WWE sometime to end his career. I think TNA should really "milk" him and get the most out of him.

He should be the "King" of this damn company and just run through everyone. Almost Cena-like, but in his own Kurt Angle way. "Super Angle" LOL. At least if Kurt beat everyone he fought and beat the odds every time, it would be more believable and acceptable then Cena doing it.

That also works into their (TNA) advantage with Anderson. They could have Kurt become the Face of the company for a while and finally have Anderson take him down. Whether it be with both guys as Faces or otherwise.

I think it would legitimatize Anderson's reign, gimmick, relevance, legacy and his overall place as TNA's top FACE. Beating Kurt Angle, when he is the top Face of TNA...... Who could argue against Anderson then?

 

[ThePeoplesChampion]

AJ Styles....i mean he is the home grown wrestler practically...was there when tna started..and when he is a face people fully support him...he should be the face of the company...if anyone else it would be The Pope just cause of his popularity but i feel TNA needs a homegrown talent as there top face so you get at least the Tna basher who says TNA is a washed up WWE.

 

[Rammsteinerteen]

If you ask me You need to be multi talented, You need great in ring work and you need great mic work.
so lets look at the roster main guys.
Abyss: His in-ring work is so-so and he has mediocre mic work

A.J. Styles: Substantial wrestler, amazing no one matches to his in-ring ability but his mic work could use a little more work

Desmond Wolfe: Heres Someone with both, he has great technical europe style fighting and hes great on the mic and hes young.

Jeff Hardy: glorified stuntman, terrible mic work, stay off the drugs and maybe he has a chance.

Jeff Jarrett: his times up

Kazarian: perhaps one day he has a good mixture here

Kurt Angle: great wrestler, but hes soon to retire and has little time to consider himself the face.

Matt Morgan: BOO boring

Mr. Anderson: he has good in-ring work and great Mic Work he could be a great seller one day to become the face.

Rob Van Dam: doesn`t realize his time is up or that hes way past his prime.

Samoa Joe: great Wrestler Great Mic Work he could be a great face.

Pope: to silly, give him a serious run then yes.

I think I like Desmond Wolfe. He should be the face.

 

[Johnny Scumm]

Obviously a good answer would be AJ Styles. But I like his character at the moment, and thankfully TNA haven't changed him back as quick as they do to most people.

So my pick has to be Mr Anderson. He can work the mic well, get the crowd behind him, and he's a pretty damn good wrestler!

Wolfe, Kaz & Morgan I would like to stay heels, which is why Morgans recent face turn pissed me off a bit, he can't work it as well.

Joe, if he could've been top, he would've been by now

Pope - Never gonna happen in my eyes

RVD/Angle - They're pushing their luck, RVD especially, he should retire while he can. Angle, he should still be wrestling 'cos he's still got it. Just.

Jeff Hardy - Just no. His heel persona is SOOO MUCH MORE INTERESTING.

So yeah, Anderson for me please.

 

[StraightEdge for Life]

Of all the guys you listed, it has to be AJ Styles. Styles has been in TNA since the 1st show, has put on some the best matches and is without a doubt one of the best in the world today.

When I first started watching TNA, AJ was my favorite and was so pissed when he lost the X-Division Title to Christopher Daniels at Destination X in 2005.

He was always the most exciting to watch, especially the Lethal Lockdown matches, because I always wanted to see those matches just to see what crazy stunt AJ would pull.

At this point they need to find a way for him to drop the TV title and find a way to take the World Title to put as the face of TNA. Lets face it, he's more entertaining than Hardy. His ring skills are better than Hardy. And that whole "I am the Anti-Christ of professional wrestling" shit is just that, shit. And the only thing that made Jeff rel famous was his extreme style of wrestling, but as Vickie Guerrero once put it, he's just not that extreme anymore (I know that was 2 years ago, but still).

 

[Slowdude]

Aj Styles. I mean they put all that work into making him the face of the company late last year for what? To turn him into Ric Flair 2.0 and put him back into the mid card in favour of a bunch of guys who weren't even in the company a year ago.

Honestly can anyone give me a logical reason why he was turned heel? Then again can anony give me a logical reason for anything Hogan/Bischoff have done this year? Man I miss the time after the MEM ended - January 3rd. Good times where they were focusing on the wrestling instead of storylines.

Need to stop now or I'm going to go completely off topic.

 

[nickg_90]

For me it's a toss-up between AJ and Anderson.

AJ Styles IS TNA. Nine times out of ten, AJ is the first person that comes to mind when you think of TNA. His mic work and charisma, which were already good, have greatly improved after being aligned with Flair. Do I even need to explain his in-ring ability?Night in and night out, AJ puts on great matches. I don't think I've ever seen a bad match from AJ. But for now, AJ should stay heel.

Anderson is the closest thing to a total package in TNA. In TNA, Anderson is in a league of his own when it comes to mic work. His charisma is also great, and his in-ring skills are all right. He screams main event. Even in WWE, he had main event written all over him. Unfortunately, injuries derailed his main event pushes. And after his release, some have labeled Anderson a "WWE reject." Anderson has what it takes to be a top face.
He has that "it" factor.

Kurt Angle would be more of a short-term answer. He's a big enough name to draw attention, but he's not the long-term answer. Angle can still go, but he's getting up there in age and has been talking about one last run in the WWE before retiring. And with Angle being in his forties, it won't be too long before that happens. He could be used like Terry Funk was in early ECW or like Jericho has been recently used: elevating younger talent while still being a title contender, even winning the strap a few times.

Pope and Morgan aren't ready yet. They definitely have what it takes to be a top star. Like Anderson, Pope has exceptional mic skills and charisma. Pop can also get it done in the ring. All he needs to do is smooth out the rough edges. Morgan is a big dude who can wrestle and talk, which is somewhat rare when it comes to big guys as they'll usually have one of the other. As far as charisma goes, he's okay as a face. Morgan is more interesting as a heel. I think he could be a top heel rather than a top face. Like Pope, smooth out the rough edges.

As long as TNA doesn't try to turn him into a Cena-like super face, Joe could possibly be a top face. If only creative would give him something good to do.

As much as I like RVD, he would fall in the same category as Angle. Upper midcard/main event talent that elevates the younger guys while still being in the title hunt. He's also a big enough name to attract fans.

Sting would be used like Undertaker or Shawn Michaels. Elevate the young guys, make a few appearances in the World title scene, etc. Jay Lethal, if booked right, has the potential to be a top guy. He's got great mic skills, especially with his impressions. He gets the crowd fired up, and puts on great matches. But like I said, it all depends on how Lethal is booked.

And now the Hardys. KEEP JEFF HEEL. I'm kinda meh with Jeff, but his new heel persona has kept me interested. More character development could result in Jeff being a top heel. As for Matt, I see him as a jobber to the stars. His opportunity to be a top star has passed him by. However, a storyline that's properly booked could sway my opinion. I personally liked him more as a heel. Matt's too generic for my taste as a face. If he did something similar to his Mattitude/V1 gimmick, maybe.

To reiterate, the top face will either be AJ or Anderson.