X Division '12 > X Division '11

[ABMorales787]

TNA made an overhaul of the X Division in 2011 as we all know. It led to Brian Kendrick as top-face (boy did the crowd turn on that guy or what?), Kid Kash getting a mic, Jesse Sorensen and.... Austin "GMTEL" Aries. He took the world by storm and the storm is still not over. Enter 2012 and the approaching Destination X PPV and TNA saw that if it worked so well once, it should be given a second shot. This time, we got Kenny King and the fun ball of controversy that followed, Sonjay Dutt and his popping shoulder of doom and so on.

Why do I say this year's class of X Division stars can outshine last years? It's due to the potential, really. Zema Ion as champ is an obvious setup for Jesse Sorensen's return. The feel-good story is coming and anyone can see it coming. Meanwhile, you have indy darling Kenny King and his spinning Rock Bottom providing fun matches, Sonjay Dutt seems to have lit a fire on his ass as he's been pretty entertaining on more than just in-ring so far and to add to that, Chavo Guerrero is running around. Say what you will, but he is a massive veteran Cruiserweight. Put all that together and compare it to the Austin Aries show from last year (not that it's a bad thing) and you can see far more potential in this years talent pool than last year.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Honestly, as much as I want to take the high road here and talk about how you're right and what a great thread this is, the problem is, this is blatantly obvious. The X Division of 2011 was the lowest point that division ever hit in TNA's history, so it really couldn't have gotten any worse.

I still don't like or give a shit about Sorensen or Ion (massively overrated 'round these parts), but King I really dig and Dutt's always been a guy I've found to be really fun to watch wrestle the X style, so between those two alone I have probably a hundred more miles of respect for the division than I did at this point last year.

 

[Uncle Sam]

I'm not really on my knees, begging Ion and Sorensen to bless my mouth with their precious manjuice either. Sorensen reminds me of a young Randy Orton - i.e. before Randy Orton was good - and I'd likely feel indifferent about Ion if it weren't for the fact that he profoundly reminds me of somebody I know. That said, I think the inevitable feud between the two could be pretty good, and it's quite comfortably the best option they have right now.

Sonjay impresses me with all those flips and such but he's hardly figurehead material, is he? King's alright. Probably. Can't remember the names of the other ones. I think there are other ones. None of them are in Aries' league, or (for that matter) the league of Styles, Daniels or Joe. Or Chris Sabin or Alex Shelley.

They're still rebuilding though. I look forward to learning the names of those other blokes.

 

[Alex]

If Joey Ryan is being classed as an X-Division wrestler then I'd be more inclined to agree.

I like Kenny King, but he hasn't really shown much in the way of stand out personality for me (he's alright but not great) Dutt's alright but again not much of a stand out personality. Then again they are actually brilliant in the ring (not just flips) so there's definite potential

Zema Ion seems to be the only one with a personality per se and he's actually pretty decent on the mic.

 

[braveh]

Honestly, as much as I want to take the high road here and talk about how you're right and what a great thread this is, the problem is, this is blatantly obvious. The X Division of 2011 was the lowest point that division ever hit in TNA's history, so it really couldn't have gotten any worse.

I still don't like or give a shit about Sorensen or Ion (massively overrated 'round these parts), but King I really dig and Dutt's always been a guy I've found to be really fun to watch wrestle the X style, so between those two alone I have probably a hundred more miles of respect for the division than I did at this point last year.

2010 and 2011 were just horrible years for the X-Division. The first half of 12 has been great but much of that has been due to Austin Aries.

I'm not doing this for any kind of credd points or whatever honestly but I haven't really been a fan of the X-Division since 05/06 when I first watched TNA on tv. 2012 was the first time that I really though the X-Division was awesome again.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I probably have to agree overall. However, the X Division of 2012 being better than last year's isn't really saying much when you consider how lackluster the X Division was last year. And, when you think about it, how lackluster it's already been for several years now. Aside from Austin Aries, the X Division in 2011 was pretty much a snooze. Aries' talent far outshined that of other X Division wrestlers that, pretty soon, it got tiresome and dull watching him beat the same handful of guys in one match after another. I think one reason TNA relied so heavily on 3 and 4-way matches in regards to the X Division is that, aside from Aries, none of the X Division guys could hold interest for long.

Generally speaking, however, I don't really see a whole lot of an improvement over guys this year than last year. Most of the new X Division guys seem to have as flat of a personality is most X Division wrestlers have had since the X Division was formed. Of the newer batch, only Rashad Cameron has stood out with any sort of real personality that I've seen. Kenny King & Sonjay Dutt are pretty good in the ring, but I sense no charisma from them. They've got more than Jesse Sorensen, but that's not saying much. Zema Ion doesn't really do much for me. He has a cathphrase, but that's about it. Like the others, he's fun to watch in the ring but that's as far as it goes for me so far. I certainly don't see him as being a champion anywhere close to Aries' level. He's looked pretty weak, overall, since becoming champ.

One thing helping the X Division right now is that Aries is still propping it up. He was the one who decided the X Division title match on IW a few weeks back, he participated in an X Division tag match last Thursday as TNA WHC. As long as Aries is still in the X Division picture, it's going to have momentum. The real test will come when Aries steps aside to fully move onto other things, leaving guys like Kenny King, Sonjay Dutt & Zema Ion to carry the X Division. Let's see how they do without Aries carrying them, then we'll see what's what.

 

[MINISTRYrising]

ok so i think we can all agree that this years bunch of new tallent for the x division is far better then last years. we all know that there was only one guy that they brought in last year that was any good and that was aries. but this year ism not that much better. sure you have kenny king and sonjay has been brought back. but after that there is not much else.the sad thing in all this is that tna should not be leaving it until a month before destination x to start bringing in guys to beef up the x division. and this for me is one of the biggest problems tna has. for a couple of years know tna has repeatedly put the x division on the back burner but what tna seem to forget is that the x division is what made tna different in the first place. a division that was about no limits not weight limits. it is what made people want to see tna in the first place. and know you are left with a division that has its own ppv but they have to bring a big group of wrestlers every year just make up the numbers. and that to me is wrong. through the year tna should be bringing in x division guys and getting them over with the fans before the ppv gets here. i think the best way to do this would be to change gut check so instead of them bringing in nobodys then sending them off to ovw for training they should each month give a experianced indie guy who would qualify weight wise for the x division a shot then leave it up to the fans if he gets a shot or not.

 

[MisterRob]

Totally disagree.

What exactly is better about the current X Division roster then last years? I would take Brian Kendrick anytime over Zema Ion, who is just horrible. I would take a feud between Kendrick and Austin Aries over a horrible feud between the bland and green Jesse Sorenson and Zema Ion. Neither of those two even compares to X Division wrestlers of the past.

This year's roster is so good because of Kenny King and Sonjay Dutt? Sonjay Dutt isn't bad, but he certainly doesn't bring anything to the X Division on the level of Austin Aries. Kenny King is overrated and he's yet to really show anything, he certainly isn't as good as guys like Austin Aries, Alex Shelley, Doug Williams. Hell, even Brian Kendrick!

2011 wasn't a great year for the X Division, but so far 2012, minus Austin Aries, has been absolutely lackluster in itself. And with the roster they have in place right now I see this next year being the worst year for the X Division. It certainly hasn't improved at all since Aries left.