You Released Petey Williams?

[Gelgarin]

According to Wrestling Observer it's true. Williams (along with Lance Rock, but nobody cares about that) will no longer be seen on TNA TV, and I for one say that this makes no sense.

TNA pays their talent per appearance, so there is no direct financial benefit provided by cutting them. The only reason for turfing somebody off the roster is if they are of no use to the company, and Williams doesn't fit the bill on that respect.

He's the most over guy in the X-division. He was one of the only little, unexposed guys who could match up with a 'legend' and still get pops from the crowd... and to cap it off, but just carried Scott Steiner to what I'd have to call his best match in half a decade.

I simply can't see why TNA would want to cut this guy, and I can't imaging Williams believes he can do better else where. Japan's a mess. The Indy scene is getting it's ass kicked by the recession. And if he'd been considering a WWE developmental deal we'd probably have had some indication of it by now.

So, to quote R-Truth...

What's up?

 

[My$terio_Fan]

Yeah I was pretty shocked about this. Petey was a solid midcard/x division talent. He was beginning to find more personality and since frontline didn't have too many maineventers he was being used as one of their top guys.

And although Petey might not be the next WWE champion or anything I would love for him to go to WWE. Although they would probably mess up his character and burry him I think Petey could be another great addition to ECW.

I'm still shocked they released Petey who has been a staple in TNA for a while. Petey might have a better chance to suceed in WWE, who knows. Although this move isn't going to hurt TNA any, it won't help them either.

As for Lance Rock(hoyt)he was nothing special, but he is a big guy and I always thought he could work well in the WWE as a bodyguard or something. His release wasnt as surprising as Petey since he was featured for a long time, and the impact of his release will be even less then Petey's.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

If this is true, then I am shocked. Not about Hoyt, but about Williams. If he has been let go, there must be some reason besides creative having nothing for him, as he is extremely talented (his mic work is all right, but, given his in-ring skills, it suffices). Furthermore, I don't know where he could go besides ROH, as WWE couldn't really do anything with him, given his small size and the fact that he wouldn't be as impressive in the ring under WWE's safety restrictions. Oh well. Here's to hoping that this isn't true, or that, at the very least, Williams will be able to shine once again somewhere else.

On the other hand, Hoyt's release gives Matt Morgan the opportunity to join The Rock 'n' Rave Infection and become a jobber like he should be.

 

[KillBill]

Damn, I'm very surprised. Petey is a great wrestler, and I do not know what tna is thinking. I've met Petey, hes a cool guy, can't imagine his mouth got him in trouble. I think WWE should sign him and send him to ECW where there are a lot of "smaller" guys. Can you imagine a match with him and Even Bourne? The only problem is that his Canadian Destroyer doesn't fit with wwe's style, so that would suck. Although he goes the way of Bourne and shows them he can do it, who knows, but he deserves a shot.

 

[Joup7]

Petey Williams is a tremendous X-Division wrestler. the problem is his finishing move, the Canadian Destroyer, requires flipping his opponent really quickly. No large wrestler can do that. Not even a mid-sized wrestler. Have you ever noticed he only uses his finishing move on other X-Division wrestlers? If Petey wants to become anything more than a great X-Division wrestler, he needs another finishing move.

 

[I_Like_All_Wrestling]

TNA pays their talent per appearance, so there is no direct financial benefit provided by cutting them. The only reason for turfing somebody off the roster is if they are of no use to the company, and Williams doesn't fit the bill on that respect.

Not ALL of their talent is under pay per appearance. I'm pretty sure that Petey Williams was indeed under a contract.

It's sad to see Petey go. He wasn't ever going to be world champ but he was always entertaining and usually put on one of the best matches of the night. it is interesting see see that they went with this though. I think he's a decently known guy in TNA and a fan favorite, so I wonder why they picked him.

 

[Talon_DR]

From what I understand Petey Williams and TNA couldn't come to terms on a new contract and then Williams contract expired. It could be that TNA lowballed Petey's expectations or Williams was asking for more than what TNA was willing to offer him. Either way it is disappointing because I liked Petey Williams in TNA, hopefully there is a chance they can get this worked out and get a new contract going.

 

[klunderbunker]

What do you expect? He was a young guy with a decent look that was somewhat over and a decent wrestler. He wasn't pushing 50 and botching a lot so of course he got fired. He was another young face taht was being buried by the Mafia which sadly enough is just about everyone. TNA has paid so many people these high end deals for a quick ratings boost that is starting to fall through thank goodness, and now it's starting to catch up with them. They don't need to be investing in guys like Steiner and Nash but rather guys like Petey. Such a waste.

 

[Greenlight13]

Personally I think this is a slap in the face to all of the originals and undermines the ENTIRE MEM vs Frontline feud. Isn't the point of this feud to put over the younger guys, the TNA originals, putting them in the spotlight with the former WWE older veterans so that they get noticed and are ultimately the stars of tomorrow?

Petey is one of the most liked guys in the locker room and AJ and Joe for one will not be happy with this move. People like Sonjay Dutt and Chris Sabin must be getting nervous. They have never ever given Sonjay an important feud unless you count him taking So Cal Val but that didn't really go over. He's never held a belt, he's just there for X-Division matches to get a pop from fans. If Petey got cut and he's a multi-time X-Division champion who gets major pops, how safe is Sonjay?

As for Sabin, well, I'd probably boycot TNA if they cut him, but they seem to be burying the MCMG tag team week after week with losses to non-established teams and Alex is the main focus now with the X-Division belt and he is the one that does the talking and interacting with the big players. Sabin is another original who is of no overall storyline importance and is simply there to put on a brilliant match.

I pray no more talented TNA originals get released for no reason because these guys are the backbone of the company. Hell, they should fire Scott Steiner. He's probably getting paid at least twice Petey Williams' salary, he can't work a match, gets a minimal reaction from the fans and I don't honestly think he's a draw. It wouldn't hurt them, he wouldn't get employed anywhere significant, WWE wouldn't take him, ROH probably wouldn't either... or at least I hope not...

Lance Rock... unfortunate, he wasn't awful, but also not a major blow. Jimmy Rave might be tapped as the next big X-Division star, AJ and Joe declared him the next breakout star if ever given a chance and Rock is the one that gets booed. Now Christy Hemme gets cheered so perhaps Rave can get over as a face.

I hope Petey goes to ROH personally. WWE would water him down, and that's if they even hired him to start with given his size. I'd like to see him mix it up with the hardest working roster in wrestling.

 

[supergav67]

I dont believe it!.Especially if it was TNAs choice & they were on pay per play contracts!
Petey & Lance are the kinda guys you want around,they are well enough known,have gimmicks ,get a pop from the crowd.& if you dont intend given them title shots,& theyre fairly okay about that,you at least hold on to them till you find a worthy replacement.
Sure,overall costs,ll be to blame but it seams like TNA have a name working for like a fiver,but theyd rather have a nobody who,d work for 4.50.

 

[midnightrider09]

They released Petey? Shark Boy, Davari, Shane Sewell,"govenor Palin"..... and they release Petey????? GET THE F*CK outta here. Scott Steiner cant do a match with out a 85% chance that he will botch a move and kill somebody, Kevin Nash cant even walk, and Petey gets released. If anybody is getting that feeling of " is raw on yet?" that they used 2 have when they used to watch WCW...........please raise your hand.

 

[Pimpin]

Damn what in the hell are they thinking here. So they would rather keep guys who are about 50, can't walk, can't work a match & has an 85 percent chanceto kill somebody everytime they compete. Geez this is really making me think about giving up on TNA to succeed. TNA better come up with a good reason as to why they released a guy who is way over & can work a better than than any of the old fuckers combined.

 

[RVDgurl]

Cutting Petey Williams, TNA? Really? As much as I have supported TNA over the past 2 years, I can't do anything recently but shake my head in disgust. There are alt least 5 guys I can think of off the top of my head that could've been released other than Williams.

Petey is a phenomenal athlete that has been severely under utilized by TNA for years. Petey has a tremendous build, fair enough mic skills, is a solid in ring performer and has probably the most bad ass finishing move I've ever seen. He's an X-Division guy who is still over with the fans despite the fact that there really isn't much of an X-Division anymore.

All I can hope is that this is some kind of work. It would truly be shameful for TNA if they cut Petey yet Jimmy Rave and Sharkboy are still employed.

 

[Savage1]

Young talented wrestlers getting buried by older more established guys in thier 50s who can't work anymore...? God this is like deja vu! I can't figure it out but I feel like I've seen this before...wait a minute I have, yeah it was that company from Atlanta...WCW! Thats right! I remember now. This is all too familiar. WCW put all it's chips into one basket back when they tried to shut down WWE. They brought in Hall and Nash and Hogan and Savage and then some more old established guys followed and they used these guys to build thier fan base because they already had a big following in WWE. They too had some pretty promising young talent but they let the older guys call thier own shots and buried the young guys. TNA has some of he same guys doing the same thing except they are even older and thier work is even worse because of injuries and just being...well...OLD! If they continue to bank on these dinosaurs and bury the young guys who could carry them into the future they will probably have the same results as WCW. Don't get me wrong I'm a fan of the Stings and Nashs of the business but they gotta move aside and give the young wrestlers the reigns if they want the company to survive.

 

[andymcg]

I for one am absolutly furious about this, Petey was my favourite "smaller" type wrestler, he had a great look and could put on amazin matches. I may be over reacting but as im typin this am so furious with TNA im even considerin to stop watchin it. I mean aint you ment to be putin the younger generation over ? not bloody releasing them, TNA need ti shift into gear because this will be one big loss imo.

Highly undoubtful but lets hope petey ends up in WWE, or even somthing like ROH.

 

[Afro-Ameri-Spawn]

Alot of you are going to hate me for saying this but, good riddance to Petey Williams. He has struggled even show a glimmer of promise with any gimmick that they have given him on his own. The thing that I don't get is that many of you who are pining over his ass have often criticized him ever since Team Canada broke up. And to be honest, it's as little a loss as losing Low-Ki was as Petey lacked a personality to go along with his muscles.

Mind you, I will note the fact that he has the tools to be successful and has the talent to go with the best of them, but he really hasn't brought that to the table lately. I look back and think about how every one of his matches over the last year have been so so. He just pretty much goes through the motions and doesn't have the snap that was once his trademark and set apart from all the other X-Division talent. He had become lazy in the ring and looked unmotivated. So why keep him around? I mean I'm sad to see the guy lose his job but you can't have a long wrestling career if the only thing that you have going for you these days is that you have a sick finisher. And that wasn't even looking that good anymore.

So adios Petey, as I am sure that with your build you will get at least a look from the boys on the other side. Now if we could just get rid of Franky Kazarian as well, then we can start with a clean enough slate in TNA to get some new faces and stars in there.

 

[andymcg]

You have to be kidden me ? Peteys matches have been ok as of recent, but he has shown he can have great matchs with other x-division competitors. Tna are keeping the likes of shark boy , curry man , kip james , lance rock , jimmy rave , goviner paylin , etc and your going to release Petey Williams ?

He had the perfect body, and was fast and new how to work inside the ring. His mic work needed worked on fair enough, but jeso Tna bad move.

 

[gsf101]

I believe "Showtime" Eric Young was involved in the "Loser Leaves TNA" match too. Why aren't we mentioning his release?

 

[Poop Master Flex]

God I hope this isn't true, Petey's the man. If it is true though it's not really a suprise, TNA doesn't know what the FUCK they are doing anyway. Yeah lets cut that uber-talented Petey Williams and keep this stupid Palin hick, that'll bring in the viewers. No wonder I stopped watching TNA.

 

[ExtremeSwagga93]

I'm so done with TNA, I just can't defend their crap anymore. For a while I was the first guy to jump in and defend TNA's actions, but there really is no defense for this. Petey Williams was probably at the highest point in his career at the moment. He was stepping out of just being an X-Division wrestler, and actually being a solid mid-carder in the heavyweight division. He had everything needed to be a top talent in TNA, the look and ability, decent on the mic as well, why get rid of him? To make room for more has-beens? He is more talented than Steiner, yet they continued to feed Petey to Steiner in all of their matches, instead of trying to actually get him over as more than Steiner's lacky.

I honestly don't see Petey anywhere else to be quite honest, I don't see WWE picking him up anytime soon, he'll probably work a few indy shows and possibly be picked up by ROH, that's about as far as I think he'll go from here.

Along with Petey Williams Eric Young was also released which is a shame, he too was probably at a high point in his career, finally dumping his dumb gimmicks and seeming successfully fitting into the X-Division as a serious wrestler. Young was probably one of the most over guys on the roster, I don't get why they got rid of him.

 

[Smart Mark]

I think tna can survive with out lance but petey has been a huge part of tna since they got on tv in the first place and basically carried the x division after guys like styles and danials moved on to the heavy weight scene. This will prove to be a hung loss of talent in tna, talent they really need right now when one of the most seen guys is so sterioded out he can barely move let alone work a match ti keep the crowds attention. On the other hand williams would be buried in wwe. if wwe still had their cruiser weight division williams would be a great asset, but since wwe has given up on its cruiser weights theres really no place for williams in the wwe. He would be repackaged, ignoring any former glory he once held, debut on ecw or smackdown, and maybe win a match or two before becoming a jobber for some one who wwe has more faith in...or some one who just weighs 100 more pounds.

 

[Mr. TM]

I think this is probably the reason why I will stop watching TNA. I haven't been a good TNA fan lately, just watching the odd show and such. But Petey Williams was the guy I made sure to keep track of. The only reason I can see this happening is that Petey wanted to do something else. Maybe TNA had burnt him out, I can see it, psychologically there is only so much you can take, and I think TNA took too much in the last while. If he wants to take a break and go to the indys that would help refresh him. Maybe he has a chance to go to the WWE, he isn't the biggest guy, but he is a pretty good talent who could at least get something of a deal there.

 

[Afro-Ameri-Spawn]

Along with Petey Williams Eric Young was also released which is a shame, he too was probably at a high point in his career, finally dumping his dumb gimmicks and seeming successfully fitting into the X-Division as a serious wrestler. Young was probably one of the most over guys on the roster, I don't get why they got rid of him.

I believe "Showtime" Eric Young was involved in the "Loser Leaves TNA" match too. Why aren't we mentioning his release?

I won't comment much on this, as this dips very much into what would be considered spoiler information and has yet to be played out. But I will say that the two of you should go reread the news stories or spoiler reports that you got this from as you are now spreading about misinformed speculation that will take away from the purpose of the thread. It's about Petey getting released, which has been posted as official news. So please stick to the topic after rereading the spoiler reports and you will see there error in your information. Thank you.

 

[Pimpin]

I believe "Showtime" Eric Young was involved in the "Loser Leaves TNA" match too. Why aren't we mentioning his release?

I looked around & didn't see Eric Young's name in that "Loser Leaves TNA" Match

 

[Afro-Ameri-Spawn]

Okay, I'm beginning to find this to be a pretty funny thread. People, this is NOT the end of the world. Many of you are looking back and envisioning Petey from his Team Canada days where he was cold, calculating, crisp, and had the sickest finisher that anybody could hope to perform. Unfortunately, that was not the Petey Williams who was released. He no longer had that crispness or passion that he once had. And it had nothing to do with the gimmicks as Eric Young has gotten better through every stupid gimmick they have given him while Petey has just gotten worse. And his weren't that bad.

I heard one guy say that Petey Williams was "okay" in the ring in his last few matches. Well see, that's the problem. I mean, when was the last time that you heard someone describe a Petey Williams match as being "spectacular" or "amazing" or even just "pretty damned good"? There was a time. And that time was a long time ago. The fact of the matter is this. Some wrestlers either retain their passion or get better during down time and just make the most of it. Other wrestlers just become lackadaisical and make their situations worse. I'm sorry but Petey Williams became one of those wrestlers. And when they found something for him, that was actually foreseeable, he showed that he could not sustain on his own(after Steiner got hurt). Maybe this will be a wakeup call and he will rediscover himself. But for now, I don't see it as a loss for TNA as his spot has already been filled by a new face.