Your *NEW* TNA Heavyweight Champion is....

[ABMorales787]

Turn them. Not hard.

I'd have some issues with it, but that's probably because they didn't need to do this out of nowhere. It's rushed and a waste of an idea, like so many things in TNA.

Well to be honest, it's a lot better than the more common miles long telegraphing they tend to do. Let's face it. If TNA knew how to build up babyfaces and how to keep them with some steam, TNA would be in a far better position today. EY picked up some steam and they jumped on him in a near instant. Given the last guy they did that with walked away from the company, I understand why they were so rushed for it.

In the end though, there were far better options to go with. But EY isn't a bad one at least. Just one that needs touching up.

 

[Papa Pillman]

The people panning this and labeling it as the final downfall of the company are quite dim and being extremely melodramatic.

I'm not disagreeing that the booking is questionable. But people are taking it a little far. Yes EY has been booked as nothing but a comedy act for years now, but he has taken it all with a smile, maintained a huge level of overness with TNA fans, and to be fair was still rarely booked to look "weak".

You can say what you want about how pointless the TV or KO Tag titles are; but the fact still stands the man has basically held gold for two of the last three calendar years(and that number would be much longer if the KO Tag belts had not been deactivated).

Also its not like the EY comedy character just won the title. They have taken time to reintroduce people to an Eric Young who has a seriousness about him. Even while playing the mad scientist to Abyss, Young was transitioning to a more serious character. Ever since Young returned from his last hiatus he hasn't been the hapless goof character that he played the four years or so previous to that.

Let's also not forget that EY has been booked as serious threat in the past. And he also just fought for the title a week ago, so this isn't a 100% out of nowhere trip into the main event scene(last week was ).

And lastly despite all of the comedy booking that Young has bought into and sold with a smile, let's not forget the man is an elite talent who is great both in the ring and with the mic.

Congrats to EY. This is his TNA "lifetime achievement for loyalty" award. He earned and deserved it.

Also its not liked Magnus was ever booked to look like a strong champion anyway.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I really think the biggest takeaway here, one the dust settles, is that EY is over as a face. TNA have been struggling to get their faces to stick for a while now, with their biggest swings/successes being Anderson and Aries in that respect — two guys who just aren't clear-cut faces.

 

[Catacomb]

to me ey being champ is like santino or doink becoming champ. if tna had no bigger star than ey, i guess it would make sense but theyve still got angle aries and rude

 

[Adriang4]

I like EY, he's proven that he's a good talent and he deserves it more than a lot of other guys, but come on -- build this shit up before you put the title on a guy like EY, who has just recently been in the main event.

There's a PPV on the way in just a month, right? They could've used that time to build him up. TNA, we like Eric Young, but this dude is NOT Daniel Bryan

 

[MWRedskins]

My reaction is that it's kinda like a Russo title switch and EY is not going to keep the title for long. This reminds me a bit of Bully Ray losing to Sabin with one difference. If Magnus re-gains the title and has help from the back, then he looks like one if the weakest champions they ever had. There can be some Bryan comparisons, but their comparison isn't be best. EY is a longtime employee finally winning the title, plus his character is different than Bryan's.

 

[JoshRP81]

Bearded guy finally getting his just dues. Remind you of anyone else? Anyone at all?

 

[$Mr. 100%]

Yea they booked ey as champion just like wwe booked Daniel bryan. Also it seems as tho tna was trying 2 create a shock da. World moment ie Brock beating taker and ending da streak. I like ey and think he is good n da ring when he serious but at da end of da day tna needs 2 stop copying wwe. It comes off weak and pathetic like their writers can't come up w/their own ideas.

 

[Punk_Aries_Daniels_Bryan]

Eric Younge was excellent as a heel. In my opinion his career in TNA was its peak back when he was playing the guy everybody hated. I believe after TNA's recent run with a heel champion, the title needs to be held by a face. If TNA is truly ripping off WWE's storylines, I would HIGHLY suggest they do what they did with Christian.

After the ladder match, Christian comes on Smackdown giving his promo as the World Heavyweight champion. Teddy Long says that he will have to defend it tonight, and Christian loses the title to Orton within a week. This turns Christian into a heel, a real heat gathering heel.

I can see the same done with Eric Young. Hopefully if and when he is back as a heel he will drop that stupid look of his and go back to the original EY. In my opinion, its time Daniels had a run with the title again.

 

[Robert Roode Fan]

This is a GREAT guilty pleasure. For many years I wanted Eric Young to become champion. However not because he was worthy of the belt, but because i like him. However this is a bad idea. I do not like the fact they put the belt on him because he is not title material. He has been a comedy gimmick. This is not good for tna overall.

 

[J.D Lethal]

This a moment that does rip on the Wrestlemania the similarities are there i will not front on that, But it isn't a bad thing. For us who have watched TNA from the start to see Team Canada's very own Eric "Afraid of his own Pyro" Young become TNA's 4th Grand Slam Champion it deserves an applauds. This man has worked and took every gimmick thrown at him and ran with it. Must respect for TNA for doing this hopefully he'll do better than Chris Saban.

Now Magnus just in my eyes wasn't a great heel champion,he wasn't booked in my eye's as "The GUY" He's just a A-. He wasnt beating folk down no run in's he just another form of cowardly champion that uses stupid rules and hired muscle to get wins...Hate to compare it to the E but only Middle card IC/US champs are scripted to do stuff like that. He's the main guy he is supposed to be the man and fight his battles thier the be it dirty or clean...but fight neither the less or Swing a chair...his cockiness and British arrogance doesn't cut it..Just ask Doug Williams.

Now as for whats next for EY a rematch with Magnus is a must...If he wins the money feud is Joe vs Ey or Roode vs EY, History and pride can be told from both of those feuds and make EY a stronger champ...tho if he did drop the title it would have to be Roode/Heel Joe at No Surrender via a Magnus run in Bound for Glory Series... the Outlayers are Aries if he stays or Kenny King gets a pushed at Destination X.

 

[That One Guy]

I haven't watched TNA for a few years, but the when I stopped watching, I was a huge fan of EY's. I always thought he was being underutilized. He's great in the ring and pretty damn good on the mic. I feel this is long overdue for him. We all know that the TNA championship is no where near the level of the WWE title. But that doesn't mean this isn't a huge moment for Erick Young. All of his comedy roles and his meaningless metches have paid off. EY desrves this win and a good run with his title.

 

[MINISTRYrising]

All I can say is its about damn time, I don't care if this was done to poke fun at the WWE or not, Nobody can say that EY does not deserve a Shot as TNA champion, Sure the guy has been in TNA for 10 years and has played a comedy character for the majority of his time with the company, But no matter what character he has played the guy has always been over with the fans and has done everything the company has asked of him. Eric has also stepped up and helped the company out in the past, Like in 2007 when Scott Hall no showed the Turning Point PPV, TNA needed somebody to take his place in the main event and EY was the one that stepped up and took Halls place in the Main Event, Doing a hell of a job in the proccess and while you can argue that TNA have had far more tallented World champions in the past, He is far more skilled in the ring that what Magnus is and a far more popular choice as Champion as well.

 

[IT Factor]

I am a fan of both WWE and TNA. So trust me when I say I'm not a TNA mark at all, I just like good wrestling/entertainment. But these EY/Bryan comparisons are both vague and illogical. Yeah, they do have similar looks so what? Does that mean since Kurt Angle and Stone Cold are bald that Angle ripped that off of him? TNA haters are so biased that they do not stop to think about what it is they are even saying. Bryan and Young have similar looks and are both great talents. But that is where the similarity ends!

Eric Young has been in TNA since 2004 which was LONG before Bryan entered WWE. EY has been given every shit gimmick TNA could possibly think of yet he always made it work. He has paid his dues and then some. He worked hard and never left even when big names like AJ Styles and even Sting have left the company. Can't people get credit where they are due? EY is one hell of an all-around performer and he deserves to be TNA World Champion. People are always saying TNA needs to do something different or shocking, well this is it. You can't complain when it happens because you can't have it both ways. I am happy EY won and hope he gets a serious run as champion.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

See that's the thing: I don't like Eric Young and never really have. He's never really shown me anything that makes me care about him and his matches are just in the middle. The comedy stuff is very much opinion based of course but he's been a serious guy for what, six months out of eleven years or so? That's not enough for me to buy into him as a top level guy.

That is exactly where I am with this. I've never been an EY fan and he remains a comedy character in my mind. It will take a long time for me to think of him as a serious competitor, although I do think he is better serious than as a silly joke figure.

I'm a little disappointed that this title switch has come so quickly after making Young into a more serious wrestler, as Magnus's title run hasn't been as long as I had hoped, and without many clean victories. I think TNA has a potential mega star in Magnus, and I just hope this doesn't affect him and kill off his momentum as a main event guy.

 

[Headman]

I don't think we're supposed to buy into EY as a top level guy. He's an underdog. His title win was supposed to be a "Shocker" moment. Now his reign will probably have a "prove it" theme. So there's a built in story right there. And any way you cut it he's still better than Magnus who is a complete joke. Awful in the ring. Terrible body language. Anyone would have been better.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Meh, can't say that I particularly care one way or another at this point. I thought TNA had a good opportunity to establish Magnus as a young, dominant heel champion but all they really did was portray him as a weak, paper champion.

As far as Eric Young goes, it's hard to take him seriously at this point in time. He's spent the vast majority of his career in TNA as a comedy jobber and it's only been within the past...I dunno, five or six months that he's become more serious. It's hard to see a guy that's spent the VAST majority of 10 years as a Canadian Santino Marella as a top level guy.

Also, yeah, I have to agree that the entire scenario is essentially a rip off of WrestleMania, or at least that's certainly how it looks on the surface. A short guy with a thick, mountain man type beard portrayed as an underdog who has to go through multiple opponents while suffering an "injury" who wins the big one? It doesn't really bug me that it's a not so well disguised copy of the Daniel Bryan angle, it's just an extremely weak one.

 

[Skyeborne]

I've never really cared for Eric Young. I liked him once when he did the comedy gimmick of being afraid of the fireworks, other than that I just never seen anything in him. Magnus was a way better champion and was giving TNA some credibility. They obviously gave him the title trying to make their own success off of their Daniel Bryan, Eric Young has the beard and I guess is over? To me the crowd seemed like it really didn't care, but I guess to others it was a huge pop.

It's not really that bad of a business move...companies try to compete and both WWE and TNA rip each other off. The problem is TNA rushed this angle so much that it's just confusing. One week Eric Young is doing a comedy angle trying to get Joesph Park to realize he is Abyss and now we are suppose to take him as a serious challenger? Also, Daniel Bryan's angle works out so well because people have been behind him for 2+ years...Eric Young has just been taken seriously 2+ weeks...

If they drew it out longer and gave Eric Young a better chase it could have been more believable...this way it just turned out confusing and frustrating.

 

[Adriang4]

About Manus:

He was a weaker champion than even Orton's latest reign, but at least TNA looked like they were going ALL in on the guy. His matches were such screwovers that they were becoming slightly entertaining. Basically, TNA was starting to succeed in their Magnus project and then wa la, it's done, finished.

Last year, they did the same exact thing with Sabin and he's probably making less money now than before. Where's that guy, anyway?

All that Magnus shit was for nothing. And it was a lot of shit we had to go through .. All for a cheap ratings pop ?

 

[Wald]

Whats there left to say about TNA? I like Eric Young and this isn't a shot at him, cause the guy has built up a character that people have invested in over the years and he deserves credit. But...

TNA simply have zero idea of how to tell a story, they're just totally inept at it. Young's story is a good one but they had it play out over a few weeks instead of a few months. I mean they seemed to have jumped from Abyss turning into Young being champion without any middle section to the story, that being Young gaining revenge on Abyss and progressing to the guy who Abyss is protecting, the champion. It's a very simple story to tell but instead TNA hotshot it once again to try pop some rating.

They also can't build a heel champion as anything other than a paper one. Meaning the face who beats the paper champ gets zero credit for it because it just looks like the heel's luck just ran out.

TNA annoy so much at times

 

[rge2010]

Homeless looking underdog wins a match and gets a title shot....

Am I having deja vu?

 

[King_of_Swing1520]

this is the death of tna. nothing against eric young but the guy is not world champ material. he has been a joke in tna for over 10 years and after less than 2 months im supposed to believe he is the best wrestler in the company? no i dont think so. you have joe, hardy, anderson, roode, aries, angle, and storm but ey is your world champ? what a joke.

 

[Whap Me Jungles]

this is the death of tna. nothing against eric young but the guy is not world champ material. he has been a joke in tna for over 10 years and after less than 2 months im supposed to believe he is the best wrestler in the company? no i dont think so. you have joe, hardy, anderson, roode, aries, angle, and storm but ey is your world champ? what a joke.

It's far too harsh to say that Eric Young as world champ will be the death of TNA. Yes, he used to be a comedy character, but I can't count the number of people I've seen in internet columns and forums saying that he's been a great servant to TNA and deserves a reign somewhere along the line. And when he does eventually get the title (to end a reign that's gotten its fair share of hate, no less) you instantly shit on it. As fickle as it gets.

And I also recall a lot of people saying Christopher Daniels should eventually become world champ - the same man who has spent the last year or so doing comedy bits and then jobbing to rampaging faces. And if you point to serious stuff Daniels has done, EY was serious during the World Elite days, and to an extent as part of Team Canada.

Basically, why aren't you happy for him? He's earned it.

 

[whoopin' ass]

What a dumb idea. I agree with others, they are trying to make him mimic Daniel Bryan but there are 2 major differences. First, EY has been a comedy act for the last several years in TNA, as recently as about 6 weeks ago. And now he is legit enough to be champ when a former world champ in Joe couldn't get the job done? And second, people have been chanting for Byran even when he is not there - they have "hijacked"(hate that term) the shows numerous times yet I don't recall anyone chanting for EY when he is not around.

I am not against them putting the belt on him although in think there are others who would be a better choice. What I am against is how they did it as there was no real build and it isn't a character change, it is total amnesia. Had they even rebuild him for 3 months it would have made a difference but here we are less than 2 and he is world champ. I know that there are these amazing stories in sports where a team is counted out only to come back and win the championship but those guys are not out there calling themselves mad scientists or goofing around with the ref weeks before it happens. You can't just suddenly decide to ignore years of history and turn someone as quickly as they did. I think making the match no title and having him win and then win at the ppv would have made a lot more sense and fit the story better. Here they hotshot it for hopefully a few extra ratings which I am not sure they are going to get.

 

[ChickenCordonBleu]

Funny that people should mention the Bryan comparisons because, I saw a lot of what got Bryan over in EY years ago.

Team Canada breaking up was a point where I saw people latching onto EY, and with good reason, people loved him, I mean the GUY WAS OVER. TNA dropped the ball with it, but EY has remained over and loved by a lot of the crowd since that day, even after a heel turn, and a return to face people were still behind him.

EY could have very well become what Bryan became, EY had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand in those days, EY said something, the crowd would react and they were fully behind him because of it. If TNA had pulled the trigger right, years ago, EY could very well have been what Bryan became today.

Of course, EY was much goofier than Bryan is, Bryan now has some seriousness to him, which EY didn't, but nobody could deny that he was over with the crowd during that time and was practically built to be an underdog champion. Many people might not like me saying this, but Bryan's gimmick definitely takes a lot from EY in terms of what EY was built on after Team Canada broke up. It's just TNA didn't pull the trigger on it like WWE did.

In that sense, I see this as a long time coming for EY, this should have happened years ago when he had the reaction he did and TNA never capitalized on it, needless to say, I'm proud of the guy, he deserved it then, and he does today. People could say that this was a rip-off, and hey, it probably was just done just because of WrestleMania, but EY deserves this, and EY had a very much similar gimmick to Bryan long before Bryan ever did, in my eyes, this isn't a rip-off, this is something that's happening now that should have happened a very long time ago, by a guy that paid his dues and is still pretty popular with the fans.