TNA on the brink of mass talent exit

[CubbyBr 0]

Christian Cage is all but confirmed to come back to WWE and probably wrestle on Smackdown.

 

Meltzer is reporting that WWE's having internal discussions on bringing Kurt Angle back (his contract expires in September) and having him work a limited schedule ala HBK.

 

2008 will probably be Sting's last year with the company.

 

So we're basically looking at TNA's main eventers consisting of Joe, Styles, Rhino, Booker T, and I guess Nash.

 

SO what will TNA's main event scene look like by this time next year?

 

 

[TheFranchise 0]

TNA will steal another uppermidcard/main event WWE guy I bet.

[Zack Malibu 0]

That's very true. For the talent they may lose, they always stand to gain. Whether it's someone they can develop into a legit top level threat like what they did with Christian, or a Jeff Hardy who is a third strike away from being TNA World Champion, TNA can gain some despite losing some.

[2GOLD 0]

I still think Elijah Burke is a potential main eventer in TNA. Charisma, good worker and everything needed to be a top card guy. Be nice if someone in TNA thought this and actually signed him but I guess they are more worried about the guys leaving right now. Plus they have developed Matt Morgan and wouldn't be shocked to see them pull the trigger on him soon.

[DarKnight 0]

I still think Elijah Burke is a potential main eventer in TNA. Charisma, good worker and everything needed to be a top card guy. Be nice if someone in TNA thought this and actually signed him but I guess they are more worried about the guys leaving right now. Plus they have developed Matt Morgan and wouldn't be shocked to see them pull the trigger on him soon.

 

Elijah Burke? Ugh. I've only seen maybe 2 good matches with him, the ones against RVD and CM Punk. Otherwise, I thought he was terrible, even in OVW. Matt Morgan could be a good main eventer though, but having him around Abyss isn't really doing him any favors right now.

[Zack Malibu 0]

I still think Elijah Burke is a potential main eventer in TNA. Charisma, good worker and everything needed to be a top card guy. Be nice if someone in TNA thought this and actually signed him but I guess they are more worried about the guys leaving right now. Plus they have developed Matt Morgan and wouldn't be shocked to see them pull the trigger on him soon.

 

Morgan should have gotten better development. I know they did the Big Bubba type deal with him and Cornette for a while, and then the Goldberg push in the ring, but they've already had him face Angle and lose on free TV, and now he's in a makeshift tag team with Abyss, who while a good worker is nowhere near as over as he used to be. I'm a big fan of Morgan since I was always a big OVW fan, so I certainly hope they can make it work with him. It happened with Tomko, so hopefully they can pull it off.

 

I totally agree with Burke as well. He was great in OVW, and he was carrying the new ECW for a while. Last week's Observer said that Ken Doane (Dykstra) was under consideration as well, again likely due to the OVW connection. Cornette was always high on him, and the kid does have a future if he stops acting immature behind the scenes. I just wouldn't expect fans to take him as a serious threat right off the bat...he needs to come in and have a few "proving" programs before he gets shunted up the roster.

[DarKnight 0]

Eh, I think Doane would have the same problem that Daivari has. Since people saw him as a jobber in WWE, no one will take him seriously no matter what.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

I don't think that people think about Dykstra at all. They could also do themselves a favor and not immediately push him to the moon like they did with Divari.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Doane was seen as the star of the Spirit Squad. And he was the guy people predicted to break out. He'll be fine if handled correctly. In fact I think he could do well pulling off his OVW gimmick (the next Randy Orton, only better).

[CubbyBr 0]

I think I could post this bit of news here without going too far off topic...

 

- TNA's mobile text update service issued an updating saying Kurt Angle's "mystery guest is a former World champion who was a former tag team champion with Mick Foley," reports prowrestling.NET. Angle will have a mystery guest in his corner for his match with Rhino at this Sunday's Final Resolution pay-per-view. Names that fit the description include Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Terry Funk, Steve Austin, Kane and Mikey Whipwreck. Foley also held the WCW Tag Team Championships with Kevin Sullivan, but Sullivan never held a world championship in his career. It pretty much goes without saying that it won't be either The Rock, Austin or Kane, so that leaves Terry Funk and Mikey Whipwreck.

 

-gerweck.net

 

I dunno...Terry Funk looked like he could break apart at any minute the last time I saw him in a match at ONS 2006. This is kind of interesting.

 

As far as Morgan, He could definitly be a main eventer but they need to build him up some more. Maybe go on a winning streak or whatever but with his presence he should come off as more of a monster.

 

Dykstra and Burke would definitly be good additions to the roster but I don't see how they could take the spot of a Sting or Kurt Angle.

[Zack Malibu 0]

Exactly what I was thinking on Doane. Slow burn push, and utilize his OVW gimmick. Of course, knowing Russo, they'd give him the RKO finisher and just try to make him into a carbon copy Orton.

 

Bring him in, and start him off in a feud with, let's say Jay Lethal or Eric Young. Take it from there. Don't put him in with Rhino, Styles, etc. right off the bat.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

They've got guys that should be moved up by now anyway. James Storm should be at least an upper midcard heel as a single (although I love Beer Money). If they ever got serious about Alex Shelley...he could be a great solo heel as well. Hernandez and Homicide have a lot more to offer too. Basically...the forgotten tag division has a ton of untapped potential to move up into serious roles.

[The Truthiness 0]

I could see Batista being in TNA for some odd reason.

[CubbyBr 0]

They've got guys that should be moved up by now anyway. James Storm should be at least an upper midcard heel as a single (although I love Beer Money). If they ever got serious about Alex Shelley...he could be a great solo heel as well. Hernandez and Homicide have a lot more to offer too. Basically...the forgotten tag division has a ton of untapped potential to move up into serious roles.

 

Agreed on Storm and especially Hernandez. The thing I noticed about him is that not only does he get a great reaction in Orlando but every time they go on the road, he gets huge reactions that rivals some of the main eventers. I remember watching Slammiversary 07 and the crowd was going as Hernandez tossed Low Ki all over the ring.

[The Truthiness 0]

James Storm is the best thing going in the company.

[Zack Malibu 0]

I could see Batista being in TNA for some odd reason.

 

He'll never leave the 'E, as he's Hunter's pet project, and is thus protected. Not to mention that he's one of the most over guys on the roster, and making easily double/triple what he could in TNA (after merchandising, royalties, etc. are factored in).

[The Buzz 0]

I thought Angle had three years left on his contract(Something from either his shoot or new TNA dvd, and Sting had agreed to work through mid-late 2009?

[Zack Malibu 0]

Angle signed a 3 year deal in 2006, and unless I'm forgetting something he hasn't signed an extension or renegotiated yet.

 

Sting is supposedly signed on for 2009 with plans for a big retirement angle/ceremony deal for him.

[The Truthiness 0]

I could see Batista being in TNA for some odd reason.

 

He'll never leave the 'E, as he's Hunter's pet project, and is thus protected. Not to mention that he's one of the most over guys on the roster, and making easily double/triple what he could in TNA (after merchandising, royalties, etc. are factored in).

 

But he's old, injury prone, and already talking about leaving the business. TNA offers a very light schedule and more time to pursue his dreams of being an actor. He could basically pull a check doing nothing, compared to what he's doing now, and I think he lives in Florida. So he wouldn't have have to travel much.

[Zack Malibu 0]

If anything, I'm sure WWE would offer him a light schedule. Something akin to Austin's later years in the company. He could play the special enforcer and do short programs once or twice a year.

 

I bet Kozlov gets released this coming year now that the bubble has burst on him, and TNA brings him in (since it was Jerry Jarrett who discovered him in the first place).

 

While I can't see guys like Cena, Orton, Edge, and the more obvious Shawn, HHH, UT or JBL leaving, there are still plenty of people who could be TNA bound when contracts come due. The problem is that with the WWE being so bad at pushing a lot of new talent and focus on the same guys in rotation, they're not making many new stars, thus when guys leave, they aren't bringing TNA much in the way of name value.

[LuckyLopez 0]

People seem to be jumping the gun on the Angle stuff. The reports have basically been "Angle's contract runs up sometime next year and WWE is considering talking about a return. Angle seems like he might be as well." Angle's still got his health as an issue which would both turn WWE off to risking him self destructing and turn Angle off to taking on an increased schedule. Its certainly possible he goes back, having "rested" for a few years and gotten in better shape. WWE is certainly the place where most wrestlers would want to be post-retirement at least for the sole fact that Vince owns all wrestling footage for decades. But people are basically taking "what if?"s and writing Angle out of TNA.

 

That being said I agree that Storm, Morgan, and Hernandez are all plausible upper midcarders/main eventers in the near future. Christopher Daniels is in the company and still has potential up there. I think Lethal has that room but I think TNA sees Eric Young closer, unfortunately. Doane, Burke, and Paul London are all guys I'd be very interested in seeing in TNA soon. Ultimately I don't think its a bad thing if TNA lost the MEM once this deal was done. Guys like Angle and Sting literally giving way to the younger guys would be an interesting result even if it was just by default because they left the company. Joe, Morgan, Hernandez, Rhino, Abyss, and Booker could hold down some size for the top of the TNA card while guys like Storm, AJ, Daniels, Lethal, London, Burke, and Doane increased the wrestling quality. Losing some of the older main eventers could essentially force TNA to make the top of the card a bit more like the middle of the card used to be in TNA. A bit smaller but consistently quality wrestling.

 

And part of me hopes one day soon Chris Harris will get his life together and return to have kick ass brawls with Storm that raise both of them into stars.

 

EDIT:

I bet Kozlov gets released this coming year now that the bubble has burst on him, and TNA brings him in (since it was Jerry Jarrett who discovered him in the first place).

Wasn't the reason that Jerry took him to WWE that Jeff and TNA weren't interested? Certainly they could have changed their minds since then but Jarrett's connection doesn't seem to matter. He wasn't Kozlov's mentor or anything, he was just his inlet into wrestling and TNA got first shot and passed.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

As I recall, Jerry took Kozlov to WWE during a time when he and Jeff were on the outs and this was his way of sticking one to TNA.

[HollywoodSpikeJenkins 0]

He sure showed them.

[Mike wanna be 0]

I wonder if they'll get the angry headbutting Russian or the "I LOVE DOUBLE DOUBLE E" ticket-buying Russian if Koslov goes to TNA.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

I wonder if they'll get the angry headbutting Russian or the "I LOVE DOUBLE DOUBLE E" ticket-buying Russian if Koslov goes to TNA.

 

If they book him as a guy that says he loves the WWE, they might as well just give WWE their money and close their doors.

[garfieldsnose 0]

Angle's still got his health as an issue which would both turn WWE off to risking him self destructing and turn Angle off to taking on an increased schedule.

 

Hence the part of the post that says Angle would likely take on a decreased schedule load ala HBK.

[LuckyLopez 0]

I apologize, I didn't mean to ignore that. I'm just saying its a lot of "maybes" stemming out of a "what if?" Which is not to say that it isn't a worthwhile point of discussion but it seems like a lot of folks around the web are just taking it for granted. "Brink of a mass talent exit" sort of stuff. Christian's been rumored to be out for months, Sting was rumored to retire a year ago, and Angle is rumored to be considering leaving TNA in a year or so.

 

When Chris Harris and Monty Brown left TNA for WWE wasn't there a similar "mass exodus" reaction? I dunno, I was just saying that I thought the idea was a bit presumptuous. But in all honesty that was a bit rude of me as I tend to think "if you're not interested in the discussion you need not read it." So my apologies.

[The Truthiness 0]

It's interesting topic, people want to discuss the possibilities, this is a board for discussion.

 

Crazy, I know.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

I loved Monty Brown.

[LuckyLopez 0]

It's interesting topic, people want to discuss the possibilities, this is a board for discussion.

 

Crazy, I know.

Agreed. That's why I apologized.