Roster Overhaul

OK, so after giving it some thought over yesterday's Top 20 rankings, it became obvious that the TNA roster is full of dead weight. Here is a short list of wrestlers that need to find a purpose in TNA:

• Homicide
• Brian Kendrick
• Kiyoshi
• Raven
• Rhino

Besides Homicide and Kendrick, when was the last time the last three superstars wrestled in the ring? Raven and Rhino were involved in a run-in attack with Bischoff in February, but have since been forgotten. Homicide jobbed in a match two weeks ago and Kendrick has been M.I.A. for several weeks now. He is a strong competitor in the X-Division, but booking has completely forgotten about him. In fact, the X-Division has fallen by the wayside since Douglas Williams was stripped of the title. This absolutely MUST improve. TNA cannot afford to have another WCW Cruiserweight self-destruction. Figure out a purpose for these five men or drop them from the roster.

Now, here is a list of superstars that are in DIRE need of strong storylines or do not deserve their current pushes:

• Eric Young
• Matt Morgan
• Orlando Jordan
• Scott Hall/Sean Waltman
• Tomko
• Jay Lethal
• The Beautiful People

I could spend forever talking about these superstars, but I'll try to keep it simple. First of all, Young and Tomko have jobbed too often over the last two months. Young is a great wrestler and needs to receive a push immediately. Forget the Band and concentrate on more important things. He needs a feud or a title shot very soon. Tomko is talented, but TNA seems to have no idea where he fits into the company. Place him on a tag team and let him reignite the flames of the tag team championships. The current storyline with Matt Morgan is a joke. Strip him of the belts and place them on Beer Money, MCMs or almost anyone else. It's almost as if TNA management has no idea where to put Morgan while they wait for Hernandez to come back to begin the Morgan/Hernandez feud. If that's the case, strip him of the titles and call it a behavioral suspension. Morgan is underutilized and the storyline is AWFUL!

Orlando Jordan and Jay Lethal are complete embarassments. Fire them both! Lethal may have some talent, but he never has a chance to show it in the ring. His gimmick is cute, but he is the TNA version of WWE's Santino but without ring time. Give him a purpose or take him off the air. The Beautiful People have been boring and have made several in-ring mistakes over the last three weeks. Their moves are weak and the audience cannot believe the action. The Knockout division is strong and needs to weed out TBP and push the other stars.

Finally, my last suggestion is to disband "The Band" - no pun intended. This storyline is ridiculous. The nWo is dead. The Kevin Nash storyline was a monumental waste of time and only built an Eric Young/Nash feud that went nowhere. Hall and Waltman have shown up late to shows consistently and the heat they generate from the crowds is average at best. Team 3D does not deserve to be placed in a feud against this horrible group. Fire Hall and Waltman and get Nash back into storylines that actually matter. Quit taking up quality air time with these wrestling embarassments.

TNA Roster Top 20

It's time for the weekly Top 20 rankings. This is a comprehensive list that considers in-ring talent, promo skills and ability to get a crowd reaction.

1. Samoa Joe - Welcome back! He has become a monster dedicated to destroying his enemies as quickly and as violently as possible. Although he hasn't said anything since his return, he lets his actions in the ring do all the talking. He is by far the best in TNA right now.
2. AJ Styles - Arguably one of the most innovative and exciting in-ring wrestlers in the business. He lost the titles last week, but he continues to carry every match he is in. Love him or hate him, AJ Styles is phenomenal!
3. Rob Van Dam - Thank god "Mr. TNA" Rob Van Dam has returned to wrestling. His promos are fantastic and he shows no signs of ring rust. He has hit TNA like a storm and should stay on top for quite a while.
4. Robert Roode - This guy has really come on and separated himself from Beer Money. His promo skills are extremely strong and his in-ring ability has begun to separate itself from Beer Money and the rest of the TNA roster. He deserves a serious individual push immediately!
5. Kurt Angle - Angle should go down as the best wrestler of all-time. He makes every single opponent look very good. Without Angle, Mr. Anderson would not have received near the push he has. Angle is great. He will be missed during his brief time away.
6. Jeff Hardy - His promos are below average and borderline incoherent. Hardy's swanton bomb should make every wrestler cringe because he is one move away from seriously breaking someone's ribs, or his own back. He is #6 because the crowd loves him, but he won't be here for long.
7. Amazing Red - If he was three inches taller and 25 pounds heavier, Amazing Red would be a better AJ Styles. We need to see his microphone skills, but his in-ring talent is unquestionably the best in the X-Division.
8. Mr. Anderson - His microphone skills are unmatched. His wrestling skills are adequate enough to keep the audience entertained. His non-wrestling actions make him extremely fun to watch and hate.
9. Rob Terry - Terry is a man of little words. "The Freak" is sometimes exciting to watch. He definitely needs good opponents to sell his moves as we saw two weeks ago on iMPACT! He may not be ready for headlining just yet, but he definitely is fun to watch.
10. Matt Morgan - His in-ring talent has always been very strong. The promos he has been cutting lately are awful. He needs a new storyline IMMEDIATELY. Morgan will continue to move down this list until things improve.
11. Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) - These guys have not been seen for the last couple of weeks, but they are undoubtedly the best tag team in professional wrestling. Charisma, high flying tenacity and technically sound maneuvers make this the best tag team in wrestling.
12. Shannon Moore - The book of D.I.L.L.I.G.A.F. has not led Shannon Moore astray. His moves are exciting. He may look scary, but TNA loves scary. He fits right in here.
13. Douglas Williams - It doesn't matter if he is X-Division champion or not. He has had some of the best X-Division matches with the exciting high flying stars since late January. His promos are strong and he riles the crowd like a foreigner should. He deserves a continued push in the X-Division.
14. Kazarian - Ever since his return to TNA, he has constantly delivered strong matches. His microphone skills are questionable, but he is able to work with any opponent and deliver a good match.
15. Angelina Love - Recent news and rumors show that Love is seriously injured and may miss in-ring time. Her feud with Tara is the best feud in women's wrestling.
16. Desmond Wolfe - Wolfe cuts very strong promos and has consistent in-ring skills. He plays his roll very well in all story lines. TNA needs to decide how they want to use him now that the Style/Wolfe duo is over. He deserves a serious push.
17. Tara - Tara is a seasoned veteran who has been in two of the best women's feuds in professional wrestling over the last two months. Her feud with Daffney was exciting and really raised the bar of the Knockout division. Now, Angelina Love and Tara are set to begin a heated feud that may not end until both women are seriously injured.
18. The Pope D'Angelo Dinero - The Pope is a fan favorite. His ring skills are not very strong and his promos ramble. He got a raw deal in his match against AJ Styles in the way that it ended, but he is not headliner material.
19. Daffney - Daffney was on a roll in her feud with Tara. The matches between these two TNA Knockouts were some of the best women's matches in quite a long time. Daffney, Tara and Angelina Love have put the Knockouts on the map of women's wrestling since the era of Awesome Kong.
20. Ric Flair - Sure there are several young stars and strong veterans, but nobody gets such a heated reaction from the crowd like Ric Flair. He could have made this list simply by losing several gallons of blood over the last month. He may have lost his ring, but he is the true embodiment of Hall of Fame.

Notables - Generation Me, Sting, Jeff Jarrett, Hernandez, Eric Young, Daniels

WWE Fires Mickie James & Shelton Benjamin

A recent message on WWE.com reads: "WWE has come to terms on the release of WWE Divas Mickie James and Katie Lea Burchill as well as Superstars Shelton Benjamin, Kung Fu Naki, Slam Master J and Jimmy Wang Yang as of today, April 22, 2010. We wish them the best in all future endeavors."

• I think this is a great move by WWE. Their roster is overloaded with below average talent and every week TNA continues to outperform their roster in the ring with innovation and excitement. Don’t get me wrong, TNA has a long way to go, but their overall product is much more exciting than watching a lackluster John Cena/Batista match where the finale comes from using duck tape.
• Anyway, as far as Shelton Benjamin and Mickie James are concerned, I think that these were good moves by WWE. The WWE needs almost a complete overhaul of their women’s division. They have some decent talent in Beth Phoenix, Gail Kim and sometimes Maryse and Michelle McCool really stand out. The rest of the women’s roster is below average and completely robotic/unbelievable.
• Now, to jump into the TNA Knockouts vs. WWE Divas debate, I think the Knockouts are amazing. Daffney has really come on strong for their roster in the recent feud with Tara. Tara has been carrying this division on her back for quite some time, but the rest of the Knockouts are really coming along. The storyline with the Beautiful People is getting old and these three Knockouts can barely wrestle a lick, but they are entertaining. If WWE would release the shackles from experienced divas like Gail Kim and Beth Phoenix, they would have a powerhouse on their hands. Mickie James was a fan favorite, but she will easily be forgotten. TNA should pick her up, but she would need to be retrained and develop a better persona than what she used in WWE. Honestly, Piggie James??? C’mon!
• Finally, Benjamin was a talented wrestler in the ring, but his microphone ability was AWFUL!!! They carried Benjamin on the roster since the original Team Angle. He was exciting to watch, but boring to listen to. Just watch all of the vignettes they gave him in ECW for his ECW Championship match against Christian. He never mastered this ability and now he is paying for it. I doubt TNA would pick him up because they would never want another lame Val Venis situation on their hands. Also, Benjamin is no Mr. Kennedy. I wish him well, but WWE made the best decision in getting rid of all of these ’superstars’.

Strength & Weakness #1

This is the very first post of the TNA Wrestle Blog "Strength & Weakness". The purpose of these posts is to discuss and analyze the TNA strengths and weaknesses. As the company continues to evolve from week to week, you will continue to see updates to these posts.

STRENGTH

- X-Division, TNA Knockouts and Key Acquisitions -

OK, so this is the first Strength & Weakness post, so I am taking this opportunity to talk about the three major strengths instead of limiting it to just one. The first critical strength for Total Nonstop Action is the talented young X-Division superstars on its very strong roster. Perhaps the best X-Division Wrestler ever, A.J. Styles, has been awarded the World Championship and despite a horrible storyline with Ric Flair, he continues to entertain the crowds with his exciting wrestling maneuvers.

Generation ME, Motor City Machineguns, "The Fallen Angel", Kazarian and Amazing Red are by far the most entertaining superstars on the roster. Amazing Red is truly a headliner in the making with his performance alongside Matt Morgan in a tag team bout on Monday Night. Clearly, Eric Bischoff has learned from the errors he made by reducing the Cruiserweight division in WCW and has placed a strong emphasis on the X-Division. These high flyers arouse the crowd more than any of the major veterans. This is the future of the wrestling industry, and TNA is clearly positioned for success.

Next, the TNA Knockouts are the best female wrestlers on the planet! The combined efforts of Tara, Angelina Love and Daffney make this the best female wrestling product out there - hands down! These women execute the moves perfectly. The Beautiful People are a strong group, but the most recent match between Angelina Love and Madison Rayne was the worst Knockouts "match" since January. TNA must not eliminate Tara and Daffney from their action. Also, Hamada and ODB are seasoned Knockouts veterans to continue to work into the storylines. This is a strong division, but after Monday night's Impact! the company may be placing too much weight on a below-avergare Madison Rayne. Stick with what works and keep your eye out for new talent!

In addition to these young stars, the TNA executives decided to may key acquisitions to boost its overall product. The company re-signed superstar Jeff Hardy amidst drug allegations and impending court trial. It also signed the old nWo superstars that have become known as a mid-card group called The Band. Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Sixx-Pac do not arouse the same old reaction they once did in WCW, but they still drew ratings during the Hogan/Bischoff inauguration. Finally, the company signed the biggest free agent name in the business in "Mr. Monday Night" Rob Van Dam. Hardy and Van Dam are both former world champions in the business and continue to draw large crowds with their high flying and innovative wrestling styles.

#1 Blog Makes the Competition Submit!

Welcome TNA fans to the hottest forum on the web! The TNA Wrestle Blog is your #1 resource for news, opinions and analysis of the current, past and future happenings of Total Nonstop Action.