Impact wrestling thread - It's a Don West tribute thread now!

[Snitsky's back acne]

He's got what sounds like a pretty sweet deal out of them, he's still allowed to do any other shows he wants, indies etc and he's also able to be on another company's TV, pretty sound for Cody, he seems a real shrewd guy to me who no matter what happens will land on his feet.

I doubt TNA have any leverage at all. Its not like they can realistically have someone under exclusive contract when they are running so few shows and financially in the shitter. 

[Rob Lowe]

Vanguard1 has an official twitter account, posting videos. https://twitter.com/Vanguard1AAR

 

Swimming pool and lake in your back garden. Jammy sod.

[Buzz Lightyear]

I don't understand the TNACody thing at all. TNA have no money. They can barely scrape enough to tape their TV show without having to beg outside investors to fund them. Yet they've signed someone who was never a star, never drew anything, never had a great match and never cut a great promo and they're paying him what I assume is good money. TNA has also never created a star and the majority of people that have worked for them that came from WWE (not all of course, but most) actually became less of a star than they were before. So the track record over the last 15 years isn't great.

 

I just don't understand why they've signed him.

 

That's bollocks.

 

Who's the WWE Champion then? Who also become a big star in Japan.

 

A lot of former TNA guys in the WWE at the moment too, many will go on to great things. 

[Yakashi]

 

I don't understand the TNACody thing at all. TNA have no money. They can barely scrape enough to tape their TV show without having to beg outside investors to fund them. Yet they've signed someone who was never a star, never drew anything, never had a great match and never cut a great promo and they're paying him what I assume is good money. TNA has also never created a star and the majority of people that have worked for them that came from WWE (not all of course, but most) actually became less of a star than they were before. So the track record over the last 15 years isn't great.

I just don't understand why they've signed him.

 

 

That's bollocks.

 

Who's the WWE Champion then? Who also become a big star in Japan.

 

A lot of former TNA guys in the WWE at the moment too, many will go on to great things.

You think AJ is a star because of TNA? Seriously? AJ was never a star in TNA. TNA have never had a star. AJ was a wrestler that had good/great matches in front of tiny crowds and abysmal PPV audiences. AJ became more of a star in one night in New Japan than he had in ten years in TNA. TNA is AIDS to a wrestler's star power.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

AJ was such a big star because of TNA that WWE wouldnt touch him when he left there. Then when he left New Japan they offered him about $500,000 a year to sign with them and made him champion.

 

I always remember AJ did a shoot interview with Highspots just after he left TNA. He didnt have the New Japan deal yet, and the poor bloke looked depressed as fuck. Seemed like he thought the career was over. He had to work so hard and pretty much do the best work of his career in New Japan to earn the reputation he has now. The idea he went from TNA and he was suddenly the man is just wrong.

Edited September 26, 2016 by IANdrewDiceClay

[Buzz Lightyear]

 

 

I don't understand the TNACody thing at all. TNA have no money. They can barely scrape enough to tape their TV show without having to beg outside investors to fund them. Yet they've signed someone who was never a star, never drew anything, never had a great match and never cut a great promo and they're paying him what I assume is good money. TNA has also never created a star and the majority of people that have worked for them that came from WWE (not all of course, but most) actually became less of a star than they were before. So the track record over the last 15 years isn't great.

I just don't understand why they've signed him.

 

That's bollocks.

 

Who's the WWE Champion then? Who also become a big star in Japan.

 

A lot of former TNA guys in the WWE at the moment too, many will go on to great things.

You think AJ is a star because of TNA? Seriously? AJ was never a star in TNA. TNA have never had a star. AJ was a wrestler that had good/great matches in front of tiny crowds and abysmal PPV audiences. AJ became more of a star in one night in New Japan than he had in ten years in TNA. TNA is AIDS to a wrestler's star power.

 

 

I do, TNA gave him the platform to become the talent he is today. They had a big influence on his career. Japan he reinvented himself (and found his confidence) which has helped him during his WWE run. 

Edited September 26, 2016 by Buzz Lightyear

[Benno]

It’s clearly as day TNA did a mostly terrible job with him and that his incredible New Japan run put him on that next level, but you can’t really say TNA didn’t contribute massively to his popularity. He walked in to WWE with a degree of popularity and recognition that he wouldn’t have otherwise.

 

There’s loads of people both here and stateside who knew him because of TNA. TNA’s peak run of a million viewers a week doesn’t look too shabby now you compare it to what WWE are doing. There’s about 6 people on this board who bother watching New Japan.

Edited September 26, 2016 by Benno

[IANdrewDiceClay]

TNA did contribute to his popularity, no doubt. He was there 12 years. But it wasnt the reason he was hired in the first place by WWE. I mean, generally if you're a star the company you worked for for over a decade doesnt give you a $100,000 a year and tell you nobody else will have you. Those contract negotiations in late 2013 told you how much of a star AJ Styles was. He had to rebuild his whole reputation when he left TNA.

 

Its amazing really, they offered Mike Bennett twice of what they offered AJ Styles. Fucking madness.

Edited September 26, 2016 by IANdrewDiceClay

[Buzz Lightyear]

It’s clearly as day TNA did a mostly terrible job with him and that his incredible New Japan run put him on that next level, but you can’t really say TNA didn’t contribute massively to his popularity. He walked in to WWE with a degree of popularity and recognition that he wouldn’t have otherwise.

 

There’s loads of people both here and stateside who knew him because of TNA. TNA’s peak run of a million viewers a week doesn’t look too shabby now you compare it to what WWE are doing. There’s about 6 people on this board who bother watching New Japan.

 

The final years they did, and he was right to leave (he out grew the company). For a long time he was the guy they never messed around with, and a big reason they draw solid numbers on Spike. His WWE debut was in Orlando too wasn't it? 

 

They've had some great talent the last 15 years (many are doing great in WWE right now and others ready to move to the main roster), they had the talent just didn't have anyone in a position how to market that talent and take the company to the next level. 

 

The "Ex-WWE" guys is so pathetic when you consider how many Ex-TNA guys are on the WWE roster right now. 

[Buzz Lightyear]

TNA did contribute to his popularity, no doubt. He was there 12 years. But it wasnt the reason he was hired in the first place by WWE. I mean, generally if you're a star the company you worked for for over a decade doesnt give you a $100,000 a year and tell you nobody else will have you. Those contract negotiations in late 2013 told you how much of a star AJ Styles was. He had to rebuild his whole reputation when he left TNA.

 

Its amazing really, they offered Mike Bennett twice of what they offered AJ Styles. Fucking madness.

 

Don't forget that embarrassing press release they had on the website just before he was announced with the WWE too. 

 

All down to one person...

[tiger_rick]

Styles was a really good worker more than a decade ago. And yet 8-9 years in TNA after that did absolutely nothing to make him a star. One year in Japan and he's almost there.

Edited September 26, 2016 by tiger_rick

[UK Kat Von D]

The "Ex-WWE" guys is so pathetic when you consider how many Ex-TNA guys are on the WWE roster right now.

TNA blindly hired anyone they could based entirely off them having WWE exposure, WWE have picked up the best guys who no longer wanted to work for TNA.

 

AJ Styles built his reputation in TNA off the back of his own talent, despite usually being held back by terrible booking. He didn't magically become good in New Japan, just had a setting which allowed him to be the star he should have been for ten years. Most wrestlers in the world were saying he was one of the best in the world back in 2005.

 

He worked hard in New Japan, like he always has where ever he has been.

[tiger_rick]

He didn't magically become good in New Japan, just had a setting which allowed him to be the star he should have been for ten years.

Very well put.

[PunkStep]

Nail hit on the head there by Maxwell. Styles was decent even back in 2002, his match VS Jonny Storm at FWA British Uprising pretty much prompted me to start watching indy wrestling. He's brilliant in spite of his TNA run, not because of it.

[Benno]

This is such a grey conversation to have because it depends on what the barometer for being a star is, it really depends how you frame it - I suppose I’m weighting exposure heavily. He was a star in TNA despite how much they didn't take advantage of it with the booking. I’m not writing it off that WWE had a perception that AJ, Gallows, Anderson were now big stars because of Japan, but it’s just that, their perception. I don’t necessarily think WWE wanting to pay him more equates to him to him being an appreciatively bigger star than he was, particually at his TNA height.

 

I think the Japan run made it that they couldn’t continue to write him off – there he was now in Japan, getting over and being brilliant, just like he’d been in TNA, even when the booking did it’s best to hide that. He had TNA stink on him in 2014 yes and WWE thought they could get away with low balling him – but I think that says more about them than him, that they were daft for valuing him so low and were proven wrong in thinking they could offer him a pittance because they thought he had nowhere else to go.

Edited September 26, 2016 by Benno