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| The Mafia is complete, but is it what TNA needs? Photo Credit: ImpactWrestling.com |
After watching last week and wondering where Aces and Eights were all night due to them only having two cameos throughout the whole show, we got a heavy dose of them tonight with roughly half the segments on the show dedicated to them. For most elements of a wrestling show, half the show would be overkill. Yet, there I was completely enthralled with everything they put on tonight.
But as much as I don't want to write about the main angle going into Destination X, I keep coming right back to it. I looked over my notes, tried to find something else that I could put together a solid review on, and found absolutely nothing. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to talk about Chris Park and his ability to basically forget all of his professional training and brilliantly pull off the look of a rookie in the ring. I'd love to talk about how Jay Bradley and Hernandez were apparently put into the Bound for Glory Series to be jobbers to the stars. Hell, I'd even love to talk about the match of the night between four of my favorite guys on the roster: Austin Aries, Bobby Roode, Christopher Daniels, and Frankie Kazarian.
Yet, here I sit with my mind just continuously repeating the image of Rampage Jackson emerging from the behind the curtain as the pivotal fifth member of the Main Event Mafia. From the very beginning, I have had ZERO good feelings about the stable, and tonight just completely verified those feelings as the reveal finally came full circle. However, I guess if I were going to be optimistic about things within the Main Event Mafia, it would seem as though they are finally finished with the embarrassing reveals as the group has grown. Ah, hell... let's go ahead and do this...
The Main Event Mafia starts with Sting. Sting was my first favorite wrestler. Sure, Hogan got me into it, but I started watching right at WrestleMania VIII when Hogan defeated Sid Justice and then disappeared for nearly a year. My father and I preferred the WCW product, and Sting was very appealing to an eight-year-old. Sting continued to be my favorite clear through Starrcade '97 and his victory over Hogan. Even at 13, I could see that WCW was not something to remain a fan of, and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin took the forefront and thusly helped to change my entire perspective on the wrestling industry. Now, I watch Sting and I can't help but feel like he's part of the problem of TNA not seeing better results than they are right now. Sting's nostalgia days are over, and he should have been taken out of the picture when Bully Ray defeated him at Slammiversary.
Then, there's Kurt Angle. I remember watching WrestleMania XIX when it happened and thinking that it was a damn shame that I didn't get UPN to regularly see him compete every week on Smackdown. Then, while I was on my wrestling hiatus, Kurt packed his bags and headed south to TNA where apparently, he caught the plague that all other former WWE guys not named Bully Ray fell victim to. When I first saw Angle on TNA television, I couldn't help but question why he was so much smaller. And then, when he got in the ring... wow. Angle now moves like a cyborg that is more robot than human. Yet, when Sting was going to expand the Main Event Mafia, it was obvious that the over-the-hill Angle was the first step.
After Angle came Samoa Joe. I really like Samoa Joe. He, too, doesn't seem to be what he used to be, but that makes no difference to me. I still like to see Joe because he knows what he's doing in the ring. His match with AJ Styles to start the BFG Series was very captivating, and I feel like Joe does still have some sort of future to him. However, simply being associated in the same stable as Sting and Angle, there is no way that he's going to be lining up to main event any kind of show any time soon.
Magnus may seem to be the biggest bright spot in the group. He picked up yet another win to pull away in the BFG Series tonight, and it seems like he's really going to get a monster push out of this year's tourney. In fact, I could even see him being the only guy within the group that gets the main event slot over Sting or Angle. However (and I know I'm grasping at straws here), Magnus doesn't fit the bill of the group. He's never proven himself to be a main event guy, so why is he in the Main Event Mafia? Sure, he may get there out of this BFG Series, and there's not a lot of fire power to help lead Team TNA, but why do we have to rehash the name Main Event Mafia in this instance? Team TNA actually sounds better to me, especially given their significance to the company.
And that bring us to the big payoff. The man that they would lead you to believe is the anchor of the group... Rampage Jackson. A man who's been in a wrestling ring once, just to cut a terrible promo. Against Kurt Angle. Who's now on his side. Jeff Hardy. Bobby Roode. Austin Aries. Pick one. Pick somebody else. ANYONE can be better than Rampage Jackson. WHAT do I have to be worried about Rampage Jackson? Because he's a fighter? Is he here to bring legitimacy to the sport like Brock Lesnar did in WWE? I don't get it. I see the many differenct avenues that Rampage allows TNA to reach for. Legitimacy. New audience. Cross-branding. There's really several different ways that TNA could successfully implement a former UFC fighter and movie star. Joining the Main Event Mafia? The group that is supposed to rid TNA of the plague that is Aces and Eights? I don't buy it. Maybe the most naive of wrestling fans can buy this. But I feel as though we need to establish Rampage as someone in the wrestling ring and not the octagon before we put him as the anchor of the biggest storyline going in the company.
Maybe I'm in the minority here. I feel as though I'm not. It would seem as though most people don't even want Rampage in TNA at all, let alone their biggest angle. But yet, here I sit again with a tremendous amount of build for something that could be great, but the implementation of the plan can never be carried through to any type of reward for my time and intrigue. TNA, give me something I want. Take me back to guys like Bobby Roode and AJ Styles headlining your shows. I'll even take James Storm as long as you let him wrestle and keep him off the microphone. I want out of this rehash. I want out of this continuation of careers past WWE. I want some original stuff with guys that can actually perform. Sting, Kurt Angle, Rampage Jackson... they're not doing it for me. Let's get this show on the road.