It's no secret my disdain for TNA's recent use of the Aces and Eights stable. The constant dissension and lack of contractual obligation to the storyline has effectively killed any heat that they may have gained at the beginning of their run. With that being said, there is a certain level of applause that needs to be given to TNA for merely teasing the group leaving behind Bully Ray to follow Ken Anderson.
After a backstage segment last week showing Garret Bischoff's concern for Bully Ray's lack of compassion, they once again teased some group uneasiness this week prior to the World Heavyweight Title match. Booking 101 would tell you that the group was going to remain with Bully Ray, but TNA's reputation precedes them. When "the club" came rushing down the ring, I was certain that something wrong was going to happen. Fortunately, I was the one who was wrong.
However, as we look into TNA's future, I feel that Aces and Eights are going to meet their ultimate demise at Bound for Glory. The group is now down to Bully Ray and a couple of lackeys (no disrespect to Knux, but that's how he's been booked). With absolutely all of their true star power gone (Anderson, D-Von, D.O.C.), I feel as though TNA is setting the entire stable up for complete explosion after AJ finally rights the ship and brings the World Title back to TNA. Tonight's actions merely allowed the group to survive another month until the penultimate explosion.
I have gone so far as to compare Aces and Eights to the nWo when they first showed up on the scene. Quite honestly, I don't believe that to be a far-off assessment. But with TNA's inability to properly book nearly anything, the angle was doomed shortly after its inception. They could have been given nothing but heat from Lockdown to Bound for Glory, but after Bully's initial title win, they have been slowly losing their heat through losses both in the ring and out, and it has come to the point where I don't see it going much further.
But even if TNA does scrap the stable after the biggest show of the year, they do deserve some applause for sticking to the script this week. All of their stores went the way they should, and they had some great matches with hardly any shenanigans. In fact, the only thing that I have to disagree with was the overbooking after Aces and Eights turned on Ken Anderson.
In addition, I'm also going to applaud TNA for their booking of the BFG Series. Sure, they killed any hope of me ever believing in Hernandez or Jay Bradley, but they did one thing brilliantly. I have to believe that Magnus is now a major player in TNA. TNA really does have a solid top tier of talent between guys like AJ Styles, Austin Aries, Bobby Roode, and Jeff Hardy. But after the showing of Magnus in the BFG Series and the match that he put on with AJ in the finals, I feel that he is one of the most over performers on the roster. So while the future of the Aces and Eights looks bleak, Magnus's future looks brighter than ever.
After a backstage segment last week showing Garret Bischoff's concern for Bully Ray's lack of compassion, they once again teased some group uneasiness this week prior to the World Heavyweight Title match. Booking 101 would tell you that the group was going to remain with Bully Ray, but TNA's reputation precedes them. When "the club" came rushing down the ring, I was certain that something wrong was going to happen. Fortunately, I was the one who was wrong.
However, as we look into TNA's future, I feel that Aces and Eights are going to meet their ultimate demise at Bound for Glory. The group is now down to Bully Ray and a couple of lackeys (no disrespect to Knux, but that's how he's been booked). With absolutely all of their true star power gone (Anderson, D-Von, D.O.C.), I feel as though TNA is setting the entire stable up for complete explosion after AJ finally rights the ship and brings the World Title back to TNA. Tonight's actions merely allowed the group to survive another month until the penultimate explosion.
I have gone so far as to compare Aces and Eights to the nWo when they first showed up on the scene. Quite honestly, I don't believe that to be a far-off assessment. But with TNA's inability to properly book nearly anything, the angle was doomed shortly after its inception. They could have been given nothing but heat from Lockdown to Bound for Glory, but after Bully's initial title win, they have been slowly losing their heat through losses both in the ring and out, and it has come to the point where I don't see it going much further.
But even if TNA does scrap the stable after the biggest show of the year, they do deserve some applause for sticking to the script this week. All of their stores went the way they should, and they had some great matches with hardly any shenanigans. In fact, the only thing that I have to disagree with was the overbooking after Aces and Eights turned on Ken Anderson.
In addition, I'm also going to applaud TNA for their booking of the BFG Series. Sure, they killed any hope of me ever believing in Hernandez or Jay Bradley, but they did one thing brilliantly. I have to believe that Magnus is now a major player in TNA. TNA really does have a solid top tier of talent between guys like AJ Styles, Austin Aries, Bobby Roode, and Jeff Hardy. But after the showing of Magnus in the BFG Series and the match that he put on with AJ in the finals, I feel that he is one of the most over performers on the roster. So while the future of the Aces and Eights looks bleak, Magnus's future looks brighter than ever.