Yes, I know Mickie's birthday was August 31st. I know this week's Impact was taped before this week. Nevertheless, Mickie James has regained the Knockout's Championship on tonight's Impact.
First, Winter. Tears for her? Her reign only lasted a few weeks and she did not have any successful title defenses. Fact is, TNA has done much worse. They have had people win titles in boxes. They have had people win titles by DQ, then have the title taken back because losing a title like that is stupid. Of course, my favorite one is when the WWE handed Dolph Ziggler a World Championship on Smackdown after he never beat Edge at all, then had Edge win it back the same night. But this is about the stupid stuff TNA does, right? Or was I talking about Winter? Winter actually won a title in TNA before Mickie James. Winter and Angelina Love won the tag titles. They held those titles for a few months, having some successful defenses. By winning the Knockout's title, Winter has actually held both of the women's titles in TNA before Mickie James. That is an accomplishment too. Because I have seen worse than this and Winter does not look in horrible shape as far as titles in TNA goes, I will not cry for her.
Time to celebrate! Just a bit. 2x TNA Knockout's Champion. 1x WWE Diva's Champion. 5x WWE Women's Champion. That is 8 total female titles from major promotions. That beats out the record of Trish Stratus, which is set at 7. Trish will forever hold the record for most WWE Women's Championship reigns, since that title is retired. How can I still say Mickie James beat the record? Without getting too much into it, Triple H did not win 13 major World titles with the same title. The same goes for guys like Cena and Orton, whenever the WWE mentions their World title counts. Ric Flair, the man whose official 16x World title record everyone talks about and speculates who will be the one to break it, did not win them all in one promotion. His title count actually gets more convoluted than that, but you get the idea. Fact is, Mickie James, as far as title reigns go, is finally starting to step out of Trish's shadow. This is what the WWE did not want to do for her.
Also, this is a sign that Mickie James is being booked as a centerpiece in TNA. The fact that she is making in the $100,000 a year range, while other women in TNA are making less than half of that, is another sign. TNA must have learned a little after they lost women like Gail Kim and Awesome Kong to pay issues. Fact is, a centerpiece who has been solidified in that position by the WWE is probably making at least $300,000 a year. Face it, midcarders in the WWE make more than $100,000 a year. I am saying this to illustrate that it may sound like Mickie James is making a lot, but the WWE would have still paid better, if they valued the results she was bringing and wanted her to bring them. And what did I mean when I said Mickie James was being booked as a centerpiece? Title matters revolving around her. Consistent pushes. As centerpiece, they will be upward with her treatment. Most importantly, they are not doing this because the woman they would rather push is injured, retired, or just flopped. This booking is meant for Mickie.
Let me say a little about what I do not like about all this. I think TNA should have spent more time actually developing a storyline or built up the momentum better. Make things more interesting. Obviously, they are not ignoring doing this because they do not value Mickie James. They are not doing this because they do not value their women. I see some storylines going on. Winter and Angelina still have an angle going on. I wish there was better development there too, but it leads to some segments and opportunity to portray a gimmick. If they made things more entertaining in general, I believe they would be able to draw a wider audience. Mickie James can very much help them there. But if they stifle her, like I see them unintentionally doing, it can hurt her overall overness, not to mention hold the TNA product back.
A very happy birthday to Mickie James. This is her year. Life still isn't a luxury cruise to her, but she has earned what she is now getting. She has shown she could bring results, she is working for a company that needs people who can bring results in order to even try to compete with the WWE, and she is receiving the type of booking that I am happy with. If they get better writers, it could only get better for her.
No comments:
Post a Comment