Roode/Storm And Orton/Christian

This feud between Robert Roode and James Storm in TNA has this Orton/Christian-like vibe to it. Since I spent so much time talking about Orton/Christian earlier this year, I pretty much have to look at Roode/Storm.

Roode was the one who won the opportunity to face Kurt Angle for the World title. Even though Angle was hurting, he still retained the title there. Next thing you know, James Storm, the other half of Beer Money, is the one getting the title shot. He beats Kurt Angle for the title. Angle is off to heal, but that is another story. What about Roode? TNA had spent so long building up his title match against Kurt Angle. He was the face, the TNA Original, who was finally going to get the opportunity he deserved. He failed to win, but his partner didn't. Roode gets the opportunity against Storm, cheats, wins the title, and is now heel. James Storm's title reign ends abruptly.

Sound familiar? It is not an exact clone of what happened with Orton/Christian, but it is similar. Christian was a face who had just won his first major World title in the WWE. Fans were excited. The WWE books him to lose the title a few weeks after he loses it to Smackdown's new centerpiece, Randy Orton. This leads to a long, elaborate storyline that involves Christian turning heel and eventually regaining the title for a few weeks, only to lose it back to Orton.

First of all, you have short title reigns involved. A lot of people viewed WWE's booking of Christian as an insult. Especially when you consider the guy he was feuding with, it was clear who mattered more in the WWE's book. Storm's reign was short, but that is something TNA is known to do a lot. They have given short title reigns to Sting, Anderson, Jeff Hardy, Mickie James, Winter, and other such names. Obviously, these people are not being screwed over for the benefit of one centerpiece.

That is the second thing. Orton mattered more to the WWE in the Orton/Christian saga. Who matters more in Roode/Storm? Is there really a centerpiece involved? TNA is usually better at passing the ball around. Had the WWE been more like that, Christian's first reign, as well as his second, would have been better booked. In what has been going on in TNA right now, I don't feel you have one person unfairly treated for the benefit of the other guy. I don't feel you have one person being built up to put over another who is truly meant to surpass him by far. While the WWE screws over the booking of some individuals to let a centerpiece shine, TNA is once again showing that it is a little more fair than that. That does not mean they are necessarily entertaining, pushing the right people the right way, or build things up properly, but they are not trying to create a WWE-like centerpiece in what is going on.

You also have a heel turn. Christian's heel turn was drawn out over weeks and weeks after his first title reign ended on Smackdown. They developed it to the point where he attacked Orton and officially turned heel, then kept feuding for the title. TNA did something a little different. The heel turn for Roode came a short time after he failed to win the title from Angle, and it came at the very moment when he actually did win his first TNA World Championship. But there was development for that turn as well. It came while Roode was feuding with Angle. TNA did a good job of building up Roode to win the title, including having other wrestlers put him over. When he failed to beat Angle, you could almost feel his disappointment. A lot of TNA fans definitely did. And then his own partner and friend, James Storm, wins the title? There is your reason to have him turn heel. The WWE really did not do a great job building Christian up in this same way prior to beat Alberto Del Rio to win the title for the first time earlier this year. How could they? It was supposed to be Edge's push, but he was retiring. Nevertheless, that was still Christian's moment. If the WWE really did care about taking advantage of the situation to create the type of storyline Roode/Storm have now, they would not have had Christian win the title back from Orton in the crappy way he did and still screw over the booking of the second reign. Roode's character looks much stronger than Christian's.

Which feud do I prefer? Not that I am a huge TNA fan or big fan of any of these guys, except Orton, but I prefer how TNA has handled their storyline over how the WWE handled Orton/Christian. Again, I am not saying it is entertaining or TNA is flawless in how they are handling every aspect of this, but I like how it seems to be going so far. I am sure TNA hardcore fans love that TNA Originals are now holding the World title again.