TNA's Two Overpushed Knockouts?

I read that there is a magazine out that criticizes TNA for pushing Mickie James and Gail Kim so much. They want the other Knockouts to get the spotlight. Is the criticism warranted? Is it really as simple as pushing the other women and depushing certain others?

First, you have Mickie James. Obviously, it would be stupid to criticize TNA for pushing her too hard now. She has not won a 1-on-1 match on Impact since January. She has not gotten any real storyline since then to keep her fresh. The feud she had prior to that ended up being meant to put over Gail Kim the most. How about the time between her debut and her second title reign ending? Did she deserve the push? TNA just acquired a popular worker for their KO division. Obviously, they are going to put focus on her. You have to try to take good advantage of what people are talking about before it goes stale. As I have said many times, I think TNA dropped the ball with her storylines and feud development. Nevertheless, consider something else. Were other women left in the dark during the time Mickie was getting her push. No. Winter and Angelina Love had a storyline going on. Velvet Sky and Sarita had a minor feud going on. In fact, there was a PPV just a year ago where the KO action did not feature Mickie James at all. At Victory Road, it was Angelina Love and Winter vs. Rosita and Sarita. I know most people want to forget that PPV. Still, there is much I can say before, during, and after Mickie's push to show that TNA has passed the ball around and was still finding things for other women to do.

And Gail Kim? This woman pretty much stuck her middle finger into the WWE's face and chose to go back to TNA. I'm not going to criticize her for that. I like that she stood up for herself. People can say she was unprofessional, but there was a lot worse that she could have done. Back to my point, did anyone really think that TNA would not push this woman when she returned? Not only did she take a hard shot at the WWE, but she was pretty much the woman credited for starting up the KO division. And after the years she spent not being pushed by the WWE, or only being pushed as filler or in a wasted romance angle, what kind of stupid idiot would deny that she does have a good push coming? She has only been back around five months. People already want to see the push end? You should also keep in mind that ODB has had a good storyline going on for her recently, and is holding a title. Velvet Sky is frequently getting wins and minor attention too.

Let me talk about Velvet Sky for a moment. Heading into Bound For Glory last year, she had slightly more focus on her than any of the other wrestlers involved in that title match. It wasn't surprising that she won the title. Her moment in the sun, including build for the win, the win itself, and the aftermath, did not last long, but TNA did give it to her. They could have kept the belt on Winter and have Gail Kim return as a face to beat her. They could have given the title back to Mickie James, who would then drop it to Gail Kim. Did Velvet deserve a better amount of focus on her? In a way, she was kind of like a transitional centerpiece. My point, if TNA had pushed her well, there would still be a ton of fans criticizing TNA for that. There are a lot of people who do not believe she is good enough in the ring to deserve big pushes as a wrestler. Even if TNA were to pass the ball around more often, is it guaranteed that the fans they want to please will like who is getting the push?

Judging by what I read about the headline of the article, it is like the magazine just looked at who has been booked at PPVs the most since October 2010 and made the conclusion that two certain women are pushed too much. That pays no attention to other storylines going on in the division. As I pointed out with the push Velvet got, it does not pay attention to who really has the attention going into a PPV match, or who is being used to put over who. It does not pay attention to who is actually connecting with the fans or is being owed a major push.

What it all boils down to is, how long should a centerpiece be pushed? A centerpiece is the person you want the division or show to revolve around. TNA is a lot better at revolving centerpieces than the WWE usually is. TNA was not wrong in pushing Mickie James. I think they wasted a lot of time and could have given Winter a better reign, but Mickie James is over and a good worker, so she deserved her time. Focus was on her for about a year, with a minor break here and there, before Velvet Sky's brief focus in the title picture. Gail Kim has had focus for about 5 months. When you want to connect the fans to someone you want to be a draw, you have to spend some time developing them, which includes the chase to the title, then you have to give them a good few months with the title, and then you have to ease them out of the push, if and when you are developing a new centerpiece. If this magazine thinks shooting the title and the same style of push will make everyone mega over, that would be wrong. Of course, what they might argue is that everyone deserves a fair chance to see what they could do. You can never know how well a woman can handle the centerpiece push until they get it. Believe it or not, I disagree. Why? TNA is not only good with revolving centerpieces, if that is really a good thing, it is good with minor storylines. The WWE would end them abruptly or have the women involved not do anything too interesting to even have a chance to connect with the crowd. TNA should be paying attention to how women in lesser storylines and feuds are doing in connecting with fans. If you were deciding who to give a push to from a pool of women only involved in minor things, would you choose a woman who is connecting well with the fans or a woman whom most of the fans are indifferent to? Forcing someone who is not getting the job done down the throats of fans could be painful. I'm not saying you fire women like that. Continue to use them in minor storylines or as jobbers. Minor storylines are not bad. They can either help you develop yourself or stay fresh when someone else is getting a push. I wish TNA would give Mickie James one. In the end, you can't just rotate who you give major pushes to without paying attention to who and what your fans want to see. If you have something you know works, you cannot do something stupid to mess it up.

There is one last point I want to make. About Mickie James in the WWE. I have been thinking about some recent comments I've gotten on my blog and a recent conversation I had with a guy on Youtube. I don't think people really understand my main point about Mickie's career in the WWE. Yes, she was overlooked. Yes, the WWE was not pushing her in a way for her to be as entertaining as possible, which would have benefited her, the fans, and the company. But the WWE was purposely doing this. She was never there to get over. She was there to be used, like so many other women before her. And Mickie James overcame it. At a time when the women the WWE wanted to succeed could not get it done, Mickie James was maintaining the overness those other women were supposed to have. In my mind, this is an accomplishment. She achieved first-rate overness while being used as a type of worker that never makes it. I'm not simply crying about Mickie being mistreated. I want to see the diva division end so that female wrestlers can get the treatment they deserve, because it is possible for them to connect with the fans just as good as those the WWE would rather push ahead of them. Mickie James proved that.