Brooke Returns To TNA

Brooke Adams (Tessmacher) left TNA in 2015. She had a baby last year. She has gotten back in great shape in a quick time. She has now returned to TNA.

Back when Brooke left TNA, I looked at whether the WWE should want her back. Now that she is back in TNA, is that a good move? I think so. TNA's women's roster isn't in as terrible a position as the WWE's, which is spread thin due to the brand split. But it doesn't hurt to bring back a former TNA KO Champion. It also does not hurt to being in someone with wrestling experience that also offers more than just that. Someone like Maria may have an appealing look, but she is not a great wrestler and giving her a title run last year wasn't exactly a move to help TNA keep pace with the WWE's women's revolution. Brooke is at least someone with more wrestling credibility, which should help.

You can also consider whether she should be the centerpiece for TNA's women's division. I have been saying for a while now that TNA should move on from Gail Kim. Look for someone younger and that has the potential to be more over than Gail Kim. Some fans say that wrestling doesn't have mainstream attention anymore. Well, when you make a whole bunch of decisions that only cater to wrestling fans and build stars out of people that lack mass appeal, you're not going to maintain a large fanbase. I think Brooke would be a great candidate to push as the top star for a few years.

Is TNA likely to do it? Probably not. Of course, there is a new regime in the company. Things might be handled differently, much how things are being handled differently in the WWE these days after years of fans complaining. Until change does pop up, however, I would expect Brooke to just be in the rotation for TNA's women's division. As long as Gail Kim remains, overall big storylines will still revolve around her.

Angelina Love is also coming back. Much like Velvet Sky, she is someone that always comes and goes in TNA. That is one of the reasons I did not spend as much time talking about her as Brooke today. Other reason, she is a little older than Brooke. She has also held the KO title as many times as Gail Kim. When you are talking about the future centerpiece, I would look for someone younger and fresher than that. Of course, Angelina has wrestling credibility and a history in TNA, so having her back too is not bad.

Should Brooke Adams Return To The WWE?

I have said many times before that the WWE should cut down on hiring all this new talent and bringing back old talent. They have all these bodies signed on the main roster, on NXT, as full-timers, as part-timers, getting legend's contracts, and whatever else. And what is it doing for them? They are not using their talent efficiently. Raw is seeing some of the worst ratings it has ever had. No one is going to save the WWE with all the issues they have. If this was a sports team, the issue would be with the coaches and team executives, not so much the players not being able to do their job. The WWE just is not putting their workers in a position to properly succeed and making bad decisions.

For a moment, let's pretend all that was not an issue. Brooke Adams (Brooke Tessmacher) has left TNA. There is a history of women leaving TNA and going right back, but how about Brooke coming back to the WWE? Some people might have forgotten she was ever there. She was not there for long and was only a part of a dance group on ECW. Needless to say, TNA utilized her much better.

Brooke has sex appeal, charisma, and developed her wrestling ability while in TNA. This is someone the WWE should want back. The diva division lacks good eye-candy divas right now. If you are a wrestling fan, you might be prejudice against women like that. But they help to make the diva division more fun. And right now, a lot of the eye-candy divas the WWE would like to push have issues, mostly injury issues. And then there's Summer Rae, who is tied to a guy I have no faith in to see pushed well. Brooke isn't the perfect eye-candy diva, but she has qualities some of these women currently in the WWE lack, like wrestling experience. Of the current crop of eye-candy divas, she would be an asset.

How would she be pushed? It is unlikely she will be pushed as the centerpiece. Regardless of Nikki's health issues, I still feel The Bellas will hold that position. It wouldn't be hard to get Brooke involved in the periphery. Just throw her in a romance angle. She got some of that in TNA, including an angle with Bully Ray. She did not do too much during that angle, but just being sexy is enough. And even pushing her as a credible jobber would not be horrible. As I said, she has wrestling experience now. She also has the look that can get many fans interested in her. She can put some fun emotion into her matches. When you have someone like this, you do not have to put too much creative investment in them. Just give them the freedom to do their thing. This is an eye-candy diva I believe can actually get over as a credible jobber.

One of the issues right now in the diva division is this sour atmosphere. You had AJ Lee do a pipe bomb a few years ago. Paige did one this year. #GiveDivasAChance has just made the division more serious, not more fun. Too much self-righteousness. Then you have crass storylines and segments. Sloppy storylines is one thing, but the tone of the division is just not fun. Looking at what Brooke has done in TNA, it is easy for me to say that having her would help change things. Or will the WWE force her to fit in with this sour atmosphere? As I said, if you give her the freedom to do her thing, she can help you. If you restrict her and have her work through this horrible landscape, she won't help you.

How about TNA? They will be alive in 2016, but their women's division is taking some hits. Brooke is leaving. Awesome Kong has to retire. Angelina Love is pregnant. Taryn Terrell wants to leave. I think TNA will work it out. Despite the WWE signing so many people for NXT, there are still a lot of women out there. Even GFW has not taken them all. And GFW and TNA do have a relationship. TNA still has Gail Kim. She is the closest thing to a centerpiece the company has. There is no one man that they build around. It is hard to say they even build around Gail Kim. They just keep giving her title reigns. But she is someone they can keep pushing. She still has a few good years left. The rest of The Dollhouse might finally be utilized better. And there is Velvet Sky. They have enough core women to steadily feature and can supplement them with new women. It might bring some freshness to the division.

Which TNA Knockout Would Make A Good Diva Division Centerpiece?

Last week when I was talking about Taryn Terrell, I mentioned that she would be a good centerpiece for the type of women's division the WWE likes to run. Aside from her, there is at least one other woman in TNA I think fits what the WWE is looking for in a diva division centerpiece. These two women also happened to be in the WWE diva division before. Let me talk about these two women and compare the two.

Taryn Terrell has finally won the KO title. What does she have going for her that qualifies her for centerpiece of the diva division? She has become a very solid performer in the ring. Her series of matches with Gail Kim last year helped to put her on the map with wrestling fans. Those fans now view her as more than just a pretty face. And her in-ring ability has not declined since her return this year. Aside from that, she has the classic look that the WWE likes in the diva centerpiece. Not every centerpiece has been blonde, but the majority have been.

Brooke Tessmacher has won a few titles since coming to TNA. She wasn't known for being a wrestler in the WWE at all. She just danced around with Kelly Kelly and Layla on ECW. She has developed her skills in TNA. She is also sexy. She isn't blonde, but that does not matter. Candice Michelle wasn't a blonde and the WWE attempted to push her as centerpiece. What does Brooke have going for her that separates her from Taryn? Some fans might say that a blonde in the diva division is just generic. Brooke does not have that generic look. Aside from that, I just think Brooke does a better job showing character and can play with the fans better.

Which of those two should be centerpiece in a diva division? I would go with Brooke. She just seems like the more charismatic of the two. Charisma is going to help connect you with the fans. I am not saying the WWE is likely to hire back either of these two and give them a big push, but for the sake of wanting to run that kind of women's division, these two would be good choices to build the division around. And I would personally go with Brooke over Taryn.

Should TNA start developing a diva-style division? They don't need to turn all the way towards glamor as their driving theme. They can still aim for running a respectable women's division. Right now, Taryn would be a good choice to build around. TNA never builds around anyone. They rotate. If they would stick with certain women that are getting the job done or have the potential to do it, their women's division would be even better. It would help them be more productive. And should a female wrestler come into the division and start connecting better with the fans than Taryn, that is when you start pushing that woman as centerpiece. Until then, however, TNA could try beating the WWE at their own game. Run a diva-style division and have someone like Taryn Terrell be the true top star.

Look at the current diva division. Look at the women likely to be developed as the new centerpiece. Let me list them in order of likelihood. You have Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, and Summer Rae. Face it, none of these women are knocking it out of the park. Again, I am not saying either Brooke or Taryn is likely to return to the WWE, but if either did, I think they would be more deserving of a good push. They probably would not get it. If TNA did start running a more efficient women's division that built around one woman as centerpiece, and started running with someone like Taryn as their top star, they would automatically be in a better place than the WWE is now with their women's division. And even if the WWE should continue with what they have a history of doing and run with a Bella or Summer Rae as their centerpiece, TNA would have a better choice as their top star. To put it simply, I would say TNA is closer to entering a diva golden age for their KO division than the WWE is exiting this dark age with their diva division.

One last thing to consider, would you say Taryn and Brooke are system gals? Are they just products of this respectable women's division TNA likes to maintain? If they came back to the WWE, would they start sucking? It might not necessarily be their fault. They will be working with women that might be less talented. They will be working in a division without high expectations. They might be misused. If The Bellas went to TNA, would they look like respectable women's wrestlers on a consistent basis? I think Taryn and Brooke have become solid performers. It isn't all just smoke & mirrors or them being carried to look good. Are either of them A+ in the ring? I wouldn't go that far, but I wouldn't say they are horrible. In this system TNA runs, they can look good while being pushed. In the system the WWE runs, and especially during this dark age, they might not look so good.