The Kurt Angle Mystery

The WWE typically likes to do a big angle every summer. You might take a look around and wonder where it is right now. The Kurt Angle mystery is it.

The big reveal is supposedly going to happen next week. Who has Kurt Angle been communicating with these past few weeks? There is a lot of speculation over what is going to happen. It will definitely lead to something big. But will it be good and actually help draw?

One of the ideas floating around is that Kurt Angle has been having an affair with Stephanie McMahon. They did interact back in the day in a few storylines. On one hand, it is not out of the question that they would revisit the storyline. It would be an excuse to get Stephanie and Triple H back on TV. On the other hand, that just seems like a terrible storyline for this PG era. The WWE has done some crass things in recent years. But it just doesn't seem like something they should do, and it probably would not lead to anything that would draw. It would just be a crass storyline out of some soap opera. It would be like the drama with The Bellas a few years ago. Wrestling fans hated that. This storyline could be just as bad.

The other idea floating around is something involving Dixie Carter. She has been working with the WWE recently. Whoever thought she would one day become an on-screen character for the WWE? Even if they did an affair angle between Dixie and Kurt Angle, it might be less controversial as Stephanie McMahon being involved. The whole affair direction still isn't something good for this era, but I can leave that alone. The real issue is that the majority of the audience won't know who Dixie Carter is. They won't care. When Eric Bischoff came to the WWE, that was a guy from WCW, a company that was beating the WWE in the ratings war for a number of weeks. Dixie Carter is coming from TNA, a company that has never threatened the WWE, despite being the #2 wrestling promotion. The WWE already has a whole bunch of TNA talent all over the place. Needless to say, it isn't drawing.

If it is anything else than something involving Stephanie McMahon or Dixie Carter, it will likely be something stupid or disappointing. I have already pointed out that angles involving those two individuals with Kurt Angle will likely not be great and not draw. This thing is likely to flop no matter what. Even if wrestling fans love it, the WWE will likely not draw.

I can give the WWE credit for at least giving Kurt Angle a storyline that will likely be personal to him and his career. Kurt Angle has been very lackluster as GM. He just needs to show more personality. This storyline might, at the very least, unlock that for him. For wrestling fans, they can get excited over this storyline possibly leading to a match for Kurt Angle down the line. In this way, even if the storyline itself is bad, it might do some good for Kurt Angle.

AJ Lee And John Cena = AJ Styles And Dixie Carter

You have another example of the WWE and TNA taking each other's ideas. AJ Lee and John Cena have this possible affair going on. This is similar to what TNA had with AJ Styles and Dixie Carter. Very similar. If you remember, that TNA storyline almost ended with it being revealed that Styles and Dixie Carter were doing a good deed by helping the woman involved in the angle. They prolonged the storyline after that, but that reveal was just sickening to me. It tried too hard to make them look like the good guys. Trying too hard to make someone look like a good guy? Is it any wonder the WWE would use this with Cena? It is branching into Cena/AJ vs. Ziggler/Vickie.

The only thing I like about this whole affair is that it is keeping Cena out of both main-event matters and the title chase. This is not the first time that has happened, so don't make the assumption that Cena is done as centerpiece. Nevertheless, it is still making things a little fresh. To think, if Cena had not gotten injured, would this still be happening?

Dolph Ziggler gets to work a feud with another top name. He still has not cashed in the briefcase. I still wonder, even after he eventually does win the title, will he have anyone fresh left to work with? He worked with CM Punk earlier this year. He feuded with Jericho. He went against Randy Orton. He is now feuding with the company's top face. The guy has the credibility to win the World's Heavyweight Championship. But after he wins, will they be able to develop good feuds?

AJ Lee vs. Vickie Guerrero. This is periphery diva vs. periphery diva. Do you consider Vickie Guerrero a true "diva"? That's not relevant now. They continue to do a ton more for AJ Lee than they have done for any female wrestler in years. She is the first female wrestler developed as a periphery diva like this since Lita. Vickie Guerrero is obviously a non-wrestler, but she is hated. She gets great heat. Working against her can definitely make AJ look good, as well as the rub from Cena.

Aside from Cena getting a break from more important things, I hate just about everything associated with this storyline. It will most likely be another attempt to get Cena looking like such a great guy. Regardless of how it turns out, AJ Lee continues to get more than she has actually earned. Keeping her as a manager/valet for some wrestler or in a romance angle would have been fine, but they are pushing her hard and harder. Lita was never pushed this hard. Keep in mind that it has only been about a year since AJ's angle with Daniel Bryan started. It was from there that the WWE developed AJ further to get over. It is true that Lita won her first Women's Championship in less than a year after debuting, but she was never pushed this hard in terms of storylines, character development, and rubs in her first year. What they are doing with AJ is very forced.

Dixie and AJ Are Such Good People!

Most of my complaints involving TNA's storylines revolve around them being boring and repetitive. The feuds are often dry. This recent storyline involving Dixie Carter and AJ Styles does not fall in that same category, but it is so bad, I have to mention it.

A lot of people would say that pro wrestling is a lot like a soap opera. TNA has just proven that point. For weeks now, Christopher Daniels and Kaz have been terrorizing AJ and Dixie, claiming that they were sleeping together. This week on Impact, the truth was finally revealed, supposedly. A woman came down and said she was an addict whom AJ and Dixie were trying to help. That is supposed to explain everything. That is one of the craziest things that could have come out of this storyline. Too dramatic. I would agree that TNA needs to come up with some elaborate storylines to appeal to more than just wrestling fans, but the direction this storyline has taken is over the top. They had an elaborate feud between Jeff Jarrett and Kurt Angle last year. That was a good feud with a reasonable storyline. Well, reasonable in comparison to what is going on now. The feud became personal through Jarrett bringing in Karen. That feud was based on something that actually was real and it made sense. What is going on with AJ and Dixie is obviously just a storyline to cause drama. Once again, I think they are taking it too far in a stupid direction.

What should they do? I would hope it is revealed that Dixie paid that woman to lie. She wanted to cover up the truth. I am not saying Dixie needs to turn heel. The way the storyline is going, it is sickening to see them make Dixie and AJ look so virtuous. They go to all that trouble to help that woman? It is just a hard storyline twist to swallow, which makes me really dislike this whole thing. I hope this all does not end with the tag title match coming up.

Since I am on the subject of TNA, how about the ratings? How have ratings been doing since the disastrous number the first night they went live at the new time? From that night, it took 2 weeks just to get back to a 1.0. Yeah, that is pretty sad. You never had any episode drop below a 1.0 during the summer of last year. So far, it would seem that going live and starting at an earlier time is having no positive effect. The response will be to wait until people get used to the new time, but where will that get you? 1.2? 

ECW Reborn In TNA

The closing segment on Impact this week involved Dixie Carter talking with the ECW guys that caused some trouble last week. Mick Foley and Tommy Dreamer were the main players for the group tonight, but Raven, Rhyno, and Stevie Richards were there too. The main message was that these ECW guys just wanted one more chance to go out respectably.

This was a good segment. It had heart to it. This was not an invasion or attack, like Nexus is doing. However, it would be interesting to have the TNA guys play the heel role. In any case, this ECW angle should see some former ECW talent make appearances, beyond those we have seen already. The fans want Sabu. Depending on how TNA does this, it may be done with more class than the WWE's ECW return.