GFW Has TV Tapings

Global Force Wrestling (GFW) had their first television taping last Friday. They still do not have a network, but they are taking the first steps towards getting things done. They still have a long way to go before they are even near TNA's level.

One thing that stood out to me from reading about the taping and just looking at GFW in general is how the promotion is featuring Jeff and Karen Jarrett. It is obviously their company. But the way they are featuring both of them is very similar to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in the WWE. GFW shouldn't try to play chess with the WWE. TNA has done that in the past. Many fans often roll their eyes at it. You can probably count on one hand the number of times TNA actually has beaten the WWE at their own game. I am not saying GFW should not look at what the WWE has done to make them successful, but do not try to imitate them. The WWE isn't exactly knocking it out of the park with every swing these days. They should not want to imitate that. Yes, Triple H and Stephanie being authority figures makes sense because they actually have power. But it has gotten stale and irritating at times. Jeff and Karen running things also makes the same sense, but I am looking forward to the day they get someone else to play an authority figure.

Jeff and Karen are known for playing heels. The two of them playing face roles just does not seem natural now. And when I look at GFW's shop site, I see a lot of generic company merchandise. The only individuals that have merchandise for sale so far are Jeff and Karen. I know the company is just getting started, but seeing them only marketing merchandise for the founders just does not seem right. A lot of fans view the current NXT product as Triple H's baby. There is even merchandise for the performers on there. Go back to when the promotion really started to take on the identity it now has. Before there were any real stars there, how would you react if the first NXT merchandise available was generic NXT shirts and autographed photos of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon? It's just awkward. That is just my overall impression of Jeff and Karen Jarrett. The whole thing just does not seem natural. They should eventually become the kind of owners that are not involved in storylines. If they are going to get involved, eventually turn them heel.

GFW is in the position to not make the same mistakes the WWE and TNA have made. The WWE is guilty of not giving their workers fair opportunities and often trying to force things. Too much ego. TNA is kind of the opposite. They are far less forceful. That is not a good thing. There comes a time where you have to make a decision on whom your top stars are, commit to them, and push them the way they deserve. TNA just rotates everything around. Will Jeff Jarrett do better with GFW? They have some talent to look at and decide which will be the stars.

Mickie James is in GFW now. What will likely be her final TNA match will air soon. Is she finally going to work for a promotion that lets her be the top star of their women's division? She was a credible jobber in the WWE. She was used to put over whom they wanted to be the stars and used as filler when the stars were not around. She had the overness to deserve to be pushed as the centerpiece, or at least a periphery diva, but the WWE was too focused in going in one direction. TNA rotating everyone around led to her not being pushed right. She is the best option GFW has for the centerpiece of their women's division. They are showing signs of promoting her as the top star of their women's division, but they just need to follow it up with proper booking.

TNA's Rotation

I don't really watch baseball that much. I watch if there is nothing else on and I'm bored. My cousin likes the Yankees, so I follow how they are doing to be able to talk about it with him. Who cares? I decided to make an analogy between baseball and TNA. Might be the only time I talk baseball.

You can say that the most important player on a baseball team is the pitcher. He doesn't actually score, but he is the centerpiece when it comes to limiting the other team from scoring. And teams in the MLB have multiple pitchers. They have to. You have multiple starting pitchers and multiple relief pitchers. This is something you don't really see in football and basketball. In those sports, you usually want your star quarterback and star players out there, unless it is a meaningless game. In baseball, a pitcher can end up throwing the ball a hundred times in one game before he gets relieved. No quarterback is going to throw the ball that much in one game. And quarterbacks don't play back-to-back nights like you have in baseball. You sometimes have a doubleheader, which is two games in one day. If one pitcher was responsible for all that, it would be murder on his arm. I probably couldn't throw one pitch without hurting myself. That is why you have this natural rotation in baseball.

I have said before that TNA likes to rotate around their stars. I once compared it to them being stuck in the preseason in football. This baseball analogy might be better. For one thing, the football analogy might imply that they are testing all this talent and trying to figure out whom to stick with, but they just can't make up their mind, which leads to them being stuck in the situation they are in. I am beginning to think this is how they want to do things. If that is the case, the baseball analogy might make more sense.

One thing to keep in mind, TNA weren't always the way they are now. They did have a different system. There was a time where Jeff Jarrett was pushed as their top guy. Some say he hogged the spotlight. He was like Triple H. He was the clear centerpiece. Over in their women's division, it had not yet really developed. Almost everything was in the periphery. It was an extension of issues in the men's division. For a while, Gail Kim was the clear top star. That system has changed.

TNA likes to rotate around their top stars. And it isn't an official, set rotation like you have in baseball, but it is a rotation. Lashley is having a run as top guy. Eric Young had a run. Magnus had a run. Bully Ray had a run. And a lot of guys that looked so awesome at one time then get rotated down back to the midcard. The same kind of thing happens in the KO division, although Gail Kim is starting to be pushed more like a true centerpiece than they have ever had before. Nevertheless, there is still a slight rotation there. You have had some women look so strong for a few months, then they get rotated out. You put that interest in them, then you take it away and rotate them out and someone else in.

It makes sense to do this kind of thing in baseball. One pitcher cannot handle all that work. Does it really make sense for TNA to be inconsistent like this? I know these wrestlers work hard and give their bodies to entertain, but it isn't like top stars have to wrestle on TV every week. Have them just do promos some nights. Have them on commentary. Have them in backstage segments. Have them brawl with whomever they are feuding. A lot of possibilities. It is obviously not about just physical freshness, since these guys still perform in the midcard. It is a matter of creative freshness. You don't want the top star being pushed getting stale. But are you really pulling the plug on him because he has gotten stale? I feel TNA often kills the momentum of someone for no good reason. It's not even that they are punishing anyone. This is just how they operate. And it creates inconsistency.

With this kind of system TNA runs, can you really have system guys and gals? Even if this system created a star, that star would get rotated back down, which would likely kill his momentum. If a person in this system treated like that is somehow still able to maintain a great connection with the fans, that person likely has the ability to succeed in most other systems. And I don't mean just connecting with wrestling fans or TNA's core fanbase. I mean connecting with fans across the board at a great level. I am talking A-tier overness. The only people that have that kind of overness are probably guys that became stars in other promotions prior to coming to TNA. In other words, this system has not really created any stars. I felt a guy like AJ Styles had that potential, but the system was just not good for him. Gail Kim looked so great during her first run in TNA, but I don't feel she is connecting with fans the same way. She is a great wrestler and helping to keep the division respectable, but in terms of her own overness, I don't think it is too high. If they pushed her differently, with better creative interest, it might be better. To put it simply, this system cannot properly create or feature stars, both for the men and the women.

Global Force Wrestling

In case you haven't heard, Jeff Jarrett is starting up another wrestling promotion. This one is called Global Force Wrestling (GFW). How will this impact things?

For years, the place to go for disgruntled or released WWE talent was TNA. A lot of workers unhappy with how they were being used by the WWE or burned out went to TNA, like Matt Hardy, Chavo Guerrero, and Gail Kim. ROH also got a few former WWE superstars, but TNA was the main competition. TNA has not exactly utilized all that talent properly to go to new heights. In terms of ratings, they did see their best year in 2011, but they could not sustain that. TNA now always seems to be struggling these days. They released some workers and failed to re-sign certain others. They have brought in guys that are not helping much at all. TNA no longer seems like the alternative for talent that cannot fit in with the way things are in the WWE.

Can GFW be that new alternative? Will they be able to draw in top talent from the competition? Bringing in all young talent is fine, but how well will that get fans interested outside of just the wrestling fans. You cannot compete with the WWE by just appealing to a small fraction of their overall fan base. It doesn't matter who you have giving you financial backing. TNA currently has financial backing, but it isn't saving them. I doubt GFW can produce any revolutionary wrestling performances or storylines and gimmicks that can draw big for them. They need stars. Mick Foley is showing support for the promotion, but talent a little younger than him and Jarrett would be nice.

Of the people recently released by the WWE, could any of them be a top star in GWF? You have Drew McIntyre. I was always more of a fan of his theme song than him, but he has potential. Will Jinder Mahal be GFW's version of John Cena? Probably not. How about TNA? Any of the guys they have lost could go to Jarrett's new promotion? I can picture AJ Styles going there. He would have been a great choice to groom as the centerpiece of TNA. He can get a few years at the top in GFW.

What will the WWE do about GFW? This is new competition stepping up. It'll probably take years for the new promotion to make any impact, but the WWE has to know they can't hand talent over to them. Their own product is extremely weak right now and running more on hype than anything else. Is the WWE worried about certain men and women going to GFW? I remember coming across a report that the WWE brought in Jim Ross and were nice to him around Wrestlemania because they do not want him jumping over to GFW. I think that is more speculation than actual fact. Jim Ross is a respected figure in wrestling, but how much could he really do for GFW? It would be more scary for the WWE if CM Punk went there. He is still hot. There is controversy surrounding him and people would definitely be interested in tuning in to see what he is doing. I have also come across some interesting reports about the CM Punk situation. They might extend his contract even if he doesn't want to be there? Okay. Fact is, the WWE might very well try to pull some maneuvers to limit top talent from going to GFW.  

In general, competition is good. It might get the WWE working harder and better again. TNA has failed to be proper competition. They spend too much time trying to imitate what the WWE is doing and never remain consistent with anything. In time, GFW could be trouble for the WWE, which is already in a bad place. I just hope I'm not still doing this when GFW does become something I would have to talk about on a weekly basis.

Kurt Angle's Mistress and More Thoughts On The Christian Situation

Since I am in the mood to spoil stuff, I am going to talk about who TNA has signed to be Kurt Angle's "mistress" in his feud against Jeff Jarrett and Karen. It was revealed at the TNA tapings a few days ago, which will air next week.

Let me just say that I am glad that it was not Isis. There are a number of reasons why, and none of them are anything personal against this woman. Reports were saying that she was not too impressive during her TNA match a few months ago, but that was not such a big deal for this storyline. They just wanted someone intimidating that Karen would think twice about bullying, which Velvet Sky is not. Isis could have done the job. No great wrestling needed. Would you even expect it with Karen Jarrett? Next, TNA's little mistress angle was pretty much an answer to WWE teasing Awesome Kong's debut. If they had gone with Isis, most fans would have seen that as lame. She is a poor man's Kong. Not much hype to her, even though TNA was hyping the mystery. Lastly, I am glad it was not Isis because it means dirtsheets were WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! One of the major things I like pointing out in my blogs is that you cannot trust these sites blindly every single time. This example here once again proves it. It does not matter if Diva Dirt confirmed that Isis would be debuting at last week's set of tapings, it did not happen. An assumption is not the same as a confirmation. Even when you do have a source, they can be wrong or deliberately trying to mislead you. Now these sites can say that TNA changed plans at the last second, and I have heard that before, but it does not really matter. For whatever the reason, the report was untrue.

Who is the mistress? Someone Jarrett has worked with before. Someone Angle himself has worked with. Someone who is a better choice than Isis. Chyna! Where do I even start with this? Let me say why she is a better choice than Isis. First, she is more well known. Yeah, another WWE reject that shows up in TNA, but still a big name who fits the role they were looking for. Second, shock value. While many people were spreading rumors that it would be Isis, and wrestling news sites were busy confirming that she would be debuting and it remained to be seen whether she actually would be taking the spot or not or whatever else, no one was seriously expecting Chyna at all. TNA did a good job there. While I would also like to talk about this in comparison to WWE signing and debuting Kong, I am going to put it off right now. But I will still give TNA credit again for actually pulling off something shocking that might potentially help a storyline and the company.

Let me talk more on Christian. I said that I wanted to wait until the WWE furthers the feud between him and Christian before I spoke more about it, but then I see Chris Jericho pointing out that fans may be getting worked up over nothing and Orton seemingly viewing the fans like they are ignorant morons. So I decided to say why I don't have faith that the WWE will do things properly.

A bigger storyline. That is what Jericho says may be coming. A lot of fans seem to believe that is possible too. I even held back to wait and see if that might be the direction it would go. Thing is, for whose benefit? Christian? He is going to regain the title? I can point to a lot of diva feuds where one woman wins the title, but the feud was really more for the benefit of the other woman. Moreover, just having the title is not enough. Christian can be World Champion, feuding with Cody Rhodes in the midcard, while Orton feuds with a returning Jericho or some other star bigger than Cody Rhodes in the main event. Yes, there are stars bigger than Cody Rhodes.

I hear someone will turn heel. That makes sense. Which one? It would make sense for Christian to turn heel. The fans were the ones who gave Orton the shot in a sense. Christian can blame the fans. They were pushing the idea that this situation was unfair to Christian. Christian can complain about it. Heel move right there. I do not think Orton really did anything himself to warrant him turning heel so far. They can still go in that direction, but I would like to see how they do it without it looking too forced. Issue is, if Christian does turn, will the WWE still build his next title win to mean as much as his first one did? I know some people are trying to sell the idea that Christian's win at Extreme Rules was for the benefit of making a moment for Edge. I do not see it like that. Edge did not really take Christian's attention. The commentators did not overshadow Christian for the sake of Edge. It really does seem like Edge was there to help make Christian's moment. If Christian is going back after the title as heel, his moment of winning may not be as good as the moment for the reign that just got killed off. On the other hand, besides Orton turning heel possibly being less fluid in the storyline, that move leaves few top faces. Meanwhile, a bunch of heels who are near the main event are not getting the push.

It is ignorant to hate on the WWE so soon for what they have done to Christian's reign? Is it also not ignorant to watch what the WWE is doing year after year and still blindly believe that Christian losing the title like he did, and to the type of superstar he did, is a sign that Christian will get a fair shot in the coming weeks? Smackdown has traditionally been the brand where one top guy does not dominate all the main-event matters for an eternity. They are usually good with passing the ball around. Orton goes to Smackdown. He pretty much is given the major spotlight right away. I am not saying anything bad about the guy. I am talking about what the WWE is doing. If the WWE could not even hold off a little to give Christian a fairer chance, what hope is there really? Yeah, maybe the little backlash from the fans may change a few decisions here and there, but will Orton still be top guy? When Christian was going for the title, I wanted him to have that top spot to go with the title. A feud with Orton would not have been bad to give him a rub, but taking the title off him like they did was just not good. It is a sign that Orton is meant to overshadow Christian.

To wrap it up for now, I am really just waiting for the WWE to give a legitimate reason why they had to take the title off Christian so fast. If it builds to him regaining the title in a bigger moment, it would have been for the best. I doubt they can do it. If it builds to a title reign where he is given the ball to really run with, I can accept it. But where would that leave Orton, who the WWE seems to want to have the ball? It does not really matter if Christian is fine with all this deep down inside. This is also about the fans. Seeing a new version of Cena on Smackdown in Randy Orton may not make a lot of fans happy. Seeing a guy who is popular to some degree get treated lowly is obviously not pleasing all the fans. This is also about making new stars. Is Christian really being made into a star or a jobber to top stars, somewhat like a John Morrison or Khali? While Orton and Christian are tied together, what about heels waiting for a push who could have gotten a rub from feuding for the title with Christian and from a feud with Orton? If the WWE had shown more faith in Christian and broken up the feuds better, I think a lot of things would look better for Smackdown. Then again, I would still like to wait for what happens next.