Introduction:
Welcome back to an unexpected edition of My Take On. Unexpected because I figured they would start cutting people at the end of February or March, not January! But here we are, looking at a list of released talent and as usual when we have a “bloodletting” of this sort, My Take On appears to break it down and tell you what I think of these particular releases and whether or not TNA should have any interest in them.
The Victims:
Gangrel: When Gangrel was re-signed I expected that he wouldn’t really be used. But then when ECW was rumored to have a Vampire or Vampire like stable, and the show being on Sci-Fi it became clear that this would be the perfect place to use him. He is getting older and more injury prone, but the fact is he could have been a great leader/mentor for Thorn. Gangrel is known by many fans; especially a large group of current fans who came in during the Attitude Era. He could have been of great use to get Thorn over, but that was apparently an opportunity missed.
–Verdict: Slightly Agree
–Should TNA sign him? NO – Gangrel’s time has past and could only be used in a specific role, as I outlined. There is no room for him in 2007 TNA.
Al Snow: I have been a fan of Al Snow for a long time. The man was continually misused by WWE and never really got his due. Al could have been a strong addition to the mid-card as a strong performer with character and charisma. But the fact is that Al is older now and his full time in ring duties are behind him. Canceling his in ring contract and allowing him to remain on as a trainer is probably best for him and the company.
Verdict: Agree
–Should TNA sign him? Doesn’t Apply
The Shane Twins (Gymini): I have nightmares of these guys from the initial days of TNA, where they were known as “The Johnsons” and were dressed as penises. But I did see some work from them outside of TNA and thought they had some potential. But by the time they got to WWE they were just another generic big man team. These guys are both injury prone, from being so jacked, and are also nearing 40. When Simon Dean was reassigned to developmental I figured the writing was on the wall, as they were both healthy but not placed back on TV. This is not a loss and a smart cut.
Verdict: Agreed
–Should TNA sign them? NO – They are injuries waiting to happen, and in the end not very good. I don’t need to see giant penises in TNA; we already have the VKM thank you very much.
Doug and Danny Basham: Doug Basham, to me, is the definition of wasted talent. The man had nothing short of a tremendous tenure in OVW, where under the book of Cornette he was allowed to thrive. Basham is a very good worker, smart I would say, doing the right things at the right time. He is also a good talker; but never got the chance to show that.
Danny is another talented worker. I have always felt Doug was the better of the two men as far as singles go, but Danny fits really well into tag team wrestling. With WWE “Seemingly” trying to revive their tag team division, I am a bit surprised that both of these men have been released. They have history as a team and are former two-time tag team champions. They could have been a strong part of a revamped division on either show, or even in ECW if they were to build a tag division. I feel this was a mistake to let these homegrown talents go.
Verdict: Disagree
–Should TNA sign them? YES – With the recent decline in the TNA tag team division TNA should pick them up. They both live in Florida and were a very good team. They would make a solid addition to the TNA tag team roster, which has declined in a MAJOR way in the last 3 months.
Tony Mamaluke: Tony Mamaluke was re-signed to the company when ECW was reborn. Mamaluke has a history with ECW, as well as working in ROH and TNA. A talented Cruiser-level worker, Mamaluke could always be counted on for a solid match whether going for the Cruiserweight title, tagging with Nunzio or just doing enhancement work. This one is surprising and not surprising at the same time. With WWE going away from “ECW Originals” I expected that Mamaluke would not be long for the promotion. But with WWE “Seemingly” trying to revive their tag team division, I am a bit surprised that he was released. The FBI are a good team, but at the same time have been treated as nothing but enhancement talent. The Cruiserweight division is non-existent, so he could have been utilized there as well, but the company apparently has no plans to do so, and in the end he was more than expendable. Mamaluke had a lot to offer, WWE just never saw it.
Verdict: Disagree
–Should TNA sign him? YES – With Joe and Styles out of the X-Division, and the division as a whole being a little thin, Mamaluke would be a good addition to the X-Division Roster. He has history with the company as well as with a lot of the current X Workers and could fit in easily.
Jazz: I expected this one, but talk about a sweet payday. Jazz was re-signed to the new ECW and made maybe two TV appearances. She worked some house shows but in essence got to sit home and get paid. That’s a sweet gig. With the recent departures of Lita and Trish Stratus this would have been the perfect time to get Jazz involved in the Women’s division again. As a former multi-time champion she has instant credibility and is a natural heel. They totally missed the boat on Jazz’s re-signing, and in the end did absolutely nothing with her, which was a mistake.
–Verdict: Disagree
–Should TNA sign her? YES – With TNA apparently looking to start up a women’s division she is an obvious choice. She is good in the ring, has a presence and as a former WWE Women’s Champion has credibility that they would be looking for. But only a yes if they get 2-hours to properly do a Women’s Division.
Rodney Mack: I expected this one, but again talk about a sweet payday. Mack was rehired with the goal of having him work with the younger ECW talent on house shows. With the house shows axed, he saw even less work and any hope of him ECW TV to try and start anew were gone with them. Mack could have had a chance in ECW, solid worker, smart, and knowledgeable. With him not showing up on ECW TV, I knew he had no chance of making it on Raw or Smackdown as his tenures there were less than spectacular. In the end this makes total sense to make the cut.
–Verdict: Agree
–Should TNA sign him? NO – Mack is a solid worker with a lot to teach younger talent as well as one hell of a nice guy, but overall isn’t anything spectacular and I couldn’t see him adding anything to the TNA roster other than being another body they would try and get on TV.
Sylvester Terkay: Terkay was brought into the promotion after he had some success in Japan doing MMA. The former NCAA Wrestling champion has a ton of “legit” background and they played off of that. He was initially on the Smackdown brand before the move to ECW. I feel Terkay was signed for the eventual Terkay vs. Angle feud, due to their history in college where Angle defeated him. But when Angle left the promotion those plans were axed. The biggest thing against Terkay was that he didn’t fit in, looked awkward and wasn’t very good. Being an MMA fighter, his MMA looked “fake” and soft, not all the believable. It is a bad thing when CM Punk’s MMA looks more real than yours does, and he is just faking it totally. Terkay and Burke jobbed to the reunited Hardyz and he got knocked the FUCK out this week on ECW, and that will be his legacy in the WWE. Smart cut by the E as he was going nowhere fast. Terkay will probably be better off now as he could go to BoDog or some other beginning MMA group for some good coin.
Verdict: Agree
–Should TNA sign him? NO I had a lot of hope for Terkay when they signed him, but it was one of those instances where I was very wrong. He didn’t pan out at all and in the end as a waste of TV time. TNA should stay far away from him and resist the urge to sign him to face Angle.
Christopher W. Anderson: It is a sad day for fans of C-DUBB as he has been released as well. It is a small thing, but as soon as his name was changed and he jobbed the first time out I know CW was not long for ECW or the Fed as a whole. It is a real shame, because he went from a guy ECW was pushing hard in the dying days, to a guy that went to Japan, improved a ton and then never got a real chance anywhere. They even blew the easy storyline of having Arn come out to cut a promo about “The Next Generation of Anderson’s Arriving” and giving him the rub that way to kick him off, and hell, let Arn manage him. Easy booking there, totally ignored. There was so much to offer and try with C-Dubb but he never got a fair shot. He would have been a great addition to the ECW roster if used or the Smackdown Mid-Card, battling Regal, Benoit, Taylor and Finlay; a lost opportunity. The good news is, I can catch up with him when he hits the NC Indies again.
Verdict: Disagree
–Should TNA sign him? NO I would love to say yes, but unfortunately CW would just be lost in the TNA mid-card.
My Take On:
And there we have it, another edition in the books. As I said, I figured I would be writing one of these columns but not at this time. If you didn’t think this was coming you are rather naïve because the Fed always does this shit when they want to make the quarters look good and decide they have too many bodies on the roster.
I have discussed all of it above, in the end the reader’s Digest Version is:
-Gangrel won’t be missed.
-Al Snow is still a trainer for them.
-The Shane’s only ever killed some low level vets.
-Rodney Mack will go back to Texas and teach young guys about the business.
-Terkay fell way below expectations.
-Doug and Danny were wasted.
-Jazz could have helped a deplete women’s division.
-Mamaluke could have helped a tag or CW division.
-CW could have gotten a good run off of his talent and the Anderson name and aided the mid-card of any show.
The lesson to take from this is that it is the nature of the WWE Beast. Sign anyone and everyone we can so that no one else can have them. Use them, abuse them, and find a few out of the many that we think can make it and discard the rest because they are now damaged goods. In all reality not the most ethical of business standards because you are effecting people’s livelihoods but smart because you help yourself and hurt the other company, TNA. That’s the wonderful business of wrestling. Let’s sit back and see if anyone else bites it in the next few days and weeks.
NULL
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0 - 0.9
Torture
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1 - 1.9
Extremely Horrendous
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2 - 2.9
Very Bad
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3 - 3.9
Bad
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4 - 4.9
Poor
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5 - 5.9
Not So Good
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6 - 6.9
Average
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7 - 7.9
Good
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8 - 8.9
Very Good
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9 - 9.9
Amazing
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10
Virtually Perfect
