High Road/Low Road 02.16.07: TNA’s Attempt at a Women’s Division

Welcome back to the High Road/Low Road! A brief explanation of the column: Uncle Trunx takes the Low Road (negative view) on angles, gimmicks, and other wrestling related “stuff” while Sat takes the High Road (positive view).

High Road:
First off, I wanted to start of with the promo at Final Resolution. I think that it was a great way to introduce the division. The promo gave two sides of why TNA should have a women’s division. Christy Hemme gave a passionate promo about how she wants to wrestle. Kip James gave his insensitive speech. What hurt this promo is the crowd’s reaction to it, but I genuinely believe that Christy meant what she said. I also think that Kip meant what he said. When you have two people who actually believe in the things that they are saying that’s when you get a great promo. This promo was a great way to kick of the women’s division because it gave both sides of the argument.

Low Road:
A promo is only as good as the action that follows it. I don’t tune in to wrestling shows to watch great promos, no matter how much WWE has tried to condition me to.

High Road:
I think that TNA is doing a good thing by starting the women’s division. My reason for this is that this allows them to establish the division and when they can get the second hour for Impact, they can start a tournament. If they had decided to start the division when they got the second hour, they would have had to establish the division and then do a tournament. That would have been a bad idea. They could have done a battle royal to determine the champion, but that isn’t the best way to determine the champion; the best way to determine the champion is a tournament and by starting the division now, they are starting to establish the contenders for this tournament.

Low Road:
TNA could be doing a great thing by starting a women’s division. It could be used to showcase the best female wrestlers out there. They have talent, such as Gail Kim and given time, Christy Hemme could be the next Trish Stratus if her attitude and willingness to learn are as great as they are said to be. They could also take the best of the women from the indies and give them a shot. However, with Russo holding the book, I can’t think that we’ll get great female wrestling, with either one or two hours. I think we’ll get screwy booking and a joke of a division. My reasoning is demonstrated both by Russo’s track record and what happens in the paragraphs below…

High Road:
Everyone is saying that TNA should not start the women’s division until they get the second hour because they already don’t have enough time to showcase their talent. In a way, that is true. But, I think that it is a good move to introduce the division now. My reason for saying this is that the women wrestler can be introduced to the fan base. Also, TNA does not have a women’s champion, so the main point of the division right now is to introduce the women to the fans. And TNA can do this by having one match every four Impacts and one match during the pay per view.

Low Road:
One or two hours, it doesn’t matter. What matters is how the women are booked. With WWE focusing more on things like blonde hair and breast implants, TNA have a great opportunity to show something else. What will that be, we ask? Will it be great athleticism, or will it be stupid comedy matches which devalue the women and their potential division?

High Road:
I think that TNA can easily match the WWE’s women’s division. The women’s division in the WWE is made up of three women. These women are Mickie James, Victoria and Melina. Victoria has always been misused and Melina hasn’t really been wrestler. Add the non-women wrestlers and that is the WWE’s division. They have three legitimate contenders and an argument could be made for two. TNA has their Mickie James in Gail Kim. Probably not a fair comparison because Mickie does have the title. Christy has spent the better part of a year training, so she has to be considered a contender. I say Christy is comparable to Victoria because Christy gets more attention from TNA than Victoria gets from the WWE, but Victoria is definitely the better wrestler. I would also say that Jacqueline is comparable to Melina. Melina definitely has the upside, but Jacqueline has the experience. Both offer positives to their respective companies. Melina has the potential to be a contender for the WWE and Jacqueline provides TNA with an experienced women wrestler.

Low Road:
Three wrestlers is not a division. To form a competitive division which fans can buy into, you need far more than that. WWE at least pads the division out by having the likes of Maria wrestle occasionally. With all of the talented wrestlers out there, TNA could really make female wrestling one of their niches. However, with Russo booking the show, you can bet it won’t happen. The women’s division will feature bad comedy, designed to poke fun at WWE.

High Road:
One of the things that people have not noticed is that TNA is going to be presenting two women’s matches at Against All Odds. The first one has been getting a ton of attention and of course I am talking about the Christy Hemme match. The second match that is not getting any attention is the mixed tag team match. That match is also going to be showcasing two more women. I just wanted to point this so people know that TNA is going to be showcasing four women at Against All Odds.

Low Road:
Three women. A fat oily man is not a woman whoever you put him against and however you title the match. 3 women does not make a division and dreadful joke matches mean the thing is dead and buried before it starts.

High Road:
First, I would like to say that I did not watch this match. When I read Csonka’s review and saw that it was Christy Hemme against Big Fat Oily Guy, I decided to let Csonka suffer through it and save myself. However, I will say one thing about this match. This match made me want to see a women’s match. That was the only positive that came out of this match.

Low Road:
Yes, I would rather have seen a womens’ match than this. It’s also true that I’d rather have eaten my own eyeball with a fish fork than seen this. If this is the future of the TNA “womens” division, then I won’t be watching it. TNA have a great opportunity to showcase womens’ wrestling in a way that WWE don’t, and what we get is this insult to talented female wrestlers everywhere. I pity Hemme, who by all accounts clearly wants to learn, to improve and to wrestle; she gets this joke of a match thrown at her. It’s a sad portrayal of what Russo does when given control, and shows exactly what this womens’ division will be.

The Final Say

Sat: I think that most of my ideas are good in theory, but not really practical. If TNA is going to offer Hemme versus Big Fat Oily Guy as a women’s match, then the division has no chance. Personally, I think that the idea of the match was to show the fans that they can see this or they can see the women’s division. I think that most people will pick a women’s division.

Uncle Trunx:
I think that what this match did was proved once and for all that the women’s division is dead before it starts with Russo booking it. I don’t think it was to offer fans a choice, I think it was to show fans that what they’ll see from here on in is awful “comedy” instead of wrestling when they watch TNA. The only hope for the TNA women’s division is if the book is taken off Russo and that’s not on the cards.

Are you taking the High Road or the Low Road?

High Road/Low Road Plugs

No plugs this week because I am running low on time.

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