wrestling / Columns
Against The Grain 11.23.08: Johnny Devine
Welcome everyone to Against The Grain, my (bi-weekly) take on some of the most unconventional and not-often talked about subjects in the wrestling world. Falling into “not-often talked about” category of my column is this week’s topic of the recently released TNA wrestler Johnny Devine. To casual viewers who may not know about Devine, you may have recognized him as “that guy always carrying the Kendo stick” whom hung along with the infamous duo of Team 3D (aka the former Dudley Boyz). To hardcore fans, you know that Devine has actually done much more than “being that Team 3D guy” throughout his career despite no one really taking notice. So today we’ll discuss the man’s ups and downs while in his short stay with TNA, why he was seriously underrated in his various roles, and why sadly no one in the wrestling viewing community seems to really care that he was released.
When TNA wrestler Johnny Devine asked for his release from the company last month, while sad to see him go, I was not really that surprised. Even though he had been teaming up with the often highlighted Team 3D for the last year, he was never really featured on TV nor had been given the opportunity to speak a single word on the mic. Unlike many other underrated wrestlers who are in the same position and are unfortunately released, Devine wasn’t stuck in one “dead-end” role in the company. He’s actually been in several throughout the years in TNA, but none of them sadly ever materialized into anything more than just being “that guy”. This was made very apparent to me when I read an interview that he did right after he left the company.
In this interview (read here: part 1, part 2), one would assume that maybe Devine would blast TNA for not using him properly or talk crap because of being bitter, but he did the complete opposite. The man just point-blank honestly talked about why he wanted to leave and understood why the company wasn’t using him. While Devine didn’t have any hard feelings, he did go on to describe how he could have been used more effectively and talked about the untapped potential with all of the various opportunities that he’s had with every group and faction that’s been a part of in his time with TNA. After reading the piece, it really did seem like every great thing that the man had going on for him always found a way to be derailed before being fully realized. Let’s review:
Team Canada
When Devine first came on the TNA scene in 2004, he was part of the very first incarnation of Team Canada, which included great talents such as Teddy Hart, Jack Evans, and long-time member Petey Williams. Right as the group was growing in size with the additions of Bobby Roode and Eric Young, Devine suffered a number of severe injuries that kept him from the company for almost a couple of years. So once he finally did return back to the company in 2006, the team was almost immediately disbanded and Devine was left without a group. While the other group members achieved great success while together (Williams with the X-Division belt, Roode/Young with the Tag Team belts), Devine didn’t really have a chance to really shine while on the team. He was seen as just “another Canadian wrestler”. So if one group didn’t work out, TNA thought to pair him up with another. Which brings us to…
Paparazzi Productions
The group, which consisted of the up and coming Alex Shelley, long-time ring veteran Kevin Nash, along with Devine, started off as a silly-looking group with Shelley being the mouth (producer), Nash being the brains (director), and Devine being…well, the camera man (?!?); but started to gain popularity with their laugh-out loud “Eye Spy” skits. So with things starting to pick up a little with the group, Devine was unexpectedly replaced with an incoming Austin Starr (aka ROH’s Austin Aries) for no real reason. Again, when Devine was about to break into something potentially big (especially under the guidance of Nash), events occur that break him away from doing something significant. After this, another group-calling appeared to Devine and it was definitely different…
Serotonin
Yet another group with some great potential. You had three very good talents in its members Martyr (Matt Bentley), Kaz (Frankie Kazarian), and Havok (Devine), another ring veteran as their leader (Raven), and a gimmick similar to another popular one used years ago (“The Flock”). Despite its attention-grabbing Goth/caveman attire and Kendo stick-beating antics by Raven (to each of the members for losing…or winning), the team never made it beyond being curtain-jerkers and jobbers and didn’t take too long for them to break-up. Bentley was released, Raven disappeared from TV, and Kazarian, keeping with his new name of Kaz, went on to bigger pushes that included a stellar ladder match with Christian Cage and a main event title bout against Kurt Angle. Once again, all of these events left Devine in the bitter cold. You’d think with three previous teams that TNA would maybe want to cut Devine loose on his own, but once again fate intervened…
Team 3D
With this team-up, it finally seemed like things would turning around for the group-shuffling Devine. In the beginning of the long-spanning feud between the bitter and arrogant Team 3D and the young up-comers in the X-Division, Devine played a crucial role in really getting the battle started as he was revealed to be the “X-Division Traitor”. In a memorable scene, Team 3D “captured” Devine in the middle of the ring and demanded the X-Division to come save him; once they did, Devine turned right around, grabbed his now-known signature Kendo-stick and shockingly started beating the living daylights out of his fellow, now former, comrades. So for once in his up and down ride with TNA, it seemed like things were finally going right for Devine’s career. He was teamed up with the 20-time tag-team champions (in every major wrestling company), was part of a major feud in TNA, and actually wrestled in some great highlighted matches (Ultimate X, Street Fight) with one resulting in a short-lived run with the X-Title. So at the peak of the feud, Team 3D/Devine lost their possession of the X-Title at the Against All Odds 08′ PPV and called it quits in the battle. The team thankfully still stuck together afterwards, but with Team 3D not really being featured in any hot storylines Devine was, for the millionth time, again left without much to do. Devine stated in his interview that he could have made even more of his new role as the “traitor” by simply giving a promo or two about why he betrayed the X-Division (i.e. “every X-Division wrestler have gone on to do better things than me”), but they again never gave him the chance. So with no real character direction or TV matches, Devine decided to leave the company to pursue other interests because he simply didn’t love his job anymore.
From his early training in the legendary Hart Dungeon to now wanting to go back to school for broadcasting (here in my good ol’ town of Detroit, MI), Devine’s TNA career has been an interesting journey to follow, to say the least. Here I really just wanted to cover the guy because after his release no wrestling website/writer seemed to really talk about it. It’s obvious that Devine wasn’t exactly “an automatic main-eventer”, but the man had so much untapped potential that was shown in little portions throughout the years and never were fully realized. With ending this in a horribly silly pun, it just seemed like all the man needed for his own career to finally breakthrough was a little bit of “divine intervention”. Sadly this never did happen.
Perhaps the biggest highlight of Devine’s run in TNA…”turning” on the X-Division
Honestly…one of the only Devine singles matches found on YouTube…short but good
Devine aiding in the long-running Team 3D vs. X-Division feud
Devine’s last TNA match was with the Terror Dome at Bound for Glory 2008
(watch the video around 4:10 when Devine starts taking out folks BIG TIME)
Are YOU part of the “WWE Universe”? With asking this question to a wrestling fan, I’m assuming that I would either get a resounding “Yes” or a dirty look (and maybe a slap in the face) with a definite “Hell No!”. So with the next issue, I will discuss my opinions on the WWE’s recent outreach activities such as movies (WWE Films) and internet social networks (the WWE Universe website), why I believe that the new push is great for the company, and talk about why so many wrestling fans absolutely despise the term “WWE Universe”. See you all in two and have a Happy Turkey-Eating Day. Gobble Gobble.
