And how Dixie is hitting her role in stride
- Well, it's been quite some time, but I'm back! My absense has been due to my studies at university, and whilst I'm still pretty busy, I'll make sure to pen at least a column a week.
- I've decided to switch things around a bit. Like I said, I'll look to hit a column a week, but it won't always be in the 'ups and downs' format of my previous reviews. If I see an Impact that I think would be best served in the form of that review format, then so be it. But if there's one particular underlying issue I want to focus on in detail, I may just write a piece about what's on my mind at that moment. So you're still getting content from me, I'm just making a few changes here and there.
- Again, you can hit me up on Twitter. Purely because I have no friends.
If you were familiar with pro wrestling in the late 90s – or even going back to the 1980s – then you would be well accustomed to the work of the authority figure. You know, the face who is just that little bit higher than you on the totem pole, that figure who will seemingly do anything to make your life just that little bit worse. And if we’re talking about context, traipsing back to the 80s and 90s, and even earlier in some cases, then you would throw around names like Dusty Rhodes, Jerry Lawler from his Memphis days, Paul Heyman, Eric Bischoff, and of course Vince McMahon himself.
The most endearing factor to this narrative is how simple and effective the role of an authority figure is. Pro wrestling has hosted the biggest, baddest, and most downright despicable characters outside of midgets dressed as bulls. And at the same time they’ve also housed likeable and enchanting names you simply can’t help but root for, which is effectively the whole good guy/bad guy routine that is a fabric of everyday life. Not just in wrestling. Couple that with the fact that millions of people across the world deal with bosses they can’t stand every day, then you’re probably a few Pedigrees away from Triple H walking into your building and telling you to suck it.
What I’m trying to get at is the routine we’ve become accustomed to as fans, because regardless of another authority figure rising to the top and inserting their dominance in any way they can, it will still be deemed as ‘repetitive’ or ‘stale’. To which you could answer with ‘Oh but this is pro wrestling, where only something suitable for broadcast has most likely – in fact definitely – already been executed.’ In that case, you’d be hard pressed to argue against that line of thinking. Think about it, if you’re criticising every single wrestling show because it’s already been done, and because the Attitude Era did it better, then you’re trying to poke holes in a business that has thrived on its repetitive nature over 75 years. That will probably mean we’ll start to fantasy book how the NFL should be run also, because concussions are bad and football should become a non-contact sport, even though Roger Goodell’s, (you could also insert VKM here), billion dollar empire laughs in the face of your legitimate concern.
Just recently, the WWE kicked off another storyline displaying this new evil in charge of the whole company. Yeah, we always had Vickie Guerrero and Brad Maddox, but we all know general managers mean absolutely nothing in today’s WWE. The new evil in question was Triple H, his wife Stephanie, and the likes of an unmasked Kane and The Shield. Again, what makes this so realistic is the fact that our perception of the individuals who play the aforementioned authority figures is that of them being horrible human beings in real life. We’ve seen that in the past with Vince, who for years everyone thought was a senile old man who was embroiled in steroid controversies and numerous high profile deaths alike. We’ve also seen it with Eric Bischoff to a much lesser extent, who could very well be attributed to the death of WCW. Yeah, we enjoyed Austin’s fearless chase of Vince for years, the beer trucks and the bedpans were entertaining even to this day. But don’t pretend your excitement wasn’t high because you legitimately hated the actual human beings in their respective roles.
Even more recently, TNA went down a similar route with the Dixie Carter storyline. There’s no doubt there will be criticisms regarding Dixie being the Target to Vince’s Wal Mart, or people stating that TNA are rehashing old storylines when that couldn’t be further from the truth, and that’s an interesting case in itself. Fixating on the numerous people in power over the years leads you to realise that their demeanour is that of a power hungry tool, and again, that’s not a bad place to go given its high success rate. But take a look at Dixie’s current character and you’ll see so many added layers. It’s hard to express what Dixie is right now, it’s more of a state of flux than anything else, which keeps the intrigue level at a boiling point. The best way I’d describe Dixie Carter’s on screen character is a caricature of the public’s perception of her. Not the same perception that people hold on the likes of McMahon, Heyman and Bischoff in which they’re horrible human beings, but that of her being clueless and out of her depth. And I think she likes it like that.
Everything in her actions to date is symbolic of her openly mocking those that find fault in TNA because they’re well… TNA. Dixie bringing back PacMan Jones this past Thursday was the perfect example of Dixieland truly taking every forum board and comment section and just brushing it off, and that’s what infuriates the detractors the most. I’m not beating the woe is me horse to death regarding TNA’s current situation either, because most of their actions are of their own accord, and they’re finally starting to take responsibility. But they get a very negative reputation, and even when they do something right, it’s just not good enough.
The delivery has been great since day one, whether that’s her condescending Southern accent, or her laughable logic which again is based on idiotic perceptions. Everything so far has just clicked. She’s been sneakily good on the mic, she’s looked so much more comfortable inserting her authority, (although that’s probably not too hard when her previous encounters included the likes of Claire Lynch), and she’s really took the reins of the show and made it her own. How much of that is down to the creative team of Lagan and Conway I do not know, but there’s an element of the character making the storyline, which particularly rings true in this case.
You can talk about how well AJ has played into this storyline too, and whilst it’s felt a lot more like the CM Punk storyline from 2011 in recent weeks, I can look way beyond that because the WWE dropped the ball massively when they brought him back to feud with Kevin Nash.
Wait, Kevin Nash? What?
Exactly, so anything TNA does from this point onwards with AJ will automatically by default be more climatic than the end game to the Summer of Punk, but they shouldn’t aim for just that. AJ’s interactions with Dixie hit home hard on numerous occasions. Dixie claiming he wasn’t the Phenomenal One anymore as opposed to the marginal one was shocking to hear, even more shocking when she said he’s been quite bad for quite some time. Of course this isn’t true, but it’s allowed both AJ and Dixie to further their new characters whilst overtaking the whole drama within the Aces and Eights on who gets to wear the leather jackets as TNA’s main storyline. What really makes this that much better is AJ travelling across the world and competing in the likes of Mexico and Japan. Of course there’s only so long TNA can play the ‘we don’t care about AJ and he doesn’t exist’ storyline, but when they finally acknowledge him defending the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, then that really adds a new dimension to their product, even more so with their new 24/7/365 initiative.
Speaking of TNA’s new initiative in place, it’s hard to acknowledge many positives from this. The facts are they’re returning to Orlando and albeit into a smaller studio, they won’t be running live shows every week like they were the last time they occupied the Impact Zone and they’re coming back with financial limitations and a horde of red faces. I couldn’t care less about TNA falling on their ass, because at least they threw themselves in the lion’s den and had a go of it, and I’d much rather they return home with their tails tucked between their legs as opposed to suffering the same fate as WCW. The fact is TNA deserve so much more than WCW, and there are little genuine comparisons to make between the two. Their structure is so much better, their roster is arguably superior too; the only issue I take is TNA still suffering from an identity crisis of sorts. I don’t know what they want to be, and they don’t have much idea either. Do they want to be WWE-lite with former UFC stars? Do they want six-sided rings again? Do they want no part of Hogan and Bischoff? Either way you look at it now, they’re at the proverbial crossroads now and they need to figure out which direction to take. I can’t make that decision for them, but I just have trouble believing they can make that decision too. And that worries me slightly.
Again, I don’t have an issue with them returning to Orlando. The crowds on the road, whilst more aesthetically pleasing, just lacked passion and that drive in the majority of the places they visited. Every show felt like TNA were trying different things judging on the reactions they received and the success of their ticket sales, and that’s a very dangerous metric. If you’re taking your show on the road, you need to have the utmost confidence in your roster and your company. No short term fixes are available because you gained some nostalgic pops for Hulk Hogan here and there, you need to build your own stars and sustain them. And if you don’t, then that falls solely on your shoulders. In Orlando, TNA have the comfort of being in one place and ultimately feeling in more control. The lacklustre crowds grew tiresome during their last run, but that can be fixed if they put out an exciting product every week. I’m truly a believer of that.
Q: How good has Roode-Angle been?
I’ll echo the uber talented Mortimer Plumtree here and say that it’s been outstanding. At first I was sceptical of them throwing their Bound For Glory match together two weeks prior with a WWE-esque segment, and Kurt turning down the Hall of Fame induction – regardless of storyline purposes – really took away from the validity of the whole concept. But everything from that moment on has been top storytelling, and we’ve had some pretty awesome wrestling to boot. Roode outlining his loss to Angle two years ago and maintaining that’s why he became the longest reigning world champion in company history was a nice nod to continuity, plus it gives us some context as to where Roode’s head is at.
I’ve been questioning Angle’s actions post match, it may just be me but the stretcher and the shaking just felt too much at times. I get why they’re going down that route, but when we’re in an industry that has suffered through some pretty harrowing times, it may not be the wisest thing to do. With that being said, their exchange this past Thursday was fast paced, energetic, and it really felt like there was some genuine hate between the two. It’s no coincidence that since Roode and Storm have split up, one man has been busting his ass off whilst the other is stuck in tag teams making homophobic jokes. Apparently it pays to be Roode.
Q: EC3, best thing ever?
You wouldn’t be far long. Look, I love everything about this debut, not just because Michael Hutter is very talented and charismatic, but because it felt like the first changing of the guard from where TNA was to where they want to be. I made a big deal of the John Gaburick signing several months ago, and he’s in a role where he effectively looks after the production side of things. You saw the first real example of Gaburick working his magic with the EC3 debut, something in which he was definitely hands on with from the off. The promos hyping EC3’s first appearance were something we’ve rarely seen from TNA for quite some time, something that added intrigue and a vested importance. It felt almost like something the WWE would produce, and to their credit that’s one of the things they do so well.
Of course it goes beyond video packages and promos, EC3 – as a kayfabe relative to Dixie Carter – is killing two birds with one stone right now in regards to Dixie’s new role. This angle has just been so much fun from the off, and that’s what TNA have been missing for years. It felt like they tried to take a more serious route with the whole reality TV aspect that engulfed their production, when really it was draining all of the energy from the product. And again, introducing Norv Fernum and Dewey Barnes as EC3’s bitches was a masterstroke.
