Tuesdays at TNA: Where Are the Heels?

Welcome back to Tuesdays at TNA, where we discuss the hottest topics in Dixieland!

We are less than one week away from No Surrender, which will feature the semifinals of the World Heavyweight Championship tournament, and I noticed something odd.  Yes, I know that everyone remaining in the bracket (Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, Mr. Anderson, and The Pope) are known more for their time in WWE than being actual "TNA homegrown" stars, but that they are all FACES!

This has been a longstanding problem in TNA for quite some time, as they still have no concept on how to build up a proper heel that fans want to loathe and get their comeuppance in the end.

For example, they could've used this opportunity to build up the heat on Abyss after he "eliminated" RVD and cost him the World Championship.  Instead, he is trolling around fighting EV 2.0 who is battling another stable in Fortune.

Say what you will about the WWE, but one thing they do right is the ability to make heels draw heat from the crowd.  Their formula is simple: have a heel take out the popular babyface and go from there.  It worked for CM Punk last summer, Sheamus earlier this year and, more recently, Alberto Del Rio.

Bottom line is that it gets the fans riled up and wanting to see them get beat eventually.

This is where TNA screws up royally.  Remember when Desmond Wolfe first came on the scene and challenged Kurt Angle?  It was a perfect opportunity to build up a star heel, one that had both wrestling ability and the mic skills to make fans loathe his very presence.  Instead he gets dominated, and is now looked upon as a loser who can't win the big match.

Wrestling has always been successful when it followed the tried-and-true storyline of the dominating heel, who gets his in the end by the upstart babyface.  Don't believe me, just look at how Ric Flair and the Horsemen were in the 80's and how much heat they drew as the fans wanted to see someone from Dusty Rhodes to Magnum TA to Sting put them in their place.

As we head into TNA's biggest PPV next month in Bound For Glory, there is no dominating heel, who is fighting for the promotion's biggest title.  No antagonist to root against, just four faces who don't see eye-to-eye.  That is not going to work!

However, there is some (potential) light at the end of the tunnel.  Someone who can become that arrogant heel that will draw the fans ire (sorry, AJ Styles isn't it!) and can become the foil to whomever wins the World Championship at BFG.  Let's take a look at them now.

Abyss—The Monster can still stake his claim to the World Championship once he gets through with EV 2.0.  He was the No. 1 contender to RVD's title when he put him out earlier this month. 

Even if Angle wins the belt, which is widely predicted, then Abyss would be first in line to get his shot since he wasn't included in the tournament.

Samoa Joe—Now in a perfect world he would be getting a shot for the title at BFG.  However that is not the case since he just returned from suspension.  Perhaps his recent encounter with Jeff Jarrett might be just the thing to bring back the "say nothing, choke a guy, leave" persona that makes fans to cry out "Joe's gonna kill you!"

Besides, he carries that fear factor already and was booked as a fluke during his World Title run as a face, time to see how he can do it as a heel.

Kurt Angle—Although we have seen this before, Angle plays this role well, and knows how to draw heat as a heel champion.  If he does indeed win the title, he can stake his claim as the dominant champion in that arrogant fashion as only he can.  Also, if he does go the heel route, he will have three guys (Hardy, Anderson, Pope) who will draw the support from the fans as they attempt to defeat "The Greatest Wrestler in the World."

If there's one thing TNA needs to take from the WWE, it's how to build up a heel that fans absolutely hate, and a face that they will pay money to see chase the title. 

It worked when the Motor City Machine Guns chased Beer Money for the Tag Titles, now time to do that with their top championship.  If they do that, then everything else will take care of itself.