Tuesdays at TNA: Pope Is Pimpin'

Welcome to Tuesdays at TNA , a new feature here at the Bleacher Report.  We’re taking a look at the hottest topics happening at the Impact Zone, from wrestlers to management. Also, each week we’ll break down each issue from both the negative and the positive viewpoints for Total Nonstop Action! 

Enough of the intros, let’s get right into it…..

The big story coming out of Sunday’s PPV Against All Odds is how “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero (formerly Elijah Burke of ECW fame) won the 8-Card Stud Tournament to earn a World Heavyweight Title shot against AJ Styles at Lockdown.  Some have argued that his final round match against Mr. Anderson should not have been the main event at the PPV, but I have to disagree. 

The purpose of a PPV main event is to usually have the audience leave with something to celebrate. In this case, it was the coronation of quite possibly the next big thing in Orlando. 

One of the major concerns with the Hulk Hogan-Eric Bischoff regime was whether or not they would elevate any talent to main event status.  Despite bringing out guys whose heyday was in the 1990s (the Nasty Boys?!), so far they have done a great job of making sure those guys stay out of the main event picture while allowing the up and comers to shine. 

Sunday’s tournament, as well as the previous episodes of Impact, was TNA’s answer to the original King of the Ring bouts, with the only difference being a guaranteed title shot.

When Burke first came to TNA, many fans wondered why he didn’t get the same kind of sustained push in the WWE.  Sure, he was the leader of the ECW “New Breed” clique and even endorsed by Vince McMahon . However, once that angle fizzled out, Burke was relegated to curtain jerking status.

That was the surprising thing about it, since he possessed charisma and a great move set. Many fans thought he would’ve been a worthy foe to ECW Champion Christian if he was still there today.

That said, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

When he appeared in TNA during the fall under the Pope persona, the first thing I wondered was whether or not he would be chosen to lead a resurgence in the X-Division, which had fallen by the wayside once its pioneers such as Samoa Joe, Styles and Christopher Daniels had moved on to bigger things. Little did I know that he would be picked to go beyond even those levels when the new regime had taken place. 

During the January 4^th edition of Impact, he was one of the few wrestlers picked by Hogan to showcase his skills that night, even getting a chance to have a one-on-one match with another TNA newcomer, Desmond Wolfe, at the Genesis PPV.  Despite the loss, Dinero showed that he could bring it on the big stage. 

He then got into a brief tete-a-tete with another one of Hogan’s friends Orlando Jordan, displaying the promo ability that can make or break a star in this business. 

Although he lost to Jordan in their initial encounter, Pope quickly regained the victory last week on Impact to enter the AAO tournament.

It really says a lot about a wrestler when he is picked to a main event PPV that doesn’t involve a World Championship. I think that Hogan is out to prove that TNA can display a balance of showcasing the present and future of the business, while bringing out veterans such as Ric Flair, Scott Hall and Mick Foley for nostalgia and storyline purposes.

Even if people are saying these guys are hogging the spotlight, I do believe they have their place, as long as that place is nowhere near the World Championship.

Let’s take a look at some of the positives and negatives of The Pope’s sudden push:

Negative - It can be a case of too much too soon.  In the past we have seen guys get pushed immediately to the main event upon their arrival in TNA only to become stagnant over time, especially if they previously had a stint in the WWE. Will they allow Dinero to maintain his momentum should he come up short in his championship match against Styles at Lockdown? 

Also, what about those wrestlers such as Eric Young who have been with TNA for years yet never got a shot at the big one? Should Dinero win it all, will it create an even bigger chasm between management and those who helped turn TNA into the second biggest promotion in North America?

Positives – This is how you create a star in the business, especially if he possesses the charisma to keep the fans entertained along with the ability to bring it in the ring. I think he could be the right opponent for Styles, especially with Flair in the “Phenomenal One’s” corner. TNA should do what they can to hype up their eventual matchup, especially since Dinero already beat Styles clean on Impact. 

This could give them a chance to really make the heel turn for Styles work, cementing him as a character that will do anything to keep his title after being overlooked for years. TNA desperately needs a rivalry that can draw the emotion of the fans the way the rivalry between “The Rock” and Stone Cold Steve Austin highlighted the WWE’s Attitude Era.

Also, this will provide an option to those wrestlers up north who feel like their career is treading water with no where to go. Just look at how TNA has built up Matt “The Blueprint” Morgan , who went from being a stuttering idiot in the WWE to a match with Kurt Angle at TNA’s biggest PPV of the year in October 2009. TNA has shown that if someone has main event potential, they will provide them an opportunity to succeed.

Whether or not Dinero wins the World Title in April, the point is that his star is finally beginning to shine in TNA. After all, he’s the freakin’ Pope!

Next week we’ll take a look at the possible return of the Monday Night Wars!