TNA IMPACT: Is Gunner now the point man to take the title from Anderson?

Now that Slammiversary is over and Mr. Anderson has the title he claimed was his, there is an issue we need to discuss—that being Gunner and his place in the title picture.

Last week, it was Gunner, not Anderson, who beat Sting in the middle of the ring in the tag match between Gunner/Anderson and Sting/Eric Young. It was not the best match and Young was not the competitor he should have been in this kind of situation.

But,Gunner is becoming more of a threat as a title contender.

And IMPACT Wrestling is looking to make changes for the good of the company and the brand. Maybe this is the start of this whole process.

He (Gunner) was the television champion and has proven he is more than a face or a contract man when it comes to Immortal. And with the right billing, he could be a star.

Question is, which side of the fence will he be on when he captures more gold?

Immortal, it would seem, is in a better position to lose members from its faction. And Gunner is a bit player compared to the others in the group (Matt Hardy, Bully Ray, Abyss, etc.) and could be a major player as a face or a lone wolf, much like Anderson.

Also, it remains to be seen what the connection between Anderson and Eric Bischoff following the win over Sting.

This scenario also gives Bischoff an opportunity to show he is not committed to the same finishes and programs of the past where title holders have definitive competition from one person or two or three contenders only and others are held up from chasing championships.

It also means that bit players or mid-card contenders are not held to competition for a particular belt because of placement of intangibles.

It will be interesting to see what happens Thursday night and how the title change will be handled. It will also be interesting to see if Anderson gets heat from Gunner or Angle out of the gate. In past promotions, champions felt heat from all angles (most notably Ric Flair in the NWA and Nick Bockwinkle in the AWA).

If Bischoff and the writers (yes, Vince Russo) are committed to change, then this is the best way to show you are looking to make an IMPACT.