Friday, August 9, 2013

Impactful Feedback: Allow Me to Retract

Get this man back his title, stat
Photo Credit: ImpactWrestling.com
I wrote a couple weeks ago about my disdain for hotshotting titles, about how I can't stand it because it takes away from the image of the title and can really injure a good story. And after printing that some short time ago, I would like to print my first retraction here on The Wrestling Blog.

After TNA made the decision a little less than a month ago to play their hot hand and put their world title on Chris Sabin, I would now like to make the plea to quickly rescind that decision next week at Hardcore Justice and put the title back on the man that Sabin defeated for it, Bully Ray. Impact was very heavy on these two this week with a handful of segments involving Bully Ray and a couple less with the champ. Unfortunately, one of those guys nailed it with almost (not sure what was the point of Bully in the Kurt Angle/Tito Ortiz segment) every piece that he was in. The other... is the champion.

Maybe I'm in the minority here. For some reason, there seemed to be many TNA fans that got behind Sabin after his return from injury and made enough noise for him that the company saw him as the man to dethrone Bully Ray as the World Champion at Destination X. Now, don't get me wrong. I think that Sabin is capable of pulling off a good match. He's no CM Punk or Daniel Bryan, but he is a decent wrestler. Sabin at least deserved the title shot.

However, as I watched Sabin's segment with Manik last week and his segments on the show this week, I feel like this guy is the worst speaker to hold a world title since Rob van Dam. Sabin has the charisma of a peanut - and an unsalted one at that. Again, I enjoyed Sabin as the midcard guy that was having great matches, but I don't feel like top of the card, a position that requires so much more than in-ring ability, is the place for him.

On the other hand, Bully Ray is questionably around the middle of the pack as far as workers on the TNA roster, but damn if I don't hang on every word that man says. Even during the ritual "I'm Kurt Angle, respect me, I respect you" segment that we have every week between the Olympic hero and the flavor of the week Bellator MMA fighter, Bully Ray grabbed my attention even if he had no place in the segment. That's what makes a champion, in my eyes. That's what made Hulk Hogan a champion. That's what made Ric Flair a champion. That's what I'm wanting out of my TNA champion. Maybe, just maybe, with the stipulation of Bully not receiving another World Title match if he loses is a foreshadowing to his imminent victory.

I'm definitely looking forward to Hardcore Justice, as odd as that may sound. TNA has put together a decent card with the World Title Steel Cage match, the five-on-five Main Event Mafia versus Aces and Eights match, and the four-man ladder match in the Bound for Glory Series between AJ Styles, Austin Aries, Jeff Hardy, and Kazarian. I don't go into it with a lot of hope, quite frankly, because TNA has really crapped the bed since Destination X. I'll continue to hold onto that little bit of hope that I do have so I can still have some joy if Bully manages to regain the title. That would be a quick title switch that I could get behind.