If TNA Dies: 5 Wrestlers ROH Could Consider

If it is indeed the end of the road for TNA, that will leave a number of wrestlers looking for work. I will just start this by saying anyone that seriously thinks that work will be found in WWE is fooling themselves. It isn’t going to happen and that is just the way it is. If the WWE is going to pass on A.J Styles really who in TNA is going to be viable for them? The answer is really no one which includes Jeff Hardy, The Dudley Boys and Kurt Angle. The reality is the likely destinations will be Ring of Honor if they are able to offer spots with their budget. If not there likely New Japan Pro Wrestling but they too have a pretty stacked and talented roster as well. 

In terms of this article let’s go with the assumption that Ring of Honor is able to bring in five guys to their fold and who they could or should be. I am going to assume that the past WWE crew mentioned above will all pass on Ring of Honor waiting for the phone to ring from WWE in the short term. So with that said who is left to bring to ROH?

1. Samoa Joe: This seems the most likely and easiest fit for me. Joe is a beloved former Ring of Honor Champion and has really lacked motivation at times in TNA at least it appears from the outside looking in. Coming back to Ring of Honor has been a breath of fresh air for guys like Daniels and A.J Styles and one would assume it would be the same for Joe. Simple and easy I think this happens the day after TNA’s doors shut.

2. Kenny King: Sure it would be eating some crow for him and based on who he left Ring of Honor bailing out as a Tag-Team Champion for the promotion to sign with TNA it seems ridiculous. This is exactly why you do it. Imagine the legitimate heat he would have with the Ring of Honor fans that are loyal to a fault. Matt Hardy was hated by them but with Kenny King this would be far more personal and would make for an excellent heel for the company.

3. EC3: This is a guy that WWE really dropped the ball with. There has not been much of anything positive about TNA in the past year or so but if there is a positive it is this kid. He really showed he has talent and took his game up to a new level in TNA which you can’t say about to many people in that company. The fact that he is better after being there from the experience is a rare thing in the history of this company.  Another instant heel the moment he walks in the door based on being tied to Dixie Carter in TNA.

4. Bobby Roode: Still has some gas left in his tank and as much as people will claim he is going to be picked up by the WWE it isn’t going happen. If you want to throw in James Storm to bring in the Beer Money tag-team that isn’t a bad idea either for ROH’s growing Tag-Team Division.  If I am going to choose between the two though, I give Roode the nod simply based on liking him more as a singles competitor, along with the fact of being a better fit for Ring of Honor.

 5. Austin Aries: Another former ROH Champion that is highly talented and has been under utilized by TNA ever since they gave him their World Title and changed their minds. He would slide back into Ring of Honor without much trouble. He is another no-brainer in my mind for the company if they can come to an agreement.

Ring of Honor has kicked around the idea of a women's division that they have been calling "Women of Honor" if they are serious I have a woman for the job as a bonus pick.

Bonus Pick: Gail Kim: There has been on and off talk of starting a "Women of Honor Division" and who better to be a part of launching that? Gail Kim is perhaps the most known and talented female wrestler active in wrestling today. She was the driving force that built the knockouts Division in TNA. Why can’t she do it again in Ring of Honor?  I think she can and you can find lots of other talented women to join her some that ROH already has in non-wrestling roles and others from outside of the company. She would be a diamond to start this division with. To fit that Ring of Honor style would not be a stretch either. She can flat out go and everyone who has seen her compete knows it.

So that would be my 5 TNA talents that I would bring into Ring of Honor if the time comes they are all available. Technically TNA is not dead but the odds of them landing a T.V deal that could sustain this company most experts see as very slim. When you consider the issues the WWE had in creating a bidding war for their content it stands to reason that a company that is far behind them has very little chance to find the dollars to make it happen. This may all be fantasy booking at the end of the day. I think people just naturally assume Ring of Honor would open their check book and make it happen, but they already have added a number of bigger TNA names once they left the company so it might not be a slam dunk.

Some would also say that Global Force Wrestling may try and look at getting exiled TNA talent as well. I would just say that if it is between ROH and GFW the success that Ring of Honor is having compared to the unknown that Global Force is would be an easy choice. This along with the fact Jarrett by his nature has never been on to over pay for talent in his time running TNA and I don’t expect this to change.

The though of even more talent being available to ROH though in itself is pretty exciting. If you are not one of these folks crying a river for the demise of TNA and just simply a fan of ROH it is an exciting thing to think about the possibilities.  

If it is indeed the end of the road for TNA, that will leave a number of wrestlers looking for work. I will just start this by saying anyone that seriously thinks that work will be found in WWE is fooling themselves. It isn’t going to happen and that is just the way it is. If the WWE is going to pass on A.J Styles really who in TNA is going to be viable for them? The answer is really no one which includes Jeff Hardy, The Dudley Boys and Kurt Angle. The reality is the likely destinations will be Ring of Honor if they are able to offer spots with their budget. If not there likely New Japan Pro Wrestling but they too have a pretty stacked and talented roster as well.

The success of all these female angles recently can be debated but this angle with Steph and Brie has been as good as it gets.

 

Condo on the Moon is on Twitter and Facebook and check out our weekly podcasts Every Friday! 

If you have questions/comments for our NEW Weekly Google+ Show Live Thursday's 7:30 pm EST use hashtag #AskMachoMoon. You can find us now at Condoonthemoon.com. 

ROH vs TNA Could Be "Best For Business"

Most people point to the time period of the Monday Night Wars as the most exciting time in wrestling. You had a viable challenger to the standard WWF/F in WCW. Ted Turner had money to burn on WCW and he did just that. He purchased pretty much every star that Vince McMahon created and still it ended up in failure. As much as we like to roll our eyes at the WWE at times it has been and will be the standard for wrestling likely for our lifetime. Anyone that can honestly think WWE will have a serious competitor at this stage is fooling themselves. Their competition is now more with the UFC and entertainment in general these days.

What the WWF/E was able to do better than WCW was create stars something they still can do today. Do they have more misses than hits? Probably, but that is par for the course with all business’ trying to cater to an ever changing society. Think of how your own life has changed in the last ten years. In this age of technology we are all growing at different rates. So if you think the WWE Network will not eventually be a success you are most likely wrong. Vince McMahon sometimes gets painted as a crazy old man these days and that might be true in some senses. It is not like you or I get to hangout with Vince and he has become far less visible in the last few years. Make no mistake though he has spent by some reports 110 million dollars on the network. It is going to succeed it just might take time for people to get into 2014 technology wise.

WWE thrived with competition and they used the clear advantage they had by being allowed to create a much more edgy program that their competition WCW was not able to do under the Turner corporate banner and even more so once the Time Warner merger happened. In fact despite the huge ratings that WCW did draw it was the red headed stepchild for Time Warner. Maybe like TNA is for Spike-TV? Not exactly as Spike is not exactly knocking it out of the park even with the MMA promotion they own Bellator.

Actually all of the build up was to get to the real point I am getting at which is the race for being the alternative to the WWE. It is not as sexy as Ted Turner offering top talents huge money to jump to WCW and Eric Bishoff bragging about kicking Vince’s butt. However a new wrestling war is starting and it should be good assuming TNA is able to stay in business and stay on Spike-TV.

Ring of Honor as we have been focusing on here in Condo on the Moon is heading to live pay-per-view thanks in part to the void left by the WWE turning their attention to promoting their events on the WWE Network. TNA actually had a decent show for their latest pay-per-view offering despite interest level heading into being at an all-time low.

Ring of Honor in contrast has been riding a huge high in 2014 as you have heard from guests on our podcast like Matt Taven and ROH Champion Adam Cole. They made a successful return to I-PPV with their shows featuring their new partnership with New Japan Pro Wrestling with Global Wars and War of the Worlds. They have replaced TNA for an annual summer event at a minor league baseball stadium in New York City. This has been a strong market for ROH.

The two companies are heading into each others backyards quite literally. The ROH PPV is taking place literally in the birthplace of TNA at the Nashville fairgrounds. It is also the city that TNA has its headquarters. While TNA is heading to New York City and going into the same venue that ROH hold’s it’s version of Wrestlemania that is “Final Battle” held in December. They are in the same building but in a smaller part of it. TNA will be in the place where the WWE first taped Monday Night Raw.

Adding to the intrigue of all this is a former WWE star Matt Hardy who has worked with ROH over the past few years and is scheduled to appear on PPV this Sunday. However, it was announced on Twitter that he in fact will be in competition at the TNA tapings in New York City. He will re-unite with his brother Jeff who of late has been playing his alter ego of Willow in TNA.

This comes after TNA had approached ROH talent’s that under contract to them. Some of the names that have been out there include Jay Lethal who spent time in TNA and ReDragon the current ROH Tag-Team Champions. Hardy was apparently not under contract. This is not the first time TNA has done this to ROH as they stole Kenny King when he was one half of the ROH Tag Team Champions. King is still in TNA and also is or was, a Chippendale’s dancer when he is not in the ring. Does he make more in tips from that than in TNA only he knows for sure?

This is what we have been missing in wrestling is a good old fashion war between rival promotions. It might not be as sexy or involve the big dollars that were being thrown around in the Monday Night Wars but it is a fight. We have picked a side in this fight and obviously it is ROH.

The reasons why are pretty simple it comes down to the product. While TNA seems determined to be WWE light that is so far from what ROH is trying to be it isn’t funny. In addition to this fact, who is the company that is producing the talent that goes on to WWE that would be Ring of Honor. If anyone wants to make the argument that TNA can produce anyone that is going to be in the WWE that hasn’t been their already they are crazy. A.J Styles was the biggest star TNA produced themselves, well not exactly he did start in ROH but people associate him with TNA. He has stated himself that no offer came his way from WWE. He instead has come back home to ROH and is working for New Japan Pro Wrestling and is the first North American since Brock Lesnar to hold the IWGP Championship.

Similar Bad Influence who will be taking on the aforementioned ReDragon on the PPV Sunday. Daniels is returning to his home of Ring of Honor along with Frankie Kazarian who made up the “Bad Influence” in TNA. They did not get an offer from WWE either we can safely assume. The talent that ROH has put in the WWE is a long and growing list. The latest is rumored to Kevin Steen who may be fighting his last match for Ring of Honor on this Sunday at the pay-per-view.

If you like competition and miss the fun of the Monday Night Wars this may be as close as we get to seeing it. So enjoy the competition and hopefully it makes both companies worked harder and creates an even better product for the fans of wrestling. That was what made the WWE it’s best being pushed to produce by a rival. This is not exactly an even fight, but close enough to be interesting in terms of the resources and money these competitors are willing to spend. So let the games begin.

It also is good for wrestlers as competition can lead to better deals and at least having options which is problem for people in WWE. The amount of money is certainly not to the same level anywhere else is not going to happen in the modern wrestling landscape.

Condo on the Moon is on Twitter and Facebook and check out our weekly podcasts Every Friday! You can find us now at Condoonthemoon.com