CHRISTIAN, TNA-NWA Champ = GREAT!, for the rest of TNA = NOT YET SURE FOR NOW

Christian as the TNA-NWA champ? A bit rushed for my taste.

THE PRO-WRESTLING DRIVER SEAT
Hub Pacheco

February 12, 2006 at TNA’s Against All Odds PPV. Christian Cage achieved what he never achieved in the WWE – He became the main event guy.

Christian defeated Jeff Jarrett and took home his first-ever main event championship – the TNA-NWA Heavyweight title, something that he never did during his ten-plus years in the WWE. Now, for me, I can say that I, as a fan of Christian’s career, am very happy for Christian as he finally achieved main event greatness. But after giving it some thought, I feel that it was a bit rushed.

You see, before Christian’s arrival to TNA, he was, career-wise, on a roll in the WWE. It was evident that he was being given a big-ass push. Leading up to Wrestlemania 21, Christian was starting a good feud with then (and still WWE champion, for now. Anything can happen now especially after the OVERLY NEGATIVE reception from the Chicago crowd) John Cena. Christian was all over RAW, badmouthing Cena, even rapping about him. Now, fans aren’t Neanderthals. It’s predictable that, one way or another, Cena and Christian would duke it out someway, somehow. Draft lottery came. Cena on RAW. DUH, Christian comes out and starts a feud. They would eventually clash at Vengeance. Cena retained the WWE title. Christian is then shipped to SmackDown!, where he would continue his big-ass push. Or so I thought. He was involved in the main event, FOR A WHILE. Then came a short program with Booker T. On October 30, he CHOSE not to resign with the WWE and eventually signed a deal with TNA. Maybe he got so impatient with WWE. Maybe he knew that a main event push was unlikely to happen anytime soon.

Now, Christian, upon arriving in TNA, announced his desire to capture the TNA-NWA Heavyweight title. To make a long story short, Christian turned face and immediately captured the company’s top championship. Honestly, I can’t comment on this as I would do if this was in the WWE because, truth be told, I haven’t watched A DAY’S WORTH of TNA programming. The WWE has a history for me growing up. Tuning in to the WWE is like reading the newspaper everyday. It’s a habit. TNA, for me, is just an afterthought. So for me to judge TNA prematurely would be unfair. The good thing is: I am going to set aside time for TNA Impact! after watching the Against All Odds main event. Oh yeah, I watched it, by accident while channel-surfing. See?

All right, I can’t judge TNA but I can judge the Jarrett-Christian match that I (accidentally) saw on Star World. First, the video package that leads up to the match. Um, it’s pretty shallow, really. Christian, based on the video, basically said that he wanted the TNA-NWA title so bad because that is something he never achieved in the WWE. Jarrett, on the other hand, went on with his usual “you can’t beat me I’m the friggin’ King of the Mountain” tirade. That’s it. That’s the whole feud. On to the match.

The match was pretty awesome! I have to hand it to TNA for their booking of this match. There were the usual ref bumps (although the leg bump was a bit badly done) and the Gail Kim (Damn, I wish she’d never left the WWE. She’s a great wrestler with great looks to boot.) interferences. Oh yeah, recently fired senior referee Earl Hebner (!) officiated the match! With all those elements in place, I can say this: just replace the TNA set (the mats, logos, the six-sided ring, Mike Tenay, etc.) with a WWE set and you wouldn’t see the difference! It was like watching WWE programming! Only this time, it featured WWE midcard mainstays. Sorry, that was harsh. I meant no offense to both wrestlers, but that was the roles that were given to them while they were with the #1 wrestling promotion.

Going back to Christian, I feel that, while his main-event championship was very well deserved and long overdue, it may have been a bit rushed. It’s as if TNA banked on Christian’s upward momentum with the WWE (moths before Christian quit) to package him as their #1 guy. Also, I think that Christian’s main-event title push is a big insult to the current TNA roster, guys who have yet to break out of the midcard. They have been with the company longer than Christian, and here he is, he comes in and gets the title after only barely four months with the promotion. That kinda hurts, doesn’t it?

Here’s to hoping that Christian, a regular WWE midcarder, can turn things around for TNA as its champion, as the face of that (so far) harmless WWE competition.

Ah well, what do I know about TNA? I don’t even know who the members of Team Canada are. I just watch TNA because that’s where my favorite released WWE stars go to.

(Sorry for the late post. Summertime can lead to laziness at times. I'll bounce back next week.)