Thoughts From The Top Rope 9.03.08: X Division in Crisis?

Good morning all and welcome to another enthralling edition of Thoughts From The Top Rope.

As opposed to looking back at all of the feedback from last week’s column, I’ll just skim over some of the general feelings that were coming from the comments section before getting on to today’s topic.

It would seem as though the fast majority of readers agreed with me in saying that the new ECW is a hell of a show and a fair few even agreed that it is the most consistantly entertaining wrestling show out there today. Many people pointed out that John Morrison is the best part about that show (he was featured in each of my Top 5 New ECW Matches) and while I’m a huge fan of the guy, one superstar doess not a show make. No doubt though, Morrison has a very, very bright future and more time on ECW will only allow him to improve, gain confidence and prepare himself for the big time. Quite a few people disagreed with me about my assessment of the old ECW, but opinions differ and I maintain that the show’s legacy is largely romanticized and overrated.

It is not uncommon for me to be stuck for an idea for a column just hours before a deadline, such was the case yesterday morning. Well actually, I had ideas; I just didn’t like any of them. That is until the postman arrived (early, for a change) and handed me a package that I’d been waiting for a long while.

TNA Wrestling’s X Division was always the thing that set them apart from any other wrestling promotion out there. It’s not about weight limits, it’s about no limits. The fast-paced, high-flying style of wrestling always provided a ton of excitement for the viewer and over the years it has been in existence, has produced hundreds of quality matches, giving the smaller athletes a chance to shine much like WCW and ECW did in the 90’s.

So you can imagine my excitement to receive this morning’s post and more specifically, a TNA twin-pack of DVDs – The Best of the X Division Vol. 1 and The Best of the X Division Vol. 2. Now, because of this pesky column I have to write, I’ve yet to have the chance to sit down and pop those DVDs in the player, but just checking out the match listing on the back is mouth-watering.

A couple of matches that stand out on Vol. 1 are the Ultimate X match between Petey Williams, Chris Sabin and AJ Styles, widely regarded as the best ever Ultimate X match, and an Iron Man match between AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels. While the back of the box doesn’t reveal which of the two Iron Man matches between the two is featured, it’s a win/win situation because both rocked. Also featured on there are guys like Matt Bentley, Sonjay Dutt, Sean Waltman and the debut of Samoa Joe, all of whom played a big part in making the X Division so great. One guy who isn’t featured at all is Jerry Lynn, which is a damn shame considering how he was one of the pioneers of the X Division. Also missing are guys like Amazing Red, Low Ki and Kid Kash, all former X Champions who made the X Division special in the weekly pay-per-view days.

The one guy who is featured most heavily is a certain Phenomenal AJ Styles, and rightly so. Styles became the very first X Division Champion on June 19 2002, beating Low Ki, Psicosis and Jerry Lynn in a four-way elimination match to capture the gold. AJ would go on to hold the X Division Championship on a total of six occasions, beating a who’s who of X Division legends, including Kazarian, Petey Williams, Christopher Daniels, Chris Sabin and Sean Waltman, to claim those titles.

Styles has been involved in some of the greatest ever X Division feuds included a war with fellow pioneer Jerry Lynn that saw them start of as tag team champions while maintaining a competitive rivalry, only to descend into an hellacious rivalry over X Division gold. AJ would later battle with Christopher Daniels in another fantastic rivalry that would see the two put on many great matches together. Ironically, they eventually wound up as tag team champions too.

The Best of the X Division Vol. 2 looks to be another great as the matches are predominantly taken from Impact, which means they’re mostly forgotten gems that are harder to find that you average pay-per-view match. The set features all the X Division mainstays like Styles, Daniels, Sabin and Williams but also sees the introduction of the likes of Alex Shelley, Senshi, Jay Lethal and Samoa Joe.

Samoa Joe is a big part of X Division history. His introduction into the division back in 2005 reinforced the theory that it’s not about weight limits, it’s about no limits and Joe certainly took advantage of that, dominating the X Division for a good two years, to the point that he essentially rose above everyone else and became a main eventer. At the same time, AJ Styles had moved away from the X Division and Christopher Daniels had done the same. His failed main event push wound up with him leaving the company only to come back and wrestle as Curry Man. You could say that since the Samoa Joe/Christopher Daniels/AJ Styles feud, the X Division has never recovered.

Jay Lethal looked to be the guy that continued the legacy of the X Division, but his first reign, which should have been a monumental one, was cut ridiculously short as Joe got another unnecessary reign. The thinking behind this title change was that it would make a Joe/Angle match all the more special, as all of TNA’s Championships would be up for grabs. Unfortunately, this really only served to devalue the title and although Lethal would beat Angle for the title later, the booking of Black Machismo was essentially one step forward, two steps back, making the X Division Champion look like a joke.

The X Division has been in something of a slump for about two years. Now don’t get me wrong, there have still been some fun matches but recent champions like Lethal, Johnny Devine and Williams don’t live up to guys like Styles and Daniels. With TNA acquiring guys like Kurt Angle, Christian Cage and Booker T, it’s almost as if TNA feels obliged to keep these guys in the main event while the X Division isn’t treated as important any more, despite the fact that is the factor that made TNA so enjoyable in its first few years.

If we look at the current landscape of the X Division, things don’t look too promising. We have a heel champion in Petey Williams who the crowd loves to cheer more than any of the faces in the division. His main challenger is Consequences Creed, a relative new comer who the Impact Zone are hardly the biggest fans of and who also destroyed in the main event of Impact by Booker T, underlining the problems with the division. Shiek Abdul Bashir is a good wrestler and will get heat, but the guy is using a gimmick that run its course years ago. His whole anti-American thing is done to the point where they have to be so over the top with it that it becomes a joke. Johnny Devine is a former champion but he’s Team 3D’s lackey and thus has zero credibility.

Two guys who could’ve made the X Division special again are Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt. Their feud had been brooding for months but when they finally pulled the trigger on it, they took the X Division strap off a Lethal and made the feud about So Cal Val. The wedding segment was a joke, and nearly every match they’ve had since then have been a joke. This might well be one of those feuds that a wrestler never recovers from and I fear we could have lost two excellent X Division wrestlers to the way of the soap opera storyline.

There a couple of really good X Division wrestlers currently tied up in tag teams. According to reports, there has been some talk of splitting up LAX. Whether it’s a good idea or not, it would free up Homicide who would be a tremendous addition to the X Division as anyone who has seen his ROH work can testify. Similarly, fans who saw Jimmy Rave’s work in ROH a few years ago know that this guy has what it takes to have some pretty amazing matches and generate a ton of heat for himself, but maybe his Rock N Rave Infection gimmick is too much for him to overcome. Finally, you have Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin as the Motor City Machineguns. Now those two could bring all sorts of credibility to the X Division but are they better off as a tag team? Well history suggests not as TNA hasn’t shown any real intent to push them, but they seem to be heading for a heel turn so who knows what that will do for their careers?

In the last few days, it has come out that a number of starts could be on their way out of TNA, including big names like Christian Cage, Kevin Nash, Team 3D and Awesome Kong. With WWE supposedly interested in all of these guys, and having recently signed Gail Kim, it appears as though the big boys from Stamford are taking an interest in TNA talent. But that can work both ways. There are number of guys on the WWE roster currently going nowhere who TNA should be looking at to bring in, not only to replace those potentially leaving, but to improve their shoddy excuse for an X Division.

One name that immediately springs to mind is Paul London. While it looked for a moment that he may be used in the Shawn Michaels/Chris Jericho saga, that has not materialized and so it looks as if London will never see a push in WWE. You could argue that Brian Kendrick got one out of nowhere, but London supposedly has attitude problems that are holding him back and really, who can blame considering not only his talent, but the run he had on SmackDown with Kendrick, only to be sent to Raw, or more accurately Heat, to waste away. London has worked with TNA before and although he said he saw his time there as a “stepping stone”, the company has come a long way since then and he would surely be used more there than he is in WWE.

What does London bring to the X Division table? Well for one, he is a name everybody knows and people will get behind, unlike a guy like Consequences Creed. And while I don’t think London is the guy to raise TNA’s ratings or anything, he does lend credibility to an X Division that severely lacks it. We also know that the guy is capable of some ridiculous things. As far as fast-paced and high-flying wrestling goes, they do not come much better than Paul London. He also makes for a terrific underdog and his rise to the top of TNA’s X Division could give them the spark that they need. I’m salivating at the possibility of Paul London/Petey Williams match.

Over on SmackDown, there are two or three guys I could see being a great addition to the X Division. Jimmy Wang Yang is unlikely to be getting much of a push soon due to his violation of the Wellness policy, so I’d imagine WWE wouldn’t be too worried letting him go and he would be a good acquisition for TNA. Similarly to London, Yang has worked for TNA in the past and impressed, and we all know he is capable of some good matches, albeit probably not on the level of the top X stars of the past. But like London, he adds credibility. Super Crazy could be used in a veteran capacity, again adding credibility and being a constant threat to the X Championship due to his experience. However, at his age, he may not want anything to do with TNA as he’s surely getting a much better deal with WWE. The final guy I’m thinking of is Gregory Helms. Helms is on the mend and on his way back from a severe neck injury but I see no place for him on SmackDown as they have a pretty packed roster. As part of the X Division, he would be the guy who works fast but doesn’t fly so much, but he is a tremendous worker who I think could add a lot to the Division as his matches would likely be more than just an average spotfest.

Then of course there are guys like Evan Bourne, Brian Kendrick, Kofi Kingston, John Morrison and Rey Mysterio who would all excel in the X Division, but in all likelihood will not be leaving WWE any time soon. Still, if TNA could poach any of these guys it would be a major coo for them.

Of course, WWE isn’t the only promotion from which TNA can look to. ROH has a number of guys who would bring a lot to the table. Two men who I am a big fan of and have worked in TNA’s X Division before are Austin Aries and Roderick Strong. Both men would be a gamble considering they’ve both had bad experiences with TNA in the past, but at the same time both are incredibly good in the ring and have proven that they excel in the X Division. Another two guys who would make for great X Division workers are the current ROH Tag Team Champions, Tyler Black and Jimmy Jacobs. However, all four of these guys are unlikely to leave ROH at this time, Strong and Aries because of their past dealings with the company and ROH because of their current major role in ROH.

So with limited options available, perhaps TNA’s only hope is in fact in splitting up their tag teams to introduce Shelley, Sabin and Homicide into the Division. But that takes away two major tag teams and leaves a poor tag division, so that’s not much of an option either. If only there was someone out there currently not employed by any wrestling company who has a unique style that could excel in the X Division.

Is Rob Van Dam the X Division’s only hope? Thinking about it, the guy is the perfect fit for the X Division – he’s quick, he’s unique and he excels in high-flying offence. The rumours of TNA being interested in him certainly have me more excited than those of Mick Foley coming to TNA. If Van Dam is looking to get back into wrestling, and that’s a big if considering the condition of his wife, then TNA might just be the perfect option for him too. The lighter schedule would certainly be to his liking as the workload was a big part of why he took a break in the first place, and only having to work a handful of dates a month (I’d imagine he wouldn’t have to work house shows) would allow him to take care of his wife. I’m sure TNA would offer him a sizable contract considering he is a former WWE Champion and a massive name.

Picture an X Division with Rob Van Dam as its cornerstone. And then as a supporting cast you have Petey Williams, Paul London, Roderick Strong and Austin Aries, maybe others. It sounds like a pretty good division, no? Likelihood of coming to fruition? Probably minimal. But then again if you’d told me a month ago that Gail Kim would be going to WWE this summer with Mick Foley going the other way, I’d have said that had little to no chance of happening too. This is wrestling, and although it is clich?, anything can happen.