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TNA AND MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: IS IT ANOTHER WCW PARODY?

I am here reading the TNA “Turning Point” results from Sunday and I have a bad feeling about something.  I have a bad feeling TNA is trying to go to the well one more time with this Major League Baseball angle.  I am all in favor of TNA wanting to recognize the Chicago White Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals for winning the World Series. 

I really didn’t have a problem with last year’s TNA match because it was a tag match and it was the wrestlers mostly in the ring.  It was the “Diamonds in the Rough” versus Sonjay Dutt and Chris Sabin and A.J. Pierzynski with Dale Torborg in their corner.  This sparked ESPN2’s “Cold Pizza” to do a story on it before the PPV.  There were many MLB players at the event and even sparked an appearance from Bobby “the Brain” Heenan.

Now, this year, TNA has brought back A.J. Pierzynski and has invited this year’s World Series MVP David Eckstein of the St. Louis Cardinals and they had a brawl at “Turning Point” that seems to be leading to a match at “Final Resolution”.  My question is if fans are going to care about this match.

Back in the 1990s, WCW made a habit of bringing in NFL and NBA players to be part of storylines.  You had everything from the late Reggie White against Steve McMichael.  In 1999, you had Karl Malone against Dennis Rodman.  You also had Jay Leno and Diamond Dallas Page versus “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan and Dennis Rodman.  Then Rodman faced “Macho Man” Randy Savage at “Hog Wild”.  Now it seems that TNA wants to place baseball players in a wrestling match.  TNA prides itself of being “the new face of professional wrestling”.

With the abundance of talent in TNA, why does Creative feel the need to once again go to the well and pull out a WCW storyline?  I personally do not want to see two baseball guys spend part of their off-season in a wrestling ring.  This is going to have “cluster” and “gimmick match” written all over it.  I am hoping the powers that be decide not to do this match.  If they do, it will be just another example of TNA going two steps back when it looked like they were starting to go forward. 

I want to see TNA go forward and drop these WCW-like storylines and stop being sports entertainment.  Hey TNA, what would be so bad if you just made a show that was what TNA stands for, total nonstop action?  That does not sound that bad to me at all if you did that but that is just one man’s opinion.  

You can write Jeff at ke4ole@bellsouth.net.