That Clown from Outta Town - The TNA Roster

Sting made a comment on iMPACT about there being '50 guys in the back' that wanted to wrestle. I was confused, because it seems like there's about a dozen...I thought I'd take a look at TNA's roster to see who's under contract but not getting any TV time. And my general thoughts on each wrestler.

I'm ignoring people like Don West and JB, because they're not wrestlers...I'm also ignoring Knockouts, because they're not guys.

1. Abyss

Abyss is 'injured' right now, so he's not actively wrestling. I like Abyss, they put him in some fucking stupid angles sometimes and I preferred him before he could talk, but overall he's someone I'm usually glad to see - he does need the right opponent to show his best stuff though.

2. AJ Styles

AJ's getting plenty of airtime right now, and rightly so. He changed his style at one point to be less high-risk, and I liked him less because of it, but he's now getting good at the new style and has been in some very good matches recently. I'm still not a huge fan of AJ on the mic though.

3. Alex Shelly

I haven't seen Shelly for a long time. As part of MCMG, Shelly is brilliant - I'm not sold on him as a solo wrestler though. Definitely deserves more airtime than he's getting.

4. Amazing Red

This guy really is amazing. He's one of TNA's most talented guys, and you never see him on TV any more which is a damn shame.

5. Brian Kendrick

I'd completely forgotten about this guy. I haven't seen any really great matches of his in TNA, and his gimmick is fucking horrible. He gets zero airtime, but there's plenty of people I'd put ahead of him in the queue.

6. Devon

I like Devon, but I like him more as part of 3D than as a singles wrestler. He's had plenty of airtime recently, although it's all been part of a single feud. Bubba's moved on to the Immortals storyline now, so I'm not sure what'll happen to Devon in coming weeks.

7. Bully Ray

Bubba is fucking awesome. While I still prefer 3D to Bubba as a solo wrestler, his skill on the mic is pretty much unequalled in TNA. I'm glad to see him take Jeff's spot...I'm not sure how long it'll last, but it'll be good while it does.

8. Chris Sabin

I really like Sabin. I probably like him equally as a solo wrestler or as part of MCMG. Hasn't been on iMPACT in months, like Shelly I'm not sure what's going on with him. I'd like to see more Sabin, even if it's without Shelly.

9. Crimson

I don't really know much about the guy, I think he's Amazing Red's brother, or cousin, or something? He was part of the 'They 2: this time it's personal' angle and then vanished without a trace. I only saw one (very short) match, but he seemed to be a pretty solid wrestler - I'd definitely be interested to see more of this guy.

10. Pope

Pope is on iMPACT fairly regularly, but at the moment he's in an awful feud with Joe that makes both of them look bad. I don't like his gimmick but he's a pretty decent wrestler on a good day...I'm not sure I'd want to see him get a big push or anything though.

11. Desmond Wolfe

I didn't realise he was still with TNA. Wolfe is one of the best wrestlers TNA have got, and you never, ever see him. I really wish TNA would use this guy properly, instead of him jobbing around with Magnus in a tag team that literally nobody gives a fuck about. Wolfe is champion material, no two ways about it.

12. Douglas Williams

I like Doug. He's a really good wrestler, but again is under-utilized. His X-Division reign was great, but he seems to have disappeared recently. I hope he gets a push soon.

13. Eric Young

It's fucking disgraceful the way TNA have treated Eric. They just seem to be out to humiliate him at every turn. He had a decent run a while back with the World Elite angle, which was dropped without comment. Then he was in The Band, but that ended in a fiasco. Since then, his gimmick is 'he's a fucking idiot' and on the rare occasions you do see him it's in the form of a terrible, 'comedy' promo that nobody finds funny. He's in a tag team that nobody cares about, and he's going nowhere. He deserves better.

14 & 15. Gen Me

Gen Me are great, a very talented young tag team. They're getting an okay amount of airtime, I'd be comfortable with seeing more of them because they always seem to deliver when they get in the ring. I think they need to develop their mic skills a little before they'll be considered great, but the potential is definitely there.

16 & 17 - Gunner & Murphy

I had these guys down as jobbers, but Gunner actually looked pretty decent on iMPACT against Murphy & Terry. It's hard to tell from a 2-minute match, but I'm curious now and I'd like to see a proper match to see what he can do. They get plenty of airtime, I don't really want to see any more of them than I do already.

18. Hernandez

I like Hernandez, but I prefer LAX by miles. He left for a year, was a big star in Mexico, then came back to...reignite a year-old feud that nobody gave a fuck about even when it was new, and participate in the most ridiculous screwjob I've ever seen. As much as I like him, he should have stayed in Mexico, where he wouldn't have to put up with this shit.

19 & 20. Beer Money

These guys are awesome. I was never sold on Roode as a singles competitor (which reminds me of another terrible angle Eric Young was in) but Beer Money are great. It's nice to see the belts around the right team's waists.

21. Jay Lethal

Where is Jay? He's one of TNA's most talented guys, you never see him any more. I could watch him every week to be honest.

22. Jeff Hardy

I'm not sure what's happening with Jeff after he ruined a PPV and embarrassed the company, but knowing TNA he'll end up with the belt by the end of the year. He gets way too much airtime, so much so that I don't give a fuck about anything he says or does.

23. Jeff Jarrett

Jarrett can fuck off for the angle with Kurt and Karen. Dragging real life stuff like that into wrestling is just low. I didn't mind it because I thought Kurt must be okay with it, but according to rumours it's making him really upset backstage. So fuck Jarrett. Gets way too much TV time, especially considering all he does is bullshit, fake 'At home with the Jarretts' promos and never even talks about wrestling.

24. Jesse Neal

I like Jesse, especially how we've seen him go from nobody, to trainee wrestler, to fully fledged wrestler getting title shots. I think it's really cool how TNA have followed his career like that, and he's pretty decent in the ring now too.

25. Kaz

Kaz is great, and gets plenty of airtime. No complaints about the way he's being used (except I'd like to see more matches and less promos, but that's about TNA in general not about Kaz).

26. Kurt Angle

I don't understand why Kurt isn't in the title picture. He is the final boss of TNA, but he doesn't even get a look in.

27. Magnus

Magnus is not a great wrestler, but he's decent enough. I can see him having a decent run as a mid-card guy. He gets no TV time, but there's other people ahead of him in the queue.

28. Matt Hardy

I have no interest in Matt Hardy, he's only there because his brother is friends with the guys who hire and fire, and having him on the screen is a waste of my time.

29. Matt Morgan

I find it very hard to stay interested in Morgan. He's not bad in the ring, but he's terrible on the mic. He also spends a lot of time whining about how hard done by he is, which doesn't make for great TV.

30. Mick Foley

I didn't think Mick was still with TNA. According to his bio:

"...recently made his shocking return on "iMPACT!" after being fired by Eric Bischoff...what's next for Foley in TNA Wrestling?"

Did I completely miss this, or have they simply not bothered to look at this page since November (or whenever)?

31. Mr Anderson

I'm so bored of this guy. Same promo every week, and he's been whining for the last month or two about getting a title shot. Straight-up whining. I could live without Anderson being there tbh.

32. Orlando Jordan

A pretty decent wrestler, he was lumbered with a shit gimmick when he first arrived and when nobody liked it he was put in a tag team and quickly forgotten about. I'd be ok with seeing him get a push, so long as the tag team is disbanded and they don't use the 'if you don't let me bugger you, I'll beat the shit out of you' angle ever again.

33. Rob Terry

Shit. Gets way too much TV time.

34. RVD

Has been improving, but still way overused. Doesn't need to be on TV nearly as much. Awful on the mic.

35. Robbie E

Robbie E can fuck right off. Horrible gimmick, nothing special in the ring...why is he still there? Why does he get so much airtime? It is a mystery.

36. Samoa Joe

Joe's currently being used as a midcard wrestler, when he's much better than most of the guys currently in title contention. TNA have forgotten how to use this guy. He doesn't get anywhere near enough TV time, and has been stuck in a dead-end feud for months. He didn't even get a match at the last PPV - Morgan and Hernandez did. What are TNA doing? Fucked if I know.

37. Scott Steiner

Steiner came back, had one (pretty decent) match, and then disappeared again. Who knows what's going on with him? I really like him on the mic, even though it's an acquired taste...More Steiner on TV wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.

38. Shannon Moore

No interest in Shannon Moore whatsoever.

39. Sting

I like Sting, he's much better on the mic (and especially at the psychological aspect) than most of the current top guys...I care more about TNA when Sting's there.

40. Suicide

Suicide (Daniels) is really good, but he's never on TV any more. We could definitely use more Suicide.

41. Tommy Dreamer

TNA Tommy seems to just be riding the coattails of ECW Tommy. He's done nothing recently that's anything special, you just get the feeling that his best matches are long behind him. I almost feel sorry for the guy.

TNA actually has way more guys than I realised, but still a long way short of 50.

Most of the roster is underused (but that's to be expected when a 2-hour show has roughly 9 minutes of wrestling), some are overused, and a handful are used properly (Fortune, and Gen Me).

I'd forgotten how much talent TNA actually has, when you consider who's under contract with them the low quality of the shows seems even worse.