TNA Originals compared to WWE/WCW Castoffs
 

I was thinking the other night about the TNA roster. Its got its share of guys who made their names in TNA, and a boatload of guys who previously were in WWE, as well as Sting from WCW.

I just kind of think of guys like AJ Styles, Eric Young, Abyss, and Samoa Joe as glorified independent wrestlers.

Yes, Samoa Joe wasn't there from the start and was big in ROH, but still, he wasn't on TV then so I just threw his name in there.

Styles and Abyss have had success as TNA/NWA World Champions, so they are successful, but to me, if you haven't been in WWE- asides from any dark matches they have had- you are almost a nobody in this business. Not a knock on their work, but WWE is still the king.

Conversely, almost all of the guys in TNA are working in TNA because WWE didn't want them anymore. Kennedy, Mickie James, Team 3D, Matt Morgan, The Pope. They are there to collect a paycheck. Not that its a bad thing, but the consensus is that a lot of these guys are washed up. The wrestlers are making money, but besides Jeff Hardy- whose going to draw any money for the company?

Any thoughts? Disagreements?

I don't really agree with the having to be in WWE to 'be somebody'.

Plus, EVERYONE in the business is there for the paycheck. Half of these aren't qualified to mow lawns for a living, so they know the only option they have at that point is to wrestle or work at the Olive Garden. They'll do the prior for as long as they can, until they have to re-join the real world.

That was Justin Credible!

You are right about the check, but I think for the most part, once you are no longer in WWE, or if you've never been in WWE, you start to become forgotten.

I talked to someone last week about how he went to a Mick Foley book signing in Chicago, and how he got there when it started and was done in 15 minutes. If Foley was in WWE, I am betting the line is out the door.

What about Sting?

Well, not everyone.

Hogan isn't forgotten. Sting. Outsiders.

But a lot of guys who leave WWE, to me anyway- are largely forgotten. Not necessarily by posters on these boards, but by the fans in general.

Hogan and Sting are on a different level than Ken Kennedy/Elijah Burke

I challenge you to support this statement with facts good sir.

^^^ lol are you serious. Pretty sure his James statement there can be taken as a fact in support of that claim. To even begin to compare Hogan/Sting with Kennedy/Burke would be laughable at best.

In all honesty, it is quite simple. Sting and Hogan are icons, legends if you will, in the wrestling business. Whether good or bad, they have made a huge impact on the business over the course of their respective careers. Don't think you can say anything like that about the other 2.

nobody is bigger than WWE. If the machine ain't behind you, you don't mean jack shit, son

They are still in their prime.