TNA is promoting the reveal of another “mystery man” on this week’s live episode of Impact Wrestling. I suppose eights months was an appropriate time to wait for another one of these…
And the big mystery reveal is…
…I don’t know. The title was a bait-and-switch, and I have no insider information on this one. I know the current rumor is independent star Adam Pearce. He posted this tweet a few hours before TNA launched the mystery campaign.
By the way, how many days til #August1 ?
— Adam Pearce (@ScrapDaddyAP) July 27, 2013
Pearce has been stirring the pot, so to speak, by picking fights with silly internet fans who think the idea is stupid. This isn’t the first time an indy star jumped on a cryptic TNA bandwagon to gain a little exposure for himself.
Due to Spike TV renewing Cops and running seven hour marathons every Thursday, the ratings are slightly higher than usual. That gives TNA a slightly bigger television audience than usual. That’s definitely a good thing, as Destination X is in the books and all eyes need to be on October’s Bound for Glory pay-per-view.
“Scrap Iron” Adam Pearce has talent, but he’s not popular enough to merit a mystery promo. More importantly, why deny him on Gut Check just to bring him back later? They did it with Joey Ryan; how did that work out?
You hear that? It was the sound of several thousand wrestling fans rolling their eyes and sighing collectively. But if you haven’t realized that wrestling is business by now, you just don’t get it, and never will. King Mo in TNA is free cross-promotion for Spike TV and Bellator MMA.
You know who else is free cross-promotion for Spike TV and Bellator MMA? Rampage Jackson.
Rampage Jackson’s last domestic UFC pay-per-view appearance did 520,000 buys. King Mo’s first Bellator fight did 812,000 viewers for Spike TV.
I have no doubt TNA will try and use King Mo, if he is behind the cryptic video, in some sort of gimmick-based wrestling capacity. He’s been learning pro wrestling for several months; if he’s fine with it, and Spike TV and Bellator don’t care, than do what you will. I personally think it’s a big mistake.
Pro wrestling and MMA are different beasts. Their fans are different. More importantly, the mainstream audience is too smart to care about King Mo in a “fake wrestling” match. A big star like Rampage Jackson could actually ruin his reputation by getting in the ring. Wrestling fans won’t like the match, MMA fans won’t watch the match; only those who stand to make money win.
So I propose a situation for those money-makers to make A LOT more money, and that will appease both MMA fans and pro wrestling fans the same.
Rampage Jackson vs. King Mo in a legit, MMA-style fight at Bound for Glory. Cross-promote with Bellator MMA and Spike TV, run promos on both shows, and plug the hell out of the biggest shoot in pro wrestling history. They both weigh in at 205-pounds, have comparable heights and have affiliation in kickboxing. Lawal has the three year age advantage, and his body is considerably less beat up. Rampage is a legit star, and has more to prove after multiple losses at the end of his UFC career. Rampage has been talking about moving up to heavyweight for his debut in Ballator; King Mo won his first five matches at heavyweight level.
Only Bellator has something to potentially lose from this fight happening at a pro wrestling event. The free promotion and nudge from Spike TV should be enough to pacify them. If they can swing it, go all the way. Bring out all the bells and whistles. Bring in a Bellator cage to hang above the ring, bring their announcer over, have the Knockouts hold up round cards, etc.
A 3rd round knockout tells a much better story than anything King Mo could do in pro wrestling.
