Wrestling fans love having something to guess about, especially when it's a case of who the mystery man behind the promos will be. Repeated case history in the modern era shows the attention it gets.
TNA Impact released videos last week that teased a big reveal on August 1st.
The man behind the videos was revealed to be Tito Ortiz. In today's wrestling column for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, I give my reaction.
He said he wasn't Batista, and he said he wasn't Chris Jericho. Great to get attention by dropping their names in denial but set a bar too high to deliver. The BIG reveal was Tito Ortiz. TNA has a partnership with Bellator MMA fighting which also airs on Spike TV. They're trying to get attention and I guess they got some, but at what price? TNA has become a punchline to wrestling fans.
TNA should scrap professional wrestling and start putting on MMA events. There is no guarantee they will get the return because these MMA guys aren't top billing anymore, but at least it would be the right ring/cage.
Ortiz and Jackson in a fake wrestling match isn't going to create record pay-per-view buys or television ratings. They don't matter like they used to.
WWE used Floyd “Money” Mayweather in a match with Big Show at WrestleMania 24 because Mayweather was the biggest name in boxing.
There are a dozen names who are stars on the independent wrestling circuit that TNA could spend money on. All 12 combined would be much less than any investment for Ortiz and Jackson. Those 12 guys would grab positive attention from wrestling fans. Out of those dozen, maybe only two become stars that TNA can try to make consistent money from. That's still two more than they have with the MMA senior club.
Click here to read the full column with more on Ortiz signing.
