?Reported by Mike Siciliano of WrestleView.com

On Monday, March 21, 2005 at 3:58 PM EST

Ok. I said I would come in this time out with some thoughts on TNA, and the independent wrestling scene. I have to be honest, ladies and gentlemen, this is not my specialty. But, I made a promise, so here goes. Good luck sifting through the wreckage this one will cause.

With a sparce viewing of TNA, and only appearing at one independent show, although that show recently, (late Feburary), I want to preface my opinion piece on TNA and the Indies by saying my knowledge of the subject is LIMITED at best. I hope maybe by spewing some venom here, you guys can help educate me. Ok, now, off to the races...

NWA TNA
First of all, I think I honestly hate Jeff Jarrett more than I hate Triple H. Jarrett seems to be almost incapable of existing without the gold, and quite frankly, it's deplorable. Every month some other schmuck joins Planet Jarrett, then within two weeks, the storyline is scrapped. First, it's the Kings of Wrestling, alias the Outsiders, alias the nWo, then it's Billy Gunn alias the Outlaw, now its Monty Brown. Granted, having Monty Brown as a hired gun could be a valuable asset, as he is probably one of the most talented and high rising stars on the independent scene, but, when does the merry go round end, Jeff? And when do you become the hunter, instead of the hunted? How much stroke can one man have?

I really do like the six sided ring. I think it provides a lot more opportunities to cause some serious damage in the ring, and it allows for much more aerial tactics to succeed with more points of origin where to take off. I would like, although we all know it will never happen, but I'd like to see WWE experiment with the six sided ring. It could be unique. At least for a specialty match. What about putting the chamber in a six sided ring? Elimination chamber.....huh? Make more room for mayhem and chaos, don't you think?

Some of the talent on the TNA roster are WWE retreads, D'Lo Brown, Hall & Nash, yadda yadda yadda. However, some of them could have a lot of potential down the road, if the powers that be could figure out a way to harness their potential. Let's name a few....

CHRISTOPHER DANIELS - Wouldn't the X Champ look damn good beating the high holy hell out of the cruiserweights on Smackdown? And with his intensity, it would bring a significant element of destruction to a high flying division that lacks a touch of credibility.

A.J. STYLES - Probably by far, WWE's most sought after talent. Can go in any direction, at any level, and almost forever. The fans can't get enough of this guy. His moves are innovative, his charisma is knife-slicing, his talent is virtually limitless. He's held the NWA World title twice. Why the hell couldn't he run the gamut in the WWE? I think he could.

ELIX SKIPPER - One of the purest athletes on the independent circuit. Can technically go, and can roughhouse it with the best of them. I saw him go toe to toe with Xavier from ROH, and he brought it big time at the last UXW show. I think he has the skills to make a run in the big time, but he does have to lose one thing, screaming at the top of his lungs every two minutes, "WHAT TIME IS IT?" I had people in the stands next to me saying buy a watch the fifth time he said that.

SONJAY DUTT - I don't know what it is, I can't tell you for certain anything specific, but I like this guy. I like how he presents himself in the ring. He made a good showing at the last UXW show, and he was neck deep involved in the ladder match thing Angle put out two weeks ago on Smackdown. It would be nice to add a different international flavor outside of Japan and Mexico, don't you think?

MIKE KRUEL - The dude got toasted by JBL one time on Smackdown, he's been back and forth getting his ass kicked on WWE television, yet, he put on a clinic of a triple threat match with Jay Lethal and Chris Candido back in Feburary in Bethpage. He's got the look to package in to some sort of gimmick, and maybe roll with it. Besides, I like his nickname, the Shooter. He's got tools. Maybe not there, yet, but damn close.

and lastly, I gotta mention this guy...

THE SANDMAN - I know, I know, with the era of 'toned down' wrestling, the chances of this guy making a comeback in the big time is slim to none. But, you have to understand something. When this guy came out in his match vs. Justin Credible at UXW Genesis, I swear to God, ladies and gentlemen, the roof came off the place, and literally fell down backwards on top of the Sportime auditorium. The man is larger than life, he could literally redefine the realm of pro wrestling if he's allowed to do it his way, and quite frankly, I have not heard a reaction to anyone like that since back in January 2001, when Trips returned from his quad at MSG on Raw. It's been too long.

This ECW reunion pay per view WWE is putting together is probably going to be a major hit, because of who's running it, and who's liable to cause some major damage during it. I just hope that WWE brass doesn't put any significant restraints on the mayhem that guys like Sandman and Axl Rotten can do, because, after seeing them at their dirtiest, seeing them try and constrain to the rules of national television, pay per view or not, may not be as enjoyable. I personally would rather keep the views in my head of seeing Axl DDT Mana on chair on the floor to win his match back at Genesis after Mick Foley came down and whacked anyone with a heartbeat.

I think TNA needs desperately to repackage Abyss. He looks too much like Kane did back when he wore the mask, and his actions in the ring are too closely predictable to Kane's. I read somewhere that he may be hurt, so this could be the perfect chance to repackage him into a monster more unique to the TNA scene.

Jeff Hardy needs to go back to WWE. He needs to reunite with Matt. Now, with the Lita thing blown up, more than ever. A little Hardy Boyz tag team supremacy and Team Xtreme will be back on the top of the wrestling world. Not to mention the fact that it would do wonders for WWE's sagging tag team divisions.

Raven could possibly be one of the most stale characters ever to walk a professional wrestling locker room. And you can tell Jonny Polo I said that, too.

If the Rock ever appears for TNA, I swear, I may take my Walking Tall, Rundown, and Scorpion King DVDs and use them as frisbees. That piece of crap has no business talking with Jeff Jarrett about any possible appearances when WWE still is promoting his movies, and still has him plastered all over their programming, whether it's PSAs, show openings, etc. Rock needs to bury the hatchet with Vinnie Mac, and he needs to do it now. He cannot end his career with his last appearance on Raw. It can't happen.

On a totally different note, how different is the business today from 5 years ago. King Of The Ring 2000. A Handicap Table Dumpster Match, Road Dogg, X Pac, & Tori vs. the Dudley Boyz. Now that was entertainment.

Ok, back to the lecture of the indies... I am running out of nuggets.

If anyone has heard of the status of Diablo Santiago, from the Outkast Killaz, the dude that was hurt badly at the UXW show I was at, I'd love to hear from you. Drop me a line and tell me how he's doing. I'll post any updates I get next time out.

What else is there for me to say? Oh, I'll take the time to plug a colleague, Bob Magee, and his column here on Wrestleview. I consider it a bible of information about the independent circuit. AS I SEE IT it's called. If you're a novice indie follower like me, that's the dude to check out.

There has to be a happy medium for professional wrestling somewhere. I mean, some of the extreme idiocy I saw at the UXW show is way over the line, yet some of the other antics I saw, if you could integrate them in to a WWE event, you're liable to draw so many more crowds, it's not funny. Your star power is significantly diminished with the retirement factor and the moving on factor involving your stars of the 90's, maybe it's time to take a little more 'xtreme' and put it back in to the WWE, back to the era of the tables, ladders, and chairs matches. I mean, a 10 man elimination match to start off a card.. Could you ever, would you ever see something like that on a WWE card? Never. How cool would the chaos be, and how much exposure could some of the lesser used talents get by spreading your collective muscles.

Ok, I'm quickly going off topic. So, instead of dragging this out, let me put a question to you people, and see how you respond.

Who is your favorite independent wrestler, and which is your favorite independent promotion, and why?

And give me some GOOD FEEDBACK on it. I'll do what I can with it down the road.

Here's the email link.

Click here to drop me a line.

Ok, I'm out. KIMOSABE, SUMO!?!?!?!?!?