It's really sad, because Pope was a total can't-miss back in '09 and TNA completely missed with him. He should have been a huge star and instead, he was wasted.
The E's midcard could use a nice short in the arm. It'd be nice to see a triumphant Elijah Burke return.
Not real sure if the Pope ends up in the WWE considering his heat with Punk and others in the WWE. There is also the TNA lawsuit that might hurt his chances of going to the WWE. He doesn't seem like a ROH guy either. I agree TNA dropped the ball on him early in 2010 as he was really over and his fragility didn't help neither did Russo turning Pope and turning Pope as well as tossing him in a awful feud with Abyss. The Pope really did nothing and was used sparingly the last year and a half. I don't see this as a huge loss as a bunch of guy jumped ahead of him on the totem pole.
Originally posted by graves9Not real sure if the Pope ends up in the WWE considering his heat with Punk and others in the WWE. There is also the TNA lawsuit that might hurt his chances of going to the WWE. He doesn't seem like a ROH guy either. I agree TNA dropped the ball on him early in 2010 as he was really over and his fragility didn't help neither did Russo turning Pope and turning Pope as well as tossing him in a awful feud with Abyss. The Pope really did nothing and was used sparingly the last year and a half. I don't see this as a huge loss as a bunch of guy jumped ahead of him on the totem pole.
Not sure about he lawsuit - if it were really a big deal, we wouldn't see Flair back, right?
Originally posted by graves9Not real sure if the Pope ends up in the WWE considering his heat with Punk and others in the WWE. There is also the TNA lawsuit that might hurt his chances of going to the WWE. He doesn't seem like a ROH guy either. I agree TNA dropped the ball on him early in 2010 as he was really over and his fragility didn't help neither did Russo turning Pope and turning Pope as well as tossing him in a awful feud with Abyss. The Pope really did nothing and was used sparingly the last year and a half. I don't see this as a huge loss as a bunch of guy jumped ahead of him on the totem pole.
Not sure about he lawsuit - if it were really a big deal, we wouldn't see Flair back, right?
What's this about Burke and Punk?
Punk said Burke was his least favorite opponent as he viewed him as the biggest diva he's ever dealt with. Here's Punk's quote:
http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/news/226811/CM-Punk-Trashes-TNA//s-Elijah-Burke-The-Pope-As-//The-Worst//.htm“My least favorite opponent; does anyone even remember Elijah Burke?” Punk told WISX FM in Philadelphia. “Oh, he was terrible. He is absolutely the worst. Absolutely the worst. Talk about a diva. Man oh man, sorry if you liked him.” The Pope eventually responded and took a shot at Punk. As far as Flair Vs Pope well there's a big difference and the WWE is probably more willing to take their chances with Flair.
Punk vs Elijah Burke was the only decent wrestling match at the only WWE house show I've ever attended. Granted, this was a card that had highlights of Mark Henry (before he finally achieved his potential) and Big Daddy V, mainevented by Batista vs The Great Khali. When the second best match, from a wrestling perspective, involves Chuck Palumbo, you know you got shafted.
Of course, this could also be a blatantly obvious swerve, leading up to D'Angelo being unmasked as a member of Aces & Eights. After all, he DID appear as a henchmen of Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. (And didn't they announce Matt Morgan's release right before he returned, or was he just talking so much crap on the company (apparently as a lead in to the Hogan angle) that people just assumed he was gone?)
Originally posted by InVersePunk vs Elijah Burke was the only decent wrestling match at the only WWE house show I've ever attended. Granted, this was a card that had highlights of Mark Henry (before he finally achieved his potential) and Big Daddy V, mainevented by Batista vs The Great Khali. When the second best match, from a wrestling perspective, involves Chuck Palumbo, you know you got shafted.
Of course, this could also be a blatantly obvious swerve, leading up to D'Angelo being unmasked as a member of Aces & Eights. After all, he DID appear as a henchmen of Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. (And didn't they announce Matt Morgan's release right before he returned, or was he just talking so much crap on the company (apparently as a lead in to the Hogan angle) that people just assumed he was gone?)
Believe it was the latter though some say he wanted to go to the WWE, but he couldn't due to the lawsuit. FWIW, Pope and Sarita have been removed from the TNA roster page, but so was Devon at one time. I'm more bothered about TNA never doing anything with Sarita than whatever happened with the Pope.
Originally posted by InVerse Of course, this could also be a blatantly obvious swerve, leading up to D'Angelo being unmasked as a member of Aces & Eights. After all, he DID appear as a henchmen of Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. (And didn't they announce Matt Morgan's release right before he returned, or was he just talking so much crap on the company (apparently as a lead in to the Hogan angle) that people just assumed he was gone?)
I hope this is a Devon like swerve (and let's not forget that feud when discussing ways they dropped the ball with Pope) but I doubt it. They have NEVER seemed interested in pushing him, even though the fans were demanding it two years ago. I know he was injured, but that doesn't mean the guy can't be on TV to keep the hot streak going. Worked for Austin in 1997.
With him gone, we now look to Storm and Joe as candidates for Worst Used Talent in TNA.
This is disappointing. Pope was one of my favorite parts of the show when I started watching TNA in 2009/2010.
I can't blame TNA for not wanting to resign him though. In 2010 after main-eventing Against All Odds he seemed in line to get the world title at Lockdown. Then he got temporarily injured in the middle of the two month buildup to Lockdown. Shortly afterwards he got injured again.
I wish they had developed his feud with Anderson better after his return. He did get to mainevent another pay per view that year against Anderson at No Surrender. Following that he was in a cool faction with Nash and Sting, and was the only member of that Wolfpac to refuse to quit after Immortal took over TNA. The scene where Pope told Nash and Sting that he was going to keep fighting the seemingly unstoppable superfaction on his own was a defining moment of heroism for Pope.
TNA kept him relevant through his feud with Abyss. Afterwards TNA seemed less enthusiastic about him. Perhaps TNA was irked by his twin 2010 injuries, so wanted to shift him to a less prominent role, but felt that he remained prominent enough at that point for them to let the heat out of him slowly. That would explain the lack of a decisive victory over Anderson and his 2011/2012 misadventures. The 2011 Joe feud was underwelming. His neverending feud with Devon/mentorship of Devon's sons was just creepy.
He disappeared before returning in 2012 just in time to get injured again.
I always wanted him to get vengeance upon Sting for abandoning him, since Sting returned a few months later to pal around with Kurt and Fortune. Here's to hoping Pope is the stealth Aces and Eights President!
from what I've heard, both Sarita and Rosita are no longer with TNA. Sarita was the legit best wrestler of all the KO's and Rosita is pretty tight in the ring too ( not to mention a real cool person IRL ). I thought they also played strong characters and could have continued to be utilized but at least now they can work Indy's instead of being blocked by the new TNA contracts.
Thread ahead: Pro Wrestlers versus Zombies begins filming Next thread: Smackdown Match Spoiled by WWE.COM (there's unmarked Smackdown Spoilers in this thread) Previous thread: Raw #2023
What they really should have done to establish her as a heel is keep Molly in that 'siren' bathing suit as her wrestling attire. And don't cheat by putting volleyball shorts or a thong leotard underneath.