The Main Event Mafia.
I know it may not be a popular thing to say in “Internet Wrestling Land,” but TNA may have something here. Bear with me.
Okay, the “Veterans vs. the New Blood/Originals” has been done before and not very well. ECW (WWE’s version) tried it, but the writers saw something shiny and became immediately distracted. WCW launched it and within seconds, it was DOA. While still in the early stages, the Main Event Mafia may have legs.
As an aside, I love the new poster for Final Resolution. It features four of the five members dressed up in suits. Kevin Nash is more casual with his open-collared black shirt. Oh, that Nash. Will you ever grow up? Yeah, you went with the “Silver Fox” look, but seriously, your buddies dressed up. Maybe a clip-on tie would help?
Anyway, I like the grouping. I like what it’s done to Sting in particular. I never thought it was possible to make him a heel, but it’s happening. That, in and of itself, is a master stroke. Angle, Steiner, Booker and Nash have played the villain before. Sting? I believe WCW tried it and it failed. TNA fans are loving to hate him.
Stables in today’s wrestling landscape are hard to pull off. Every one of them lives in the shadow of the NWO, which lived in the shadow of the Four Horsemen. It has failed more times than it has succeeded, hence the reticence that fans have regarding the latest and greatest grouping. Like tag teams in WWE, the creative crew have trouble embracing it over the long term.
By putting all the “outside” big names in one group and turning them heel, TNA is taking a risk. But this is what TNA needs to do. Do things that either haven’t been done before or haven’t been done all that well. Mind you, there are few, if any original ideas left in wrestling, so why not try to improve on the past.
The Main Event Mafia is just that. Big name guys who work the high-profile, main event matches. Usually, a heel faction will have one or two big names that give a rub to those not so well known. But packing them all in one group? It is a risk worth taking. And it makes sense.
I realize that I could be eating my words in the days, weeks and months that follow, But for now, it’s working for me. Putting them all over in last night’s pay-per-view was a vital first step. Portray them as dominant and united. Fans are more likely to cheer for the babyfaces climbing up a hill, not the bad guys immediately falling downhill.
Eventually, there will be chinks in the MEM armor. Inevitably, there will be dissension. For now, TNA has a heel faction that is working in the early stages that has a compelling storyline.
In the meantime, I will have a knife and fork standing by for a heapin’ helpin’ of crow.
