Mr Anderson ... Anderson ... Gone. Or Is He?

[Troy]

Watching Mr Anderson's reaction to Tito Ortiz's debut last week on Impact got me thinking about his place in the company. He had a strong start in TNA after debuting in Jan 2010 and he managed to win the TNA World title a year after his debut. He won the title for a second time later that year and for the first two years of his run he was always a key figure in the company and was featured in the top storylines. Since the start of 2012 though he has fallen back to the pack and become just another guy. He has had a few absences due to injury and when he has been on the show hasn't reached anywhere near the heights he initially reached in TNA. He joined Aces & Eights at the start of this year but has never been the focus of that group. He is Vice President now but the focus is still all on Bully Ray and no-one else.

I don't know what has happened to this guy but he has lost all his edge and charisma. He has never been that strong in the ring and without everything else to cover up that fact he doesn't stand out at all. This is a guy that WWE were, at one stage, willing to get behind and had him win the MITB briefcase relatively soon after he debuted for the company. At that stage everyone that won the briefcase went on to win the title so it is safe to say that there were plans for him to become champion in WWE. Injury ruined that opportunity and that seems to be a common theme with his career. TNA were willing to make him the focal point of the company soon after he debuted but again it didn't pan out.

It is odd that for the first couple of years in each company he has had pretty big pushes yet after that he drops down the card pretty rapidly. He can't seem to successfully evolve as a character, he had the announcer gimmick in TNA early on (just like he did in WWE), then he channelled Denis Leary with his Asshole gimmick and now he is a silent bland minion in Aces & Eights.

He is now 37 years old and I don't really know if he actually adds that much to Impact each week. Once this Aces & Eights storyline wraps up I think that TNA would be smart to release him.

What are your thoughts on Mr Anderson? Are you a fan? Will he rise back up and become TNA World champion again? Should TNA release him?

 

[ThatGuyFromNukemHigh]

re: Mr Anderson ... Anderson ... Gone

I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see him get pinned next week. Asides from Devon, Bully, and Taz he is the only other person in A&8's that has nothing to gain when the faction is over. His age is working against him, as he is not a name like Angle, Hogan, or Sting who are probably the main reason TNA's gate sales do as well as they do. I see him as dead weight, get rid of him, hire a couple new X-Division guys that can be invested in on the long term.

 

[Cwalker]

re: Mr Anderson ... Anderson ... Gone

I don't see why TNA would release him. After this Aces and Eigts storyline comes to an end, he can used as a midcard hand who puts other people over. He's 37, TNA doesn't need for him to be a star but he's got enough name recognition that defeating a former World Champion will look good on anyone's resume.

Yes he's never been the most technical in the ring, but he's still got that charisma. He's just in an angle where he doesn't need to show it. And actually he's evolved into a safer worker; which is why he hasn't been as injury prone as he was in the WWE. And to be honest, an injury didn't cost him MITB; a WWE doctor's misdiagnosis did.

The guys never going to be a star, but he'll be good enough to put others over. As long as he's capable of doing that; no sense in getting rid of him

 

[Weez]

re: Mr Anderson ... Anderson ... Gone

Like CWalker said, the fact that he's a much safer worker now does lend him some credit, but I really enjoyed him both in WWE and his first couple years in TNA (Surprisingly lol). He can wrestle well enough and tell good enough stories to back up his charisma, and that's all you really need to be a star on the top levels. At 37, he's not exactly in his prime anymore, but I think he's got several good years left.

Wouldn't mind seeing him back in the E, tbh. His merch did well when he wasn't hurt, and he was over with the crowd.

 

[Killz]

re: Mr Anderson ... Anderson ... Gone

I will feel sorry as hell for the guy if he doesn't either get anothe run with the big boys making himself some money OR if he doesn't spend a good chunk of time atop the TNA ladder. He has all the tools you need to be a marketable and successful star but sucky injuries screwed him working for WWE and geriatrics and horrendous storytelling halted his TNA run before he really solidified himself. Anderson as champ and Anderson vs Angle were both compelling TV angles from a guy who had a fanbase, time on front of millions on TV and can work the stick. Why, of all the people who jumped ship, the whole company wasn't bet on the back of Anderson is beyond me.

I want him back in WWE. Him and MVP.

 

[Troy]

re: Mr Anderson ... Anderson ... Gone

I don't see why TNA would release him. After this Aces and Eigts storyline comes to an end, he can used as a midcard hand who puts other people over. He's 37, TNA doesn't need for him to be a star but he's got enough name recognition that defeating a former World Champion will look good on anyone's resume.

Yes he's never been the most technical in the ring, but he's still got that charisma. He's just in an angle where he doesn't need to show it. And actually he's evolved into a safer worker; which is why he hasn't been as injury prone as he was in the WWE. And to be honest, an injury didn't cost him MITB; a WWE doctor's misdiagnosis did.

The guys never going to be a star, but he'll be good enough to put others over. As long as he's capable of doing that; no sense in getting rid of him

True he was incredibly unlucky with that misdiagnosis but he was injury prone in WWE and wasn't the safest worker with others around. He has turned into a safer worker but my main issue is with his gimmick. As I said for the first two years in TNA he was entertaining but then he never did anything to jazz up his gimmick and it became stale. When you see him in Aces & Eights he doesn't seem like a former two time TNA World champion, he is presented as a distant second to Bully Ray. He needs to do something with himself to show that he can get back to the level he was once at. At the moment he is so bland, and he was bland even before the Aces & Eights angle, he needs to get out of this storyline ASAP.

Like CWalker said, the fact that he's a much safer worker now does lend him some credit, but I really enjoyed him both in WWE and his first couple years in TNA (Surprisingly lol). He can wrestle well enough and tell good enough stories to back up his charisma, and that's all you really need to be a star on the top levels. At 37, he's not exactly in his prime anymore, but I think he's got several good years left.

Wouldn't mind seeing him back in the E, tbh. His merch did well when he wasn't hurt, and he was over with the crowd.

He was enjoyable for the first two years in TNA but completely dropped off after that. He hasn't evolved his gimmick and he is a shadow of his former self, he just doesn't seem to care anymore based on his reactions in front of the camera.

I will feel sorry as hell for the guy if he doesn't either get anothe run with the big boys making himself some money OR if he doesn't spend a good chunk of time atop the TNA ladder. He has all the tools you need to be a marketable and successful star but sucky injuries screwed him working for WWE and geriatrics and horrendous storytelling halted his TNA run before he really solidified himself. Anderson as champ and Anderson vs Angle were both compelling TV angles from a guy who had a fanbase, time on front of millions on TV and can work the stick. Why, of all the people who jumped ship, the whole company wasn't bet on the back of Anderson is beyond me.

I want him back in WWE. Him and MVP.

It is odd that he dropped so far after his run as champion in TNA. They barely used him and didn't take that opportunity to create a new star for them, someone that hadn't been to the top before elsewhere and was a fresh champion. He had so much potential at that stage but now for two years has done nothing of note and if he continues on that path I see no reason for TNA to keep him on the books.

 

[Dale]

re: Mr Anderson ... Anderson ... Gone

The last time I saw him wrestle outside of the Ace's & Eights gimmick and in his normal attire, the guy looked in absolutely terrible shape and had let himself go to the max.

 

[Rated R Superstar]

re: Mr Anderson ... Anderson ... Gone

I won't be bothered if he does get released. He hasn't exactly proven to be a company guy now and honestly looks kind of boring in the ring.

 

[Slim]

re: Mr Anderson ... Anderson ... Gone

He's one of those that if he gets released its like... wait he did? Oh... ah well. Initial shock then onward as if nothing happened because he has fallen so far... but that is the trend with TNA. They pick up someone and build them up to the moon and then they get a new toy and forget what they had. Kinda like kids with their toys... they play forever with their toys til they get new ones then forget the old ones.

There was a time when Angle was THE MAN and literally ran the show from beginning to end. There was that time they had Samoa Joe at the top of the heap and he was riding that for a while and then they dropped him down to almost jobber status. They did the same thing with Christian. I mean they even tried pushing Matt Hardy when he was there.

Anderson is one of those that could easily be pushed back up and it'd be believable. Maybe not world champ but he could float around the upper mid. He can still do something on the mic which helps. He isn't terrible in the ring which helps him out as well. But TNA decided to get so far up Bully Ray that its like nobody else matters. Almost trying to do it like the nWo cept Nash, Hall, and the such already had a huge name and following that no matter how far up Hogan's butt WCW got they would still get face time and acknowledged. Can't do that with these guys in TNA.

But in the end... Anderson still has something to offer. So hopefully after this Aces and 8's crap is over they let Anderson do something to get himself relevant again to help with the other talent.

 

[Deezy]

re: Mr Anderson ... Anderson ... Gone

Ken Anderson was a one trick pony who broke his legs, time to bring him out back and shoot him.

Thr problem with Anderson is simple, he just doesn't know what to do, Austin and Taker took a special interest in him in WWE and he still couldn't do anything. He did one thing that got him relatively over and that was his announcing gimmick, after that wore out there was nothing left of him.

Same shit in TNA, he got over with that "asshole" schtick and took it past the point of anti-hero and into the zone of "stfu", he just became an irritating character on TV and doesn't have the smarts to get past that. Like an X-Pac still doing crotch chop 5 years after DX broke up. Shit has a shelf life, and Andersons expired along time ago.

 

[PHX]

re: Mr Anderson ... Anderson ... Gone

It's crazy how irrelevant he became considering how over he got and how much of a bright future he had. But what hurt him just as much as injuries ever did was what Deezy pointed out on how he just leaned on his shticks too much. Regardless he is one of the what could have been stories in WWE. His TNA run has gone how I expected to where he gets that thank you for signing with us former WWE guy honeymoon period push and never really recovers after that wears off.

 

[Chris]

re: Mr Anderson ... Anderson ... Gone

Yeah, I pretty much agree with what everyone else has said about the guy. His Aces & Eights run has actually bee pretty enjoyable actually, not really in the way I think TNA intended, but I think him being in the group is at least the best thing he could be doing right now.

 

[punk13]

re: Mr Anderson ... Anderson ... Gone

I wouldn't mind a feud between Anderson & Bully for Ace's & Eights leadership.

 

[Rated R Superstar]

re: Mr Anderson ... Anderson ... Gone

The only reason people are enjoying his Aces & 8's stuff is because it's less work for him. Honestly, he has other people to do the work for him so he doesn't have to work as hard which means less injuries. I haven't been a fan of his mic work since he joined the group.

 

[Troy]

re: Mr Anderson ... Anderson ... Gone

Ken Anderson's profile was removed from the TNA website, so with his contracts expired, he is officially gone from the company.

Good to see that TNA are paying attention to what I write. I said that it would be smart of them to release Mr Anderson and they did, brb writing threads about Hogan and Sting now.

Weird way to have him go out though looking so strong against the TNA Heavyweight champion. Should have used him to put over some other mid level guys on the way out but I guess that is what happens when contract negotiations go down to the wire.