I’m an admitted former “smart mark”…some guy who used to write for the Insanity on a regular basis and watched all wrestling under the sun.   Now I’m lucky to watch more than three hours of wrestling in any given week.   I’m just a casual viewer now…but one with a sense of what this business is really about.

Once a month (or more…depending on my mood), I’ll take a look at wrestling and not only give you a casual fan’s view on things…but maybe provide a perspective that isn’t quite so “internet biased”.   I don’t read the dirt sheets anymore and barely spend time on wrestling at all.   So my hope is that this column provides a bit of perspective that you may not normally get from other columns.

I’m ZAH…the casual smart-mark. And I’ve got a couple of things to talk about.

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1. How to fix TNA’s rating trouble.

Now many of you are reading this automatically assuming that I’ve got some ideas on how to increase the ratings.   Well, I don’t. A year or two ago?   Sure…I could have whipped up a few hundred words full of awesome ideas and suggestions.   But that was then.

I watched a lot of this past Monday’s Impact and, to be completely honest, I didn’t mind a lot of what I was watching.   I’ve casually watched segments here and there of Impact for the past few weeks and I just don’t see the need to call for Russo’s head like much of the internet apparently does. Mind you, I don’t watch their PPV’s so maybe that’s where the majority of the storyline issues come from…I’m not sure.

I’m intrigued by Hall & Nash vs. Team 3-D, even though I know it’ll be a crap-tastic feud…it’s an interesting storyline where the babyfaces have attacked and bloodied a heel, so I’m interested to see where it goes next.

I’m intrigued by The Pope, as Dinero has done a magical job of incorporating a Dusty Rhodes promo style with his “pimpin’ preacher” persona.   I gotta say…his gimmick has won me over.

I’m intrigued by Ken Anderson vs. D’Angelo Dinero because I thought their interaction was extremely well done and I’m looking forward to their feud.

I’m intrigued by RVD as TNA champion.

I’m intrigued with Jeff Hardy vs. AJ Styles and the possible spot-fest matches they could provide.

I’m intrigued with finally finding out why Sting turned heel…and not just a “fan friendly heel”, but a full-on bad-ass-attack-everybody-with-a-baseball-bat heel.

I’m intrigued with the idea that fan voting could influence a “Top 10 ranking” where the top ranked performers get TNA title shots.

And those are just the ones off the top of my head.   I see those items and I just don’t see the calling for Russo’s head being a legitimate argument. So from a casual fan’s point of view, I’m actually enjoying TNA right now.

So instead of crapping on Russo or crapping on the older players like Hogan and Flair getting airtime or crapping on storyline issues that I don’t particularly care for (Matt Morgan is “us”), I’m seeing more positive than negative with the actual show and I’m really trying to figure out why ratings are so low.

How does a program go from a 1.0 to a 0.5 in the course of one week?   Is it just the timeslot or is it (as the internet would have me believe) the storylines?

2. Who benefitted from the WWE draft?

John Morrison – I’ve always been a fan of Morrison, though it took awhile for the Morrison “rock star” gimmick to grow on me.   And while I still don’t care for it, Morrison’s athletic ability and charisma have grown in leaps and bounds over the past few years.   I absolutely see him in the thick of the U.S. title picture and can play the upper mid-card babyface role before switching over to upper mid-card heel role, which will probably happen in a year’s time. I think this is a great move for him and that he’s ready to be on the flagship show.

Kofi Kingston – This makes sense as it seems as though Smackdown is the program where young talent go to truly develop and mature.   They built-up Kingston on RAW and then (shocker, I know) dropped the ball with him just as he was at the height of his momentum. Is it irreversible damage?   No, I don’t think so.   Being on a new program will give him the chance to be reborn with new booking. Now he’ll have an immediate program with Intercontinental champion Drew McIntyre ready and waiting for him and (probably) a title run in there somewhere.   If they’re REALLY big on him, I could see a main event title program over the course of one or two PPV’s. He’s a guy who can electrify crowds and I’ve been a fan of his since I first saw his debut as a Jamaican (I mean, he hasn’t been from Ghana forever).   C’mon…really?   You don’t remember?   JA-MAKIN-ME-CRAZY!!!   (RIP: Mike Adamle…your on-air gimmick was f*cking awesome)

Christian – Yeah, this absolutely makes perfect sense.   Christian will have a chance to have a main-event title program that can totally be spread out over a couple of PPV’s while on Smackdown. Good move that benefits everybody.

Cody Rhodes – I’ve never been a fan of Rhodes. He’s just too damn small to be taken seriously in any matches against main eventers like Batista or Cena or Triple H. When comparing him with other small guys like Evan Bourne or Rey Mysterio, they at least bring other things to the table in order to make them seem more viable as threats to win whatever match they’re in.   Rhodes?   I just don’t see it. However, what he’s got in his corner is his in-ring ability (which is quite good) and his on-mic ability, which is above-average. The key, though, is that he’s absolutely GOT to remain a heel, though…and he’s already got built-in feuds with guys like Kingston and Christian, who aren’t too much bigger than him. He could also have an IC title reign in his future, too.

MVP – Let’s face it…once he moved to RAW, 100% of his momentum just came to a screeching halt.   In addition to that, they made him a babyface…and MVP was simply designed to be a heel.   The guy is amazing on the mic and extremely capable in the ring, so I’m a little confused as to why they dropped the ball with him on RAW when there appears to be so much potential upside.   I think this move immediately puts him in a title picture, whether it’s the IC title or the world title.

And there are a couple of wrestlers who probably won’t benefit too much from the draft (ex: Goldust, Great Khali) and a couple who might actually be in a worse position after the draft (Edge & Jericho on RAW along with Orton, Sheamus, & Cena seems to be a bit heavy on the main-event situation). All in all, the draft seemed a bit on the “no big deal” side of things.

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So that’s that.

Agree with me? Think I’m full of it? Think I’ve been away too long to know what I’m talking about? Got questions on how a casual fan views a certain storyline or business decision?

Let me know.   Just send an email to ZAH.Insanity@gmail.com .