TNA Question 5: I’ve posted 20 questions on WWE, TNA and the Indies, inviting readers to answer. Now, I’ll be posting some reader response and commenting on what I think the answer is to each question. Feel free to continue to post responses on any question after the one I’ve already answered (I’ll be going in order). The awesome Andy Wheeler replied to all 20 questions over on Pulse Wrestling. No one knows more about the WWE mindset than Wheeler, so be sure to give him a read. Let’s get going with the fifth TNA question:
5. What happened to Daniels? Didn’t his matches used to make sense?
““He's still a good performer, but the companies changed and the focal point is no longer wrestling. And wrestling is where Daniels is at.” – Homicidal
That’s always been a commonly confused fact about Daniels. Where he really made his name was that the “Fallen Angel” gimmick added personality to his matches and logic behind his moves. Now, he’s just plain old Daniels with no gimmick and no reason to support. Daniels as just some old-guy who was in the X-Division once means nothing because as soon as he steps in the ring, he’s just throwing out spots without rhyme or reason. But, is this really a new trend?
“Daniels was always robotic in the ring. A ballerina. He has had some amazing matches and I am a fan of his, but his work has not changed a bit. A Daniels match making sense? Very few I can think of off the top of my head.” – Thomas
If you’ve only seen him the past few years, I can see that, but his matches used to make a great deal of sense. Let’s begin with Ring of Honor, where his refusal to shake hands was played up as him protecting his spot. As such, he’d be far more likely to take cheap shots and shortcuts, unable to match up with the physical prowess of his younger opponents. This is easily his best singles role, though he was solid later in ROH as the veteran looking for talent in the next generation and putting on clinics when he found it. He’d go into spotfests during this era, but add the logic of neck work to set up his finishers and show the young guys how to go at a pace, but include psychology. He approached his singles role in ROH with the Joe vs. AJ vs. Daniels feud, which began with him as the proud champion who wasn’t honoring the X-Division’s respect by being willing to use cheap-shots and illegal tactics, so the top faces, AJ and Joe, got heat by trying to take the belt away. Ultimately, here again, Daniels came around to respect the title and the X-Divison with Samoa Joe turning on him. So, what about now?
“He just finished his title feud with Samoa Joe, compared to last year, Daniels is in a much better place now.” – Rex
As far as position on the card, I certainly agree that this is better than Curry Man, but his work has been on a steady decline for quite awhile. Compare his logic and character in his earlier matches with Samoa Joe to this recent set. He’s essentially working a spotfest now, with character moments coming randomly and being basically the exact same as he did back in 2004/2005 against Joe. The gravitas is gone and gone is the character and respect of the match coming before the moves. A bunch of moves doesn’t heighten drama or make a great match. This was covered by his team with AJ Styles first, then his taking a break from serious wrestling as
“Maybe he misses being Curry Man? He's been pretty well wasted since his big comeback. He seems to be trapped in purgatory, because he's too over for the X-Division, not over enough to main event, has no one to tag with, and can't pass for a Knockout. Or could he? Curry Lady?” – Brad Curran
I agree that he’s too over for the X-Division as it’s currently constructed, but that could be fixed. Since the last time he was good was in a tag team, however, re-establishing him in a team certainly isn’t a bad idea. This has, it turns out, always worked for Daniels. Whether his team with AJ Styles, Elix Skipper, or Matt Sydal, a good team, with a mentor, mentee relationship gets Daniels as over as anything. The tag formula does a lot to hide his recent psychology deficiencies. Perhaps a mentor protégé deal with “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero and a reprise of the “Fallen Angel” gimmick would help.
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