Hello and welcome to my latest article on TNA. Today, I’m going to talk about who I thought were the stars of 2013 and who I think TNA’s breakout stars of 2014 will be.
Firstly let’s go through my standout stars from the past year. It was difficult to pick the stars of 2013, as I felt that TNA started to grow again after Bound for Glory. They definitely hit the reset button in terms of the way the show looked, the way they interacted with the fans and the younger stars they pushed.
Breakout Star of 2013 – Magnus: In my opinion, Magnus has been there or thereabouts for the last year or so, and this year, he got the push that many fans had been calling for.
You can see that he works hard both in and out of the ring to maintain the level that he competes at, and his effort has been rewarded with several big feuds and World Heavyweight Championship opportunities.
After coming up short in the 2013 Bound for Glory Series, he finally took his chance in the World Heavyweight Championship tournament, which was created after AJ Styles took the belt and left. Magnus defeated Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle on his way to the final, where he defeated Jeff Hardy to become TNA World Heavyweight Champion for the first time in his career.
Will Magnus be the man to lead the company in 2014? Only time will tell!
Knockout of 2013 – Gail Kim: Gail has been the leader of the Knockouts Division over the past year.
Just take a look at some of the matches she’s had over the past year. Some of the matches were run-of-the-mill, but a few of them have been fantastic, and they’ve had TNA fans (and wrestling fans in general) buzzing with excitement.
She’s also helped to build some of the newer Knockouts and put them over in the ring. Look at the matches she had with Taryn Terrell in the spring/summer of 2013. They were awesome! The feud was short-lived because Taryn left to go on maternity leave, but hopefully, when (and if) Taryn returns, TNA can re-ignite that feud.
Right now, she’s working with Lei’d Tapa to develop and build Tapa’s character. I think we all know that it’s not going to take long for Tapa to turn on her mentor in 2014, and challenge her for the Knockouts Championship.
Storyline of 2013 – The AJ Styles World Heavyweight Championship World Tour: This was a tough decision to make. I could’ve picked the reveal of Bully Ray as the President of Aces & 8’s, but for me, the AJ storyline has been awesome and it’s opened doors for TNA in countries that were, at one stage, beyond them.
After not being able to compete for the World Heavyweight Championship for nearly a year, AJ entered the BFG Series and won the title shot in the last match of the tournament. He went on to defeat Bully Ray at Bound for Glory and win the World Championship for the first time in almost 4 years.
Styles “left” TNA with their World Championship just after Bound for Glory and has gone on to appear at events in Mexico and Japan. TNA are still refusing to recognise AJ as their World Champion, but I think this is possibly the best thing they’ve done in years.
They’ve been able to use their top star to promote the company, and their style of wrestling, around the world, capitalising on it by setting up new TV deals in different countries.
Tag Team of 2013 – Bad Influence: Over the past year, the team of Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian have entertained the TNA fans with their in-ring matches and their laugh out loud comedy segments.
They’ve been unlucky not to have held the World Tag-Team Championships in 2013. TNA can build the division around these guys. The fans love them. They get heat from the crowd and they’re the most entertaining tag-team I’ve seen all year. Hopefully they get a run with the belts in 2014.
X-Division Star of 2013 – Manik: TJ Perkins, Suicide, Puma, Manik, whatever you want to call him, you can’t tell me he’s not good in the ring.
I thought Manik was a good X-Division Champion and even when the character’s name changed, his moves were still innovative. The only thing I was unsure of (and still am) is the costume. Surely they could have created some new ring gear for him?
In 2014, I’d like to see the Manik character grow and challenge for the X-Division Championship again, along with Kenny King, Sonjay Dutt, Austin Aries and Chris Sabin. I’d also like to see TNA add Rubix to the mix, as well as see Rockstar Spud wrestling more.
Now for who I think will be the stars of 2014 in TNA and why they have the potential to be the next talent to rise to the top.
Breakout Star of 2014 – Ethan Carter III: I think EC3 will have a good year in 2014. He has the potential to be a top star in TNA and they’ve done the right thing by snapping up someone like him.
It’s been tedious waiting for TNA to build and establish his character, but in the long-run, it’ll all have been worth it. As soon as TNA start matching him up with their top stars, we’ll see that the future’s bright for TNA with a star like EC3.
X Division Star of 2014 – Kenny King: Kenny has returned to the TNA roster and hopefully this time, it’s for good.
He was a good champion when he held the title in 2012-13. He’s got the mic and in-ring skills to hold his own, and lead the X-Division onwards and upwards. I’d like to see some new, younger talent lead the X-Division to the next level. In my opinion, TNA should put more focus on the X-Division because it’s what brought them to the dance and made them stand out from the other wrestling companies.
Knockout Star of 2014 – Lei’d Tapa: Lei’d Tapa got introduced to TNA towards the end of 2013, playing Gail Kim’s bodyguard.
With Gail Kim and the other experienced Knockouts there to help her, Tapa has the potential to be a dominant force in the Knockouts Division until someone topples her. She’s one to watch next year and she has the ability to make the other Knockouts raise their game to compete against her. Along with the other Knockouts, she’ll want to make the division stand out and she could well be the star.
Tag-Team Stars of 2014 – The Bro-Mans: I know the Bro-Mans are the current TNA World Tag-Team Champions, but I think they’ll have a good year in 2014.
They may be annoying to watch, but Jesse and Robbie E are good enough wrestlers on their own and as a tag-team, they can draw on each other’s strengths, and continue to grow in the tag team division.
The tag-team division’s a bit thin on the ground in TNA right now, so they need to focus on younger talent and build the division around them to move in the right direction.
Wrestler to Watch in 2014 – Austin Aries: In 2013, Austin Aries was in and out of various different title pictures. I just hope that TNA finally realise that they have the (self-proclaimed) Greatest Man That Ever Lived on their hands and find a role for him in 2014.
I can see A-Double winning the X-Division Championship again this year and using option C (if TNA are still running with that idea) to cash in the belt at Destination X to compete for the World Heavyweight Championship. I’d enjoy watching TGMTEL have another title run, or even teaming up with Bobby Roode to once again challenge for the Tag-Team Championships.
What do you think? Who did you think were stars for TNA in 2013 and who will be the ones to watch in 2014? Get in touch by leaving a comment below, or sending me a tweet. I’m @emmagiles98.
Thanks for reading!
Recent Comments