TNA Stops Using Bobby Lashley ?

Bobby Lashley still has yet to sign a contract with TNA Wrestling. As a result, company officials have decided against using him on television again until he signs a contract. He wasn't brought to the most recent set of Impact tapings.Lashley recently said he was trying to work out scheduling issues with TNA. He also said he would be working no more than four days a month with them and wouldn't do any pro wrestling matches within a few weeks of fights due to the injury risk. TNA taped some stuff with Lashley at the prior Impact tapings which may be inserted into shows over the next few weeks if needed. Although, the fact his name was never mentioned during the last two weeks of Impact is a good indication they're putting his storyline on hold until he signs, which is where the situation stands at the moment.

If nothing comes of this Bobby Lashley situation TNA will lose major credibility with guys who actually do want to see them do well even if they always fail to deliver, having him turn up in the manor he did during that particular match will make every single guy in that match look weak and pathetic that someone from the WWE came out, stared them down then left without even muttering a single word

This move could prove a disastor for TNA then. Getting a guy and putting him in a big story only for him to never actually sign for them.

TNA should have waited untill lashley signed a contract and even if he does 4 appearances a month and no matches before an mma fight he should choose one instead of getting burnt out and getting embarrased in a mma fight in the process.

They should tell him to sign now or they wont sign him ever. It might give them a bit of credibility, rather than being held for ransom by Chock Lesnar.

TNA won't do that though, not in my opinion anyway, they need Lashley more than Lashley needs them

I still don't really think they need Lashley. He was an overhyped, useless worker and if he doesn't sign I'll be a happy man.

They don't need him in terms of match quality but they do need him or guys of his ilk if they have any serious plans to push the ratings up, like him or not he for some reason has a big fan base and is a guy who the WWE wanted to push to the moon, so for that reason alone it makes sense to get him in

I just can't see him bumping up the ratings. It didn't happen when they signed, Sting, Booker, Christian or Angle, so I don't believe that Lashley would do that either. The 2 times he's appeared, listen to the crowd - silence. With reactions like that, and no talent in the ring or on the mic, it's destined to be a failure.

The ratings have steadily increased though since signing Christian, its now a two hour show, its more advertised now on Spike than ever before, having a guy like Lashley for me would increase viewers, maybe not by much but certainly an increase, as for the TNA crowd, I usually can't stand them at the best of times but it was ECW country, they see shit, they call shit, It's not a place they go often so I wouldn't hold what the Philly crowd do as any kind of benchmark for TNA fans

It was pretty much the same thing from the crowd in Orlando when he appeared on Impact one week. They've got plenty of bigger names than Lashley on the show already, and I just don't think he really brings anything to the table. If they're going to sign ex-WWE guys, then I'd rather it was guys with talent rather than guys that were getting pushed but lack ability. I'll take a Paul London over a Bobby Lashley every time.

You might take a Paul London but Lashley is a far bigger name and a guy that would instantly be main event level, something London would never be, in the grander scheme of things Lashley would be a far bigger draw than London

Who are we trying to kid, since when does talent come into it when Pro Wrestling is concerned

Well certainly in mainstream American wrestling talent generally has very little to do with things, and a wrestlers look is usually what determines the kind of push he is likely to receive.

It's just that I don't see people going 'Oh Bobby Lashley is in TNA huh? I better start watching that'. If you're not going to get any sort of ratings increase from a signing, why not just bring in a talented worker. The reason TNA first got noticed was because of the talent of it's workers in the X-Division, maybe if they focused on filling that with top-notch workers they might garner more interest in the long run.

Well obviously they do think Lashley being a big name in recent years would bring ratings it, whether it does or not I don't know, I'm no Lashley fan but if I where then I would check out iMPACT! the same as I did when I found out Christian was on their

The thing is though, I reckon that people who were Lashley fans, are those who basically lap up everything that WWE throws at them. They're likely those people with small attention spans that are WWEs target audience, and if they even remember Lashley, they probably don't care much anymore as they'll have latched on to somebody else powered by the WWE marketing machine.

With Christian it was completely different, he went straight from WWE to TNA so was still fresh in many people's minds. He was over in WWE, but it wasn't due to management getting behind him and pushing him to the moon, but fans appreciating his talent and I think those sort of fans are more likely to follow a star to whichever show they go to. The only guys I can think of that could draw in the viewers based on name alone would be Hogan, Austin and The Rock.