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Friday, October 12, 2012

Aces & Eights: Is The Dead Man's Hand Already Dead?

Aces & Eights
Photo by TNA
By Chad Smart
@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter

One of the most intriguing stories going on in TNA for the past few months has been the presence of the biker gang, Aces and Eights. Named for the famed “dead man’s hand,” the group has been showing up in the Impact Zone both in person and on the Dixie-tron to issues warnings of attacks. At first there was intrigue as to who was leading the group and how they were able to get into the stage. Now though, I think too much time has passed with little advancement in the story and it’s led to fans losing interest in caring to find out who’s under the bandanas.

Aces and Eights debuted at the beginning of June. In four months, there has been no reveals as to members of the group or who’s leading them into battle. The group has not had any in ring altercations with members of the TNA roster since the No Surrender pay per view on September 9. Instead they have only been seen via video. At Bound For Glory, two members will face Sting and Bully Ray. If Aces and Eights are successful they will be allowed to join the TNA roster.

I have to say while I enjoyed the Aces and Eights storyline at the beginning because while it was reminiscent of the nWo story line, I liked that Aces and Eights weren’t dominating the show and every episode of Impact didn’t end with A&8s standing tall in the ring. After four months of essentially nothing happening, I am ready for this angle to die and something new to come along.

The way the story has played out also has me less than interested in the reveal. I don’t understand how Aces and Eights’ videos keep getting played during Impact. If Dixie Carter, Hulk Hogan and Sting are so interested in who’s behind the group, wouldn’t the logical (I know, that’s a made up word in the wrestling universe) step be to go to the control truck and ask the Director where the feed is coming from and why he keeps putting it on the screen? Or ask the audio guy who mic’ed the people in the hangout? Wouldn’t it also require the hideout to be nearby so the A&8s could get to and from the Impact Zone quickly. Actually, didn’t Hogan and Sting go to the hideout at one point? Why not take the entire TNA roster over there and beat up all the members of the gang to find out the group’s identity? I’m just going to move on to the next paragraph because if I keep trying to make sense of this angle, I’m going to give myself a headache.

As mentioned earlier, at Bound For Glory, two members of Aces and Eights will face Sting and Bully Ray. Maybe it’s because I’ve read too much speculation on what will happen during the match, or maybe it’s because I’ve been following Sting’s career for almost thirty years and know his history with tag team partners. Whatever the case, I fully expect Bully Ray to turn on Sting and be revealed as a member of Aces and Eights. Part of that assumption is how Bully Ray has been the most vocal wrestler claiming other TNA roster wrestlers are part of Aces and Eights. Also, Sting doesn’t choose tag-team partners wisely.

Whatever the outcome, something big involving Aces and Eights has to happen at Bound For Glory. If we go another show without a reveal, it would probably be best to scrap the entire group and bring whoever was supposed to be part of the gang into the company a different way.

I applaud TNA for going with a slow build with Aces and Eights. In today's wrestling environment it wouldn’t have been crazy to think Aces and Eights would have already been unmasked, beaten and sent out of the company by this time. While the patience has been commendable, TNA has been almost too patient. If there had been a reveal or some type of major action fans might still be interested in the group. When the same thing happens week after week, the segments get boring and trite.

I will be in attendance in Phoenix on Sunday. I am expecting a solid show from a wrestling standpoint. I think TNA has turned a corner the last few months and has the best national promotion of the three major companies. However, I will be waiting for the ending of the tag-team match to see if we get advancement or if TNA sticks spinning their wheels for another month.

What do you think of the Aces and Eights story? Share your thoughts on our Facebook or Twitter pages.

1 comment:

  1. I have to say that I believe that Aces and Eights will win at BFG simply because one of their guys is on the next TNA ppv poster. Would do you think is the leader? I say Eric Bischoff or Double J, but I really don't know.

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