It Pays To Be Roode
Thanks to a very good drawn out feud with Booker T, Robert Roode has established himself as a force in TNA.
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Roode Awakening
Old school heels like "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and "Mr Perfect" Curt Hennig are long gone. Along with them went the spirit of the classic true heels.
Wrestling fans who are afraid to give TNA a chance are missing out on a rising star who embodie the traits of the true heel. That rising star is Robert Roode.
Robert Roode doesn't play to the audience like the "cool heels" that have taken over the business. He's not afraid to cross the line. He delivers solid promos.
Having been trained by fellow Canadian Sean Morley (known in WWE as Val Venis), Robert Roode is also a solid performer in the ring. He's got the fundementals of wrestling down. If you put Robert Roode in a match against a ring general, the potential is there for a great match.
TNA spent several weeks building heel heat for Robert Roode by having him berate his former valet, Ms Brooks. While the breakup between the two took longer than the average wrestler fan could tolerate, it was a nice slow build. The fans started booing.
The boos became even louder after Robert Roode hit (albeit accidentally) Sharmell. Rather than acting cowardly afterwards, Robert Roode used it as a chance to boast about it to his rival. |
Boost From Booker
You can attribute a lot of Robert Roode's recent improvements to Booker T. Feuding with a well known beloved star like Booker T has done wonders for Robert Roode's credibility and stature.
TNA wisely chose to extend the feud between Booker T and Robert Roode past the first pay per view matchup. Having Booker T squash Robert Roode after just one match wouldn't have done much for either guy. Booker T is already established. Beating a midcard wrestler like Robert Roode wasn't going to skyrocket him into stardom. He's already there, so they might as well use his star power to elevate Robert Roode.
With the way this feud has been booked, it's obvious that Robert Roode is going to be on the losing end of the feud. That's fine since he's already gotten a lot out of the feud. After losing to Booker T, Robert Roode can still keep his momentum going by doing something dastardly afterwards.
Robert Roode can interfere in the TNA World Tag Team Championship match by attacking Tomko. A feud between the two could really work out well. Tomko right now is a tweener. He was originally a heel, but the crowd reaction has indicated that his popularity has skyrocketed. He's getting the same reaction that Batista received when he was on the verge of leaving Evolution.
If that feud goes well, then we can definitely see Robert Roode challenging Christian Cage (he's got a shot at winning the belt at Against All Odds) for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship before the end of the year.
Closing Thoughts
Robert Roode isn't quite ready for the main event just yet, but he's taking several steps forward at a time. |
