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HeadLocker — Jay Shannon

Who Should become Suicide in TNA?

Our resident philosopher, Jay Shannon, evaluates who should become the masked Suicide in TNA. Suicide is the main character in the storyline mode of the video game, TNA Impact. It has been rumored that Suicide will leap from the console to the live show..

TNA will be possibly debuting a new character in the near future. The character is Suicide. He is a tortured soul that was almost beaten to death by thugs (in the video game). In this edition of HeadLocker, I want to suggest a few people who might become the master of the D-O-A.

Raven

Raven hasn’t been seen in TNA in many months. He would be able to pull off the tortured soul persona, quite well. It’s basically the character that he’s played since 1994. The D-O-A move wasn’t shown in the early part of the video game, so the Evenflow DDT could simply be modified or just re-named. After such a lengthy hiatus, it would be easy to slip Raven back into the mix.

Odds of being Suicide: 50 to 1

Rellik/Johnny Stamboli

Johnny Stamboli was released by TNA, not too long ago. His Rellik character simply didn’t work. Since the character wears a full body suit, it would be easy to hide the tattoos and such that would instantly identify him. Choosing Stamboli would be a foolish move. He is a great mid-carder level performer but he just can’t make it as a top-tier person.

Odds of being Suicide: 500 to 1

Little Guide/Nunzio

Guido was recently released from WWE. He is a talented star with years of experience. He would be a great person to set against Jay Lethal, Shark Boy, A.J. Styles and Homicide (the people featured in the video game). The main issue with Guido is his smaller size. He would work well against Homicide, but might struggle against Hernandez. His finisher, according to the video game, is something that no one can get up from. Would his small size be too large an obstacle? It just might be.

Odds of being Suicide: 250 to 1

Dustin Rhodes

The Black Reign character failed miserably in TNA. It was so close to Goldust that the fans rejected it. Suicide could be such a departure from Dustin’s previous personas. Dustin would have to bring in a new finisher. His Inverted DDT wouldn’t be strong enough to take out everyone in sight. I haven’t heard anything about Dustin re-signing with the company, so it’s doubtful if he would be the person chosen.

Odds of being Suicide: 500 to 1

Ric Flair

This would be my favorite choice for Suicide. Flair has played the masked man before (Black Scorpion). The body suit would also be great for hiding Flair’s less than Herculean physique. Flair could play mind games with everyone in sight and work towards a feud with all of TNA. He could also be the person behind the war with Jeff Jarrett and the TNA loyalists. This one has such possibilities. I don’t know if Flair would want to long-term spend time in the lycra bodysuit and mask.

Odds of being Suicide: 100 to 1

Ron and/or Don Harris

I’m one of those people that look for messages in the oddest places. When the Harris brothers worked in the WWE, they did several characters. One of their major runs were as two members of the Disciples of Apocalypse aka D.O.A.. Suicide’s finisher is called the D-O-A. Is that just a coincidence, or is it a clue? The Harris brothers have been loyal members of Jeff Jarrett’s Inner Circle for a long time. If he were going to take a risk with a new character, it would make sense to use one (or more) of his best guys in the role. I think this is going to be the man/men behind the skull mask.

Odds of being Suicide: Even Money

Long Shots

Anytime that I do one of these speculation columns, I always think outside the box. I started thinking of the wildest possibilities to don the skull mask. The top names that came to mind were: Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, Scott Hall, Mistico (from Mexico), and Jake “The Snake” Roberts. I somewhat eliminated Roberts after his recent Meltdown.

Scott Hall would be a great choice. He has been out of the spotlight for a long time, due to his demons. This could give him a fresh start. They could even tie in the name to his past choices. It could be something like “I was on the path to slow Suicide”. I just don’t know if Hall is ready to get back in the ring.

Hogan would be a severe shock as Suicide. Jeff Jarrett attacked Hogan in Japan, years ago. If Suicide is wanting to attack Jarrett and his forces, Hogan would be a great choice. Hogan would need a new finisher. He did use the Ax Bomber, many years ago. The only question that I would have would be if Hogan’s body could still go. Since Hogan is getting ready to push his new Celebreality wrestling show and Brooke’s show, this would be a publicist’s dream.

In Conclusion:

If TNA actually does utilize Suicide as a regular character, I hope that they choose wisely. So many of their gimmicks have blown up in their face (Judas Mesias, Black Reign, RelliK, etc…). If written and booked correctly, Suicide could be a serious boost to the company. Otherwise, Suicide will be another of those dumb ideas from the desks of Russo, Mantel, etc…

–Jay Shannon
[email protected]
(9/23/2008)