In December last year Tommy Mercer, under the name of “Little Red”, made his debut in TNA portraying the younger brother of Amazing Red during Jeff Jarrett’s series of open challenges. Since that debut Mercer quickly gained wins in TNA, transforming into the now familiar Crimson and even becoming the messenger for Fortune (actually it would have been the Main Event Mafia had TNA not failed to sign Booker T and Kevin Nash) prior to their face turn on Immortal.
Crimson’s size and strength have always been impressive but his in-ring work has taken time to develop within the Impact Wrestling ring. Many times in the early stages of his TNA life, Crimson looked sloppy and apparently having to be carried somewhat by his opponent. However, his technical ability has now improved considerably and the people at the top of TNA seem to be intent on pushing the young wrestler to the very top of the Impact Wrestling roster. Indeed Crimson currently sits atop the novel “Bound For Glory Series” standings, five points ahead of the veteran Rob Van Dam.
For this writer Crimson does possess some of the attributes that defined Goldberg fourteen years ago on his rise to becoming WCW’s cash cow. A fact that hasn’t gone unnoticed by TNA’s decision makers either as he is also currently enjoying an undefeated streak like Goldberg’s that is emphasized week to week by the commentators Taz and Mike Tenay as well as ring announcer So Cal Val. Crimson lacks mic ability like Goldberg did but also seems to be able to dominate the ring with his presence in a similar fashion to the Atlanta native. Sure the crowd doesn’t quite yet connect with Crimson in the way they did with Goldberg but that could be more to do with the stale Impact Zone (a point I covered in an earlier column) than a failure on the part of TNA/Crimson himself. When TNA takes Impact Wrestling back on the road leading into Bound For Glory, the result of Crimson’s push can be judged properly.
Where TNA takes Crimson following this push is another matter. Will Tommy Mercer become the face of Impact Wrestling at Bound For Glory 2011 by capturing the Heavyweight Title or will TNA pull a rabbit out of the hat and have a current Twitter war between Crimson and Goldberg turn into a legitimate match-up at the October supershow? That match would be a true monumental coup for TNA but would it prove ultimately detrimental to the young wrestler by having him face a man at least nine years past his prime?
One thing is for sure though, TNA has faith in Crimson and I believe they do see him as the future face of the company.
love crimson id rather see him as the face of TNA then kurt angle or jeff hardy he’s gona be around a long time
Crimson being the face of TNA would be a huge win. I can see him on the cover of magazines, cups (thanks CM Punk), shows, banners, etc. He could be big.
He doesn’t seem like the new Goldberg to me. But you never know. A lot of people didn’t see what The Rock or Kurt Angle would become when they were starting out.
I’ll reserve my judgment about Crimson until I hear him more on the mic. If he’s going to one day be the face of the company, he either should be great on the mic, or they should have a plausible reason for him not to talk much.
Crimson had a very strong showing in his bit with Kurt Angle this past Thursday. So I think coupled with his in-ring arsenal, he has a lot of potential indeed.
I’ve also seen a lot of high praise for Crimson for his work with Kurt Angle this past Thursday. For my part, I thought that Crimson played the #1 contender role very well (assuming that’s what he is as the BFG Series leader). I’m looking forward to seeing the continued growth of the Crimson character – the guy rocks!