This week in Gimme Five we discuss the latest developments surrounding the Big Show and Tensai, as well as the suspension of Randy Orton.

We also bring you our thoughts on Impact Wrestling going live, and the announcement of TNA's Hall of Fame.

Glad to have you with us for this week's edition of Gimme Five.

1) Big Show’s turned heel, siding with John Laurinaitis, taking the money over friendship. What do you think of this latest change in Show’s character? And are you looking forward to Show versus Cena in a cage at No Way Out?

Blake:
Many people feel that Show needs to be heel to be taken seriously. I'm one of the few who disagree. Whilst this adds a certain character dimension that gives him necessary depth, it could have been done as a face. On the other hand, I enjoy people beating up Cena.

Kirsty:
I think Big Show's versatile enough to work as a heel or face, and has proven effective in both. He's probably my all-time favourite giant.

I don't think there's much point in him working with Cena though. Both Show and Cena should be working to put others over. So no - I can't say that the cage match is selling No Way Out for me.

Steph:
Every time they've shown his turn on the RAW Rebound this past week I have ended up shouting "Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!" at the screen. It feels... too engineered. Which is kind of a silly reaction, because I do know that all heel/face-turns are entirely engineered. Possibly I'm just "ugh" about it because I want the People Power storyline to die already.

Scott:
On the positive, Big Show is a consummate performer; he can reliably cut adequate promos and work passable matches. But that’s about the only positive, because we’ve seen all this before. We’ve seen Big Show as a corporate-aligned heel before. We’ve seen Cena versus Show before. And the “power-abusing authority figure versus the fan favourite” happens in the Northern Hemisphere summer every year in WWE, without fail. But John Laurinaitis ain’t no Vince McMahon, and Cena ain’t no Stone Cold Steve Austin.

From Elimination Chamber, through WrestleMania onto Extreme Rules, WWE was on fire. There was entertainment up and down the card. But it’s all fallen flat. From inspired, interesting storylines to… nothing. Rehashed, tired faces in rehashed, tired storylines. It’s all a bit sad, really.

Dion:
Show is one of those guys who has bounced between face and heel more times than I can remember, and he's always entertaining as both. I'm enjoying seeing him side with Big Johnny against Cena and I'm definitely looking forward to the cage match!

David:
We've seen if before from him, haven't we? I just don't know why he doesn't get fired again, seeing as Laurinaitis told us all he hired Big Show back before Over the Limit. Oh well. The cage match should be good. It does seem odd to book a cage match, in which the entire idea is to escape and win, for No Way Out though.

Stevie:
Scott nailed this one. We've seen it all before and every version of it.

Luke:
Another Big Show heel turn? So a guy, who has been pretty much dominant anyway is going to be a dominant heel? Oh great... well, to be honest, at least it is better than the comedy character he plays. Though, it will be only a matter of time before this heel turn fizzles out. And for the record, no, I am not looking forward to their cage match.

2) Rumours are that Show’s insertion into the Cena versus Laurinaitis’ storyline came at the expense of Lord Tensai, whose stocks seem to slipping. He’s lost the “Lord” from his name, suffered his first defeat on RAW, and Ryback’s also come over to the flagship show, perhaps to take over the “big monster” spot. Do you agree that Tensai’s re-debut in WWE has been a failure? Would you have done anything different? What future do you see for the big man?

Blake:
Tensai is not yet a failure. Taking out the Lord was a good move in my opinion. What needs to happen now is for Tensai to officially become a part of Johnny Ace's entourage. This gives him backing as one of Ace's leashed monsters while giving an obvious potential PPV main event match against Cena within the next few months. As for Goldberg 2.0, he's a completely different character to Tensai, rendering this part of the question pointless.

Kirsty:
I'd rather watch Tensai than Ryback, I can tell you that. I wouldn't say that it's been a failure, but then I don't think they gave the whole "Lord" gimmick enough time to "mature" so to speak. I think he would have done well in the spot currently occupied by the Big Show, and I still think he's got a future if WWE stick with him and invest some creative time in him.

Steph:
Weird confession of the week: I think my main "ugh" about Tensai is that he's proportioned like a baby. I just can't take his movement seriously. And his music is like something ripped from the Shogun: Total War soundscape.

I would have made Tensai truly *scary*. Exaggerated his Japan-inspired move set even *more* and make him either Ryback-esque indestructible or go for the scary-ninja-strike stereotype. Also: can the horribly cheesy Shredder mask.

Scott:
I liked Tensai’s reappearance at first, but there were all sorts of things going against him. Firstly, he reappeared at the same time as two other big men – Brock Lesnar and Skip “Ryback” Sheffield. And he doesn’t have the star power of Lesnar nor the freshness (or, indeed, Goldberg-ness) of Ryback. And then after a couple of squashes he was inserted right into the main event. Big mistake.

Firstly, the whole concept of craven authority figure aligning with a monster is very old hat. Secondly, the timing meant we’d immediately have to accept a transition from Brock Lesnar to Tensai as Laurinaitis’ strong man, a comparison Tensai was never going to meet. Thirdly, whether you were aware of Matt Bloom’s history or not, there was no reason to accept him as a main-eventer at such an early stage. The whole thing was destined to fail. And, unfortunately for Bloom, I don’t think there’s much of a future left for him-as-Tensai in WWE. A character change might work, but I’d think that overall his reputation has been tarnished in the eyes of the fans, and the opportunity for acceptance has slipped by.

No matter what you may think of him or his character the return of Ryback demonstrates that the tried-and-true methods of introducing a monster heel are tried-and-true for a reason. The whole concept of Tensai’s return was destined to fail immediately it was decided he was going to slot in after Lesnar. He should’ve been the build to Lesnar being Laurinaitis’ strong man, not the man Laurinaitis turned to after Brock.

Dion:
I like Tensai. He brings something really unique to WWE so hopefully they persist with him. He seems over to me and the fact that he was pitted against Cena on the latest RAW means he's still very much in the picture.

David:
It's kind of been a failure, but only because the trigger was never really pulled on him. And we had the likes of Brodus Clay, Ryback, and even Antonio Cesaro or Damien Sandow doing the same squash routine as him. I would have brought him in as more of a regular wrestler, I guess. Throw him right into the main event, instead of crushing Yoshi Tatsu and those sorts of guys. Then, if he loses, it's not such a huge deal, either, because he hasn't built up some sort of untouchable win-streak. Basically have him be a Japanese version of heel Big Show, I guess, so perhaps Show tagging in to this feud isn't that bad of an idea.

Stevie:
You could feel the office giving up on him within the first few weeks. And if they don't believe, it's hard for us to, because we know the faith won't be rewarded. Steph had the right idea for how they could have pushed him and honestly it's what I thought was going to happen as he came in.

Luke:
Yeah, I think Tensai's return has been a failure. I don't really dig the gimmick personally, though, for the right person it could have been great. I think they should let Tensai work more like he did in Japan rather than his usual routine that those who followed him as A-Train are familiar with.

3) Randy Orton’s suspended for sixty days for his second violation of WWE’s Wellness Policy, coming hard on top of Jericho’s suspension as well as Rey Mysterio’s on-going absences due to injury and his own suspensions. Is WWE’s main event looking fragile? What would you do, if anything, to bolster the top of the card?

Blake:
CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Kane, Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, Tensai, John Cena, Big Show, Dolph Ziggler, Ryback, Christian, Cody Rhodes, Miz... There's only one problem with the main event scene; Superstars are booked as if they mean nothing. What happened to the main event winner of WrestleMania 27, the man Vince McMahon called the potential 'next face' of the WWE? He's jobbing to an overweight dinosaur.

Kirsty:
I don't think WWE's main event is looking fragile at all, and you have to remember that Orton wasn't part of the main event scene. It's not often you see one of WWE's top talent fail a drugs test, which gives a bit more cred to the legitimacy of the Wellness Program, I suppose.

I personally think that Jericho's more of a loss than Orton - although I will miss Randy for the next month. But I'm missing Jericho more, especially since I don't think his suspension was warranted.

Steph:
END SUPER SHOWS. The main event *is* looking fragile, because after the first couple of big names heel/face-side there's almost no depth. There was a WWE Championship match on SMACKDOWN, people! That's not right! While Tyson Kidd, Tyler Reks, Curt Hawkins, William Regal, and a swathe of decent rookie divas are languishing on freaking (thankfully-revised) NXT.

Scott:
It’s looking very fragile, for not only the factors mentioned in this question, but also because of the failures in the main-event RAW storyline and the huge gap left by Lesnar’s (contractually required?) absences. In my opinion, WWE needs to do a significant step change now; fresh storylines, fresh talent. Move to a full on “throw mud at the wall and see what sticks” mode with whatever ideas creative can come up and with all the mid-card stars they’ve been keeping on ice for so long. Get storylines going featuring Dolph Ziggler, Zack Ryder, Santino Marella, Sin Cara, Jack Swagger, The Usos, Cody Rhodes, Curt Hawkins, Johnny Curtis – all those talented people wasting away in the midcard or below. The three hour shows starting next month will be perfect for that. Sure, a lot of stuff will fail, but it’ll be the only way to find out what will work. And it really needs to be done.

Dion:
I don't think it needs bolstering at all. CM Punk and Daniel Bryan are holding the WWE Championship picture together nicely, with Kane now in the mix. And Sheamus continues to prove he's worthy in the top position. With Cena still in the mix, I don't think Orton and Jericho's hiatus will have much of an impact. But their returns, definitely will.

David:
It's not a problem. WWE does tend to rely on the same core guys to carry its programming, but there are so many wrestlers floating around in that upper-midcard area that could step up at a moment's notice to fill the void left by a departing main eventer. Even in terms of the main event scene, Jericho and Orton were/are a step below CM Punk and John Cena. I'm not concerned in the slightest.

Stevie:
It's pretty dire. Not through lack of talent but through the perception they've left us with about the talent they have. They've all been briefly pushed and then de-pushed so many times, it's hard to find anyone credible. They do need to enter a massive 'throw stuff at the wall' mode, that's for sure. Things have been stagnant since the excellent Extreme Rules and I'm not even certain I'll get No Way Out.

Luke:
Yeah, it looks slightly fragile. But WWE will cope and survive. This is the time where younger workers can step up to the plate and show everybody what they've got. If I was booking creative, I would be pushing for guys like Ziggler, Miz, Truth and Kingston to replace those spots. Give them more mic time, inflate their gimmicks more. But, they won't. At least when Orton and Jericho return, it will give us ten minutes of good television due to the fact they are "returning".

4) Did you watch TNA’s return to live Impact Wrestling? What did you think of the show? Did the live element add anything special?

Blake:
Live just meant I had to put up with the torture that is the "girl power" of Dixie 'I'm having phenomenal sex' Carter and Brooke 'even Taz can't legitimise me' Hogan. At least the gut check loser made for some interesting TV... What was his name again? Oh, and that match between AJ and Daniels? Superb. I love how matches in TNA can end without finishers, rollups, or botched referee counting (see CM Punk vs. Jack Swagger); makes for dynamite matches of 'never-know-what's-going-to-happen'ism.

Kirsty:
I'm sorry to say I missed it - visiting my Sky-less sister in Queenstown. But I'm looking forward to seeing it this week.

Steph:
Compared to the People Power Super Show, almost everything TNA does right now is gold. Except hire Brooke Hogan. If this is the beginning of the end, especially for the Knockouts, I will be SO annoyed.

Scott:
Didn’t feel all that different, really, except for the constant reminders that they were now live. That said, TNA’s weekly television show has been improving week-in and week-out of late. I hope they can carry it over to the upcoming pay-per-view, and not destroy their momentum (once again) with shoddy booking.

Dion:
I did watch it, and there was definitely a difference in energy. A great move by TNA, and hopefully... as we've been hoping for years... they can get some real traction.

David:
I watched. No different to any other Impact Wrestling episode via tape delay, for me. Not that that's a bad thing though. It really is one of the more entertaining shows on television.

Stevie:
I enjoyed it, the energy from the crowd was nice and I'm loving the reality they're injecting into things.

Luke:
I thought it was good. TNA need to be live and have that live aspect to the show. The wrestlers will work better under the conditions and the fans benefit from it due to the structure changes.

5) TNA’s announced that at Slammiversary they’ll be recognising ten years of the promotion’s existence by inducting the first name into the TNA Hall of Fame. Do you think a “Hall of Fame” is a good idea for TNA? And who would you choose as the first inductee?

Blake:
If they make it meaningful, it will definitely be a good idea. And it's not a matter of who would I choose as the first inductee into the TNA HoF; I, the greatest mind in professional wrestling, know that the TNA HoF will start with a hell of a Sting. Like the pun? Of course you do; it's comedy genius at work.

Kirsty:
There are lots of wrestling Hall of Fames, and the 10 year anniversary seems like a good time for TNA to debut theirs. I would say Sting for the inaugral inductee, only he's still active and the general rule of thumb is that inductees are also retirees. So with that in mind I'd probably go with Konnan, Scott D'Amore or Traci Brooks.

Steph:
It's an interesting spin from a company which only weeks ago was spending quite a bit of camera time lovingly focusing in on Ric Flair's two WWE HoF rings. I worry the first inductee is going to be Flair, Hogan or PLEASE NO Eric Bischoff. But I'd love to see Sting recognised.

Scott:
Oh, LOL. Some of my shirts have a longer history than TNA, I should start a hall of fame for them too. Would be funny though if they named someone like Christian or CM Punk as their first inductee, though.

Dion:
Good for them, I say. It'll be interesting if they go with "the big one" in Hulk Hogan, the original NWA star in Sting or a homegrown talent from TNA. That said, I can't think of any TNA star that would be quite HoF material yet. We know the likes of AJ and Samoa Joe will be there one day, but not in the initial inductions.

David:
It does seem a little early, doesn't it? But then again, 10 years - that's longer than ECW was around, so why not, right? That's assuming it's a hall of fame for TNA Wrestling, too, and not just a professional wrestling hall of fame as administrated by TNA. If we're talking about people who've had an impact (pun intended) on TNA as the first inductee, how can anyone look past Jeff Jarrett? Seriously, there should be no debate.

Stevie:
Eh, it's a way for them to recognise the work put in by individuals. And if it's to give props to those who have trailblazed in the company, like AJ Styles, rather than just rewarding a career that's ended, it's a great idea.

Luke:
I don't think that a Hall of Fame is necessary in TNA just yet, the company is just way too young. Sure, there are stars out there that may deserve the recognition for their contributions over the last ten years but the company is simply too young. Though, AJ Styles SHOULD be the first guy in though it is still way to early to give him that honor in his career.