WNS Column: What Did The Aces & Eights Accomplish For TNA Impact Wrestling?

The Aces & Eights are officially no more in the world of TNA Impact Wrestling. Looking back, the Aces & Eights definitely made a huge impact on TNA all throughout 2012 and 2013. The group lasted for about a year and a half exactly, as they made their very first appearance back in June of 2012 by attacking the first-ever TNA Hall of Fame inductee, "The Icon" Sting. Whether you liked or disliked the Aces & Eights, nobody can deny that they were a key component in TNA's programming for the past year and a half and they did enjoy some measure of success.

The overall concept of the Aces & Eights was reportedly the idea of former TNA official Eric Bischoff and was met with a lukewarm response by fans. Some fans enjoyed the Aces & Eights. Originally hiding their identities under ski masks, the Aces & Eights brought an element of mystery and intrigue to TNA. Fans wondered who these masked men might be, and more importantly, who the mysterious President of the Aces & Eights might have been. Slowly but surely, more and more members of the Aces & Eights were revealed. Former WWE Superstar Luke Gallows was revealed to be the Director of Chaos, or DOC for short, for the group. Former WWE Superstar Mike Knox, now known simply as Knux, was revealed as a member. TNA newcomers Wes Brisco and Garett Bischoff were revealed as members of the group. TNA ringside commentator Taz joined the group. Former WWE and TNA star and former member of TNA management D-Lo Brown was revealed to be the Vice President for the group. Former two-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion Mr. Ken Anderson was added to the group. Two-time TNA Television Champion Devon Dudley was revealed to be the Sgt. at Arms for the stable. And finally, it was revealed that Devon's longtime tag team partner Bully Ray was the President of the Aces & Eights all along and had fooled the world, including TNA General Manager Hulk Hogan and Hulk's daughter Brooke, into thinking that he was an enemy of the Aces & Eights.

Bully Ray was revealed to be the group's President at the 2013 TNA Lockdown pay-per-view when he defeated Jeff Hardy for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship with the help of the Aces & Eights. The 10-month build-up leading to Bully Ray's revelation was pleasing to some fans, while other fans heavily criticized the entire concept of the stable.

Some fans criticized the group for being an "unoriginal" concept. It is true that the Aces & Eights were not the first bikers in wrestling history. From The Undertaker's "American Badass" persona, to the Disciples of Apocalypse back in the late 90s, and even the legendary Legion of Doom: Road Warrior Hawk & Road Warrior Animal, were known to ride motorcycles into arenas in the past. Fans also claimed that the Aces & Eights storyline shared similarities to the popular television show Sons of Anarchy. Even the Aces & Eights theme song, "Deadman's Hand" by TNA's musicians Dale Oliver and Serg Salinas, sounded a bit like Sons of Anarchy's opening theme song, "This Life" by Curtis Stigers & The Forest Rangers. Lastly, some fans felt that the Aces & Eights were a poor attempt at replicating the legendary New World Order (nWo) faction.

Fans were also critical about the actual members of the group. Some fans felt that former WWE stars such as Mike Knox and Luke Gallows should not have been included in the stable. Many fans who had already been critical of TNA for giving a push to Eric Bischoff's real-life son Garett felt that Garett Bischoff didn't deserve such a high-profile spot on TNA programming. Some fans, for whatever reasons, also didn't like the inclusions of the other members such as Wes Brisco, D-Lo Brown, Ken Anderson, Taz, and even Devon Dudley.

As a long-running heel stable in TNA, the group was often compared to previous heel stables in TNA, specifically the original Main Event Mafia (October 2008 - October 2009) and Immortal (October 2010 - April 2012). All three of these heel stables captured TNA Championships, including the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. For the Aces & Eights, Devon held the TNA Television Championship at one point, and Bully Ray became a two-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion as the President of the Aces & Eights. Which of the three stables was truly "the best" can be and has been debated among TNA fans.

During the year and a half long reign of terror of the Aces & Eights, the majority of TNA's roster fell victim to their brutal attacks. Hulk Hogan, Sting, Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Brutus Magnus, Eric Young, A.J. Styles, James Storm, Bobby Roode, Joseph Park, Austin Aries, Jeff Hardy, and "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero were all victims of the group's wrath. However, as strong as the group appeared to be at one point, it wasn't long after Bully Ray captured his first World Title that the group started to dissolve.

The first to go was the group's former Vice President D-Lo Brown. The next was DOC. After that was the Sgt. at Arms Devon, who had been a cornerstone for the group. Next was Ken Anderson, who had also served as Vice President for the group. MMA fighter Tito Ortiz joined the group for a short time but was unable to keep on appearing for TNA due to his commitments to the Bellator MMA promotion. Lastly, young Wes Brisco also left the group in September.

By the end, Aces & Eights consisted of Bully Ray, Knux, Garett Bischoff, Taz, and TNA Knockout Miss Brooke Tessmacher.

On November 21st, 2013 at the TNA Turning Point event, Ken Anderson defeated Bully Ray in a match where the stipulation was that if Bully lost, Aces & Eights would be forced to disband once and for all. The following week on the Thanksgiving episode of TNA Impact Wrestling, a "funeral" segment was filmed for the Aces & Eights, featuring many of the TNA stars who had fallen victim to the group at some point.

And so that was it. The Aces & Eights are officially done in TNA Impact Wrestling.

Looking back, did the Aces & Eights do any good for TNA?

Some of the positives of the storyline included the fact that at the beginning, the group did carry an aura of mystery and intrigue due to their concealed identities. And say what you will about the members, but they did seem to put effort into their work as performers for TNA. Bully Ray and Devon in particular seemed to be highly motivated to try to help the group get over as a dominant force in TNA. Many fans had hoped to see Bully Ray get a run with the TNA World Title at some point, and thanks to the Aces & Eights, this became a reality on not one, but two occasions.

However, as previously discussed, the group did get heavy scrutiny from some fans for various reasons. Whether it was the comparisons to Sons of Anarchy or the group's members or even just the gimmick itself, not all the TNA fans were welcoming of the Aces & Eights faction.

What about the members of the group? What did they get from it? The storyline was obviously beneficial to Bully Ray, as he became a two-time TNA World Champion thanks to the group. Bully's longtime tag team partner Devon was also presented as being a warrior for the group and a dominant TNA Television Champion, but Devon ended up leaving TNA a few months ago and it's uncertain whether or not he'll ever be back. Wes Brisco and Garett Bischoff, if nothing else, were given a chance to show that they could not only work well as heels, but could be used in a high-profile angle for the company. However, one has to wonder what D-Lo Brown, Luke Gallows and Mike Knox really got from it. It gave them a chance to revitalize their careers, but Brown and Gallows are no longer even with TNA and one can only guess what TNA officials might have planned for Mike Knox. MMA fighter Tito Ortiz really didn't benefit from briefly joining the group. Taz would have had a job with TNA as a ringside commentator whether he ever joined the group or not. Ken Anderson has gotten a decent babyface turn since leaving the group, which could help revitalize his TNA career. Brooke Tessmacher also got to show how well she could work as a heel.

Overall, was the Aces & Eights stable really as bad for TNA as some fans claimed it was? Did it do much good for the company? Was it a good concept? Did the members perform well? How will YOU personally remember the Aces & Eights? Did you enjoy it or did you think it was a bad storyline?

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