There are many stars who have looked at their release from WWE as the end of the road, a one-way ticket to crowds of 50 people or less, mediocre paydays and the convention circuit. When young Derrick Bateman was cut from his contract with the company, he could have taken it as a sign that maybe he was not cut out for prime time and, instead, worked lackluster matches in fire halls across the country. Instead, he devoted himself to proving that his charisma and in-ring work were good enough to earn him exposure elsewhere and in 2013, he arrived in TNA as Ethan Carter III, the spoiled brat nephew of Dixie Carter and someone he believed was destined for greatness. The character struck a chord with fans at a time when the Aces and Eights gimmick was bogging down programming. Despite the focus of programming being primarily on Bully Ray, Jeff Hardy and an exiting Hulk Hogan, Carter earned the attention of management and soon, it became clear that he was being primed for big things. It took over a year but Carter finally grew into his role as a legitimate main event star and defeated Kurt Angle to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, all the while perfecting his role as a villain and receiving some truly impassioned jeers from the TNA faithful. Thursday night, he stepped into the squared circle and had the fans in the palm of his hand from the get-go, greeted with a chorus of boos reserved for the most hated stars on any given show. The way he bragged about his championship reign and talked down to Jeff Hardy, his personal assistant by way of a loss by brother Matt, was brilliant. It enraged the fans to see someone they so adored disrespected and humbled by the cocky young champion. When he successfully retained his title in the main event, those same fans greeted the win with defiance, his dirty victory over Matt Hardy seemingly unthinkable. Then, when he was driven through a table, the eruption was deafening, even from the 500 or so in attendance. The way he sold the post-match beating was fantastic and only added to a performance that was one of the strongest individual ones of the entire event. EC3 is a tremendous villain, one far more invested in infuriating crowds than being the cool badass that Triple H made popular among prospective wrestlers back in the 2000s. If TNA does cease operations, it would behoove WWE to pick Carter up and give him the opportunity they robbed him of earlier in his career.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
