3rd Part of the great rebranding the ultra talented FreaXTVChannelE put together for TNA. We’ve seen the work he’s been doing on WWE and when it’s ready it will blow you away but in the meantime check out this work originally presented at his blog and keep up if you’ve missed part 1 or part 2 or on his Twitter @FreaXTVChannelE
TNA #REBOOTED Section03– Makeovers & Takeovers Pt1- Legends
With the overall Visuals for the weekly Impact shows covered in the first TNA Sections, it’s time to take a look at certain individual Wrestlers, as well as Factions and Tagteams (in part 2).
And as with designing the first Sections of this article, the same attention to detail and consistency for Colour schemes, Icons and Styles applies here, especially when dealing with Factions and Tagteams.
So in this Section I’m going to take a short rewind in recent TNA history, to look at how I would have personally presented some of the legendary characters from the past years.
Now I first produced the designs for this Section at a time when these particular Legend scenarios were still active, but I decided to keep them included to give the whole TNA Reboot article some back story, and for when I arrive at the Pay-Per-Views (see Section05).
Now in most cases I’ve never been a great fan of seeing the older Stars actually wrestling in matches, especially when they appear to be far less convincing in the ring, but I still believe that when Representing and Promoting the younger talent, or to give recognition to the company as a Marketing Tool, this can be only be a Bonus!
So here we go with some of the biggest Legends of Wrestling- Rebooted!
3.1 Sting
Sting has the look and image that I’ve always felt really fits in with TNA, and although he’s put on some great matches within the company over the years (& still can), the role that I found was a surprisingly good fit in recent months was as the show’s General Manager.
For this Reboot version of Sting though, I’m going to take it to the era of his rivalry with Immortal, as he made his return with the crazed and unstable persona as the Insane Icon. But instead of the Joker-style look, I’m going to add a little more aggression, with a darker image that could almost tip the character over as appearing heel-like.
So first off, I’ve altered the Name and Logo of The Icon Sting, to the new title of; Stinger X ‘The Twisted Icon’, to fit into the style and attitude of this new makeover:
The Logo is similar in design to Sting’s familiar style, though I’ve expanded on it to make for a smooth transition into the next incarnation.
And here is the new ‘Twisted’ Stinger in the flesh, with the ‘X’ taking the shape of a bloody smear of war-paint across his face:
Now for this new version of the Icon, I still envision him to take on a similar ‘Insane’ role of acting, but probably to be a little more subdued and calculated than the clown-like character played recently. I can imagine the new Stinger to be more inclined to take the violence to a fight and act with more aggression when pushed, getting the job done by any means necessary, rather than play by the face rules.
And to capture the new StingerX Style, here’s the new Dark and ‘Twisted’ T-shirt:
‘Why so Nervous?’ is beginning to sound like an Understatement.
And to further Illustrate the new look, here’s the Twisted Icon in action, striking Fear into all that face him:
The Outfit is pretty much the same as Sting’s original one, just with the ‘X’ emblazoned down the sides and extra padding and bandages wrapping the arms. I’ve also continued the blood smears over his chest to give a more unhinged feel.
And finally onto Stinger’s Entrance theme as ‘The Twisted Icon’.
This is pretty much the classic Sting intro as we’ve come to expect over the years, just with the new Logos and Icons added to the new look TNA Entrance Ramp.
With the lights down low and the red smoke rising, here comes the Stinger:
Be Afraid, be very Afraid, as the Stinger emerges from the smoke, wearing a blood-stained overcoat and an Evil, Sadistic Smile- WOOO!
3.2 Immortal
Now onto the Factions part of this Section and the one faction that has contained more Legends than you could shake a stick at; here comes Immortal.
Over its year-long reign, the Immortal lineup, led by Hulk Hogan, consisted of Bischoff, Flair, Jarrett and pretty much every single Heel or wrestler turning heel, on the entire roster.
While there were aspects of Immortal that I quite liked mainly for nostalgia reasons, I was never a huge fan of this angle, and mainly found the overall presentation of the faction a little random and haphazard.
So, in an attempt to tidy up the Image and give the Immortals more design and consistency, I’ve gone all out to bring Order to the Chaos, with a Cover that definitely Crosses The Line:
Now there’re definitely a lot of elements at play here; with Immortal Symbols working alongside the Logo, and a theme that plays up to Hogan’s trademark colours (both as face and heel). This Black and Yellow theme also inspired me to use the police line warning tape idea, with ‘Do Not Cross The Line’ as a play on words to the caution message as well as the TNA company tagline. So overall, with a prison Line-up of the Immortal Roster included, the whole message projected here is that Immortal is the Law!
For the Clothing and Accessory range, I’ve continued the themes, making all the Elements work together and giving an overall Immortal flavour, while still attempting to maintain each characters own individual style:
For the secondary line of Immortal members, I’ve chosen the Wrestlers that I consider more fitting to the Faction, giving more Power and Solidarity to the whole Machine.
Now with the Entrance theme, I’d imagine this to be quite an Epic affair, showing the Power and Strength and total control this faction has over the company. So with a dramatic build of Lights, Logos and Music, here comes Immortal:
From here it’s on to fight another battle and create some Chaos, Immortal-Style, ‘So Watcha Gonna Do, Brother?!!’
3.3 Fortune
Fortune, in my own opinion, were probably the Greatest Faction existing in TNA (& 1 of in the whole business), and one, which in hindsight, never quite hit the dizzying heights it truly deserved while existing under Immortal’s shadow.
With its original line-up of talent, lead by the Legend Ric Flair, I believe that Fortune could have performed just as well, face or heel, whilst still consisting of these members instead of the early breakup with Flair jumping ship.
So for this Presentation I’m going to stick with the full list of players and expand upon the original Fortune Designs and Styles.
I’ve produced the promotional Cover for Fortune to illustrate the strengths of this Ultimate Faction, led by the ‘God’ of Wrestling and comprised of some of the Best Talents in the Business:
Here I’ve kept with the original Logo design, just changing the style to give it a more Tron-like theme, while enhancing and incorporating the Arrow Symbol into the title, so it all slots together neatly.
And to develop the futuristic lighting theme further, here’s a look at the Wrestlers of Fortune, Dressed for Success:
The fluorescent clothing would be highlighted for the Entrance theme as well as the VideoClips that would accompany it to continue the Tron-style theme.
And with all the new Logos, Icons and Covers here’s the Fortune Team, showing off the new Merchandise:
Now to fully present the whole Theme of Fortune, and to counterbalance Immortal’s overexposure, the Entrance here certainly has to be Dramatic and Epic also.
So with blue blazing search lights sweeping the stage, the Fortune Symbol appears on the Screen like a Beacon of Hope, as the Team rise to the Challenge and Fight the Good Fight- Fortune-Style:
For Victory, For Glory, For Honour, For Pain….FORTUNE FOREVER!!!! (Amen)
And that’s it for the first part of ‘Makeovers and Takeovers’, but it’s only a short distance away from Part2, where I’ll be covering the TNA Tagteam Division. See you there!
