As I wrote about yesterday, 2012 was a tough year for TNA in the Rising Star category. Almost no one is getting votes in our year-end poll from TNA. Can TNA do better in 2013?

They might have more candidates for "Comeback of the Year" or "Unexpected Late Career Surge" if we ran those as year-end polls for 2012.

Christopher Daniels and Bully Ray would be at the top of my list, as they've been MVPs of many TNA Impact TV shows.

But when talking Rising Star of 2013, here's who I would make my priority if I were TNA:

-Magnus: He still seems like the candidate with the most upside. He's got good size, a good look, he's deceptively young, he's gotten a lot better in the ring, and he can talk. What more do they want?

-Samoa Joe: It is too late for him to be a Rising Star again? Probably. He'd probably be a candidate for "Comeback of the Year." In any case, I hope TNA can get more out of him in 2013 than they did in 2012. His dynamic with Kurt Angle on last night's Impact showed there is something there for TNA to build on. And in the ring, while the mileage on his body is substantial, he can still deliver a strong hard-hitting tough guy style that has a place on TNA cards.

-James Storm: Can TNA regain the momentum they lost with some starts and stops in 2012? Storm still has several key pieces that should make him a standout character. Even if he's not the very top baby face, he should be that kick-ass mainstay enforcer type, maybe more along the lines of Arn Anderson's role in the Four Horsemen, with a little more Southern attitude like Stone Cold mixed in.

-Zema Ion: He has an It Factor that TNA hasn't fully capitalized on yet. He had some "just okay" X Division matches in 2012 that may have made management think he wasn't ready yet. Personality-wise, though, he is someone I want to see more of on TV. He could appeal to fans looking for someone younger and eccentric, but funny. He's probably closest to what "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin was in World Class Championship Wrestling during his peak mid-1980s run mixed with heel Lightning Kid from early-1990s Global Wrestling Federation on ESPN. He should be one of the building blocks of the X Division or paired with someone in an "odd couple" tag team.

-DOC and Mike Knox: These two have a chance to rise as top level heels and perhaps eventually break away from Aces & Eights as babyfaces. But when I say eventually, I mean a year to a year and a half from now. I was a fan of both Festus and Knox in WWE, and TNA could have some valuable "WWE discards" to work with and build around. They have size and a good look and some solid experience.

-Mr. Anderson: Maybe more of a candidate for "Comeback of the Year" than "Rising Star," since he was already a "Rising Star" before cooling off the last few years. Whatever he had when Vince McMahon was really high on him he still has, but he needs to get his confidence back as a character and drop the tired, tawdry, forced "asshole" routine and become something different. He still can be Mr. Anderson at his core, but he needs a fresh coat of paint rather than seeming like he's resting on his laurels from the Mr. Kennedy days or the attempts by Vince Russo in TNA to turn him into the new Stone Cold.

-Kenny King: He's being given a chance to talk and show some personality, and so far I think he's gaining some traction. He's cocky about his natural athletic gifts and gets ahead of himself as a result. He's the type of personality fans can root to fail. Keep going with what they're doing.

-People I'm not confident are candidates for Rising Star either in 2013 or perhaps ever, thus focus on the above names instead: Wes Brisco, Garett Bischoff, Christian York, Robbie E., Robbie T.

-Jury's Out: D'Angelo Dinero, Crimson, Hernandez, Joey Ryan, King Mo, Sam Shaw, Alex Silva.

I presented analysis of this week's Impact today, start to finish, in my 30 minute Wade Keller Hotline exclusively for PWTorch VIP members. If you aren't a VIP member, you can sign up here: http://www.pwtorch.com/govip. New VIP-exclusive content, including the daily Keller Hotline, is accessible via iTunes, the Podcast app on iPhone, the BeyondPod app on Android, streaming or downloading via our VIP website, and within the new VIP sections of our new Apps for Android and iPhone.

(Wade Keller is founder and supervising editor of PWTorch.com and MMATorch.com. He began Pro Wrestling Torch in 1987, starting as a print newsletter and expanding since into a website, mobile apps, and podcasts. He was the only wrestling reporter to cover the Vince McMahon steroid trial from jury selection to closing arguments in 1994. He has interviewed pro wrestling's top names in their longest and sometimes only insider interviews including Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Steve Austin, Jesse Ventura, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Eric Bischoff, Vince Russo, Diamond Dallas Page, and many many others, plus legends such as Bruno Sammartino, Verne Gagne, Lou Thesz, Jerry Lawler, Jerry Jarrett. He has been quoted as a wrestling expert and analyst in newspapers and magazines worldwide and has appeared on over 100 radio shows over the last 25 years.)

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