The Major Problem with TNA's product, and What I'd Have Done

[Big Red Machine]

It’s no secret that I’ve been very unsatisfied with the TNA product for a VERY long time. I’ve also talked pretty much ad nauseam about what a huge opportunity they had and missed to convince fans that they were not going to be the same old TNA anymore in their January 7th debut on Destination America. It wasn’t until today, though, that it finally hit me what perhaps their biggest internal problem is. It’s not that the booking is bad- and don’t get me wrong: it is. Everything feels either rushed or interminable, and things often make no sense. But this is in large part a result of a different problem.

After reading the latest round of spoilers, it is clear to me that TNA lacks direction. Yes, they did build towards Angle vs. Lashley, and they did build towards the EC III vs. Spud Hair vs. Hair match, and they do have some stuff going on with Magnus vs. Bram, but that is just three examples of them doing something decently well. If I look at most of the roster, it feels like they’re all stuck in the same feud they were in months ago. Who is poised to be the next contender to the TNA World Heavyweight Title? No one, really. Maybe Bobby Roode. What about the tag titles? Are there even any teams on the roster other than Storm & Abyss, the Wolves, and the Hardys? Have we even had an X-Division singles match that didn’t involve the title since they switched over to Destination America?

You might say “that’s not fair of you to say that, BRM. They’ve only been on Destination America for three months so far.” To that I say “in three months’ worth of TV I damn well better be able to see a direction.”

I think one of TNA’s biggest creative problems is that they really don’t know how to book more than a month at a time. When they cut down to just four PPVs a year, they said it would help them tell better, longer stories, and give us PPV matches that felt even bigger. Then they proceeded to just meander around for the first six to eight weeks between PPVs and then finally start building to a PPV when they only had a month left anyway, so it was essentially like they were using the same twelve PPV a year model, but only doing four PPVs. They quickly shifted to a similar model where they would just do monthly special episodes of Impact with the same name as the old PPVs, so now they were back in the same place they were, but with one less Impact per month to build to the big monthly show, and those big shows were now two hours long minus commercials and aired on free TV instead of three commercial-free hours on PPV.

The first thing they should have done when they switched to Destination America was decide when their first PPV was going to be, figure out what the card was going to be, and work from there, filling in the intermittent TV tapings with angles to build to those matches- to figure out how to get the wrestlers involved where they needed to be for their PPV matches by the time the PPV came around. Instead we’ve gotten a complete and total clusterf*ck with a bunch of random title changes (hello, X-Division Title), gimmick matches given away for free and not built up properly, concepts presented as super-important one week, then ignored the next, wrestlers being presented as important one week, then disappearing into nothingness, etc. etc.

So… here’s how they should have done it:
*DISCLAIMER*- If I was in charge of TNA, the absolute last thing I would have done was that idiotic swerve they did during the Destination America debut with the BDC forming and EY turning heel and a bullsh*t finish in my first main event, but I have decided to keep this as close as possible to what seems to be the feuds that TNA wanted to go with in the beginning, so I will assume that the BDC has to form and cost Roode the title, and that EY has to turn on Roode.*
As I said at the beginning of the last paragraph, the first thing they should have done was figured out when the next PPV was and worked backwards from there. The date I would have chosen is probably this very coming Sunday, March 22nd. While doing a PPV the week before (or after, or even within a month of) WrestleMania wouldn’t have been the best idea, the $9.99 price tag of the WWE Network changes all that. Instead of asking fans to shell out $40 in addition to the $70 (or whatever ridiculous price) they are already shelling out this month for WrestleMania, you are now asking them for $40 in addition to the mere $10 that they’ll be paying for Mania. Additionally, with the hype of this being your first PPV since the Destination America debut, the first PPV in six months, and the first one that actually matters to your storylines in any way in almost a year, I think you can build up a lot of hype, either undercutting some of the hype for WrestleMania or riding in the Mania hype’s wake. Doing the show the week before Mania gives you the chance to put on a GREAT show that will hopefully show WrestleMania up just a week before Mania itself.

Here is the card that I would build to:
TNA Lockdown 2015- March 22, 2015
TNA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Bobby Lashley(c) vs. Kurt Angle
HAIR VS. HAIR MATCH: Ethan Carter III vs. Rockstar Spud
FIRST TIME EVER: Awesome Kong vs. Havok
LAST MAN STANDING STEEL CAGE MATCH: Eric Young vs. Bobby Roode
TNA KNOCKOUTS TITLE MATCH: Taryn Terrell(c) vs. Gail Kim
THREE WAY STEEL CAGE MATCH FOR THE TNA WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES: The Revolution(c) vs. The Hardys vs. The Wolves (and when Eddie gets injured in the UK, I’d just simply take the Wolves out of the match because of it)
STEEL CAGE MATCH: Magnus vs. Bram
LETHAL LOCKDOWN MATCH: The BDC vs. Drew Galloway, Gunner, Austin Aries, & Ken Anderson- (if the babyfaces win, Aries gets a shot at Low Ki’s the X-Division Title this coming week on Impact.


I would first establish in the beginning of the Destination America debut that Kurt, as Director of Operations, can’t put his hands on a wrestler. I’d probably establish this in a segment with Kenny King and MVP to build up for what is to come in the main event.
I’d have Low Ki and Samoa Joe offer to be at ringside to prevent MVP and Kenny King from engaging in heel shenanigans and ruining the Roode vs. Lashley main event.
During the match I’d have MVP and Kenny come out and then do the whole BDC turn. I’d have Roode and Lashley join together to try to fight them off while Kurt Angle watches helplessly from the ramp. Then have Eric Young come out, seemingly to make the save, and while Lashley fights off two heels by himself, I’d have Roode and EY team up to take on the other two, and THEN have EY turn on Roode. Lashley decides to take advantage of this and gets the pin to win the title.

In the second week I’d still have Roode feud with EY, but he’d obviously be pissed at the BDC and Lashley as well. I’d have Kurt also be pissed at Lashley for taking advantage of EY’s betrayal to win the title, rather than act honorably and take out EY, then let Roode recover before continuing the match. Lashley, for his part, would be a lone wolf, saying he did what he had to do to win the title, and that Roode and Angle are crybabies for not liking it, but also rebuffing the advances of the BDC, insisting to MVP that he is his own man. MVP gives Lashley until the end of the show to reconsider.
Roode and EY would have a match that would end with the BDC helping EY to beat Roode down. Kurt would watch all of this helplessly. Gunner would go to Kurt’s office to try to talk him into helping, but Kurt would insist that he isn’t allowed to. Lashley would squash a midcarder in the main event, then the BDC would come out and demand his answer. Lashley says he won’t join them, so they beat him down. Gunner runs out to make the save, but gets beaten down, too. Kurt comes out to the stage, but watches helplessly, perhaps being taunted by MVP.
Over the first two weeks I’d also do the switch and switch-back they did with Aries, Ki and the X-Division Title, with Ki’s new BDC pals helping him win the title back.

The third week I would start with Kurt making a big announcement: Gunner helped him realize he needs to be fighting the BDC, so as of this morning, he resigned as Director of Wrestling Operations, and reactivated himself as an active wrestler!
I’d spend the next few weeks having the BDC (& EY) beat down the small group of their enemies (Roode on his own, Lashley on his own, and Kurt & Gunner working together). Meanwhile I’d do Feast or Fired and have Austin Aries win the world title briefcase. Aries would cash in after a BDC beatdown of Lashley, but the BDC would come back out and attack Aries, too, because they want to control the TNA World Heavyweight Title. I’d build to a big tag match on the first night of the UK tour (probably about a Feb. 13 airdate) with the same general idea as TNA did with Lethal Lockdown, where Kurt has to convince the various anti-BDC guys that the only way to beat the BDC is to work together. With Lashley, the question is left open as to whether he will actually come out and fight with them. He doesn’t.
But that’s okay, because Kurt had a back-up plan all along: DREW GALLOWAY! (And I know that they weren’t planning on Drew coming in until right before the UK shows. My original plan for this was to have Lashley just fight with the other babyfaces, but this works better in building towards Angle vs. Lashley and also creates a natural reason for Drew to slip into a high-profile slot at the PPV, so as soon as I know Drew is coming in, I’m changing my plans).
We capitalize on what is now six weeks of animosity boiling over in our build to Kurt vs. Lashley for the world title. The BDC threaten to ruin the match, so management makes it a Steel Cage match at Lockdown.
Drew explains that he doesn’t think it’s cool for the BDC to try to control who has the titles and ruin title matches because that’s not what wrestling fans want, so he has come here to stop them. Over the course of the UK tour, the BDC proceeds to do exactly that, though. On the second Impact from the UK, they screw Aries out of a rematch for the X-Division Title, and also ruin a Lashley vs. Anderson world title match (Ken won some sort of #1 contendership match the first week, after winning at the January tapings, too). Lashley escapes them, but they beat the crap out of Ken, injuring him.
The next week, they ruin Roode’s rematch against Lashley (with help from EY, although I’d start splitting EY and Roode off from the BDC feud after this point*). Most importantly, on the third to last show before the PPV, they try to screw Spud out of the X-Division Title shot he earned in Feast or Fired, but Aries, Drew, and Gunner make the save, fighting off MVP, Joe, and Kenny. This leaves Spud and Ki alone in the ring, and just as Spud is about to win Ethan screws him out of the title in his own hometown (more on this later). The next week they agree to have a Lethal Lockdown match with the BDC taking on Aries, Drew, Gunner, and the returning Anderson, and if the babyfaces win, Ki has to give Aries another title shot in which if the BDC interfere they’ll be suspended without pay for a whole year.

*From this point on, Roode vs. EY would just be them trying to put each other out until Roode finally challenges EY to end it once and for all in a Last Man Standing Steel Cage match at Lockdown.

HAIR VS. HAIR MATCH: Ethan Carter III vs. Rockstar Spud
I’d do much of the Spud-Ethan build similar to what they did. One change I’d make is that Tyrus wouldn’t get his head shaved, and instead would always save Ethan at the last moment. Instead of Tyrus getting his head shaved (and instead of Anderson getting involved at all), I’d have the heels shave Mandrews in addition to JB. After Ethan costs Spud the X-Division Title on the third-to-last Impact from the UK, he cuts a fiery promo about how he is sick and tired of Spud. How people like him are complete and total dirt compared to rich people like the Carters, but Spud has gotten so uppity and above his station that Ethan is going to teach him a lesson taking away anything that means anything to Spud, and he will continue to do that until Spud quits the wrestling business.
The next week Spud cuts his big promo and says he will take everything away from Ethan and humiliate him by shaving his hair… and he is willing to put his own hair on the line to do it… but only if Ethan is man enough to face him on his own, in a steel cage at Lockdown. Ethan comes out and accepts the challenge, then he and Tyrus attack Spud until the newly-bald Mandrews makes the save. On the go-home show we’d get a tag match in which Ethan pins Mandrews, then cuts a promo telling Spud that this is what he’ll look like next week on Impact.



AWESOME KONG vs. HAVOK-
I’d definitely start this off the way they did on the first Impact, but from there, I’d keep them separate as often as possible, with only one or two staredowns, and only finally coming to blows on the second to last show before the PPV (I’d want all of my big matches in place and announced before that show goes off the air because if I did them on the real go-home show, that’s only two days before the PPV, and people might have already made other plans).
Kong would only work a few times, and only against jobbers before she takes out Angelina Love (and the whole Bro-Mans, while she’s at it) on the go-home show. Havok would also kill jobbers, but I’d give her a match against one or two of the other women on the roster (like Tessmacher) so she can kill them, too.

TNA KNOCKOUTS TITLE MATCH: Taryn Terrell(c) vs. Gail Kim-
As I’ve proposed elsewhere, I’d push Taryn right from the start as the babyface champion who just won the title and is so proud to be the Knockouts Champion and is so glad that all of her hard work is finally paying off. I’d have these two team a few times early on and mention their history every time. Taryn’s first big title defense would be against Velvet (if she’s on her way out the door, she might as well put someone over on the way out- plus, it’s a match I only have a short window to do, whereas every other Knockouts match I can do whenever I want). Bro-Mans and Angelina would distract her and the referee and interfere for some nearfalls, but eventually Brooke and Gail would come out to put a stop to this, and Taryn would beat Velvet clean.
On the UK tour I’d have them team up the first week, then give Gal a few singles wins, including a win in a four-way which also involves Taryn, and use that to heavily tease a match between them. Then I’d have them on opposite sides of a six-woman tag the next week (Gail would pin one of Taryn’s teammates), and then have Gail make the challenge the week after that, with Taryn happily accepting, setting up for a plain old babyface vs. babyface title match at the PPV.

STEEL CAGE MATCH: Bram vs. Magnus-
I’d do the break-up a bit differently than TNA did. I’d do a spot in Feast or Fired where Magnus has the chance to grab a briefcase but hesitates and is knocked down and someone else (Aries fits well here) grabs it. Later in the match he hesitates again, and is again knocked off the turnbuckle, but this time Bram knocks down the guy who knocked Magus down and Bram grabs the Feast or Fired case. I’d do the case-opening on TV the next week, and it’s revealed that they’ll get a tag title shot. Also that week I’d have Tenay interview Magnus and ask him why he hesitated, and Magnus would explain that he has a family now that he has to provide for, and he can’t do that if he gets fired.
When they get their tag title match, Storm and Abyss work over his knee the whole match, building up to a big spot where he is in a knee submission and Bram is urging him to fire up and crawl to the ropes or crawl to the corner to make a tag, but instead Magnus taps out. Bram reams Magnus out backstage for tapping out and not being tough, and Magnus tells him “Not tough?! I HAVE to be tough! That’s why I-…you wouldn’t understand.”
We then get the same segment in the bar where Magnus explains that he’s got a wife and a kid to provide for, so he can’t throw his career away and risk serious ligament damage just for the sake of one match. The segment ends the same way, with Bram asking to see the picture of Magnus’ son and wife, and then seeming to understand, but beating Magnus up in the alley. In the UK we get that same segment with Bram and Mickie, and finally we get Magus returning in London and challenging Bram to a steel cage match. Bram says that Magnus is now soft and won’t last ten minutes in a cage with him.

TAG TITLE MATCH:
The build here would be that the Revolution keep screwing the Wolves and the Hardys out of tag title matches, so a cage match is booked to keep them out.


THE RESULTS, AND WHERE WE GO FROM HERE:
KURT BEATS LASHLEY CLEAN TO WIN THE TNA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE-
Kurt is our new babyface champion. Lashley needs a return match, and both Roode and Aries have claims that they deserve a title match as well. Kurt also has some unfinished business with the BDC, who will now also be gunning for him even more because he has the title. Any of these (but Roode or MVP are probably best) are directions you could go for Slammiversary.

SPUD BEATS ETHAN AND SHAVES HIS HEAD-
Spud can go after the X-Division Title (and lose), then form a team with Mandrews, who will eventually turn on him because he is upset that he got his head shaved but Spud didn’t (or, thinking even more ahead, we could eventually put the X-Division Title on Mandrews so Spud can beat him for it in the UK next year, then Mandrews can turn on Spud because the UK fans favored Spud over him).
Ethan, for his part, cannot believe that he lost to Spud and cannot believe that he lost his hair. He starts to go a bit crazy. Ken Anderson, being an asshole, starts to make fun of Ethan’s baldness, which eventually results in Ethan snapping and flying into a violent rage any time his baldness is mentioned, with Tyrus often having to restrain him. We build to EC III vs. Anderson at Slammiversary which Ethan wins.

AWESOME KONG DEF. HAVOK-
Kong wins clean. Havok gets released. Kong can then be built up as the #1 contender for Slammiversary.

TARYN DEF. GAIL TO RETAIN THE KNOCKOUTS TITLE-
Taryn wins clean. Let her run through whichever women on the roster she hasn’t beaten yet on the way to Slammiversary where she loses to Kong. Gail can lose a feud against whoever you build up to be Kong’s first challenger after Slammiversary, then Kong can beat Taryn in Taryn’s return match. While this is happening, we are building Gail up all summer so that Gail can challenge Kong at BFG.

BOBBY ROODE DEF. ERIC YOUNG IN A STEEL CAGE LAST MAN STANDING MATCH-
Roode wins the feud. Move him up to challenge Kurt Angle (he got screwed out of the title on Jan. 7th, then had his rematch ruined by the BDC). EY can take some time off and then brought back for whatever you do with him at Slammiversary.

THE HARDYS WIN THE TAG TITLES-
We build this up as a big deal for the Hardys. The Revolution want to take the titles back. The Wolves come back and also want the titles. We finally get our three-way at Slammiversary where the Wolves win the titles by pinning the Revolution. From there we build to Wolves vs. Hardys at BFG (with the angle being that the Wolves won the titles, but didn’t pin the Hardys to do so).

BRAM DEF. MAGNUS CLEAN-
Magnus comes out the next week on Impact and admits that Bram was the better man at Lockdown and says he wants to shake his hand and hopes that Bram now sees that his family doesn’t make him weak, and that they can be friends again. Bram insists that Magnus’s family makes him weak and is obsessed with proving it. Bram will go after Mickie and do terrible things to Magnus (maybe force Magnus to quit in an I Quit match by threatening Mickie), leading to a VERY violent blow-off match (maybe a stretcher match or a Texas Death Match) at Slammiversary which Magnus finally wins.


AUSTIN ARIES, DREW GALLOWAY, KEN ANDERSON, & GUNNER DEF. THE BDC IN A LETHAL LOCKDOWN MATCH TO EARN ARIES AN X-DIVISION TITLE MATCH ON IMPACT-
The babyfaces win, and on Impact, Aries beats Low Ki clean to win the title (and the BDC can’t interfere because of the one year suspension stip).
The BDC try to collect titles. Drew and Gunner make it their business to stop them. Aries defends the X-Division Title against Davey Richards until Eddie Edwards is ready to come back. The BDC try to win titles, feuding with Aries, Angle, Gunner, and Drew, with the focus being on MVP vs. Angle. Low Ki winds up winning the X-Division Title back from Aries. Aries and Ki can have a big two-out-of-three falls blow-off at Slammiversary, which Ki wins.
Ki wants to cash in Option C, but MVP doesn’t want him to- ostensibly because MVP would rather they hold on to the X-Division Title and win the world title some other way, but it eventually comes out that MVP doesn’t want Ki to challenge to for the world title because MVP wants to be the world champion. The others (perhaps based on poignant comments by Drew) realize that the BDC is all about MVP and they have a split over the summer, leading to a four way match at BFG.

Drew could then be built up either as a challenger for BFG, or as the top challenger for after BFG.

[cero2k]

Booking wise, i pretty much agree with your stuff, except for

- Mandrews just won British Bootcamp, I would definitely use him to replace Anderson in the EC3-Spud feud, but I woudn't shave him, nor job him to EC3 just like that, it would kinda make it seem like he's not that good and thus making everyone else in BBC worse. I think that's what Borash is there for.

- I wouldn't have Spud completely shave EC3, rather just cut a hole in the back of his head or something. He can still be humiliated, but at the same time, he's still looking good. I personally wouldn't really change the match or outcome from what TNA did, i liked it how it was, promo and all.

- Something that i've been enjoying and looking forward is the build up of Aries as the next world title contender (if not champ, i do see him as the most credible contender today), so i'm not sure if i agree with the Lethal Lockdown stipulation to be for Aries to go after Low Ki.

On the other stuff, I don't necessarily think that TNA doesn't have a lot of direction, but rather they're having trouble keeping their direction due to the amount of outside stuff that is going on. I think that from the start, they really wanted to have Angle/Lashley, Spud/EC3, Terrell as the top of the KOs, multi team tag division feuds. I think they've tried to stay on track with that. I think their biggest problem is (1) the looong time between tapings, which do act as a blessing in disguise sometimes because it allows your talent to heal (See EC3), but we've also seem a LOT of roster changes within tapings, between tapings we've seen Drew come in, Joe leave, Havok leave, Eddie get injured, Homicide come in and then get injured, all the BBC guys come in due to taping in the UK and then leave, and knowing TNA, they just wanna milk things as long as they have them and so people are coming and leaving and it all seems rushed. (2) is talent relations, but i just pretty much explained that, people are coming and leaving waay to much lately.

Having said that, i feel that a lof of their overbooking has been good. I've seem comments about having 3 heel male stables and 1 new female stable. I don't see a problem at all. WWE had the Nation, The Ministry, The Corporation, The oddities, etc etc all at the same time. NJPW has several armys all the time. it's not a bad thing to have a bunch of stables as long as they all have something going on for them, to which is something that TNA has ALWAYS been great at, if you're on screen, you likely have something going on for you, some sort of storyline. TNA doesn't usually run with the random filler match between two midcarders.

Every single swerve has been good IMO, could had been better booked to get a better reaction, but still good. It's not like WWE who turns Orton for 3 weeks for the sake of it, of Natty and Tyson that are ok in one show, not ok on the next, or everyone turns on Rollins and then at the end of the show they''re all back together, or Show/Henry/Kane's Nth turn in their careers. I do think TNA is making their swerves matter for the most part.

[Big Red Machine]

Booking wise, i pretty much agree with your stuff, except for

- Mandrews just won British Bootcamp, I would definitely use him to replace Anderson in the EC3-Spud feud, but I woudn't shave him, nor job him to EC3 just like that, it would kinda make it seem like he's not that good and thus making everyone else in BBC worse. I think that's what Borash is there for.

- I wouldn't have Spud completely shave EC3, rather just cut a hole in the back of his head or something. He can still be humiliated, but at the same time, he's still looking good. I personally wouldn't really change the match or outcome from what TNA did, i liked it how it was, promo and all.

- Something that i've been enjoying and looking forward is the build up of Aries as the next world title contender (if not champ, i do see him as the most credible contender today), so i'm not sure if i agree with the Lethal Lockdown stipulation to be for Aries to go after Low Ki.

On the other stuff, I don't necessarily think that TNA doesn't have a lot of direction, but rather they're having trouble keeping their direction due to the amount of outside stuff that is going on. I think that from the start, they really wanted to have Angle/Lashley, Spud/EC3, Terrell as the top of the KOs, multi team tag division feuds. I think they've tried to stay on track with that. I think their biggest problem is (1) the looong time between tapings, which do act as a blessing in disguise sometimes because it allows your talent to heal (See EC3), but we've also seem a LOT of roster changes within tapings, between tapings we've seen Drew come in, Joe leave, Havok leave, Eddie get injured, Homicide come in and then get injured, all the BBC guys come in due to taping in the UK and then leave, and knowing TNA, they just wanna milk things as long as they have them and so people are coming and leaving and it all seems rushed. (2) is talent relations, but i just pretty much explained that, people are coming and leaving waay to much lately.

Having said that, i feel that a lof of their overbooking has been good. I've seem comments about having 3 heel male stables and 1 new female stable. I don't see a problem at all. WWE had the Nation, The Ministry, The Corporation, The oddities, etc etc all at the same time. NJPW has several armys all the time. it's not a bad thing to have a bunch of stables as long as they all have something going on for them, to which is something that TNA has ALWAYS been great at, if you're on screen, you likely have something going on for you, some sort of storyline. TNA doesn't usually run with the random filler match between two midcarders.

Every single swerve has been good IMO, could had been better booked to get a better reaction, but still good. It's not like WWE who turns Orton for 3 weeks for the sake of it, of Natty and Tyson that are ok in one show, not ok on the next, or everyone turns on Rollins and then at the end of the show they''re all back together, or Show/Henry/Kane's Nth turn in their careers. I do think TNA is making their swerves matter for the most part.

Fair point on Mandrews, but TBH, I don't see much in him, and I think British Bootcamp could easily recover if they find themselves a winner who they REALLY want to push next year.

Disagree about Ethan not getting shaved the whole way. If he's going to snap, it needs to be the whole way. Also, doing a hair vs. hair match and not taking all of the hair is lame.

The Lethal Lockdown stip was mostly to actually add credibility to Drew so he can say that he is accomplishing his mission of stopping the BDC from trying to control the titles. Aries can easily be made to lose the belt and then go after the world title.

Re talent coming and leaving: that's part of setting things up for the long haul. Once they got the deal with Destination America, they should have pushed ot get everyone they wanted to use signed to a deal that would at least keep them to stay through the first PPV (and maybe a taping afterwards so they could be written out).
Havok I thought was TNA dropping her, not her leaving.
With Joe leaving, I think bringing Cide in was an okay fix, but I'd rather have seen someone else who 1) we haven't seen a million times in a "bring him in for a few shows just to do something" roll (and it's not just TNA- ROH also used him like this during the Cornette Era, but that still hurts), and 2) is really a fresh face. A young guy who can go somewhere after the BDC ends. Cide has been talking about retirement for years now. (Actually, if he would be willing to come in, I think Eddie Kingston would have ROCKED in this role, both because he certainly knows how to come off as dangerous, and also because he would cut such amazing promos on MVP during the break-up angle).
And as I said with Drew: yes, sometimes plans change, and you need to be able to roll with those changes and capitalize off of them. Eddie gets hurt? So rather than do the originally planned three way at Lockdown and then go to Wolves vs. Hardys with the "you might have won the titles, but you didn't beat us" and at Slammiversary, do what I suggested and use Lockdown to put the belts on the Hardys, then do your three way at Slammiversary and do Wolves vs. Hardys at BFG.
As for their "direction" being a three-team feud: I haven't gotten that impression at all. It seems to be more like it's been the heel Revolution vs. two babyface teams. The problem with what they've been doing, though, is that they've been wearing all of these matches out without building up any new teams, so after this three-way feud ends, who is going to challenge the winners?

New Japan isn't a fair comparison because the stables in New Japan really don't matter at all (aside from the Bullet Club). How often do we see CHAOS guys running in to help each other fight off the heels? Yes, they team together all of the time, but it never feels like CHAOS teaming together so much as it does just a bunch of guys teaming together.
The issues with TNA and having too many stables are the following:
1. Whatever Taryn's stable is would be fine (I'd even say good, although I really wish she hadn't turned heel) if they didn't have the BDC going around doing exactly the same thing in the heavyweight division. The Revolution are not a problem because they're off kind of doing their own thing- and I don't mean going after the tag titles. I mean that there is stuff going on with Storm as this charismatic leader and having Abyss punish people for losing, etc. etc. Bro-Mans aren't a problem because they're comedy guys, and were actually serving as an interesting new twist on the Beautiful People as a stable.
2. THEY DO IT ALL THE F*CKING TIME!
MVP & Pals.
DixieLand
Aces & Eights
Immortal
Main Event Mafia
The Angle Alliance
The Christian Coalition
Planet Jarrett
SEX
(and you could even throw The Beautiful People in there if you wanted, as they served a similar purpose in the Knockouts Division)
We've had years and years and years and years and years and years of overbooking with top heel stables from this company, and almost none of it has been good. I'm sick and f*cking tired of it, and the fact that they're ratings have dropped so consistently over the past five years (which is why they're in this sh*tty situation in the first place) and yet they keep going back to the same old sh*t is just baffling to me.

As for the assertion that TNA doesn't do pointless filler matches between midcarders: That's what the X-Division has been for years. Plus there was that interminable bullsh*t with Menagerie vs. Bro-Mans last year.

I would highly dispute your assertion that every swerve has been good. EY turning on Roode? Fine. EY is a heel. He is allowed to be unreasonable in his explanation for his turn.

Joe and Ki joining the BDC- MADE NO SENSE!
The closest thing to a reason we got was that MVP saying that they worked on the indies together ten years ago and thus were
family. The problem here is that is Joe and Ki were willing to throw all of their morals away to join MVP and Kenny, why didn't they do so when MVP first turned heel? (In fact, Joe actively opposed him).
The Velvet and Robby thing made no sense because Velvet wasn't a legal participant in the match and thus couldn't have won the briefcase, and thus couldn't have been fired.
I'm not sure what others there have been, but that's two out of three that don't make sense.
I'm disputing that TNA's swerves have meant something. I'm disputing the idea that they have in any way been good or logical storytelling.

[cero2k]

As for their "direction" being a three-team feud: I haven't gotten that impression at all. It seems to be more like it's been the heel Revolution vs. two babyface teams. The problem with what they've been doing, though, is that they've been wearing all of these matches out without building up any new teams, so after this three-way feud ends, who is going to challenge the winners?
what i mean is just trying to have more credible tag teams at the same time instead of a feud between two teams and the rest are just filler. they started with the 3D/Hardyz/Wolves, moved on to Revolution, they're just keeping things active. I do agree that there doesn't seem to be more teams out there, but hopefully backstage they're already looking on who to build or introduce.

New Japan isn't a fair comparison because the stables in New Japan really don't matter at all (aside from the Bullet Club). How often do we see CHAOS guys running in to help each other fight off the heels? Yes, they team together all of the time, but it never feels like CHAOS teaming together so much as it does just a bunch of guys teaming together.
fair enough, they do sometimes do run ins to defend against BC or stuff, but they just keep them under control due to good booking.

The issues with TNA and having too many stables are the following:
1. Whatever Taryn's stable is would be fine (I'd even say good, although I really wish she hadn't turned heel) if they didn't have the BDC going around doing exactly the same thing in the heavyweight division. The Revolution are not a problem because they're off kind of doing their own thing- and I don't mean going after the tag titles. I mean that there is stuff going on with Storm as this charismatic leader and having Abyss punish people for losing, etc. etc. Bro-Mans aren't a problem because they're comedy guys, and were actually serving as an interesting new twist on the Beautiful People as a stable.
2. THEY DO IT ALL THE F*CKING TIME!
that's wrestling, i agree that they do it all the time, but at least the current incarnation of the top heel stable is likable to me

As for the assertion that TNA doesn't do pointless filler matches between midcarders: That's what the X-Division has been for years. Plus there was that interminable bullsh*t with Menagerie vs. Bro-Mans last year.
but that's what they have going on, the x title hunt, and Menagerie vs BroMans was a legit feud, be it bad, but they have something going on. It's not like Adam Rose who has nothing going on, and just comes out for a random match.

I would highly dispute your assertion that every swerve has been good. EY turning on Roode? Fine. EY is a heel. He is allowed to be unreasonable in his explanation for his turn.
Joe and Ki joining the BDC- MADE NO SENSE!
The closest thing to a reason we got was that MVP saying that they worked on the indies together ten years ago and thus were
family. The problem here is that is Joe and Ki were willing to throw all of their morals away to join MVP and Kenny, why didn't they do so when MVP first turned heel? (In fact, Joe actively opposed him).
The Velvet and Robby thing made no sense because Velvet wasn't a legal participant in the match and thus couldn't have won the briefcase, and thus couldn't have been fired.
I'm not sure what others there have been, but that's two out of three that don't make sense.
I'm disputing that TNA's swerves have meant something. I'm disputing the idea that they have in any way been good or logical storytelling.
what more sense would you need, they agree with MVP's BDC idea, they didn't before.

they've been good in the sense that they're not all telegraphed million miles away. I didn't see Taryn turning, i didn't see Young/Joe/Ki turning. They're not just there to, as meltzer would say, fill out 3 weeks

[Big Red Machine]

As for their "direction" being a three-team feud: I haven't gotten that impression at all. It seems to be more like it's been the heel Revolution vs. two babyface teams. The problem with what they've been doing, though, is that they've been wearing all of these matches out without building up any new teams, so after this three-way feud ends, who is going to challenge the winners?
what i mean is just trying to have more credible tag teams at the same time instead of a feud between two teams and the rest are just filler. they started with the 3D/Hardyz/Wolves, moved on to Revolution, they're just keeping things active. I do agree that there doesn't seem to be more teams out there, but hopefully backstage they're already looking on who to build or introduce.
But they should be building up the next set of contenders NOW. Those matches aren't midcard filler if you do it right. They're the next challengers getting over and building up wins to make them worthy of a title shot.

New Japan isn't a fair comparison because the stables in New Japan really don't matter at all (aside from the Bullet Club). How often do we see CHAOS guys running in to help each other fight off the heels? Yes, they team together all of the time, but it never feels like CHAOS teaming together so much as it does just a bunch of guys teaming together.
fair enough, they do sometimes do run ins to defend against BC or stuff, but they just keep them under control due to good booking.
The only real run-ins I can remember against the Bullet Club were Suzuki-Gun (who are the only other stable whose alignment seems to matter), and Yoshitatsu running in to help Tananashi, and both of those guys don't belong to any stable. New Japan is well-booked, but that has little to do with the stables (especially CHAOS)

The issues with TNA and having too many stables are the following:
1. Whatever Taryn's stable is would be fine (I'd even say good, although I really wish she hadn't turned heel) if they didn't have the BDC going around doing exactly the same thing in the heavyweight division. The Revolution are not a problem because they're off kind of doing their own thing- and I don't mean going after the tag titles. I mean that there is stuff going on with Storm as this charismatic leader and having Abyss punish people for losing, etc. etc. Bro-Mans aren't a problem because they're comedy guys, and were actually serving as an interesting new twist on the Beautiful People as a stable.
2. THEY DO IT ALL THE F*CKING TIME!
that's wrestling, i agree that they do it all the time, but at least the current incarnation of the top heel stable is likable to me

As for the assertion that TNA doesn't do pointless filler matches between midcarders: That's what the X-Division has been for years. Plus there was that interminable bullsh*t with Menagerie vs. Bro-Mans last year.
but that's what they have going on, the x title hunt, and Menagerie vs BroMans was a legit feud, be it bad, but they have something going on. It's not like Adam Rose who has nothing going on, and just comes out for a random match.
What X-Title hunt? They always just throw mostly the same cluster of guys into a multi-man match and call it a "#1 contendership match" and those guys don't appear on TV again until the next one when they wash, rinse, and repeat.
Yes, the Adam Rose and Fandango sh*t didn't really go anywhere, but at least there was some sort of story there ("will Rose & Bunny get along?"/"Summer and Layla are going to cost Fandango a match and embarrass him"). The real problem with that was that it took forever to go anywhere. Just like Bro-Mans vs. Menagerie was "Robbie E. is a afraid of clowns." That, to me, is better than just coming up with a #1 contendership match out of nowhere between a guy who just lost a title match and a bunch of other guys who show up only to lose #1 contendership matches. At least that stuff is undercard drek (and in WWE's case, on a three hour show). TNA does it on a two-hour show, and with what is supposed to be a major title.

I would highly dispute your assertion that every swerve has been good. EY turning on Roode? Fine. EY is a heel. He is allowed to be unreasonable in his explanation for his turn.
Joe and Ki joining the BDC- MADE NO SENSE!
The closest thing to a reason we got was that MVP saying that they worked on the indies together ten years ago and thus were
family. The problem here is that is Joe and Ki were willing to throw all of their morals away to join MVP and Kenny, why didn't they do so when MVP first turned heel? (In fact, Joe actively opposed him).
The Velvet and Robby thing made no sense because Velvet wasn't a legal participant in the match and thus couldn't have won the briefcase, and thus couldn't have been fired.
I'm not sure what others there have been, but that's two out of three that don't make sense.
I'm disputing that TNA's swerves have meant something. I'm disputing the idea that they have in any way been good or logical storytelling.
what more sense would you need, they agree with MVP's BDC idea, they didn't before.

they've been good in the sense that they're not all telegraphed million miles away. I didn't see Taryn turning, i didn't see Young/Joe/Ki turning. They're not just there to, as meltzer would say, fill out 3 weeks
Except that's not what they said!. If that is the case, SAY SO! Have Joe and Ki cut a f*cking promo about it! and even better than that... why not do something to actually build up to it! Why not have Joe and Ki challenge for the tag titles earlier that night and lose because of the Revolution interfering (and yes, I know they hadn't earned a tag title shot, but Aries didn't earn an X-Division Title shot either, and none of the Knockouts aside from Havok deserved the title shot they got in that battle royale, so clearly this wasn't an issue for TNA). Then, after they turn, they can say that the Revolution's interference convinced them that they need to have a group to watch their backs if they want to win more titles (or in Ki's case, retain his title).
Just because something is unpredictable doesn't make it good (insert my standard Storm & Tenay as Martians example here). I'd (usually) rather have something that has a little bit of build to it than something that comes out of nowhere. Look at Roode's turn on Storm: Roode wanted the title SOOOO badly. He worked hard and won the BFG Series, but then got screwed out of it by that cheating bastard Kurt Angle, and that sneaky little slime-ball Eric Bischoff slipped a "no rematches" clause into the contract, so despite all of his hard work, Roode was sh*t out of luck. Then, the very next show, Roode's best friend James Storm does what Bobby couldn't and beats Kurt Angle. Storm tells Roode "you'll be the first guy to get a title shot" and then lives up to that promise. So now Roode has another shot at the title, and it's against his best friend who is doing him a favor by giving him this title shot (and also correcting an injustice)... and Roode, remembering how hard he had worked for that first title shot, knew that world title shots don't come around that often, and he wanted to win that title SOOOOOOO BADLY that in a moment of desperation, he hit his best pal over the head with a beer bottle and stole the world title from him. It's unpredictable, but it's not completely out of nowhere.
Look at this Taryn turn: She beats Kong by DQ one week. Then, for some unexplained reason, Kong is given another title shot, so Taryn asks for it to be a No DQs match and has people interfere to help her beat Kong. It was unpredictable and it certainly makes sense, but wouldn't it have been so much better to have Kong beat Taryn by count-out one week (while spending this match building Kong up as just being too strong and big for Taryn to beat), then give Kong another title shot (because she did beat the champion) and have Kong be even more of an insurmountable obstacle and just destroy Taryn, to the point where the referee DQs Kong for excessive punishment or for not breaking a vicious beating in the corner or something like that. Then you have Kong win another #1 contendership match and put over how much of a threat Kong is to Taryn's title. Then, the next week, you can have Taryn come out and say "let's make sure we have a conclusive finish this time. Kong, I want our match to be No DQs." Kong accepts, and then, after all of that build, you do the turn in the title match. It's the same idea that Taryn wants to retain the title against the unbeatable monster Kong, but this way 1) makes Kong look like the tiniest bit of a babyface going into the match, and more importantly 2) makes it so that when we view the whole thing in hindsight, we can see it is really a story about Taryn's desperation and explains how she came to formulate this evil plan to form this stable and turn heel. THAT is the sort of thing that TNA swerves rarely have (and WWE's, too), and that is a major element of good storytelling to be missing.