TNA - What Happened?
Posted: Jan 21st, '11, 04:45
Source: Blogs section of WrestlingTruth.com
TNA – What Happened?
By Quann • November 26, 2010
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling at one point, was seen as a clear contender and competitor to World Wrestling Entertainment. At that point, the roster was full of young promising talent. All were being used to there full potential. No silly gimmicks. No rip offs. Just pure talent. With stars such as AJ Styles, Christopher Danels and Samoa Joe having classic matches on a regular basis… eg. at Unbreakable 2005. Even with Jeff Jarrett running rampage over TNA, when Raven finally won the NWA World Title at Slammiversary 2005 it was a big moment that liberated TNA from the King of the Mountain’s grip.
But since this point, buy rates have been at their lowest, the TV ratings remain low and stagnant. What happened? How did a company with such promise become what it is today? Smarks and the “smart” fans will rush to blame Vince Russo, who key figures in the industry like Jim Cornette also blame. But, it’s not all Russo. Don’t get me wrong, he is a part of the problem in TNA, but the downward spiral that TNA has been going down over the past few years has been the consequence of many factors.
- The Impact Zone
Personally, I think a massive contributing factor to the downward spiral that TNA is suffering is the Impact Zone itself. The soundstage has free entry after paying addmission in to Universal Studios, and the building can only fit 1000+ people. The arena looks tacky, small and it comes off like that on camera. I know what the argument will be, that WCW taped their shows at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but WCW would tour the country for Nitro, and WCW Saturday Night was taped at the Disney Studios. TNA’s show is taped at a soundstage. They need to leave the soundstage ASAP!
And the fans are idiots. Yeah, I said it. I hate all of ya’ll at the Impact Zone. You cheer the heels eg. Hogan and Hardy and after you’ve finished singing RVD’s theme you don’t care about the guy? It’s fucking Rob Van Dam. What the hell is wrong with you people? But you still think just because some guy jumped over the ropes onto the floor, that the match is awesome. They have to be the worst audience members in the history of professional wrestling. And when some wrestler who seriously needs to retire and get off my TV does anything eg. Breath, walk or talk; you guys chant “you still got it”. Please shut the hell up. And that means they like the product, when 99% of wrestling fans think it sucks. Look at their buy rates and TV ratings if you don’t believe me.
- All that money, little to no sense.
When will TNA learn that “talent acquisitions” do not help the ratings or buy rates? Think about who had made the jump from “up north” to TNA. Even now, TNA hires anyone and everyone they can get there hands on. And that is stupid; it’s the reason why the pure talent mentioned previously has been left with nothing to do, lost in the shuffle or they have silly gimmicks. Remember Samoa Joe’s Nation of Violence? AJ Styles being a new age Nature Boy? Oh, where is Christopher Daniels? Oh yeah, ROH. Remember when Kurt Angle held EVERY SINGLE TITLE IN TNA. Recently, the main event for Bound For Glory had all former WWE employees. Not a single “home grown” TNA wrestler is sight, fighting for the TNA title, which was vacated from a former WWE employee. Wow. Seriously, who writes this stuff?
- Creative
(Not just Vince Russo…)
The internet “smarks” and Jim Cornette would have you believe that RUSSO IZ THE PROBLEM~! But, no. It’s not just Russo, it’s the creative team, period. There’s almost a revolving door of bookers and writers over the past few years. We have had (and still have a combination of in certain cases) of Russo, Hogan, Bischoff, Mantel, Jarrett, Ferrera, Borash. And these people have had semi permanent, permanent roles. Russo said he was going to take a less active role in TNA. Months later, he changed his mind. The creative team need to be more of a secure and stable group. And yes, it doesn’t help that Russo (the man that helped the demise of WCW) is heading the creative team. But, the whole team have come up with some terrible ideas; Main Event Mafia, The Steel Asylum, The Band, Last Rites match and now; Immortal.
- Bischoff / Hogan.
You know the saying, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. I think in TNA’s case, it should be “if it’s already broke, smash it into some more pieces.” And these two have done that. They have made some really stupid decisions about the company, removing the six sided ring that gave TNA it’s uniqueness from WWE (which it needed with so many former WWE employees), they have been involved in the most convoluted, long-winded and complicated storylines in wrestling history. I will explain this in bullet point form, because it’s so difficult to understand. So, you’re telling me:
That Abyss was Hogan’s apprentice,
Then Abyss chokeslams Flair threw the stage,
Then Abyss turns on Hogan,
Then Jeff Jarrett hates Hogan for taking over the company he founded,
Then Abyss chokeslams Jeff Hardy off the stage,
Then Sting and Nash talking about deception (which if they knew about Immortal why the hell didn’t they say anything instead of the mind games and hokey crap since January 4th?
Then Fourtune (Flair’s group) forming,
Then SWERVE – Hardy is a heel,
Then Hogan, Jeff Jerrett, Jeff Hardy and Abyss align. All best buds.
And even Flair’s Fourtune have aliened with Immortal.
MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE.
That’s not the end of it, it sad seeing Hogan walking to the ring in crutches playing air guitar with them. He’s old. Why does anyone care what he has to say anymore? It’s clear he’s too old for this stuff. Hulk, thanks for everything for the business. But the nWo is dead. Please stop trying to bring it back to life. That’s goes to Bischoff too.
- Lack of originality
Here’s a diagram to explain an example:
nWo (1996) -> Main Event Mafia (2008) -> Immortal (2010)
Two of those have been done in TNA in the past 2 years. Here’s a clue. It’s not the nWo. Seriously, it’s the same old stuff, different company. From the VKM to Immortal, TNA haven’t been the greatest at creating new ideas. Most of the feuds in TNA have been based upon history made in WWE. Only recently, have TNA even acknowledge their own history. Sure, they have come up with some good stuff, eg. Beautiful People. But the amount of things that TNA have stolen or re-hashed outweighs all of the original storylines or characters. I am sure you can think of loads of your own. Heck, even this year TNA attempted to create there own “Extreme Pay Per View” five years after the original “One Night Stand” by WWE. In the same year, the (WWE)ECW Brand folded.
- Any Solutions?
Well, to be frank. No.
As long as the creative remains the same and they have more money than sense. I personally hate the internet fans thinking that the answer is Paul Heyman. I personally think Paul is a genius. He has the most contemporary cultural mind in the business. That’s why he wants to get involved in MMA. Not wrestling.
But Heyman said, he was interested in TNA but, they “are not ready for him” and that “they have a clear vision”. And that vision sucks. That’s why he hasn’t accepted the offer. Just reading between the lines, you get that’s the real reason.
But, remember, when the internet was like “Hire Bischoff” and “Bischoff would save TNA”. Well, now look where TNA is. Looking for the next “great” booker to be the answer of TNA causes more problems. So the internet needs to be careful what they wish for.
Basically, TNA is never going to change. Which is sad, since the Roster still has great younger stars and veterans that would be able to get them over. But, TNA has fallen into a trap that WCW had, the elder stars are getting their way. And look what happened to that company…
TNA – What Happened?
By Quann • November 26, 2010
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling at one point, was seen as a clear contender and competitor to World Wrestling Entertainment. At that point, the roster was full of young promising talent. All were being used to there full potential. No silly gimmicks. No rip offs. Just pure talent. With stars such as AJ Styles, Christopher Danels and Samoa Joe having classic matches on a regular basis… eg. at Unbreakable 2005. Even with Jeff Jarrett running rampage over TNA, when Raven finally won the NWA World Title at Slammiversary 2005 it was a big moment that liberated TNA from the King of the Mountain’s grip.
But since this point, buy rates have been at their lowest, the TV ratings remain low and stagnant. What happened? How did a company with such promise become what it is today? Smarks and the “smart” fans will rush to blame Vince Russo, who key figures in the industry like Jim Cornette also blame. But, it’s not all Russo. Don’t get me wrong, he is a part of the problem in TNA, but the downward spiral that TNA has been going down over the past few years has been the consequence of many factors.
- The Impact Zone
Personally, I think a massive contributing factor to the downward spiral that TNA is suffering is the Impact Zone itself. The soundstage has free entry after paying addmission in to Universal Studios, and the building can only fit 1000+ people. The arena looks tacky, small and it comes off like that on camera. I know what the argument will be, that WCW taped their shows at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but WCW would tour the country for Nitro, and WCW Saturday Night was taped at the Disney Studios. TNA’s show is taped at a soundstage. They need to leave the soundstage ASAP!
And the fans are idiots. Yeah, I said it. I hate all of ya’ll at the Impact Zone. You cheer the heels eg. Hogan and Hardy and after you’ve finished singing RVD’s theme you don’t care about the guy? It’s fucking Rob Van Dam. What the hell is wrong with you people? But you still think just because some guy jumped over the ropes onto the floor, that the match is awesome. They have to be the worst audience members in the history of professional wrestling. And when some wrestler who seriously needs to retire and get off my TV does anything eg. Breath, walk or talk; you guys chant “you still got it”. Please shut the hell up. And that means they like the product, when 99% of wrestling fans think it sucks. Look at their buy rates and TV ratings if you don’t believe me.
- All that money, little to no sense.
When will TNA learn that “talent acquisitions” do not help the ratings or buy rates? Think about who had made the jump from “up north” to TNA. Even now, TNA hires anyone and everyone they can get there hands on. And that is stupid; it’s the reason why the pure talent mentioned previously has been left with nothing to do, lost in the shuffle or they have silly gimmicks. Remember Samoa Joe’s Nation of Violence? AJ Styles being a new age Nature Boy? Oh, where is Christopher Daniels? Oh yeah, ROH. Remember when Kurt Angle held EVERY SINGLE TITLE IN TNA. Recently, the main event for Bound For Glory had all former WWE employees. Not a single “home grown” TNA wrestler is sight, fighting for the TNA title, which was vacated from a former WWE employee. Wow. Seriously, who writes this stuff?
- Creative
(Not just Vince Russo…)
The internet “smarks” and Jim Cornette would have you believe that RUSSO IZ THE PROBLEM~! But, no. It’s not just Russo, it’s the creative team, period. There’s almost a revolving door of bookers and writers over the past few years. We have had (and still have a combination of in certain cases) of Russo, Hogan, Bischoff, Mantel, Jarrett, Ferrera, Borash. And these people have had semi permanent, permanent roles. Russo said he was going to take a less active role in TNA. Months later, he changed his mind. The creative team need to be more of a secure and stable group. And yes, it doesn’t help that Russo (the man that helped the demise of WCW) is heading the creative team. But, the whole team have come up with some terrible ideas; Main Event Mafia, The Steel Asylum, The Band, Last Rites match and now; Immortal.
- Bischoff / Hogan.
You know the saying, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. I think in TNA’s case, it should be “if it’s already broke, smash it into some more pieces.” And these two have done that. They have made some really stupid decisions about the company, removing the six sided ring that gave TNA it’s uniqueness from WWE (which it needed with so many former WWE employees), they have been involved in the most convoluted, long-winded and complicated storylines in wrestling history. I will explain this in bullet point form, because it’s so difficult to understand. So, you’re telling me:
That Abyss was Hogan’s apprentice,
Then Abyss chokeslams Flair threw the stage,
Then Abyss turns on Hogan,
Then Jeff Jarrett hates Hogan for taking over the company he founded,
Then Abyss chokeslams Jeff Hardy off the stage,
Then Sting and Nash talking about deception (which if they knew about Immortal why the hell didn’t they say anything instead of the mind games and hokey crap since January 4th?
Then Fourtune (Flair’s group) forming,
Then SWERVE – Hardy is a heel,
Then Hogan, Jeff Jerrett, Jeff Hardy and Abyss align. All best buds.
And even Flair’s Fourtune have aliened with Immortal.
MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE.
That’s not the end of it, it sad seeing Hogan walking to the ring in crutches playing air guitar with them. He’s old. Why does anyone care what he has to say anymore? It’s clear he’s too old for this stuff. Hulk, thanks for everything for the business. But the nWo is dead. Please stop trying to bring it back to life. That’s goes to Bischoff too.
- Lack of originality
Here’s a diagram to explain an example:
nWo (1996) -> Main Event Mafia (2008) -> Immortal (2010)
Two of those have been done in TNA in the past 2 years. Here’s a clue. It’s not the nWo. Seriously, it’s the same old stuff, different company. From the VKM to Immortal, TNA haven’t been the greatest at creating new ideas. Most of the feuds in TNA have been based upon history made in WWE. Only recently, have TNA even acknowledge their own history. Sure, they have come up with some good stuff, eg. Beautiful People. But the amount of things that TNA have stolen or re-hashed outweighs all of the original storylines or characters. I am sure you can think of loads of your own. Heck, even this year TNA attempted to create there own “Extreme Pay Per View” five years after the original “One Night Stand” by WWE. In the same year, the (WWE)ECW Brand folded.
- Any Solutions?
Well, to be frank. No.
As long as the creative remains the same and they have more money than sense. I personally hate the internet fans thinking that the answer is Paul Heyman. I personally think Paul is a genius. He has the most contemporary cultural mind in the business. That’s why he wants to get involved in MMA. Not wrestling.
But Heyman said, he was interested in TNA but, they “are not ready for him” and that “they have a clear vision”. And that vision sucks. That’s why he hasn’t accepted the offer. Just reading between the lines, you get that’s the real reason.
But, remember, when the internet was like “Hire Bischoff” and “Bischoff would save TNA”. Well, now look where TNA is. Looking for the next “great” booker to be the answer of TNA causes more problems. So the internet needs to be careful what they wish for.
Basically, TNA is never going to change. Which is sad, since the Roster still has great younger stars and veterans that would be able to get them over. But, TNA has fallen into a trap that WCW had, the elder stars are getting their way. And look what happened to that company…