How would YOU improve TNA?

[SOR]

We have a lot of criticisms on this board so in an effort to be constructive I ask the question of how you guys would improve TNA if by some random chance you got into a position of power within TNA.

I'd do the following

1. The most important one, Improve the X-Division. You have a good base with Manik, King, Marasciulo, Sonjay, Petey, Rubix etc but the addition of 3-4 big signings such as a Low Ki, Alex Shelley, Paul London, Brian Kendrick, Shane Helms etc would be great

2. Re brand the One Night Only Pay Per Views. They've done well so far by trying to gimmick them up a little but in the end a tag tournament for a kayfabe 100,000 dollars isn't that exciting. I'd start branding the shows with things people really can't miss and don't want to wait for.

3. One more big name signing. I feel every big time company needs at least 4 big name guys who are actively wrestling. TNA currently has 3 (Angle, Hardy and Sting) so the addition of John Hennigan or someone on his level would be amazing for them. Especially with Kurt out for a little bit now

4. Less MMA guys. Doesn't really need an explanation so I'll just note that wrestling fans tune into TNA to watch wrestling. Not almost retired MMA Fighters.

I'm sure a lot of you can be more creative then me so lets hear some suggestions.

[kidglov3s]

1. At Son of Hardcore Justice 2013 I'd have Aces and Eights lose and disband that stable and the MEM stable.

2. Return to the back to basics booking from Spring-Summer 2012. Build up guys as individuals. Make the heels loathsome and the faces intos guys you want to get behind.

3. Get the title off of Chris Sabin. Each day he has that belt he devalues it. He is not a world champion caliber guy. Roode, Aries, Ray, whoever, get that title off of Sabin.

4. Fire Kurt Angle. If he wants to work for TNA he needs to show that he can reform himself such that he is not a danger to society.

[mcmahonfan85]

1. Get rid of Dixie Carter

2. Put someone who knows what the hell they're actually doing in charge

you do that and everything else will sort itself out

[Fiddleford H. McGucket]

Everyone that was lost(And Gained) in the last few weeks of Bruce Prichard's tenure...that can be... should be brought in for an evaluation (Risk/Reward, Details of their release/Leaving) and then Either brought back or released.

I say this because I saw, less than 36 hours ago, D.O.C, D'Lo, and Gunner wrestle Main event Caliber matches. Granted I'll admit it was a small show and they would have been the biggest "Non-Legend" names there but it was Bell-to-Bell action with very few lulls....(Proof that good booking is what TNA lacks, not actual Talent)

[jimmyjames]

1. Add another show. Maybe an hourlong show on Saturday or Sunday night. It could have a couple of matches and a couple of the best matches from Impact. They could be tag-team, Knockouts, X-division, or main-event, but they have to have more programming than an episode of Impct and their One night PPV.

2. Stop with the 3 man X-division matches. Just have regular I-on-1 matches, and if need be, for a special occasion, have a 3-man match.

3. Utilize your talent. Stop treating them like little child does their Christmas gifts, focusing on them for a little while, then completely forgetting about them. I'm specifically talking about Kenny King. Stop putting gold on people you think are going to help TNa if they're champs and make those who actually are doing something, champions. There is no reason why Gunner, Hernandez, and Chavo, should be tag teams champs this calendar year, and Francois & CD haven't held gold.

4. Use all your Knockouts. Not just 3 or 4 at a time for a couple of months, then go on to a different arraignment. When was the last time we saw Ms. Tessmacher. You have this big focus on Taryn Terrell and then, nothing.

5. Get rid of Brooke Hogan. She is completely useless and does nothing for the show and brings nothing to the table. She sucks on the mic, can't act and truely hurts Impact. She doesn't help in terms of ratings, exposure, or publicity.

[chazraps]

Each week have a different wrestler come out and tell the world what a great guy I am. They could keep it brief (15 seconds tops) so the rest of the fans won't get sick of it, and it would get a chance to utilize the entire roster.

[Wolf Hawkfield no1 NZ poster]

Break up Aces and Eights for a start as not only are they just another crappy pointless faction in TNA history that will soon be forgotten, Eric Bischoff already has a shitty realty TV show where can get off on his phantasies about bikers gangs.

[Reflecto]

1. Start treating the talent better. Give the talent better pay and health coverage. TNA's a beautiful house on a rotted-out, termite infested foundation- it doesn't matter how much money you put into improving the other parts, you will first need to tear it down on a foundation level before you can really build it up to be better.

2. Start making cuts to the middle level. There's nothing wrong with people like Hulk Hogan, Jeff Hardy, Kurt Angle, etc. making large amounts of money as your franchise guys. There IS something wrong with people like Mr.Anderson, Taz, Christy Hemme, etc. making that much for no real reward- especially if you can get the same effects cheaper. (From there- replace Taz with Keneley, replace Christy with So Cal Val- getting the same rewards for a lower price tag.)

3. Accept that fixing TNA is a marathon, not a sprint. Put most of my focus in building up developmental. Make more promotions for jobbers/warm bodies/etc. and call up OVW wrestlers for the general roster, then start building the show up from there. If the ratings won't really change for any huge names, better to call up unknowns who may or may not have potential than focus on new signings that are pretty much established what you get with them.

4. Go on a hiring spree for the X-Division and Knockouts divisions. Both of them have a problem where what they need most is more warm bodies- especially the X-Division with the triple threat match rule. Big signings wouldn't matter as much AS signings- with how much it needs a lot of bodies, I'd rather have, say, 2 or 3 less expensive guys at the price of one Shane Helms at this point. Either way, get about 10-15 more X-Division guys, then sign about 5-7 more Knockouts. On these, I would try to sign indy wrestlers, only to get them back as the lynchpin of the show and what makes TNA SPECIAL again.

5. If we HAVE to use MMA guys, and it's clear Spike is saying yes, we'd HAVE to: Focus it to one video a week to show off a MMA wrestler. While doing that, try everything to Spike, to Bellator, and to the MMA guys in question, to try selling them on appearing semi-regularly. With this in mind, use Rampage/King Mo in a "Stop the Matsunaga"-style angle- if someone is leaving the company, their last appearance has one of them coming in and straight-up destroying them until they're "never seen again". They don't show up every week, but when they do- SOMEONE. WILL. DIE- and in the process making them ultimate monsters, while building up the rest of the roster until I get to a point where eventually, someone can slay the dragon- and THEN they get MADE as my next face of TNA.

[Non Banjoble Tokens]

Right now, I'd really bring in more Knockouts so the Division isn't just Mickie James vs. Two or three different girls every month. They are lots of talented women wrestlers who are very aesthetically pleasing as well out there. HIRE THEM!!! Also treat them like they any other member of the TNA roster. Give them a reason to want to be there.

Yeah, there's other stuff, but really, this is what bugs the most about TNA right now.

[Wolf Hawkfield no1 NZ poster]

Stop bringing in MMA fighters.
If Spike TV wants gain some publicity for Bellator with TNA great but just stick to having the likes of Rampage or Tito being a guest referee or enforcer in a big match etc. Don't stick MMA fighters who are broken down and in the tail end of their careers in big angles were 90% of the time they won't be around to do anything because they are busy training for their fights.

[ritt works hard fo da chickens]

Honestly they need to copy the one thing that made it so WWE became THE wrestling company. That wasn't Hulk Hogan. They survived without him. It wasn't PPVs. They were huge before them. They need to become a wrestling company not a side project for other companies.

The reason why TNA is on constant deathwatch has absolutely nothing to do with TNA itself. TNA lives and dies at the mercy of SPIKE and PANDA. TNA can be triple the ratings they get now and if a Jamie Kellner comes along they are gone. TNA is older than the current branding of Spike. When TNA started their PPVs Spike was still TNN. If someone at VIACOM decides on a whim that Spike should become a cooking channel or a preteen girls focus channel TNA is dead. If Panda goes under from some energy regulation violation TNA will be gone. It won't matter if they have Goldberg, Rock and Hogan in a threeway dance the week before while Panda's assets are tied up in court battles the network will move on and the fans and performers will go elsewhere.

They need those relationships to do business of course but they shouldn't be the crutches on which they stand. They should move away from having any performers they can't pay with the money they make. If Spike wants to send them a Bellator guy for cross promoting, fine whatever, it won't be a long term focus of their show. If Spike wants to pay to have Ric Flair on their roster they need to politely decline. If Spike is paying for Sting and Angle and Hogan how can you shop that show to another network. I am sure Spike doesn't want to pay to provide another network with material, so now you have your top draws unavailable.

I'm not saying fire those guys. I am saying let Spike pick up the bill for a year maybe two max and tell those guys if there is not a return on the investment that lets TNA pick up their contracts they will not be renewed. If you pay Angle one million let's just say tell him he has to start selling merch and boosting buyrates from shows he wasn't on by at least one million. It's simple math really, if you can't produce numbers that say Hogan has improved their returns by what they are paying him then they are better off with lesser known talent. Small consistent growth is still growth, binging for a quick boost and then slide back to status quo isn't growth.

Once they can be independent they need to try to expand. Grab small time slots up on larger regional stations with recap and B shows. Make TNA valuable to the Spike instead of Spike integral to TNA.

[rnrk supports BLM]

Hogan vs. Sting - Wheelchair Death Match

No, that's not some sarcastic "Haw haw, TNA spends too much time on the old dudes" comment, I'm saying TNA might as well embrace the fact that their biggest name stars are all over-the-hill and practically crippled, and play it up for maximum train wreck enjoyment.

[The Spelunker!]

1: Plan out a number of storylines with clear heroes and villains or actual nebulous noiresque mystery with definitive endings and multiple contingencies in case the fans aren't buying it, or something else gets hot. Make sure that there are plot hooks, so that people actually want to see what happens next.

2: Do whatever I could to run a cheaply produced B show that way I could feature more of the talent I have without spreading the show too far out. This is probably dumb, but here's an idea for how to do it. Find a soundstage in Nashville, film it crowdless. Give it an entirely different look from anything in wrestling today. Like harsh lighting, close up camera angles. Two of TNA's best matches were empty arena matches, and they both felt unique from anything else on wrestling today. Air it as a youtube exclusive or something while you shop it around. Having a ready product to show might make it easier for Spike or some other Viacom network have an easier time picking it up.

3: Make it easier for my talent to do indy dates. I understand the idea of exclusivity, but there's no reason that you couldn't benefit from added exposure for your guys, better relationships with companies that have your future stars, and places for your guys to make money and gain experience when you aren't using them.

4: Shake up the roster a bit. Let some people who've been around for a while go, add some new people. If nothing else, try to keep the people around with per use contracts and let them fill their time with indy dates. Grab a few tag teams, X D-divisioners, and women in particular because all of those could use some expansion.

5: Bring back jobber matches. They're such a small segment, and they really do have purpose.

6: Advertise with nerdier things. I think trying to sell wrestling to nerds as the equivalent of a living comic book is a new approach that could bring actual new fans to the product. Run ads on popular youtube channels, twitch, and the like.

7: Make every win and loss matter. This should be the most important thing the announcers and backstage segments do.

8: Replace Taz and Tenay. They've ruined way too many things. Fresh, excited voices for the company could do wonders. Matt Striker, Jeremy Borash, and Colt Cabana all immediately come to mind as good options, but I'm sure there are plenty of people who would be viable.

9: Bring in international talent. One of the best things of 90's wrestling was seeing all the talent from other countries. Getting people with different styles from different nationalities, especially if it's through a talent loaning program could really benefit TNA. Send someone away for 6 months to become a bigger star in a market you'd like to expand into, get someone new and exciting to pair up your current roster with.

10: Make sure TNA is an actual alternative to WWE. Make the product look different and stand out. That's what drove a lot of people to TNA in the first place, and homogenizing it to be closer to WWE seems to have taken away that edge.

[Emmet Russell]

Aug 4, 2013 23:38:18 GMT -5 mcmahonfan85 said:

1. Get rid of Dixie Carter

2. Put someone who knows what the hell they're actually doing in charge

you do that and everything else will sort itself out

It's time for Russo to return and take over his rightful place on top.

[kidtamagotchi]

1. Market and promote TNA better. A lot of casual (WWE) fans don't even know TNA exists. You have to get TNA wrestlers on talk shows, be it Howard Stern, Jay Leno, Jimmy Fallon, Arsenio's new show, well-known popular podcasts (not necessarily wrestling podcasts) whatever. You have to get wrestlers guest spots on TV shows and (a long shot) movies. Try to get them involved with the major sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS, NASCAR) on camera. Have more TNA wrestlers involved with charitable/volunteering organizations. TNA needs good publicity, too.

2. Expand the X-Divison, Knockouts, and Tag Team divisions. I'd forge relationships with companies in Japan and Mexico to exchange talent. The more styles and personalities, the better. Actually push the international wrestlers (don't use them as jobbers).

3. Fix the X-Division. First, take away the 3-man matches. All types of matches would occur in the X-Division (one on one, six-man tags, eight-man tags, ladder matches, etc.). The X-Division will ALWAYS have at least one match and one promo a week on Impact. Bring in marketable luchadors/masked wrestlers that can have incredible matches, and we can sell products based on their masks/characters.

4. Have a bit more diversity. We need a black good guy who will not turn heel within a year. We need a credible black babyface to become a main eventer. Same with a Japanese and Mexican babyface. There needs to be a credible black and latina Knockouts.

5. Stop the camera from zooming into the impact of the moves done. Unnecessary and kills the impact of the move done. Change the color of the ropes for PPVs or special Impacts.

That's all off the top of my head. That's it for now.

[Rave]

1. First and foremost, before reaching for imports, evaluate the people already there. Go through the entire roster. How are people contributing to the product? Scale their pay according to how they're contributing. Taking up too much TV time with too little to show for it? Scale their TV time back and see where it could be used better. Shows promise but needs work? OVW. Absolutely useless or unnecessary? Replace them. This way, the dead weight can be cut and the people who're carrying the show with their work can be rewarded.

2. Health insurance. A proper drug testing policy. No longer should TNA be ridiculed for not helping those who are employed there, nor should TNA be the place where all the druggies and drunks end up.

3. Fire Brooke Hogan and Garett Bischoff. No room for nepotism, especially nepotism that just isn't working. If their dads disagree, they can go with them.

4. Establish a proper booking team with fresh ideas. To discourage conflicts of interest, this booking team should not include anyone who is an on-screen talent in any capacity, has any ties with anyone on-screen in any capacity, or is named Eric Bischoff. Encourage talent to submit ideas for storylines and gimmicks, but make sure someone is there who has enough common sense to filter good ideas from crap.

5. Remove Hulk Hogan from television. He'd be of far more use as TNA's resident hype man. TNA arriving in a new market? Send in Hogan to hype. TNA coming to the area? Send in Hogan to hype. Need to make the big sell for a show? Send in Hogan to hype. Get him on TV, get him on radio, get him on anything that'll have him at this point. Make sure he knows what he's talking about, make sure he puts the talent over, and make sure he knows he's not allowed to say that anyone is "not ready" or anything like that, because that defeats the entire purpose. We don't need another repeat of the Roode incident.

6. Kill off the biker ninjas and the Mafia. Both factions take up too much TV time and just aren't watchable. That time could easily go to people who could use it more.

7. If MMA absolutely must be promoted, none of the MMA guys should be involved in major storylines just for the sake of having them there. They should be special attractions only. If one has a fight on Bellator the following week or needs an appearance to promote an upcoming Bellator PPV, get them to come in and destroy a local guy or a low-level guy, and accompany that with appropriate hype as to their next fight or their PPV. Short hype package segments and interviews from Bellator talent can also be utilized for this same purpose, if an appearance can't be arranged. DO NOT PROMOTE BELLATOR DURING WRESTLING MATCHES, because it is incredibly annoying, distracting from the match, and disrespectful to the wrestlers in the ring.

8. Sell Spike on crosspromotion with Bellator. If TNA absolutely has to have their guys around, they should have to promote TNA. They air the day before Impact, so they could hype some matches for the following evening and/or air a preview package and some pretaped promos from TNA guys. Get some TNA folks on there to guest commentate. Anything to get the word out and attract viewers.

9. X-Division. Abolish the weight limit and the mandatory 3-way title defenses. Multi-man qualifiers can stay, but up the odds and make them at least a 4-way. Do some hiring there to bring in a few more good workers, don't really care if they're big names or not as long as they're talented and can mesh with the ones they already have.

10. Tag teams. More tag teams. Interesting tag teams. Overlap with the singles divisions is OK.

11. Knockouts. More Knockouts. Interesting Knockouts. Raid SHIMMER if need be, just get some more Knockouts.

12. GutCheck is a sound idea, but it needs work. There should be higher quality control as to who makes it to television. If they're not any good, cut them off before they make it that far. Abolish the reality show aspect (the deliberation segments). Nobody is interested in what's going on behind the curtain. Raise the stakes a bit: if they win the match, they automatically make it to the final choice. This makes it so there's some importance to the match. However, a fan vote should be established whether to have the loser 'kick out' and go on to the choice as well. Since Impact tapes, an additional fan vote during the show wouldn't work, but if the first fan poll's results can be announced a few days in advance, a second one to give the fans a say in how the choice goes would work.

13. New commentators and ring announcer. Sack Taz, Tenay, and Christy. Get back Todd Keneley. Stopgap with Jeremy Borash 'til someone else can be found, he's handy in a pinch. SoCal Val already does ring announcing for Xplosion, put her on Impact.

14. Speaking of Xplosion, get that on TV in the US so that people who don't regularly get on Impact have some TV exposure.

15. Booking just the corner area of a big arena is stupid. Book smaller venues, make sure they sell out, then work up from there.

16. NO MORE MYSTERY DEBUTS. Surprises don't make people tune in. There is nothing wrong with someone just debuting or with having clear, concise hype packages that feature someone who will be coming in.

17. QUIT HIRING REPEAT SCREWUPS. If someone's left over anything other than a contract expiration, a granted request to leave, or a mutually agreed-upon release, don't hire them again. It doesn't look good to be hiring people over and over who just keep doing the same old crap each time.

18. Give Chris Daniels a world title reign, mainly as a thank you for all the crap he's had to put up with. Prob'ly wouldn't be long-term, but if someone can be found and groomed as heir apparent I'm sure he'd do an excellent job helping to get them over before dropping the title.

[Surfer Sandman]

1. Fire everyone named Hogan, Bischoff and their cronies
2. Force Dixie Carter into the background
3. Stop hiring WWE rejects
4. Stop burying talent like Samoa Joe, etc
5. Just stop sucking...period.

[Futureraven: Beelzebruv]

1. Bring in Wellness. Make sure everyone's clean and able to perform and won't embarrass the company.

2. Organise the talent. Currently there are about 42 roster spots, break it down into divisions.
8 women
8 X-Division
8 Tag Teams
10 Heavyweights (For the TV Title)
Have a list of faces and heels, tag teams can split and form creating fluidity, the World title can take the best from all divisions.
Do a cost/benefit analysis, Christy Hemme has a job that could be done by anyone, with name talent, judge if they have enough of a name to earn more money than someone you could bring in cheaper. For Example John Hennigan would probably ask for a large fee, take into account that he has been away for a while now and can't even use the name that made him famous, for the cost of him you could bring in multiple people.

3. Organise booking, hire a continuity guy who can keep track of who's feuded with who, major events and things that could be interesting. Plan out booking in 3 month blocks leading to a PPV at the end of each.

4. Do market research, find out the negative perceptions of the company and work to eliminate them i.e. Being full of WWE rejects and never paying medical bills. Get talent out there talking about your product, make sure Hogan brings TNA up in every appearence and doesn't put down anyone.

[cabbageboy]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: TNA has gone as far as it can under the Carter regime. Time to sell it or let Spike TV take over, or just something else. TNA is a rarity in wrestling, namely a mark company being run at the national level that doesn't quickly fade away.

Honestly here are some other things:

--Change the entire format. The show has the same exact segment by segment feel of a WWE show. The show has the same rhythm of a WWE show to the extent of some very casual fans not even realizing it is an entirely different company and not just some B list offshoot of WWE (seriously I have heard that before). Enough of the backstage segments, the opening interview, the closing interview, etc.

--Get rid of the BFG Series. I was all for it when it first started but after seeing 3 of these series I am done with it. Just go back to having a #1 contender match a couple of months before the PPV. There really aren't 12 serious contenders anyway, more like 3-4.

--Obviously get rid of the Aces and Eights. In fact stop with the faction crap. TNA has tried this time and time again and it never gets over.

--Let Hogan go when his deal is up. The guy is 60 and adds nothing at this point to justify a big contract. Ironically I think Bischoff could survive this in the event of a Spike TV takeover. After all, he's in good with them and they need someone to run the place (though that opens a different Pandora's Box).

--It's been mentioned but get rid of 3 man X Division matches.

[Deleted]

Get rid of Hogans, Eric's son and Sting. That would make the show at least tolerable for starters. Trim down the roster even more.

Re-introduce the 6-sided ring. That was a huge part of TNA's appeal back in the day.

Actually try to push guys that are younger than 40.
And please make sure that when anyone TNA related talks about the company, that *AJ Styles* (insert similar guys) isn't mentioned as the future of TNA. He's been there for 10 years and is over 35 already.

Find a way to attract some bigger indy names instead of having WWE snatch them and put in NXT while TNA is bringing in Jesse from Big Brother.

Less Bellator cross promoting their fighters who aren't gonna wrestle in TNA on a semi-regular basis (or ever). No one cares about a guy that will be a special ref or an enforcer without real in-ring activity. None of these guys is Mike Tyson or Floyd Mayweather to at least attract fans with their name value.

Stop the huge secret revelations so often. TNA is unable to live up to the hype 9 of 10 times once we find out what or who the big secret is.