Biggest Problems with TNA

[tekkenguy]

Basically the same thread as the one in the WWE board, but this time, it's about TNA.

[EvenBaldobombHasAJob]

Dixie Carter

end thread.

[Wolf Hawkfield no1 NZ poster]

There are way too many to list.

[Oh Cry Me a Screwball]

They just don't know how to plan out anything, it would seem.

We have Impacts that go 30+ minutes without even the pretense of a match, with promos getting multiple commercial breaks. We have angles like the return of Abyss stagnating for months and then suddenly occurring again for no reason. We have the mess that is AJ Styles's character going from being only concerned with money and winning to craving respect and wanting to be the posterboy of the company again with no explanation. They do things like put the World title on Chris Sabin on a whim and then turn him heel when they realize they had no end game with the angle, and it happens all the time in this company.

There's just no direction in this company, and that manifests itself in countless ways every single week.

[government mule]

As a casual viewer of TNA, I hate the voyuer backstage segments. I've honestly no idea why it bugs me so much though.

I thought emo AJ was stupid.

I really hate the commentator (mike tenay?) who disappears forever during a match and calls nothing, whilst Taz sounds bored out of his mind.

Dixie Carter is going to try and pretend to be the demented evil boss ala McMahon/SCSA, and its going to fail horribly.

[Urethra Franklin]

In short, it has no identity.

TNA doesn't know what it wants to be or what it's supposed to be.

You can't be an alternative to the WWE when you're presenting angles that are obvious retreads or watered down versions of WWE angles (not that wrestling companies don't borrow liberally from each other all the time, WWE from TNA included) or when you're failing to focus on what brought you to credibility in the first place (the X-Division and the Knockouts.)

There's a lot of talent and promise in TNA, but I'm not sure we'll ever see it flourish.

[TK The Friendly Robot]

I think my main problem with TNA is that on multiple occasions now they've proven to have all the pieces of the puzzle to become something extremely special, to become everything that they have promised to be on multiple occasions and yet they have consistently gone against all logic and thrown correct pieces to the side to try and force in others from completely different puzzles. The person(s) backstage who are behind putting the shows together, the writers, the bookers, the production guys and the agents need to be properly put in line by a true company leader so that all the wheels are turning in the same direction and that just isn't happening, which is a real shame.

[kidkamikaze10]

No true leadership. Which is pretty much no direction. Which also plays into the "there's nothing appealing. No hook."

[Rave]

Absentminded booking. Things are forgotten about or dropped for no good reason at all, while other things are continued well beyond their best-by date or randomly happen, also for no good reason at all. There's not even an attempt at piecing things together into a coherent and easy to follow product. They're just throwing crap at the wall to see what sticks, then scraping that crap off after about a week or two and throwing it again.

A still-continuing preoccupation with quick fixes. It's like slapping a bandaid on an amputation at this point.

Spike TV hamstringing them into promoting Bellator or whatever other piece of crap show they're premiering only to cancel within a month certainly doesn't do them any favors, either.

[HMARK Center]

I think the problems can be summed up by this year's Bound for Glory and everything surrounding it.

Ok, so TNA has been in flux lately, odds are good the Carters will sell at some point, the roster was trimmed significantly, things of that nature.

However, the Impacts leading up to BFG were actually pretty good. While some could easily argue annoyance with heel Dixie (I don't really mind her that much, but I'd be perfectly content seeing her go, too), by and large the buildup to the show was done pretty well, and the final card had a decent amount of promise.

Then BFG actually happened, and, well...Angle vs. Roode was great, but the beginning of the show was no better than a decent Impact episode and the end was a total mess. It was a surefire, storyline-bookend moment, but they couldn't resist muddying things up about it.

Then the follow-up came, and, huh? The Impacts since BFG have actually been pretty good. Great!

...But what happens the next time there's a big show or PPV?

To me, that's the company's biggest problem. Impact, as of this moment, really isn't bad, and in fact has been quite entertaining for awhile (at least in my eyes).

The big PPV's, though, or the blow-offs to big feuds/angles/etc.? This company never, ever knows what it's doing in those situations, exceptions being when Sting first beat Jarrett and when Joe first beat Angle for the title.

I give WWE a lot of grief for, again in my personal opinion, being repetitive and very color-by-numbers in it's overall presentation (not talking about storylines, necessarily), but TNA can't ever seem to get to a feud ender and ever make it actually FEEL like one.

[SOR]

Honestly nobody stands out. Nobody is different and the guys who are go to the bottom of the card.

Look at TNA's main event scene. What's the real difference between say...Bobby Roode and Christopher Daniels? There is hardly any. Nobody has these interesting gimmicks that makes them stand out in the main event scene. The guys who do have characters are very generic.

I don't watch WWE anymore so forgive me for using an older example but look at 2000. Triple H had this gimmick where he's a bad ass heel who will do anything (Including drugging the bosses daughter) to get ahead and win the World Title. The Rock had the gimmick where he's a cocky baby face who is comedic but also can kick ass when need be. Stone Cold had "Don't Trust Anybody" and was running rampant through the roster. Vince McMahon had the evil boss thing going on but there were sub stories of that character, Undertaker was a bad ass biker who would beat the tar out of you. Even in the undercard you had guys like Val Venis who was a porn star, Too Cool who were fun loving baby faces who loved to dance you had Chyna who was a real life Xena Warrior Princess and you had a ton of others who had gimmicks that made them stand out.

In TNA you have Bobby Roode who is a cocky heel that wrestles good. You have Christopher Daniels who is a cocky heel who wrestles good. You have Chris Sabin who is a cocky heel that wrestles good. You have Frankie Kazarian who is a cocky heel that wrestles good. You have Austin Aries who is a cocky face who wrestles good. Gunner is your generic big man who is focused on winning. James Storm is a cowboy.

Nobody stands out except maybe Bully Ray and Ethan Carter right now but everybody else is the same. How can I be expected to care if everybody is the same?

[Magic knows Black Lives Matter]

As others have said out, TNA's biggest problem is that they don't know how to end a story. They can do a brilliant beginning and muddle their way through the middle part but they just can't give a satisfying ending. Even when they do give a "proper" conclusion (AJ beating Bully at BFG for example), it's bittersweet because of the circumstances around it (AJ won the title in a bad match on an awful, awful PPV to blow off a storyline that was dragged out way too long).

[Magic knows Black Lives Matter]

Also, TNA seriously needs to fire their road agents. They have shown time and time again that they cannot put a match together to save their lives.

[They Killed the Giggler]

Nov 14, 2013 5:24:28 GMT -5 kidkamikaze10 said:

No true leadership. Which is pretty much no direction. Which also plays into the "there's nothing appealing. No hook."

Exactly. I have tried to get into TNA,but it isn't happening. Roode,Daniels,and Kazarian are the only entertaining/interesting part of the show. Everything else is just "blah". TNA has some good talent,but they aren't doing anything interesting with it. If they bring in a wave of new guys,I would be intrigued enough to tune in.

[Deleted]

A) They dumped too much time/money/storyline into people like Hogan, Flair, the Band, ECW regroup #2312 and people who had made their names in other companies (who didn't change their gimmick in TNA either). They basically branded themselves as "indie fed who hires ex-WWE guys." If they put half the energy into creating good characters and stories for their undercard that they did for writing contrived, idiotic "gotcha!" storylines for wrestlers with old gimmicks from other companies, they might have something more substantial built up at this point.

B) TNA's desire to "take on" WWE really set them back a ways. They need to stop trying to beat the other guy or outdo them and just focus on building their own distinct that brand. Being "the competition" isn't a brand and neither is nipping at the heels of the biggest dog in the yard.

C) Characters: SOR pointed this out and I feel the need to reiterate it. Guys like Roode and Daniels and Aries are GREAT wrestlers with excellent mic skills and the ability to do a lot more than TNA is using them for. I look at a guy like Aries and think, "Why the heck isn't his personality a million times bigger than it is? For a guy that calls himself the Greatest Man That Ever Lived, he certainly doesn't act like it." I get that he's a face, but that last promo on Kurt Angle was 60% "I respect your career Kurt, you're a legend!" Not at all in-line with the type of character work he should be doing.
Same goes for a guys like Roode, Daniels and a good chunk of the roster. I'm not sayign become "Joe the Wrasslin' Plumber," but wrestling is a character-driven genre (not PLOT-driven, despite what Bischoff would think) and having big characters goes a long way to helping them be memorable.

[Djm Doesn't Find You Funny]

Not being able to commit to a singular vision.

[Push R Truth]

It's hard to "get into" anything because so many angles get dropped/people disappear or only show up one time. At least when the WWE brings out something and touts it as being a big deal, it's a person/program that sticks around for more than a single week.

[angryfan]

Their problem is a lack of identity.

Under Jarrett it was a mix of WCW and USWA. The in ring work was good, but everything revolved around the booker on top.

Russo gets the book and it's "let's recreate crash TV" with the absurdity turned up to like 25.

Under the Carters we saw Hogan and Bischoff come in, and they had THEIR ideas on how stuff should work.

Through this, we had the Carters, Dixie like some hands-on Ted Turner, while mommy and daddy foot the bill.

We had the X division and six sided ring as "what made them different". We lose the six sided ring, and the x-division gets changed around more than once. "Wrestling Matters" leads to "The Dixie Train".

In 10 years, they've had more core changes than WWF/E has since Vince Jr. took over.

[Deleted]

Everyone has made excellent points. One thing that is befuddling to me is that Jeff Hardy is their biggest star and he's not even on every show. I can understand not wanting to put the title on him given his past issues but he's still the biggest star that they have and he should always be doing something on every show IMO.

[kamero00]

Never had a real reason to tune in. I sometimes get excited to see what will happen on RAW, I have never felt that about iMPACT!

Also too many stables. A&8s, Team Jarret, Immortal, MEM, MEM 2.0, Angle Alliance, The Front Line, S.E.X., Team Canada, The Band.

Almost all of these stables tried to take over TNA at some point. It is possible to have a stable that just wants a shot at the Tag Titles or something. Why do they all act like the nWo?