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Post by El Cokehead del Knife Fight on Apr 17, 2014 3:26:57 GMT -5
And who is to say that Paul wouldn't have gone along with signing Hogan anyway? Remember one of ECW's top guys was Terry Funk. By that point, Terry Funk had just reinvented himself as the Hardcore Legend and was a fixture in Japan. He'd also been a top heel a few years prior in the NWA.
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Post by BV on Apr 17, 2014 3:43:50 GMT -5
Yeah they probably would have snagged Bryan, gotten Punk when his contract came up, and if the money was right, Brock too. I actually think given the time, TNA would probably have hit the 2.0-2.5 range in ratings.
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Post by Urfarkendarf on Apr 21, 2014 0:10:14 GMT -5
While its completely understandable for people to point out his faults with the original ECW, Paul Heyman is still, literally and figuratively, one of the best bookers of the last 20 years. As long as he wasn't responsible for the accounting, I don't see any reason why it wouldn't of had a real chance to work. Now, whether they are where they are now, higher up the totem pole, dead and buried is another story. I like to think they would at least be where they are now, but I also think they'd have a LOT more respect than they do b/c I think Heyman's strongest suit is making a wrestling angle feel real, even if its completely cockamamie. TNA's biggest problems have been the tired storylines and near-constant rehashes. I think Heyman could've done some real good for the company as long as he it didnt become (in terms of content) another ECW rebirth.
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Woo
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Post by Woo on Apr 21, 2014 6:48:26 GMT -5
TNA would be so much better now. I for one would be watching. Paul Heyman wasn't going to be the one paying cheques so they company would be afloat. Paul Heyman booked Smackdown in 2002, possibly the best the WWE has been in the last 12 years... and that is despite Al Wilson.
Heyman and Russo working together could be the best partnership ever. It could be a disaster yes, but if both of them are on form it could be magic. Heyman knows how to best use talent and Russo is great at using the entire roster.
If you gave me a choice of hiring Heyman or Hogan and Bischoff I'd chose Heyman every time. They chose Hogan and Bischoff and are now in dire straits and are still paying the price today.
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Post by The Dark Order Inferno on Apr 21, 2014 8:01:42 GMT -5
Right where they are now as Heyman was never seriously considering TNA, he was stringing them along to keep his name out there and so he'd have something to talk about in interviews and another chapter for the eventual Paul Heyman book.
Had they somehow got him by giving him the moon on a stick he asked for, he would have burned Spike TV badly the moment they started asking that he crosspromote Bellator and other shows. TNA would have found themselves bumped to a graveyard timeslot with little hope of being renewed, yet Heyman would have found a way to leave and portray TNA management as the villains of the piece with people making excuses for him like they do for ECW. TNA would now be in the same position ECW found themselves in toward the end, crippled with little hope of getting a slot elsewhere because Heyman likes to bite the hand that feeds him when he has complete control, which is what they would have to have given him to get him on board.
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Sephiroth
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Post by Sephiroth on Apr 21, 2014 8:03:36 GMT -5
Everyone has their own opinion on this, of course. But a lot of the things Heyman was saying at the time made total sense, and still do.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2014 10:13:02 GMT -5
It's all dependent on whether or not they would have given Heyman free reigns. Provided he had to be regulated with the cash (considering Heyman's financial woes and difficulty with working with executive idiots), and that people had to give him leeway on some ideas, I think TNA could've gotten successful. But, this is whether or not he would adapt to circumstance.
I mean, from what I've heard, he made OVW must-watch TV in the region during 2005 through early 2006, and if he could do it with a developmental territory, surely he could've done it with TNA.
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Sam Punk
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Post by Sam Punk on Apr 23, 2014 11:04:01 GMT -5
It all depends on how much credit you give Heyman for ecw's success.
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Post by RowdyRobbyPiper on Apr 23, 2014 11:12:48 GMT -5
I think they'd be in FAR better shape than they currently are now, as I've always thought that not giving Heyman what he wanted was a SERIOUS mistake by Dixie/TNA (Trolling or not). 1. I think he probably would have stayed true to his word of getting rid of all the vets save for a couple (most likely Kurt Angle and perhaps Sting/Foley), which would have been a HECK of a better idea than Hogan/Bischoff/Russo's "I Love the 90's" 2010/11, which was just pathetic, considering WWE owned the rights to anything they were trying to use (The Horsemen/NWO/ECW), which made TNA look VERY third rate to any new fans that Hogan/Bischoff might have brought in with them. 2. No new Monday Night Wars, at least until Heyman's TNA had a few years to build momentum.....if it would have happened at all. I think Heyman would have been smart enough to build a good solid BUZZ for TNA before he even imagined taking on "The E." 3. The emphasis would have been put where it SHOULD HAVE been put all along.....the stars of today/tomorrow, rather than the names of yesterday. Samoa Joe, AJ, the Beer Money Guys, the MCMG'a, ect would be Solid Main Eventers for TNA now, rather than either no longer with the company/non entities as they are now. Add to that guys like Austin Aries, Kazarian, Jay Lethal, Desmond Wolf, ect......TNA would be in VERY good shape, star-wise, right now. 4. In addition, Heyman would have probably gotten Daniel Bryan after Tie-gate, and Punk when his contract was up in 2011....in addition, he might have even gotten Brock to "Cross The Line," rather than go back to WWE. And this isn't even counting the various ROH/Indie names who might have jumped to a Heyman Booked TNA, rather than staying in ROH/going to WWE. TNA/WWE would look VERY different now, compared to how things developed in the non TNA/Heyman timeline. I mean, think about a TNA with Punk, DB, Joe, AJ, Roode, and Aries (and who knows who else) as your main eventers, with guys Angle/Brock/Hardy/RVD( ) being Special Attractions.....a totally rebuilt Tag (Remember the Smackdown 02/03 tag division), X, and Women's division......I don't see how a Heyman booked/written TNA WOULDN'T have done well. I'd watch a show with the stuff in your post.
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Post by king1836 on Apr 23, 2014 11:23:28 GMT -5
Bankrupt
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Push R Truth
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Post by Push R Truth on Apr 23, 2014 11:27:16 GMT -5
I don't think Heyman would have be given the power he asked for. I could totally see them saying "Oh yeah, you can do all of this. No Problem, here's the keys to TNA." and then within a month Heyman does something and Dixie says "I'm sorry, I can't let you do that."
Then it all goes to hell like my bowels after Taco Bell.
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Post by Just call me D.j.m. on Apr 23, 2014 11:39:30 GMT -5
Exactly where they are now.
There is nothing that can be done.
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Reflecto
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Post by Reflecto on Apr 23, 2014 12:39:47 GMT -5
Had they somehow got him by giving him the moon on a stick he asked for, he would have burned Spike TV badly the moment they started asking that he crosspromote Bellator and other shows. TNA would have found themselves bumped to a graveyard timeslot with little hope of being renewed, yet Heyman would have found a way to leave and portray TNA management as the villains of the piece with people making excuses for him like they do for ECW. TNA would now be in the same position ECW found themselves in toward the end, crippled with little hope of getting a slot elsewhere because Heyman likes to bite the hand that feeds him when he has complete control, which is what they would have to have given him to get him on board. Being fair there- since Heyman IS Lesnar's legitimate financial manager and was at the time, the Bellator crosspromotion may not have been as big an issue. Heyman did want a more MMA-influenced show, and probably could get more Spike TV enhancement for the real most obvious pipe dream there of "if Lesnar walked out for a Heyman TNA, he almost certainly would have gotten Brock to jump to a Spike TV deal like King Mo/Rampage/Ortiz got." More than "Heyman would have ruined TNA", it's even more likely Heyman tries to have TNA rebranded under the Bellator name outright. Even then, though, Heyman's big mistake was the age thing. Heyman's failing was not realizing there's "real age" and "TV age", and that would kill the "dump the over 40s and start with young guys". He'd need to use an Angle or an RVD as the lynchpin guy for draw as that over 40, so that means he'd keep guys like Mr.Anderson (younger, but with a higher "TV age" and lose guys like Daniels (older with a lower TV age.)
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Brood Lone Wolf Funker
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Post by Brood Lone Wolf Funker on Apr 23, 2014 12:54:52 GMT -5
Plus Paul still has the ability very few others do, he can hide the weaknesses of products and wrestlers. He does have a great sense for business and some wrestlers would go to him just based on history
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metylerca
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Post by metylerca on Apr 23, 2014 13:14:34 GMT -5
Luckily they're raking in the dough with the current regime.
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Post by ________ has left the building on Apr 23, 2014 13:58:32 GMT -5
TNA should had taken a chance with anyone other than Hogan & Bischoff. If not Heyman, someone who wasn't planning to strip mine the promotion and leave when they see nothing is left to take. All the talk of Heyman making TNA broke or out of business, isn't that is what is happening post Hogan? People are leaving almost every month. The quality of the show has gone down. I'm not just talking about the in ring product; I'm talking about the camera work, editing, and timing of segments. The atmosphere of a wake surrounds the company. Meanwhile Hogan got his hero's welcome and the stench of failure is off him. You think he miss being in TNA? WWE managed to stroke his ego in one month more than his time in TNA. All without sabotaging themselves to do so. Right now, TNA has someone from WWE running the show. His vision so far is channelling the booking spirit of Russo and repeating WWE current angles while trimming the fat of the wrestlers' contracts. And when things start to get rough for him, he's going to abandon ship.
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Post by ________ has left the building on Apr 23, 2014 14:07:24 GMT -5
It's all dependent on whether or not they would have given Heyman free reigns. Provided he had to be regulated with the cash (considering Heyman's financial woes and difficulty with working with executive idiots), and that people had to give him leeway on some ideas, I think TNA could've gotten successful. But, this is whether or not he would adapt to circumstance. I mean, from what I've heard, he made OVW must-watch TV in the region during 2005 through early 2006, and if he could do it with a developmental territory, surely he could've done it with TNA. Heyman managed to make a match between Bobby Lashley vs Ken Doane appear epic. He booked one of the best feuds no one talks about in Matt Cappotelli vs Johnny Jeter. He turned Brent Albright into a threat. Albright was basically the prototype of current Bobby Roode. He got CM Punk over via vignettes to a crowd that never seen or heard of him before. OVW during that time was must see to the point WWE took the book away from Heyman because of all the universal praise the show was getting. I bought OVW tapes every month just to witness the greatness.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2014 14:57:54 GMT -5
And who is to say that Paul wouldn't have gone along with signing Hogan anyway? Remember one of ECW's top guys was Terry Funk. By that point, Terry Funk had just reinvented himself as the Hardcore Legend and was a fixture in Japan. He'd also been a top heel a few years prior in the NWA. Well that and Terry Funk's body was somehow in better shape than the Hulkster's. It's been pretty obvious for a while--and I think that Hulk finally realizes this--but Hogan doesn't really have any long term value to any wrestling promotion outside of the WWE.
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Post by wallabylikeyou on Apr 23, 2014 15:46:08 GMT -5
Just because he wanted Bryan doesn't mean he would have gotten him. Bryan was only gone from WWE for, what, 2 months? And wasn't it made clear to him that he'd be back once the tie stuff blew over?
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