Josh Matthews and the differences in WWE and TNA

[mrbananagrabber]

(On commentary)

Only a short clip, and not as interesting as the title might suggest.

m.soundcloud.com/siriusxmrush/tna-announcer-josh-mathews-on-the-differences-between-tna-and-wwe?in=siriusxmrush/sets/busted-open

So no repercussions for failing in TNA. Thank God for that.

[Magic knows Black Lives Matter]

In a sense, I get what he's saying and I definitely can understand how that can be a more enjoyable environment to work in. But here's the thing.

"There's no repercussion for failing."
"Nobody's gonna tell you no."

...That's really not good either, from a business standpoint. That's clear by the fact that Josh is f***ing horrible yet he's still the lead voice of the show. At the end of the day, you need to be held accountable for your actions. And yes, sometimes you DO come up with a stupid idea that has no business even being attempted, no matter how "brilliant" you are most of the time. There needs to be a middle ground. Don't yell your head off at someone but at the same time, you need to be able to put your foot down and go, "get your shit together."

[A Platypus Rave]

"Nobody's gonna tell you no."

Isn't that right Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy?

[OVO 40 hunched over like he 80]

The main difference is that in the WWE you're gonna get paid on time, and their checks don't bounce.

Another big difference Josh? About 3 million viewers or more.

[hargh]

The fact that there isn't someone there to tell people "no" is the main reason this company is in the crapper, except when the question is "Do you have my paycheck?"

[The Sam]

"I hate how WWE expected you to act like a professional. Urgh! It was the worst!"

[A Platypus Rave]

Mar 10, 2016 0:43:15 GMT -5 The Sam said:

"I hate how WWE expected you to act like a professional. Urgh! It was the worst!"

and they didn't even put my money in buckets!

[jimmyjames]

When I listen to Josh, I always think that he needs someone yelling into his ear piece. For all the crap Vince gets for doing/having done this, someone like that, who knows what they're doing, is what Josh and Pope need. If TNA had a producer who knows what the hell they're doing, Impact would be so much better.

[Emmet Russell]

Some people are much better when reigned in ... look at Russo. Sure, the guy has ideas, and when filtered can be quite good. But when let loose nothing makes sense, plot holes are everywhere, it's chaotic and messy.

Josh was decent in WWE. Never great, but acceptable. In TNA, when left to his own devices, he sucks. He can't decide if he's heel or face, he screams randomly, he doesn't give a shit.

[jimmyjames]

Mar 10, 2016 1:51:06 GMT -5 Emmet Russell said:

Some people are much better when reigned in ... look at Russo. Sure, the guy has ideas, and when filtered can be quite good. But when let loose nothing makes sense, plot holes are everywhere, it's chaotic and messy.

Josh was decent in WWE. Never great, but acceptable. In TNA, when left to his own devices, he sucks. He can't decide if he's heel or face, he screams randomly, he doesn't give a shit.

There are some many examples but the most recent was him trying to call the action when Spud attacked EC3. Knowing the history, if TNA had a producer they would've went over it in the meeting before the show and had Josh say something like, "Matt Hardy is an SOB and I hate him, but after what EC3 put Spud through, you can't blame him. Kick his ass Spud". Instead we get him acting the fool, acting like he couldn't understand why Spud would do it. Just made him look and sound even dumber. It's like TNA thinks their audience are idiots.

It's bad enough that Josh alternates between heel and face, i.e EC#, but he does it during the matches he calls. When calling a match, how can you root for someone and a minute later, you're calling him out and criticizing him.

[ThereIsNoAbsurdistOnlyZuul]

Mar 10, 2016 2:18:23 GMT -5 jimmyjames said:

Mar 10, 2016 1:51:06 GMT -5 Emmet Russell said:

Some people are much better when reigned in ... look at Russo. Sure, the guy has ideas, and when filtered can be quite good. But when let loose nothing makes sense, plot holes are everywhere, it's chaotic and messy.

Josh was decent in WWE. Never great, but acceptable. In TNA, when left to his own devices, he sucks. He can't decide if he's heel or face, he screams randomly, he doesn't give a shit.

There are some many examples but the most recent was him trying to call the action when Spud attacked EC3. Knowing the history, if TNA had a producer they would've went over it in the meeting before the show and had Josh say something like, "Matt Hardy is an SOB and I hate him, but after what EC3 put Spud through, you can't blame him. Kick his ass Spud". Instead we get him acting the fool, acting like he couldn't understand why Spud would do it. Just made him look and sound even dumber. It's like TNA thinks their audience are idiots.

It's bad enough that Josh alternates between heel and face, i.e EC#, but he does it during the matches he calls. When calling a match, how can you root for someone and a minute later, you're calling him out and criticizing him.

That's what a Tweener means, Shug!

/Dixie

[Emmet Russell]

Mar 10, 2016 2:18:23 GMT -5 jimmyjames said:

Mar 10, 2016 1:51:06 GMT -5 Emmet Russell said:

Some people are much better when reigned in ... look at Russo. Sure, the guy has ideas, and when filtered can be quite good. But when let loose nothing makes sense, plot holes are everywhere, it's chaotic and messy.

Josh was decent in WWE. Never great, but acceptable. In TNA, when left to his own devices, he sucks. He can't decide if he's heel or face, he screams randomly, he doesn't give a shit.

There are some many examples but the most recent was him trying to call the action when Spud attacked EC3. Knowing the history, if TNA had a producer they would've went over it in the meeting before the show and had Josh say something like, "Matt Hardy is an SOB and I hate him, but after what EC3 put Spud through, you can't blame him. Kick his ass Spud". Instead we get him acting the fool, acting like he couldn't understand why Spud would do it. Just made him look and sound even dumber. It's like TNA thinks their audience are idiots.

It's bad enough that Josh alternates between heel and face, i.e EC#, but he does it during the matches he calls. When calling a match, how can you root for someone and a minute later, you're calling him out and criticizing him.

It's all made worse by the fact that Josh is the lead announcer, the guy the audience is meant to trust.

Meltzer buried him in the newsletter awhile ago and it was spot on. Your lead announcer shouldn't be a goon who flips sides weekly and isn't someone you can trust their word.

Matthews comes off as the biggest git, whether it's on social media, TNA TV, in interviews, wherever he goes. He makes me long for Tenay.

[________ has left the building]

It's becoming more and more apparent that TNA is a lot like pee wee soccer. Everyone gets told you are doing good no matter how hard you're are not and participation trophies for everyone so no one feels bad. You don't have to tear down someone all of the time but putting a boot up someone's ass is needed. Failure is not something that should be totally accepted as norm. How can you get better if there is no reason to strive for it? TNA: Underachiever and proud of it.

[A Platypus Rave]

This also shouldn't be a surprise that there is no penalty for failure... I mean how long did they keep Russo employed?

But yeah... if someone isn't doing their job well on a consistent basis, they need to be reprimanded.

You don't have to jump down their throat every time, but if they fail on a consistently you need to do something otherwise they will never improve.

[Mozenrath]

There can't be a penalty for failure when it's the default state. That's like getting a game over before you even put the quarter in the machine.

[HMARK Center]

It's an example of TNA's larger overall problem, that they've never had a guiding vision for what the company should be.

Look, Vince is a micromanager to the extreme, and I think it's 100% justified for talent to say they don't enjoy an environment like WWE. However, no matter how overproduced WWE can get, there's no denying that you're watching Vince's vision for a wrestling show, so there's at least some consistency and a set of expectations for the show.

This works in smaller companies, as well; ROH has been known since a little after its inception as a company that gives the talent a decent amount of creative freedom, but one that also has a clear structure to its shows and overall presentation (match lengths, which matches should emphasize high spots, where to book matches with more or less emotional investment in them, how the announcers should be selling what happens, etc.). When Gabe was in charge, you could tell that the show's presentation was largely what Gabe wanted to have in a wrestling show; now, instead, we get what Delirious wants to book, so while he's likely not doing Vince level micromanaging, his vision is still what's carrying the day.

TNA has never really had that; it tried to be too many things to too many people, it consistently has too many writers/bookers and no unified vision for final vote/voice to choose the show's overall direction, and all of that is reflected in the uneven commentary and the consistently poor work over the years that their road agents have done in structuring matches. Not everything needs to be micromanaged, not everything has to be homogenized and the same, but you MUST have a unified goal and vision for what the company is and where it's headed.

[xxshoyuweeniexx]

That's one of TNA's main faults to a T. They let everyone do whatever the f*** they want and nobody backstage has enough balls to say "No, that sounds f***ing dumb don't do that." It's like a preschool with drugs and dumb adults. It doesn't need to be just like WWE where everything is sterile, but there needs to be someone who puts their foot down on stupid shit.

[Mozenrath]

Mar 10, 2016 11:00:58 GMT -5 HMARK Center said:

It's an example of TNA's larger overall problem, that they've never had a guiding vision for what the company should be.

Look, Vince is a micromanager to the extreme, and I think it's 100% justified for talent to say they don't enjoy an environment like WWE. However, no matter how overproduced WWE can get, there's no denying that you're watching Vince's vision for a wrestling show, so there's at least some consistency and a set of expectations for the show.

This works in smaller companies, as well; ROH has been known since a little after its inception as a company that gives the talent a decent amount of creative freedom, but one that also has a clear structure to its shows and overall presentation (match lengths, which matches should emphasize high spots, where to book matches with more or less emotional investment in them, how the announcers should be selling what happens, etc.). When Gabe was in charge, you could tell that the show's presentation was largely what Gabe wanted to have in a wrestling show; now, instead, we get what Delirious wants to book, so while he's likely not doing Vince level micromanaging, his vision is still what's carrying the day.

TNA has never really had that; it tried to be too many things to too many people, it consistently has too many writers/bookers and no unified vision for final vote/voice to choose the show's overall direction, and all of that is reflected in the uneven commentary and the consistently poor work over the years that their road agents have done in structuring matches. Not everything needs to be micromanaged, not everything has to be homogenized and the same, but you MUST have a unified goal and vision for what the company is and where it's headed.

They've had brief periods of stability, but it never lasts, with a lot of changes in the guard every few years of its history. You also end up at times with WCW power struggles, like when Russo was hired when Cornette still had some input on booking, so you end up with wildly different desires for the direction of the company, where even when one person outranks another, you'll have a lot of compromise decisions ending up in the final product, in varying degrees of coherence.

[Can you afford to pay me, Gah]

TNA need to have a legit ok this is what we are. This is are goals and some kind of an idea on how they will get there. They need to one stick with a direction, stop with heel and face turns so much. As I talked about in the Mister Anderson thread about him being gone. How many turns he, Aries, and Abyss have had or turning someone just when they where really started to establish themselves. I used Monty Brown as the prime example of this as well you can say The Pope in 2010, April going into his title match against AJ he was really catching on, just after that, they turn him heel with that terrible angle with Joe and later Devon.

The failure on how to do business is even worst. When Angle and Joe draw in the biggest buyrate which was another point I made in another thread. How TNA managed to cut Joe at the knees and changed everything about what made him the draw he was. Going from work rated badass to this whiner who soon lost his motivation. That what really gets me because anybody else who had the roster and money TNA had from 06 to 09, I know they should on Spike realistically had a 2.0 TV rating, that's and selling out the venues that worked in. 10,000 seated arenas shouldn't been that big of a problem, not with that roster and the names that goes with it but they failed at Advertising and marketing and they should have no excuses on why that never happened. Why spending so much money on big names but yet can't promote worth a crap to make it a big deal.

The fact they had the best talent in the world that had everything to make them new big name stars in wrestling and most fans knew it but TNA did not know how to market it them. Look how fast AJ connected when he debut in the WWE. Fans knew he was a legit star more so what he did in Japan and else where. I say this because how Sting debuted in the WWE most fans reacted as if he was gone since WCW died and never knew he was in TNA for the last Ten years plus before that debut.

It's simple, DON'T be like the WWE. Fans want choices. If you try and copy the WWE which in 2014, they did to a T just about. It killed it because fans already get the PG style from the WWE and angles. Fans want something different when they watch a different companies product. If the WWE is doing that Daniel Bryan angle. DON'T repeat the same style angle because fans will see it and say why am I watching the same thing with the roles being reacted by different people who happen to look close to the same. Beard Bryan and beard EY who close to the same size.

[sonofsharknado]

All I have to look at to know that there's no one to say no is Kurt Angle's entire "epic match" TNA career where he has to be carried kicking and screaming into a great match.