What would save TNA at this point...

[Hiroshi Hase]

krazyeman said:

The one problem with both WWE and TNA is their desire to punish anyone who even slightly disagrees with their point of view, or has an "attitude problem".

Guys like Carlito, Shelton Benjamin, C.M. Punk, Samoa Joe, Monty Brown and others have been punised within the last 2 years for asinine reasons. It kills TNA because they don't have much to work with to begin with, and WWE has been felling it all summer b/c the big stars have gotten injured.

How has CM Punk been punished? He's been on nearly every PPV this year, and looks like he'll get the ECW title at Summerslam.

As for TNA, I know it's been said, but it very much resembles WCW 2000 at this point. Just put the tag belts on Kurt/Karen already to make it official.

[Splinter]

Punk's punishments are getting jobbed out to Bob Holly during a red hot undefeated streak, and being the very first guy eliminated from the chamber at December 2 Dismember

[Hiroshi Hase]

ratman said:

Punk's punishments are getting jobbed out to Bob Holly during a red hot undefeated streak, and being the very first guy eliminated from the chamber at December 2 Dismember

I don't know if that's necessarily a punishment or just bad booking.

[Splinter]

Well maybe the chamber was just bad booking but it was Arn Anderson's decision to job Punk to Bobcore to "teach him respect"

[ddt]

What would save TNA at this point...

1) Fire Russo.
2) Get rid of the deadwood (Rhodes, Test, Angle's wife, VKM, Tomko).
3) Let Tenay and West announce on their own, without instructions.
4) More So Cal Val. (Ok, that one's for me...)
5) Stop giving guys like Angle, Cage and Sting all of the tv time, main event pushes, etc., and push the younger talent. (Isn't TNA learning from WCW's mistakes???)
6) Focus on making acquisitions worthwhile -- bring in talented guys, and not has-beens or people was are name-recognized only.
7) Leave out the celebrities, especially when they're the likes of Pac Man.
8) Let the wrestling do the talking.

[Lenny: Smooth like Keith Stone]

I didn't see the PPV, but I did read a full recap. And honestly, it doesn't sound like the PPV was that bad. Oh sure there were plenty of WrestleCrap moments, but they were mixed in with what sounded like great matches. Sounds like XXX vs Sonjay/Lethal had a good match, sounds like Kazarian/Raven was decent, and a few others as well. The problem is that TNA hardly even focuses on this stuff on television, so your casual viewer is not even going to know that they put on matches like this on PPV. TNA basically spent the whole last month on the Angle Family Variety Hour, and spending little to no time on the X Division guys.

TNA really does have the tools to make a great wrestling show.... if they would just let new viewers in on it, more people would buy the PPV's.

[ddt]

lenny said:

TNA really does have the tools to make a great wrestling show.... if they would just let new viewers in on it, more people would buy the PPV's.

That's 100% true. TNA has an amazing product without the WWE/Russo garbage. The company needs to refocus on what it's been able to do, and what it can do again.

[Hiroshi Hase]

lenny said:

I didn't see the PPV, but I did read a full recap. And honestly, it doesn't sound like the PPV was that bad. Oh sure there were plenty of WrestleCrap moments, but they were mixed in with what sounded like great matches. Sounds like XXX vs Sonjay/Lethal had a good match, sounds like Kazarian/Raven was decent, and a few others as well. The problem is that TNA hardly even focuses on this stuff on television, so your casual viewer is not even going to know that they put on matches like this on PPV. TNA basically spent the whole last month on the Angle Family Variety Hour, and spending little to no time on the X Division guys.

TNA really does have the tools to make a great wrestling show.... if they would just let new viewers in on it, more people would buy the PPV's.

Yeah, Kaz/Raven, the 3-way tag opener and I'd say Rhino/Storm were good, but the rest was just awful and I regret ordering it. Won't make that mistake next time.

[Lenny: Smooth like Keith Stone]

yjc1019 said:

Yeah, Kaz/Raven, the 3-way tag opener and I'd say Rhino/Storm were good, but the rest was just awful and I regret ordering it. Won't make that mistake next time.

I used to order TNA pay per views every month maybe 2 years ago, back when Joe was being pushed as the silent unstoppable machine, Christopher Daniels had a X-Division title reign of several months that was made out to be one of the top angles on the show, and the top NWA title was on guys like Raven, AJ, and even Jarrett (since it was fun to want him to lose). Plus we got to see things on PPV like the Canadian Destroyer.... what the hell even happened to Petey Williams anyway? Is he in the witness protection program?

Anyway I don't order them anymore. The last one I ordered was a year and a half ago when Christian won the title from Jarrett and the fans stormed the ring.

[thestinger]

lenny said:

Anyway I don't order them anymore. The last one I ordered was a year and a half ago when Christian won the title from Jarrett and the fans stormed the ring.

Then you missed a lot of great PPVs that came after that. Sadly after last night, I can't recommend giving them another chance now, but last year PPVs had two Sabin/Senshi matches that were unbelievable and two LAX/Styles and Daniels matches that were unreal.

Do you see what I'm getting at? Titles in TNA used to matter! People would look at how they were booked and say, "These belts matter, not like in WWE!" Now look at the titles.

As we learned in WCW when booking goes bad, titles are the first things to be devalued.

[poi zen rana]

thestinger said:

lenny said:

Anyway I don't order them anymore. The last one I ordered was a year and a half ago when Christian won the title from Jarrett and the fans stormed the ring.

Then you missed a lot of great PPVs that came after that. Sadly after last night, I can't recommend giving them another chance now, but last year PPVs had two Sabin/Senshi matches that were unbelievable and two LAX/Styles and Daniels matches that were unreal.

Do you see what I'm getting at? Titles in TNA used to matter! People would look at how they were booked and say, "These belts matter, not like in WWE!" Now look at the titles.

As we learned in WCW when booking goes bad, titles are the first things to be devalued.

but by the same token what wwe match was as good or better than either styles/daniels vs lax last year?

[Hiroshi Hase]

poisonrana said:

thestinger said:

Then you missed a lot of great PPVs that came after that. Sadly after last night, I can't recommend giving them another chance now, but last year PPVs had two Sabin/Senshi matches that were unbelievable and two LAX/Styles and Daniels matches that were unreal.

Do you see what I'm getting at? Titles in TNA used to matter! People would look at how they were booked and say, "These belts matter, not like in WWE!" Now look at the titles.

As we learned in WCW when booking goes bad, titles are the first things to be devalued.

but by the same token what wwe match was as good or better than either styles/daniels vs lax last year?

I'd say Cena/HBK from the UK was way better than that and I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot of other matches as well, but you sound like you wouldn't admit anything from WWE was better than TNA.

[poi zen rana]

well i am glad you enjoyed it. i truly enjoyed aj/daniels vs lax especially the ultimate x more than i did any wwe match last year legitimately. and i am by no means anti-wwe. i love plenty about it. i wouldn't watch it on a regular basis if i didn't.

[Hiroshi Hase]

poisonrana said:

well i am glad you enjoyed it. i truly enjoyed aj/daniels vs lax especially the ultimate x more than i did any wwe match last year legitimately. and i am by no means anti-wwe. i love plenty about it. i wouldn't watch it on a regular basis if i didn't.

I see, wasn't sure as I thought you were pro-TNA to the point where you felt they could do no wrong.

[celtics543]

I have never ordered a TNA ppv, but I watch Impact almost every week, and it's definately gotten worse. I used to like to watch TNA because it was an alternative to WWE and it had guys that I had never seen before, like Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Petey Williams, Abyss, etc. but now it's just the WWE retirement home. I watch now and I am tempted to change the channel every time I see Rhyno, VKM, 3D, Test, etc come out. I'm torn on Kurt Angle, because I like him as a wrestler and he's entertaining, but he's being pushed more than John Cena and Triple H combined and it's boring to watch him dominate all the time. If TNA were smart, they would make Angle into the dorky funny guy that made him a star. The only former WWE guy that I can really tolerate is Christian Cage, because he's having a fresh run and is someone that I believe keeps reinventing himself.

To save TNA at this point, I think that they need to dump all the high priced former WWE guys that no one really wants to see. After watching a ppv from a few years ago, I've come to realize that the "Bentley Bounce" got just as much of a reaction from the Impact zone as the Dudleys get. Bring back the solid x-division, with an x-title that means as much as the world title, like it used to.

They should make their big stars, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Christian Cage, LAX, Harris, Storm, Abyss, Daniels, etc.

I believe that those guys are a good core of a promotion that should thrive. Having people like Jarrett and Raven around will also help keep some of the older fans, and if they decided to keep Angle that will also help keep the casual fans.

My second idea would be to PUSH the tag team division. They have the MCMG, Triple X, Dutt and Jay Lethal, LAX. They can bring in more teams from some of the indys, like the Briscoes etc. If they keep the Steiners around or reform Storm and Harris into a tag team. Bring back the Naturals even to add depth. The tag team division is something that the WWE doesn't push very hard, and would make TNA different.

The next thing I would do is try and get Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff on the booking team together. I think that Heyman is a great people person and would be good for the wrestlers, whereas Bischoff is a financial person and knows the logistics of running a business. As a team they would be great. Fire Russo and Mantel, and try and make Jarrett a full time wrestler and road agent.

Finally, I think that going against the concept that I'm trying to create, I'd try to throw lots of money at either the Rock or Stone Cold Steve Austin. TNA needs something to bring in viewers, and show them what they have to offer. What they need to do is have a guy that they can hype up that is a major star in wrestling. If they could bring in the Rock for a live appearance and have him just cut a promo about how TNA is the place to be and how it's great, then show the homegrown guys that they have, hopefully people will like it and stay. They need to stop throwing money at celebrities from other sports, because very few baseball or football fans are going to come over to wrestling because pacman jones or david eckstein are there. They need to hit a homerun with a wrestling guy so that they can draw WRESTLING fans.

In my opinion, going back to their roots is what can save TNA.

EDIT: They need to be live too. If I can look online to see what happened before it airs, and it looks bad, I won't watch it. Raw gets high ratings even when it sucks because no one knows what's going to happen. It's the same philosophy WCW used to become popular. Smackdown doesn't get as high a ratings as raw because its taped and is on friday, but if it were live, and even still on friday, it would get higher ratings.

[poi zen rana]

actually i am a fan of both i just don't choose to defend wwe because it doesn't need it. i don't like seeing wrestling fans just write off tna as stupid because i really want to give them a chance because wwe needs competition. it would make companies better if they actually were near the same level. that is why i try to be optimistic about tna because i think it could make the world of wrestling a bit better overall for us.

[Hiroshi Hase]

poisonrana said:

actually i am a fan of both i just don't choose to defend wwe because it doesn't need it. i don't like seeing wrestling fans just write off tna as stupid because i really want to give them a chance because wwe needs competition. it would make companies better if they actually were near the same level. that is why i try to be optimistic about tna because i think it could make the world of wrestling a bit better overall for us.

I used to like TNA a lot last year, especially Bound For Glory, but it seems they've tried to be like WWE so much it turns some fans off to it. WWE needs competition, I agree but TNA is nowhere near and at this rate may never get there.

[ddt]

celtics543 said:

I have never ordered a TNA ppv, but I watch Impact almost every week, and it's definately gotten worse. I used to like to watch TNA because it was an alternative to WWE and it had guys that I had never seen before, like Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Petey Williams, Abyss, etc. but now it's just the WWE retirement home. I watch now and I am tempted to change the channel every time I see Rhyno, VKM, 3D, Test, etc come out. I'm torn on Kurt Angle, because I like him as a wrestler and he's entertaining, but he's being pushed more than John Cena and Triple H combined and it's boring to watch him dominate all the time. If TNA were smart, they would make Angle into the dorky funny guy that made him a star. The only former WWE guy that I can really tolerate is Christian Cage, because he's having a fresh run and is someone that I believe keeps reinventing himself.

To save TNA at this point, I think that they need to dump all the high priced former WWE guys that no one really wants to see. After watching a ppv from a few years ago, I've come to realize that the "Bentley Bounce" got just as much of a reaction from the Impact zone as the Dudleys get. Bring back the solid x-division, with an x-title that means as much as the world title, like it used to.

They should make their big stars, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Christian Cage, LAX, Harris, Storm, Abyss, Daniels, etc.

I believe that those guys are a good core of a promotion that should thrive. Having people like Jarrett and Raven around will also help keep some of the older fans, and if they decided to keep Angle that will also help keep the casual fans.

My second idea would be to PUSH the tag team division. They have the MCMG, Triple X, Dutt and Jay Lethal, LAX. They can bring in more teams from some of the indys, like the Briscoes etc. If they keep the Steiners around or reform Storm and Harris into a tag team. Bring back the Naturals even to add depth. The tag team division is something that the WWE doesn't push very hard, and would make TNA different.

The next thing I would do is try and get Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff on the booking team together. I think that Heyman is a great people person and would be good for the wrestlers, whereas Bischoff is a financial person and knows the logistics of running a business. As a team they would be great. Fire Russo and Mantel, and try and make Jarrett a full time wrestler and road agent.

Finally, I think that going against the concept that I'm trying to create, I'd try to throw lots of money at either the Rock or Stone Cold Steve Austin. TNA needs something to bring in viewers, and show them what they have to offer. What they need to do is have a guy that they can hype up that is a major star in wrestling. If they could bring in the Rock for a live appearance and have him just cut a promo about how TNA is the place to be and how it's great, then show the homegrown guys that they have, hopefully people will like it and stay. They need to stop throwing money at celebrities from other sports, because very few baseball or football fans are going to come over to wrestling because pacman jones or david eckstein are there. They need to hit a homerun with a wrestling guy so that they can draw WRESTLING fans.

In my opinion, going back to their roots is what can save TNA.

I agree with almost everything you've stated. The only thing I would definitely stay away from is getting the likes of Austin or Johnson to come in and promote TNA. I think that if TNA can revamp its product, the way many of us have suggested and back to the way it used to be a short while ago, its product can speak for itself. There have been too many celebrities and outsiders brought in to endorse TNA, and it really hasn't worked. I'd much rather see more of the product and less of someone telling me I should watch the product because he/she says I should.

[Aaron E. Dangerously]

No more Joe vs. Angle for one. We all know how that will turn out.

2 hour show, so that we don't take one or two week-long breaks during feuds because we don't have time for them.

Get rid of the Impact Zone, for god's sake! They don't even know who to cheer for anymore!

Stop with the constant face/heel turns.

Tour.

[Brain Of F'n J]

Two words:

Hire me. ;D

Jed Shaffer
~C'mon, it's not THAT bad an idea.