I KNOW HOW TO SAVE TNA!

[hollywood]

a2j88 said:

hollywood said:

Despite my dislike for their product right now, there's plenty of other people interested. TNA is surviving just fine. I don't see how it needs to be "saved."

If Don West starts prank calling Vince McMahon you'll realize just how much saving TNA really needed.

lol Well, that would definitely indicate some real desperation...

Wait a minute...

[poi zen rana]

hollywood said:

I know I've said this before...but does TNA really need "saving" right now? Granted, they had a down week with Pacman's debut, but for the most part their ratings have either been steady or slowly growing. Yes, the former ROHers and other indy guys are getting the shaft in favor of WWE/WCW castaways, but if ratings are any indication, people don't miss them much. I hate that fact, but there it is.

Despite my dislike for their product right now, there's plenty of other people interested. TNA is surviving just fine. I don't see how it needs to be "saved."

i agree with you completely hollywood. having excellently skilled indy guys does not translate into great ratings here in the u.s. if tna wants to become a competitor to the wwe (which would be amazing for both companies because without competition things get stale) then they have to appeal to the majority of wrestling fans. we here that enjoy the work of those talented indy guys are not in the majority of mainstream wrestling viewers.

i may not enjoy everything they do currently but i do feel the urge to defend tna when it is being unfairly criticized. if you compare it to the other mainstream wrestling federation currently out there, it is not that bad.

sure angle is "wasting" the world title,

but he can put on better matches than khali who is a world champion as well.

sure angle is "wasting" the x division title,

but the wwe's belt for the lighterweight guys is also being wasted, used for comedy by a midget.

sure angle is "wasting" the tag team belts,

but the tna tag division has been more exciting with more teams in the title picture than their was before.

it is all subjective.

[hollywood]

poisonrana said:

hollywood said:

I know I've said this before...but does TNA really need "saving" right now? Granted, they had a down week with Pacman's debut, but for the most part their ratings have either been steady or slowly growing. Yes, the former ROHers and other indy guys are getting the shaft in favor of WWE/WCW castaways, but if ratings are any indication, people don't miss them much. I hate that fact, but there it is.

Despite my dislike for their product right now, there's plenty of other people interested. TNA is surviving just fine. I don't see how it needs to be "saved."

i agree with you completely hollywood. having excellently skilled indy guys does not translate into great ratings here in the u.s. if tna wants to become a competitor to the wwe (which would be amazing for both companies because without competition things get stale) then they have to appeal to the majority of wrestling fans. we here that enjoy the work of those talented indy guys are not in the majority of mainstream wrestling viewers.

i may not enjoy everything they do currently but i do feel the urge to defend tna when it is being unfairly criticized. if you compare it to the other mainstream wrestling federation currently out there, it is not that bad.

sure angle is "wasting" the world title,

but he can put on better matches than khali who is a world champion as well.

sure angle is "wasting" the x division title,

but the wwe's belt for the lighterweight guys is also being wasted, used for comedy by a midget.

sure angle is "wasting" the tag team belts,

but the tna tag division has been more exciting with more teams in the title picture than their was before.

it is all subjective.

I don't entirely agree with TNA's hard-on for anyone that once set foot in Titan Towers. I think they'd do better to establish themselves with new faces and develop their own identity as a promotion that's truly different from the WWE--so that, even if they feature similar booking styles, they'd actually have different people. Focusing all their attention on guys like Kurt Angle, Christian, Andrew Martin, Black Reign, Scott Steiner, and others doesn't do much to refute ESPN's belief that they're just a "4th brand" of WWE.

But, ratings are still solid, so that strategy is succeeding just fine for them. I just think they could accomplish the same success in a different way. But they ARE still succeeding well enough. Well enough that they don't need to be "saved" just yet.

[poi zen rana]

hollywood said:

I don't entirely agree with TNA's hard-on for anyone that once set foot in Titan Towers. I think they'd do better to establish themselves with new faces and develop their own identity as a promotion that's truly different from the WWE--so that, even if they feature similar booking styles, they'd actually have different people. Focusing all their attention on guys like Kurt Angle, Christian, Andrew Martin, Black Reign, Scott Steiner, and others doesn't do much to refute ESPN's belief that they're just a "4th brand" of WWE.

But, ratings are still solid, so that strategy is succeeding just fine for them. I just think they could accomplish the same success in a different way. But they ARE still succeeding well enough. Well enough that they don't need to be "saved" just yet.

i am just holding out hope that something they try will get them a more solid fan base, and that once that is achieved they can begin adapting tna into it's own identity. but the way it stands right now they could feature some of their great indy talent and have their own identity, but it would be harder to get ratings out of the mainstream fans, which would help them be more of a competitor.

["Nature Boy" Ric Moranis]

Sorry this is long, but TNA needs a ton of help.

FIRE: VKM, Lance Hoyt, Test, Johnny Devine, Dustin Rhodes, Traci Brooks. If WWE signs them and makes any money off of it, more power to them.


PUSH (to the Moon): Kazarian, Senshi, MCMG, LAX, James Storm, Tomko, Matt Morgan...all marketable guys that deserve to be identified as TNA's new breed of superstars along with AJ, Joe, Daniels. All of the above guys have charisma that clicks with the type of fans TNA's trying to win/keep, and are the opposite of the kind of Eric Young/Shark Boy stuff that makes TNA look embarrassing to the average TV viewer, especially SpikeTV's demographic.


OFFER RELEASES (or Move Backstage): Raven, Mike Tenay, Don West. Offer Petey Williams an amicable conditional release, with hopes of him landing in ROH for a stint, and have him come back fresh. Maybe see if Gabe would be down for a talent exchange, Petey for an ROH guy that's gotten a little stale...with the idea that they'd both return fresh to their original promotion after 9-12 months of solid work. If you keep Tenay and West to work backstage, I have no problem with them introducing the night's card or doing control center segments, but their match announcing undermines a hip, fresh TV and PPV product in 2007.


HIRE: Brock Lesnar, Giant Bernard, Larry Sweeney (as a manager/mouthpiece for Bobby Roode), Konnan (as an English-speaking tweener announcer), and Scott Hall. But, only hire Hall as a backstage agent/member of the creative team...if he's sober, it's something he's expressed interest in, and I think he'd be money. Hall's got a great mind for the business, and a track record of successful, money-drawing ideas. Plus, he lives in Orlando, claims he's saved his money (somehow), so you could get him for cheap. And, let Hall show up on TV every once in a while to give someone a stamp of approval like Nash has done for MCMG, Lethal, and Dutt...because he's Hall and he'll always be cool and over, even as a fat old man. Never let him wrestle.


CREATIVE TEAM: Jim Cornette (head), Scott D'Amore, Mike Tenay, Scott Hall, Raven and/or Konnan. Or, throw the kind of money at Paul Heyman that they're willing to throw at ex-WWE guys, and have him book the show by himself.


ANNOUNCERS: Mauro Ranallo (PRIDE, Showtime, The Fight Channel), Konnan, and possibly Mike Tenay as "The Professor", but only as the third man on the team. If Konnan's a no-go, then Cornette (especially if he's running the creative team).


And this is a side note, but I was thinking TNA should hire Rob Conway and put him under a mask. But not a mute masked monster. Something along the lines of old school "Masked Superstar", "Mr. Wrestling II", or "The Destroyer", where they were intelligent guys that wore suits, talked, and won titles, but used the mask as a psychological advantage over their opponents.

The reason I consider Conway for the role is because his look and ability aren't holding him back at this point...it's basically the fact that he's...well, Rob Conway, and his credibility is destroyed. Bring him in under a mask, treat him like an upper card talent, and then you can eventually unmask him after a couple years...and his cred would be re-built. Knowing TNA, they'd rush this angle in two months, making all sides look bad. Brent Albright would be somebody I'd consider for this role if you didn't want Conway. But the Masked Superstar would be an immediate device for creating tons of fresh upper midcard/main event feuds with Joe, Christian, A.J., Rhino, Harris, Storm, and eventually Angle.


Oh, and every once in a while, tape IMPACT at Universal Studios but OUTSIDE at night. During the summer, so you can get the walk-up crowds from the park who are more willing to stand around outside than wait hours in line to sit in the Impact Zone for three hours. Having 4,000 people watching outside looks cooler on TV than 600 people in a studio, and would switch it up a bit.

[Lenny: Smooth like Keith Stone]

aaaaaaaaa said:

Sorry this is long, but TNA needs a ton of help.

FIRE: VKM, Lance Hoyt, Test, Johnny Devine, Dustin Rhodes, Traci Brooks. If WWE signs them and makes any money off of it, more power to them.


PUSH (to the Moon): Kazarian, Senshi, MCMG, LAX, James Storm, Tomko, Matt Morgan...all marketable guys that deserve to be identified as TNA's new breed of superstars along with AJ, Joe, Daniels. All of the above guys have charisma that clicks with the type of fans TNA's trying to win/keep, and are the opposite of the kind of Eric Young/Shark Boy stuff that makes TNA look embarrassing to the average TV viewer, especially SpikeTV's demographic.


OFFER RELEASES (or Move Backstage): Raven, Mike Tenay, Don West. Offer Petey Williams an amicable conditional release, with hopes of him landing in ROH for a stint, and have him come back fresh. Maybe see if Gabe would be down for a talent exchange, Petey for an ROH guy that's gotten a little stale...with the idea that they'd both return fresh to their original promotion after 9-12 months of solid work. If you keep Tenay and West to work backstage, I have no problem with them introducing the night's card or doing control center segments, but their match announcing undermines a hip, fresh TV and PPV product in 2007.


HIRE: Brock Lesnar, Giant Bernard, Larry Sweeney (as a manager/mouthpiece for Bobby Roode), Konnan (as an English-speaking tweener announcer), and Scott Hall. But, only hire Hall as a backstage agent/member of the creative team...if he's sober, it's something he's expressed interest in, and I think he'd be money. Hall's got a great mind for the business, and a track record of successful, money-drawing ideas. Plus, he lives in Orlando, claims he's saved his money (somehow), so you could get him for cheap. And, let Hall show up on TV every once in a while to give someone a stamp of approval like Nash has done for MCMG, Lethal, and Dutt...because he's Hall and he'll always be cool and over, even as a fat old man. Never let him wrestle.


CREATIVE TEAM: Jim Cornette (head), Scott D'Amore, Mike Tenay, Scott Hall, Raven and/or Konnan. Or, throw the kind of money at Paul Heyman that they're willing to throw at ex-WWE guys, and have him book the show by himself.


ANNOUNCERS: Mauro Ranallo (PRIDE, Showtime, The Fight Channel), Konnan, and possibly Mike Tenay as "The Professor", but only as the third man on the team. If Konnan's a no-go, then Cornette (especially if he's running the creative team).


And this is a side note, but I was thinking TNA should hire Rob Conway and put him under a mask. But not a mute masked monster. Something along the lines of old school "Masked Superstar", "Mr. Wrestling II", or "The Destroyer", where they were intelligent guys that wore suits, talked, and won titles, but used the mask as a psychological advantage over their opponents.

The reason I consider Conway for the role is because his look and ability aren't holding him back at this point...it's basically the fact that he's...well, Rob Conway, and his credibility is destroyed. Bring him in under a mask, treat him like an upper card talent, and then you can eventually unmask him after a couple years...and his cred would be re-built. Knowing TNA, they'd rush this angle in two months, making all sides look bad. Brent Albright would be somebody I'd consider for this role if you didn't want Conway. But the Masked Superstar would be an immediate device for creating tons of fresh upper midcard/main event feuds with Joe, Christian, A.J., Rhino, Harris, Storm, and eventually Angle.


Oh, and every once in a while, tape IMPACT at Universal Studios but OUTSIDE at night. During the summer, so you can get the walk-up crowds from the park who are more willing to stand around outside than wait hours in line to sit in the Impact Zone for three hours. Having 4,000 people watching outside looks cooler on TV than 600 people in a studio, and would switch it up a bit.

Great ideas, all of them! The only one I slightly disagree with is that i think Petey Williams should be up front in getting pushed by TNA. I know that he is average in some ways, but his finishing move is basically a license to print money. I have shown tapes to several of my friends of some TNA stuff from a few years ago, and there is not one person who saw the Canadian Destroyer who didn't say "Holy S***, rewind that! I wanna see that one again."

But everything else is right on. Especially making Larry Sweeney a manager.

[maxx420]

hollywood said:

I don't entirely agree with TNA's hard-on for anyone that once set foot in Titan Towers. I think they'd do better to establish themselves with new faces and develop their own identity as a promotion that's truly different from the WWE--so that, even if they feature similar booking styles, they'd actually have different people. Focusing all their attention on guys like Kurt Angle, Christian, Andrew Martin, Black Reign, Scott Steiner, and others doesn't do much to refute ESPN's belief that they're just a "4th brand" of WWE.

But, ratings are still solid, so that strategy is succeeding just fine for them. I just think they could accomplish the same success in a different way. But they ARE still succeeding well enough. Well enough that they don't need to be "saved" just yet.

It'd be different if they just hired the best of those that left or were released by WWE (Angle, Cage, Tomko & Steiner have proven to be assets in TNA), but bringing in the likes of Andrew Martin is not helpful. I fail to see how a man who hasn't shown motivation in about 6 years is going to help TNA's ratings.

Trick is, showcasing these takents in a different way (Angle's new character is a hoot, but please change the theme music back ). Scott Steiner as the crazy maniac bad-ass face is an excellent example. He was hardly at his best in WWE; but in TNA, he seems to be cutting loose. I wouldn't have predicted that Big Poppa Pump would be as popular with most of the internet crowd as he has been recently a year ago.

[Michael Coello]

I don't get where people go "TNA thinks Test=Ratings".

Test wasn't hired like Cage or Angle or Sting. He was hired to be a bodyguard for an angle and that's it. Hell, he wasn't even at the tapings for the 2 shows, and was either not invited or got kicked out or something.

[maxx420]

sinister1 said:

I don't get where people go "TNA thinks Test=Ratings".

Test wasn't hired like Cage or Angle or Sting. He was hired to be a bodyguard for an angle and that's it. Hell, he wasn't even at the tapings for the 2 shows, and was either not invited or got kicked out or something.

Well, TNA wants higher ratings. True?
The signing of a new "name" star to the roster usually indicates a grab for higher ratings. (Angle, Cage, Steiner)
Those stars create some level of excitement; Test (for me, personally) doesn't.

[Hiroshi Hase]

I saw this on another site:

- Mike Johnson reports that TNA will most likely hold one of their 2008 PPV events in New York City.

I wonder where they'd do a show in NYC, perhaps the Manhattan Center? I'd go provided things have changed in TNA before then.

[Michael Coello]

maxx420 said:

sinister1 said:

I don't get where people go "TNA thinks Test=Ratings".

Test wasn't hired like Cage or Angle or Sting. He was hired to be a bodyguard for an angle and that's it. Hell, he wasn't even at the tapings for the 2 shows, and was either not invited or got kicked out or something.

Well, TNA wants higher ratings. True?
The signing of a new "name" star to the roster usually indicates a grab for higher ratings. (Angle, Cage, Steiner)
Those stars create some level of excitement; Test (for me, personally) doesn't.

The guy debuted on TV with basically no fanfare. He's basically the Bashams when they debuted in the same fashion. He's on the level of the Major Brothers or Santino debuting, really. If he really was there to get ratings, he'd debut like Pacman or something, with a video and some hype vids and maybe even Tenay going out and introducing him.

[metylerca]

johnnyvulture said:

I've got it! Fire!

No fire!

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

While TNA has not had decreasing ratings, the problem is it really hasnt increased....it has basically been stale meaning it is never really rising and never really falling. When you are a company and you almost average the same amount of audience now from two years ago....I think there is a problem.

[maxx420]

sinister1 said:

maxx420 said:

Well, TNA wants higher ratings. True?
The signing of a new "name" star to the roster usually indicates a grab for higher ratings. (Angle, Cage, Steiner)
Those stars create some level of excitement; Test (for me, personally) doesn't.

The guy debuted on TV with basically no fanfare. He's basically the Bashams when they debuted in the same fashion. He's on the level of the Major Brothers or Santino debuting, really. If he really was there to get ratings, he'd debut like Pacman or something, with a video and some hype vids and maybe even Tenay going out and introducing him.

Aah, good point.
And going back to your earlier comments is he even being used any more?
Did he have a Shannon Moore-type deal where he wasn't properly under contract or what? Was he just there for the one angle?

[Michael Coello]

zillawrath said:

While TNA has not had decreasing ratings, the problem is it really hasnt increased....it has basically been stale meaning it is never really rising and never really falling. When you are a company and you almost average the same amount of audience now from two years ago....I think there is a problem.

2 years ago, their ratings were about 0.3-0.4 less, so it's not really the same audience from back then.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

sinister1 said:

zillawrath said:

While TNA has not had decreasing ratings, the problem is it really hasnt increased....it has basically been stale meaning it is never really rising and never really falling. When you are a company and you almost average the same amount of audience now from two years ago....I think there is a problem.

2 years ago, their ratings were about 0.3-0.4 less, so it's not really the same audience from back then.

Okay...maybe one year ago.....I think they have had enough time to build something so Vince Russo cant tell me that they need time to build up ratings.

[Michael Coello]

maxx420 said:

sinister1 said:

The guy debuted on TV with basically no fanfare. He's basically the Bashams when they debuted in the same fashion. He's on the level of the Major Brothers or Santino debuting, really. If he really was there to get ratings, he'd debut like Pacman or something, with a video and some hype vids and maybe even Tenay going out and introducing him.

Aah, good point.
And going back to your earlier comments is he even being used any more?
Did he have a Shannon Moore-type deal where he wasn't properly under contract or what? Was he just there for the one angle?

Well, he wasn't at the tapings, and no real mention of him this week, expect possibly the PPV recap vid, which I missed. Not sure about his contract, though. He's there on the roster page, but so were the Bashams and they didn't have a contract with TNA apparently. Only way to know is if he shows up in 2 weeks or so at the next tapings.

Not sure how, though. Nothing really for him now, with the Sting/Abyss/Cage thing done.

[mysterydriver]

I KNOW HOW TO SAVE TNA....BY SWITCHING TO GEICO!!

[hollywood]

mysterydriver said:

I KNOW HOW TO SAVE TNA....BY SWITCHING TO GEICO!!

Hey, if nothing else, at least they'll save 15% on their car insurance, right?

*crickets

[mysterydriver]

hollywood said:

mysterydriver said:

I KNOW HOW TO SAVE TNA....BY SWITCHING TO GEICO!!

Hey, if nothing else, at least they'll save 15% on their car insurance, right?

*crickets

*TNA Signs crickets to five month deal*

*James Storm expected to feud with crickets*