Will wrestling be better off if TNA fold?

[The Dark Order Inferno]

So we're back to where we were pre Hogan, with people clamoring to see TNA close it's doors once more. I have to ask, does anyone really think wrestling will be better were TNA to shut their doors and if so, why?

While I am less than happy with TNA right now, I don't think that it's beyond redemption, but I do think that the wrestling landscape will get a heck of a lot worse were they to shut their doors because, as big as the WWE are, there will only ever be so many slots on the roster and very few second chances should a worker be released so there'll be even less chances for guys to make money in wrestling. People can claim TNA pay people in buttons all they want, but somehow they manage to keep Roode/Storm/Aries/Joe and others happy, it's primarily the lower card and knockouts who get royally shafted. Even with a TV channel, most of the airtime will be filled by old shows, PPV's, WWE films, legends discussion shows and cheap syndicated programming, you'll see X-files reruns on the WWE network before that long rumoured X-Division style show, along with Raw/Smackdown recap shows and NXT, they won't suddenly decide to fill time with new and exciting original programming and hire a bunch of extra guys for it, that they'll keep on for the long term, it's just not how they work... And should the WWE network become a money pit (Like I believe it will, ask Oprah and Hasbro how their networks are going), you can kiss goodbye to a lot of the roster and developmental as we saw when the WBF and XFL tanked, and there'll be few places for most of them to go.

Another indy isn't going to spring up to take TNA's place, Spike aren't going to turn around and offer the Thursday slot to Championship Wrestling from Hollywood or PWG, they're going to move Bellator and give them more airtime as they're heavily invested in that project, and RoH aren't going to get any bigger than they are because they're owned by Sinclair, they can't get a better TV deal. I know VoD is becoming a big deal, but I just can't see a wrestling company growing to the size of TNA based on the exposure gained from subscribers to those services alone, not with all the direct competition for eyeballs. It'll be an uphill battle for them to establish a brand in that environment, especially considering that I can't see anyone wealthy investing in wrestling to give them a leg up with money to spend on adverts and big name talent, as no-one else who has invested in a wrestling company has seen any return. We'll end up back where we were in the early 2000s with a stagnating giant and a lot of small companies fighting over scraps only with less likelihood of any sort of recovery.

[kidglov3s]

We need a better TNA, not no TNA.

[SOR]

If TNA folds it's bad for everyone

- Less places for the talent to go and less places for the fans to see the talent. Most of the TNA guys like Aries, Roode, AJ etc are going to the indies permanently if TNA dies. I could only see them picking up Jeff Hardy, Kurt Angle, Magnus and Sting from TNA. Maybe a couple of others but yeah, it's bad.

- People who dislike WWE would leave mainstream wrestling. I'm not a fan of WWE and I'd stick to my old WCW and WWF shows if TNA folded. If enough people do this it's bad for everyone

- It's bad for the wrestling business in general because it drives hom the fact nobody can even be in the same league as WWE. At least TNA can be mentioned in the same breath as WWE and has tried to compete. Nobody else could.

[Deleted]

No, that would be very bad. I have the feeling that if TNA were to fold it would be a long time before another network would take a chance on a wrestling show that wasn't the WWE. WWE needs another promotion chomping at their heels or else they get complacent and put on even worse shows than they've been putting on lately. Not to mention what it would do for the talent outside of the 6-8 guys that the E would take in. TNA has a lot of problems but I hope that they can get it sorted out to be profitable, because while the WWE is the top promotion for the foreseeable future the more successful that TNA is the better the wrestling landscape is for everyone.

[crowwreak was WRONG]

No, if TNA folds, then WWE loses all chance of ever having competition again, which means they will put out crap on the same level as 2001 - 2006

[Magic knows Black Lives Matter]

See, that's the thing. I keep hearing people saying that if TNA goes under, WWE will never have competition again. Not to be a dick but...in what way, shape, or form is TNA competition for WWE right now? WWE does not take TNA seriously at all. WWE will NEVER have competition again. There will be alternatives sure but true, honest to god competition? Not gonna happen. As far as the world is concerned, WWE is wrestling. The only way that will change is if WWE dies and even then, it's much more likely that the wrestling business as a whole will go under than a company will replace WWE.

All of that said, do I think wrestling, as a whole, would better if TNA went under? No because a lot of guys would lose their jobs and that's never good.

[Push R Truth]

It all depends if there is another contender to rise from the ashes.

[Kevin Hamilton]

Oct 22, 2013 11:20:27 GMT -5 Magic knows Black Lives Matter said:

See, that's the thing. I keep hearing people saying that if TNA goes under, WWE will never have competition again. Not to be a dick but...in what way, shape, or form is TNA competition for WWE right now? WWE does not take TNA seriously at all. WWE will NEVER have competition again. There will be alternatives sure but true, honest to god competition? Not gonna happen. As far as the world is concerned, WWE is wrestling. The only way that will change is if WWE dies and even then, it's much more likely that the wrestling business as a whole will go under than a company will replace WWE.

All of that said, do I think wrestling, as a whole, would better if TNA went under? No because a lot of guys would lose their jobs and that's never good.

Agreed. I'll go one further and say you'll never see another boom period ever again. The way people can get entertainment has changed way too much, technology and social media at the forefront of that; so niche entertainment like wrestling has pretty well plateaued.

[Hit Girl]

No

What wrestling needs is a TNA and other indies that are run well.

Unfortunately that can't happen with people like Dixie Carter running things.

[Lancers]

Oct 22, 2013 11:31:47 GMT -5 Kevin Hamilton said:

Oct 22, 2013 11:20:27 GMT -5 Magic knows Black Lives Matter said:

See, that's the thing. I keep hearing people saying that if TNA goes under, WWE will never have competition again. Not to be a dick but...in what way, shape, or form is TNA competition for WWE right now? WWE does not take TNA seriously at all. WWE will NEVER have competition again. There will be alternatives sure but true, honest to god competition? Not gonna happen. As far as the world is concerned, WWE is wrestling. The only way that will change is if WWE dies and even then, it's much more likely that the wrestling business as a whole will go under than a company will replace WWE.

All of that said, do I think wrestling, as a whole, would better if TNA went under? No because a lot of guys would lose their jobs and that's never good.

Agreed. I'll go one further and say you'll never see another boom period ever again. The way people can get entertainment has changed way too much, technology and social media at the forefront of that; so niche entertainment like wrestling has pretty well plateaued.

Agreed. When (not if) TNA folds, there may never be another attempt for a mainstream wrestling promotion in America.

[mrbananagrabber]

Unless you're Vince, I really don't understand anyone wanting TNA to actually fold.

[________ has left the building]

Oct 22, 2013 11:47:37 GMT -5 mrbananagrabber said:

Unless you're Vince, I really don't understand anyone wanting TNA to actually fold.

If WWE wanted TNA to go out business, they would had already done it years ago.

[SOR]

Oct 22, 2013 11:20:27 GMT -5 Magic knows Black Lives Matter said:

See, that's the thing. I keep hearing people saying that if TNA goes under, WWE will never have competition again. Not to be a dick but...in what way, shape, or form is TNA competition for WWE right now? WWE does not take TNA seriously at all. WWE will NEVER have competition again. There will be alternatives sure but true, honest to god competition? Not gonna happen. As far as the world is concerned, WWE is wrestling. The only way that will change is if WWE dies and even then, it's much more likely that the wrestling business as a whole will go under than a company will replace WWE.

All of that said, do I think wrestling, as a whole, would better if TNA went under? No because a lot of guys would lose their jobs and that's never good.

They'd be crazy not to take TNA seriously. Sure, TNA is smaller but it's still a very big company. It's international and in future they could be a threat to WWE if they get their act together.

[StuntGranny®]

I think the death of WCW has showed us that wrestling sucks a little more with WWE being the only 'big' company around.

I don't like a lot of what TNA does, but in all honesty, I'd love for them to become absolutely huge. The level of competition we had between WCW and WWE was nothing but beneficial for wrestlers and wrestling fans.

[Deleted]

Oct 22, 2013 11:20:27 GMT -5 Magic knows Black Lives Matter said:

See, that's the thing. I keep hearing people saying that if TNA goes under, WWE will never have competition again. Not to be a dick but...in what way, shape, or form is TNA competition for WWE right now? WWE does not take TNA seriously at all. WWE will NEVER have competition again. There will be alternatives sure but true, honest to god competition? Not gonna happen. As far as the world is concerned, WWE is wrestling. The only way that will change is if WWE dies and even then, it's much more likely that the wrestling business as a whole will go under than a company will replace WWE.

All of that said, do I think wrestling, as a whole, would better if TNA went under? No because a lot of guys would lose their jobs and that's never good.

You're correct in that no one perceives TNA as competition to the WWE these days, but they are still a wrestling company with an international TV deal that gets 1M or so viewers weekly(in America), and a foothold in some international markets. If they weren't being run by complete morons they could easily be something of a threat to the WWE. Would they ever be legitimate competition i.e. WCW? Very doubtful but I do think that they could give the WWE a scare if they had any idea what they were doing. I think that a lot of fans are starting to get bored of the WWE in general and I wouldn't bet against their audience falling off some more in the not too distant future. I feel as if wrestling is slowly but surely dying in America.

[kingoftheindies]

unless a wrestling company has a sleezy owner like XPW did in the past, I can't actively root for any company to fold. The issue is Dixie is just way too naive in who she hires (or is a mark) and the people she gives control to for the most part are more interested in getting themselves over than the company

[Deleted]

Yep, if TNA folds then I don't think another wrestling promotion will ever get a TV deal, unless it is a different kind of wrestling show than the weekly episodic variety. Wrestling is dead. The WWE survives because of their brand. No one else will stand a chance.

[Deleted]

In some ways "yes" and in some ways "no."

Wrestling as a ... genre? ... isn't helped by a lot of what TNA does. Because they are a TV show they affect people's perception of what wrestling is (not to the level WWE does, but still). If they were gone, less people would see it and probably judge wrestling a little less harshly (with varying degrees depending on TNA's mood that quarter). While WWE may be guilty of sub-par writing at times or being far too generic and bland at other times, it is a much better "ambassador" for the sport to new viewers than TNA is.

On the whole though, no, I don't think wrestling will be better off if they folded.

[Deleted]

What wrestling needs is an alternative that presents a different product instead of trying to be WWE.


There is a market of lapsed fans who aren't interested in "sports entertainment" one bit and TNA would be better suited aiming at them and fans of indie wrestling rather than going after WWE's fanbase who aren't going to watch TNA no matter how hard they try to coax them in.


They also need to quietly drop the TNA name all together and just become Impact Wrestling and now is the perfect time for them to do this.



Hell, just give Cornette complete control (never going to happen I know lol) or have Cornette and Heyman working together (they worked together in OVW and I'd be interested in seeing what they both came up with, never going to happen either though)





And I say all this as a fan of sports entertainment

[Chairman of the Board]

No.