Post by "IcePic" Rick Cobos on Jan 16, 2007 14:46:58 GMT -5
TNA DROPS THE BALL, BUT THEY CAN STILL PICK IT UP AND SCORE
by Buck Woodward @ 1:49:00 PM on 1/16/2007
For those that have been watching football lately (or who have ever watched football, period) you know exactly how dangerous it can be to "drop the ball" and fumble. Whole games can be decided as a result of someone bungling the football at a crucial moment in the game. In some cases, a player is able to recover the ball, correct his mistake and still make a play. Other times, he manages to fall on the ball, taking a loss in yardage, but relieved that he was able to prevent the other team from getting it. Then there are the disastrous moments, where that bungled ball results in a turnover, or prevents you from kicking a game winning field goal. Those "highlight reel" moments where someone else capitalizes on your mistake and becomes a hero for the other team and their fans.
Watching the TNA Final Resolution Pay-per-view on Sunday, I felt like I was watching a good team drop the ball, and left me wondering whether they would recover it or not.
One word has probably haunted TNA for most of their existence, and that word is potential. There has always been great potential for this company to grow and become a legitimate competitor to WWE. With a big tip of the hat to Dixie Carter, TNA has grown, from the days of bad afternoon timeslots to prime time on a major cable network. You can argue how much of a competitor they truly are, but as of right now, they are the only non-WWE product with a weekly nationally televised show and monthly live PPV events. In this respect, TNA has fulfilled their potential.
TNA also had the potential to put together a roster that could rival WWE's in terms of talent, if not size. They picked up wrestlers that were "too small" for WWE, or didn't have the "right look" for the company. TNA paid attention to those on the independent scene and in Ring Of Honor that were making a name for themselves. They also took in former WCW and WWE stars that they felt could help build the company (and yes, you could definitely argue about some of those names, but that isn't the point right now). Over time (and again, thanks to the financial backing of the Carters), TNA became an option for WWE talent that were tired of the road, tired of being underappreciated, or just simply tired of dealing with the politics that go along with working for the McMahons. TNA now has a very solid roster of veterans and young up-and-comers, and can easily put on a great wrestling show just by sending them out to the ring and letting them do what they do best. Once again, TNA has fulfilled the potential.
So, going back to our football analogy for a moment, TNA has everything they need to score. They have the financial backing, they have the stadium (in this case the Impact Zone), they have the fans (or at the very least, fans that hate WWE and want to support an alternative), and they have the team that can drive up the field. They have the potential to score. Maybe it won't win them the game, but it will put points on the board, and give them their opportunity to stay competitive with the other team. All they have to do is deliver on their potential, let their talent do what they do best, and they can make the other team sweat....
Then they drop the ball.
TNA Final Resolution featured TWO matches with clean finishes. Every other match featured a screwjob, interference, a heel cheating (pull the trunks, use the ropes), ... something other than a clean pin or submission. Despite what some people seem to think, a clean loss does not kill a character, and a screwjob loss doesn't always build demand for a rematch. Fans see screwjob finishes from WWE, why would they go to an "alternative" product for more of the same. Obviously, not every match is going to end cleanly, but when a fan pays $30, they should see something different than what they get on television every week. Oh, and "different" doesn't mean the same match, only longer.
TNA Final Resolution also featured a segment that bombed every bit as bad, if not worse, than the "Donald vs. Rosie" match on Raw. The Voodoo Kin Mafia spent what seemed like an eternity of PPV time essentially telling us that WWE isn't good. I hate to point out things like this, but people watching the TNA PPV ALREADY KNOW THAT! That's why they are spending $30 on the TNA PPV, to see professional wrestling from a company other than WWE. Having this segment on television is one thing, but to do it on a PPV makes no sense. It is like trying to sell tickets to a Rolling Stones concert to someone who is already sitting in the front row. You've already gotten their money, now go play 'Satisfaction' and make them glad they spent it on you. Throwing in some bad acting by Christy Hemme certainly didn't help matters. If anything, it just reminded the audience why they don't like WWE. They want wrestling, not endless talking, and the fans on Sunday let TNA know it with the same chant they serenaded the other VKM with on Raw, "WE WANT WRESTLING".
I could start picking apart the PPV for all the things that I didn't like. I could point out the lack of logic in Team 3D just staring at Brother Runt while he cost them their tag title shot. I could make a case for the way the X-Division Title seems to change hands on a whim these days, undoing all the work that Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels and AJ Styles put into making it an important part of the company. There's the Abyss NWA Title reign, which started with a DQ win and ended with a convoluted three-way match. Gail Kim stops James Storm from using his beer bottle, then completely turns her back to him. However, to start nitpicking would just dilute the point of my analogy-filled column. TNA dropped the ball this Sunday. They have everything they need to score, and instead they bungled it. The product they presented was not worthy of the dollar value, and did not come across as an alternative to WWE.
The ball is on the ground. WWE has a PPV in two weeks with a main event in the Royal Rumble match that is rarely a "miss" in the entertainment department, if nothing else. It also marks the start of their build towards Wrestlemania, which (in theory) should produce their best storylines of the year. Wrestling Society X debuts two weeks from tonight on MTV, becoming the third wrestling company in North America with major cable penetration. They would love to become the "new alternative" and become an underground sensation with mainstream appeal. Everyone is looking to pick up the ball and run with it.
TNA can still fall on the ball and save their drive downfield. They can still pick it up and score. They have the tools and the talent to do so. They can throw some logic into their booking and stop coming off like a junior version of WWE. They can get back to the great WRESTLING PPV events that helped make 2006 one of their best years ever. They have the potential to be that competitor that makes WWE sweat.
They just have to pick up the ball.
You can write me at BuckWrestling@aol.com.
by Buck Woodward @ 1:49:00 PM on 1/16/2007
For those that have been watching football lately (or who have ever watched football, period) you know exactly how dangerous it can be to "drop the ball" and fumble. Whole games can be decided as a result of someone bungling the football at a crucial moment in the game. In some cases, a player is able to recover the ball, correct his mistake and still make a play. Other times, he manages to fall on the ball, taking a loss in yardage, but relieved that he was able to prevent the other team from getting it. Then there are the disastrous moments, where that bungled ball results in a turnover, or prevents you from kicking a game winning field goal. Those "highlight reel" moments where someone else capitalizes on your mistake and becomes a hero for the other team and their fans.
Watching the TNA Final Resolution Pay-per-view on Sunday, I felt like I was watching a good team drop the ball, and left me wondering whether they would recover it or not.
One word has probably haunted TNA for most of their existence, and that word is potential. There has always been great potential for this company to grow and become a legitimate competitor to WWE. With a big tip of the hat to Dixie Carter, TNA has grown, from the days of bad afternoon timeslots to prime time on a major cable network. You can argue how much of a competitor they truly are, but as of right now, they are the only non-WWE product with a weekly nationally televised show and monthly live PPV events. In this respect, TNA has fulfilled their potential.
TNA also had the potential to put together a roster that could rival WWE's in terms of talent, if not size. They picked up wrestlers that were "too small" for WWE, or didn't have the "right look" for the company. TNA paid attention to those on the independent scene and in Ring Of Honor that were making a name for themselves. They also took in former WCW and WWE stars that they felt could help build the company (and yes, you could definitely argue about some of those names, but that isn't the point right now). Over time (and again, thanks to the financial backing of the Carters), TNA became an option for WWE talent that were tired of the road, tired of being underappreciated, or just simply tired of dealing with the politics that go along with working for the McMahons. TNA now has a very solid roster of veterans and young up-and-comers, and can easily put on a great wrestling show just by sending them out to the ring and letting them do what they do best. Once again, TNA has fulfilled the potential.
So, going back to our football analogy for a moment, TNA has everything they need to score. They have the financial backing, they have the stadium (in this case the Impact Zone), they have the fans (or at the very least, fans that hate WWE and want to support an alternative), and they have the team that can drive up the field. They have the potential to score. Maybe it won't win them the game, but it will put points on the board, and give them their opportunity to stay competitive with the other team. All they have to do is deliver on their potential, let their talent do what they do best, and they can make the other team sweat....
Then they drop the ball.
TNA Final Resolution featured TWO matches with clean finishes. Every other match featured a screwjob, interference, a heel cheating (pull the trunks, use the ropes), ... something other than a clean pin or submission. Despite what some people seem to think, a clean loss does not kill a character, and a screwjob loss doesn't always build demand for a rematch. Fans see screwjob finishes from WWE, why would they go to an "alternative" product for more of the same. Obviously, not every match is going to end cleanly, but when a fan pays $30, they should see something different than what they get on television every week. Oh, and "different" doesn't mean the same match, only longer.
TNA Final Resolution also featured a segment that bombed every bit as bad, if not worse, than the "Donald vs. Rosie" match on Raw. The Voodoo Kin Mafia spent what seemed like an eternity of PPV time essentially telling us that WWE isn't good. I hate to point out things like this, but people watching the TNA PPV ALREADY KNOW THAT! That's why they are spending $30 on the TNA PPV, to see professional wrestling from a company other than WWE. Having this segment on television is one thing, but to do it on a PPV makes no sense. It is like trying to sell tickets to a Rolling Stones concert to someone who is already sitting in the front row. You've already gotten their money, now go play 'Satisfaction' and make them glad they spent it on you. Throwing in some bad acting by Christy Hemme certainly didn't help matters. If anything, it just reminded the audience why they don't like WWE. They want wrestling, not endless talking, and the fans on Sunday let TNA know it with the same chant they serenaded the other VKM with on Raw, "WE WANT WRESTLING".
I could start picking apart the PPV for all the things that I didn't like. I could point out the lack of logic in Team 3D just staring at Brother Runt while he cost them their tag title shot. I could make a case for the way the X-Division Title seems to change hands on a whim these days, undoing all the work that Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels and AJ Styles put into making it an important part of the company. There's the Abyss NWA Title reign, which started with a DQ win and ended with a convoluted three-way match. Gail Kim stops James Storm from using his beer bottle, then completely turns her back to him. However, to start nitpicking would just dilute the point of my analogy-filled column. TNA dropped the ball this Sunday. They have everything they need to score, and instead they bungled it. The product they presented was not worthy of the dollar value, and did not come across as an alternative to WWE.
The ball is on the ground. WWE has a PPV in two weeks with a main event in the Royal Rumble match that is rarely a "miss" in the entertainment department, if nothing else. It also marks the start of their build towards Wrestlemania, which (in theory) should produce their best storylines of the year. Wrestling Society X debuts two weeks from tonight on MTV, becoming the third wrestling company in North America with major cable penetration. They would love to become the "new alternative" and become an underground sensation with mainstream appeal. Everyone is looking to pick up the ball and run with it.
TNA can still fall on the ball and save their drive downfield. They can still pick it up and score. They have the tools and the talent to do so. They can throw some logic into their booking and stop coming off like a junior version of WWE. They can get back to the great WRESTLING PPV events that helped make 2006 one of their best years ever. They have the potential to be that competitor that makes WWE sweat.
They just have to pick up the ball.
You can write me at BuckWrestling@aol.com.