TNA News & Notes from the 9/20 Observer

[Enigma 0]

As TNA starts its newest phase, the question becomes, what will make people shell out money to see the product, and how can they get new stars over?

 

There are a few things the past two years of TNA have taught us. First is the number of hardcore wrestling fans who want alternatives has declined far more than WWE TV numbers would indicate. The TNA concept was built on the idea of millions of disenfranchised WCW fans who didn't like WWE but did like wrestling. If even a small percentage bought weekly PPVs as their wrestling fix, they'd all be rich. With many fans vocally complaining about WWE, there was an attempt to provide an alternative. It took many different forms, from trying the Vince Russo formula of wacky surprises where wrestling was a backdrop, to the Jerry Jarrett formula of Tennessee logic and cornball, to periods of serious wrestling, to pushing smaller guys, and of course, always pushing Jeff Jarrett.

 

The idea of PPV with no TV back-up quickly changed, and Xplosion was soon born. The company stayed alive, very similar to ECW, on the carrot being dangled theory. The theory is to keep going while a carrot is dangled, to the performers, the fans and quite frankly, the people in charge. The first was television, and it took two years to get a real national outlet, buying their way on an awful time slot. The numbers started out very good considering the time slot and the station, but the bad news is they haven't maintained. The worse news is the TV hasn't appeared to make new fans willing to buy the PPV. Certainly, for reasons discussed, going monthly will cut down on losses and increase whatever slim chance there is to be successful.

 

But the company, in the next steps being discussed, would have to be spending more money. The latest negotiations are to attempt to buy what would likely be more expensive time slots, an 11 p.m. Saturday night slot for Impact, and a Sunday morning slot for Xplosion, both on Fox Sports Net. FSN has been given the impression they are willing to spend enough to increase the exposure at this point to where they can get nearly any time slot they would want. The problem is, because of the nature of the network, what would figure to be the best time slots would face pre-emptions, so it needs to air at a time when there are no major sporting events taking place. If the Friday shows had maintained the positive but small buzz they had at the start, I'd be more optimistic when it comes to spending more money for better time slots. Whether this goes through is anyone's guess. The TV shows (as opposed to the PPVs) are rarely insulting or a turnoff, but they aren't turning anyone on either. They usually fill a great deal of time with wrestling, and up and down, it's mostly young guys working hard. But after four months, nobody has gotten over. This isn't even like a messed up WCW in the early 90s when they didn't draw any fans and lost lots of money, but most wrestling fans still considered Sting, Lex Luger, and the Steiners as superstars, and they got competitive ratings and were viewed by millions weekly. Even though ECW never got mainstream, they still at times made Rob Van Dam, The Sandman, Sabu, and many other characters into people that their own audience cared about greatly and thought were better than the stars in the big companies. Today, still, almost nobody knows A. J. Styles, and that's with a much better financed company and a much better produced television there to get him over. They are doing a more wide-open in-ring style as WWE has toned things down. The difference is, ECW had a minor league feel to the casual fan, but they managed to really connect with a small audience. TNA hasn’t been able to.

 

What has been really strange is the company's cancellation of its first Tuesday night taping in Orlando on 9/14. With the hurricanes, which threatened the previous two shows, the fact it was canceled isn't strange, but how it was handled was. It was talked about on 9/9 as a probability they wouldn't run this week, and decided probably the next day. However, until 9/13, the day before the show, not only had TNA not announced it in Orlando, but announced it on either the company web site or Bob Ryder’s 1wrestling.com site. Many in the company didn't know for sure as late as 9/13. Some who tried to contact the company for info didn't have their calls or e-mails returned for days. Others were given very hazy information. Others were told over the weekend that there was no show. The decision was finally made on 9/13 to have the announcers do voiceovers of matches in studio for both Xplosion and Impact on 9/17 and 9/18.

 

The company's biggest problem is the current marketplace. While the booking and matches could be better, even if they were, I'm not convinced they would be significantly more successful right now than they are. Part of it is probably the period we all lived through with shows produced weekly with a several hundred thousand dollar budget and huge star power by companies taking in hundreds of millions per year. Anything short of raiding WWE, or signing the big free agents like Steve Austin, Bill Goldberg, Mick Foley, or Hulk Hogan, would require huge expenditures and totally change the dynamics of the company. There's no guarantee it would work, and none of those four would likely do it under any viable numbers. Hogan once turned down several hundred thousand for one Japan appearance (Wrestle1) because he recognized the company had no clue, the show would bomb, and he didn't want to be associated, even in Japan, with a bomb. Hogan never went back to New Japan, and that was for six figures per show. Austin hates the Jarretts. Goldberg thinks it's beneath him, and Foley probably wouldn't want to do what WWE would consider as crossing them.

 

When ECW established its cult following, Raw was one hour and closer to what Impact is today, except with bigger stars. TV was still squash matches designed to build arena matches. Heyman, showing his biggest matches on TV and offering things nobody had seen opened things up. The negative was the big companies started copying him, and taking his stars. Once the ECW fans saw ECW as the highest ranking minor league stepping stone to the big leagues, its popularity faded. TNA is producing the style of television to pre-Nitro fans that saw Nitro.

 

But just as we are suffering from people remembering a hot product that overshadows today's product, in a similar vein, WWE with all its millions of viewers and major league status hasn't been able to create new stars, because nobody has been able to reach the charismatic level of the stars who are no longer in the company. You can imagine how hard it is for TNA, even though they have a crew of guys who they've pushed for years, some of whom have usually delivered good matches.

 

Of course, it's easy to pick at what's wrong, and much harder to make it right. The idea since the first concept of PPV without television proved a failure was to stay alive until the company got national TV, and now, a viable time slot. The business is very different from the past and Panda Energy is far better financially than any of the old-time promoters who needed to draw to survive. This company has lost millions, but to Panda, they are looking at the potential of things like licensing, merchandising, PPV, and advertising if this thing can get the right TV and draw an audience. These are businesspeople, and while this may be a more fun entertainment thing to fund than buying real estate, there is a finite time before Panda loses patience. Ultimately, without real TV ratings, harder to get now than any time in history, none of the other avenues will open up to the degree necessary. The current system didn't fail when it came to ratings, given the slot, but the fact they weren't able to get people over and get PPV numbers up makes me less optimistic about the next carrot. Yes, the decision to make the current changes was not just the right decision, but the only decision. But that doesn't guarantee they will work.

 

Bringing in Kevin Nash and Scott Hall is a greater expense (and given the end results of negotiations in the past with those two, Randy Savage, Hulk Hogan, and Joanie Laurer that never went anywhere, even though Nash has confirmed to friends he's going in). The increase in the production budget and hiring of David Sahadi is more money out. But if these moves don't start building PPV numbers and increase ratings within a few months, the final carrot will have been eaten. For a company which, from the start, has been based on hope, this may be the time they have to show some reality.

 

Jarrett has been hinting about the term "Outsiders" in TV promos, and Nash & Hall have confirmed to friends they are coming in. I guess the big storyline will be whether Nash & Hall are with Vince Russo or Jarrett. They have to try something special to get people to buy the 11/7 PPV. They've also already reserved 12/5 for a second PPV show. There have been lots of rumors this week about Las Vegas being in the running for the first show, with the rumor being it'll be at the 7,000-seat arena at The Orleans. Jeff Jarrett, when in Las Vegas a few weeks ago, went to the building, which is one of the nicest mid-sized arenas of its type, and was said to have been blown away. The negative is that there is a Las Vegas Wizards hockey game on 11/6, which, because of the set-up time needed, would make it difficult, but Jarrett was said to want to do one of the first PPV shows from the building. There were people last week told about Las Vegas, but Don Harris was in Norfolk this past week doing a site survey on the building there for the possibility of 11/7. I expect to hear rumors of other sites as well. UPW also has a show at Buffalo Bills in Las Vegas on 10/30 that will have similar mainstream star power with Roddy Piper, DDP, Rikishi, Konnan, and Sean O'Haire. They need to eventually get into what is considered a glamour market, but finding a way to become an in-thing in that market is a lot harder than in Nashville or Orlando, because of the major league entertainment that is in Las Vegas every night. It's going to be impossible to sell tickets there, as when WWA went to Las Vegas for a PPV in February 2002, and used Randy Savage, Buff Bagwell, and Road Dogg's names (all of which ended up no-showing) with Jeff and Bret Hart as the big stars, and had a casino co-promoting the event, they only drew around 550 paid. But Las Vegas isn't that hard to paper.

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The most notable thing over the past week is David Sahadi's videos, in particular, the commercial for the 11/7 show. They are masterpieces and position the company perfectly as the hot new alternative in wrestling. We heard one report that WWE told people when they read about Sahadi negotiating with TNA, and told its employees who were friends with him that they could no longer have any social contact with him, which has put a few people in an awkward position. WWE is weak, so the idea of what Sahadi is portraying in the commercials is strong positioning, but the company's problem has been an inability to keep its base audience or get much in the way of new fans, or get the new talent over. PPV didn't go up at all (actually declined, although some of that was due to losing DirecTV and we haven't heard a thing about that turning around) after four months of television.

 

There has been some dissension of late, in particular with Konnan and Raven and others to a lesser extent, all unhappy with their positioning. Kid Kash hasn't been as vocal in recent weeks, but no doubt the frustration level with no sign of things moving upward after the initial better-than-expected ratings, is going to be getting to everyone now. Raven was at least positioned as a major title contender watching the Jarrett-Hardy match. But he hasn't been used much since he complained to Dixie Carter about the booking of Jarrett and Dutch, which is not the thing to do. Konnan and the Jarretts had a blow-out this week. You could see it was coming after Konnan's appearance on Wrestling Observer Live, as he talked about how he and B.G. James have more name recognition than almost anyone on the roster, they get a better reaction in both Nashville and Orlando than almost anyone, but don't get major storylines. The company's feeling has always been they are good for a pop, but TNA was afraid to book them in major programs because of the in-ring. Both were aware of it, and got into better shape and have performed better, at least based on the glimpses I've seen of them, and get as good a reactions from the live crowds as anyone, particularly in Orlando, where you have a lot of people coming who don't know the new guys. Konnan complained about how they get the strong reactions and both he and James had gotten into better shape and can do good promos, but haven't been moved to the top. This came after they complained and were put into the Dusty Rhodes storyline as backdrops. Konnan was on the air with frustration about getting Jeff and Mantel to listen to his complaints. He complained it had become like WWE, where they cut everyone off booking wise so nobody can rise to the top, and was mad because he felt he'd done good promos and his stuff had gotten over, but he did nothing but a late run-in on the PPV the night before, and was booked for a dark match in Orlando and just a quick run-in. With Jimmy Hart not there in Orlando to round up people from the park to come to the tapings, Konnan and James were asked to walk around the park on 9/9 to round up fans. Konnan complained about his bad hip bothering him and it started the wheels in motion with them asking why they were asked to go with Hart two weeks earlier and do the same job and nobody else is asked. Jerry Jarrett was furious at Konnan for his feeling he didn't want to do it. They sent Vince Russo to talk with Konnan, since he's good friends with him. Konnan complained to Russo, who then told Konnan he and Jeff needed to talk. 3LK was told it was because they are the few people that are recognizable as wrestlers from their prior TV, and Jimmy Hart said they and Ryan Wilson (who doesn't even wrestle on TV, but they are grooming him for a push because of his size) are the best people for him to work with the getting park goers interested in seeing a tape. Hart claims people get intrigued by Wilson because he's 6’9’’ and people gravitate toward seeing a monster, while Konnan & James are recognized by more people than almost anyone because they were pushed during the hot period of wrestling. Hart had told company people that nobody recognizes Jonny Fairplay, who he was originally using, other than older women who don't care about wrestling. As it turned out, Konnan also complained about getting no interview time and nothing but a late run-in the night before, and then being booked for a dark match with Wilson instead of on Impact. He brought up Wilson was green and might hurt someone, and then, in the match, Wilson ended up hurting James, who got a dislocated shoulder. Konnan said if they were three of the most recognizable people in the company, and that if he was a big enough star that Jarrett brought him to Las Vegas to help them on a merchandising deal, how come they don't get more of a push, noting that the advertising deal they have at the park for the taping doesn't list their name, and Konnan heard a radio commercial for Impact that listed several names (Jarrett, Styles, Fairplay, Raven, and Brown) but not he and James. He was told the Fairplay mention was Dixie Carter's insistence. He also complained about Goldylocks getting so much TV time as compared to him, and he's got a good one there. He was mad at The Naturals getting pyro for their ring entrance, but they don't. Jarrett told him not to be a mark; that The Naturals need it because they are trying to get them over, but 3LK can get over without pyro or belts. Konnan then asked Jeff why he needed pyro and a belt, and said people are conditioned to thinking the big stars get pyro now. As the talks heated up, Jerry Jarrett came in and was furious at Konnan. The Jarretts told 3LK as a group that they were in a good spot, at the level of AMW, and they could easily be in the Gilberti, David Young, and Pat Kenney level. They were also given an angle for the PPV where they wouldn't wrestle on the show, but would get lost traveling to the show and end up partying with the common people, maybe in a trailer park or something somewhere near whatever city the show is at, which didn't make them happy because they realized it had already been decided they wouldn't have a match on the three-hour show. The Jarretts noted to them they are on every TV and PPV, but Konnan complained they often are booked as faces that can't get the job done, rarely are booked to look strong and get their groups' gangster gimmick over, and much of their wrestling was in dark matches. It was also noted that at one point Killings had been asked to put a bone in his hair at one point and refused, and they wanted to bring up some outdated stereotypes with Konnan such as a Tequila bottle as a prop. Jeff told Konnan that if he didn't like it, he could go home right now, and later Jerry told Konnan that if he wasn't happy, he could leave. Konnan said he didn't want to quit. It is a buyers' market right now and TNA has no superstars who are going to make the difference single-handedly. For the talent, there are no alternatives, as WWE would be interested in very few, and given the situation there, it's doubtful anyone would fare better when it comes to a push in WWE. The only people who have any leverage in dealing with TNA are those with a bonafide regular Japanese deal. Jerry in particular was said to by mad when this happened.

 

Savio Vega and (Bushwhacker) Luke Williams were at the Orlando show to negotiate a talent exchange deal, speaking with Jerry Jarrett. It's an interesting political deal because Dutch Mantel has been sending talent to WWC, and IWA had contacted some TNA people in the past, and the wrestlers had been told they couldn't go because of Mantel's deal. Jerry told them that the deal was Mantel got a booking fee for sending talent to WWC, but TNA wasn't involved in the deal. He told them a few WWC guys were coming for a taping in September and he wasn't going to cancel it, but wanted to start the deal in October. Things were verbally agreed to, but nothing has been signed. Jerry wanted Jeff to come in as NWA champion a few times a year, and the company would send other talent to IWA, probably starting 10/14 to 10/17 when IWA has its next round of big shows. Konnan's name was also brought up, as he headlined in Puerto Rico a few years back. Jerry said they wanted two Mexican stars and two Puerto Rican stars, and said it was because Fox was looking for guys to appeal to the Latin market. Because Armando Quintero was gone on a non-wrestling assignment, Vega also did the Spanish announcing for Impact. Quintero may be gone for good, since Vega was asked and agreed to come in full-time as an announcer, and Jerry Jarrett told them he wanted to work through Victor Quinones to get Mexican talent. Vega, whose hand was wrapped up because he accidentally cut it with a knife cutting food, got a much bigger reaction in Orlando than people expected. IWA is on Sunshine Network after Xplosion, although it's totally screwed up as nothing is shown in order and it's almost impossible to follow. TNA Impact doesn't even air in Orlando.

 

From this point forward, the Orlando tapings are going to be far more difficult to get crowds. Attendance to the park on a school night is down something like 70% from the summer period.

 

There are a lot of the old ECW guys who now wish they had never signed a contract. They look at WWE, and this may be (and in some cases is) wishful thinking, but they see Heyman back in a stronger creative position (but he doesn't have anywhere near the power he had when he was running Smackdown in 2002) and Tommy Dreamer (who almost every ex-ECW wrestler in TNA likes) and Lance Storm moving up the ranks in the Talent Relations Department and think this may be their opening. When one approached a company official about a release, he was told to not even think about it, because Jeff isn't releasing people, because he's not going to let anyone under contract go to WWE.

 

Jerry Jarrett appeared on camera on Bert Prentice's TV show in Nashville briefly this weekend as they promoted their new group that runs the Fairgrounds.

 

The "Date with Fate" show did 3 thumbs up (6.0%), 32 down (64.0%) and 15 in the middle (30.0%). The responses were higher than in recent months, but still below the average level from most of the run, and that's with pushing the Jeff Jarrett vs. Jeff Hardy match as the biggest in company history. Best match was A.J. Styles vs. Kid Rash with 29 and the X Division Battle Royal with 12. Worst was Dusty Rhodes vs. Scott D'Amore with 33 and Erik Watts, Sonny Siaki, & Desire vs. Abyss, Alex Shelley, & Goldylocks with 9.

 

Jeff Jarrett-Jeff Hardy was a match everyone realized was going to be tough. Jarrett laid it out shorter than most NWA title matches (11:15), booked much of it as brawling outside the ring, as well as put a lot of the focus on Dusty Rhodes and Vince Russo outside the ring because he recognized Hardy's limitations. Jarrett won with a guitar shot while Rhodes and Russo argued outside, distracting Hardy. On TV the next day, Russo blamed Rhodes for the fact Jarrett retained the title. It would be wrong to say the match was disappointing when it was exactly what I figured it to be, but I think most expected a title change because of how hard it was pushed, and most NWA title matches in this company have been far better. The live crowd was sold out with 1,300. They sold more tickets than usual as usually the only purchased tickets are ringside, but they sold quite a few $10 bleacher seats as well. Still, based on the early lines, far more got in free than paid. The atmosphere was great as most of the crowd knew it was the last show in Nashville for the time being, and considered it as bigger than the usual show. The local paper had a story that day talking about it being the last show and that Jerry Jarrett would be opening up his own promotion in October. They did an angle during the show where Christopher Daniels was "injured" by The Naturals with chair shots to his bad shoulder. They also announced the worked James Storm injury from the week before. What had been scheduled as The Naturals vs. AMW, with the winners then defending on the same show against XXX, wound up as Naturals vs. Chris Harris of AMW and Elix Skipper of XXX. Harris & Skipper won the tag titles when Chase Stevens had a chair and Andy Douglas had powder, but Skipper beat Stevens' chair with one of his own, and Harris speared Douglas, sending the powder flying, for the pin. There was a big pop for the win, but the match wasn't good. A big mistake is that Skipper is really carried by Daniels a lot as a team. The decision was made since Daniels had the prior injury that it would be an easier sell, but they sacrificed a lot with the match, as Daniels & Harris probably would have made a far stronger team. Rhodes vs. D'Amore, with Rhodes winning with an elbow drop, was terrible. Unlike the previous week when the crowd was into seeing Rhodes as the Midnight Rider as their private joke, this went 6:40, and should have gone one-third that length of time. D'Amore was wearing what appeared to be a Terry Taylor hand-me-down robe. He couldn't carry Rhodes. Russo never turned on Rhodes even though they teased it when Rhodes hit Russo with an elbow. The post-match saw Team Canada in and Russo take off his shirt and start shoving around D'Amore. That was the funniest stuff in wrestling outside of internet posts on the subject in the last month. Styles won a 2-of-3 table match over Kash with the Styles clash off the middle rope through a table. Post-match saw Kash, Dallas, and Petey Williams do a number on Styles, with Williams laying him out with the Canadian Destroyer. The plan is to start a Williams vs. Styles X title program. Abyss finally turned on Goldylocks, giving her a backbreaker, and of course, that was a big pop. They haven't really given Abyss a new direction. The people think he's face, but that isn't Dutch Mantel's short-term plan for him. Mikey Batts & Jerrelle Clark were the surprise winners of the X division dominance match. It was a six-team Battle Royal, which came down to Clark and Frankie Kazarian. Then it turned into a regular tag, and Batts scored a surprising pin on Shane. Whatever this accomplished with an upset that the crowd got into was nullified at TV the next day when they had a rematch, which Shane & Kazarian won in squash fashion.

 

Jonny Fairplay was back at TV for a dark match, managing Titus (Ryan Wilson). He was given a new story this week. It's the same story that Dixie Carter wants him because she personally signed him, and they were going to use him against Rupert. That will probably change weekly because nobody else wants him around. Carter even insisted he be put back on the web site. Elix Skipper & Chris Harris lost a non-title match at TV to Johnny Devine & Bobby Roode of Team Canada, which probably sets up a title match on TV over the next few weeks.

 

The 9/9 show drew about 400, both because of the hurricane, and also because Hart wasn't there to round up people at the park to see the show.

 

A.J. Styles is said to be thrilled at getting away from working with Kash and going toward Williams. Styles has a certain type of high-flying match he likes to do, and most veterans don't want to do it, so he tries to get opponents who do.

[Guest Donners]

Interesting article. Probably one of the best demonstrations of how it's easy to point out problems, but solutions are far more difficult to uncover.

[Golgo 13 0]

What an ass backwards company..

 

It was also noted that at one point Killings had been asked to put a bone in his hair at one point and refused, and they wanted to bring up some outdated stereotypes with Konnan such as a Tequila bottle as a prop.

 

Nice. Maybe next they can ask Killings to talk in clicks and whistles and "ooga boogas", and have him dress like Kamala with James as his handler.

[Sideburnious 0]

Konnan has some good points in his arguments. They really should push 3LK more seeingas they are the most recognisable people in the promotion

[Guest MikeSC]

Konnan has some good points in his arguments. They really should push 3LK more seeingas they are the most recognisable people in the promotion

3LK are their most recognizable people?

 

Well, let's go ahead and pull the plug now.

-=Mike

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

Konnan and BG James are not the guys to build a federation on. The commercials on Dish don't even advertise them because they know you won't watch for them.

 

As much as we all hate Jarrett I think it's very easy to say you can even build a federation on him more than on Konnan or BG James.

[Enigma 0]

Konnan and BG James are not the guys to build a federation on. The commercials on Dish don't even advertise them because they know you won't watch for them.

 

As much as we all hate Jarrett I think it's very easy to say you can even build a federation on him more than on Konnan or BG James.

That's like trying to justify drinking piss by saying, "Well, shit tastes worse."

[Mystery Eskimo 0]

How exactly did TNA go from having the buzz of the industry with the X division and awesome Styles-Ki-Lynn matches to this?

Oh, Russo and Jarrett have power. Nevermind.

[Magus 0]

Good article. TNA once showed some promise, but they're really getting pathetic with the shitty booking and politics. It is easy to point out the problems, but if you want a solution, its as simple as this: GET A NEW WRITER. They've always been able to survive despite the financial woes, but when the shows are as terrible as they have been under JJ/Dutch, TNA is basically doomed.

 

Also, I gotta agree with Konnan. I'm not saying that he and James are mega-stars or anything, but they are at LEAST as known as Jarrett. The crowds love them and most importantly, they've improved their workrate. To me, that warrants a better push, not to put them over everyone, but at least let them look somewhat strong instead of punking them out every show.

[Michrome 0]

One of the reasons it's easy to pick out the problems is that there are so many. The trials of TNA are more infuriating than anything else in recent wrestling history. Here you get a multi million dollar money mark in Panda, willing to spend all the money it takes and wait longterm for success, and the people running the company are ruining it. Panda may really be the last of the giant money marks. TNA is on the path to blowing the best chance at giving fans a real alternative in years, and this mistake will cost us all for years. Fire Dutch Mantell, fire Vince Russo, move Jeff off the booking team, and completely shake things up. That's the only thing I can possibly think of. How many people are going to buy the 11/7 PPV to see Jeff Jarrett vs. monty Brown or Jeff Hardy?

[Guest Donners]

Good article. TNA once showed some promise, but they're really getting pathetic with the shitty booking and politics. It is easy to point out the problems, but if you want a solution, its as simple as this: GET A NEW WRITER. They've always been able to survive despite the financial woes, but when the shows are as terrible as they have been under JJ/Dutch, TNA is basically doomed.

Maybe we'll get lucky, and they'll poach a WWE writer. Then they can put Mike Tenay and Monty Brown in a homo-erotic implied rape scene and watch the dollars roll in.

[Magus 0]

Good article.  TNA once showed some promise, but they're really getting pathetic with the shitty booking and politics.  It is easy to point out the problems, but if you want a solution, its as simple as this:  GET A NEW WRITER.  They've always been able to survive despite the financial woes, but when the shows are as terrible as they have been under JJ/Dutch, TNA is basically doomed.

Maybe we'll get lucky, and they'll poach a WWE writer. Then they can put Mike Tenay and Monty Brown in a homo-erotic implied rape scene and watch the dollars roll in.

Only if we're lucky. Mike Tenay being revealed as Monty Brown's secret prison bitch sounds better than anything Jeff and Dutch could write.

[TNABaddboi 0]

How many people are going to buy the 11/7 PPV to see Jeff Jarrett vs. monty Brown or Jeff Hardy?

 

Honestly, IMHO, TNA doesn't have a single match-up that will draw the masses to Victory Road. I think the only way it will be successful is to promote the event itself as a big thing, and not necessarily the main event as the "match of the century." They have to have at least 2 matches with ***** star potential to draw the smarks in, and they need to feature guys like the Outsiders and Hardy prominently to draw the marks in. It's a tough balance, but I think if they take Jarrett vs anybody or Styles vs anybody and say this match is the single biggest reason you should order this ppv, they're doomed, as much as I love AJ.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Early last year, there wasn't much reason to not order the shows. Sure, the SEX vs. Tradition angle was a ripoff of nWo vs. WCW, but it was booked differently, with SEX being primarily younger, lesser-known talents that were unified instead of being older, over-the-hill wrestlers that made their names in a different company. The only BIG name on the active roster of SEX was BG James, really, and he was only in SEX for a month or two before leaving TNA for a little bit because his dad left.

 

And my point? SEX brought exciting television. In today's market, the viewer wants a blend of sports entertainment and great wrestling. TNA had that blend to near perfection just over a year ago. What happened?

[Michrome 0]

Well, I personally never thought TNA reached its potential, but it was good enough that I would think about ordering it some weeks, for the big matches. I ordered Raven-Styles when it happened, and despite the idiotic booking I liked that show a lot.

 

My theory on what changed everything: Sometime around Summer 03, Jarrett obviously decided the product needed a change because they were stuck at 10,000 buys and that wasn't profitable. For some reason, he decided that Dutch Mantell would be the solution, thinking that an "old style" product would attract all the WCW fans in. He also made the move for Hogan around this time. Whereas Russo's style wasn't drawing more and more buyers in, it was keeping a steady base....unlike Mantell, who strung together about 8 months of absolute, total shit. Lately it's been shitty but not quite on the shitty level it was at from September through June. In this time they dropped from 10k buys per week to 6k buys per week, but keep on plugging because Jarrett can't admit he's wrong, and thinks television is the be-all and end-all. They finally get TV, paying an extra 35k and change per week to have it, and get no increase in PPV buys or revenue. Now they move to Sunday PPVs, which is another dangling carrot, which allows them to scapegoat failure on the Wednesday slot, and avoid blaming Jeff.

[Magus 0]

Early last year, there wasn't much reason to not order the shows. Sure, the SEX vs. Tradition angle was a ripoff of nWo vs. WCW, but it was booked differently, with SEX being primarily younger, lesser-known talents that were unified instead of being older, over-the-hill wrestlers that made their names in a different company. The only BIG name on the active roster of SEX was BG James, really, and he was only in SEX for a month or two before leaving TNA for a little bit because his dad left.

 

And my point? SEX brought exciting television. In today's market, the viewer wants a blend of sports entertainment and great wrestling. TNA had that blend to near perfection just over a year ago. What happened?

As hard as it is to admit, Russo actually did a lot of good for the company. In my opinion, if the company could've kept him off TV but allowed him to continue the SEX angle, and Raven would've won the title, TNA would be doing MUCH better than they are now.

[Guest Staravenger]

SEX vs. Tradition was IMO, the best angle TNA did. The only flaw was bringing in new members for "one night only" every damn week. But overall, it made TNA entertaining.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

The biggest flaw in SEX vs. Tradition was its ending. Russo just went "oh, hey, SEX is no more" when he returned and sided with AJ Styles. If the inner-turmoil between Siaki and Gilberti escalated, we could have seen some decent stuff, with Siaki's SEX team against Glenn's SEX team, albeit both under different names (if any group names at all), and then they could all eventually go their seperate ways.

[Michrome 0]

If the inner-turmoil between Siaki and Gilberti escalated, we could have seen some decent stuff, with Siaki's SEX team against Glenn's SEX team, albeit both under different names (if any group names at all), and then they could all eventually go their seperate ways.

 

This really sounds appealing to you?

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Given the other possible ends to SEX? Yes. It's either they drop it altogether, have the faces suddenly win (which wouldn't have fit with the angles going on at the time too much), or have SEX break up from within.

 

Regardless, SEX should have been broken up by inner turmoil affecting a big match between members of SEX and uppercard members of the TNA faithful.

[Magus 0]

Russo's always been bad at finishing storylines. I personally wouldn't have gone with the inner turmoil angle, because it'd just reek of nWo vs. Wolfpac. If they could've just ended it with a Wargames match or something, it would've been cool. The NWA could officially announce that SEX was "outlawed", and the members could've kept going without being under a banner.

 

P.S. Who is she and what are my chances?

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

She is my friend Amy. We call each other "womb buddies," because we've been close friends since we were 5 (close friends for 13 years). Your chances are slim and none, just as Frigid's are (and Frigid was the first one to really hassle me into getting pictures of her).

 

And yes, Russo has always been bad at finishing off storylines. But there's no reason he couldn't have asked Raven, Jarrett, Rhodes, or anybody else on the roster to help him out with the blowoff of SEX/Tradition. If anything, they should have had a huge match between SEX and TNA over the future of the company, with TNA winning cleanly.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Balls to double posting! Rejoice in Amy's sexiness.

[Magus 0]

She is my friend Amy. We call each other "womb buddies," because we've been close friends since we were 5 (close friends for 13 years). Your chances are slim and none, just as Frigid's are (and Frigid was the first one to really hassle me into getting pictures of her).

 

And yes, Russo has always been bad at finishing off storylines. But there's no reason he couldn't have asked Raven, Jarrett, Rhodes, or anybody else on the roster to help him out with the blowoff of SEX/Tradition. If anything, they should have had a huge match between SEX and TNA over the future of the company, with TNA winning cleanly.

Yes she's very cute. Tell her some weird guy on the internet said so (don't REALLY tell her that, Laz, I have enough restraining orders as it is, thanks much).

 

Anyways, I think we can all agree with you on SEX vs. TNA. The huge blowoff match where TNA defeats SEX cleanly is simple, it makes the most sense, and the fans would appreciate it more than the constipated endings he usually came up with. Russo always used one angle to move into another without properly finishing it off. So his storylines rarely got any resolution. But still, I'd say Russo's a better writer than Dutch and he's certainly better than Jarrett.

[TheBigSwigg 0]

*Rejoices*

 

Oh yeah, um......

 

I liked the idea of SEX, but the fact that it was called SEX was a real turn off.

 

 

 

 

 

Wow, that post could seem really bad out of context

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

*Rejoices*

 

Oh yeah, um......

 

I liked the idea of SEX, but the fact that it was called SEX was a real turn off.

 

 

 

 

 

Wow, that post could seem really bad out of context

You got nothing to worry about Swiggy....your already the king of out of context....