Tenay Interview

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Here's an interesting interview that was posted on PWInsider.com:

 

This week on Between the Ropes, TNA play-by-play announcer and professional wrestling historian, ‘The Professor’ Mike Tenay, joined Fritz and Dickerman to talk about the Hard Justice pay per view this weekend, other items related to TNA Wrestling, and other issues in the world of professional wrestling.  This version of the interview summary is being provided exclusively to PWInsider.com.  If you find this summary in this form on any other site, it has been copied and pasted without the permission of the author or anyone associated with PWInsider.com.

 

Mike was asked about the calls to have the belt taken off Jarrett and given to A.J. Styles.  The opportunity is there for A.J. to win the title at Hard Justice and A.J. is talented enough to be mentioned among Jeff Jarrett and other people who have held the NWA World Title.  With Tito Ortiz as the guest referee, “we are at least going to at least get a fair shake with a winner this Sunday, whether it be Styles or Jarrett.”

 

The thing that jumps out when you talk about A.J. Styles is the fact that he has great matches with a variety of wrestlers ranging from Petey Williams to Abyss and everyone in between.  He talked about how Chris Benoit is considered someone who can have a great match with anybody.  With A.J. maturing over the last three years, you can say the same thing about A.J.  That is the mark of a true champion.

 

Mike was asked about comments made by Dusty Rhodes about the television situation whether they should change the title with the current television situation.  It would be a situation where the clock is always running.  When you try to put on the best possible show for the viewers, there is no reason to hold things back.  If a better time slot happens, you deal with it then.  TNA is still proving itself and showing people the product.  If people look at the television program, you need to bring something special to get people hooked on your television show.  Mike feels that you need to go for the gusto and not hold anything back.

 

Mike was asked about the change in the creative process with the removal of Dusty Rhodes.  He has all the confidence in the world for the new committee and will do the best for the product for the long term interests of the company.  Mike was asked if he would want to be involved and said that he is able to give his input during the production meetings.  He has no problem giving his opinion if they ask him.

 

Mike was asked about the creative process and how it can be different dealing with one person in charge or a committee.  The ideal situation is a booker who recognizes the best talent mix from the top to the bottom of the card.  You need to have a sixth sense about things.  You need to put guys in the right places.  It is knowing who is going to get a good match out of another person, whether it be the wrestler’s styles or if there are language issues.  There are a lot of factors to make a good match and the accompanying storyline.  He has seen both styles work and both fail.  When he started with WCW, Eric Bischoff was making the final decisions and it was successful.  However, it got to the point when they had a committee.  It depends on the people on the committee.  Are they looking for the best situation for the company or looking out for themselves?  A committee needs a strong voice who can be a leader.

 

Mike was asked about the television situation and rumors that have been mentioned on the internet.  Mike said that the talk on the internet is great because it means that people are interested.  There are some options to consider at this time.  They can either stay with Fox Sports Net; get a prime time slot on a WGN; or a slot on Spike TV.  In an ideal situation, it would be a Monday night prime time with some head-to-head with the WWE.  Competition will bring out the best in both companies.  The wrestling business needs this and it would be a shot in the arm.  Mike mentioned that he went to a store and someone recognized him and he told Mike that he enjoyed the Monday Night Wars and does not watch as much without the competition.  People still consider Monday night a ‘wrestling night’.  He thinks that the ratings will go up in a few months.  It would not take a lot of A.J. Styles, America’s Most Wanted, or X Division matches for people to see TNA as a viable alternative to the WWE.

 

The WWE would be huge favorites and would probably dominate early on.  However, with good advertising and word of mouth to get people to know about the show, things could change.  Mike talked about how Nitro caught on almost immediately.  WCW had other shows to publicize Nitro.  Early in the Monday Night Wars, WCW was making inroads on the WWF.  The WWF was one of WCW’s biggest supporters with the parodies of Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and Mean Gene Okerlund.  That got people to watch WCW because that was where the people who they wanted to see.

 

Mike was asked about a situation where WGN offered a Monday night slot or a Spike TV weekend spot.  He thought it is a mistake to move the UFC show to Saturday night because of the target demographic for the UFC show is not one that will be home on Saturdays.  A weeknight is more advantageous for a captive audience.  The finale for the UFC show on Spike TV had great advertising, but it still got the same rating as the show on Monday night at 11:05 p.m.  Based on that, a Monday night show would be the better option.  He would hope that WGN would advertise the show to get people to know that the show will be on.

 

Mike agreed with the hosts about the comparisons between what WGN could do to help itself out the same way that Ted Turner did with wrestling on WTBS.  He hoped that WGN would consider TNA the same way.  There is the potential to do decent numbers and maybe WGN feels that wrestling will give them an identity.

 

He was asked about the way that UFC is growing and whether TNA would consider working with UFC.  It would be a natural for Spike TV to have an hour of UFC and an hour of TNA on Monday nights.  UFC might not be a product that works well in a 52 week live show schedule because of the training that is necessary for the fights and the roster size.  If UFC had a bigger roster or network of fighters who could have new shows 52 weeks a year, it would be better.  Without wrestling as a lead-in, it could narrow the UFC audience.  Mike was asked about why people at the networks are hesitant to put wrestling on when it looks like a natural fit.  He said that it is a proven product.

 

Mike was asked about wrestlers released from the WWE and whether they might appear in TNA.  You need to look at each individual and would not make any judgments about the wrestlers since they are still under contract.  There are some people who would make a good fit in TNA.

 

Mike commented about how the When Worlds Collide pay per view is scheduled to air on WWE 24/7.  Mike was asked about the number of boxes of wrestling tapes he has, and did not know.  However, his wife might know the exact number.  He has a variety of tapes from all over the world.  Mike was asked if he had any of the tapes from when he was portrayed as a woman hater, and he said that he probably does not have as many copies of that as of the cruiserweight matches.

 

Mike said that a change in the booking is like a coach or manager because it seems like you are hired to be fired.  He compared the situation to the Marlins firing Jeff Torborg and bringing in Jack McKeon.  You don’t know how the players will react to the management change.  Vince Russo came in and it involved Mike not being at the announce position.  Management has the choice to make and you need to be professional about it.  Mike brought up how Gary Coleman came out for a guitar shot with toilet paper under his hat.  Mike said that he always equates Gary Coleman to toilet paper in a baseball cap.

 

Mike was asked about Monty Brown’s involvement in the pay per view and his importance to the company.  Monty is important if TNA is going to take the next step.  He has a great story and background for TNA.  Mike said that Monty is good on the mic and is good in the ring.  Mike said that he thinks that Monty is involved in a tag match that will be announced on Impact this week.  Mike mentioned how this pay per view is different because there was only three weeks to build for the Hard Justice pay per view from Lockdown.  Mike talked about how the Konnan injury would set up the tag match involving Monty Brown.

 

He was asked about the use of the older guys in TNA and whether they are worth the money.  It was imperative to have them on the roster if they are going to be a prime time show.  It was necessary for the casual viewer to give them familiarity with the product.  It was necessary to have people with recognizable names.  Mike said that they are worth what they are getting paid because if you present a roster full of people who the casual fan does not know they will not watch.  They went from zero exposure on cable to Fox Sports Net.  It was necessary to have recognizable names.  The important thing for the long term success of TNA is making new stars and getting personalities over with the crowd.  You need a mix to succeed.  Once the fans get to know the younger talent, the older talent can give them the rub.

 

Mike was asked about Chris Candido and what he meant to the TNA locker room and the wrestling world.  Mike said that he knew Chris for a lot of years.  Mike said that the Chris Candido during the TNA days was Chris at his best because he was dedicated to the business.  He said that Chris was a wrestling fan who got into the business and cared about the business.  Mike told a story about how after Chris broke his leg at Lockdown,  when Chris was wheeled through the lobby of the hotel, he was signing autographs and taking pictures with the fans.  It showed how much Chris loved the business.

 

Mike commented on how the weather for TNA tapings is affected by Jimmy Hart walking around Universal Studios with the megaphone.  He talked about how Jimmy does a lot at Universal to get people to know where to go for the TNA shows.  In addition to the pay per view on Sunday, TNA will be having a television taping on Tuesday, May 17th.  The reaction is great from both the locals in Orlando and the visitors to the park.  Hundreds of people have been turned away from the pay per views.

 

Between the Ropes airs every Wednesday from 10:00 p.m. until Midnight on 740 The Team in Orlando, Florida with Brian Fritz, Dickerman, and Vito DeNucci. Check out www.betweentheropes.com to listen to the live stream of the show every week. Archives of past interviews with Paul Heyman, Terry Funk, Rob Van Dam, Tully Blanchard, Mick Foley, Ric Flair, Matt Hardy, A.J. Styles, Jerry Lawler, Bobby Heenan, Steve Corino, Shane Douglas, Elix Skipper, Harley Race, Bubba Ray Dudley, and many more people in the world of professional wrestling can also be found on www.betweentheropes.com.