A serious question about TNA

[Corkscrew_Senton 0]

What can (or should) TNA do to become a viable competitor to WWE in your eyes as wrestling fans? WCW reached its pinnacle with former WWF stars repackaged, but the climate isn't such for that to work today.

 

Basically I'm curious what fans want to see from TNA, either in terms of long-term angles, characters, direction etc., and what people think would make TNA larger nationally?

[The Decemberists 0]

They need to start being different instead of just claiming to be different and instead of trying to increase TV ratings they need to convert the viewers they have into PPV buyers.

 

UFC has proven that you no not need a packed undercard to draw big PPV sales. Not one single person bought UFC 66 for Tony DeSouza vs. Thiago Alves, for example. The 900,000 or whatever who bought the showed wanted to see the main event. That's what TNA needs to try and start doing. I'm not saying ignore the undercard completely, but not every single PPV match needs to have an angle going into it. Again, on UFC 66 Chris Leben vs. Jason MacDonald were having a fight to see who'd win and if you won that might help get a title shot down the line. That was it. I can see no reason at all why on a TNA PPV you can't have Austin Starr vs Jay Lethal having a match just to see who's better and if you win then you're closer to getting a X title shot down the line. What this enables you to do is spend much more time on getting your Main Eventers over as it those who're going to draw. They waste far too much time trying to get everyone on TV and trying to get everyone over but it's just a waste of time. Remember, UFC does not get ten times the TV ratings TNA gets. It does though get ten times the number of PPV buys TNA gets.

 

On the upcoming TNA PPV they've two 'big' matches - Angle vs Joe and the three way for the title. They have 44 minutes (more or less) TV time a week. They should've been spending at least 25/30 minutes a week for the last four weeks or however long it's been getting those fives guys over. I personally wouldn't even have who you consider to be top guys have matches of TV. When was the last time a UFC title was defended on TV? When was the last time any major star was fighting on TV for that matter (and Shamrock/Ortiz obviously doesn't really count)?

 

But just getting rid of Russo would be a decent start.

[razazteca 0]

1. Have PPVs outside of the Orlando studios

 

2. More inventive matches like the double reverse battle royale, king of the mountain, ultimate x

 

3. No more crap on a pole matches

 

4. No more DX joke skits

 

5. More Raven, More Shane Douglas, More Nash as manager/mentor roles but never ever enter the ring again as active wrestlers

[The Decemberists 0]

1. Have PPVs outside of the Orlando studios

 

That's like saying if the UFC started doing shows in Canada more people would pay to see it on PPV. It'd be nice, and TNA would certainly make a bit of extra money from the ticket says but the main source on income is PPV and why would the location of a show make any difference to someone at home wondering if they should pay $40 to see it?

 

2. More inventive matches like the double reverse battle royale, king of the mountain, ultimate x

 

You must be joking about the double reverse battle royale...

 

King of the Mountain and Ultimate X though are good (KotM just works) but KotM is best of as a once a year thing and UX has been horribly overused in the last year. As the reverse battle royale showed though it's very hard to come up with good gimmick matches which haven't been seen before. Either way, any lack of them isn't the real problem with TNA, it's like comparing a paper cut to a beheading.

 

3. No more crap on a pole matches

 

Yes. Although there's nothing wrong with pole matches in and of themselves, just they need to be done for a reason and not every other damn week. Something that can easilly be solved by eliminating Russo.

 

4. No more DX joke skits

 

Yep.

 

5. More Raven, More Shane Douglas, More Nash as manager/mentor roles but never ever enter the ring again as active wrestlers

 

More of three men who have never really drawn any money on their own for any company they've been at? Won't make any difference apart from adding more meaningless 'stuff' the midcard which they can't afford to do. And I'm a fan of all three men (I think Nash and X guys skits have been awesome) but they ain't going to turn anything around at this stage of their career.

[razazteca 0]

1. Aren't you tired of the Orlando crowd? If the company ventures outside of its home territory they can gauge how over the talent is to see if its just local bias or actual overness.

 

2. I like the battle royale the problem with it was it was not shown in its entirety but was split into 2 impact episodes. IMO it should of been the 2 hour special main event.

 

3. Crap on a pole matches are bad bad bad bad in themselves PERIOD. If they are going to have shit hang over the ring they might as well make it a ladder match so it can be incorporated as a weapon to add to the drama of the match. In COAP matches half the time the wrestlers can't climb the damn thing.

 

5. They are great interviews and might be able to get somebody over.

[The Decemberists 0]

1. Aren't you tired of the Orlando crowd? If the company ventures outside of its home territory they can gauge how over the talent is to see if its just local bias or actual overness.

 

Yeah, I am a little tired of having the same crowd every show, but that shouldn't stop me from wanting to watch a match if they promote it right. I'm not suggesting that they should stay there forever, I'm saying that they have much deeper proplems than just having the same 800 people at every show. And they are doing the occasional house show which is there chance to see just how over the guys are infront of different crowds.

 

2. I like the battle royale the problem with it was it was not shown in its entirety but was split into 2 impact episodes. IMO it should of been the 2 hour special main event.

 

I seem to remember it all being one show. They did the race to the ring then a proper battle royale and the two that were left in the ring had a three way with Christian next week. Or something. The fact I watch every show and can't remember this suggests either way they did it they didn't do it well.

 

3. Crap on a pole matches are bad bad bad bad in themselves PERIOD. If they are going to have shit hang over the ring they might as well make it a ladder match so it can be incorporated as a weapon to add to the drama of the match. In COAP matches half the time the wrestlers can't climb the damn thing.

 

Wrestlers not being able to climb the damn thing can be easily fixed by just having the item about 6 foot above the top rope. Pole matches can have their place though if say a heel always uses a certain object (say James Storm keeps hitting Eric Young with his beer bottle so keeps beating him) then you should be able to get a decent amount of interest in a match where the face may well get his chance to use that same item against the hell legaly. Unfortunatly this isn't how Russo uses the concept.

 

5. They are great interviews and might be able to get somebody over.

 

I'm not saying that they're not great interviews. As I said, I'm a fan of all three. But you're not going to have any of them manage Sting, Angle, Joe or Christian who are the people that need to be over in order for TNA to survive. And Douglas did not get the Naturals over, and Raven so far has done nothing with the three losers he's with and Nash is burying the X Divison. He's being hilarious, but he's burying it.

[Timmy8271 0]

1. Don't make the WWE one of your big storylines.

 

2. Do Something with your X division.

 

3. Hire Jack Evans and Kings Of Wrestling.

 

4. Book for 1 show, not 3 an hour.

 

5. Don't premature ejaculate with feuds (Angle vs Joe).

[razazteca 0]

I'm not saying that they're not great interviews. As I said, I'm a fan of all three. But you're not going to have any of them manage Sting, Angle, Joe or Christian who are the people that need to be over in order for TNA to survive. And Douglas did not get the Naturals over, and Raven so far has done nothing with the three losers he's with and Nash is burying the X Divison. He's being hilarious, but he's burying it.

The midcard needs to be developed otherwise the company will be stuck in the revolving door of hiring has beens to fill out the tag division and the midcard. I was a fan of the Franchised Naturals I thought it actually gave them a direction other than jobbers to AMW, Ravens current group Seratonin or whatever is the name of his favorite sleeping drug just needs a proper push, and well Nash is getting Alex Shelley and Austin Starr over too bad its at the expense of Senshi, Lethal, Sabin, and Dutt.

 

1. Don't make the WWE one of your big storylines.

Shane Douglas should be the one yelling profanities like calling Hogan an old bald fuck or Flair a senile senior citizen, etc. NOT Brad Armstorng's brother. And Team 3D wearing camouflage riding a military vehicle was slightly better than the James Gang but not by much.

[King Cucaracha 0]

I agree with the sentiment of putting the effort into the main-events. With limited TV time, you have to delegate and throwing together feuds just because it's the done thing is a waste of time. When it's called for, then sure, give the Lethals and the Eric Youngs a feud and a build to a PPV. But with them, you don't neccessarily need it. If people want to see the X guys wrestle, let them, don't feel like you have to give them a half-hearted month's feud. Even if it means going the ROH route and putting guys without major feuds in four and six ways now and then.

 

Also, trying to be a viable competitor is going to be a killer. Challenging WWE right now is a bad idea flatout. If they're going to become a competitor, it'll happen naturally, not by forcing it.

 

That and signing Nigel McGuiness.

[luke-o 0]

Didnt TNA nearly sign Nigel Mcguniess like in 2005?

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

Make the PPVs feel like PPVs and not just 3 hour editions of iMPACT. That would be a good start for me, as its really starting to bug me that the only difference they do is change the mat sheet so it has the PPVs name on it.

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

1. Bring in Heyman and give him complete control, other than Dixie.

2. Get out of Orlando

3. Get rid of the six-sided ring

4. Fire Don West and Mike Tenay

 

So you believe Chris Lytle vs Anderson Silva is the money match for the next PPV and not Rampage vs Eastman and CroCop's debut in the octagon? Some cards are sold by the main event, while others need a strong undercard(i.e. heavyweight and lightweight title fights). I really don't think you can compare MMA to pro-wrestling and draw any correlations.

[The Decemberists 0]

It's not really the right forum for it, and I at no point would claim to be an MMA expert, but no one in Amercia knows who the fuck Cro Cop is so he ain't drawing a hundred thousand buys for the UFC next month. My comparisons were based on the last UFC PPV as it's the biggest selling one they've done and that was solely for the main event. There will be people buying UFC 67 for Ramage and Cro Cop, but they're going to drop from 900,000 to 450,000 buys despite having a more solid undercard this month.

[razazteca 0]

UFC has proven that you no not need a packed undercard to draw big PPV sales.

UFC runs its PPVs with the double main event feel one of the matches will always be a title defense and the other will be the special attraction grudge match or something like 5 years in the making the rematch that nobody wanted to see but its going to get hyped on the Spike tv specials cause the winner is the next big thing.

 

With TNA there seems to be the need to give the grudge match the major super uber push and the title defense takes the backseat with the rest of the card being filled out with comedy shit that really should be dark match material like Eric Young vs Robert Roode or James Gang running around thinking they are on Comedy Central. Comedy is filler it is not a draw in pro wrestling!

[Mystery Eskimo 0]

1.Fire Russo.

Fire Russo.

Fire Russo.

 

2. Use Heyman or Cornette. They could even look to someone like Gabe Sapolsky (sp?) from ROH for a few tips on how to book simple, effective storylines.

 

3. Stop trying to bash WWE. Mention them if its historically relevant (eg "Kurt Angle is a former WWE champion, but now he all he wants is the NWA title as the pinnacle of his career!" type hyperbole) but stop bashing them. Its so, so sad and amateurish.

[The Decemberists 0]

Just offering Gabe the job wouldn't be such a terrible idea. And he'd be cheaper than Heyman.

[Corkscrew_Senton 0]

Getting rid of Russo would be huge. I like the fact he tries to give everyone something meaningful, but he's like the scatterbrained/overly-ambitious friend we all have who starts a million projects w/o completing any. Plus he's too interested in stirring up shit with WWE. Don't alienate WWE fans, many of the people you're trying woo over.

 

As for the UFC comparison, I could be wrong -- based on the people I know, they don't order UFC PPVs based on the main event. They order because it's UFC. That's how I was with WWF from 1998 to 2001.

[The Decemberists 0]

The fact UFC is the hot new thing and is currently very fashionable helps, but you don't get 900,000 just because 'it's the UFC' otherwise they'd get that every month.

 

Like I've said, TNA and UFC get pretty much the same TV ratings for their regular weekly show, but UFC convert over ten times more of those viewers into PPV buyers and that's where TNA has to learn from them.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Just book things like they did at the two hour Impact in November, and they'd be fine. That was an awesome show.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

The two-hour Impact was exactly like a one-hour Impact. They were doing too much in too short a space a time and nothing really got a chance to sink in. The Naturals big won over Team 3D, for example.

[GODSON 0]

Not that I disagree with you but UFC is a real sport people LOVE to gamble on(the reason why pro football is huge with gambling and fantasy stuff). Add that with the fact that UFC does a good job building towards shows, you will get a high number of buyrates.

[qdes 0]

I may be a bit naive for saying this but replacing Russo with Heyman who understands wrestling and fans might be the only thing that's needed. Two-hour timeslot is pretty necessary too since it's really difficult to make unmissable one-hour show. Don West, Jeremy Borash and Mike Tenay are absolutely horrible faces for a promotion. I do understand that they have all worked for TNA from the very beginning and firing them may be asking a bit much. JB is fine in Tony Chimmel role but nothing more. Mike Tenay might be a good commentator, but definitely not as a play-by-play commentator. Don Wests childish excitement is really entertaining to me but being commentator isn't a way to go with him. I'm sure there's a better role for it.

[razazteca 0]

More suggestions for the announcers:

 

1. Nearly every single move should have a name be it a technical one or a trademark one

 

2. Don West should give every trademark move the PELE! PELE! PELE! PELE! response and sell it to death

 

3. A 3 man announce team can be a good thing

[Si82 0]

How about booking simple, logical storylines with guys that the fans are into?

 

And more Shane Douglas is not a good idea. The guy is beyond washed up these days.

[tigeraid 0]

Hmm, where to begin...

 

1. Don't job LAX to the Dudleys. I know it hasn't happened already, but I have a baaaad feeling about tonight. The Dudleys and VKM need to go away, now. The tag team scene that was so awesome in TNA just 6 months ago is now in a shambles, since apparently Russo's theory is that, if a team loses against LAX, they need to break up or never be seen again. Naturals gone, AJ/Daniels gone, AMW gone. VKM is crap and the Dudleys don't need to be there.

 

2. Give the X-Division (other than Daniels/Sabin) something to do for Christ's sake. Having them be buried as a vehicle for Kevin Nash's tired old jokes is not helping. While they should NOT be doing a bunch of 6-man spotfests that last 3 minutes every night on IMPACT, I also believe they should still be in the ring doing what they do best. Low Ki ESPECIALLY. Him going LAX can't come soon enough... I still think X-Tag Titles would help this problem a fair bit. Aries and Shelley need to be in the title picture soon, as does Low Ki and possibly Homicide.

 

3. Get Bobby Roode off my screen. He's a failure and this angle is going nowhere. As an enforcer for Team Canada he was entertaining--by himself he's a joke.

 

4. Stop booking bullshit WWE-esque "he's got a secret past" storylines. Abyss finally has the belt, he's a monster, he's massively over with the fans, Abyss and Mitchell are arguably the greatest heel+manager combo in wrestling in the past 5-6 years, there's no reason for him to have a storyline of ANY kind except "he has the belt, and he's killing everyone." This BS with hinting at turning on Mitchell is a grave, grave mistake. It's being done well by all the WRESTLERS and Mitchell, but the story itself can only lead to an Abyss with no direction.

 

5. Sting I feel is being used just fine right now. I don't mind him in the main event picture, as long as he's putting over Abyss or Christian in the long run. Hopefully it'll stay that way.

 

6. Expand to 2 hours. Obviously this is up to Spike TV, but I just can't stress enough how much great talent TNA has that is being wasted because we only see them every two shows.

 

7. Have IMPACT in the IMPACT zone for now, I really don't see a problem with having a crowd that's ALWAYS into the show, as opposed to a RAW crowd, which oftentimes is dead silent. The IMPACT zone crowd knows TNA, knows what they look, and are largely dedicated. HOWEVER, each PPV should be held somewhere else in the country to help spread TNA's appeal. And the house shows they're doing now elsewhere should continue too.

 

8. Have SOMEONE tell Mike Tenay to stop being JR. I think Jim Ross is awful, I've never liked him, he's nothing but a hype machine, and now it's as if someone has whispered in Tenay's ear to stop calling matches and start hyping shit and screaming like someone's been killed every time a finishing move hits. Go back to being The Professor for the love of god, and start researching move names again. In WCW you were second only to Joey Styles for being able to call move-for-move.

 

9. Fire Don West. For god's sake, he has passion and he has commitment to TNA, and his excitement is nice and all, but he's just a disaster behind the mic. Don Callus needs to replace him immediately. He's great at being a heel announcer while STILL talking up a babyface's skill, which is what TNA needs now.

 

10. Russo appears to be high on Joe, which is a good thing. He needs to embark on a quest for the title after this match with Angle... If it has to be difficult, maybe losing to Abyss a couple of times, or feuding with Angle who gets the belt first, or whatever, that's just fine. But he is the guy who needs to carry the belt, like he did in ROH, for a very long time in the near future. He's the guy to build the company around.

 

11. Enough friggin gimmick matches. Ultimate X fine, 6 Sides of Steel, fine, even King of the Mountain now, fine. But nothing else.

 

12. Taking Jarrett out of the title picture was a very very good thing. But I can't help but expect him to come back in a few months, apparently as a babyface (he mentioned wanting to do that, hence the teary-eyed promos when he left), and just take the title and start all this crap all over again. I am FINE with Jarrett has a heel, he's competent in the ring, he cuts a good promo, but he needs to NOT have the belt. Put him in some other long-term feud that we'd find interesting. In 2007 the title should be about Joe, Angle, Abyss and Christian, and possibly Daniels.

 

13. Put Daniels in the main event. He can do it. I swear to god he can. In a Shawn Michaels-esque fashion of the-little-guy-that-perseveres. The man can cut a great promo and he's perfection in the ring. I'm loving the feud he's in right now, but after that, what next? He can be the next AJ Styles in the main event division.

 

14. Sign the Briscoes and the Kings of Wrestling for the tag division. Book it.

 

15. Do not, under any circumstances, start a women's division with what you have now. Gail Kim was starting to impress, right around the time WWE let her go... Traci is acceptable in the ring. Hemmie, Jackie and So-Cal Val are not wrestlers, and shouldn't be in the ring. If you want to start a women's division, go hire Allison Danger, Lacey, Mischif, Daizee Haze, and Cheerleader Melissa. Otherwise, forget it. TNA wants to be different than WWE? Then put real women's wrestlers in the ring, not bimbos flopping around embarassing themselves.

 

16. At some point in 2007, push Homicide to an X-Division title feud. Doesn't necessarily have to win it, but the fans really deserve to see Homicide in singles competition in the X-Division at some point.

 

17. Never have Nash get in the ring again, ever. In a managerial role, he's even questionable, since it seems like his entire goal is to put himself over.

 

 

Whew, pretty negative post... So I'm also going to throw in that right now, TNA is about 60/40 entertaining/awful, which is a hell of a lot better than the 0/100 ratio WWE has. Joe/Angle, Daniels/Sabin/Lynn, LAX, AMW (even their breakup has possibilities,) Abyss/Sting/Christian and EVENTUALLY the Aries/Shelley feud, are all highly entertaining. And most importantly, they're the angles that are getting the limelight. At least when TNA books pure crap, they tend to book it in the lower card.

 

And fwiw, I'm a suppporter of the "they did this too early" Angle/Joe feud. Not everything in wrestling has to be a slow-simmering feud like Batista/HHH. This feud did not need a storyline, this feud did not need history. Angle = "Best wrestler in the world" (arguable) and comes to TNA, wants "the Best Wrestler in TNA" (Joe, clearly) and calls him out. They have a series of matches that result in (god I hope) both guys coming out looking like a million bucks. Angle's established in TNA as a contender, Joe's established as the current "big thing" in wrestling who can stand toe to toe with a future hall-of-famer. I see nothing wrong with this.

 

I should also point out that TNA's production values are FANTASTIC now. The "adrenaline rush" videos at the end of Impact are great, the hype videos for the PPV are awesome, the video promos were well edited and entertaining. TNA *knows* how to hype a PPV. They make me want to order a PPV. WWE even back when I *did* enjoy it, didn't make me want to buy PPVs.

whew.

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

I should also point out that TNA's production values are FANTASTIC now. The "adrenaline rush" videos at the end of Impact are great, the hype videos for the PPV are awesome, the video promos were well edited and entertaining. TNA *knows* how to hype a PPV. They make me want to order a PPV. WWE even back when I *did* enjoy it, didn't make me want to buy PPVs.

whew.

 

They would have super awesome with a cherry on the top production values if they'd can the canned heat they've started to use. Those pre-recorded boo's and cheers do my head in, sound so obvious and it's just a kick in the teeth to be honest.

[razazteca 0]

I prefer the James Earl Jones voice over guy hype videos over the music videos.

[The Amazing Rando 0]

Anybody seen the Dish Network Final Resolution ads, all about Samoa Joe, ending with the deep voiced guy throwing out the line "SAMOA JOE...IS GOING TO KILL YOU..."

[theintensifier 0]

You guys have pretty much covered everything, but here's what I agree with:

 

They need to start being different instead of just claiming to be different and instead of trying to increase TV ratings they need to convert the viewers they have into PPV buyers.

 

 

1. Have PPVs outside of the Orlando studios

 

3. No more crap on a pole matches

 

4. No more DX joke skits

 

 

1. Don't make the WWE one of your big storylines.

 

2. Do Something with your X division.

 

3. Hire Jack Evans and Kings Of Wrestling.

 

4. Book for 1 show, not 3 an hour.

 

5. Don't premature ejaculate with feuds (Angle vs Joe).

 

 

Challenging WWE right now is a bad idea flatout. If they're going to become a competitor, it'll happen naturally, not by forcing it.

 

That and signing Nigel McGuiness.

 

 

1. Bring in Heyman and give him complete control, other than Dixie.

4. Fire Don West

 

 

1.Fire Russo.

 

2. Use Heyman or Cornette. They could even look to someone like Gabe Sapolsky (sp?) from ROH for a few tips on how to book simple, effective storylines.

 

3. Stop trying to bash WWE. Mention them if its historically relevant (eg "Kurt Angle is a former WWE champion, but now he all he wants is the NWA title as the pinnacle of his career!" type hyperbole) but stop bashing them. Its so, so sad and amateurish.

 

 

More suggestions for the announcers:

 

1. Nearly every single move should have a name be it a technical one or a trademark one

 

3. A 3 man announce team can be a good thing

 

 

How about booking simple, logical storylines with guys that the fans are into?

 

 

Hmm, where to begin...

 

1. Don't job LAX to the Dudleys. I know it hasn't happened already, but I have a baaaad feeling about tonight. The Dudleys and VKM need to go away, now. The tag team scene that was so awesome in TNA just 6 months ago is now in a shambles, since apparently Russo's theory is that, if a team loses against LAX, they need to break up or never be seen again. Naturals gone, AJ/Daniels gone, AMW gone. VKM is crap and the Dudleys don't need to be there.

 

2. Give the X-Division (other than Daniels/Sabin) something to do for Christ's sake. Having them be buried as a vehicle for Kevin Nash's tired old jokes is not helping. While they should NOT be doing a bunch of 6-man spotfests that last 3 minutes every night on IMPACT, I also believe they should still be in the ring doing what they do best. Low Ki ESPECIALLY. Him going LAX can't come soon enough... I still think X-Tag Titles would help this problem a fair bit. Aries and Shelley need to be in the title picture soon, as does Low Ki and possibly Homicide.

 

3. Get Bobby Roode off my screen. He's a failure and this angle is going nowhere. As an enforcer for Team Canada he was entertaining--by himself he's a joke.

 

4. Stop booking bullshit WWE-esque "he's got a secret past" storylines. Abyss finally has the belt, he's a monster, he's massively over with the fans, Abyss and Mitchell are arguably the greatest heel+manager combo in wrestling in the past 5-6 years, there's no reason for him to have a storyline of ANY kind except "he has the belt, and he's killing everyone." This BS with hinting at turning on Mitchell is a grave, grave mistake. It's being done well by all the WRESTLERS and Mitchell, but the story itself can only lead to an Abyss with no direction.

 

5. Sting I feel is being used just fine right now. I don't mind him in the main event picture, as long as he's putting over Abyss or Christian in the long run. Hopefully it'll stay that way.

 

6. Expand to 2 hours. Obviously this is up to Spike TV, but I just can't stress enough how much great talent TNA has that is being wasted because we only see them every two shows.

 

7. Have IMPACT in the IMPACT zone for now, I really don't see a problem with having a crowd that's ALWAYS into the show, as opposed to a RAW crowd, which oftentimes is dead silent. The IMPACT zone crowd knows TNA, knows what they look, and are largely dedicated. HOWEVER, each PPV should be held somewhere else in the country to help spread TNA's appeal. And the house shows they're doing now elsewhere should continue too.

 

8. Have SOMEONE tell Mike Tenay to stop being JR. I think Jim Ross is awful, I've never liked him, he's nothing but a hype machine, and now it's as if someone has whispered in Tenay's ear to stop calling matches and start hyping shit and screaming like someone's been killed every time a finishing move hits. Go back to being The Professor for the love of god, and start researching move names again. In WCW you were second only to Joey Styles for being able to call move-for-move.

 

10. Russo appears to be high on Joe, which is a good thing. He needs to embark on a quest for the title after this match with Angle... If it has to be difficult, maybe losing to Abyss a couple of times, or feuding with Angle who gets the belt first, or whatever, that's just fine. But he is the guy who needs to carry the belt, like he did in ROH, for a very long time in the near future. He's the guy to build the company around.

 

11. Enough friggin gimmick matches. Ultimate X fine, 6 Sides of Steel, fine, even King of the Mountain now, fine. But nothing else.

 

12. Taking Jarrett out of the title picture was a very very good thing. But I can't help but expect him to come back in a few months, apparently as a babyface (he mentioned wanting to do that, hence the teary-eyed promos when he left), and just take the title and start all this crap all over again. I am FINE with Jarrett has a heel, he's competent in the ring, he cuts a good promo, but he needs to NOT have the belt. Put him in some other long-term feud that we'd find interesting. In 2007 the title should be about Joe, Angle, Abyss and Christian, and possibly Daniels.

 

13. Put Daniels in the main event. He can do it. I swear to god he can. In a Shawn Michaels-esque fashion of the-little-guy-that-perseveres. The man can cut a great promo and he's perfection in the ring. I'm loving the feud he's in right now, but after that, what next? He can be the next AJ Styles in the main event division.

 

14. Sign the Briscoes and the Kings of Wrestling for the tag division. Book it.

 

15. Do not, under any circumstances, start a women's division with what you have now. Gail Kim was starting to impress, right around the time WWE let her go... Traci is acceptable in the ring. Hemmie, Jackie and So-Cal Val are not wrestlers, and shouldn't be in the ring. If you want to start a women's division, go hire Allison Danger, Lacey, Mischif, Daizee Haze, and Cheerleader Melissa. Otherwise, forget it. TNA wants to be different than WWE? Then put real women's wrestlers in the ring, not bimbos flopping around embarassing themselves.

 

16. At some point in 2007, push Homicide to an X-Division title feud. Doesn't necessarily have to win it, but the fans really deserve to see Homicide in singles competition in the X-Division at some point.

 

17. Never have Nash get in the ring again, ever. In a managerial role, he's even questionable, since it seems like his entire goal is to put himself over.

[Guest Totally Crazy]

how about they start building up their own superstars? they have a match headlining one of their PPVs as a smackdown match we could have seen last year, if WWE actually made use of their superstars' potential. They have Abyss, and they had Monty Brown...not much else. I'm including Samoa Joe in there because he was with ROH. TNA is like ECW, ROH, WWE and WCW all put into one.