Webster Hall Show

[iggymcfly 0]

I wasn't trying to say that TNA's lack of main event faces was all on a lack of talent. In the Impact thread, I wrote a whole paragraph specifically about how badly TNA books its faces. My point was that the general format of the show is fine, the midcard is great, and they don't need to turn Impact into a freaking house show. All they need is to take a couple of characters that can act cool by themselves, get out of their way, and push them to the top.

 

It's kind of frustrating, because the heels consistently deliver hilarious lines, and have well-written, fleshed out characters. The bookers are also great at getting the heels heat in the ring. (See how well Awesome Kong has been protected, even with a couple of losses.) It just puzzles me how they fail so miserably trying to get the faces over.

[cd213 0]

I went to the show last night and it was amazing. That had to be one of the best show that I have ever been to.

 

Christian showed up he was with Tommy Dreamer and Little Guido. The show was INSANE. Great wrestling action as the guys and gals really stepped it up. Angle vs. Christian was PPV quality. They had the crowd going nuts ALL NIGHT!

 

During LAX vs 3D, Bubba (Brother Ray) cut a promo thanking the fans and told us that Tommy and Guido were in the crowd and then Bubba said "How about we get Tommy in even more trouble, how many here want to see Tommy in TNA?!" and the crowd went nust for that.

 

Before the show I got to do a meet and greet with some of the wrestler,s and met Gail Kim (who I met before), Jay Lethal, LAX and Angle (who was really nice to everyone.) During intermission Bubba and Devon signed autographs and were great. Dixie Carter was there and she is smokin'! When she was coming in everyone started chanting "Thank You" and she stopped and waved at everyone. She is really sweet.

 

During the show JB kept saying that if we were a great crowd some of the wrestlers would come out after the show and meet EVERYONE, which happened. After Angle beat Christian, all the wrestlers came out and I got to meet Jackie, Eric Young, James Storm, Alex Shelly, Lance Hoyt and JB.

 

The show was great and getting to meet everyone I did made the night even better.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

See, it sounds like TNA's house shows - as well as the Global Impact special - do better than anything they've done on TV or PPV for the last year and a half. So why not stick to that fucking formula, since it gets praise and might actually - GASP! - make you money?

[SamoaRowe 0]

Yeah, no kidding. Sounds like a great show that went a long ways to developing some strong fan loyalty in a new market for them. This is exactly what they need to keep doing.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

I think the PWInsider guys said it best when they mentioned that unlike their TV shows which feedback is almost always overwhelmingly negative for...they have never recieved ONE bad house show report from someone.

 

It's like 3 different animals.

 

TV sucks.

 

PPVs are usually better than they should be given how bad TV is leading up to it.

 

House Shows rule.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

It's like 3 different animals.

 

TV sucks.

 

PPVs are usually better than they should be given how bad TV is leading up to it.

 

House Shows rule.

And it's the one with no real input from 'creative' that gets the heavy praise.

 

Which is probably why TNA don't put out such a product, even though it does get such a positive reaction. After all, if the input of the writers is reduced, their emphasis gets reduced, which is bad for the ego.

[MikeJordan23 0]

I don't know if this would actually make them any more money. The lack of interest in PPVs, stems from the lack of emphasis put on it. (Also the lack of having any good angles)

 

And nor do I think putting on 10-15 minutes matches on TV is a good business model. Sure, the main event of the program should have some time, but I think long matches should be reserved for the PPV and house shows.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

I don't know if this would actually make them any more money. The lack of interest in PPVs, stems from the lack of emphasis put on it. (Also the lack of having any good angles)

 

And nor do I think putting on 10-15 minutes matches on TV is a good business model. Sure, the main event of the program should have some time, but I think long matches should be reserved for the PPV and house shows.

It would probably lose them less money than their current direction has over the past year.

 

It's not about putting on long matches on TV. It's about putting out a product with little in the way of the constant "to the back" moments, where nothing gets time to sink because we need to rush backstage for another inane skit, and instead putting the focus on the matches and the wrestlers, with promo's and serious angles to build programs, rather than stupid skits and goofy comedy that might make a few people laugh but do nothing to make their viewers want to buy the PPV's.

 

Sure, there's room for the occasional comedy skit, but that kind of stuff is best kept to the midcard.

 

Because it's a house show, there isn't a place for the lame skits and bad comedy that infest Impact and do nothing to make you want to buy the PPV. Which is exactly why people rave about them. It gives fans the type product they want to see, rather than the product that creative wants them to see.

[MikeJordan23 0]

I don't know if this would actually make them any more money. The lack of interest in PPVs, stems from the lack of emphasis put on it. (Also the lack of having any good angles)

 

And nor do I think putting on 10-15 minutes matches on TV is a good business model. Sure, the main event of the program should have some time, but I think long matches should be reserved for the PPV and house shows.

It would probably lose them less money than their current direction has over the past year.

 

It's not about putting on long matches on TV. It's about putting out a product with little in the way of the constant "to the back" moments, where nothing gets time to sink because we need to rush backstage for another inane skit, and instead putting the focus on the matches and the wrestlers, with promo's and serious angles to build programs, rather than stupid skits and goofy comedy that might make a few people laugh but do nothing to make their viewers want to buy the PPV's.

 

Sure, there's room for the occasional comedy skit, but that kind of stuff is best kept to the midcard.

 

Because it's a house show, there isn't a place for the lame skits and bad comedy that infest Impact and do nothing to make you want to buy the PPV. Which is exactly why people rave about them. It gives fans the type product they want to see, rather than the product that creative wants them to see.

 

 

Yeah, I definitely agree. I'd be all for them changing the format, to having less backstage skits, and more emphasis put on a select few angles, instead of jumbling 20 angles into two hours.

 

And I understand people have egos, but how could anyone possibly book these shows, and think these skits are actually funny? Occasionally Kurt or Borash will have a funny line but that's about it.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Honestly? The last time I found anything intentionally funny from TNA to be so was...shit, I can't even remember. Maybe when Puppet the Midget Killer pulled a gun on Jarrett? And that was awful. TNA are best at having solid matches, not comedy. Eric Young and AJ Styles are the funniest parts of the program.

[David Blazenwing 0]

It's sad that Styles, a damn talented wrestler, has been relegated to a mid card comedy act.

 

It's almost as if - ironically enough - he's now to TNA what Angle was to WWE.

[DangerousDamon 0]

I loved the PCS skits. "Adrenaline Rush" musical chairs was the shit.

[luke-o 0]

It's sad that Styles, a damn talented wrestler, has been relegated to a mid card comedy act.

 

It's almost as if - ironically enough - he's now to TNA what Angle was to WWE.

 

Comedy act? Yes. Midcard? I don't think so.

 

And I've said it once and I'll say it again. Styles has been more entertaining since he turned heel.

[Jericholic82 0]

I loved the PCS skits. "Adrenaline Rush" musical chairs was the shit.

lol agreed. Along with Nash singing "Amazing Grace" to piss off Lethal.

 

 

anyhow sounds like it was a good show in NYC, wish I had gone. I wish they could run a show closer to me, but I know only WWE books The WC County Center.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

Lethal: "Why do I have to go first?"

 

Nash: "Because you're black"

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

An open letter to TNA

 

by Shane Madison

 

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling recently ran a show in New York City at Webster Hall on Thursday night, February 21st. The wrestling fans in NYC are notoriously "smart" to the business and can be extremely ruthless. However, I was watching an episode of TNA Today that featured footage from this show and what I saw was very interesting.

 

This past Thursday night I saw a sold out house (TNA's first?) at Webster Hall that was in a frenzy. I mean this crowd was jacked. They looked starved for some real wrestling action and it looks like TNA delivered.

 

Like everyone else, I have tried to watch TNA iMPACT! over the last few months but I have just given up. Usually I can't even remember what the hell happened after the show was over. TNA led us to believe that if they got that second hour on Spike TV that would be their holy grail. With two full hours in prime time they would be able to develop the characters and storylines properly. Instead, all we got is even more crap jam packed into two hours. Their TV in unwatchable.

 

The ratings of iMPACT! have never been better yet the buy rates for their pay per views have never been lower. In fact, three years ago the buy rates were very similar and TNA was on FSN and, for a period of time, was exclusively and Internet property. Plus, they didn't have to worry about the salaries of guys like Sting and Angle. Fast forward three years later and they are still hemorrhaging money but they are on a stronger network that supports them, they have signed stars like Booker T, Kurt Angle and Christian Cage and are running house shows (with limited success). Yet no one is buying the PPV's. Why is this?

 

TNA used to be a great alternative to WWE. It wasn't as "spotty" as Ring of Honor and also wasn't exclusively "sports entertainment" like WWE professes to be. TNA had their own identity (X-Division) where the boys busted their asses trying to build a company. But in 2008, I think TNA forgets where they came from because they try to be "WWE-Lite" and it's not working.

 

Where am I going with this rant? Let me go back to my point about the house show from Webster Hall. Do you think the NYC fans went to the house show because of the storylines? I doubt it. They probably think iMPACT! is brutal to watch just like I do. The fans went there because there is an audience out there that is sick of WWE and so badly want TNA to succeed. The business needs an viable alternative in order to be healthy and TNA has a long way to go.

 

I know for a fact that some people that work for TNA think the place is hopeless. Many of the boys bury the product and snicker behind the office's back and who could blame them? These are people that have given their life to the business and have made many personal sacrifices. But at the end of the day, they had the life sucked out of them and just got sick and tired of banging their head against the wall. It's easier for them to just show up, collect a paycheck and do whatever creative wants even though they know it sucks. If the office isn't motivated to make the product better why should the boys be motivated?

 

However, when the same guys showed up to Webster Hall last Thursday night and looked out to that hot crowd, they forgot about all the stupid shit creative ever wrote for them. They went out there and took chances (see Dutt vs. Lethal highlights) and delivered. They remembered why they got into this business and that they needed to have pride in what they do. That crowd ignited a flame that may have been almost extinguished by idiots like Russo.

 

More people than ever watch iMPACT! every week and the feedback from the house shows is almost always 100% positive. Yet, again, the PPV buy rates are terrible. That tells me that the TV is not generating enough interest to get people to pay $29.99 a month for a PPV in an already overcrowded PPV universe. Despite TNA's star power, if people don't have faith in your product then they won't pay to see your product. What does that say about creative?

 

Why not try something different and give the people what they want? It seemed to work well in the most hostile wrestling city, NYC. Forget the stupid storylines. Forget the incoherent angles. Forget about the moronic stipulations that don't stick. Forget about hiring any more WWE cast-offs. TNA needs to focus on their homegrown stars and what brought them to the dance. What do you have to lose at this point?

 

Global iMPACT! was one of the most well received shows TNA ever did. That was because they eliminated the bullshit and focused on what TNA does best: wrestling.

 

As I watched that NYC crowd I thought about one thing. These lunatics were willing to forgive TNA and look past all the stupid shit TNA does (and there's a lot) and were willing to support the wrestling product because they appreciate talent. I'm surprised at this reaction because usually a NYC crowd would crucify a company that produces such a piss-poor product. But because the NYC fans appreciated the talent so much that they sold out a second show in Westbury, NY with 3,000 people! If TNA can win over the fans in NYC I consider that a tremendous victory.

 

I always thought that if ROH had two hours on Spike TV every week they could position themselves to be the #2 promotion in North America. The reason for that is because ROH knows that there already is one WWE and there can't be a second one. So it's better to be a very good ROH than a weaker version of WWE. If ROH understands this why can't TNA get it?

 

Things are looking good for TNA right now. The ratings have never been higher, they have a great roster of exceptional workers, they are doing regular house shows, they just signed Jakks Pacific to distribute their action figures when the WWE contract expires, they may be trying live shows and they have a multi-million dollar company backing them. Realistically, in my opinion, the only thing that is holding them back is bad creative.

 

At the bottom of this post I have included the link to the TNA Today episode that features the highlights from Webster Hall. I hope the TNA office watches the reaction of the NYC crowd and realizes that it may be best to focus on what TNA does best. Focus on what made people interested in TNA initially. I hope they watch that footage and get chills and remember the "good old days" from 1998- 2001 (even though TNA was not around) when the business was really hot and the people cared and showed genuine emotion.

 

At the end of the day, what is TNA's slogan? Isn't it, " TNA - We Are Wrestling"? What a novel idea.

 

 

Shane Madison

www.meccaholic.blogspot.com

 

2/22 TNA Today from Webster Hall

[luke-o 0]

I can see the ethos behind the "focus on the wrestling", but these people always make out like they should ignore storylines completly. How far can you take, "this guy wants to fight this guy for the title because he doesn't like them". If they do that week in week out it will be just as shit (if not shitter) than it is now.

 

Now I'm not saying that TNA is awesome (calm down HTQ) and yes their storylines are toss at best, but without them it would be a boring product.

[Jericholic82 0]

Lethal: "Why do I have to go first?"

 

Nash: "Because you're black"

How did they get away with that one?

 

I was just watching the dvd of Final Resolution 07 and the PCS finals match with Shelley/Starr is hilarious with Backlunds scorecard reading, and nash's commentary.

[Guest Shylock]

I can see the ethos behind the "focus on the wrestling", but these people always make out like they should ignore storylines completly. How far can you take, "this guy wants to fight this guy for the title because he doesn't like them". If they do that week in week out it will be just as shit (if not shitter) than it is now.

 

Now I'm not saying that TNA is awesome (calm down HTQ) and yes their storylines are toss at best, but without them it would be a boring product.

I believe he was more or less trying to get to a "get the fuck away from the stupid storylines" point. Rewind to before BFG '06 and the product was much, much better than it is now. Russo coming in changed the company around drastically and killed off most of their hot acts (Joe, Styles, LAX, Daniels, Killings left, etc).

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

I can see the ethos behind the "focus on the wrestling", but these people always make out like they should ignore storylines completly. How far can you take, "this guy wants to fight this guy for the title because he doesn't like them". If they do that week in week out it will be just as shit (if not shitter) than it is now.

 

Now I'm not saying that TNA is awesome (calm down HTQ) and yes their storylines are toss at best, but without them it would be a boring product.

I believe he was more or less trying to get to a "get the fuck away from the stupid storylines" point.

He was. People always seem to jump to the conclusion that "focus on the wrestling" means "have no storylines", when I don't think I've seen one person who wants more focus on wrestling in TNA actually say TNA should have no storylines and/or ignore them completely.

[luke-o 0]

Well then thats fair enough.

[Chazz 0]

I wish they would make every Impact for the next 6 months like The Global Impact Show, so then when buyrates/ratings don't go up or go lower than they already are, people will stop their bitching. It's already been proven that The Net makes up a very small percentage of the wrestling fan. So if TNA made every Impact like the TNA Global Special, wouldn't that in effect be booking towards "The Net?" On the flip side, look at last year's TNA XMas Show that got critically panned. Say what you will about that show, but didn't it end up drawing one of Impact's best ratings to date? Some smarks have to face facts; Just because you,(or I), want to see something done a certain way, doesn't mean everybody thinks it should be done that way as well.

[Guest Shylock]

I wish they would make every Impact for the next 6 months like The Global Impact Show, so then when buyrates/ratings don't go up or go lower than they already are, people will stop their bitching. It's already been proven that The Net makes up a very small percentage of the wrestling fan. So if TNA made every Impact like the TNA Global Special, wouldn't that in effect be booking towards "The Net?" On the flip side, look at last year's TNA XMas Show that got critically panned. Say what you will about that show, but didn't it end up drawing one of Impact's best ratings to date? Some smarks have to face facts; Just because you,(or I), want to see something done a certain way, doesn't mean everybody thinks it should be done that way as well.

I would wager that the amount of people who watch Impact are outweighed by the potential viewers that would watch wrestling if the elements that give wrestling it's stigma were taken away. The reason most people don't watch it could be observed to a T in how Impact is being written and presented. You take that corny, lame, illogical stuff off of there and start doing a more wrestling-focused product with smarter storylines and they could very well increase PPV buys and start to turn the ratings around.

 

That's why so many people are pimping the Global Impact thing, because it's the closest thing they've done to something like that in a long time.

 

Also the ratings for one of their shows may have hit a 1.2, but did they turn any of those viewers into the type of people that would buy the PPV? If their history of buyrates is of any evidence, then the answer is no.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Keep this in mind: TNA were doing more PPV buys during the first year of the weekly PPVs than they are now. Now that they have free TV, now that they have a moderate amount of mainstream exposure, and now that they have a huge financial backer and an even better talent pool...they're getting less people to pay for the product than they did before. Why? Because the product back then was that much better than it is now. It had the Sports Entertainment qualities of episodic storytelling with some swerves and some raunchiness, and it also had a quality in-ring product. If TNA stayed booking shows like they were then (August '02 to June '03) with the assets they have at their disposal now? Ratings would be better, buyrates would be better, and morale (reportedly very, very low) would be better.

[Guest Shylock]

Keep this in mind: TNA were doing more PPV buys during the first year of the weekly PPVs than they are now. Now that they have free TV, now that they have a moderate amount of mainstream exposure, and now that they have a huge financial backer and an even better talent pool...they're getting less people to pay for the product than they did before. Why? Because the product back then was that much better than it is now. It had the Sports Entertainment qualities of episodic storytelling with some swerves and some raunchiness, and it also had a quality in-ring product. If TNA stayed booking shows like they were then (August '02 to June '03) with the assets they have at their disposal now? Ratings would be better, buyrates would be better, and morale (reportedly very, very low) would be better.

I'd rather they start booking shows as they did in the run up to BFG '06, albeit modified a bit. That area of time was a pretty exciting time period to be a fan of the promotion. You had Styles/Daniels, LAX, Joe/Steiner and a seeming push for Joe to the top, Christian/Rhino's mini-program, and there was that Paparazzi Productions thing with Shelley, Starr and Nash. There's no way that the promotion, with that kind of momentum with Angle coming in, could have turned into what we have now if there was someone competent writing. That was some good shit, then Russo came in and changed the company around 180 degrees.

[iggymcfly 0]

WWE's been booking their TV like house shows for the last year and a half. How's that working out for them? I'll tell you how, it's killed a large portion of their fanbase. People turn on TNA because they want something different. They don't want lower card wrestlers doing 15 minute basic vanilla matches where you can see the outcome a mile away. They want fast-paced action where every segment (or almost every segment) is entertaining.

 

The only thing that's keeping TNA from breaking through right now is that they need one or two big faces that can be cool and funny on the mic while still delivering in the ring. Samoa Joe's been improving a little the last couple weeks, but overall he's terrible on the mic and that little smirk he does whenever someone asks him a question is incredibly obnoxious. As long as he's the top face, the company has no shot. Your average casual fan sees him and thinks "why does that stupid fat guy think he's so good anyway, I'd like to punch him in the mouth". Christian had the potential to be a top guy, but being treated as a second banana to Joe right when he was making his face turn kind of killed him out of the gate. After two PPV losses to Angle in a row, it's going to take some time before he can be taken seriously as a face champion again.

 

The midcard and the main event heels are already exactly where they need to be. All it would take is just one or two main event faces making the leap to where they can legitimately draw money and the casual fans will tune in to see them and BOOM, TNA can be a legitimate competitor to the WWE.

[Guest Shylock]

WWE's been booking their TV like house shows for the last year and a half. How's that working out for them? I'll tell you how, it's killed a large portion of their fanbase. People turn on TNA because they want something different. They don't want lower card wrestlers doing 15 minute basic vanilla matches where you can see the outcome a mile away. They want fast-paced action where every segment (or almost every segment) is entertaining.

 

The only thing that's keeping TNA from breaking through right now is that they need one or two big faces that can be cool and funny on the mic while still delivering in the ring. Samoa Joe's been improving a little the last couple weeks, but overall he's terrible on the mic and that little smirk he does whenever someone asks him a question is incredibly obnoxious. As long as he's the top face, the company has no shot. Your average casual fan sees him and thinks "why does that stupid fat guy think he's so good anyway, I'd like to punch him in the mouth". Christian had the potential to be a top guy, but being treated as a second banana to Joe right when he was making his face turn kind of killed him out of the gate. After two PPV losses to Angle in a row, it's going to take some time before he can be taken seriously as a face champion again.

 

The midcard and the main event heels are already exactly where they need to be. All it would take is just one or two main event faces making the leap to where they can legitimately draw money and the casual fans will tune in to see them and BOOM, TNA can be a legitimate competitor to the WWE.

I don't subscribe to the general perception of the average fan's idea of what makes you into a top guy, because I think it's all in how they book a guy. You rip on Joe for being fat, but then promote Christian as a top guy? The guy is lanky as fuck and I have a hard time believing that he could be anymore credible than Joe at being a top guy.

 

Also when your promos are being written out word for word by some hack magazine writer, none of your actual talent is going to shine through. He put forth pretty good efforts on the mic before. The Steiner promos along with that one he cut on Jarrett when he was bleeding from his forehead. That one was great. He showed he was competent on the mic and conveyed a good deal of intensity. Now he's relegated to being some sort of suave, too-good-for-everyone Rock/MVP type of hybrid and it isn't working at all. Don't blame Joe, blame the "writers".

 

The fact is that the booking in TNA is horrible. When they actually packed the shows with good wrestling and had some fun or good storylines in there and didn't turn the X-Division into a joke of an afterthought, then they were an alternative. As they have now become, they're just a much, much more stupid, corny and ADD version of what the WWE presents. That's not them providing an alternative to the WWE, that's trying to outstupid them.

[Chazz 0]

WWE's been booking their TV like house shows for the last year and a half. How's that working out for them? I'll tell you how, it's killed a large portion of their fanbase. People turn on TNA because they want something different. They don't want lower card wrestlers doing 15 minute basic vanilla matches where you can see the outcome a mile away. They want fast-paced action where every segment (or almost every segment) is entertaining.

 

Exactly. When I watch any Pro Wrestling Program, i want to be entertained, period. I don't care that every match isn't a 4 star, 20 minute classic. Just because there is more time alloted to matches on one show doesn't make it better. For example, I read that Smackdown this past week had an 18 minute match featuring Batista and Kane vs M.V.P. and The Great Khali. 18 mintues featuring those 4? No wonder even a nothing network like The C.W. is dumping that show.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

WWE's been booking their TV like house shows for the last year and a half. How's that working out for them? I'll tell you how, it's killed a large portion of their fanbase. People turn on TNA because they want something different. They don't want lower card wrestlers doing 15 minute basic vanilla matches where you can see the outcome a mile away. They want fast-paced action where every segment (or almost every segment) is entertaining.

 

How's it working out for them? Well enough that they just had their biggest financial year ever. Evidently, their TV is doing a good enough job at getting their top talent over that the merchandise is flying off the shelves and PPV's, while not at their peak levels, still bring in the money.

 

And just for laughs, here are the PPV numbers, via the Observer, that reflect the result of the booking of Impact for much of the last year and a half:

 

December 2006: 35,000 for Turning Point (Joe vs. Angle)

 

Turning Point was the last PPV in 2006, the rest are for 2007

 

January: 34,000 for Final Resolution (Joe vs. Angle)

February: 23,000 for Against All Odds (Angle vs. Cage)

March: 36,000 for Destination X (Joe vs. Sting)

April: 35,000 for Lockdown (Team Angle vs. Team Cage)

May: 21,000 for Sacrifice (Angle vs. Sting vs. Cage)

June: 22,000 for Slammiversary (King of the Mountain)

July: 15,000 for Victory Road (Joe and Angle vs. Team 3D)

August: 26,000 for Hard Justice (Joe vs. Angle)

September: 17,000 for No Surrender (Angle vs. Abyss)

October: 36,000 for Bound For Glory (Sting vs. Angle)

November: 27,000 for Genesis (Sting and Booker T vs. Angle and Nash)

 

With numbers like that, for a TNA fan to knock the booking of WWE TV from a business standpoint, a phrase about glass houses and bricks comes to mind

 

The only thing that's keeping TNA from breaking through right now is that they need one or two big faces that can be cool and funny on the mic while still delivering in the ring. Samoa Joe's been improving a little the last couple weeks, but overall he's terrible on the mic and that little smirk he does whenever someone asks him a question is incredibly obnoxious. As long as he's the top face, the company has no shot. Your average casual fan sees him and thinks "why does that stupid fat guy think he's so good anyway, I'd like to punch him in the mouth". Christian had the potential to be a top guy, but being treated as a second banana to Joe right when he was making his face turn kind of killed him out of the gate. After two PPV losses to Angle in a row, it's going to take some time before he can be taken seriously as a face champion again.

 

The only thing? How about a change in direction? Their current one, the one they've had for that last 18 months since Russo came on board, has helped do a number on PPV buys. Sure, TNA are doing, on the surface, good numbers for Impact, but when it comes to converting those TV viewers to PPV buyers, they're failing badly.

 

The midcard and the main event heels are already exactly where they need to be. All it would take is just one or two main event faces making the leap to where they can legitimately draw money and the casual fans will tune in to see them and BOOM, TNA can be a legitimate competitor to the WWE.

 

Assume these main event faces show up, what, in the last 18 months, have the writing team done to show they would know what to do with them?

 

In January of 2007, Joe vs. Angle did 34,000 buys. By August, this writing team had done such an effective job with both men, that the same match drew 26,000 buys. And that was with all four titles being at stake.

 

And they did such a great job with making the titles, and their holders, seem important, that when a match with all the TNA titles were on the line headlined PPV, it garnered a miserable 15,000 buys.

 

You seriously think a writing team that shows such woeful results can make TNA a legitimate contender to WWE? They're lucky to make TNA a contender to ECW.

 

[Chazz 0]

Do you happen to know the buyrates for The TNA PPV's before the year before Russo came in? They must not have been all that great to begin with, otherwise why did Jarrett/Dixie Carter re-hire Russo? Some of you act like TNA before Russo came back was this unstopable, money garnering force, when if in fact it was, Russo wouldn't have even been needed, and those who were on the previous creative team,(whoever the hell that was), would still be employed. No, this is yet another attack to discredit Russo simply because some people don't care for his work.