I’ve decided this week to try my hand at tackling TNA. Its strong points, its week points, and its possible future. Also, the never-ending hate towards the company by the IWC.
Now, a lot of people seem to wonder why if WCW could compete with the WWE, why can’t TNA. I’m going to simplify this with a list.
Reasons why TNA hasn’t grown that are NOT the company’s fault:
- TNA has never had the massive financial backing that WCW had, via Ted Turner.
- TNA existed for years with no big television deal.
- Even after getting a TV deal, they were picked up by Spike, a network not nearly as widely available as Turner’s networks.
- The new no-compete clauses imposed by the WWE severely limits the impact that wrestlers jumping ship to TNA have. 60 days of watching WWE programming and not seeing a wrestler on TV makes the fans forget about that wrestler. By the time they get to TNA, that “former WWE wrestler” is nowhere near as big a deal as Lex Luger, Hall, and Nash showing up in WCW literally days after leaving the WWE.
- Lastly, WCW made its move when the WWE was hurting from the steroid trials and going through a period of decline. TNA’s television deal came at a time when the WWE was going strong, and fans had no reason, in their minds, to try another product.
Reasons why TNA hasn’t taken off that ARE the company’s fault:
- Firstly, without a doubt, lack of advertising! When the only venue you are advertising on is the same station your show is playing on, how do you expect to get new viewers?
- A very poor management structure. As Trey and JJ of Wrestling News Live have said numerous times, “too many chiefs, not enough Indians.” You need one person, or a well established group of people who have the final say in storylines and booking, rather than everything having to go through 10 guys.
- Not giving the fans what they want, but rather giving them what you think they SHOULD want. Making heels out of established TNA babyfaces and vice versa.
- Having every show at the same arena with the same crowd. TNA should have been on the road from day one, exposing itself to different demographics and locations.
- Failure to police Pay Per View streams. I have literally seen thousands of people watching a TNA PPV stream. These are thousands of people who are not paying for your product.
- Allowing superstars to have creative control of their own characters. This is one of the many things that helped kill WCW.
- Allowing troubled superstars like Jeff and Matt Hardy into your company.
I could go on, but I don’t want to make this too long-winded. Let me say that I’ve been a TNA supporter for a long time, and still am. I generally enjoy Impact Wrestling, and will keep watching. I don’t know if this company can ever be hugely successful in the long run, but I hope so, because competition is good for the business and, if you’re a wrestler, it’s damn hard to find good paying work as it is.
And, here’s my final short list.
Friendly Advice for the IWC:
- If you watch a product for 20 weeks in a row and in that time can find nothing to do but complain, STOP WATCHING IT! Would you go to a restaurant with crappy food more than twice?
- Don’t complain about a Pay Per View you didn’t pay for!
- Don’t base all your opinions of the product on spoilers. It’s never the same as actually watching the show. For example, Sea Captain gets obsessed with killing whale. Whale kills him at the end. Now, write me a review of Moby Dick.
- Don’t criticize TNA for the in-ring talent. TNA has some of the best wrestlers in the world working for them. Yes, the writing and storylines are often bad, but when the bell rings, you can honestly say those guys and gals bust their asses every week.
- Realize that, in the end, if TNA should fall, the wrestling world will have a HUGE gap to fill. Many people will be out of work, and we’ll be stuck with basically nothing, but WWE.
When it comes to TNA, I’ve seen better, but I’ve also seen much worse. Their ratings haven’t gone up, but they haven’t tanked either, which means there is a loyal, dedicated fan base out there that watches every week. I criticize both companies when they deserve it. At the end of the day, sit down with some popcorn on Thursday nights and just try going with it. Or not. Unlike kissing the ring, watching TNA is totally optional.
Don_Bronx
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