[quote name='Demolition Man']Yep. The simple fact that TNA rushed, burned, and killed the Kurt Angle/Samoa Joe fued as quickly as they did speaks volumes of a LOT of the problems with TNA. Instead of building the fued and giving it time to build.... no let's push the whole thing in such a short time to the point of where nobody wants to see them even in the same building for several years.
Look at what WCW did right during the Sting/Hogan fued back in 1997. They dragged that out for a year if I recall correctly before they finally had their first in-ring match. Now while yes the wrong man went over that night (as in Hogan) the build was right. It made people not just want but NEED to see that match.
If TNA wants to get people into the product here's my ideas of what they need to do:
A) New bookers with fresh ideas for the company. That means Dutch Mantell and Vince Russo have to go. Heck even make calls to get someone like Paul Heyman into the company. Its time however for TNA to realize that the current people steering the ship are NOT taking TNA to where they need and by now should be (2.0+ ratings, good buyrates, etc).
B) Having Kurt Angle off of TV for 3-6 months. Have him still work at house shows/indy shows to keep him from getting rusty but right now TNA TV/PPV needs a big rest from Kurt Angle. It'll do wonders for TNA as a whole since we know most fans will be hungry to see Kurt wrestle again - and with new bookers it can allow some fueds that the previous people blew up badly (ie: Angle/Joe) to be redone correctly. And then make Angle a total heel who wins not by cheating but by wins by intelligent means - such as turning opponet's strengths into weaknesses. Yeah I know that sounds a bit like... oh....... Randy Orton but it certainly helps make the character interesting.
C) Rebuild Samoa Joe slowly. Drop the whole gimmick of his and rebuild him as an unbeatable monster who will destroy anything in his path. Get the fans to care about him again and cheer for him.
D) Fix the issues with people like Chris Harris and even Konnan. TNA had a LOT of special things with AMW. LAX was a LOT hotter when Konnan was the voice but now they are lost without the voice that helped LAX get over.
E) No more treating the X Division as a joke. That means no more Black Machismo. No more Guru. The X Division needs to go back to the high athleticism that made it popular. But in my booking I would start building personality behind the X Division talent that people CAN get behind both as faces and heels.
F) No more silly gimmicks. And certainly no more things like "Feast Or Fired" where you have a match on PPV but drag the outcome on TV for weeks on end.
G) And last but certainly most important..... GET RID OF DON WEST. Bring back Ed Fererra and let him along with Mike Tenay do the commentary. Watching the first few weeks of TNA Wednesday PPVs the commentary is good as long as you ignore the yelling from Don West. If not Fererra then at least get someone who can complement Mike Tenay.
Okay Myke.... whatcha think? What would you add to this or do differently.[/QUOTE]
I like it. I like it a lot. Nobody can even begin to defend the booking at TNA. Now, TNA does (as they pat themselves on the back for beating ECW in the ratings this week - which, when you have Kurt Angle, Kevin Nash, Samoa Joe, et al., beating "Nunzio" and "Kevin Thorne" just *barely* shouldn't be a moment of personal pride).
Point (B) is very important, because Angle could be useful for TNA; as of right now, it's very reminiscent of Hogan and WCW (where the relationship, while it would ideally use Angle to benefit TNA, and the growth in the company and popularity would benefit Angle's pocketbook, has become one where the product is crap and the storylines *CLEARLY* exist to sate the bloated ego of Angle, to the detriment of the overall product - precisely like the Hogan/Sting angle of 1997).
Joe may take some time to rebuild. I think he should go boost the X-division such that would mutually repair both damaged elements of the company.
I disagree with saying "no more" anything. Even the stuff I don't like about wrestling is necessary - just in a matter of degrees. Comedy is fine, "divas" are fine, garbage matches are fine - as long as they have a purpose. I think, for the sake of Abyss' career, they should drop him on tack/glass/fire/whatever a lot less, and focus on "injury" or "selling" It infuriates me when he gets his face stomped in glass on Sunday at a PPV, and yet he stomps down to the ring 4 days later at Impact, fresh as a daisy. It doesn't make Abyss look tough; it makes the crowd think that these huge moments aren't, in fact, huge.
This reminds me: where's Rhino been?
His angle where he came across as a human being, full of frustration, depression, anxiety, and the unending urge to prove himself to the fans, to himself, to his family, and to his peers - THAT was worth watching. I know that guy, I can feel that emotion. I can't feel the same way about the Christian/Angle feud - if that's even a feud anymore. I can *almost* feel it in the Booker T/Roode feud, but it comes across so artificially on TV (it's all Roode's fault, really - Booker tried in his "serious" interview, but man - Roode is so
in' bland on the mic, and 100% unbelievable in what he says - like he has a neon sign over his head that flashes "I TRY TOO HARD AT THIS.").
Chris Harris doesn't matter. Let him go, because he's not going to make WWE a single dollar. Konnan, OTOH, may be important, but Homicide's a good talker. Let him talk. Do something with LAX, because they deserve it, and more importantly, the fans want to see it. It's a perfect fit, and TNA is refusing.
I don't mind "Guru" or "Black Machismo" - I laughed out loud so
in' hard the other week during Impact, when Lethal did the voiceover prelude to the women's match, saying something to the effect of "see if Wendy Richter can successfully overcome the talented and devious Fabulous Moolah" while they were showing clips of Kong/Kim. Machismo is a nice, and well done, homage - but treat him seriously in the ring. His match against Angle was RUINED because he was treated like a job boy later that same night, and 4 nights later when he lost to Christopher "Who?" Daniels in a 3 minute match (let's not fool ourselves: we like Daniels, but to the average fan anymore, he's in the same stable as Elix Skipper, so he's pretty much in Simon Diamond/David Young territory right now). So it isn't the gimmick, but the lack of class and prestige that the X-Division title has right now. Who is the champ? Machismo or Devine? If the latter, you mean the belt changed hands in a match where a ladder was used (where they aren't supposed to be), and a 6-man match for a 1-man title. Christ.
I do agree that "feast or fired" is a cluster
I don't want to comprehend, don't care about their reverse battle royals, "fight for the right" just serve to confuse the fans, and more often than not have zero consequence (Kaz's title shot was good as a wrestling match, but did *NOT* get him over as a legit or strong wrestler capable of main event status. It didn't help that it was free TV, and a 3 or 4 week "tournament" culminated in a throwaway TV match).
Overall, I agree, with a few caveats. I would actually, though, give Don West one more chance. He can be an effective color man, but he needs to learn the fine art of properly selling something. He doesn't need to verbally cum all over creation when something noteworthy happens - and if he can learn to do that, he can be very effective. It's a matter of degrees, and if he can't learn that in 6 months, replace him. But I don't think he's being properly restrained, and is both accustomed to and probably encouraged to regard every "hot moment" like it's the second coming of Christ in the middle of a two-girl blowjob while eating a chocolate cake.
