How to improve TNA

Des Carter

Since TNA moved to Monday nights they have received a lot of criticism from lots of different people with different views.

So if you were given the power to change 1 thing in TNA to improve the product what would it be and why?

(please no get rid of it comments, if you hate TNA that much dont just b*tch about it but rather give your opinion on how to make it better)

So to start I would suggest moving out of the impact zone or at least finding a bigger one as it looks 2nd rate, especially in comparison to WWEs massive arenas.

any thoughts?

jaykhunter

sigh....one thing, eh?

Slow down time between storyline progressions - i.e. Proper punctuated storylines given due time (ie a few months)...not a few weeks. Most of TNA's storylines are fine, but they power through them far too quickly so nothing sticks, and the story isn't given enough gravity because you can never reflect on what happened. It's the polar opposite of RAW (where they repeat/replay what happened that night over and over again).

for example, Mick Foley was friends with Abyss, turned heel, had a match, made up, turned face, moved on in the space of....2 months, maybe? That angle - give it's proper time - could (and should've) lasted at least a year. Foley is the proper/true mentor to Abyss, and it was powered through and immediately forgotten.

danny29

Retire all of the legends eg Sting,Angle,Team 3d,Jeff Jarrett,The band,Hogan(as long hes not wrestling hes ok),flair(same as Hogan) and push the young guys like Wolfe,Pope,kazarian,mcmg,Anderson,Beer money,Styles,Joe,Generation me. Get rid of past and bring in the future basically!

John 187

I don't get to see that much, but I am looking forward to Lockdown this Friday night. Once again slow everything down and stop being Diet WWE. I want to punch Taz in the face everytime he says "Here comes the Pope". Stop giving away big stip matches on T.V. like the Six-man Cage match two weeks ago and Angle Vs. Anderson ladder match. Plus the whole Knock-Out title change via someone picking a box seem to undermind the Knock-Out world Title. Highlight what makes TNA different from WWE. So push the women, x-guys and go back to the six sided ring.

Handsome Bob

They've got the ingredients, but the chefs are too amatuer to make something compelling. If they could improve the quality of the writing it would do them the world of good, I totally agree with what jay said about the lack of pacing and structure in regards to storylines.

Ditto in relation to what the OP said about the Impact Zone. The crowd were excellent on Monday, they tore the roof off of the place and it's something that the WWE sorely lacks these days i.e. enthusiastic fans. However the IZ is too small, and it looks like a glorified gym.

Tricity Bendix

I'm a sucker for the knockout division, so my "one thing" would be to treat the women like stars. Give them time, don't try and throw them all into one match, bring back Kong and Gail Kim (when possible), I'm not sure if Alyssa Flash is still with the company but they should use her if she is and rehire her if she isn't, never have Lacey Von Erich wrestle, give Sarita, ODB and Wilde some freakin camera time instead of the same BP/Tara/Daffney/Love over and over again, and, finally, treat the title with even a modicum of respect.

Icky Thump

they could always have a guest host every week:D

waltersobchak

jaykhunter wrote: »

sigh....one thing, eh?

Slow down time between storyline progressions - i.e. Proper punctuated storylines given due time (ie a few months)...not a few weeks. Most of TNA's storylines are fine, but they power through them far too quickly so nothing sticks, and the story isn't given enough gravity because you can never reflect on what happened. It's the polar opposite of RAW (where they repeat/replay what happened that night over and over again).

for example, Mick Foley was friends with Abyss, turned heel, had a match, made up, turned face, moved on in the space of....2 months, maybe? That angle - give it's proper time - could (and should've) lasted at least a year. Foley is the proper/true mentor to Abyss, and it was powered through and immediately forgotten.

I have to say they've gotten better at that recently, Angle/Kennedy in particular, and in fairness to TNA they really let that program end at the right moment, with the absolute perfect blow off match imho

Charisteas

I would like to see a second show on Thursdays.

An extra 2 hours of tv a week would let them slow down storylines, giving you more time to digest them. It would also give tv time to more if not all of the roster, instead of having some talent on tv one week, missing the next week, on tv the next week, missing the next week. By the time you see them 2 weeks later, you have forgotten what happened 2 weeks ago. And they wouldn't have to cram anything in.

They could have the major storylines spaced out over the 2 weekly shows, and then the minor storylines on just one of the shows.

I think TNA were getting more ratings on Thursdays anyway.

mdwexford

Impossible, its perfect.

chopperbyrne

Any relation to Dixie?

Angron

Stop trying to rely on aging wrestlers as a draw. From what I've seen, there seems to be somewhat of a high reliance on big star names who have really gotten on as a draw. Then again, I've wanted both Hogan and Flair to go away for about 10 years..


Other than that, I don't see too much wrong with them overall, they just lack the huge fanbase the WWE has built up over many years.

geeky

+1 to the poster above. While I'd actually expected Hogan to be far worse than he has, putting flair in matches is a bit of a joke at this stage.

And longer storylines with less nonsensical swerves. The Anderson-Angle programme showed that they can do a solid build that gets us interested and leads to a satisfying blow-out match over time. So why doesn't it happen more?

Oh yeah and - bit late for it now, but all the same - stop making AJ Styles look like a total chump.

old_aussie

Those aging wrestlers did a pretty good job on TNA Lockdown

TNA is making WWE look like a soap opera.

More matches and less talk, unlike wwe which is all talk these days.

The kids don't even go to their cousins place to watch WWE any more, but they don't miss a TNA show.

El_Drago

3 words-Fire Vince Russo

DM_7

old_aussie wrote: »

Those aging wrestlers did a pretty good job on TNA Lockdown

TNA is making WWE look like a soap opera.

More matches and less talk, unlike wwe which is all talk these days.

The kids don't even go to their cousins place to watch WWE any more, but they don't miss a TNA show.

Are you comparing a TNA PPV to a regular WWE tv showing? Bad comparison.

mdwexford

Lockdown was way better than Wrestlemania.

DM_7

mdwexford wrote: »

Lockdown was way better than Wrestlemania.

In 09 maybe

I do think TNA should consider cutting the roster some more. It seems very big and it must be a really tough job to get everyone on tv each week.

waltersobchak

DM-ICE wrote: »

In 09 maybe

I do think TNA should consider cutting the roster some more. It seems very big and it must be a really tough job to get everyone on tv each week.

+1 there's a serious amount of fat TNA need to trim off their roster

Machismo Fan

waltersobchak wrote: »

+1 there's a serious amount of fat TNA need to trim off their roster

Really, I don't see that many active roster members that are dead weight. The likes of Stevie, Rhino, Raven and Tomko etc. are never on TV anyway so it doesn't make a difference and they can be fed to Rob Terry (who along with Orlando Jordan are here to stay so we have to deal with it).

waltersobchak

Machismo Fan wrote: »

Really, I don't see that many active roster members that are dead weight. The likes of Stevie, Rhino, Raven and Tomko etc. are never on TV anyway so it doesn't make a difference and they can be fed to Rob Terry (who along with Orlando Jordan are here to stay so we have to deal with it).

70 plus roster members with limited tv time is slightly excessive imho...

JP Liz V1

Let MCMG have a tag title run come on they are the best tag team by a mile and have never been TNA tag champs

Get rid of the geriatrics or at least keep them out of the ring and away from the main events

waltersobchak

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

Get rid of the geriatrics or at least keep them out of the ring and away from the main events

In fairness to Hogan and Flair they have been putting people over on the mic(Hogan with Abyss, RVD, Machismo, and Hardy.. Flair with Beer Money, Styles, and Wolfe) maybe in the ring would be another thing, but for TNA's younger talent to be associated with them and Sting also isnt such a bad thing in my honest opinion

JP Liz V1

waltersobchak wrote: »

In fairness to Hogan and Flair they have been putting people over on the mic(Hogan with Abyss, RVD, Machismo, and Hardy.. Flair with Beer Money, Styles, and Wolfe) maybe in the ring would be another thing, but for TNA's younger talent to be associated with them and Sting also isnt such a bad thing in my honest opinion

Wolfe didnt need Flair he was good on the mic as was Beer Money and I think putting Flair with Styles was a disaster as was his title reign - Its been all about Hogan V Flair and does anyone really want to see that still in this era :rolleyes:

waltersobchak

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

Wolfe didnt need Flair he was good on the mic as was Beer Money and I think putting Flair with Styles was a disaster as was his title reign - Its been all about Hogan V Flair and does anyone really want to see that still in the era :rolleyes:

I think the ratings prove no-one whats to see Hogan and Flair in 2010:pac: But at least they're giving people in TNA a rub which isnt a bad thing at all imho, no matter how much they've both tarnished their respective legacys they are still legends at the end of the day.. plus Wheelchair Flair = Awesome :pac:

jpb1974

Has anyone read 'The Death of WCW'?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-WCW-R-D-Reynolds/dp/1550226614/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272032683&sr=8-1

To me TNA just feels like WCW all over again (Granted WCW did sky rocket at one point due to the NWO concept but even that died a grizzly death).

The Orlando Jordan pieces the past couple of weeks would make any sane person turn off.

To be honest I love Flair... All Time Top 5 on the mic... I think he has something to add but the current angle they're running with him does now't for me.

Whens the last time anyone has seen Jeff Jarrett smile? I've no interest in the guy at all... he's lost his swagger completley.

Mick Foley... constant pointless dumb skits featuring Foley... he's really killing his legacy.

Samoa Joe... going around scowling all the time like he has a chip on his shoulder... they played a dumb clip last week or the week before... another reason to turn off.

Hogan can barely walk... and his character is completely and utterly boring.

A.J. Styles new persona is just plain stupid... he's like the village idiot now, not a proper bad guy at all.

Abyss and the ring... Jesus... totally lame.

Desmond Wolfe should be given more time on the mic... great talker... love listening to him.

I've a bad feeling about TNA... I can only imagine they've invested huge money in the likes of Hogan, Flair and others and I haven't seen any real improvement in the product. They'll end up in financial ruin at the rate they're going.

I look at Wrestling now and compare it to some of the highs from down the years and it's just a million miles away.

What would I do - strip out all the ****e that nobody wants to watch... be it actual wrestlers or the crappy storylines and try to simplify the product back to the age old recipes of good storylines combined with matches that people actually want to see.

jpb1974

PS.

Have a read over on Lance Storm's website. He's been documenting his thoughts on TNA for quite a while now

http://www.stormwrestling.com/index1.html

Here's his most recent write up relating to TNA -

http://www.stormwrestling.com/040610.html

geeky

waltersobchak wrote: »

Wheelchair Flair = Awesome :pac:

+1. Crazy grandpa Flair FTW.

jaykhunter

ugh, how many times can Storm bash TNA over and over? Although I agree with him on some fundamentals; "Dancing" Lance Storm isn't exactly sports-entertainment. If he had his way you'd get DQ'ed for getting out of the ring

Yes, Crazy Grandpa Wheelchair Flair is AWESOME!

jpb1974

how many times can Storm bash TNA over and over?

Pretty much as long as TNA keeping producing the same old sh*te they have been producing for quite a long time now.

I have to say I find the fundamentals of what Storm says to be very true... which is that the booking and story lines in TNA are dreadful.

The fact of the matter is that I only tune into TNA these days to see how low they can actually go.

I recommend 'The Death of WCW' as a good read to anyone. Not only is it an interesting story which chronicles Pro Wrestlign at it's peak (The Monday Night Wars) it also documents very well the politics behind the scenes.

Read that book, then watch TNA... it's like Deja Vu. TNA is so similar to WCW it isn't even funny... based in Florida, TV tapings in a set location, splashing out big money to bring in ex-WWE talent, Bischoff and Russo onboard, bad/inconsistent storylines, stupid match stipulations etc.

flahavaj

I thought Storm wasn't watching TNA anymore?

His blogs are reaching Brian Alvarez-levels of tedious TNA bashing for the sake of it at this stage. Maybe his readers would like to see him write about something else other than how sh*t TNA is?

DM_7

flahavaj wrote: »

I thought Storm wasn't watching TNA anymore?

His blogs are reaching Brian Alvarez-levels of tedious TNA bashing for the sake of it at this stage. Maybe his readers would like to see him write about something else other than how sh*t TNA is?

He said he gave up on it but when he heard about the rob terry chair shot just after hearing about the death of kanyon he was far from happy and had a rant anyway. I can't blame him really.

I love reading his rants regardless of the subject.

jpb1974

I love reading his rants regardless of the subject.

Having followed TNA for a while now I can honestly say that I'd probably agree with about 95% of what Storm writes about the company.

Storm never rants just for the sake of ranting, what he says about the company is true and he backs up all his opinions with examples of the ridiculousness of what's happening there.

When credit is due he will give it.

Storm knows as well as any of us that the company is brimming with talent and potential and they're just p*ssing it down the drain with bad booking and lame plots. He wants that company to succeed more than anything... wrestling suffers if WWE is the only half decent product.

I've said it already on this thread... the Orlando Jordan appearances the past two weeks made me ashamed to admit I watch Pro Wrestling... just absolutely cringe worthy stuff.

jpb1974

Maybe his readers would like to see him write about something else other than how sh*t TNA is?

Errr... the vast majority of stuff he writes about isn't about TNA.

Qs

Also one story line per character/wrestler. I don't want to see Team Flair, FLair with AJ, Team Hogan, Hogan in the title story, Hogan in AJs stories, Hogan and Bischoff story, etc

Pick one each, stick with it for a decent length, then move on to the next. This also means not having Jeff and RVD running into save every face in the company.

jaykhunter

jpb1974 wrote: »

Pretty much as long as TNA keeping producing the same old sh*te they have been producing for quite a long time now.

I have to say I find the fundamentals of what Storm says to be very true... which is that the booking and story lines in TNA are dreadful.

I don't understand how many times you can watch a Russo show and give out that it's Russo. At some point you'd have to think "oh right, Russo produces a Russo show". Surely he's run out of "new" material and is just re-stating his points with fresh examples.

With the exception of the recent women's division turn and the blunder-twin power-rings, TNA's booking has been much better and coherent for the most part. "Dreadful" would suggest it's the worst it could be, and no, it's not. Electrified Steel Cages and Fish Market Brawls are closer to the worst it could be. Would you consider the Angle/Anderson storyline dreadful?

I don't think the glaring similarities of TNA and WCW has escaped anyone's attention. It's probably the oldest statement the wrestling community have on TNA since about....2006? (That said it is remarkably similar, just on a smaller scale!)

The fact of the matter is that I only tune into TNA these days to see how low they can actually go.

That sounds like a bare-faced lie. No-one continuously watches a show they hate purely in a negative sense. There is some kind of pleasure you derive from it. You do enjoy something in it! Something about TNA drives you to consciously spend time watching it every week. Maybe you just arm-chair book and can't just enjoy what they do; or accept how TNA run things. Or maybe you don't admit you like some of their booking/storylines/wrestlers and don't wanna seem pro-TNA; who knows!

Are you telling me you didn't enjoy anything from this week's impact or impact 4 weeks ago with Jarrett/Foley and RVD-Hardy/Beer Money? To me it sounds like you're basing your view of TNA from roughly this time last year; when TNA were really producing awful shows and PPVs. For the most part, TNA has been more entertaining then RAW these last 2 months, and since Bischoff and Hogan has come in, the promos and coherency of plot have gotten much better.

Machismo Fan

I enjoyed the Fish Market Street Fight.:)

johnnycnandy

Get rid of Hogan, Flair, Bischoff, Nash, Hall, Waltman. We've already seen them all. TNA needs to offer an alternative. Something that the general public hasn't seen before. The promotion should be built around guys like Joe and AJ and the young TNA guys. Not over-50 WWE has-beens.

Qs

I think the whole "old guys are bad for TNA" argument if far too simplistic. Look at the way HHH, HBK and Taker have been working for the WWE for the last few years. The likes of Sting, The Dudleys and Jarrett were all filling roles on TNA too.

Personally I think Flair as a manager and Hulk as a GM is fine, they just need to stick to their roles. Sting, Jarrett, Dudleys, etc are fine too.

If you look at TNA before the Hogan stuff the older guys like Nash, Booker and Steiner were used to get the younger guys over. Now we get Hulk vs Flair, Sting vs Jarrett, etc Whats the point?

darkest star2379

i have to disagree with comment about "get rid of hall and nash and waltman"

as long as theese guys are on tv , i will continue to watch tna ...the younger talent in tna...hell they may be great wrestlers but they dont have "it"

look at the likes of rock,hogan,flair,ddp,austin,breat hart,hhh,hbk,taker ..and ill include razor ramon and diesel (hall and nash) angle sting goldberg big show and others

and then compare that crop to wolfe,pope,aj styles,samoa joe,and the 50 thousand other tag teams that bore me sideways......and i have been watchin tna longer than a lot of pople.......its just boring with theese guys there..i dont care what anyone says


also I HATE HEARING JACKASS'S SHOUT "holy sh*t" or other stuff that can clearly be heard....it cheapens the whole mood for me

and finally.....TNA NEEDS BIGGER ARENAS AND BIGGER CROWDS

jaykhunter

Machismo Fan wrote: »

I enjoyed the Fish Market Street Fight.:)

BBBBBBBEAAYAH!!!!!!

paddyismaddy

El_Drago wrote: »

3 words-Fire Vince Russo

i'd get rid of hogan, flair and bischoff as well

Mr.Nice Guy

J.R. has said on his blog that going to TNA is a viable option if he leaves WWE. His contract expires this Friday. Personally I'd be surprised if he ended up there but who knows...

Bounty Hunter

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

J.R. has said on his blog that going to TNA is a viable option if he leaves WWE. His contract expires this Friday. Personally I'd be surprised if he ended up there but who knows...

I would take TNA far more seriously if JR was there than when any big name (Angle, Jeff etc) has gone there, although he is more possible he just seems like a Taker or Cena atm i.e what is qunitissential about the WWE (even if he isnt on air atm). Vince would actually start to care if this happened to.

It just makes no sense to me, rehire the guy, hes great in so many aspects not just commentating but even in that respect he is still a league above what the WWE currently have imo and should be instantley re-instated on Raw's commentary team afaic. If i was in charge itd be one of the shocks of the supplemental draft.

Mr.Nice Guy

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

I would take TNA far more seriously if JR was there than when any big name (Angle, Jeff etc) has gone there, although he is more possible he just seems like a Taker or Cena atm i.e what is qunitissential about the WWE (even if he isnt on air atm). Vince would actually start to care if this happened to.

It just makes no sense to me, rehire the guy, hes great in so many aspects not just commentating but even in that respect he is still a league above what the WWE currently have imo and should be instantley re-instated on Raw's commentary team afaic. If i was in charge itd be one of the shocks of the supplemental draft.

Yeah it would be a top coup for TNA. Would be harsh on Tenay although I think a 3 man booth could work.

I feel they have been quite sh*tty to him personally. I read his blogs a lot and it seems they have decided to keep him off air and want him in other projects. He even said Michaels and Taker lobbied for him to call their Mania match but the company rejected that idea. I think he also mentioned they have done some Legends discussions without him too. He's quite defiant that he has more matches left in him to call and has said MMA could be an option for him too.

I just don't get why they are putting him off air. I'm guessing it's because they feel he doesn't fit their brand image but listening to WWE's commentary of late has done my head in.

flahavaj

Its odd how they've treated JR not just this time but at various points of the past few years. Its like Vince has a personal dislike of him or womething ans has made a few attempts to take him off the air only to backtrack and re-instate him. I understand the need to look to the future and the need to give a guy like Cole a vote of confidence (like him or not, its clear he is here to stay). But as JR has said theres life in him yet and its not as if theres a cut off age for sitting at a booth commentating on a wrestling match, Gorilla and Heenan did it till a good old age for a start.

Super-Rush

Change to a bigger network.

Vince135792003

super-rush wrote: »

Change to a bigger network.

WWE did fine when they were on it.

waltersobchak

Vince135792003 wrote: »

WWE did fine when they were on it.

Didn't Raw do its worst ratings on TNN/ Spike TV?

Wompa1

My opinion choose the correct wrestlers to build as characters. i.e. Somoa Joe could really execute a good character in my opinion, if he was the take no BS type they could build a presence around him.

WWE can pick the correct people some of the time to actually let build their characters, give them that extra air time and mic time. I.e. CM Punk and Edge. To me TNA will give anybody air and mic time when they think it makes sense. In my opinion someone like AJ Styles does not need much mic time, he can be great without it. I much rathered when he didn't talk much, it made you sit back and think wow he's great, I wonder what he's like.

I don't hold much hope for TNA and at this rate would not be sad to see it go. Bring on ROH. I need my Jerry Lynn fix, why that guy has not been pushed to the moon on the back of The Wrestler is beyond me, he's the perfect mould to take on that persona..do promos of him being drunk and unable to wrestle and crap like that. It would be genius

jpb1974

What I hate about AJ in TNA of late is/was that he's playing the village idiot heel... is completely overshadowed by Flair and then add this to the fact that he's was supposed to be World Champion (up until the recent title change)... it was a bit lame.

The comical clown heel champ doesn't really do it for me.