5 Things TNA Needs to Fix to Compete With WWE...

[Canadian_SXE]

No. Just no!

1) The 6 sided ring makes them look amaturish. Not going to help in the slightest. It's a step back if anything.

2) Yes TNA does have the better in ring talent. But that doesn't mean they have to only use the guys who haven't made it in WWE. Guys like Jeff Hardy, Rob Van Dam and Kurt Angle are all better in the ring than the guys you've mentioned, barring maybe AJ Styles.

3) Wrestling is a soap opera! If you want just wrestling, watch ROH with the other 15 people who want just wrestling.

4) I couldn't really care less about the Knockouts, granted they're better than the divas but one match a show is one too many if you ask me. Womans wrestling sucks.

5) If you had a main event of AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels and Kazarian, watch those ratings plummet. No one cares about these guys and none of them have interesting enough characters to warrant a spot in the main event. TNA would be much better served using guys that can evoke emotion from a crowd and wrestlers people care and know about. The likes of Rob Van Dam, Kurt Angle, Bully Ray, Jeff Hardy and Sting are much better suited for main event roles than the guys you've listed.

TNA shouldn't give a shit about where someone has made their name or who has remained "loyal" to them. They should be using the guys that get fans invested in what they are doing. What's the biggest match TNA have ever held? What's the match that had the fans most invested? What's the match that had the entire arena rocking? Hulk Hogan vs. Sting! Not fricking AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels. A match no one gives a shit about.

Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, Rob Van Dam, Hulk Hogan, Sting. All these guys that you talk about fans care more about yet ratings have not improved one bit with all those guys. You wanna know what the highest rated segment of the show that saw the debut of Hogan, Flair and Hardy was. It was the Beautiful People playing strip poker with Sean Morely. All those big name guys did shit for the ratings in TNA. So having Kazarian, Styles, Joe, and Daniels in the main event of a show will do little to effect the already crappy ratings. Oh, and by the way, the match that is still talked about by TNA fans as the greatest main event in company history was at Unbreakable 2005 with Styles, Daniels and Joe for the X-Division title. The one and only time the X-Division title main evented a ppv.

 

[lil bitch Kid]

What's going on here? Patient for what? Chapter 13 to file itself? Money is used for more than just paying wrestlers.

The knockouts are more wrestling orientated, remember the steel cage match they had? It was like, three days ago.

What do you mean by throwing shit at the wall? Immortal and Fortune, the rise to power of Bischoff and Hogan, that weird ranking system they used to determine who would face Angle at Bound for Glory... these were all very long term storylines. What kind of booking were you referring to?

I'm not just giving you shit (though mostly, I am) I'd really like to grasp a little more in-depth the points you're making.

Rome wasn't built in a day. There is enough money being spent is what the point is.

Yes, 3 days ago there was a knockouts match. The problem is that you've got one of your better workers running around with Eric Young, they continue with the stupid 'I want to be in charge' story...etc

HMMMM, Anderson's a face then he,s not, then he is, then he's not, then he's gone. Roode chases the title, oh we don't want him to be champ, wait a second, yeah we do. Immortal is a faction with one leader, then another, then 2, then where are they? Fortune has 4 members, and they are alligned with Immortal. Then they aren,t and they have 5 members. Then they have 4 members, then 3 and so on. All in the span of WEEKS. Give things the chance to develop and don't change them from week to week or hour to hour. You want people who understand story telling to buy in, then don't slap them in the face. Maybe you like the shoot from the hip booking with one rhyme or reason, but to a fan whose seen the best, this is not it.

 

[TM Punk]

TNE will never be able to compete with WWE. At least, not the same way WCW did. The reason WCW was able to compete with WWF was because the name carried the same weight as WWF. WCW, or Jim Crockette Promotions was a company for just about the same amount of time as WWF was, going all the way back to the old territory days. They were the two biggest companies, both had the biggest stars. WCW represented the southern half of the country, while WWF represented much of the north.

The name TNA or now IMPACT Wrestling carries no weight. Top that off with the fact that they tried to bring in Hulk Hogan to boost things. Now that's what the casual fan relates TNA with. It went from being the other wrestling company, to that show with Hulk Hogan. That's why WWE is still around, and bigger than ever, because Vince McMahon doesn't allow his workers to become bigger than the company. He did it one time, and he learned his lesson. That's the difference, TNA NEED the names like Angle, Hardy, Hogan, Sting, Flair, etc. to sell their PPV's, because no one is going to say "hey man, bound for glory is this weekend, wanna come over and watch it?" People can do that for wrestlemania, and royal rumble, and even over the limit, because you know what you're getting with the letters WWE. And its then, and only then when TNA builds up a posative reputation, will they compete. That's why you need patience.

...btw john cena, orton, punk, none of them will ever be seen in tna (again for punk). Wwe has all their top guys wrapped up in contracts for double digit years. That is another thing that WCW was able to do that TNA just can't.

My 5 things... if I can think of that many.

1. Production: it should be in HD, period. Get with the times. Also, the music sounds like it was recorded in someones garage. Now that's good if the white stripes do it, because its artsy, and do it yourself is a very big movement in music these days. But not when you're on a nationally televised tv show. You've paid bands to use their songs for PPVs. Pay some up and comers to use a song for one of your wrestlers, just like WWE does.

2. Get out of the IMPACT zone. The time has come, I know, it'll be a little awkward at first, but just do it (nike). You know why ROH draw bigger crowds on the road than TNA does? Because they've been touring around, getting their name out there, since their inception (awesome movie). Being a tourist attraction every week isn't how you do that.

3. Pick your target audience, and target them: I think this is the one thing that they may do good. TNA should be targeting the opposite audience that WWE targets. WWE targets kids, TNA should target teens, and adults. Or should TNA also target kids in an attempt to take away some of WWEs viewers... you tell me.

4. Get off SPIKE, and onto a network: This is NOT a ratings thing. I feel that their ratings are right where they should be. They're the highest rated show on spike tv. But that's the thing, just how many people really give two shits about spike tv? Its not that big of a cable channel. And its currently in the process of changing its core audience. It is also realing as a result of UFC leaving. I think now would be the perfect time to move on. Maybe go to CW, or MyNetworkTV. They are both regular channels, available to EVERYONE for free. They both have had high rated wrestling programs on their respective networks, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I m sure mynetwork was pretty upset that WWE chose to go to syfy. I personally think that ratings would go slightly up, if it were on one of these channels.

5. Be patient: whoever on this thread said to be patient was right. TNA doesn't have the name power WWE has. So therefor there is no way to compete with them. But over time, if you do things right, and you build up your name, THEN you strike. Say TNA starts getting really good. They start getting more advertising, better, bigger house shows, PPVs start selling more. All of that needs to happen for them to get to that point. And its not going to happen over night. Patience. Most wrestling companies fail. Money runs out, and they go under. Very few make a profit, and almost none compete with the top company in the world. Tna has an outside chance of that, but it takes time.

 

[lil bitch Kid]

YES, YES, YES. I personally think that if ROH were on Spike, they<d get the same number as TNA. The difference is that ROH would look at it as a success, where TNA feels that they need to compete. TNA needs to be patient and pretend that WWE doesn't exist. They need to worry about their own house and not try to keep up with the Joneses.

 

[ABMorales787]

TNE will never be able to compete with WWE. At least, not the same way WCW did. The reason WCW was able to compete with WWF was because the name carried the same weight as WWF. WCW, or Jim Crockette Promotions was a company for just about the same amount of time as WWF was, going all the way back to the old territory days. They were the two biggest companies, both had the biggest stars. WCW represented the southern half of the country, while WWF represented much of the north.

For the most part true. Except that no matter what, TNA is competition. Because you know, competition means "to face against". And I'm not exactly sure TNA is on friendly terms with WWE.

The name TNA or now IMPACT Wrestling carries no weight. Top that off with the fact that they tried to bring in Hulk Hogan to boost things. Now that's what the casual fan relates TNA with. It went from being the other wrestling company, to that show with Hulk Hogan. That's why WWE is still around, and bigger than ever, because Vince McMahon doesn't allow his workers to become bigger than the company.

Nah, it still was that other company. Hulk Hogan just happened to be there too.

He did it one time, and he learned his lesson. That's the difference,

No it isn't. John Cena could some day throw a fit and head to Orlando. Do you really think there's anyone in WWE that could replace Cena? Clearly McMahon has not learned his lesson.

...btw john cena, orton, punk, none of them will ever be seen in tna (again for punk). Wwe has all their top guys wrapped up in contracts for double digit years. That is another thing that WCW was able to do that TNA just can't.

Hmmm... Must be why Jeff Hardy turned down a Wrestlemania rematch with CM Punk in favor of heading for TNA. Must be why Kurt Angle came up with every excuse possible to be fired from WWE and head to TNA. Yeah, anything is possible. Never say never.

My 5 things... if I can think of that many.

1. Production: it should be in HD, period. Get with the times. Also, the music sounds like it was recorded in someones garage. Now that's good if the white stripes do it, because its artsy, and do it yourself is a very big movement in music these days. But not when you're on a nationally televised tv show. You've paid bands to use their songs for PPVs. Pay some up and comers to use a song for one of your wrestlers, just like WWE does.

Way to go. First, the show is already in HD. They did it before WWE did actually. Second, the reason they don't hire bands for music but use them for PPV themes is because one is just advertisement for the band and the other requires trademarking, licensing and payments for the band. Guess which is which.

2. Get out of the IMPACT zone. The time has come, I know, it'll be a little awkward at first, but just do it (nike).

If they could do it, they would have done it.

You know why ROH draw bigger crowds on the road than TNA does?

Except they don't.

Because they've been touring around, getting their name out there, since their inception (awesome movie). Being a tourist attraction every week isn't how you do that.

You're right. That's why they do house shows and world tours. Like the one that will air in 2 weeks from London. On national TV. On prime time. Let's see ROH pull that off.

3. Pick your target audience, and target them: I think this is the one thing that they may do good. TNA should be targeting the opposite audience that WWE targets. WWE targets kids, TNA should target teens, and adults. Or should TNA also target kids in an attempt to take away some of WWEs viewers... you tell me.

I don't know. I thought you were making suggestions to "fix" TNA. Now you can't make up your mind?

4. Get off SPIKE, and onto a network: This is NOT a ratings thing. I feel that their ratings are right where they should be. They're the highest rated show on spike tv. But that's the thing, just how many people really give two shits about spike tv? Its not that big of a cable channel. And its currently in the process of changing its core audience. It is also realing as a result of UFC leaving. I think now would be the perfect time to move on. Maybe go to CW, or MyNetworkTV. They are both regular channels, available to EVERYONE for free. They both have had high rated wrestling programs on their respective networks, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I m sure mynetwork was pretty upset that WWE chose to go to syfy. I personally think that ratings would go slightly up, if it were on one of these channels.

And lose network benefits to go up to 1.3's? You're just chalk full of brilliant ideas.

5. Be patient: whoever on this thread said to be patient was right. TNA doesn't have the name power WWE has. So therefor there is no way to compete with them. But over time, if you do things right, and you build up your name, THEN you strike. Say TNA starts getting really good. They start getting more advertising, better, bigger house shows, PPVs start selling more. All of that needs to happen for them to get to that point. And its not going to happen over night. Patience. Most wrestling companies fail. Money runs out, and they go under. Very few make a profit, and almost none compete with the top company in the world. Tna has an outside chance of that, but it takes time.

It's not a matter of patience. It's a matter of the obvious. TNA is here and it's doing fine. Why the fuck do people want to fix what isn't broken? I don't give a shit if it grows. I don't give a shit it get's higher ratings. I just care about watching it because I like it. That the only fucking thing that should matter.

 

[lil bitch Kid]

If TNA doesn't need 'fixing' then why did Janice Carter state that they'd be happy if they only lost the same amount this year as they did last and no more?

 

[wcwnwoforlife]

tna needs to bring back GOLDBERG! have eric run it just like nitro have a nitro feel to it, bring back everyone from wcw ecw wwe in the 90s and run the fucking wrestling world, and shove it up vinces candy ass

ps wwe has shitter roster

 

[TM Punk]

For the most part true. Except that no matter what, TNA is competition. Because you know, competition means "to face against". And I'm not exactly sure TNA is on friendly terms with WWE.


Nah, it still was that other company. Hulk Hogan just happened to be there too.


No it isn't. John Cena could some day throw a fit and head to Orlando. Do you really think there's anyone in WWE that could replace Cena? Clearly McMahon has not learned his lesson.



Hmmm... Must be why Jeff Hardy turned down a Wrestlemania rematch with CM Punk in favor of heading for TNA. Must be why Kurt Angle came up with every excuse possible to be fired from WWE and head to TNA. Yeah, anything is possible. Never say never.


Way to go. First, the show is already in HD. They did it before WWE did actually. Second, the reason they don't hire bands for music but use them for PPV themes is because one is just advertisement for the band and the other requires trademarking, licensing and payments for the band. Guess which is which.


If they could do it, they would have done it.

Except they don't.

You're right. That's why they do house shows and world tours. Like the one that will air in 2 weeks from London. On national TV. On prime time. Let's see ROH pull that off.


I don't know. I thought you were making suggestions to "fix" TNA. Now you can't make up your mind?


And lose network benefits to go up to 1.3's? You're just chalk full of brilliant ideas.


It's not a matter of patience. It's a matter of the obvious. TNA is here and it's doing fine. Why the fuck do people want to fix what isn't broken? I don't give a shit if it grows. I don't give a shit it get's higher ratings. I just care about watching it because I like it. That the only fucking thing that should matter.

I could come on here, not do a damn thing the thread suggests, and just turn peoples thoughts around on them to make them sound stupid too. But I actually take my time and think about ideas, you know, doing what the OP suggested? You should try it. Its not as easy as replying to a post just to try and make yourself sound smart without actually making a rational thought. (I was unaware of the hd thing though)

The thing with the bands. It won't cost much to license a song from an up and coming band. Especially if they aren't ona major label.

My point about cena is that he's not bigger than the company. Hogan was.
Angle was a drug addict, jeff hardy is an idiot. That's why they aren't in wwe.

 

[lil bitch Kid]

TNA really needs to stop thinking that the answer is to pick up WWE rejects just because they were a success in the WWE. Angle and Hardy haven't done anything for TNA except get a mention when they get arrested. Matt Hardy, well, another waste of money. Hogan has hogged spotlight and not helped the ratings. Bischoff was a good pick up in terms of production and show pacing.

If TNA wanted to pick up guys cut loose by the E, they would have been better served to take younger guys that weren't being used properly and turned them around. The problem with how they have used the WWE cast offs is that they have expected them to be the same guys they were in the E rather than making them their own. With guys like Angle and hardy, of course they did, but that is why they should not have been signed. Kennderson is another example.

 

[ABMorales787]

I could come on here, not do a damn thing the thread suggests, and just turn peoples thoughts around on them to make them sound stupid too. But I actually take my time and think about ideas, you know, doing what the OP suggested? You should try it. Its not as easy as replying to a post just to try and make yourself sound smart without actually making a rational thought.

That's the funny part. I took the time to pick out why these ideas aren't good by using said rational thought.

(I was unaware of the hd thing though)

See what actual research and thinking can do?

The thing with the bands. It won't cost much to license a song from an up and coming band. Especially if they aren't on a major label.

Not my call. It's TNA's if they want to whip out the money or not.

My point about cena is that he's not bigger than the company. Hogan was.
Angle was a drug addict, jeff hardy is an idiot. That's why they aren't in wwe.

Hogan was never bigger than the WWE as that was his biggest outlet. He would never have mattered in Hollywood or anywhere else unless he was still in WWE or WCW as it was the only true work of his people cared about. If WCW didn't have the money, Hogan would never left WWE because there would have not been anything else for him to excel in.

I have no issue with people giving out their opinion. I do have issues with people talking about how to "fix" TNA or "improve it" and when you look at the ideas, they are pretty much farfetched. They talk about this use of "WWE hasbeens" and hide behind the weak "bad ratings" claims and bogus "horrid booking" theories. If they had actual solid thoughts, they'd focus on one particular aspect TNA. Like how Robbie E hasn't been on major storylines since his win over Eric Young. Or how ridiculous it is to have EY feud with Love and Winter. But no. People are too dumb for that and want to think "big" by pretending they have all the answers to make TNA a raving success.

 

[lil bitch Kid]

NOt to get in a little flame war with you there Killjoy, but what have you done that proves your point. You tried to make a point with me, twice, I refuted it, and you said nothing.

TNA has massive issues, not the least of which is the fact that booking is nonsesnsical and they are bleeding money. You get a member of the owning family that says it would be great is they only lost as much as they did the previous year and it's not a ringing endorsement. Robbie E and Young are the least of the booking worries, but not bad as superficial examples of the issues at hand.

 

[ABMorales787]

NOt to get in a little flame war with you there Killjoy, but what have you done that proves your point. You tried to make a point with me, twice, I refuted it, and you said nothing.

TNA has massive issues, not the least of which is the fact that booking is nonsesnsical

You are being pretty vague there. What storylines are nonsensical? There's quite few. Besides EY, I don't see any that lack sense.

and they are bleeding money.
You get a member of the owning family that says it would be great is they only lost as much as they did the previous year and it's not a ringing endorsement.

Doing what exactly? Janice Carter may be saying something, but all it does is draw speculation as it. Is it the celebrities they brought in? That's their own fault for offering the money.

Robbie E and Young are the least of the booking worries, but not bad as superficial examples of the issues at hand.

Well specify. Because no one ever seems to like to do that around here.

 

[ABMorales787]

Ok, so what does TNA need to do to compete with WWE? Let's start by not TRYING to compete with WWE. If it happens, it happens, but their main goal should be to try and get out of the red and into the black.

And that means what exactly? How do you not try to compete? They need to make a name for themselves. If they can't do it the way they are currently doing it? How do they do it?

Next, what did the WWE, then F, have when they first had the National boom period. They had Hogan. Right, well TNA has Hogan. It's not the person that did it, it's the representation that mattered. TNA needs to pick a 'face of the company' and stock with it. It has to be a guy that people will pay to see. Decide on one, and stick to it.

The idea of Hogan being signed to be the face of the company is out of the mark. How's a guy who can't wrestle supposed to carry it? He was hired as a spokesperson first, in-ring character second.

TNA needs to stop with the 'throw shit at the wall and see what sticks' booking. Choose a path and stick with it. Yes, there will be uncontrollable factors that will come into play, but you need a direction.

Must be why the Roode/Storm story is so straight forward. It couldn't be more obvious Storm will eventually beat Roode.

The whole theory that they need a guy with deep pockets is BS. The guys that they have plenty of talent to get the job done. None of them need to be paid more. It isn't a mnoney issue at this point in terms of money that is going out. They need to find a way to bring money in.

What? What are you talking about? Who has deep pockets? Hogan? He was broke, so he went to TNA.

Yes, TNA would be best served to offer something that isn't being offered elsewhere. Rebuild the X division. Use the Knockouts as wrestling and not eye candy.

They aren't doing that already?

The main thing is that they need to be patient.

No. They just need to be themselves. Yet no one around here want's to accept them as such.

Rome wasn't built in a day. There is enough money being spent is what the point is.

Yes, 3 days ago there was a knockouts match. The problem is that you've got one of your better workers running around with Eric Young, they continue with the stupid 'I want to be in charge' story...etc

ODB? She is not a "better worker". In fact, she was downright awful as Champion and was hired just because too many women were gone.

HMMMM, Anderson's a face then he,s not, then he is, then he's not, then he's gone.

No, he was a tweener who did anything to keep the title. Though, the execution was indeed lacking.

Roode chases the title, oh we don't want him to be champ, wait a second, yeah we do.

And then Storm was World Champion and suddenly 2 totally new guys are in the main event. What was so wrong about that?

Immortal is a faction with one leader, then another, then 2, then where are they?

What? Hulk and Eric were always the leaders of Immortal.

Fortune has 4 members, and they are alligned with Immortal. Then they aren,t and they have 5 members. Then they have 4 members, then 3 and so on. All in the span of WEEKS.

Em... NO. It was always AJ, Beer Money and Kaz but they added Doug and Morgan to have as many people as EV2. Once that ended, they trimmed the fat.

Give things the chance to develop and don't change them from week to week or hour to hour. You want people who understand story telling to buy in, then don't slap them in the face. Maybe you like the shoot from the hip booking with one rhyme or reason, but to a fan whose seen the best, this is not it.

And what exactly dictates what the best is? I enjoyed of that stuff. Who's to say you're being too simpleminded and expect everyone think alike about it? Or would you like 1 year of build like 10/10/10? Or 2 years of build for Hogan vs Sting?

YES, YES, YES. I personally think that if ROH were on Spike, they<d get the same number as TNA. The difference is that ROH would look at it as a success, where TNA feels that they need to compete. TNA needs to be patient and pretend that WWE doesn't exist. They need to worry about their own house and not try to keep up with the Joneses.

If the programming is as good as what they have on Sinclair, Spike would be better off airing Kaiju Big Battel. From what I've see of ROH, it has more flaws than TNA and WWE together. I'm still wondering what major effect did bringing in Dan Severn to train Edwards was supposed to do. Or who the hell most of the guys there are.

Go back and take a look since I was pretty specific earlier in this thread.

Happy?

 

[He's Phenomenal]

Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, Rob Van Dam, Hulk Hogan, Sting. All these guys that you talk about fans care more about yet ratings have not improved one bit with all those guys. You wanna know what the highest rated segment of the show that saw the debut of Hogan, Flair and Hardy was. It was the Beautiful People playing strip poker with Sean Morely. All those big name guys did shit for the ratings in TNA. So having Kazarian, Styles, Joe, and Daniels in the main event of a show will do little to effect the already crappy ratings. Oh, and by the way, the match that is still talked about by TNA fans as the greatest main event in company history was at Unbreakable 2005 with Styles, Daniels and Joe for the X-Division title. The one and only time the X-Division title main evented a ppv.

Have the ratings really not improved since 2008? I'll admit I'm shocked because I definately thought they'd at least be a bit higher. The ratings over here have pretty much doubled since the arrival of all the stars. TNA have vastly extended their International market since the influx of stars, but they probably haven't helped at all with that. Weren't the ratings even crappier when the likes of Styles, Joe and Daniels were main eventing? Unbreakable may have been a better technical wrestling match but there is no way it was bigger or greater than Hogan vs. Sting. That's just ridiculous. How many people were emotionally invested in that match? How many people actually watched Unbreakable at the time? I doubt it would even come close to BFG11, attendance wise or viewing wise.

TNA really needs to stop thinking that the answer is to pick up WWE rejects just because they were a success in the WWE.

Just love this quote. Best oxymoron ever! How can you be a reject, yet be a success? That makes absolutely no sense at all and is a total contradiction. Cracking stuff.

 

[Rayne]

Joy, this thread again.

Folks, if the "lack of growth" issues TNA/IW is having (whether you'd like to admit to them or not) could be solved by a bunch of kids blueskying ideas at each other, we would have solved all of TNA's problems back in 2009.

It's not TNA/IW. It's professional wrestling. The whole industry is going downhill right now. That's not an excuse for the people in charge; professional wrestling isn't cool right now, and part of their jobs is to make it cool. "My competitor didn't do so well either" isn't an excuse when it comes time to count your own money.

If I was prepared to offer a solution, I would. Road touring obviously isn't a feasible approach right now, or they'd have pulled the trigger on that. (And I don't mean a live crowd once every few months.) Productwise, they're offering the same thing as the WWE; the only people that notice major differences are the people that are looking for major differences. Does it really matter if one company makes more use of stables, or if another company uses more promo time? Only if you want to make it seem like it matters so you can say that "your" professional wrestling organization is better.

 

[SpecialFNK]

TNA really needs to stop thinking that the answer is to pick up WWE rejects just because they were a success in the WWE. Angle and Hardy haven't done anything for TNA except get a mention when they get arrested. Matt Hardy, well, another waste of money. Hogan has hogged spotlight and not helped the ratings. Bischoff was a good pick up in terms of production and show pacing.

If TNA wanted to pick up guys cut loose by the E, they would have been better served to take younger guys that weren't being used properly and turned them around. The problem with how they have used the WWE cast offs is that they have expected them to be the same guys they were in the E rather than making them their own. With guys like Angle and hardy, of course they did, but that is why they should not have been signed. Kennderson is another example.

no offence. but IMO this is not accurate.
if TNA had a roster full of wrestlers that never appeared in WWE, they wouldn't last on TV. you NEED names that general viewers can recognize.
there are likely WWE fans who only watch TNA because they know the likes of Angle/Hardy/ect.

any idea on the percentage of hard core wrestling fans that watch every week? I don't know a number, but I bet it's low. there are way more casual/general fans that watch.

I know this because if Hogan/Bischoff along with the likes of Hardy/Anderson/RVD never went to TNA in 2010 I never would have started watching.

 

[Serious Mozzarella]

1) bring back the 6 sided ring.

TNA needs to DIFFERENTIATE themselves from the WWE, and bringing back the 6 sided ring is one of the best ways to go about it.

The six-sided ring was different, sure. But bringing it back won't be a legitimate factor in competing with the WWE. It was interesting, but ultimately, it made no difference at all.

2) put MAJOR focus on their own HOMEGROWN talent.

in all honesty, TNA has the BETTER in ring WRESTLING talent than the WWE. guys like STYLES, SAMOA JOE, CHRISTOPHER DANIELS, AUSTIN ARIES, BOBBY ROODE, JAMES STORM, MOTOR CITY, KAZARIAN ------these guys are TNA through and through, and every single one of them can put on one hell of a WRESTLING match. you put in any combination of these guys against each other and you're guaranteed at least a **** match.

NO DOUBT ABOUT IT.

how many ACTIVE guys in the WWE can boast this? honestly, not much---the main guys who can go are PUNK, ORTON, JERICHO, ZIGGLER, CHRISTIAN and.....that's about it.

TNA clearly has the advantage as far as the IN RING product is concerned. so, obviously TNA, you need to put more EMPHASIS on your WRESTLING

It's hard to give a shit about wrestlers if you know the outcome is predetermined. People watch wrestling for the storylines. It's what separates the WWE/TNA from the indies, and it's why they're more popular.

Watching two men "compete" knowing they're not actually competing is just stupid, and it just becomes, "oooh, look at all the flippy floppies!"

3) STOP trying to be WWE!!! TNA needs to stop copying WWE with too much backstage skits and bullshit storylines. just focus on the WRESTLING. sure, have some minor storylines going to get a feud heating up, but don't go OVERBOARD with stories that include kane-like superpowers or hidden camera BS. just put MAJOR EMPHASIS on the WRESTLING. be different. if wrestling fans want soap opera-like storylines, have them watch WWE. if wrestling fans want to watch WRESTLING, then watch TNA.

oh, and enough of these 'no contests and non-finishers and screwy finishers' to a match. bobby roode's title run has been PLAGUED by screwy endings. i know you're trying to establish his character as a conniving heel, but have a satisfying end to a match for once!! matches can have screwy endings, but do it sporadically and creatively!! bully ray interferring in a world title match whipping everyone, even the ref, with a chain is NOT creative!!!! its just STUPID!!!

Yeah, the superpower crap is what's bringing the WWE down. I can't suspend my disbelief when Kane is around, when I'm sitting around wondering why he doesn't just set his opponents on fire. If he has the ability to do so.

But to respond to your point, storylines are what makes wrestling interesting. I'll refer back to my previous point about the wrestlers not actually competing.

4) continue to emphasize the KNOCKOUTS division.

i like how TNA actually cares about the women's division and i like how their matches actually last longer than 2 minutes. knockouts get quality air time on IMPACT and their matches are 10X better than any of WWE's POOR excuse for a diva's match . (how many times do we have to see kelly kelly vs the bella twins?!!) the women of TNA can actually WRESTLE and look good. that knockouts cage match the other week was GREAT. never seen a cage diva's match in WWE before. keep doing this TNA.

The Divas and the Knockouts all largely suck. You can't write good storylines for people who can't act or perform. These women are eye-candy. They're an intermission from the real show. It's a sad, unfortunate fact of the business. There aren't a lot of women who are good enough to perform on the level that the men do. The ones who are aren't good enough to carry the ones that suck through an interesting storyline.

The last good female feud, in ALL of mainstream wrestling, was Trish Stratus vs. Mickie James.

5) bring AJ STYLES, SAMOA JOE, CHRISTOPHER DANIELS, KAZARIAN, back to the MAIN EVENT.

WTF TNA !!! why are these guys getting BURIED and UNDER-utilized??!!!! these are your BEST talent and they are BARELY on TV!!! these guys should be a MAJOR part of the show EVERY week and EVERY PPV!!!! but they're NOT!!!!! RIDICULOUS!!!! why is AJ jobbing to GUNNER??? why is JOE jobbing to crimson??!!
they are in their prime, they kick ass in the ring, the fans love them-------so USE THEM!!!!

use the ex-WWE talent like ANGLE, ANDERSON, RVD, HARDY wisely, they shouldn't be the main focal point of the product. but they should only be used to ELEVATE the HOMEGROWN TNA talent. build NEW STARS!!!! don't rely on the WWE to make the stars TNA-----MAKE YOUR OWN DAMMIT!!!!

ok that is all

These guys were in the main event, and they didn't do shit for TNA before Hogan and Bischoff. You think if TNA just got rid of all the recognizable ex-WWE talent, they'd be instantly shot into super-popularity, and legitimately compete with the WWE?

You're out of your mind.

 

[Lowdown]

I get that the OP was putting down what he wants to see on TNA TV and PPV's. That being said, TNA is doing alright so far in competing with WWE. We've all thrown out opinions on what "could" or "should" be done to be on the same level as WWE. As mentioned before, they're already competing with them, just not on the same level. What you need to keep in mind is how many years did it take for WWE to be in the position its in today. It took way more than 10 years, which is how long TNA has been in business. I'm sure there have been discussions of the same magnitude in regards to ROH. These things take time. Now I'm one of the few that misses the hexagon ring. It might've made TNA different in look, but it wasn't integral to their overall success. And whether you like it or not, times have changed over the years. You say that it should focus on the actual wrestling as opposed the the "sports-entertainment" aspect that it provides. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that the same thinking that eventually lead to dissolution of AWA? Verne Gagne was set in an old school mentality and lost out to WWF/E in just about every way imaginable. I agree that on the whole TNA has awesome wrestling talent. But as much as there could be improvements to the products, you're not providing any viable solutions, such as they are or would be. Again, you can't please everybody all of the time, and that rings true here. Right now, Roode and Storm are the present focal points, with Hardy and Bully Ray in the mix as well. You can only do so much on a 2 hour program per week. Other stars are bound to fall by the wayside with the exception of the main event stars. I feel that TNA is trying their best to provide what their fans want ion TV. But there are also house shows that can be attended if you want straight up wrestling shows.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

1) bring back the 6 sided ring.

TNA needs to DIFFERENTIATE themselves from the WWE, and bringing back the 6 sided ring is one of the best ways to go about it.

2) put MAJOR focus on their own HOMEGROWN talent.

in all honesty, TNA has the BETTER in ring WRESTLING talent than the WWE. guys like STYLES, SAMOA JOE, CHRISTOPHER DANIELS, AUSTIN ARIES, BOBBY ROODE, JAMES STORM, MOTOR CITY, KAZARIAN ------these guys are TNA through and through, and every single one of them can put on one hell of a WRESTLING match. you put in any combination of these guys against each other and you're guaranteed at least a **** match.

NO DOUBT ABOUT IT.

how many ACTIVE guys in the WWE can boast this? honestly, not much---the main guys who can go are PUNK, ORTON, JERICHO, ZIGGLER, CHRISTIAN and.....that's about it.

TNA clearly has the advantage as far as the IN RING product is concerned. so, obviously TNA, you need to put more EMPHASIS on your WRESTLING, which brings me to number 3:

3) STOP trying to be WWE!!! TNA needs to stop copying WWE with too much backstage skits and bullshit storylines. just focus on the WRESTLING. sure, have some minor storylines going to get a feud heating up, but don't go OVERBOARD with stories that include kane-like superpowers or hidden camera BS. just put MAJOR EMPHASIS on the WRESTLING. be different. if wrestling fans want soap opera-like storylines, have them watch WWE. if wrestling fans want to watch WRESTLING, then watch TNA.

oh, and enough of these 'no contests and non-finishers and screwy finishers' to a match. bobby roode's title run has been PLAGUED by screwy endings. i know you're trying to establish his character as a conniving heel, but have a satisfying end to a match for once!! matches can have screwy endings, but do it sporadically and creatively!! bully ray interferring in a world title match whipping everyone, even the ref, with a chain is NOT creative!!!! its just STUPID!!!

4) continue to emphasize the KNOCKOUTS division.

i like how TNA actually cares about the women's division and i like how their matches actually last longer than 2 minutes. knockouts get quality air time on IMPACT and their matches are 10X better than any of WWE's POOR excuse for a diva's match . (how many times do we have to see kelly kelly vs the bella twins?!!) the women of TNA can actually WRESTLE and look good. that knockouts cage match the other week was GREAT. never seen a cage diva's match in WWE before. keep doing this TNA.

5) bring AJ STYLES, SAMOA JOE, CHRISTOPHER DANIELS, KAZARIAN, back to the MAIN EVENT.

WTF TNA !!! why are these guys getting BURIED and UNDER-utilized??!!!! these are your BEST talent and they are BARELY on TV!!! these guys should be a MAJOR part of the show EVERY week and EVERY PPV!!!! but they're NOT!!!!! RIDICULOUS!!!! why is AJ jobbing to GUNNER??? why is JOE jobbing to crimson??!!
they are in their prime, they kick ass in the ring, the fans love them-------so USE THEM!!!!

use the ex-WWE talent like ANGLE, ANDERSON, RVD, HARDY wisely, they shouldn't be the main focal point of the product. but they should only be used to ELEVATE the HOMEGROWN TNA talent. build NEW STARS!!!! don't rely on the WWE to make the stars TNA-----MAKE YOUR OWN DAMMIT!!!!

ok that is all

first of all, before they fixing all these things, i thing they need to fix 3 things that are way more important.

1. Thinking about at less have ALL they're PPV outside the IMPACT Zone

The problem with having PPV'S in the IMPACT Zone is that it look exactly like just another episode of IMPACT. The feel the same and are book to look just like another episode. So why would anybody want to pay 35$ (45$ in HD) to watch a sunday night edition of IMPACT especially like the last 2 ppv shown us,we can get the main event of the ppv for free on the next edition of IMPACT.

2. Need a better Promotion department

The company as been alive for 10 years now and still, they are look at like a joke in North America. Most house show, they can draw more then 2000 peoples and that'S being generous. The ppv sales are really in the gutters and the ratings haven'T move in 5 years. Somebody need to realise that they need to promote more outside of facebook, twitter and the 2 hour time slot they have on thursday night. They have to be all over the media's and not be scared of spending a little bit of money to promote shows.

3. Change the PPV schedules.

The fact is that out of 12 PPV'S they only care for 3 of them(Lockdown, Slammiversary and Bound for glory) If your not going to try to make all the other events feel special like a mention in point 1, maybe just cancelled them all and do t.v. specials instead. As an exemple just take Against All odds 2012, No promotion is really being made for that show and the fact that the last 2 IMPACTs before the PPV will be taped from england make me thing that these 2 shows will overshadow the PPV anyway, so why not just cancelled the PPV and have a free special instead

 

[SpecialFNK]

for awhile now it has seemed that TNA doesn't really care about the PPVs. if they want to continue to have PPV every month, shouldn't they have the entire card for that PPV announced at least a couple weeks before? there has been many times when matches have been added just the Thursday before on Impact. not much build.

 

[T2KFreeker]

1) bring back the 6 sided ring.
2) put MAJOR focus on their own HOMEGROWN talent.
3) STOP trying to be WWE!!!
4) continue to emphasize the KNOCKOUTS division.
5) bring AJ STYLES, SAMOA JOE, CHRISTOPHER DANIELS, KAZARIAN, back to the MAIN EVENT.
ok that is all

Uhm, up until I saw number (4), I was going to ask if you even watch Impact. Still, I wonder if you watch it fully or just DVR it and Fast Forward through it. Most people complained about the Six Sided ring, so now they have brought in a traditional ring and now we are getting complaints about that. make up your damn minds. On top of that, I don't see how TNA is "Trying" to be WWE. The wrestlers aren't flat, one dimensional same characters in different clothes. Not talking crap, just saying what I have seen on WWE programming as of late when I tune in. Also, most of their focus right now IS on "Homegrown" talent. The main players on the show as of late have been, AJ, Roode, Kazarian, Storm, Crimson, Morgan, Joe, Magnus, ODB, Young, etc, etc, etc. The focus on the X-Division is a great example and the return of Alex Shelly is the exclamation point. How much more focus can be put of them. Now, onto Styles, Daniels, and Kazarian. Okay, so they are involved in a major storyline that is opening up and building and you are mad that they are not in the Main Event? How about, let's rotate the wrestlers in and out to keep things fresh and let things go where they are going? They are using Joe now more than they have in quite some time. As for Ex WWE guys getting all the clout, other than Jeff hardy, how do you figure that? Haven't seen RVD in a while. Hogan has been off Television since October. Angle just finished up a good Feud with James Storm that put Storm over, I might add. Oh, and we haven't seen Mr. Anderson . . . Anderson is a while either because Creative doesn't have anything for him at the moment. Seems to me that they are using Ex WWE talent very wisely, if you ask me. Besides, most wrestling fans that aren't snarky see these guys as what they are . . . WRESTLERS. It doesn't really matter where they worked before because you don't see people calling so and so "That Indy Guy", because they all start somewhere. And, if we didn't have Ex WWE guys, we wouldn't have Matt Morgan and The Pope, both of whom are TEN times better than they ever were at WWE.

Lastly, why does TNA need to compete with WWE anyway? Just let it be itself.

End rant. Carry On.

 

[Cats Pajamas]

Rome wasn't built in a day. There is enough money being spent is what the point is.

Yes, 3 days ago there was a knockouts match. The problem is that you've got one of your better workers running around with Eric Young, they continue with the stupid 'I want to be in charge' story...etc

HMMMM, Anderson's a face then he,s not, then he is, then he's not, then he's gone. Roode chases the title, oh we don't want him to be champ, wait a second, yeah we do. Immortal is a faction with one leader, then another, then 2, then where are they? Fortune has 4 members, and they are alligned with Immortal. Then they aren,t and they have 5 members. Then they have 4 members, then 3 and so on. All in the span of WEEKS. Give things the chance to develop and don't change them from week to week or hour to hour. You want people who understand story telling to buy in, then don't slap them in the face. Maybe you like the shoot from the hip booking with one rhyme or reason, but to a fan whose seen the best, this is not it.

I definitely can't argue with you on the Immortal/Fortune thing. Partly, I think they're asking too much out of me as a wrestling fan to focus on that many people who all seem to be having seperate problems intertwined with the rest of their stables problems (and back again), but part of me also believes there was some hot potatoe being played on my television set. Coincidentally, I hated the Main Event Mafia equally so I may just be the wrong fan for stable storylines.

I can't argue with your Anderson thing, either. I can understand someone throwing off the shackles of traditional face/heel status, but he was acting more like he had multiple personalities. Always wearing that STUPID HAT, too. I hear he's been gone because Creative doesn't have anything for him. I'd say they haven't for a while.

I have to disagree with your Roode/Storm point though. I thought Beer Money was great, and despite being an Angle fan I really wanted to see Roode walk out with the title. Then to have Storm win it the next night and lead up to a feud between him and Roode? Couldn't have been happier. It's made stars out of Storm and Roode, two guys who were practically there anyway and deserved it, and it was (in my opinion) the only acceptable excuse to break up Beer Money.

 

[Fenris]

Joy, this thread again. Even choc full of the "lulz tngay wont ever be competition" to the never gets old "lmao tnaye is losing teh money" BS that's been incorrect for several years now. That stuff never gets old. I'll indulge in this thread though.

1: No, the six sided ring doesn't need to return. It sucks, it's always sucked and it always will suck as anything more than a once per year prop. It cheapened TNA its entire existence and made it look like a joke to the casual fans. In North America pro wrestling as well as boxing is synonymous with a square, four sided ring. It is a standard that has been established for over 60 years in the wrestling industry. As an example even people that don't like nor watch pro wrestling, if you mention it? Two performers in the traditional ring is what pops into their mind. Even those who hate it instantly recognize the traditional ring.

2: No, TNA doesn't need to put most of their emphasis on being a pure wrestling program. One of these days the marks will get it. To compete you need RATINGS and BIG CROWDS. Pure wrestling fulfills a SMALL NICHE market. Casual fans are NOT going to wake up by the millions and decide "you know, I could go for 90 minutes of nothing but spotfests each week." Sorry kid, casual fans tune in for storylines and skits, not 20 minuted X-Division matches.

3: Kazarian, Christopher Daniels and Joe AREN'T Main Eventers, despite every "s"mark talking point post wishing that they were. TNA TRIED that already. It failed. The fans TNA needs to compete aren't the handful of ROH fans with this wet dream, sorry. Likewise until AJ Styles gets this Indy attitude bullshit out of his head he's not going to reach his potential.

Now, all of that out of the way let's move away from "what I seen others on the interwebz said they want to see so I want to see it too" post #5,492 masked as "what TNA MUST do" let's get into some things they actually need to do to compete, shall we?

Let's backtrack for a minute. Will TNA compete? Honestly it is unlikely. The Carters don't seem interested in doing that and seem content to just have this little wrestling side project to the side of their billion dollar Corporation that brings in some cash that they don't have to do much with. Now IF they wanted to compete they could but I am honestly not seeing much desire to grow and compete. Now on with it...

1: Think longterm. It all starts with that. The problem is they don't, they throw something out there hoping it will pop the ratings really big and when it doesn't they are stunned. That isn't how it works. You need to think years ahead and plan accordingly.

2: Tour. Then tour some more. Cliche` I know. Thing is touring helps get the product out there more. More than that though it gives you a great platform to see WHAT is working and what isn't working. If something pops with 2,000 fans in this town, then 2,000 more over here, then 3,000 over there and so on you know you are onto something. Taping in front of the IZ constantly and touring here and there doesn't provide that. They are stuck taking wild stabs in the dark then trying to gauge it based on TV ratings.

3: Invest wisely. his one is very important and covers multiple areas. Panda Energy needs to invest better into their product. OVW is a start and we will start with the talent standpoint. As it isand has been they just throw money at established WWE/WCW guys and just throw people on TV in $50 ring trunks and leave it at that.

Erm no. They need to take most of the new talent they have and invest in that. Hire trainers and nutritionists to get these Athletes into the best shape possible, hire some people to work with them on their promos, their speech, their acting ability and yes their storytelling ability in the ring. These guys are your future and to compete with a giant you need to pull out all of the stops. Also invest in some better ring gear for them, plain black bicycle shorts or the same look as 500 vanilla midgets on the Indy scene won't cut it. Invest in a really good hairstylist and make up person just as the WWE does, or maybe did and doesn't anymore.

Invest in the ancillary portion of the promotion. Commentators, ring announcer, referees, GM, midcarders and so on. Again while thinking longterm. A few examples starting with Commentary: Tenay is getting old and dropping off in ability, Taz just isn't very good. Now would be the time to take someone marketable and start training them to do color commentary. Keep an eye out and scout a second replacement, one that will mesh well with your homegrown commentator to go with them. Example #2: I'll use something *I* would LIKE to see as an example. Angle loves TNA, TNA loves Angle. He still wants to contribute longterm but is getting to where he can't go in the ring much anymore. Start mapping out a plan for him to be the GM when Sting leaves. Map it out some it's an entirely new dimension to the character and not just the current Angle as GM. Make it so it'll be something fresh, new and DIFFERENT.

Invest in an actual creative team as opposed to 1 "creative" guy, Vince Russo and then an intern. Invest in top notch Agents to lay out the matches. This is a big issue with TNA currently, D'Lo Brown and Al Snow suck at this job. TNA needs to find someone like Pat Patterson, a guy who can lay out quality matches that further the storylines with no problem. Keep investing in the production. Invest in touring and taping outside of the IZ and accept the fact that you won't make alot of money right away. Invest in young talent sitting out there available and send them to OVW to be built. Invest in a support crew at OVW to book these talents, help them improve to your new TNA standard and flesh out their characters with them.

4: Marketing. TNA isn't very good at this. If they want to compete they need to be. When WCW started their growth they weren't much bigger than TNA currently. When Vince decided he needed to invest every waking moment and 1/2 his bank account into the WWF to compete they weren't much bigger either. BUT a key role in both cases was the power of marketing. They both marketed themselves anywhere and everywhere as hot, fresh, new and twice as big as they currently were. It was about getting their names out there as this smoldering hot TV product taking the world by storm. By marketing it as such they both did just that.

To use another example, the ECW example Heyman was a great bullshitter, wasn't he? He marketed ECW as this outlaw promotion and tapped into the guerrilla marketing style convincing the fans that it was all THEM making the promotion grow and what it was. TNA needs to tap into both styles if they are to ever compete.

5: The WWE Talent thing. Using WWE talent isn't an issue for most and despite the IWC crying about it 24/7. The fact is you need recognizable faces to help catch peoples attention. There's two big problems in my opinion though, 1: Up above, the marketing aspect. You can bring in whomever you want but if you don't market it it won't help. When you bring in a Jeff Hardy for example you should have the action figures and t-shirts ready to go. He debuts and the next day Target, Walmart, and Kmart should have Jeff Hardy toys, t-shirts and posters hitting the floor right beside the WWE merchandise with your name on it. There should be commercials during Raw and SD showing his debut and advertising his first promo on Thursday's Impact.

The second problem is something they kind of got right but not fully. Matt Morgan, The Pope, Salinas, Winter ect is a case of doing everything right. This is the talent TNA should be going after mainly and going after it hard. Recognizable WWE names and faces that aren't yet established. You get them, you bring them in and? You REPACKAGE them. They're important enough many fans will recognize them but not so important you forget they were ever WWE talent. You watch it and you get into it and before you know it they are associated as TNA talent, not ex WWE talent. Sure one or two bigger names marketed right would be perfect but not more than about 3 in ring wise.

6: You have got to build a bigger foundation first. Got to. Right now there is about 1.7 million diehards. Casually added to that they have 2 million fans. This is where thinking ahead and guerrilla marketing come in. If you can get 20% of 1.7 million to convert one fan you've added 340,000 fans. Likewise with a really really good product and gearing up the marketing you can covert those 300,000 casual fans. You've just built your foundation to 2.4 million fans. That should be the first goal, we're going to do everything right and get our foundation to nearly 2 and a half million fans that we keep interested each week and that come back for more.

7: That done simple as this they've built the base now switch to a better network. There will be several Networks more than happy to add a show that brings 2+ million fans with them. Just a suggestion but i'd also invest in advice from the experts and determine if Tuesdays or Wednesdays wouldn't be a better option for IW.

8: Change the name. Simple as that, cliche` as it is "TNA" will never grab peoples attention nor get them taken seriously.


9: Find your Hulk Hogan or your nWo moment. You need something big, something that will spread by word of mouth, by your marketing and that will catch people's attention. Injection my opinion into it for a moment I see one idea out there that COULD be their nWo moment and get people interested.

If I owned TNA I would create a 2nd promotion secretly that's tied to the NWA. Noone but me and the owner would know. I'd fund it so he could land on TV somewhere, an hour or so long show from the Hammershit ballroom so it looks full every week and have him "steal" away some TNA talent, sign some WWE talent and bring in a bunch of young guys I want and develop them. Have them establish themselves as a competitor for a few years while I work on doing the above stuff. Once the timing is spot on I would make a huge money offer to the NWA to buy the name and history to it, announce a big merger and merge the other promotion with TNA while rebranding the entire product as NWA Wrestling.

Not only would it (if done right) get people buzzing but it now puts TNA on a more level playing field. No longer would it be "TNA that other promotion that came after WCW and ECW closed" but THE NWA, dating back to 1908 with its own Hall of Fame and rich history behind it. It would also provide a 2nd TV show, an influx of talent and the storyline to really, truly rebrand and have a major influx of fresh new talent. Plus the marketing machine they would now be plugged into would be huge.

10: King of goes with above but they need to get away from the AJ, Joe, Daniels, Kaz, Gail, Traci small promotion TNA Rasslin' bullshit finally and recreate themselves as something different. As long as they keep going back to that failed well hoping they'll pump water from it finally they aren't going anywhere. Those guys and girls have their shot 7-10 yearsago, it didn't have an effect, they've gotten stale so move on. That's not to say don't keep a couple of them but not the way they currently do with trying to pound them into square holes hoping this time the Indy hero's finally get over.

11: Last but not least they need to look at the things they can do better than the WWE and do them. In fact if you're going to compete you gotta do them head and shoulders above the WWE. It can't be "well we have two good promo guys and WWE has one right now so we're good." No, if they have 2 good promo people you create 5. If they have 5 legit tag teams you have 10. If they have two guys that actually look like big tough wrestlers that lift weights and kick ass you have 20 of them.

There's two areas TNA cannot compete with and that's brand recognition and production values. If they outdo WWE in every other regard and get themselves so far ahead of the WWE their brand recognition gap shrinks enough that it isn't an elephant in the room and that leaves the WWE with better production values.

The above would be a good start but by no means is the entire spectrum of things they need to do. I could name another 30 things they need to do and break down the above in further depth but this post is long enough so i'll leave it at that.

 

[DRP]

NO! What TNA needs to do is get a time machine and go back to 2001, they were more exciting, high flying, hardcore and techniacally gifted. When they had their own talent and not picking up WWE has beens.

i have to agree with this, i liked tna much better when it was more hardcore, hell i even liked the unique-ness of the six sided ring

 

[scottyshowman82]

You know when you're trying to do something that's already been done, the best thing to do is look at you predecessors that came before you. You want play in the NBA, look what Michael Jordan did. You want be successful in business, read up on Donald Trump and do what he did. But if you want to beat the WWE in the ratings what do you do?

You got to ask yourself beat WWE in the past in some shape or form?
That would be WCW.

How did they do it?

They did it in a lot ways....

Presentation- Eric Bischoff took WCW out of these smaller, dusty looking arenas and brought the company to the sleek and polished Disney MGM Studios. They also started touring more going from wrestling in malls to legit arenas that held major sports like the Georgia Dome to name one of many.

Attitude- I used to hate those jerks at WCW calling themselves the #1 wrestling company in the world and "Where the Big Boys Play" motto cause I was a WWE guy. They said Nitro was the hottest show on TV. They said WCW Saturday Night was the number wrestling show on weekends. Whether it was fact or fiction that acted like winners and when you hear something enough you start to believe it.

And Bischoff was RUTHLESS, he was young and hungry, a man on mission with something to prove and went right for the throat of the WWF. Giving away results on TV is a clear example of this. Do not play nice ,acknowledge the competition and say why you're better.

Getting WWE Talent- And at the height of WCW's popularity they had done some cunning and extremly crafty aquisitions from the WWF. From a shock perspective the way they picked up Lex Luger was masterful. The shock of Randy Savage just showing up one evening on WCW Saturday night. Scott Hall, Kevin Nash. And if you have to ask what in my opinion what the biggest thing was that helped WCW bat WWE it was taking their top stars. Not guys that the WWE didn't want but guys the WWE really wanted, that they needed but WCW took them or hired them and that is smart.

If the WWE machine spends years and years building up these characters and we become emotionally invested in them and they carelessly let them go somehow and they show up on another show, you damn right a lot of people are gonna change the channel and see what the former Razor Ramon and Diesel are doing.


TNA get those guys from WWE and you know who they are.... the John Cenas, The Randy Orton's, The Shawn Michaels, the Rey Mysterios, the CM Punks. Get them somehow. It's not the most creative and noble way to go about it but history has shown when you raid the talent, the very best talent you get the power.


And I forgot having one of the most wealthy men in the world financing your company in Ted Turner for WCW. That may not be easy to do, but it's not impossible, oops double negative... I know WWE is smarter with their contracts and has the 90 day clause to take that shock from immediate jump but they can still acquire stars.

And to TNA's credit they have taken some of these steps and I've never run a wrestling company so they're probably doing better than I ever could but they gotta and not play nice. For starters they can legitimately say they're the #1 wrestling company in North America, shoot why the world since WWE is in the entertainment business They really have to portray themselves as superior product and not little promotion going against the huge juggernaut.

TNA today reminds me of WCW in 1993, they got all this young great talent, now all they need is Eric Bischoff to come along and push them and perhaps Ted Turner lol. Even though Bischoff is there he doesn't seem as vicious as he once was TNA needs that Eric Bischoff of 1994.


Can you think of how TNA can learn from the past to beat WWE or just something in general that would assist them in rising above the competition.