Are the storylines too scattered now?

[mont3818]

This, to me, is a problem a lot of those X-Division cage matches or even Ultimate X matches have had in recent memory. I'm surprised I haven't heard anything about it yet.

What I mean is everything looks so obvious when they set up big spots. There's too much going on. Like when Daniels took that sick looking bump (which wasn't as sick as it looked. I give him props for it.) he was practically waiting up there for someone to come up. Or like in ladder matches (wwe as well in a lot of cases). Most important: THE TIMING IS OFF. A lot of the time. Or the person on the receiving end of the big move makes it way too obvious that he's helping the person do the move. This kind of stuff ruins it for me. I could see a lot of the big moves coming far in advance. Or how in a ladder match the sometimes they obviously position the ladder not exactly under the belt (or briefcase) on purpose so it will be in better position to fall some direction.

Please tell me you notice this kind of crap too. What do you think? And should they get better or should I stop watching? Nah, I love wrestling anyway and eight shitty ladder matches are a good trade for two good ones. Or any big crazy match like that too.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Clusterfuck matches are one of TNA's biggest problems overall. Heaping as many wrestlers as you can or as many high spots as you can into one match does not usually make the match any better. Usually, it just makes me not give a crap overall.

Whenever TNA has a match in which there are 6 or 8 or 10 guys all running around the ring at the same time during the entire match, I tend to just tune out because there's simply too much going on to follow. There's so much that you can miss that once the match is over, at least for me, I tend to feel more relieved than entertained because it means that something else is coming up on the card. That's not to say that some of these matches don't wind up being entertaining and deliver a few OMG moments. However, for me, most of these types of matches are pretty forgettable. Whenever these matches happen, most of them anyhow, generally what I hear people talking about mostly are the various high spots or OMG moments. A lot of wrestling fans today also want instant gratification. They want to be entertained for the moment even if nothing all that memorable comes about or even makes any type of logical sense whatsoever.

I sometimes compare a TNA Clusterfuck to ordering a hamburger that tends to be mostly bun, mostly lettuce and with very little meat to it. I may have dined, but I'm not full or satisfied.

 

[axl626]

The only recent mess of a match I've seen in TNA was the opening of the Jan. 4th show. That was awful. They could have planned things out better, or they should have. I almost turned the channel but they kept me hooked the rest of the night.

Although I do have to say that we only notice it more in TNA because they do gimmick matches at least once a week. When any other promotion does them you see the same thing.

 

[Limelee666]

I think we all just want to be offered more believable psychology. If there are 8 guys in a match. Surely atleast one of them would realise that big piles of tables and ladders to fall on are probably gonna be dangerous, and he should really do something about it! But at the same time if he's the unlucky one that happens to be 20ft up on a ladder, perhaps a table being set up gives him and his opponent something to aim for. He wants to break his fall, and his opponent wants to make history. I don't think it's implausible to believe that a wrestler in those sorts of matches might realise that a big bump is all part and parcel. And rather than risk landing unprotected on the floor, he wants to go out in a blaze of glory. Also, in these matches, they are looking to be part of the spectacular.

Us smarts know its all a set up. But, perhaps if you try and rationalise the matches for marks, they make more sense!

8 Guys go in, they all want to win, but they also all want to showcase their talents to the crowd so they sell more merchandise and become more popular. They also realise that if they sacrifice themselves they may become more popular. I never understood why character motivation in these situations has never been more fully explored by the announcers. That be said, character motivation seems to be secondary to the bookers, and they are all looking for character establishment.

 

[NSL]

Couldn't we have just named this thread "Another Smark Hates Spotfests And Flippies #48544"? It would have saved some time.

I don't see the problem with it. It's not like it's every match, or even half the matches. On Impact, you get 1, maybe 2, matches that can qualify as "spotfests", and on pay-per-view, you get one, and it's usually an opener. How smart is that?

You open the show with a spotfest, guaranteed to get "oohs" and "ahhs", and the crowd is on their feet for the next three hours. Sounds a lot better than opening with a random singles match where two guys mat wrestle for 4 minutes, and then head to the back while the crowd wonders which way they go to take a piss.

 

[DR.Dopenhagen]

I personally love spotfests (isnt that what the X division is all aboout and what put TNA on the map) The steel Asylum at Hard Justice last year was great. ive only seen some of the 4/1/2010 Asylum match and it did suck but i enjoy these matches (usually more than the main event)
but hey thats just me

 

[Mr_Wrestling_Number_7]

I've been watching heavily since the change and I must say several of these feuds seem too cluster$%#&'ed. Has it always been like this? To give an example.

Kurt Angle and Mr. Anderson cut a promo about their tag match. Immediately afterward he is talking to Eric Young about Pac and Hall, while there still didn't seem to be any real closure between Angle and Styles from their match couple of weeks ago. In an instant, the tag match previously talked about loses any importance. It's like who ever is doing the writing doesn't know how to properly begin and end feuds. Unless, they are trying something new and giving guys multiple storylines to have to stay with. I know this has been done in the WWE before but it all seems to make sense and flow a lot easier.

Another example, Foley comes in talking to Bischoff trying to reconcile. Eric explains that everything is cool with the 2 'hostage' stars that Foley cares so much about. Then explains that as far as he is concerned, both of them had the 2 remaining slots in the wild card tournament, even though I could have sworn there were 3 cards turned down still before that segment. He then says as the 8 card tournament that Foley has a match with Abyss and there is to be no funny business. He didn't clarify real well that these two were actually IN the tournament, and happen to be facing each other. Which we learned immediately afterwards who was facing who.

It's as if they taped segments of everything and the producer got it out of order.

One other thing I am having trouble with..WHO IN THE WORLD IS HEEL AND FACE?? I want to think Jarrett is face, playing the pitiful comeback guy..but sometimes the color commentary suggests otherwise. Hogan acts NWO-ish shady and I can't tell if it's on purpose to get you thinking or if he just forgot how to play a decent face any more.

Now, if the idea is that all these guys aren't heel or face, but all shades of gray..then I'm down with that actually. Just give me a hint! lol

 

[Maestro48239]

It kinda reminds me of a Guy Ritchie movie. a lot of scattered storylines, and hopefully they all pull together in the end.

as for Kurt Angle, hes concentrating on his obsession with HH, the band, and the Tourny. He knows Joe is next up for the WHC shot at AAO. so I think they're gonna put his vengence on AJ styles on hold and let him work this storyline.

as for Foley, not sure how thats going to play out. and the whole shpiel about getting a new look for Foley. i just hope dude love dont show up LOL

 

[Rated_R_Superstar2010]

ya i feel the same way about the new tna. we havent even seen team 3d or the nasty boys in two weeks and they have a match on sunday. in the tag match they have hernandez team with wolfe and angle with anderson. why not match the one face with the other so the fans acctually have a team to cheer for. impact fans are silly marks but they didnt know who to cheer and who to boo. what happend to abby and anderson. they have a match, abyss attacked anderson then nothing. suicide randomly showed up and jarrett was even mentioned. and the ending...god what a terrible ending. they didnt say anything about if nash acctually got hurt or not. hulk lets scott and waltman in just to beat them down later. and really no1 come out to help kurt. not EY who said he was gonig to get revenge on hall and waltman. pope and orlando jordan had a good match a few weeks ago and were talking shit about eachother, now pope and jordan werent even on the show. tna creative needs to get some direction and decide what fueds to keep going and what feuds to let die. 3D n nasty boys havent been seen in weeks and we are supposed to care about their match.

tna needs some direction

 

[klunderbunker]

This is a major problem that I've seen in wrestling fans. There is more than one kind of a wrestling match. There are ones like Flair and Steamboat which is based on psychology. It's a thinking man's match. Then you have matches like TLC. That's not about psychology. It's about VIOLENCE. You can't grade them on the same scale and it's not sensible to. X-Division matches for the most part are about entertainment. They move so fast that you can't keep up with them or think about htem. It's a formula that works and when you think about them too much, they stop doing that. Just have fun with them.

 

[JJohns]

My problem with TNA is that it seems like it's booking with a dartboard. There is no sense to much of it. Have they even acknowledged on TV that Rob Terry is now the Legends-Global-We can't think of a good name for a midcard title-Champion? They have guys that turn at the drop of a hat with little explanation....and in many cases no real thought either.

Part of it is the fact that Hogan had already told the fans that basically he doesn't give a rats ass what they think. Sorry, but when the fans are CHEERING for someone, you make them the face in the match. You don't tell the fans that they are "cast members" and expect them to react how you want them. This isn't WCW in the early 90s when they had to reshoot a Rick Rude entrance because the sheep didn't realize that the Applause Sign was blinking.

Real fans aren't always going to react how you want them to, and eventually you will have to make some changes to accommodate them. Hogan should know this well enough, as it was the FANS that turned him face at WrestleMania X8, not Vince McMahon.