Chris Jericho's Comments on TNA

[TUFFY54]

Chris Jericho recently gave his thoughts on TNA:

"It drives me nuts and I'll tell you the reason why. I am the biggest fan of TNA as a concept. I want them to be huge, Vince wants them to be huge because the more competition there is, it's better for the business, it's better for the boys, it's better for the fans. I don't understand their obsession with copying the WWE I think it's lame, I think its bush league and I don't get it, they have some of the best talent, some great idea men. Why do they do this? Why do their guys go out there and say 'When I was in the WWE I was left behind and I was held back.'

If I was working for TNA I would project that it's the greatest wrestling company in the world because if you're not projecting it, why is anyone going to believe it? When we were in ECW it was small, I never made more than $250 a show but you would die for that company and when you came across that way, the fans came across that way and suddenly you have this underground revolution going on and it was real, it was a revolution, people believed it was the best. No one in TNA believes they are in the best company and if they don't believe it then why am I going to believe it as a fan? Why am I going to buy their product?

It's just so bush league, they can do better than that and the guys on top there should know better and it really makes me mad because they're wasting money and they don't have to be wasting money but I'm not burying TNA I'm saying you should be ashamed of yourself because you can do better."

Chris Jericho is one of the all time greats in pro wrestling. He's been a star in Japan, Mexico, ECW, WCW, and the WWE. He's also one of the most mainstream wrestlers ever. Funny thing is that he makes the same points I see made on these forums almost every day. However, when someone says it on here, they are immediatly called a WWE mark and a Cena fan. Other pro wrestlers have made similar comments before.

What are your thoughts on his comments? Personally, I think he's 100% correct.

 

[MachoMadness1988]

I can totally see where he is coming from. While I don't hate the whole 3.3.11 thing, I completely agree that they can do better then that. I would like to see TNA take Jericho's advice from here on out. They need to worry about making TNA Wrestling the best it can be.

 

[Rayne]

I laughed my ass off when I read this on the main page. I've only been saying this for much of the past year, so I guess Chris Jericho is a brainwashed WWE zombie now.

Yes. Chris Jericho is absolutely, 100% correct. TNA can be a lot better then they are right now, and one of the biggest obstacles to their own success is themselves. Stop focusing on trying to be better then the WWE, and focus on being a goddamned good wrestling promotion. That style of baiting competition which fueled the WWF and WCW in the '90s can come later; WCW didn't start off getting trampled and trying to compare themselves to the WWE, they promoted themselves as wrestling with a rich heritage to counter the WWE's 'New Generation'. WCW promoted themselves as provided what was missing in wrestling; they didn't point out what their competitors weren't providing.

 

[Kidd]

Well if Chris Jericho says it, then...

No I still disagree. I still like the 3/3/11 vignette.

As I and others have said before, it's not copying or "ripping off" if you're kinda poking fun.

I mean do people get up in arms when movies such as Hot Shots or Scary Movie come out because they're "ripping off" Top Gun and Scream?

 

[Rokitka]

I don't believe for one second Vince wants TNA "to be huge". He doesn't. And while I didn't like the 3.3.11 promo, I saw it for what it was, which was a parody. I didn't view it as them attacking the WWE, though, I saw it as them attacking the internet. WWE never even inferred that Sting would be coming. The internet did. So by running the same promo at which caused the internet to explode and claim Sting was finally debuting in the E is actually pointing their fingers and laughing at you, the internet.

 

[3/4 Facelock]

The "parody" promo was not a shot at the WWE because the WWE never even once mentioned Sting.

Not. Once. At. All.

Jericho makes one very vaild point in that the wrestlers at TNA need to start believing that their company is the best and project that image. Be different. Like Rayne said up above, WCW built itself up as an alternative long before the Monday Night Wars. TNA used to be the alternative until the 3 Stooges tried to make the company into something it's not. If TNA never gave cash to Bischoff and Hogan and instead used it to get more wrestlers from ROH and other indy promos and used the cash to tour around its territory more often, I really think TNA could be a lot stronger than it is now.

I cannot wait for the TNA supermarks to come on this thread and green rep eachother while they try to explain why they know more about the TNA and the wrestling business and working with Hogan and Bischoff more than Chris Jericho.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Personally I think Jericho makes a great point and I agree with him completely.

1st is their obsession with the WWE, that needs to stop. Its always about the WWE in some way with TNA, they want to be in competition with WWE, they constantly hire WWE wrestlers when they have plenty of talent (a few is ok but they went overkill with that), and they constantly take shots and often mention WWE in their programming, it's stupid, by trying to be WWE you basically say you're not as good as WWE. Even though they are not at WWE's level they should never come off as inferior (especially when the refer WWE as the big company up north, does that mean TNA is the small company down south? is that really better).

The other thing is he says TNA could and should be doing much better than they are, and they probably should be. I would never take away what TNA has done up to this point (they've actually accomplished a lot when you think about it) but they could be putting on a much better product than what they are delivering. Out of ROH, WWE and TNA, its obvious that TNA puts on the worst product of the 3. I'm not saying they should be neck and neck with WWE, I'm just saying their programming is severely lacking, you can say that about all 3 but its just so much more apparent in TNA. They need to put on better programming, simple as that!

The only thing I don't agree on is the whole Vince wants TNA to be huge, if he wanted that then he never would have gotten rid of WCW. Other than that I agree with Chris completely.

 

[Tattooed Jesus]

I completely agree with Jericho's comments.

The one thing I cannot put my head around though is how people say that the 3-3-11 video makes fun of or is a parody of the 2-21-11 video. I parody of something or making fun of something implies that it is a joke or a silly take or knock off of the original. The video that TNA aired was completely serious just like the video that WWE aired. WWE never mentioned shit about Sting either one way or the other, they never mentioned him period, at all, end of story. So it's not like TNA is going ha ha we got him and you didn't. What TNA did was a ripoff of what WWE plain and simple nothing else and there is no other way you can spin it to even try and make TNA look competent.

 

[orton0384]

Well if Chris Jericho says it, then...

No I still disagree. I still like the 3/3/11 vignette.

As I and others have said before, it's not copying or "ripping off" if you're kinda poking fun.

I mean do people get up in arms when movies such as Hot Shots or Scary Movie come out because they're "ripping off" Top Gun and Scream?

Those are satires NOT ripoffs. 3.3.11 is not a satire. It is a ripoff. Had it been a 3.3.11 video with Sting screaming SURPRISE! THOUGHT IT FOR A DIFFERENT PROMOTION!?!?! WRONG AGAIN! HAHAHAHAAHAHAH! Or if it had letters at the end... WE...DID...IT...NOT THEM. Something. All it is, is a ripoff of the WWE's trailer down to the writing.

 

[neildittmar]

I agree about 95% with what Jericho said. Namely:

...because the more competition there is, it's better for the business, it's better for the boys, it's better for the fans.

... I would project that it's the greatest wrestling company in the world because if you're not projecting it, why is anyone going to believe it?

The 5% or so that I don't agree with is namely this...

I am the biggest fan of TNA as a concept.

Right now, what TNA is doing is the concept and it's quite obvious that Jericho isn't a fan. If Chris wants to call it "bush league" and run down the roster (whether out of love or otherwise), then he is certainly entitled to his opinion... just like anyone else with a computer and an Internet connection. What I think he means by "concept" is namely a viable number 2 promotion that's a strong competitor to WWE, not anything specific that TNA is doing or not doing. Perhaps it's poor word choice on his part, but based on this semi-rant and other comments Jericho has made over time, it's difficult to believe he is a fan of TNA from a conceptual point of view.

Vince wants them to be huge

I'm usually not so bold, but based on history alone I firmly believe this to be an outright lie. I'm not even sure why Jericho felt the need to mention it. Its mere presence almost discredits many of the good points that Chris made following it.

The fact is, Vince McMahon NEVER wants another viable #2 wrestling promotion to exist, at least in the United States, ever again. To take it a step further, he'll breath his last breath to prevent said viable #2 promotion the opportunity to run neck-and-neck with his company like WCW did. He learned his lesson well (though not too well) when Bischoff/Turner had WWF on the ropes and almost put them out of business for good.

It has been said too many times by too many people that Vince is a vicious competitor who does not like "equals", let alone someone or something surpassing him or proving him wrong. My guess is if TNA's ratings picked up to the point where they were even close with WWE, Vince would use his vast fortune in an attempt to lure away anybody who might be contributing to that success. Not necessarily to spotlight those talents in WWE, but to assure that TNA never EVER gets anywhere close to his companies success.

Allowing a viable #2 to exist? That's just simply not in Vince's character.

 

[MissCG]

Definitely agree with Jericho. I laughed out loud at the 3-3-11 video and I don`t think that was the recation they were going for. To me it didn`t appear to be done in a tounge in cheek, funny way. I think in general they need to stop fixating on WWE the way they do sometimes. At this point there is no way they can compete with them, so it does make them seem second rate. The most important thing is to focus on what is going on there and being the best company they can be .Now does Vince want them to be huge? Hmmm, that`s debatable. Do I think he would he mind them doing better ? Hell no! Competition makes everyone better. The state of wrestlng overall would improve. It kinda makes me want to bang my head against the wall because like Jericho said, they have a lot of talent and potential to do great things.

 

[pachargers]

2 words DAMN RIGHT

Jericho is absolutely 100% correct about this TNA is just copying the WWE like they do almost all the time. I mean literally can't they come up with their own ideas for once. But 1 thing that makes everyone more ticked off is they said it completely serious and once again said it would be the biggest surprise of the year ( Off-Topic but how many times do you guys think they will say that this year I say about 12 ). Honestly Spike network just take of TNA and put on ROH they would get tons of more viewers in my opinion.

 

[ilapierre]

I completely agree with Chris Jericho. Although i haven't made most of my money working for WWE and i won't depend on a job there any time in my future, i too am the biggest fan of TNA. I want them to succeed and doing bush league shit like copying or making fun of WWE is just pathetic. TNA cannot be competitive attacking WWE so why bother? Why try to appeal to your anti WWE audience when you could be working on trying to build a pro TNA audience. Listen, most wrestling fans are PG oriented dipshits posting in the WWE section on WZ all day, so if you want to win this type of fan over (basically the only type of fan these days) then you have to present a classy product aimed at those under the 14 year old mentality.

I want TNA to be huge, maybe not as much as Chris Jericho who probably goes home every night after his Fozzy concerts or after wrestling his 300 day a year schedule to
watch TNA Impact and it's ppvs over and over again. Vince, he's probably a big fan as Jericho alluded to.. he probably watches it too all the time and wants it to succeed so that the wrestling business will be stronger, he'll make trillions instead of billions, and it will benefit all the wrestlers he has so cheaply under contract without any kind of WWE- paid health insurance. Vince and his billions are honestly just hoping TNA can pull it together already and just overtake them in the ratings war and create a new audience of wrestling fans. He, along with Cena, Trips, Jericho and all the so called WWE smarky marks (which believe me do not exist..they are just a figment of the pro TNA fans' imagination) get furious when they check the ratings and discover TNA hasn't magically toppled WWE because of Dixie Carter's self hype. Jericho and the boys want the business to be better, there's no doubting that, it would be better for the fans and that's the kind of answer the classy 'WWE' fans want to hear. It's the answer respectful TNA fans should want to hear. Copying WWE is lame, it's something beneath Jericho something he never did during during his time in WCW. WWE has never ever in its history had to stoop to such a level and will never have to since they will never ever again have competition thanks to their truly gifted propaganda team likely working under cover as phony WZ posters. TNA has great performers, great idea, guys creating great ideas so this must all be Russo and Bischoff's doing and no one else. Fire Russo, Bischoff and Hogan already and hire Heyman. Just like WCW fired Bischoff and hired Russo in 1999. It is the move that has to be made because Heyman in 2011 is a genius just like Russo was in 1999. Lesnar would never be where he is today if it wasn't for Heyman doing everything for him. If TNA wants to succeed they can't just hire Heyman, they need to hire Stephanie McMahon and Freddie Prinze Jr. to write Impact segments and provide direction for the company. They also need to hire Mark Madden and all the WZ thread masters who make a living negatively connotating Tna day in and day out.

Lastly, Jericho's remarks are what i've been saying all along on these forums. He's nowhere near a WWE mark, the guy has no affiliation whatsoever with the company, never has, never will so what does he stand to gain by stating how pathetic TNA is?
He is neutral, unbiased, and we should all listen to him because he's trying to make TNA better by convincing you all that the 2/21/11 ripoff was pathetic. Remember, it's not your opinion that counts, it's what everyone who comes on to WZ to jabber about as consensus truth that counts. Jericho said it, therefore it must be true. You can trust Jericho because you know him and he's never ever lied to you. Thank you Jericho, your unbiased comments have convinced me that TNA is much better than taking 'shots' at WWE. If it wasn't for you saying that, i don't know what i'd think..probably just on here listening to Rayne rant and be wishing somebody as smart as a professional wrestler was on here tweeting what Tuffy and 3/4 Facelock want me to think.

 

[Lionheart]

In the words of Russell Peters, I agree "Vun Hunderd Fifty Tousand Percent".

TNA has the potential to be the catalyst of another resurgence in professional wrestling. They are in the number two position in the pro wrestling business pecking order, just as WCW was. They are chock full of extremely talented performers, just like WCW was. It was WCW that thoroughly kicked the WWE in the nads and started the most amazing time in professional wrestling in recent memory.

Unfortunately, they are not taking any steps in the right direction in order to start that process. Over promising, under delivering, refusing to play to their strengths and potential...it's really sad. TNA could be the hot bed of hard hitting action, highlighted by the X-division and an incomparable tag division (Beer Money and MCMGs are AWESOME). Instead they are the land of the misfit WWE future endeavoured, all mired in ludicrous, convoluted booking that is just COMPLETELY unnecessary. Their programming just reeks of WCW circa year 2000.

Anyways, great comments Chris. Way to represent Winnipeg, we love ya. Good luck on *cough* Dancing with the Stars. Hope you don't have a showing like Celebrity Duets.

 

[Klown_Karnage]

While I normally don't like to hop on anybody's bandwagon, when you're right, you're right. I think that Jericho's point makes a lot of sense and was very eloquently put. I, like others on this thread, have a little trouble believing that Vinnie Mac actually wants the success of TNA considering the way he punishes those wrestlers who went to TNA and returned (or at least limits them) but for the most part, I think Jericho was right.

I'd also like to point out that I think the way he wants TNA to be was the way that TNA was before they became the WWE retirement home. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the legends, but the fact that TNA is more or less overrun by WWE drop-outs is contributing to this view of TNA copying the WWE. This might not even be a problem if TNA didn't stop bringing the WWE and everything that happened there into the mix. It detracts from the TNA product rather than enhancing it, and that's a major problem.

Back some time ago, it was TNA trying to make TNA the best it could be. Things were actually fine for a while. Even Sting and Angle didn't try to make TNA into the WWE when they signed on. Still, late into the Foley era and during the Hogan/Bischoff era, just what Jericho is complaining about occurred. TNA got rid of most of what made them distinctive and began to become more and more like the WWE. I think that TNA needs to take a good hard look at themselves, figure out how they can distinguish themselves again, and do so.

 

[KnowBuddy]

Chris Jericho clearly spoke for all of us and maybe the entire world. I mean you have guys like Mick Foley an author who writes stories, can't input ideas? Tommy Dreamer, Taz, The Dudleys, who has worked closely with Paul Heyman, just don't see this company falling and can care less doing something about it? Dixie Carter visit Wrestlezone.com and read all of our opinions and realise her company is shit. If she cares more about European viewers then TAKE your company overseas, Spike TV replace tna with ROH.
How prestigious is the TNA belt anyways. Ken Anderson was the guy who gave life to the belt, but why did he keep that crappy belt, why did he not bring back the original belt back? And keep the belt longer than one month? Is Sting gonna have the crappy belt now? this and so many other little things. Look professional on camera not like deer hunters. i miss the wrestling choreography that the tag teams displayed last summer, where is that wrestling? Vince Russo should be scrubbing toilets with a toothbrush. My 4 yr. old has told me stories more epic.

If I was working for TNA I would project that it's the greatest wrestling company in the world because if you're not projecting it, why is anyone going to believe it? When we were in ECW it was small, I never made more than $250 a show but you would die for that company and when you came across that way, the fans came across that way and suddenly you have this underground revolution going on and it was real, it was a revolution, people believed it was the best. No one in TNA believes they are in the best company and if they don't believe it then why am I going to believe it as a fan? Why am I going to buy their product?

It's just so bush league, they can do better than that and the guys on top there should know better and it really makes me mad because they're wasting money and they don't have to be wasting money but I'm not burying TNA I'm saying you should be ashamed of yourself because you can do better.

 

[MancMark]

Well as far as I'm concerned, he's right. I don't watch WWE television at all, but I hear enough about it via TNA. It's so small time to be so obsessed with what Vince is doing. And mentioning it is a big mistake. It's not funny when Eric laughs at the guest host concept, it's not funny when Tazz says "vintage" and it's a huge mistake when Ken Anderson (and he should know better because he's pretty tuned in) keeps droning on about how he wasn't allowed to chew gum in the WWE, or how they told him how to wipe his arse.

To me it's like Manchester City in football, or soccer to most of you. They sign Tevez, an ex United player, and put his face on a billboard in the middle of Manchester. It's so fucking small time. Small club mentality. The same goes for TNA. Get your own house in order before you even think about what your neighbour is doing. Jericho is absolutely right in what he says and there's no pro WWE in there, cos it's just the truth.

 

[Kenny Powers]

I have to agree with Jericho and I think the majority of people do whether they are TNA fans or not. Its not cool or edgy to piss and moan about the "other company" you worked for and taking jabs at that company. Don't tell us what is so bad about other companies, tell us what is so good about your company. If TNA really wanted to make a statement and outdo WWE, then just be creative. Show you are the best by having the best matches and creative angles. Don't try to be a second rate WWE, WCW, or ECW by ripping off their storylines.

We have seen the recreation of the ECW invasion, a new Four Horsemen stable, and a recreation of an NWO stable. Now we have "The Network" that is involved in storylines too. I don't have any problem with TNA teasing a big surprise return like Sting or any other wrestler, but don't copy WWE's video. Do something different and maybe don't tease a huge surprise or the biggest surprise of the year that will rock TNA to its core! when in reality it won't.

 

[SpecialFNK]

I completely agree with Jericho's comments.

The one thing I cannot put my head around though is how people say that the 3-3-11 video makes fun of or is a parody of the 2-21-11 video. I parody of something or making fun of something implies that it is a joke or a silly take or knock off of the original. The video that TNA aired was completely serious just like the video that WWE aired. WWE never mentioned shit about Sting either one way or the other, they never mentioned him period, at all, end of story. So it's not like TNA is going ha ha we got him and you didn't. What TNA did was a ripoff of what WWE plain and simple nothing else and there is no other way you can spin it to even try and make TNA look competent.

WWE didn't have to say anything, it was A LOT of fans on the internet that did think it was Sting. that's enough.
perception was WWE was going to have Sting and Undertaker at Wrestlemania. WWE did not get Sting. it doesn't matter how things happened. TNA will get Sting.

there have been wrestlers that have come out to say negative things about TNA, but where and the hell are the wrestlers that come out to defend TNA?!

 

[Zeven_Zion]

Jericho has good points, but instead of acting like a smart-ass why doesn't he actually praise TNA on a daily basis instead of giving them criticism, even if it is constructive. If he so cares about competition and the business, I think it would be helpful for TNA to have a name like Chris Jericho endorse them, instead of pointing out a move they made, which is subjective, and calling them a "bush league".

Saying a few nice words about the company every now and then won't kill him.

"Hey guys! Check this AJ Styles kid on TNA, he's awesome!"

"Hey guys! I'm really liking [insert storyline here]. Check it out on TNA every Thursday!"

All of this leads me to believe that this whole "we want TNA to grow bigger because we need competition" is just a nicer way to make your arguments not seem like chastising.

And how does mentioning another company or bashing another company make you seem second rate? I never, ever understood that. If WWE took a shot at TNA, would that make them seem second rate?

 

[yoshi_doce2006]

Vince has publicly said that if he had it all to do over again he would have done WCW like he did ECW, buy it, then fund it as a seprate entity until it got back on it's feet, letting it do whatever it was doing with whoever it was in charge before without making it publicly known so that the competition would have still been there and he would be challenged.

I think Vince does want TNA to be at least capable of challenging Smackdown because that would make the WWE work, it's a challenge for Vince to compete. So I do agree with Jerricho because Vince is the type to love a challenge and after WCW was crushed and he satisfied his ego he realized there were no more challenges and he said he regretted that he let his ego get the best of him with the WCW purchase.

 

[Lucha-Libre is wrestling]

Y2J for President. Amazing how no TNA fans has come out to bash Y2J. Just hypocritical of TNA fans to stay quiet and wag their tails between their legs. What's more funny is that this article was posted this morning and no one from TNA has said anything yet, not Dixie, not Hogan, not Russo, not Bischoff, not Sting not anyone in that TNA locker room or company has stepped up to defend TNA honor. And folks Y2J is not even a WWE employee, so it means he is speaking as a wrestling fan. But I can remember 75% of us here saying does exact words all month long and we got cursed at called idiots and WWE fanatics that got kicked in the ass. But Y2J repeated our words and no negative responds. In Y2J's words ( for TNA and its supporters ) " Shut up, You bunch of hypocrites and parasites ."

 

[Zeven_Zion]

Y2J for President. Amazing how no TNA fans has come out to bash Y2J. Just hypocritical of TNA fans to stay quiet and wag their tails between their legs. What's more funny is that this article was posted this morning and no one from TNA has said anything yet, not Dixie, not Hogan, not Russo, not Bischoff, not Sting not anyone in that TNA locker room or company has stepped up to defend TNA honor. And folks Y2J is not even a WWE employee, so it means he is speaking as a wrestling fan. But I can remember 75% of us here saying does exact words all month long and we got cursed at called idiots and WWE fanatics that got kicked in the ass. But Y2J repeated our words and no negative responds. In Y2J's words ( for TNA and its supporters ) " Shut up, You bunch of hypocrites and parasites ."

Defend it? From what? Jericho gave constructive criticism, and even though I liked the video, I can completely see where he's coming from. His argument is coherent, it's smart and it's coming from a guy that's been around the block and knows his stuff. Do I agree with him. No. Is he wrong because I don't. Absolutely not.

This is the type of criticism I can stomach. Intelligent, coherent arguments based on pure facts, not "OMG TNA IZ COPEEING WWE COZ THEY SUCK!".

P.S: Don't quote wrestlers' catch-phrases in your posts. It's pathetic. Makes you seem like a bigger fan-boy than me, and that says something.

 

[wushady]

I agree with him 100%, he didn't completely dis them. He did say say they have some great talent and creative minds. I agree they have some great talent and put on some excellent matches often. I also believe their storylines are getting better. I just think that promo was a huge let down. Whether it was meant to be a parody or a FU to WWE it just came across as a rip off in my opinion. It was a huge disappointment to me and many other wrestling fans. Because it was built as the most shocking surprise of the year.

Like Jericho said I think TNA needs to worry more about what they do than what WWE does now and what WWE/F, WCW, did in the past. I think they do come across as bush league and weak when they're taking shots at WWE or copying them. Like I said before TNA has some great talent let them go out week after week and put on great shows. It would be great if TNA one day reaches the level of WWE. Competition would be great for the business.

 

[Lucha-Libre is wrestling]

Defend it? From what? Jericho gave constructive criticism, and even though I liked the video, I can completely see where he's coming from. His argument is coherent, it's smart and it's coming from a guy that's been around the block and knows his stuff. Do I agree with him. No. Is he wrong because I don't. Absolutely not.

This is the type of criticism I can stomach. Intelligent, coherent arguments based on pure facts, not "OMG TNA IZ COPEEING WWE COZ THEY SUCK!".

P.S: Don't quote wrestlers' catch-phrases in your posts. It's pathetic. Makes you seem like a bigger fan-boy than me, and that says something.

And your right he gave constructive criticism, like many wrestling fans on here did. And he did use bush league about 3 to 5 times. And quoting catch phrases is the best part of being a wrestling fan "Brother." "But you already know that." I been watching wrestling since 1978 and quoting catch phrases and debating about promotions is what we true fan do. So sorry for acting like a fan