How TNA trumped WCW

[FromTheSouth]

I always thought that the nWo lost credibility because as they continued to grow, there was less and less credible competition to face them, and there could never be a enough star to credibly take them down.

TNA, however, kept the main event mafia small. They teased adding members, but only added one, and it was an amazing turn that was very well orchestrated. Now, they have enough established talent to credibly challenge the MEM.

I think TNA performed this sequence very well. They did a great job of using the MEM to make new stars. Matt Morgan grew by leaps and bounds by getting their rub, and I can't wait to see him get the big man torch passed from Nash (in TNA at least). AJ Styles, who was lost for a while, has reestablished himself as the TRUE face of the company because of the Mafia. Beer Money were starting to get over as heels in their feud against the Dudleyz, then their very next angle has this newly established heel team teaming with the team that made out of respect, and to battle against the MEM.

TNA did it right. The nWo gimmick was that of a group of wrestlers who wanted to take down WCW, and they started to live the gimmick. They wound up destroying WCW, both literally and figuratively. TNA, at first was accused of ripping off the angle. That isn't the point. I think that they have executed it very well.

That, and the new Beautiful People entrance is awesome.

 

[NSL]

I always thought that the nWo lost credibility because as they continued to grow, there was less and less credible competition to face them, and there could never be a enough star to credibly take them down.

TNA, however, kept the main event mafia small. They teased adding members, but only added one, and it was an amazing turn that was very well orchestrated. Now, they have enough established talent to credibly challenge the MEM.

I think TNA performed this sequence very well. They did a great job of using the MEM to make new stars. Matt Morgan grew by leaps and bounds by getting their rub, and I can't wait to see him get the big man torch passed from Nash (in TNA at least). AJ Styles, who was lost for a while, has reestablished himself as the TRUE face of the company because of the Mafia. Beer Money were starting to get over as heels in their feud against the Dudleyz, then their very next angle has this newly established heel team teaming with the team that made out of respect, and to battle against the MEM.

TNA did it right. The nWo gimmick was that of a group of wrestlers who wanted to take down WCW, and they started to live the gimmick. They wound up destroying WCW, both literally and figuratively. TNA, at first was accused of ripping off the angle. That isn't the point. I think that they have executed it very well.

I agree with all of this. As much as I'm not a big Russo fan, I can't help but think that he learned from his mistake, or maybe JB has more pull than we thought. I was not a fan of the MEM at first, but it has definitely turned around, and doesn't seem to be heading for a long stay, and an ugly split into different factions. Also, the MEM isn't dominating the show. They have a group segment, and then they each have their own stories going. They rarely intertwine.

That, and the new Beautiful People entrance is awesome.

It was helped by them being very cold...

 

[klunderbunker]

Yeah you're right. The main thing here is that the Mafia has actually put people over that needed the rub. In the NWO, it was all about them and making more money for themselves. If that hadn't happened, WCW could still be around today. I mean, if Hogan laid down clean for Sting, there's no massive switch of the channel to Raw, and the Monday Night Wars end going into 1998. After they screwed that up, it was all downhill from there. TNA isn't out of the woods yet though, as they have to keep things going. Ending the Mafia will be a good thing, but after that they have to make sure they get it right. I won't get into booking ideas, but they're only halfway home at this point.

 

[FriedEggSandwich]

TNA is till getting crapped on for how terrible they were in 07/08, people need to wake up and switch from the USA Network to Spike TV...I never thought I would say that lol. The only thing about the MEM I dont like is Nash still being in the ring, but you cant have everything you want. They have done a great job elevating Morgan/Hernandez and The WE as well with their on going feud. And a huge Paul Bearer OOOOH YES! @ That BP Entrance

 

[TellMeWhy]

FuckinTexasSeventynine, I agree with everything you said except the part about nWo. Really, I can't stand when people try to blame wrestlers or try to point fingers at a particular thing in WCW for bringing down WCW. WCW's infrastructure or lack thereof is what caused their demise. Blaming Hogan, Nash or anyone is ridiculous. I don't think it's fair at all and it's something internet marks love to do.

But back to TNA, the MEM has done a good job of getting over the new talent. I remember a few months ago people were whining and complaining that the young guys were being squashed and that young talent wasn't being put over enough. I found it ridiculous. The storyline has been exactly or almost a year and things have come back full circle. MEM has created lots of opportunity for the younger guys and also in the same breathe introduced plenty of new viewers to TNA, so it was a very benefiting storyline for TNA.

 

[FromTheSouth]

I didn't even mention Hernandez. The MEM is so effective that the Jeaneatty of his team (more like Jim "The Anvil", but you can make both parallels) is a legit main eventer. Hernandez surpassed Homicide on the ladder, which is saying something. TNA loves ROH guys.

The MEM has been well executed. The problem is that their opposition wasn't. It's possible that TNA was trying to get the MEM over by having them bury their kids. Maybe it was, but I think that if the Frontlyne was meant to fail, they would mention destroying the Frontlyne. I digress. It took some time to gather the right group of guys to battle with the MEM, and now, I think they have it set up perfectly for a breakup within the next few months.

 

[Dexter]

Ya know, I'm not "smart" enough about wrestling to be able to break it down line by line and tell you what I love about TNA right now. I just know I love it. The moment Impact goes off, I can't wait for next Thursday. I look forward to it all week. That hasn't been the case since... well... the Attitude Era.

I'm not going to get into any TNA vs WWE arguments because we do that too much around here already, but I will say that none of the WWE products have me as excited throughout the week for them as Impact has right now.

 

[DaGhost]

Ya know, I'm not "smart" enough about wrestling to be able to break it down line by line and tell you what I love about TNA right now. I just know I love it.

I think that means they are doing their job right if you can't point to one thing. Or better still, if you are not excluding things. Like "I like it all, except for...".

I am a longtime NWA/WCW fan and TNA has my attention much more than WWE these days. The MEM I thought was destined to fail, but they have done it surprisingly well. I have never really cared much about the Divas, but the Knockouts are really fun to watch. Particularly when you see someone like Alyssa Flash make such an unexpected splash.

Impact is on my TiVo Season Pass, no WWE has ever made it there.

DaGhost

 

[finoj05]

I personally think the Mafia storyline has legs to last another 8 months or so. Now your reaction to that would probably be "WHAT??? Your dumb" but while I think they will probably end it soon, I think it should continue and I'll tell you why.

Kurt Angle needs the mafia now. Without it, he is just Kurt Angle heel again. The Mafia disbanding for good leaves him back to where he was in summer of 2008, without the title and without a real purpose other than feuding with AJ. Kurt Angle the character wouldn't let the Mafia go down that easy.

Booker T and Steiner, for all intents and purposes, are probably, or should, be written out of the picture. Whether it be disappearing, a beatdown or whatever. They need to go.

That leaves, Kurt Angle, Kevin Nash and Samoa Joe left. Like Angle, Nash is lost without the Mafia. Useless. Joe can go back and be the nation of violence again, but I think there needs to be more to it than that. All 3 guys aren't going anywhere, unless Angle is REALLY leaving TNA. If Angle leaves, then the Mafia should die, but with Angle, the Mafia should live.

Now, the Mafia would need members and former world champions to be those members. Mick Foley, Rhino, Abyss, Bobby Lashley and Jeff Jarrett are the only world champs left in TNA besides the Mafia and AJ Styles (who should NEVER join).

Rhino makes sense because he is a heel and is feuding with the same people. Mick Foley would make sense because he just turned heel. Abyss could turn heel, but that's rather anti-climatic now with recent developments. Bobby and Jeff are ruled out for obvious reasons, though Lashley could work, there is just too much money to be made with him as a face.

So... what would the new Mafia do? Well... they would be a typical stable. I personally, would rather TV time dedicate to a group like the Mafia then the individuals themselves spread throughout the show. It is a good idea to conglomerate your talent like this in order to save TV time.

This... all leading to Lethal Lockdown in April where the TNA Frontline battle the Main Event Mafia. The frontline wins, the Mafia disbands itself just by Angle and Nash blaming everyone else for the loss. From there, the story follows each member as Angle throws the blame around at Nash and Joe. The feuds from that run till BFG2010.

That way, the front line get the big Lockdown win, the Mafia gimmick is played out to its full potential, making use of guys like Rhino and Foley. The storyline wouldn't always be the center of attention as it has been for 12 months now, but it would work on its own terms to give Angle an entourage.

Face it, Angle has had a team since he turned heel. First Team Angle, Angle Alliance then the Main Event Mafia. He will again, and you might as well call it the MEM. Even as an excuse to sell more T-shirts and to use the trademark that they have been advertising for a year straight. The trademark MAIN EVENT MAFIA is still worth another 6 months or so.

This is how the nWo should have ended. The nWo should have ended with them imploding with egos after a big War Games loss to WCW. The feuds from that would lead to Starrcade (ala Bound For Glory). It buys time for the company to figure out what they are doing next.

Like the nWo was for WCW, the Main Event Mafia is an establishment within TNA that has been marketed and sold to the public for 12 months. T-shirts, posters, hats, collectors items and other things were branded with the logo and the name in order to get the name out. It's a brand in its own. Just like Suicide is a brand for TNA or DX is a brand for WWE. Those brands make money for the promotion. Kurt Angle, Bobby Lashley, Christian, John Cena, Randy Orton, CM Punk can jump ship, but brands such as DX, Suicide, Undertaker, Main Event Mafia, nWo can never leave the company that created them, which is why they are worth more.

 

[SinCityBlitz]

Yeah you're right. The main thing here is that the Mafia has actually put people over that needed the rub. In the NWO, it was all about them and making more money for themselves. If that hadn't happened, WCW could still be around today. I mean, if Hogan laid down clean for Sting, there's no massive switch of the channel to Raw, and the Monday Night Wars end going into 1998. After they screwed that up, it was all downhill from there. TNA isn't out of the woods yet though, as they have to keep things going. Ending the Mafia will be a good thing, but after that they have to make sure they get it right. I won't get into booking ideas, but they're only halfway home at this point.

WCW would still be dead today. It was dead the day Ted Turner and AOL/TW merged. Nothing would have saved it because AOL hated wrestling with a vengeance. It was looking for any little excuse to get rid of it.

Your other points are right on. The ending is the most important part. Hogan laying down for Sting would have been HUGE. But instead we got the ego and 18 months of storyline was killed. If TNA plays their cards right the ending storyline could easily carry over for at least a year.

I don't really care for TNA(or the WWE) right now but the best thing that could happen would be for TNA to get their shit together. Competition is a wonderful thing.

 

[Lancer]

I can honestly say that if I miss an episode of WWE programming, I can survive until the next week. It doesn't faze me at all. However, I cannot bring myself to miss any episode of Impact. TNA has consistently put on week after week of excellent shows that keep me coming back for more.

Yes, the Mafia dominated the airwaves for a long time. The Frontline had no momentum from the beginning. Still a mere few months after winning every freakin' belt at Victory Road and seeming unstoppable, the MEM are seemingly at the end of their rope. New stars have been built (Hernandez, Morgan, Eric Young, The British Invasion, etc.) and formerly huge stars are back in the limelight after seemingly having nothing to do (Styles, Joe, Rhino).

Please, TNA, don't screw this up. The best part about the end of the rope is the payoff. I hope it pays off.

 

[Kenny Powers]

I have heard every criticism from creative is shit to TNA is so predictable, I don't care because the majority of people love TNA. I could care less if TNA is in the Impact Zone and is taped, I can't miss one episode because the product is that intriguing. I could miss ECW and Raw and not be bothered one bit. The same can be said about the PPV's. This is the first time I have ordered TNA PPV's on a monthly basis because the product has improved leaps and bounds over the past year.

Impact was incredible, I can't wait for Bound For Glory. A lot of people were shitting on the whole MEM angle. Calling it and TNA WCW Ripoffs. The difference is that TNA is working and didn't allow the MEM to get too out of control. They teased us with the World Elite joining, but then they feuded. I have feeling after Bound For Glory, the Mafia will be no more. The only thing I would change about TNA would be getting rid of Lacey Von Erich and Big Rob Terry. I'm not a fan of Lashley, but I do like how they aren't focusing the entire show around him like before.

TNA may have a few ex WCW and WWE stars but that's not the point. The point is their young X Division and Knockout Talent is the future of the wrestling business. I hope more people will tune into TNA and ride this gravy train to even more success.

 

[LUMPYSULLIVAN]

This looks like it has been planned out on paper in order to have direction (up to a month ago). I think it has grown on people. I am now leary as to how well everything was thought out and if they have mapped this out long term. (Funny how other discussions want to know the 5-year plan of WWE, at the very least there should be a 1-2 year plan with TNA)

Not sure why diluting the 'group' thing with World Elite (see splinter group from nWo) was done?? Will there be two heel factions? Will one group become tweeners? Will there be a third group like the nWo latino group?? I think the problem again, becomes the direction and dilution of the MEM.

** What is plan once Booker leaves? Steiner cannot be in singles, will he team with Joe? Then who competes for the X-division title? Kurt is the TNA version of Flair, but who will be built up to fued with him?

** Why isn't Traci being put more in the picture (no pun intended) for a title run/challenge, what with her Playboy exposure (pun intended)? If they cant find something for her, get her out of the scene.

The ONLY thing a clique/group should be compared to is the Four Horsemen. Kept very simple, a small group that retained focus (for a decade or more) as everyone had their role, and they had a manager as a 'guiding light'. They were the best group, in my opinion (remember, people always want a reformation of the Horsemen, as long as Flair and Anderson are around, WWE KILLED nWo forever). We talk of the success of the Four Horsemen, its too bad we never went anywhere, except behind the scenes, with "The Clique" (Hall, Nash, HHH, Micheals), a small group that could have been quite similar in scope, potentially could have been bigger than the Horsemen. Once these groups get so many people it struggles for developing individual storylines with a lot of meaning, as well as maintaining the group focus. Having it spread so thin will kill off a casual observer who will compare it to nWo.

How about when the ENTIRE HORSEMEN targeted Dusty Rhodes or Sting or luger, because each was a threat to the group losing the Heavyweight Championship. While their goal was all the titles, the main focus was the World belt, and keeping it in the group at any expense? Is that kind of bonding anywhere in MEM?

Nash accepting money from World Elite clouds the direction, but perhaps sets up the next chapter, not sure. All I know is that Russo gets something successful and then tries to make it bigger. Allowing the Horsemen to remain 4 people was genius. Making it bigger made it harder for the casual fan to follow. TNA needs to keep this simple as they need to attract casual fans more and more.

I think this MEM is at the crossroads. They need this mapped out for six months minimum to solidify direction. If planned properly and executed, this could be a great thing, It may be a gigantic failure...

Just my convoluted 2 cents.

 

[chanfan304]

FuckinTexasSeventynine, I agree with everything you said except the part about nWo. Really, I can't stand when people try to blame wrestlers or try to point fingers at a particular thing in WCW for bringing down WCW.

Well, let me just add my quick two cents. Yes, I agree w/EVERYTHING FuckinTexasSeventynine said. Everything. And you cannot dispute the fact that the politics of the NWO did, in fact, add to the drudgery that WCW was wallowing in. They had some of the longest running talent in the company, and instead of taking it upon themselves to approach the ones in charge and help to sort out some of the mess, they instead worked on furthering their own agendas obsessively to the point of adding to the decline. They could have pooled their resources and knowledge and helped instead of hurt. And you know they had the credibility and the power to pull it off. I mean, come on, look at the roster back then! You had some of the biggest names in there, a virtual ocean of huge names, whether they were older or still a little younger! If there was a group of established top talent that would have acted selflessly (and there would have been no problems with them doing that, it wouldn't have hurt their rep or their "star" power) it could have possibly been a turning point. Either that, or at the very least the reputation and legacy of WCW would have ended on an up note instead of a horrible downside...