A Major Problem With TNA & House Shows

[dimice76]

Ok, so I've waited for a while before posting on this topic, but to me the time has finally come to address it. One of TNA's many major problems is their house shows. Now I know as far as fan interaction they do an amazing job, however after reading this weekends show results I have to say as far as story line progression, they do a horrible job. Please allow me to explain and please feel free to agree or disagree with me and please explain why.

I wont even get into last weekend, before the Roode title win and heel turned aired, that Roode was champ and a heel on the house shows. Thats another point for a later time.

This past weekend TNA ran in both Battle Creek Mich, and Toledo Ohio. Now the first problem is Robert Roode was not on either show. Not even for an in ring promo. You just crowned a new champ and pulled a major heel turn and do nothing to get him over as a heel with live crowds. The smart move would of been espically in Battle Creek would be to do Roode vs RVD for the title. But TNA did not. TNA at some point would want to draw more than 500-600 on the road they are going to need to do a better need of catering to certain towns.

The second problem TNA has on their shows, is there is little to no storyline continuation. The first example of this, is Ken Anderson vs Abyss. The reason why i use this as an example is Abyss is just about turning face, yet is working 100% as a heel and getting dq'd, and Anderson is feuding with Bully Ray, and the match would be fine if there was a run in or some type of pre or post match interaction with the 2 but there isnt. And look at the card from both nights and you will see plenty of examples of this. House shows have always been the way to see how guys work with each other espically when they will be working PPV together. And for a company like TNA that runs 97% of their shows in the impact zone with that joke of a pathetic same old crowd, they should espically be using the raod shows to test who is over and what storylines are working and getting over.

If TNA wants to be a major player, they need to fix this house show problem ASAP. Feel free to comment and discuss.

 

[ABMorales787]

First off, TNA does 1100 in the Impact Zone alone. So house shows break that for the most part. Second, house shows are not TV shows. Therefor there is zero obligation to push storylines there because that's what TV audience is supposed to watch. And finally, of course TNA listens to the live crowds and test them. You just forget that it's a damn house show and that you really aren't supposed to get much on storylines and far more on wrestling. No one goes to a house show for the storylines.

 

[dimice76]

First off TNA does not top 1100 on the road for the most part, read about 95% of the live event reports and they top off between 5-7 hundred max. Second of all the 1100 at the impact zone is all comped. And since when are house shows not for storylines???? I must admitt this was without a doubt one of the stupidest things I have ever read, you sir are a moron. House shows while yes do test out some things also have a balance of matches that are made from storylines on tv.

 

[thestud77]

I've got to agree with the op on this subject. Tna house shows are horrible. I went to the one in winston salem nc last summer and it was a crappy mess. They say tna is soooooooooo fan friendly but the security guards are yelling at you to hurry while YOU'RE STANDING IN LINE. The wrestlers look like they don't want to be there and get this to top it all off. I got to the building a few minutes late and they had some handicap in my seat. I asked the usher about it and he asked me if I WOULD MIND sitting a few seats over so I wouldn't disturb the handicap that STOLE MY SEAT. Really? I pitched a fit and ended up getting a free brown bag special but I never got to sit in MY seat. Just a horrible unorganized mess.

 

[akrassikauda]

First off, TNA does 1100 in the Impact Zone alone. So house shows break that for the most part. Second, house shows are not TV shows. Therefor there is zero obligation to push storylines there because that's what TV audience is supposed to watch. And finally, of course TNA listens to the live crowds and test them. You just forget that it's a damn house show and that you really aren't supposed to get much on storylines and far more on wrestling. No one goes to a house show for the storylines.

What are you talking about, WWE has and still does push storylines at house shows. That whole Cena vs Punk storyline was seen from house shows in the US and globally. If you have a major storyline it's good business to keep it going on the road, the classic back and forth formula (win,loss,draw,dq,count out) still works to further storylines. It's also a test to see if a wrestler can get over on the mic if you can't get over on the mic at a house show your not getting over with millions watching.

 

[batmanofpintucky]

I have to disagree with the original poster. Thursday Nov 3rd I took my dad to the TNA house show at Mt Pleasant, Michigan. It was a great show in all honesty, all the faces won, the heels got lots of heat from the crowd. Me and my dad cheered the heels all night to the disdain of the other fans there. The faces didn't have to do anything but be there to be over. This show took place at the Soaring Eagle casino, and I would say was at capacity. Easily 1000 fans there, and the crowd was into it all night.

I have to agree with Killjoy that house shows are not intended to progress storylines. James storm did speak in depth on the fact that Roode had won the title and that they were no longer tag teaming. Storm said "Roode thought he was too good to be here tonight." That's about the extent of touching on story.

I was very impressed with their live product, I hope they come to Mid Michigan again, because WWE certainly isn't/won't.

 

[wrestlemaniac]

hmmm...let me speak on this hear...i mean i've been to house shows, ppvs...why not. I will say that the security do hurry people up. me..well i try to get to wrestlers when security guards arent there...thats how i got to talk to angle and JJ (different house shows. I remember at one of the shows people waited around to get autographs and I got all for the most part. RVD was being hurried up by security and i missed him. Om another time security guards were hurryin people up in line to get JJ's autograph. Other than that fan interaction is great. As far as storyline goes...yea, they dont really have to follow them up. Thats kinda a good thin..my 1st house show i got to see joe vs nigel (desmond). Tna usually tries yo cater to the audience in certain town, here we're heavy hispanic so yea...rosita and sarita were here. Hernandez is the hometown boy so of course...he was a face in either the main event or the match before...anderson got alot of heat. Ik now my opinion may differ from someone elses but my experiences at tna shows are great

 

[CH Silvercore]

I went to a TNA House Show in April in Erie,PA . It was my first show, and I had an awesome time.
I paid for the meet and greet before the show, and most of the wrestlers couldn't have been nicer, alot of them stopped and talked to the fans and let them pose with them and hold their titles if they had one
As far as storylines, there wasn't a whole lot, but Bully Ray had a lengthy promo, and the heels did a great job interacting with the crowd and getting heat. They did play up Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett in the main event though, since Erie is 2 hours away from Kurt's hometown, Pittsburgh.
Mickie James was in a cast, and was there for pictures but did not wrestle (Traci Brooks made her TNA return in her place against Madison Rayne). Of course no one knew why, but later on Impact that same night she was attacked by Madison Rayne and Tara and broke her arm.
I did get yelled at by Don West to hurry up while I was waiting in line after the show for Jeff Jarrett to sign my program. Good to know I'm not the only one, lol.

 

[dimice76]

Another problem with TNA house shows that I meant to add in, is that if you dont follow spoilers, then the house shows can confuse the hell out of you. Its ironic that a company that will have you thrown out of the Impact Zone for sending spoilers to web sites (and yes that has happened) will spoil TV on their own road shows. Like I said in the OP, this is not about the fan interaction which they are second to none, its about the WTF reaction to things becuase nothing they do on the house shows match up with anything thing they are doing on TV or have aired on TV.

 

[GrandSword]

The new TNA Champion Robert Roode is doing a promotional tour here in Australia at the moment. He being here has been a huge success as he has ben on Fox sports with a great interview and interacting with all the fans here in Australia. Itw as a real thrill for everyone in Oz to meet Roode.

Sorry he couldn't be in two places at once for a house show.

 

[b the man]

House shows aren't really about enhancing story lines though. You want to save those for shows that are going to be seen on tv so that you have a wider audience to see it. It's the same reason why titles don't usually change hands during house shows. Instead house shows are about putting on fan-friendly entertainment. It's about giving the fans an up-close and personal interaction with the stars and sending them home happy. That is why you often have backstage contests and stuff like that.

 

[Karilas]

Yeah the OP here is wildly off the mark. House shows have never been about furthering TV story-lines, because they're not on TV. The purpose of a house show is to put on a spectacle for the paying punters, and in doing so is a chance to test the waters on potential pairings and feuds for future TV use.

As for the confusion of Champions crowned at a yet-to-be-broadcast TV taping, it's simply easier for the company to keep things as they actually are, rather than to flit belts back and forth on the road just to appear in line with Impact.

 

[culantro]

i don't think the op is talking about furthering the storylines, i do think that the house shows serves the purpose of testing future storylines or the ones that are already in execution, like right now the wwe is going with alberto vs punk for over two weeks now in every raw house show in order to prepare for SSeries...

i'm not complaining really, because in every house show there are matches that are trown together in order to fill time, so i can't really complain about that, the thing is TNA could do a better job at testing the ground in their house shows, something that the wwe has done, but not so much recently, they seem to add more and more matches that doesn't make any sense, or as you name it "fan friendly"...

 

[chibet]

tan used house shows to further story lines in bound for glory series, sure they were recapped during the following weeks show but i thought this was an excellent idea to get people to get out and catch a base brawl show! aside from the amazing booking they pulled putting flair on the card only for him to no show, while backstage taking other peoples money to take a quick picture. the tna house show experience should stop the don west crap, it makes the company look as desperate as they are constantly trying to nickel and dime you only to find out that their backstage "carney" like workers were taking bribes to get backstage. witnessed this first hand, said something and hebner jr got in my face screaming that he wanted to fight. verrrrry professional

 

[kokoBawesome]

I think wrestling fans need to get it out of their head that House shows are on the same level as televised shows and pay per views. From the fans point of view, house shows should be about wrestling. If you get to meet and great with a few people after the show, that's awesome, but don't expect title changes and storyline progression. Why would a promotion waste time progressing a story that only a few thousand people are going to see? They aren't they hopefully going to keep things even and work out some kinks until the next televised show where a few million people can watch the story line progress.

If Bobby Rhoode didn't show up to your house show, that sucks. I totally understand how frustration that can be from experience. Its the curse of the house show though. Sometimes guys need a few days off to recover or see their families. In his case, sometimes they have other places to be for the promotion. Its a crap shoot. If you wanna see everyone show up to an event, check out a televised show. Be aware though that your going to be watching about an hour of in ring and pre-taped interviews, and maybe four or five matches (from my understanding there was a TNA show a few weeks ago that didn't have its first match until over an hour in, I'd much rather see a house show if that's the case).

 

[JJYanks121]

I'm pretty sure most everyone missed the entire point that the OP was trying to make. Granted, the OP didn't verbalize it as well as he could, but let me take a crack at it.

House shows in wrestling exist so that fans around the world can see their favorite wrestlers put on matches in front of them. You get to cheer your favorites, boo the bad guys, and maybe even get to meet a few wrestlers. That said, I'm going to try and understand the OP's complaints.

The Roode one I'm not going to touch. Some shows simply don't feature the champ. Unfortunately, TNA doesn't have a midcard title that can headline a show like that, but if they did, that would be the solution. Plus, with a roster of over 40, you can't put all of them on each house show. Thus, some shows will have a certain set of guys and girls while other shows feature different ones. I can tell you that the largest house show TNA has ever done (the infamous Brooklyn show last summer) did not feature Beer Money, Matt Morgan, or Samoa Joe. To be honest, this kind of saddened me, but those are the breaks. You can't see them all at a house show.

Now for legitimized complaints. If you are putting on a house show, it would make sense to do so under the context of where story lines are at. That's not to say that house shows should PROGRESS storylines, but they should be in line with them. This is slightly more challenging when shows are taped in advance, but not really. All it takes is to be aware of where your stories are at on TV and present your show as such. If a wrestler turns heel on a taping you did but it doesn't air for 2 weeks, you don't put him on house shows as a heel until that show airs. So, the OP was trying to suggest this idea. I think it's very valid and it is poor if Abyss, who has turned face, is presented as a full heel for no reason. Paying customers expect to see the product as they know it. Presenting the show with disregard to the television product the customers have seen is a bit stupid and I can understand that complaint.

So I'm not sure it's a major problem, but it certainly is a problem. It doesn't look good to present a show that makes your company seem like it's unaware of what it presents on TV. The TV show is the lifeblood of a national wrestling production, so ignoring the show to present characters haphazardly is counterproductive. I mean think about it, on TV if a guy is a face, you are telling the fans to cheer him. Then you do a house show and he comes out as a heel and you are supposed to boo him? If you watched the show, you came to the house show expecting to cheer the guy! It doesn't make sense and I do think TNA needs to do something very simple. Watch their own show and make sure the house shows fit with them. No, they don't need to have storyline development, but they certainly should be presented as an extension of the storylines.