Chris Jericho Criticizes BFG Series Concept; Says TNA Needs to Simplify

[Stinger]

Personally, there's too much talk and not enough wrestling nowdays. I think all companys should institute a 1min time limit on promos, 5 min on in ring talk segments, and on a 2hr show, have at least 1hr30min of wrestling(not counting entrances). On a 3hr show like Raw, then at least 2hr20min of wrestling.
You don't even need to know that much about it. When it's going on they spend at least 10-15 min of time over the course of a 2hr show detailing and explaining the concept, standings, method of scoring points, and the reason for the tourny being a shot at the belt. All you have to track is who's in the lead and who the 2nd place is. Other then that, they spoon feed it all to you repeatedly every show.

That's a nice thought, but on a two hour wrestling program you're really not gonna be able to have much more than 45 minutes of wrestling. Keep in mind that 2 hours of tv equates only about 85-90 minutes of tv once you take out the commercial breaks. Then the entrances for each match take about a couple minutes, plus you do need some promos/interviews to help build feuds.

I think RAW is way too long at three hours every week. I have no idea how I ever sat through a three hour Nitro in hindsight after sitting through three hour RAWs for the past year or so.

 

[shalliin]

That's a nice thought, but on a two hour wrestling program you're really not gonna be able to have much more than 45 minutes of wrestling. Keep in mind that 2 hours of tv equates only about 85-90 minutes of tv once you take out the commercial breaks. Then the entrances for each match take about a couple minutes, plus you do need some promos/interviews to help build feuds.

I think RAW is way too long at three hours every week. I have no idea how I ever sat through a three hour Nitro in hindsight after sitting through three hour RAWs for the past year or so.

So continue the matches through the commercials the way they always used to do it and only do it during matches that they try to promote as ppv quality. Canadian Maple Leaf wrestling was a 1hr program that was 90% wrestling and 10 % talk. matches would continue during commercials to enhance the live crowd experience. There's no reason they can't do that now, especially with the tech we have now and split screen recap of what happened during commercial breaks. Your standard 2hr show now is about 60-70% talk and 10% wreslting with the remaining amount of time behind recaps of recaps and replays from other shows.
I was including commercial time in my estimates for what a 2hr and 3hr show should be. There's typically 7-8 minutes between commercial breaks a and 15-16min of commercials every hour. There's no reason to have 3-4 minut matches followed by 3-4min of tlak before the commercial. Have a 8-10minute match, and the occassional 15-20 minuter. This could lead to better crowd reactions as they get to actually see wrestling again instead of paying what ever a ticket is and spending 4-5hrs with the lines and show and stuff and only getting 1hr of wrestling and 1-2hrs of bad acting.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I agree with him for the most part. This year's BFG Series was pretty lackluster, it definitely wasn't on the same level as last year's tournament.

The scoring system is easy to understand, it's about as basic as it gets. You get 7 points if you pin a guy, 10 points if you make him tap out, the four with the highest number of points have singles matches and the guy with the most points picks his final opponent to decide the overall winner of the series. At the same time though, there are a number of changes that I think could be made for the better. Just my opinion.

I believe they should do away with these four man and 20 point gauntlet matches as it does tend to overly complicate things and it can wind up rendering much of what's already happened null. If a guy loses virtually all his matches in the tourney and is sucking hind tit, then winning these matches puts him in the running of things, maybe even winning the whole thing altogether. Why care about most of the other matches when something like this goes down? When all of them had this big gauntlet match that could have put ANY of them in the running, it felt like a waste of time to me.

I think that TNA has the tourney last too long. It lasts for over 4 months and it just feels like it starts to drag after a while and, as a result, it gives the impression that a lot of the matches just aren't that big of a deal. There's no sense of urgency and a win or loss seems inconsequential until you get into about the second half of the tournament. I'd also do away with the points for winning via count out and disqualification. Again, to me, it adds a sense of importance to the matches. If you wanna advance in the tourney, you go in there and bust your ass to pin the other guy or make him tap out. As you're fighting to be the #1 contender for the TNA WHC at TNA's biggest show of the year, that's how a guy should win and prove he "deserves" to be in that spot. It keeps things simpler. As far as a draw goes, use it very sparingly as a means of promoting a really anticipated match in the series. In the result of a draw, award no points to either man but allow them to wrestle again at a near future TV taping or at a ppv in some sort of gimmick match like a steel cage, street fight, iron man match, etc. and hype the crap out of it.

Aside from a reduction in how long the tourney lasts, another way of adding urgency to the matches is that cuts are made perhaps at the halfway point leaving only the top 6 or whatever in contention.

Also, don't add jobbers into the BFG Series. It only lowers it in my opinion when you see wrestlers included that you not only know have no chance in winning but are only there for the sake of giving someone a pretty easy win.

So yeah, I think the focus of the BFG Series should be about the wrestling and giving a sense of rhyme, reason & necessity to the matches rather than the math.

 

[Stinger]

I agree. I'm not a fan of the gauntlet and other random matches they have where the winner gets 20 or 25 points. I prefer they just stick to singles matches.

 

[three count bout]

I think the BFG series tournament has been one of the bright spots of the company however I can still respect Jerichos opinion. I see him coming from a company that traditionally has a "simpler is better" approach. I don't find the point system hard and as stated previously everything you need to know is constantly shown in graphics and/or relayed by the half dead Mike Tenay. What is sometimes hard to get by for me personally is the inclusion of guys you know have zero chance of advancing. I think it takes the credibility of the tourney down if even a little when Robbie E, or Jay Bradley are included. So if you can't get twelve truly viable deserving guys in it trim the number of entrants.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

I don't think it's too hard to understand the point system but I think Jericho is ultimately right. It's not so much the math as it can be hard to sit through at times. WWE makes it simple in doing it all in 1 night, 30 man Rumble and the winner gets a title shot at Wrestlemania, that's about as easy as it gets, its easy to understand and you won't miss anything. When you do it over a span of 4 months the 1st 3 1/2 months are pretty much a waste of time. You have a good idea at the beginning who its gonna come down to so why not just do the final four right away over the span of a month?

TNA has a tendency to over complicate things (King of the Mountain and Reverse Battle Royal come to mind) when sometimes its better to go the simple route. There's nothing wrong with the BFG series concept but the execution could be better. What if they did:

Win (pin, submission) - 10
Win (dq, countout) - 5

Top 4 wrestlers qualify. This can be determined by a ranking system throughout the year and who ever is the top four by <insert date here> qualifies. Do 2 matches for the next 3 weeks so everyone fights everyone. The last week do a match with all potential winners of the series and have a final match, whoever gets the most points wins the BFG series. If not that then just do a single elimination 8 man tournament, that would work too.

The concept is good it just needs to be tweaked a bit. It feels like it goes on forever and there's a lot of fluff in between. All in all just cut out the fluff and go from there.

 

[Jstrike]

i love bfg series one of the main things interesting in tna.
jericho slams tna everybody does its all for fun.
but seriously tna bfg like it or not really doesnt have a affect on any ratings i get whats he saying and i agree to a percantage.
but jericho needs to focus on music and not wrestling. tna has problems but bfg aint one of them

 

[IT Factor]

To be fair though, almost anything is better then Seinfeld. That and Friends, two of the worst periods of tv to ever exist. Notice how few of those people actually still have careers now and didn't join Kathy Griffin on the Dlist. Seriously, there were tons of stuff on tv that didn't get the chance they deserved because of idiots who force fed Seinfeld and Friends on us. I'd rather watch paint dry and would find it funnier then either of those shows. They jumped the shark too early and lasted too long.
Bad Influence promo might be funnier then either, but I still dont' find them entertaining. Personally, there's too much talk and not enough wrestling nowdays. I think all companys should institute a 1min time limit on promos, 5 min on in ring talk segments, and on a 2hr show, have at least 1hr30min of wrestling(not counting entrances). On a 3hr show like Raw, then at least 2hr20min of wrestling.
You don't even need to know that much about it. When it's going on they spend at least 10-15 min of time over the course of a 2hr show detailing and explaining the concept, standings, method of scoring points, and the reason for the tourny being a shot at the belt. All you have to track is who's in the lead and who the 2nd place is. Other then that, they spoon feed it all to you repeatedly every show.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that. Friends, Seinfeld, Cheers, Frazier, and a lot of other older shows always get hailed as the best sitcoms when they are not even marginally funny. Especially Seinfeld, I hate that guy! If being paid not to be funny was an occupation, he'd be top paid comedian[which is sad, because he was highly paid to actually be funny too].

As for the Y2J comments, I respect Jericho for his accomplishments and somewhat understand what he was trying to say here. But he failed to get the concept and clearly doesn't watch the show. So how can you critique a product without having actually seen it? At least the BFG tourney brings us better than average matches and creates cool moments. If done right, it can setup up a major main event for BFG. I think TNA did a great job using backstory from last year to set up this year's redemption story for AJ Styles. He got banned from getting a title shot for an entire year and now he's getting the main event TNA World Title shot this year against Bully Ray. Which means he'll probably win the belt and be credited with the breaking up of the Aces & Eights stable. That is one of the smarter storylines that TNA has done this year and I think once Styles wins the belt, they should focus on giving him a lengthy title reign to cement his as the face of TNA.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I think the BFG Seriesis a great idea and if done right/properly can give some guys a big push towards the main event.

However, I do think it is too complicated with some matches being worth more points than others, 3-ways being worth different points, and points being lost for DQ, not to mention some matches taking place at House shows. I think TNA are definitely on the right lines, and I have always been a fan of knockout tournaments in wrestling (bring back KOTR I say!), but I do think the BFG Series could do with being toned down or simplified a little bit.

 

[akathelaw]

Let's take a little look at reality for a moment.

The Bound For Glory Series is a simple attempt at creating a "Road to WrestleMania" hype machine for the company's perceived #1 pay per view. It's TNA's version of the Royal Rumble, a way to put focus on the midcard and elevate one chosen star to the main event. It should be fast, exciting, and with a lot on the line. The Rumble is exciting because the guys wait all year for one night and if they make a little mistake, it's all over. The BFG Series is the opposite, taking many weeks to play out with to much room for speculation. I get that TNA is trying to build anticipation and tell a long story like American Idol or other "competition" shows do, but it appears that they're not taking advantage of storytelling opportunities. This emphasis on "feeling like a real sporting event" and ignoring how boring and unmemorable the Series ends up being hurts Bound For Glory. Fans want moments, and seeing a wrestler's face and point value on a screen isn't the same as watching an elimination match that is visceral and stays in your memory. Revamp the BFG Series or get rid of it. Why not have the entire BFG Series happen on a special 3 hour Impact, where your midcard hopefuls wrestle in elimination matches to make the finals? Hey, maybe do away with the current point values and have fans on Twitter vote on how many points a wrestler receives? Samoa Joe whooped ass, the Twitter fans voted he gets 10 points for the win. I think the BFG Series could be a lot better, just like TNA as a whole could be a lot better.

 

[IT Factor]

Let's take a little look at reality for a moment.

The Bound For Glory Series is a simple attempt at creating a "Road to WrestleMania" hype machine for the company's perceived #1 pay per view. It's TNA's version of the Royal Rumble, a way to put focus on the midcard and elevate one chosen star to the main event. It should be fast, exciting, and with a lot on the line. The Rumble is exciting because the guys wait all year for one night and if they make a little mistake, it's all over. The BFG Series is the opposite, taking many weeks to play out with to much room for speculation. I get that TNA is trying to build anticipation and tell a long story like American Idol or other "competition" shows do, but it appears that they're not taking advantage of storytelling opportunities. This emphasis on "feeling like a real sporting event" and ignoring how boring and unmemorable the Series ends up being hurts Bound For Glory. Fans want moments, and seeing a wrestler's face and point value on a screen isn't the same as watching an elimination match that is visceral and stays in your memory. Revamp the BFG Series or get rid of it. Why not have the entire BFG Series happen on a special 3 hour Impact, where your midcard hopefuls wrestle in elimination matches to make the finals? Hey, maybe do away with the current point values and have fans on Twitter vote on how many points a wrestler receives? Samoa Joe whooped ass, the Twitter fans voted he gets 10 points for the win. I think the BFG Series could be a lot better, just like TNA as a whole could be a lot better.

I totally agree that TNA could improve the BFG tournament. They need to make more emphasis on the matches themselves and continue throwing us swerves until the very end when someone wins it. This year had great matches but a lot of technical issues and last minute changes that really made no logical sense. They need to get rid of Aces & Eights and the Main Event Mafia because everything this year has came off as secondary to those stables, which is why the BFG tourney was uninspiring. They never really celebrated the AJ Styles win aside from Dixie Carter's awful current storyline with Styles. Which minimizes it to the casual fan and loyal fans alike. If a storyline is portrayed as secondary, fans will react to it as such.

Hopefully next year's BFG tourney will be all about the matches and winners and less about a major storyline overshadowing it, which kills the concept altogether. But at least TNA is attempting to keep the tournament idea alive. When is the last time WWE even did one? If I'm not mistaken, it was the tag tournament awhile back when Rhodes Scholars were getting their big tag team push. And the last singles tourney in WWE was when Mysterio won the belt, only to have Cena challenge him and win it the same night. So, at least TNA is giving the effort. WWE's shows are so routine that I highly doubt we will see another tournament for awhile. They should have never ended the KOTR tournament at the very least.