Cool, WWE Rips Off TNA - again.

[deforty]

I have no problem with the copying and as someone mentioned earlier I don't care just as long as we get something good to watch on the program and it doesn't suck. Who cares, for all we know Hogan and Vince have weekly conversations asking each other hey what you doing with this program and where you going here. Hogan asks Vince what you doing with that Ryder kid I like him, Vince nothing good, I think he sucks, Hogan: Good do the draft and FE him I will pick him up in after you 90 day crap and he can feud with Robbie E.

Who cares I don't I just want something to watch that I like and can entertain me for a couple of hours and not bore the hell out of me.

 

[Trill Co$by]

I have no problem with the copying and as someone mentioned earlier I don't care just as long as we get something good to watch on the program and it doesn't suck. Who cares, for all we know Hogan and Vince have weekly conversations asking each other hey what you doing with this program and where you going here. Hogan asks Vince what you doing with that Ryder kid I like him, Vince nothing good, I think he sucks, Hogan: Good do the draft and FE him I will pick him up in after you 90 day crap and he can feud with Robbie E.

Who cares I don't I just want something to watch that I like and can entertain me for a couple of hours and not bore the hell out of me.

I like this guy. That's not even sarcasm.

Ok first, Robbie E. and Cookie with their little "stints" with J-Woww and Angelina aren't even worth mentioning since well... TNA wasn't consistent with it. WWE with Snooki was used for nothing more than to play to the Atlanta crowd, where Snooki is originally from. If WWE wanted to rip off TNA, they would've got J-Woww and Angelina.

For Booker T and Nash situation. Who in their right mind would even be ******ed enough to believe that? Booker T has gone on record numerous of times saying that he had no true beef with WWE and eventually he would love to return. Now he's back and he's in a good role. Nash is best friends with Shawn Michaels and HHH... one of which happened to be going to the hall of fame. Of course Nash would sign on for that.

As for the smoking bit... if anything, those damn Juggalos at JCW should be throwing a fit because everyone seems to forget that Shaggy 2 Dope used to come to the ring smoking and every time he took a puff, he got stronger. Shaggy 2 Dope should really start suing TNA and WWE...

Bottom line though, I don't care what happens in TNA or WWE as long as it's entertaining. So what if there are similarities... maybe those similarities are worth it.

 

[3/4 Facelock]

Sandman and Big Show and the APA were the first to come to memory of smoking wrestlers. Hardy copied them.

Truth's smoking was part of the storyline so it is different. He didn't walk down smoking to the ring like Sandman, Show, or Hardy.

So it's not a copy. No. Definately not.

So...who's gonna be the first to on-air dip before the match? Oh shit. That was ODB in TNA. Looks like they got dibs on the tobacco angles.

 

[berlinbrawler]

Big Show smoked? When was that?
APA smoked? Ah, right, cigars.

 

[harrythem]

Big Show smoked in WCW on TV in 1998. Even had a match against Sting where Sting was going to show him that smoking was wrong and he would beat him because of it (which he did)

 

[JJYanks121]

Now, the explanation. Yes, they are copying the Jeff Hardy thing. Saying they're not is like saying 3.3.11 promo was an original idea, totally not a shot.

Anyone who thinks this was not a copy is well - pretty stupid to say the least (yes, I'm name calling, stop being so soft and grow a spine).

They did copy TNA.

Mr. Zevon! My favorite guy! You know why I love this guy? He speaks with such PASSION, such CONVICTION! When he speaks, brother you gotta listen!

So when Mr. Zevon Zion proclaims that WWE copied TNA you KNOW that he was there when WWE writers were putting together Raw for this Monday. He was there in the meeting with Vince, Brien Gerwitz and the rest, eating potato chips, sipping a beer and watching old Impact tapes. That's when one of the writers proclaimed "wow! Jeff Hardy smoked a cigarette on a TNA Pay Per View! That was awesome and brought in so many viewers, we should totally do that!"

Yes, there was backlash. Some felt it was distasteful and some weren't sure which brand of cigarette to push. Hell, some knew the English law that states that indoor smoking is illegal in the country. But there was Zevon Zion, reassuring the writers that it was a good idea because it will work. What a guy!

Keep in mind, before it went to print and was sent to the wrestlers, someone spouted out "hey, is it cool that we're copying TNA, a company that prays every night to be even half as successful as we are?" which was replied to "sure, most of our audience won't have seen TNA so they won't know it's a copy. Hell, most of TNA's audience didn't see it either since it was on Pay Per View!" "Well ok, let's do it then!"

I'm so glad the Zevon was there to let us know with 100 percent conviction that WWE's intent with having smoking and conditioning play into a storyline was absolutely, positively, 100% a lifted idea from Jeff Hardy smoking a cigarette on the way to the ring to face Mr. Anderson. We could have argued for hours wondering but it's great to have an insider!

Are we getting it yet? They are very different stories and in both cases, much like smoke has been used in the past, the usage of it was done to push a character. The thing is, Jeff's case and Truth's case are very, very different. I personally am not a fan of using it in either case as it has very personal meaning to me (I posted an article about this last night on my site), but to suggest that they were done for the same reason and that the idea was lifted is pretty silly. Only to the internet fan would something this small come off as a "copied idea". A story wasn't copied, a scene wasn't copied, and a character wasn't copied. It's a foreign object that was used to further a storyline. I suppose that any time someone uses a chair it's being ripped off right?

Listen, I didn't like it when TNA did it and I didn't like it when Truth did it either. Again, it's a personal thing for me but I stand by feeling that way. That said, I highly doubt that using a foreign object to further a story is a copied idea and I certainly would never proclaim it to be with such conviction in saying "yes, they copied them". In saying that, you are trying to further the idea that WWE is watching TNA intently and looking to rip them off or something. Despite what Hogan might tell you on Twitter, that's simply not the case.

 

[Dagger Dias]

So first WWE brings in Nash/Booker and squashes the MEM rumored comeback.

They did, but how is that WWE ripping off TNA? That's more like crushing their story instead of "borrowing" it, which is what ripping it off would have been. If they ripped off TNA then WWE would have started a main event faction similar to the MEM, which they did not.

Then WWE goes the Jersey Shore route and picks up Snooki for Mania.

So what? They did that to get some publicity for the company during Wrestlemania season, which is exactly what happened. Jersey Shore is popular and they would have contacted Snooki whether TNA has a Jersey Shore gimmick on their roster or not.

Now they completely rip off the Jeff Hardy Cigarette move - which correct me if I'm wrong - got a lot of heat for being classless to get over R-Truth as a heel.

No they didn't. R-Truth turned heel. Heels do bad things. Smoking is a bad thing to portray a heel doing, to get him some heel heat, especially from the children that the PG product is meant to attract. Those kids are going to R-Truth sucks now, so the segment did what it was meant to do. Create a new heel. It had nothing to do with Jeff Hardy.

It amazes me for a company that denies it looks at TNA as competition that they so blatantly have used gimmicks used by TNA to get over their stars of build events. It seems to me WWE looks at TNA for cues on how to be creative. Yet everyone bashes Russo/Hogan/Bischoff for lack of creative.

They do not view TNA as competition, that has not changed. WWE does not care what TNA does and they won't until TNA becomes a legit threat. You have it backwards because it's TNA that rips off WWE. Look at "The Network" who suddenly became so important when WWE got the anonymous GM. Also, they brought in a random celebrity guest during Raw's Gues Hosts angle. Dare I even mention the ripoff of the Undertaker video? TNA rips off WWE all the time.