Does the Wrestling Media Stunt TNA's Growth?

[He's Phenomenal]

I’ve been thinking this for a while now, because it seems like everything you read about TNA has such a negative slant on it. And it really wouldn’t be hard to leave out the nonsense digs and portray things in a more positive light, so more people might think about watching it. TNA can’t be as horrible as they like to make out, as nearly 2 million people in the States watch it. Here in England, more people watch iMPACT! than Raw. And God knows how many other people around the World and online watch it.

But yet the wrestling media seem intent on putting negative slants on everything concerning TNA. A report of iMPACT! on PWInsider is the perfect example of what I mean (and why I thought it was time to write this thread). The amount of unnecessary negative phrases is unreal. After reading the report I don’t think anyone would consider watching iMPACT! Yet it was an enjoyable show, with a new direction being laid out. Not much wrestling, but some great mic work that really enhanced a lot of the characters. It wouldn’t be hard to write a report with a positive slant that encourages people to watch. For example, is this comment even necessary:

“Karen Angle wants the police to come because Kurt is nuts. Because the 400 other things that occur on Impact that would get you arrested (Pope-Okada, anyone?) don't, but Angle bashing Jeff with a guitar will.”

This is pro wrestling! Things happen that would not happen in real life all the time! Does he not remember one of the biggest angles in wrestling history? Try going to work tomorrow, kicking the crap out of your boss and see if you become the top guy in your company. I guarantee you won’t. And you’ll never be seen at that place of work again. The author also didn’t enjoy Pope’s segment. And basically writes Pope off as nothing after the segment. But from the time of me watching and seeing Pope get the mic time and backstage segments, I thought ‘this looks like the start of Pope working his way back up’. Pope was great on the mic as always, the knife was very clever, and then he was brutal in his beating of Okato. If you’re on screen for a decent amount of time, is that not a good thing for that wrestler? Why not pick the positive things instead of trying to write something neagative? The whole article is full of negative comments that just aren’t relevant or needed.

I could write a report of iMPACT! with a positive slant on it (but no one would read it) and a lot more people would think about giving TNA a go, than after reading PWInsiders report. Surely they have a responsibility to be impartial, as a lot of people will read their reports. If the guy writing the report doesn’t enjoy TNA, fine, but if he’s writing a report that thousands of people will read, it should be unbiased and shouldn’t contain a dig at the show every paragraph.

That’s just one article, I’ve read plenty of articles concerning TNA in the past, on well respected websites, that have un needed negative slants on them. And if something is portrayed to you in a negative manner, you're not going to be interested in giving it a go. Does anyone else think the same and believe the wrestling media could help TNA a lot more if they were just fair?

 

[dizzle1119]

TNA is stunting it's own growth. If they'd cut the crap, they'd be a lot better off. They were coming off the Victory Road "situation" this past thursday, but they didn't settle that properly. What we got was a show filled to the brim with promos and skits when they should be showcasing the in-ring talents of their top wrestlers. For christ's sake, they just lost their biggest draw...and they follow it up with trying to introduce Bubba Ray into the title scene. That's piss poor, dude.

TNA is capable of being a fine alternative to WWE, but they're gonna have to do something about their terrible booking and their lack of a real "boss" backstage. If TNA continues to go down the road they're on, they'll be out of business with a year & a half. It's sad. I enjoy watching AJ Style, Chris Daniels, The Machine Guns and Beer Money as well as Kaz and a few of their other guys. TNA should go back to what got them on television in the first place....action packed X and Tag Team competition...

 

[ptsheridan]

To the original thread question, no. No, because the regular, casual wrestling fans don't read about wrestling online like sites like these and other sources.

 

[mlp420]

Glad to see that I'm not the only one bothered by the slanted reports. It's like a coordinated vendetta. It really is amazing. I've always suspected that there is resentment on these wrestling sites that TNA has decided to try and go the mainstream entertainment route and pursue casual fans instead of being a modern day ECW or a larger version of ROH (TNA was the latter before 2007 and didn't get NEARLY as much hate). I don't think this stuff has stunted TNA's growth though. These sites are not nearly large or influential enough to do that.

 

[Mailman]

Great post, He's Phenomenal. I couldn't agree more. It's not far-fetched to believe that someone who hasn't watched TNA before stumbles across one of the aformentioned websites during their online travels. That person then decides to read a review of a TNA Impact or PPV. They'll think that the current TNA product is worst thing ever and won't even give a chance.

Sure, one could say that people shouldn't let an online reviewer dicate what they watch on television. It does happen, though.

Heck.. I've seen situations, plenty of times, where shots would be taken at the TNA product during a review of a WWE show. It is pretty disgusting.

The negativity could turn away some of TNA's viewers. I'm as loyal of a TNA fan as there is right now and even I have to admit that all of the negativity gets to me at times.

Again, great original post.

 

[APeep2780]

Highly doubtful.

Actually according the tv ratings shown here http://tnauk.wordpress.com/2011/03/15/tna-uk-tv-ratings-–-week-ending-6th-march-2011/ that more people did watch TNA impact than they did raw or smackdown that week (6th March). Now I know its a TNA website I can actually see some validity in the comment. TNA is shown on a channel called challenge tv in the uk which can be viewed on sky tv, cable and more importantly freeview. Now that the uk is in the middle of a complete digital switchover, Majority of people have either a freeview box or it's built into the tv itself. Now I make this point because that means that TNA is available to probably 90% of the population for free ppv's included. So anybody wanting to get their wrestling entertainment "fix". Whereas wwe is only available on sky sports which you can only get if you have the sports package on sky which is an extra £15 a week I believe.
Sorry this isn't on topic but felt this needed to be addressed. As fed up of people dismissing other posters comments without doing the research.

 

[tgrfan]

i agree with OP.over on pwtorch that caldwell guy posted in his blog thrashing TNA about their opening segment on how they threw hardy under the bus.its a mob mentality type thing.also notice when wwe does something bad you never really hear much about it?just look at the divas segment monday night i didnt read many things on news sites thrashing that train wreck.but if tna does one bad thing they want to go off on it.its sickening really.

 

[Jeritron5000]

Like someone already said, TNA stunts TNA's growth. I don't think you could really swoop in and write a positive article to improve their image. It's already crystal clear to both those who watch TNA and those who don't based on the quality of programming they put out. You, obviously, enjoy it. Many don't. I myself would like to but can't because my opinion is that it's crap. Besides, it's not the wrestling media's job to help TNA. They're negative because TNA merits it. How many times has something been hyped to death without delivering? How many times the biggest thing to happen in the history of mankind been promised and then the casual fan you refer to gets shat on? Douglass Williams was X-Division champion the day of the biggest Impact ever for gods sake. There's great truth in the greatness of many of their wrestler's ability. So to highlight it they try to be the WWE. Maybe if they came to their senses and just tried to be themselves, (You can go to the WWE for entertainment and TNA for the best wrestling in the world), then someone could write an article where they didn't feel the need to point out what stupid crap they just saw. It's pwinsider covering a scripted television show. It's not ESPN covering the game of a shitty basketball team.

 

[WZMember####]

Spoiler Reports in general often annoy me when writen by a "causal fan"...

I dont know how many times I have read Smackdown reports and the person said a "total squash" and so I watch the match expecting a quick one sided match instead I get a decently long match with lots of back and forth and maybe even a finisher from both sides. How is that a total squash?

I have also seen plenty of times when a fan doesnt know the name of any of the finishers or seem completely confused by the current storylines ...its almost like why did you even go to the event if you have no clue who the person is or what is going on?

It does feel like when reading some reports on other sites that the jabs are thrown in randomly and unneeded.

 

[Rckstrtmmy]

I see what youre saying but no, wrestling media does not stunt TNA's growth. TNA does. With poor booking, lack of homegrown stars, and angles that could be decent but instead are so long and drawn out that they aren't even fun to follow really hurt them. Not to mention the fact that Hogan and Bischoff use TNA as their own personal playground and try their best to keep themselves in the spotlight. TNA's wrestling is actually generally pretty good, but they don't know how to put on an engaging TV show to follow. The wrestling media is honestly read by soooo few people compared to how many fans there actually are that what they say (and the IWC for that matter) has little to no effect on the wrestling business. Throw in the fact that they have a 50+ year old champ and a "face" of the company that can't even put on a match in the main event of a PPV and you have bigger issues than the wrestling media IMO.

 

[Krobra]

While I do agree that TNA has the potential to be a great company, the constant shit that TNA does hurts their overall product. It saddens me greatly to see talent wasted away. I used to watch TNA but stopped about a year ago when they starting pulling this crap. TNA has several problems that they need to deal with before they can start on their path to recovery. Getting rid of Hardy should be at the top of their list. Jeff used to be my all-time favorite wrestler. When he won the WWE Title for the first time, I went nuts. I was sad when he left WWE and was shocked to hear that he got busted for drugs again. He was at the top of the world and he sunk. I thought this would be the opportunity for Matt to finally get a chance to be the top dog, but we all know what happened there. TNA needs to stop hiring former WWE talent and start home growing their own with younger talent. Talent like AJ Styles should be at the top of the programming, not Hogan and Flair.

 

[Brian in Austin]

Look, I happen to like most of the folks on TNA. I'm just not a big fan of Hogan and Bischoff. I view these two as hucksters trying to prolong careers that truly should have ended years ago.

As for bashing TNA, I'm a fan who is disappointed in what TNA, the company, often produces. The Angle/Angle/Jarrett storyline to me is disgusting. I've never been a fan of bringing family members like wives, ex-wives and children into the storylines. It smacks of desperation. Jarrett and Angle are talented enough both in the ring and on the mic to sell a story without it. But again it reeks of desperation on the part of Bischoff and Hogan. Yes, I know. They would both look at the ratings and claim victory. Let me ask. Is it a 'win' when the team loses it's quarterback for the season? Or was it a costly victory that wound up costing the team its season?

Enter Jeff Hardy. A 3 time loser with the WWE for violating their wellness policy and OF COURSE Hogan and Bischoff saw an opportunity. Guess what? They got what they paid for. A drug addict. What did they do? They actually THOUGHT that playing TO that side of Jeff Hardy's life was a GOOD idea? I repeat, they ACTUALLY THOUGHT it was a GOOD idea. Now they ALL look foolish after what happened at the PPV. Hardy sincerely needs help before he hurts himself or someone else. Unfortunately, no one in TNA cares. Especially not Hogan nor Bischoff, other than to 'tweet' their concern for a colleague. Wow, thanks Hulk! Of course, what am I saying? Hogan is a self-confessed drug abuser. Big shock he'd look the other way while Hardy destroyed his own life.

Then we had the Abyss storyline with his stick full of nails. Sooo...RVD gets ripped apart by this thing and survives? Then months later Abyss gets it stuck in his own back and he survives? Yeah,....that's really creative!!! Again, they took 2 servicable characters in RVD and Abyss and turned it into a ridiculous circus. Again, Bischoff and Hogan with their over the top angles.

Now we go to Ric Flair. This is a man who received a very deserved, and what I thought was a very classy, sendoff on MNR. The 'boys in the back' showing their immense respect for the man. (maybe it was by decree from VKM.) Point is he had a chance to go out on top. Instead, he goes to TNA for various reasons and we hear stories of his skipping out on bar tabs, causing problems in the back, and he's really debased himself in some of the matches I've watched. Truly a sad thing to watch happen, and yet, Hogan and Bischoff allow it to go on. Wonder why?

Now we have the one man who can bring some resemblence of credibility to TNA, Sting, inserted as the new Champ. But for how long? How long will the powers that be allow that to go on before they put it on 'the ***hole?' I can see it coming and while I like K.A. as an in-ring performer and great on the mic...the whole ***hole thing is a bit much. I get it...given that it's 'TNA' but still...really?

Lastly, what do you bet they screw up this thing with Jeff Hardy even worse? I hope and pray they get him the help he needs whether or not they fire him. (which he more than deserves.)

Look, I'd like to believe that TNA is heading in the right direction but I'd love to know what their real goals are. They tried to compete head to head on Monday nights and failed miserably. Their ratings are abysmal. Their PPV's a trainwreck. If reports are true, things backstage are worse than ever before. How in the WORLD can anyone get anything positive out of those circumstances?

 

[finoj05]

I agree with the OP because, for fans that do read internet reviews, they over-estimate TNA's problems because it's not the company they wish they would be and are not making big enough strides to avoid criticism. As long as WWE is #1, they will get a pass on some things by the internet wrestling community because there is no real business failure within the company like TNA has, despite the fact WWE makes big booking mistakes on a weekly basis and have sliding numbers, many won't admit there is any problem despite the fact business continues to slide. While TNA is private, there is no proof they are profitless, have low PPV buys and are making bad financial decisions for their company.

So many radio shows and wrestling websites jump on any unfortunate TNA moment they can in order to bury the managment of the company and go on a diatribe on how "I really want TNA to succeed" and then bash them in such a negative light. There is a way to criticize without acting like a know-it-all smark. Nobody in power is going to listen to that or care what you think if you act like you understand TNA's kryptonite and have all the answers to what TNA's problems are.

 

[Brian in Austin]

I agree with the OP because, for fans that do read internet reviews, they over-estimate TNA's problems because it's not the company they wish they would be and are not making big enough strides to avoid criticism. As long as WWE is #1, they will get a pass on some things by the internet wrestling community because there is no real business failure within the company like TNA has, despite the fact WWE makes big booking mistakes on a weekly basis and have sliding numbers, many won't admit there is any problem despite the fact business continues to slide. While TNA is private, there is no proof they are profitless, have low PPV buys and are making bad financial decisions for their company.

So many radio shows and wrestling websites jump on any unfortunate TNA moment they can in order to bury the managment of the company and go on a diatribe on how "I really want TNA to succeed" and then bash them in such a negative light. There is a way to criticize without acting like a know-it-all smark. Nobody in power is going to listen to that or care what you think if you act like you understand TNA's kryptonite and have all the answers to what TNA's problems are.

Look, I don't claim to know the answers to their problems. But sticking your head in the sand and acting like all is well is simply foolish. If TNA were successful they wouldn't have failed in their head to head against the WWE on Monday nights.

If they were successful they wouldn't have someone like Jeff Hardy representing their brand as he drugs up week in and week out.

If they were successful they wouldn't have brought in a nutjob in Matt Hardy who got himself shown the door at WWE. (yeah, yeah he quit. sure he did. Everyone quits a good paying job all the time right?! Geez! Talk about a mark.)

If they were successful they wouldn't clearly have guys 'roiding up' to get tv time. Yeah, sure, those are their 'natural' looks. You know the guys I'm talking about.

If TNA were successful they wouldn't need a 62 year old man in Ric Flair wrestling to get them over. For goodness sakes, they had Hogan, as broken down as he is now, actually getting physically involved in storylines. Holy smokes.

If they were successful, Bischoff wouldn't have rehashed his 'karate' storyline. You remember. He did that like 15 years ago for another promotion?!

If they were successful they'd be on a major network instead of a secondary cable network. They'd have a national audience, instead of a fractured, and largely I'd guess mostly regional one.

If they were successful, TNA would NEVER have sent an impaired Jeff Hardy to the ring, nor would they have had to ask another wrestler in Sting to actually sign off on a new, albeit abrupt, ending to a world title match of a PPV that people paid good money to see.

The fact is, TNA has problems, and lots of them. Deflecting to how things are going for the WWE is a CLEAR indication that even YOU know TNA has issues. Your logic is to change the subject instead of addressing the issues TNA does in fact have.

 

[roethlisberger78]

Dude I couldnt agree more, these damn media people RUIN TNA and I'll tell ya I had a direct shot I saw it happend right in front of my eyes, a media guy drugged jeff hardy before his match and vicotry road. That media guy couldnt stand TNA so he drugged Jeff Hardy to ruin their PPV.

No to mention I saw another Media guy sneak in to the Impact zone and set a secret code in there so Impact could never ever ever go on the road again because it looked half way decent when they went on the road well media wouldnt want that to happen.

Ah almost forgot, Media wrote that dumb dumb dumb ass IDEA for the pope to cure people the blinde and fat and crippled, media wrote those and put them in Vince Russo's folder for that night on Impact... GOSH DAMN MEDIA...

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO its not the Media its TNA them selves that continue to screw them selves.

 

[TNA cross the line]

I totally agree with OP most if not all the articals about TNA i read on the headlines pin a negative light on TNA and i truly believe some people hate on TNA just to have something to hate on and bitch about, some people take Loyalty too far when it comes to a fake tv show and the people who write thies articals are no different than the wwe marks in thies forums WWE is end all be all to them and TNA is just WCW 2.0. Then there are guys like mark madden who are just pissed thier not in the buisness anymore and they are not even good enough to be writing articals on wrestlezone let alone work in the buisness to begin with.

 

[MarkoMan]

Prior to 2010, I'd agree with the OP 100%.

However, Hogan and Bischoff came, and I'm hard pressed to not agree with a lot of the negative talk that wrestling media gives TNA.

Furthermore, TNA hardly markets itself. More people may watch TNA than WWE in the UK, but how about the US? Hardly any marketing whatsoever. Instead, they try "other" forms of marketing, such as getting celebrities that are "hot" at the moment or something like that.

I would like to believe that there are a lot of WWE fans that simply don't know about TNA, and that if they did, they just might decide to take a look and see what TNA is all about. However, without the proper marketing, that potential will never be seen. And even if they had marketing, they'd have to do stuff to Keep new fans. TNA has a very loyal fanbase on its own, but there has been little to no growth for a loooong time now.

 

[Derrtown]

Hell yes it does. TNA gets shit on by wrestling media personalities because of the people that work for the company more so than the actual show. Because it employs Russo, Bischoff, and Hogan, Hardy, and is more edgier and racier than its counterpart is the reason its shit on. People want something different from the WWE, TNA offers it and they slam them for not being more like the WWE. Its hypocrisy at its best and if people disagree they are either blind or WWE marks themselves. TNA is better or AT LEAST just as good as any wrestling program out there and with the shitty reporting by the shitty uninformed websites, they will have a hard time growing regardless.

 

[Rampage Bentley]

I completely disagree with the OP...

They're definitely are mostly negative views of TNA, but I've found that all they do is fall in line with what I already feel about TNA. TNA isn't stunted because of negative reports, there are negative reports because TNA has stunted itself with awful storylines, nonsensical and illogical segments, and by having no real hierarchy of it's wrestlers.

And TNA fans really like to throw around that Impact beats RAW in the UK, but they always fail to mention that Impact is on a basic channel and RAW is on a Premium Pay channel.

 

[Rayne]

I could write a report of iMPACT! with a positive slant on it (but no one would read it) and a lot more people would think about giving TNA a go, than after reading PWInsiders report. Surely they have a responsibility to be impartial, as a lot of people will read their reports.

And here we get to the root of the matter.

Dirt sheets do not have some kind of responsibility to the professional wrestling public. There is no great "objective search for truth" in professional wrestling, it is an industry based upon getting people to pay attention to you so they give you their money. News media has this responsibility (one that I feel they bend quite regularly, if not break entirely at times, however this is a issue for another thread, if not another board), but the importance of a well-informed democracy capable of making informed decisions for the future of their society is of somewhat higher importance then which professional wrestling program gets more viewers.

Dirt sheets post what people will read, because it drives traffic to their sites and brings in advertising money. That's all there is to that. They are not responsible for promoting TNA; that's TNA's job, and one at which they do themselves disservice on a regular basis. No one would read your positive TNA reports, because there are far more people who resonate with negative commentary on TNA. If you want to express your opinion, you write a convincing argument stating your position and detailing the issues in favor of that. If you want people to read what you write, you write what they want to hear.

It's about money. In professional wrestling, it's always about money, and never forget that.

There is nothing stopping you from writing your own TNA summary. I doubt you'll get it posted on the front page immediately, as there are writers covering that currently. I'm not sure what kind of issues you'd get from moderators as far as where you could post it; part of the challenge in getting people to read your material is convincing people with publishing power to put it where people will see it. However, if you are able to write a TNA summary that people want to read, you will find that as more people read your material, you will be able to post it in more accessible places.

 

[He's Phenomenal]

And TNA fans really like to throw around that Impact beats RAW in the UK, but they always fail to mention that Impact is on a basic channel and RAW is on a Premium Pay channel.

But Smackdown sometimes beat TNA so this really is irrelevant. As there are enough wrestling fans out there with Sky to make WWE beat TNA in the ratings, they just choose not to. I'm a wrestling fan with sky sports but i choose not to watch WWE.

 

[Derrtown]

And TNA fans really like to throw around that Impact beats RAW in the UK, but they always fail to mention that Impact is on a basic channel and RAW is on a Premium Pay channel.

And WWE fans like to point that out like it matters. TNA has now beaten RAW and usually Smackdown on two different stations already over seas. This is one of the other reasons TNAs growth is stunted. Idiotic comments like this where instead of giving TNA some props, they find away to be negative or try to talk down their accomplishments.

 

[Davi323]

Umm, It does matter. A lot. Its about the size of your viewing audience. If TNA is on basic TV in the UK, it is available in more homes than the WWE on a Pay channel. Casual wrestling fans that don't have the pay channel can't watch the WWE, but they can watch TNA, since its on a channel they do get. Your argument is complete nonsense. This year, the Super Bowl was watched by about 110,000,000 people in the US. It was on network television. If the Super Bowl aired on the NFL network, which a lot less people receive, you don't think the ratings would have dropped, just from the simple fact that they had less televisions that could tune it in? Because that is the argument you are making.

You want to claim that Raw's ratings on a pay channel aren't affected at all by the fact that there are far fewer TVs that can receive it than can receive the TNA shows, and that is simply absurd. If one show is available to 100 percent of the viewing market, and the other is only available to 50 percent who are willing to pay an extra cost just to receive that channel, of course the one on more TVs is going to get better ratings.

If they were flip-flopped, TNA's UK ratings would drop significantly, and the WWE's would rise significantly, because the casual fan who isn't willing to pay for the premium channel can still watch. The casual fan watches TNA because it happens to be on a channel they receive, put the WWE on a channel they get, they watch that.

But to the actual topic, TNA fucks itself in the ass enough to not have to need the media to do it for them. If you put out a shit product, and the media simply reports you are putting out a shit product, its your fault for creating it, not their fault for telling people. If TNA can ever stop with the total ridiculousness of drugged up champions, super powered HOF rings, and Jeff Jarrett, the media might back off.

 

[BulletVonAwesome]

@the original post
this is a good post, i would say no to your question though as i believe most of the bashing TNA gets is self inflicted and in most cases, deserved. i like the show. i do. they just need to cop on a bit in my opinion.
TNA wrestling allow drug users to wrestle, JEFF HARDY for instance, a high flyer was a wreck at victory road and was scheduled against sting, sting is 51, imagine if that match went ahead and jeff went top rope, think sting'd be happy? risking himself against a druggy? Jeff Hardy is a pro wrestler, an athlete, he shouldn't be allowed to work unless he's sober, risking good honest workers in favor of of hardy is one reason they deserve to be bashed....and jeff is one of my all time favorites....
point 2......WTF happened with the ninjas???...
Point 3.......Jesus H. Christ i thought Vince Mc Mahon bought Dub C Dub......and E C Dub....but there they are on TNA.....

the show is just not coherent, one week some one is face and doing well, and next week they're attacked and lying in a pool of blood in the back.......usually with little or no explanation..

and my last bitch at TNA is.....Bully Ray....WTF?? pushing a dudley without the other is odd.... Does anyone like the idea of B RAY winning tna singles gold? the heavyweight title perhaps? the only feuds there are jeff, a junkie, NOMMY Dreamer,who can't wrestle without a weapon, and D Von , again..

i like TNA, some talent are amazing....but my above reasons, and some reasons others made, bishoff/hogan, dixie, old guys etc....add to the collective turd that TNA wrestling has become.....remember when Christopher Daniels was in the main event picture in TNA....we liked that....it's just so not believable now...

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I don't think so. If anything, it sounds like an attempt to blame TNA's faults on the internet and the dirtsheets rather than TNA itself. If someone doesn't like what TNA puts out as a product, I see absolutely no problem with voicing that opinion. It's the exact same with WWE. If you hate WWE and want to rag on it, be my guest. I'm not gonna bust your chops over it just because I have a differing opinion.

The wrestling media has nothing to do with the shortcomings that a lot of fans see in TNA. Whenever I read any opinion whether it be from Chris Shore or Chris Cash or Mark Madden or Wade Keller or any other journalist on wrestling websites & they criticize TNA for something, they don't tell me anything I don't already know because I've seen it go down with my own two eyes on television.

I do believe that the criticism does go too far at times, it gets downright personal with some posters, but TNA continues to shoot itself in the foot. It it keeps putting out a bad product, are people just supposed to plaster a big shit eating grin on their faces and say good job?