Fortune vs EV2.0 and Hogan - who exactly are we meant to cheer for?

[The Shockmaster]

As i was watching Impact tonight I began to think about Hogans current storyline involving Nash and Sting.

Basically the story seems to be that Hogan along with Jarrett and Bischoff feel that it is time for the youth and originals to step up and take the spot light. In order to due that they are saying guys like themselves(meaning Hogan/Jarrett) along with others like Sting and Nash have to step down and away from the ring.

Hear is my problem with this storyline. While it does not directly involve this storyline Hogan was been in the ring endorsing and praising the EV2.0 guys. These guys are not in the category of TNA originals and definitely not in the category of young.

So the storyline flaw...Hogan has a problem with Sting and Nash but doesn't have a problem with the "40+ club" of EV2.0 taking time away from the young and upcoming talent not involved with fortune.

So the questions...
1)Do you see this as a storyline flaw?
2)Do you think this angle should be running during the Chaos of EV2.0 vs Fortune?

Side question...
Do yo think a storyline combining Fortune teaming up with veterans like Sting/Nash to take out Ev2.0 for the greater good of the company would work(Fortune doing most of the work). Then of course after they would turn on each other with the veterans putting over Fortune for the ultimate rub.

 

[PhD]

I was thinking about this tonight too. The booking is totally ass-backwards. Why is the invading force being booked as the faces while the TNA originals are the heels? This is typical Vince Russo, trying to turn convention on its ear just for the sake of doing so. The worked-shoot tension is actually really compelling, as it makes light of how stupid it is for ECW retreads to be hogging the spotlight from homegrow talent.

I guess it would be hard to expect the nostalgic heroes to come off as the bad guys, but this angle still really doesn't make sense. I'm still really not clear from the diegetic exposition why EV2.0 was invited back to TNA in the first place. Really, making Dixie Carter a focal figure of this is making her look like a moron rather than the kind of authority figure that makes sense for a wrestling promotion. So basically it's just narrativizing everything that is wrong with TNA at the moment.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

I see it as a flaw, I see MANY flaws in this storyline, it's one big flaw basically.

1. They make the EV2 guys faces and the TNA guys heels. Why? Last time I checked the company letters were "T-N-A" not "E-C-W". They even stated that they weren't poised on taking over before, but they are now. So are we supposed to cheer for the middle-aged brigade which wants to take TNA, instead of the young awesome guys who BUILT TNA? I don't get it.

2. As you stated, Hogan's all about the young guys ( yeah right ) but then again here's EV2.0, here's him endorsing RVD like he's his wife or something. Once more, I don't get it.

The only way to make this logical is to turn the ECW guys heel, reveal that they are "they", turn Bischoff and Hogan heel, and have the TNA guys be at least tweeners, all of it culminating at Bound for Glory with the TNA guys being put over by the ECW jackasses along with Nash, J.J, Sting and HOPEFULLY Hogan, get him the fuck out of that company and start fresh.

IMO TNA got the exposure it needed, it created a buzz, it brought in some valuable people. If I was in Dixie's shoes I'd screw Hogan and fire him, leaving only Bischoff. I don't like Hogan, I never did, I never will. He IS a huge name, but I'm more than sure that nobody watches TNA to see him. He's as important to this company as Slick Johnson. No ratings, no money, no nothing. I bet that 99% of the storylines and the good things that this new regime did was all Bischoff and Russo.

 

[PhD]

I see it as a flaw, I see MANY flaws in this storyline, it's one big flaw basically.

1. They make the EV2 guys faces and the TNA guys heels. Why? Last time I checked the company letters were "T-N-A" not "E-C-W". They even stated that they weren't poised on taking over before, but they are now. So are we supposed to cheer for the middle-aged brigade which wants to take TNA, instead of the young awesome guys who BUILT TNA? I don't get it.

2. As you stated, Hogan's all about the young guys ( yeah right ) but then again here's EV2.0, here's him endorsing RVD like he's his wife or something. Once more, I don't get it.

The only way to make this logical is to turn the ECW guys heel, reveal that they are "they", turn Bischoff and Hogan heel, and have the TNA guys be at least tweeners, all of it culminating at Bound for Glory with the TNA guys being put over by the ECW jackasses along with Nash, J.J, Sting and HOPEFULLY Hogan, get him the fuck out of that company and start fresh.

IMO TNA got the exposure it needed, it created a buzz, it brought in some valuable people. If I was in Dixie's shoes I'd screw Hogan and fire him, leaving only Bischoff. I don't like Hogan, I never did, I never will. He IS a huge name, but I'm more than sure that nobody watches TNA to see him. He's as important to this company as Slick Johnson. No ratings, no money, no nothing. I bet that 99% of the storylines and the good things that this new regime did was all Bischoff and Russo.

You and I appear to have made many similar points, however, it's worth pointing out that Hogan is appearing on Spike's dime, not TNA's. While I think most of the IWC would agree Hogan is most taking more in terms of cash and spotlight than he is giving back to the brand, I'm sure Dixie is happy to have him around as long as she isn't footing the bill.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Hogan was talking about leaving on Impact and was very vague when someone asked him how long his contract was. He said it was a year he thought. He said it all depends on if he wants to stay passed a year or not. Bischoff said his and Hogan's contracts expire in 2 years and they plan to fulfill their contracts. I really don't know who is heel and who is face anymore when it comes to Fourtune, EV 2, and the rest.

Fourtune are pushed as heels since they attacked the EV 2.0 guys from the back. The fans still cheer them though. They even cheered AJ more than Tommy Dreamer tonight. The fans also cheered for EV 2.0, but they are more for the TNA guys then the extreme guys. Fourtune is pissed about the old ECW guys being in the spotlight and they are the heels? Most people agree with Fourtune. The ECW guys are pushed as faces, but no one cares about them.

I didn't mind that the former hardcore guys got one last PPV, but there is no need to give them contracts. Who can even wrestle as well as the members of Fourtune? Dreamer? Sandman? FBI? Sabu? I don't want to see a Beer Money vs. FBI match, or a Raven vs. Kaz match.

It seems that Nash and Sting are heels out for themselves, but they want to talk about Hogan and Bischoff ruining the company. Jarrett wants them to stop talking bad about Bischoff and Hogan. The fans don't know who to cheer for. Fourtune later takes out all the older guys. Hogan wants to put focus on the young guys, but he shows up on every segment fighting off either Flair or Sting. He even praises the hardcore EV 2.0 guys more than the young guys. If Hogan turns heel then that means he will join Fourtune. How does that make him heel if he aligns himself with TNA originals? I've gone cross eyed.

I hope this all doesn't lead to some sort of NWO reunion with Hogan taking over with the old timers. Fourtune needs to be pushed hard along with the rest of the new guys. No one wants to see Hogan, Sting, Flair, Nash, or even Jarrett in the ring again. Sting, Nash, and Jarrett is an exception for maybe one match since they can still go. I just never thought that the TNA guys would be heels and the old guys would be faces. Abyss is still saying that "THEY" are coming as well. This doesn't bode well for the future , but I hope something will become clear soon.

 

[Bobby B]

Am I the only one who isn't a little bit confused here?

Yes, I'm well aware that EV2.0 are booked as the faces, and Fortune as the heels. But putting myself in the shoes of an average fan, I'm really not sure that I would be cheering for EV2.0.

Yesterday we had Flair cut a rather nice promo about how this was TNA, and he didn't want the ECW guys there (as the average fan I think I would like that). Then AJ Styles cut a very very babyface promo about this was the house he built.

I think the major problem with this feud (and it's what caused the lack of reaction in the impact zone last week), is that we've got a group being booked as faces, who the fans don't particularly care about, then we've got a group of heels that for me are saying all the right things. As a casual fan I feel like supporting Fortune. If I'm an average TNA fan, I don't think I would want to see the ECW guys around.

And as myself - in the last fortnight I've just seen Fortune beat up everything that is wrong with TNA right now (The ECW guys, and Hogan/Sting/Nash/Jarrett).

Not for the first time I think they've booked this angle the wrong way around. If you book the ECW guys as heels - ie bullying Dixie for contracts because their PPV was much better than all the other TNA one's recently (that's kayfabe obvious - in reality it was awful). Then have Flair and Styles defend TNA. If you'd have booked it like that, I don't think you'd have got quite such a lukewarm reaction when the beatdown happened.

 

[jccool420]

Yeah, it's all kind of confusing...

The only way it really works for Fortune to be the heels is... EV2 had their last show, they just came out to say goodbye and then Fortune attacked them... But really it doesn't make sense because if Fortune would have just left the EV2 guys alone, they would have said their farewell and they would have been gone... So really, Fortune is the reason the EV2 guys got contracts in the first place...

And then Hogan claims he is for the young guys in TNA, but he totally crapped on the whole Title Tournament by making it seem like none of the young guys in the tournament could replace RVD... RVD can still go and really isn't an old timer, but he's not a young guy neither...

And then Abyss is still saying They are coming... Come on now, who the fuck is They??? I understand playing out an angle but, this is dragging out a little too long... Is is Raven and someone else? Is it James Mitchell? Is it just voices in his head? Could it even be EV2 with their new plan to take over TNA? Even though the last would make no sense seeing as the EV2 guys were brought in by Dixie as faces by Dixie after Abyss said they were coming to take over TNA... So how could they explain that they knew Fortune would attack them and then make them decide that they want to take over?

It just a lot of loose ends that really need to be tied up so we can get to TV that makes sense...

 

[daddyJ_t]

its meant to bring about such reactions, jus like the whole invasion storyline was in wwe back in the day. you had ecw, wcw, and wwe fans and evrybody had a problem with at least one of the companies. its a very good ploy to get what they all want the most. ratings. with the extra roster people, they could maybe push to a two hour show which also would boost thier ratings. root for tna overall cause regardless who wins this little war, tna is the winner along with thier fans

 

[Chadmw]

Just a few points

1. Yes Hogan was praising the all the old EV2 guys, but that's because at that time storyline wise it was just suppose to be a 1 time thing and then the EV2 guys were suppose to disappear, so yeah Hogan came out and said good job blah blah blah.

2. Fortune is the heels, but the problem is people have troubel booing AJ, as he just comes off as a face, but while some people heard his "this is the house that AJ built" come off as a face speech, but I think it was suppose to come off as a heel egotiscal speech, but once again it just doesn't work for AJ

3. As for Flair, storyline wise this is all about him and fortune, he doesn't care about TNA, he's just jelous that the EV2 guys are getting more credibility than he is (once again storyline wise)

4. Do you guys think we are now going to see Hogan, Jarrett, Bischoff team with Sting and Nash now

5. You can't make Sting heel, they have tried before and the crowd continues to cheer for him

6. Also did anyone else think while Hogan and Jarrett were going down to the ring that Jarett was going to attack Hogan. That's what I kept thinking

 

[Hulkamaniac]

I'm not sure what the confusion is. Fortune is being booked as tweeners. Hogan and EV2 are being booked as straight-laced faces. This is all in an effort to get TNA Original stars over. Heels and tweeners are more popular and "cooler" in general to a teenage and above crowd, which is obviously where TNA is aiming it's main focus. HOgan will always get pops because he's of history, but the EV2 guys are clearly there for the purpose of getting TNA guys over as cooler.

Honestly, IF TNA is going to make it to a big level, they need to get guys over, and the guys I see as being the cornerstones of TNA (again, if they are going to come close to making it to that level) are the Pope, Matt Morgan, AJ Styles, and Ken Anderson. Jeff Hardy, RVD, and Angle are also hugely important, obviously, but they're older and so less likely to be Main Event guys for that long.

 

[King Patrick Star]

TNA stands for Tweener Non-stop Action. The line between good and evil has been “crossed” in Orlando Championship Wrestling. I believe this is the formula used during the Attitude Era. You have “Bad” Good Guys, and “Evil” Bad Guys. EV 2.0 may look like Faces and Fortune may look like Heels, but the reality is this isn’t about Faces vs. Heels. This is about Old vs. New / Young. This is about Professional Wrestling vs. Hardcore Wrestling. This is about Home Team vs. Away Team. This isn’t the Universe where the Good Guys wear White (or Blue/Orange or Purple/Yellow) and the Bad Guys wear Black (and Yellow). This is the Nation where the Fans choose who to cheer for. This company-wide feud is multi-faceted. This is what the Main Event Mafia vs. the Frontline should have been. I, for one, don’t find any of this confusing, only because it just started. Let the events unfold and by October 10, 2010, we will look back and say, “That Was Awesome!!”

 

[RD_21]

To answer to your title, I think that's one of the problem in TNA, no face no heel and that can be blame on the smark front row. I mean Fortune are suppose to be a heel faction, they need to start insulting the fans and say that they are only running their contract until they are free to go back to the big league and something like that... BOOM instant heat.

P.S.: AJ Styles need to keep his glasses when he is in a suit, otherwise he look funny.

And now that you are pointing it it's true that there's a certain flaws and yesterday I was waiting for Hogan or Jarrett to turn with Nash and Sting and if Hogan had turned maybe it would have made more sense.

I think it's good to run both angle but it's also weird to do it at the same time. Hogan shouldn't have endorsed the EV2.0 guy for the purpose of the continuity.

 

[shattered dreams]

The only way this doesn't work is if you take a complex story that does not fit the classic mold and try and explain it in simple traditional ways. So essentially at that point the problem is in your own simple, unimaginative mind, instead of those writing the story. This is no simple face group vs heel group, pure right vs pure wrong. That concept is all but dead anyway and this has obviously not been presented that way. It is purposefully left up to the audience to pick a side. As far as the "Hogan continuity" the story is not over yet, so let's see where it goes. Hogan promises a surprise, invites the ECW guys out and says nice things, leaves and they get demolished. Which part was the surprise? You never know. Even if he has expressed issues with sting/nash that is a different situation because he dislikes their methods and there appears to be additional behind the scenes intentions continually alluded to. I think people should enjoy the freedom to make up their own mind on who they want to cheer for instead of lamenting not having that decision made for them. Take the wool off of your eyes and enjoy the future of wrestling storytelling.

 

[PhD]

The future of wrestling storytelling my ass. This is sloppy incoherent booking. Wrestling storylines are typically simple for a reason, because they work better that way.

Vince Russo somehow thinks he can book Impact! like he's writing a cheap Quentin Tarantino knock-off screenplay. The guy isn't a creative genius, just someone who fundamentally misunderstands what makes for an effective and satisfying experience of watching a wrestling program.

It would be different if it wasn't wideline known how much contempt the guy has for wrestling fans. The guy wants you to believe he's the Stanley Kubrick of wrestling bookers, but he's really just a self-indulgent asshole who has carte blanche to misuse a lot of really charismatic and skilled performers just because his boss is a total limp dick who knows shit about how wrestling should be booked, and he therefore faces no threat of ever losing his job.

 

[King Patrick Star]

The only way this doesn't work is if you take a complex story that does not fit the classic mold and try and explain it in simple traditional ways. So essentially at that point the problem is in your own simple, unimaginative mind, instead of those writing the story. This is no simple face group vs heel group, pure right vs pure wrong. That concept is all but dead anyway and this has obviously not been presented that way. It is purposefully left up to the audience to pick a side. As far as the "Hogan continuity" the story is not over yet, so let's see where it goes. Hogan promises a surprise, invites the ECW guys out and says nice things, leaves and they get demolished. Which part was the surprise? You never know. Even if he has expressed issues with sting/nash that is a different situation because he dislikes their methods and there appears to be additional behind the scenes intentions continually alluded to. I think people should enjoy the freedom to make up their own mind on who they want to cheer for instead of lamenting not having that decision made for them. Take the wool off of your eyes and enjoy the future of wrestling storytelling.

Exactly!! TNA is not targeting kids to the point where they need to explain every little detail like who’s good and who’s bad. Look at the damn name. It’s "TNA" for crying out loud. The TNA Era, to me, now stands for The New Attitude Era.

 

[Maestro48239]

well here we are....arguing over the segment where fortune beat the shit out of Hogan, Jarrett, Nash, and Sting. Russo wants this, its making us talk about it. it's confusing the hell out of us.

I personally like the intrigue! I'm curious enough to tune in next week and see if Fourtune sheds a little light on why they attacked Nash and Sting.

what worries me though is...will creative come up with a great follow-up to this incident? TNA's Creative department is famous for leaving us hanging in programs, hopefully they now realize that the storylines need compelling conclusions to make us go "WOW! didnt see that one coming, that was pretty freakingcool!"

thats just my opinion though

 

[PhD]

well here we are....arguing over the segment where fortune beat the shit out of Hogan, Jarrett, Nash, and Sting. Russo wants this, its making us talk about it. it's confusing the hell out of us.

I personally like the intrigue! I'm curious enough to tune in next week and see if Fourtune sheds a little light on why they attacked Nash and Sting.

what worries me though is...will creative come up with a great follow-up to this incident? TNA's Creative department is famous for leaving us hanging in programs, hopefully they now realize that the storylines need compelling conclusions to make us go "WOW! didnt see that one coming, that was pretty freakingcool!"

thats just my opinion though

TNA creative is also famous for never resolving these hanging issues, and it's because you don't expect any more from them. Seriously, do you really think this is going to be the time that Vince Russo books a storyline full of intrigue and then actually delivers on all the complicated nonesense? I, for one, am not holding my breath.

 

[darkman_96]

I was thinking about this tonight too. The booking is totally ass-backwards. Why is the invading force being booked as the faces while the TNA originals are the heels? This is typical Vince Russo, trying to turn convention on its ear just for the sake of doing so. The worked-shoot tension is actually really compelling, as it makes light of how stupid it is for ECW retreads to be hogging the spotlight from homegrow talent.

I guess it would be hard to expect the nostalgic heroes to come off as the bad guys, but this angle still really doesn't make sense. I'm still really not clear from the diegetic exposition why EV2.0 was invited back to TNA in the first place. Really, making Dixie Carter a focal figure of this is making her look like a moron rather than the kind of authority figure that makes sense for a wrestling promotion. So basically it's just narrativizing everything that is wrong with TNA at the moment.

HAHAHAHA that is exactly what i was thinking. Ev or wateva invaded and the TNA originals are taking a stand to it and i think there the heels? I did not want those washed up stars back unless they are willing to give up alot of blood. It didnt even make sence to me. I love Aj Styles and like Taz said "He is the best in the world at the moment." I completely agree. I've seen him pull off a frog splash 10 times better than RVD who is completely overrated. He'll make a big return and win the title u'll see.

 

[Adalam]

Honestly, this sounds like what the InVasion angle was supposed to be back after WCW and ECW took over. The plan was for the Alliance to be faces and the WWE to be the heels. Problem is, people shat all over the Alliance like we're all shatting over EV2 being the faces and TNA being the heels. I get the feeling that they'll turn the older guys heel, with even Flair turning on Fortune after it gets shown that he's been holding them back (He's the dirtiest player in the game, thus logical that he'd do something like that), causing the younger guys to turn face and in the end, finish up the long forgotten WCW reboot known as the Millionaires club vs New Blood feud. Ok, the last part was a joke, but you get the idea.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

Hogan was talking about leaving on Impact and was very vague when someone asked him how long his contract was. He said it was a year he thought. He said it all depends on if he wants to stay passed a year or not. Bischoff said his and Hogan's contracts expire in 2 years and they plan to fulfill their contracts. I really don't know who is heel and who is face anymore when it comes to Fourtune, EV 2, and the rest.

Fourtune are pushed as heels since they attacked the EV 2.0 guys from the back. The fans still cheer them though. They even cheered AJ more than Tommy Dreamer tonight. The fans also cheered for EV 2.0, but they are more for the TNA guys then the extreme guys. Fourtune is pissed about the old ECW guys being in the spotlight and they are the heels? Most people agree with Fourtune. The ECW guys are pushed as faces, but no one cares about them.

I didn't mind that the former hardcore guys got one last PPV, but there is no need to give them contracts. Who can even wrestle as well as the members of Fourtune? Dreamer? Sandman? FBI? Sabu? I don't want to see a Beer Money vs. FBI match, or a Raven vs. Kaz match.

It seems that Nash and Sting are heels out for themselves, but they want to talk about Hogan and Bischoff ruining the company. Jarrett wants them to stop talking bad about Bischoff and Hogan. The fans don't know who to cheer for. Fourtune later takes out all the older guys. Hogan wants to put focus on the young guys, but he shows up on every segment fighting off either Flair or Sting. He even praises the hardcore EV 2.0 guys more than the young guys. If Hogan turns heel then that means he will join Fourtune. How does that make him heel if he aligns himself with TNA originals? I've gone cross eyed.

I hope this all doesn't lead to some sort of NWO reunion with Hogan taking over with the old timers. Fourtune needs to be pushed hard along with the rest of the new guys. No one wants to see Hogan, Sting, Flair, Nash, or even Jarrett in the ring again. Sting, Nash, and Jarrett is an exception for maybe one match since they can still go. I just never thought that the TNA guys would be heels and the old guys would be faces. Abyss is still saying that "THEY" are coming as well. This doesn't bode well for the future , but I hope something will become clear soon.

Thanks for the clearing up man but I'm still so perplexed.
Here's the deal:
1.Fortune are the new age badassses who hate EV 2.0-

Next:
Either EV 2.0 disappears completely with maybe Dreamer lingering and fighting and Fortune bragging how they hardcore'd the hardcores
or
They build up a feud leading upto BFG with an 8 man tag.

2.Hogan wants Nash and Sting to pave way for youngsters
Has Sting ever said that he hates the kids of TNA all over again?? or am I missing something!!!

Next:
Hogan vs Sting at BFG, I think they are gonna do this one last time.

3. Abyss screaming "THEY"

Next:
No clue!!!! I'm sorry to say this but I look forward to the disappointment of they. I mean who could he mean?? Mitchell and Judas? Possible ROH guys?? Walt Disney and Hitler??

 

[harrythem]

I get the whole tweener vibe but my point is, although the TNA fans are saying TNA is for the more adult audience then WWE, the fact is that the majority of wrestling fans are lowest common denominator, meaning they find it hard enough not having sex with their family, let alone having to get all deep and meaningful about a wrestling storyline. There's all this stuff about tweeners in The Attitude era but, to me, Austin was a clear-cut face, Rock was either clear-cut heel or face (you could tell what one by if he let the fans chant along with his catchphrases). Tweeners work when you're working someone up to being a big deal but, when you've got all the top names in your company involved in something, surely it makes sense to have the clear divide, as if I'm not sure who to cheer and who to hate, why the hell should I care enough to invest in TNA properly, which is something that the ratings show a lot of people dont do. TNA has the chance to do something good with this storyline but it needs clear-cut lines in it.

And this isn't the future of wrestling storytelling, this is, at present, another example of TNA going back to attitude era storytelling in the hope that it works.

Oh, and if the classic ways are dead I'd sure love it explained why WWE is all over TNA ratings wise, as surely fans would've migrated over to the new ways, like they did when WCW became the best company in the world back in mid 96.

 

[mmprgreen350]

no storyline in tna these days makes any sense when ever you have erci bishoff anywhere near a wrestling promotion its doomed to fail they just need to fire everyone over 40 (like paul haymen said in a recent interveiw smart man smart man) and actually give the young and very talented stars they hae like the machine guns amazing red and even aj styles if they actually give him story lines that are good

 

[shattered dreams]

Oh, and if the classic ways are dead I'd sure love it explained why WWE is all over TNA ratings wise, as surely fans would've migrated over to the new ways, like they did when WCW became the best company in the world back in mid 96.

Why is TNA relevant in this context? WWE's ratings have been declining for some time. The original ECW had the future of wrestling storytelling without the ratings. Many, many, many things beyond quality effect ratings. I do not remember booking working the dirt sheets for an extended time period back in the attitude era. An occasional simple worked shoot, sure. I find it ironic you are talking down to wrestling fans, yet admit you are incapable of thinking for yourself. If Austin was a "clear-cut face" then I'll eat my hat.

 

[Djm]

While I'm all for any wrestling promotion that dares to do something that isn't the same-old wrestling booking that we've seen for last bajillion years, I think a lot of the things TNA does goes over a lot of people's heads. And both sides are to blame. Lots of times, I don't have a hard time following what TNA is doing, but I see so many other people having head-explodey over it.

TNA's writers do need to dumb things down just a little, but wrestling fans have been so intensely conditioned to only see things one way as the ONLY way to do things, so it's hard for them to have an open mind.

In a nutshell...Vince Russo is teh suk.

Who am I cheering for? Samoa Joe.

 

[harrythem]

Why is TNA relevant in this context? WWE's ratings have been declining for some time. The original ECW had the future of wrestling storytelling without the ratings. Many, many, many things beyond quality effect ratings. I do not remember booking working the dirt sheets for an extended time period back in the attitude era. An occasional simple worked shoot, sure. I find it ironic you are talking down to wrestling fans, yet admit you are incapable of thinking for yourself. If Austin was a "clear-cut face" then I'll eat my hat.

If you're bringing ECW into it then you'll find that they did work work the dirtsheets for an extended time, hell, even worked with WCW on the whole Brian Pillman thing (not to mention nobody knew what the hell they were trying with the whole Raw invasion shtick either).

The characters are muddled at the top and it stops you making a connection with them to the point you'd invest emotionally in the product and thus results in less viewership, as is the case, backed by the numbers (that'd be a FACT as Bischoff would say). So because TNA can't work out who they should lean the fans towards cheering, that means I'm incapable of thinking for myself, niiiiiiiiice.

Austin came out, posed for the fans, led them in chants, lived out everyones dream of beating their boss up because he pisses him off and to hell with the consequences, yeah, I'd say he was a pretty clear-cut face. Maybe not in the classic Hogan sense of the word, but as clear-cut a face as you can get in a period where cursing and the like were king.

I could be more lenient on the whole situation if TNA hadn't screwed up on their last massively great idea that got shot to shit (the Frontline Vs Main Event Mafia). But to learn nothing from the fact that mis-positioning your top guys so they end up getting reactions that aren't a fraction of what they could be, is just frustrating!