General TNA Booking Discussion

[EStreet]

Biggest complaints about the recent booking:

1. MEM ended, okay a year was longer than expected for this NWO-knockoff, but no reasoning behind it? really? Kurt gave a whole speech (a good promo I might add) about respecting the youth, but never once mentioned whi MEM was done...almost has me waiting for Kurt to do something to bring them back in some crazy-secret plan

2. No reason for Team 3D to turn heal, they were working great as faces without the belts (I know many can't stand them, but as heels they irk me)

3. I understand wanting to try to recreate Joe-Sytles-Danies II...but can they build up a story to the match, instead of announcing the match and then building a story to it?

4. The lack of longterm feuds and rivalries surrounding the TNA and X-Division Title. It really feels like they just have a huge mix ever ppv for the X-Division, and the TNA World Title should have back to it, not random matches decided by tournaments and forced feuds (there was no reason to break up Styles-Daniels)

5. Stop talking about Sting and his will-he, wont-he come back...let it go dark, WHEN he comes back it will be a GREAT suprise.

6. Enough with the Hogan promos..we know he is coming, but until he is here, it just feels like a huge publicity grab (which it is) and its faltering every time they show a video and he doesnt come the next week...at least give a date

 

[NSL]

I get that TNA is in "lame duck" mode...I really do, but I can't help but think they've just thrown their hands up entirely on what to do until Hogan arrives. they're putting way too much stock in to what Hogan is bringing, and what he can do.

The 8-man Elimination at Final Resolution looks like a big fail, and guys like Morgan, Hernandez, and Dinero cannot afford that. The Wolfe v. Angle match could have ended up in a Kennel From Hell, and still been gold. They got lucky there.

It seems the only feud worth giving a real damn about for the casual fans is AJ v Daniels, but I'd like to think it was all in place a while ago...

 

[NSL]

Hamada beating Taylor and Sarita in singles matches further solidifies my opinion that we need a KO Feast Or Fired match. She's obviously over with the crowd, and her matches have been second to none in the division. All she needs is a partner.

If they don't get her a partner, and have her go for the belts, putting her over the champs was pretty stupid...Can't afford to make any champ look weak with Hogan coming, and the national eye being on them.

 

[Pedro08]

Recent TNA house show reports have Hamada teaming with Awesome Kong. It makes sense putting them together given their past history in Japan. They would most likely have to turn Hamada heel on TV to go against Sarita/Wilde.

This feud would give Kong something to do while Tara and ODB battle over the Knockout Championship. There is also a history there as Taylor Wilde defeated Kong for the Knockouts championship. Also it would also be a classic power team against the smaller quicker team a la The Russians vs, The Rock 'N' Roll Express. All 4 women are very talented in the ring and would put on some great matches.

 

[NSL]

Hamada and Kong...Hmmm...

It would definitely be a great team, and a good feud, but I've really enjoyed Kong working on her own, running down the entire division. Putting her with Hamada reins her in again. I forget who, but someone had said that Hamada has a sister that wrestles in Japan, and that would certainly be an interesting team...

 

[Super Crazy]

Hmmm, that would definitely make an interesting team, the Asian powerhouse and the monster against two small agile wrestlers. I could see this happening. Although, as NSL said, this would mean that Kong would be tame again, which would make her character less interesting to me. I love Kong on her own, coming down and just dominating/decimating whoever she feels and whenever she feels like it. While it would essentially make for a stale concept after a while, it's always interested me, as I believe she is the most dominant female wrestler I've seen in years.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Both Samoa Joe and Daniels didn't come away with wins at BFG, but I have to ask this question, didn't Joe have the more impressive match? Wasn't Joe's feud with Lashley going into the submission match more entertaining? What I'm trying to get at here is, Samoa Joe should be in a feud with AJ right now.

Samoa Joe makes for the better heel with the Nation Of Violence gimmick. He seems like more a threat to Aj's championship than Daniels is. I know he was in triple threat at Turning Point, but I would like to see more of Joe in the title picture.

Do you think Samoa Joe should be in Daniels place right now? Thoughts?

 

[JBSMan]

He probably will be in a couple of months, and it'll probably all be connected with the AJ angle right now too. At the moment, this works.

And come on, it's a Daniels vs AJ program! Enjoy it while it's going I say...

 

[Super Crazy]

I have to say, I'd much rather enjoy Samoa Joe vs AJ over Daniels vs AJ. And I was seriously hoping that somehow Joe and Daniels were in cahoots so to speak, and both revealed to have hired the attacker to take out Joe. Thus keeping it a three way feud, but then the attacker could throw themselves out there, saying that while they think it was for them, that it was for himself, and he wants the championship, thus making it even more interesting.

Somewhere down the line Joe will be around the title again, and hopefully be champion again, also, where has he been? I haven't seen him on IMPACT .

 

[thetylertank]

I'd have to agree with you here, I'd rather see Samoe Joe than Daniels. I would love to see Joe holding the title, and I think he will very soon. I think will all the build up on the Jan. 4th Monday Night Wars they wont to focus on that not building up a new champ, and if he was fueding with A.J. (IMO) Joe would win. They could do a screwjob or and interference, but I think they just want to hold him off for now

 

[CaptainZaltan]

I couldn't disagree more. I prefer Daniels. We've been down this road before with Samoa Joe, many times. I'm not at all a fan of the 'nation of violence'...it doesen't even make sense. And I genuinely believe that Daniels can provide AJ with the better match (and that is not in any way intended as a slight on Joe). Not to mention that a title feud does absolutely nothing for Joe, as he is already considered a legitimate main eventer in TNA. Daniels, on the other hand, has not been elevated to that level yet, despite being just as dedicated and (arguably) as talented as Joe and AJ.

Moving Daniels into the title picture is a smart move to build company morale and a smart move to build up the heavyweight division. Whereas Joe fits perfectly into the role of 'badass' heel, Daniels is quickly becoming the cool/smart/sneaky/charismatic heel, something which TNA has been lacking since Christian Cage left.

Anyways, I wouldn't worry about Joe. He will be back competing for the title soon enough, I'm sure.

 

[capoxstatus]

I agree with cap z. Daniels has been a guy that has been in TNA for a long time. This guy helped make the x-division one of the most exciting divisions in all of wrestling *before they felt they had to focus on other things * He was a premier tag champion with Triple X but he never got a shot to go for the big belt and mainevent for it.

Here is a company man who does what he is told and brought it day in day out. They "fired" him and he brought out the curry man gimmick and wow he made it work, they needed someone to take the suicide gimmick while kaz was out who did they choose? daniels, why? because they knew they could count on him and like always he made it work.

So now he finally gets a shot to shine and show that he indeed deserves to be going against AJ for the title. His heel turn right now is great, like Cap Z said he's this "cool/smart/sneaky/charismatic heel" which plays off great with AJ's face style and lastly they have good chemistry in the ring. But at the end of the day dont worry about joe im sure he will also get his shot down the line, but for now let daniels enjoy his spot and let his status rise so that after this he can help elevate the other guys even better.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Do you think Samoa Joe should be in Daniels place right now? Thoughts?

I don't think so. Samoa Joe is great, but Daniels deserves this title shot. He is underrated and can put on a great match as well as being good on the mic. I think that they are probably going to save Joe VS AJ until another time. This current feud with AJ and Daniels is good and I think it will lead to a great match. Joe's likely going to get another title shot eventually, but he shouldn't be in Daniels' place because I think Daniels definitely deserves this title shot. I don't think he will win, but it is good to see someone in the title scene who is not there as often.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Should Samoa Joe be in Daniels' place? Nope, not at all. Personally, I think Samoa Joe has really gone downhill over the course of this year and have no desire whatsoever to see him in the world title situation at all really. I won't deny that he, Daniels and Styles had a great match against one another, but I think Joe is tired and stale.

Since Joe's heel turn, he just seems to have become less and less interesting as the months have worn on. Joe tries to come across as this ultra violent, brooding, intimidating destroyer but it just falls flat on his face. I don't find the guy at all intimidating, the idea of having Taz as his advisor/mentor fell flat as I figured it would, he has a weak and forgettable run as X-Division champ, gets offered up to Bobby Lashley as a sacrificial lamb, etc. Joe has just gotten weaker and duller as the year has gone on.

As far as Daniels' goes, the guy is actually becoming a little bit interesting. As a face, the guy is absolutely terrible but there does seem to be a little something in the guy as a heel. Daniels is someone that's never really a factor in the world title situation in TNA and, even though he's been there forever, it just feels fresher to me than yet another Styles/Joe match.

 

[Baximus]

Here's the major issue with TNA's current vacuum until Hulk takes over: Their champions aren't being booked as credible whatsoever.

Not a single one.

X Division: EARTH TO RED? He hasn't been on TV in weeks! This is the damn X Division and it isn't getting TV time? Idiocy! And how did he become champ? Interference. Got the belt off of Joe, so I understand it but it was weak.

TNA Champion: AJ Styles won an awesome 3 way with Joe/Daniels after getting jumped for weeks (we never learned who was attacking him). Yet he keeps getting made out to be a pussy on TV. This is ridiculous because he's awesome and shouldn't be booked so poorly. And don't forget, Sting 'gave' him the belt the first time.

Knockouts: ODB as champ? When did she last wrestle? I can name half of a dozen knockouts that I take as a more credible threat. She's going to lose to Tara, who is clearly their best knockout right now after beating Kong.

Legends: So Young is the 'leader' of world elite, so he should be dangerous, right? Except that I don't buy him beating anyone above Creed with any seriousness. He had to low-blow Nash on a backdoor method to get the belt and now their buddies? Meanwhile, his only defense was against a CHICK where he had to have his feet on the ropes? He looks so damn weak it is ridiculous.

Tag: The British Invasion might be the only guys who look decent right now because of their typical dirty tactics work well with their heel persona. Thing is, there's no challengers to them right now (how is that? With MCMG, Beer Money, Lethal Consequences and no one challeging them?) and all they've done is complain about Rob Terry screwing things up. They're the only semi-credible champs but no one is challenging them?


Vince Russo needs fired quickly. The only good thing that he's done recently is elevating Wolfe, who has been AWESOME since he showed up and a lot of credit for that goes to Angle anyways.,

 

[johnbragg]

A little bit of fantasy booking:

On the Impact after Turning Point, D'Lo Brown comes out, or walks up to a camera backstage.

"I saw what you did to X-Division Champion Amazing Red a few weeks ago, Steiner. Real funny. I've been away, but I've been watching.

Starting January 4, Hulk Hogan has made me Deputy Commissioner for the X Division. And you, Scott Steiner, you earned yourself an X-Division title shot.

Live, on Impact, on January 4. Scott Steiner vs Amazing Red.

In--a ladder match."

At the start of the match, Steiner busts a power move or two on Red, and starts to climb the ladder. Red recovers, spin kicks the ladder out from under Steiner. Red brutalizes Steiner with the ladder for a bit, climbs the ladder, claims his title.

And frogsplashes/moonsaults Steiner from the top of the ladder. Steiner has to be taken out on a stretcher. Red sells the move (an X-division innovation, sometimes), leaves the ring assisted by Don West while D'Lo Brown hypes up Red as his X-Division champion.

(This would be a great way to end Steiner's career and give Red a "star moment" that people would remember for a long, long time.)

Possible backstage segments where Brown lobbies Hogan for Daniels to be put in the X-Division after he comes up short against AJ.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Before Christy Hemme went down with a neck injury earlier this year, she in the middle of a huge push. She was in a feud with The Beautiful People, and had a match with Kong for the title at Final Resolution. She won via DQ, but still it was a Knockouts title match. I think she returned sometime in August. She wrestled a some matches on IMPACT, but now, she's doing interviews backstage?

A few months back, Traci Brooks won a battle royal to earn a spot in the MEM. During this time, Traci was doing a great job as a heel. She also did the photos for Playboy around this time, which were released online. The last time I saw her on TV, she seemed to be starting a rivalry with Alissa Flash.

So, what happened to the push these two Knockouts were in the middle of? Did they become stale? Were they just not good enough to be with other Knockouts? Thoughts?

 

[a0161613]

The Knockouts seems to be the subject of very schizophrenic booking. Their depth of skill really would benefit from more programming.

Hemme has been replaced (for lack of a better word) by superior talent like Flash and Hamada. I think iMPACT was a trial for Hemme and she did OK. She could do OK in a jobber role but I doubt she is good enough for another sustained push.

Brooks really suffered because after the implosion of the MEM, she got lost in the mix, like Joe did. NSL had a good idea of making an enforcer for the division. She is bearable in the ring and can work heel or face. She did a great job of making Flash look like a demon in their match and I was gutted they didn't even try and follow that up. It would be a good program before Flash gets that huge push that she deserves.

 

[NSL]

I don't think anything happened to the pushes. Hemme has never been a great wrestler, and her title shot was a result of the division needing something fresh. It doesn't hurt that she's a fan favorite. After she got hurt, there was no point in putting an average ability injury risk in more matches than she needed.

Traci's "push" wasn't really a push at all. It got her into the MEM, and since she's the "senior" member of the division, it was all just a storyline to get her where she should have been. The mini-feud with Alissa is/was nothing more than a chance to get her on TV since she did the shoot, and the fans like looking at her since they've seen her naked.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I've noticed that TNA isn't really making an effort to put up some legit challengers against Sarita and Taylor Wilde. Come to think of it, have they even had anyone that seemed to be a threat to them since BFG? Do you think TNA is content with Taylor Wilde and Sarita? Shouldn't they be making an effort to build up another tag team to challenge them?

I know they the first ever women tag champs ever in theri promotion, but hasn't their reign become sort of stale? If they really want to make history, why not have the face other tag teams who look like threats to them? thoughts?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I've noticed that TNA isn't really making an effort to put up some legit challengers against Sarita and Taylor Wilde. Come to think of it, have they even had anyone that seemed to be a threat to them since BFG? Do you think TNA is content with Taylor Wilde and Sarita? Shouldn't they be making an effort to build up another tag team to challenge them?

Taylor Wilde and Sarita have virtually nothing to do in TNA right now. Since they won the Knockout tag titles, they've only defended them against the Beautiful People and we all know that the BP aren't a threat to them. I'm just glad TNA finally decided to stop having matches between the two teams as it got really old seeing the BP get beaten over and over again. It's fun to see the BP do their thing, but enough's enough. As of right now, the Knockout tag titles are little more than a prop without any purpose.

I know they the first ever women tag champs ever in theri promotion, but hasn't their reign become sort of stale? If they really want to make history, why not have the face other tag teams who look like threats to them? thoughts?

Their reign is definitely stale. That's bound to happen if you face the same team for a few months and then, suddenly nothing. Sarita and Wilde, I think, have only made appearances on Impact the past month or so to wrestle maybe one singles match a piece against Hamada. I know that Wilde did and lost and I'm wanting to think Sarita did as well but I'm not 100% sure. Overall, the Knockout Division is far from what it used to be. It has a stale feeling overall and needs something injected into it. As of right now, the BP are really all I care about as far as the Knockouts go. But yeah, I think TNA needs to build up some other Knockout teams or just drop the belts. They have enough titles on the roster already that nothing is being done with.

 

[VKO]

I've noticed that TNA isn't really making an effort to put up some legit challengers against Sarita and Taylor Wilde. Come to think of it, have they even had anyone that seemed to be a threat to them since BFG? Do you think TNA is content with Taylor Wilde and Sarita? Shouldn't they be making an effort to build up another tag team to challenge them?

I know they the first ever women tag champs ever in theri promotion, but hasn't their reign become sort of stale? If they really want to make history, why not have the face other tag teams who look like threats to them? thoughts?

Do you know how you erase that idea of them being a prop without any purpose? You pair a couple of Knockouts together that are doing virtually nothing and you place them in a storyline with the champions. Take Hemme and Brooks for example, if they aren't involved with anything of importance right now why not place them in a team. Same could work for Kong,Flash,Hamada,and all of those other Knockouts not involved in anything major. That is how you erase that idea of those belts being nothing but props without any purpose.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Their reign is definitely stale. That's bound to happen if you face the same team for a few months and then, suddenly nothing. Sarita and Wilde, I think, have only made appearances on Impact the past month or so to wrestle maybe one singles match a piece against Hamada. I know that Wilde did and lost and I'm wanting to think Sarita did as well but I'm not 100% sure. Overall, the Knockout Division is far from what it used to be. It has a stale feeling overall and needs something injected into it. As of right now, the BP are really all I care about as far as the Knockouts go. But yeah, I think TNA needs to build up some other Knockout teams or just drop the belts. They have enough titles on the roster already that nothing is being done with.

Wilde and Sarita have been stale for a long time now. It doesn't really make sense to me because TNA has the outstanding women's division in order to put legit threats against Sarita and Wild. I think the problem is, TNA has all their women feuding against each other, and they can't really put anybody toghether that would make sense. And there is also another HUGE factor to why they don't have challengers, Kong. She's went back to destroying everyone, and from a kayfabe point of view, she can't team with anyone because she's pissed everyone off.

I would love to see Kong and Alissa Flash team up, but I don't think there's a chance it would happen.

 

[mayhem]

To be honest this feud has surprised a few and i feel that both Bobby Lashley and Scott Steiner have both benefited from this feud revolving around Lashley's wife.

The match they had at Turning Point was easily Bobby Lashley and Scott Steiners best matches they've had this year in TNA and the feud has helped to incorporate Lashley's wife onto the roster. Lashley also suffered his first defeat at the hands of Steiner and Steiner has impressed many recently whilst his ex tag team partner withered away from TNA.

With a rematch due at Final Resolution it's another match i'm looking forward to as Lashley seeks revenge. Their promos are also of a decent standard and the feud has had time to develop as they build up a rarely seen last man standing match in TNA.

Nice feud so far. Thoughts on where this will go?

 

[It's Damn Real!]

One of the better long-term storylines TNA has worked up in a while, IMO. To me, this is classic late 90's writing style, and a testament to the longevity and long-term storylining that was popularized at the time. It's a total throw-back to Steiner's WCW days, too, down to the fact he had Crystal's face printed on the crotch of his tights, and wears air-brushed t-shirts with her body/face on them.

To be honest, I don't see an immediate end to this style of a feud, and that's a good thing. It really helps Lashley hold a place of relevance while the world title shot he earned can be worked into a meaningful story-line following the A.J./Daniels and A.J./Angle feuds that are taking place now.