Impact Support Club House

[Starkist]

CM Punk returning to TNA would be awesome. But I doubt it.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

I know that they're a different company now, but TNA just letting the fact Punk called them the scum of the earth in shoot interviews for a whole two years is pretty funny.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Just letting? What are they going to do about it? Its not like he is/was an employee of theirs at the time.

 

[Dirk]

Please don't accept, Punk.

 

[Cereal Killer]

I doubt the report's valid. They couldn't pay Styles, Sting and Hogan so how would they pay for Punk?

 

[Dirk]

I doubt the report's valid. They couldn't pay Styles, Sting and Hogan so how would they pay for Punk?

Well, TNA couldn't pay Sting, Hogan, Styles, Bad Influence (/The Addiction?) etc., but they hired Matt Hardy, MVP, Bobby Lashley, gave every ECW-guy a couple of shows... It's TNA, bro. We don't know for sure that a magic eight-ball isn't running the show.

What we DO know is that Punk won't bring in the viewers proportionately to the massive contract TNA will need to lure him. That's not criticism on Punk (although I'm not a fan of his), it's just the way it goes.

TNA has a lot of troubles, but a poor roster isn't one of them.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Just letting? What are they going to do about it? Its not like he is/was an employee of theirs at the time.

Actually he was when he first criticized them. His problem with TNA is he felt they were doing what WCW did, which was giving undeserving guys pay days instead of letting younger talent except for AJ Styles show their stuff, and he was right. They had him Raven's stable, which sucked. Meanwhile outside TNA he was constantly creating buzz and built a name for himself as one of the best talkers going. He was told to make a choice between TNA and ROH over the phone and when he and Teddy Hart had a fight outside a restaraunt in Nashville they didn't say much to Hart because of who he is but repremanded Punk. Plus lets not forget it was only a couple of years ago that he made a comment to a fan at a live event insinuating he was an idiot so he must watch TNA, his friends, Cabana, Gallows and Compton have all had negative experiences with TNA and some of his other friends Daniels, Kazarian, etc, spend a lot of time burying TNA in interviews.

I just don't see Punk as a big money guy at this stage. If he comes out of this retirement he has going on, It'll be for the love of wrestling, and I personally only see three places he'd go. WWE, NJPW or ROH.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Yes, I understand he had negative experiences with them... back in 2004.

You know who else shit on TNA? Ric Flair. Then he joined them and stuck around as a main event television persona and part-time wreslter for like a solid two years.

Sorry, but I'm not buying some spat someone had nearly eleven years ago as proof of the fact they'll never return to that company, even if it is a long shot.

If Bret Hart can return to WWE, CM Punk can come back to TNA — theoretically speaking.

I do agree, however, that it's unlikely, and that if he did intend to return, it'd be to WWE or maybe ROH, since he seems to have an appreciation for them.

 

[Cereal Killer]

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/517...and-other-networks-possible-problem-they-face

 

[Papa Pillman]

If this Punk story is true(and I'm skeptical), has anyone speculated that the "intermediary" in this situation could be WGN America?

If the rumors of WGN being the most likely candidate for TNA's new network home are true and the union is on the verge of coming to fruition, it seems plausible that the Tribune company would want to get the home town wrestling hero to be a part of the new venture.

I could even see WGN and TNA working out something along the lines of TNA paying Punk the money that they have been paying Angle, and then the network pitching in whatever additional capitol would be required to try and get the deal done.

 

[Cereal Killer]

4 years ago was the date that comes once a century (don't they all?), 10/10/10.

Good memories: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8tgfbUQXnYU

 

[Alex]

I still maintain Immortal would've worked had Hogan not been there front and centre. Hardy would've been great as a heel. Just amp up the weirdness and make it douchebaggy/creepy. Everyone else in Immortal worked fine except Hogan in my opinion.

 

[Rayne]

Normally, when you lose interest in something, it's a gradual process where you can't really pin down an exact reason or date. Not so for TNA; the day I stopped giving a shit was 10/14/10.

It could have worked. I wasn't too big on the shot-for-shot remake of Bash at the Beach, but OK- Hogan was the money star (in terms of expense), I can get that. Why anyone cared about Hulk and Eric taking over Dixie's company, fine, whatever, but Jeff Hardy had turned heel after over a decade of being a saccharin sweet hair-dyed good guy. There was promise here, and I eagerly tuned into Impact! that Thursday to see the followup.

.........which was Eric Bischoff talking for forty-five minutes, as every popular performer they had came down to kowtow to him, speak briefly, then hand the mic back. The supposed star of the proceedings, Jeff Hardy, came out at the end to say "I'm a bad guy now, because bad guys are bad guys." I had no interest in the Hulk and Eric Show, and that night was the last one where I cared about TNA's storylines.

In the end, Hulk and Eric made their money, and even got their talentless kids high-profile jobs in the process. I think of 10/10/10 as TNA's high water mark, because immediately afterwards they began their long, one-directional descent to where they are today.

 

[Cereal Killer]

Well I suppose what they did short term was pretty good. Ratings were between 1.2-1.3 throughout the second half of 2010 and all of 2011. They were paying several stars a lot of money and I guess Russo's role was decent as it was after he departured from creative in 2012 that the ratings decline began.

The problem was that they weren't making the profit they were hoping to make. They should have realised that in 2012 and then begin to make some cuts. In 2013 they made the situation worse by wasting money on travelling and going on live, again, expecting more money out of it, which of course wasn't the case.

Another issue was that they weren't even focused on making their own stars in 2010 and 2011. January 4 was basically about Hogan's guys beating TNA's. The champions for a lot of the time were RVD (who pinned AJ) and Hardy. Then you had Roode who lost the match that was supposed to elevate his position on the roster.

So what Hogan and Bischoff did short term was a bit of a success, however long term it brought the company to the point they are now.

 

[Papa Pillman]

Then you had Roode who lost the match that was supposed to elevate his position on the roster.

I agree with most of what you said, I was following until this.

I hate people bringing up this point.

Despite losing to Kurt at BFG, that BFG series succeeded in elevating Roode and Storm that next step to main event level.

Yes Angle cheated to beat Bobby and he didn't get his BFG moment. Then what happened?

Storm immediately beat Kurt that week to become world champion. And then Bobby snapped and took the belt off James the next week, turning heel, a better fit for him, and then started an excellent title reign that lasted longer than any in the company's history. It saw Roode develop an incredibly entertaining heel character, and it culminated with him dropping the belt to Aries and elevating him to main event status as well. Maybe the last five minutes of BFG 2011 was a bummer, but ultimately it ended up being the best possible booking decision and lead to a great title run, plus multiple guys being elevated as a result.

What would have happened had Bobby won at BFG as a face?

You had no heels to be his foil. They still had AJ there, they had Storm, they had Sting. Angle was working hurt and needed time off, plus was looking toward the 2012 Olympics. There was the inevitable return of Hardy on the horizon. Aries was a heel then, but still needed time as he was a new returnee entrenched in the midcard. Who were the heels Roode would have worked against? What would those other faces have done? Yeah you could have turned one of the other guys I guess, but Roode is a better heel than all of them, and made a better heel champion than any of them could have.

Mid 2011 through most of 2012 was going great near the top of the card, the problems at the upper card level didn't really pop up again until the Aces and Eights storyline was taking hold.

 

[Cereal Killer]

Actually, the plan was for Roode to win, Storm to turn heel and what happened throughout 2012 would have been exactly the same, only Roode would have been the face and Storm would have been heel.

It looked ridiculous for them to make a last minute change of the main event of their biggest show of the year. There were reports that it was because Hogan wanted the most attention of the night (he turned face) and he said he thought Roode wasn't ready. What happened two weeks later? Roode won the championship. Obviously he was ready and while that change did have some good in it, it would have been much better for Roode to win on the biggest show of the year, only to have it snatched away from him by his best friend and tag team partner shortly after. Roode has shown he can play a face and Storm has shown he can play heel, so yes it would have worked.

Again, short term those kind of moves didn't seem like a big deal but now look at the company. You do indeed have Roode, Storm and Aries, but who else is there that is TNA homegrown and worthy of leading the company? They could have put focus on Kaz, Daniels, Crimson, Matt Morgan and The Pope, but they decided to give all the attention to RVD, Hardy, Angle, Sting and Hogan. All of those guys I mentioned from Kaz to The Pope have now left, not to mention that RVD, Sting and Hogan have also gone and Angle's probably going in the same direction. Putting the focus on those guys may have helped their ratings but it didn't help their future.

 

[Dirk]

But... but Angle is more of a TNA-guy than he is a WWE-guy...

 

[Papa Pillman]

Actually, the plan was for Roode to win, Storm to turn heel and what happened throughout 2012 would have been exactly the same, only Roode would have been the face and Storm would have been heel.

It looked ridiculous for them to make a last minute change of the main event of their biggest show of the year. There were reports that it was because Hogan wanted the most attention of the night (he turned face) and he said he thought Roode wasn't ready. What happened two weeks later? Roode won the championship. Obviously he was ready and while that change did have some good in it, it would have been much better for Roode to win on the biggest show of the year, only to have it snatched away from him by his best friend and tag team partner shortly after. Roode has shown he can play a face and Storm has shown he can play heel, so yes it would have worked.

But Storm was a better face and Roode was a better heel. That is just the facts. And Roode working a program with AJ, theen Hardy, then Sting before Storm got his chance at Lockdown made for better matchups than Storm would have had with those guys.

Again, short term those kind of moves didn't seem like a big deal but now look at the company. You do indeed have Roode, Storm and Aries, but who else is there that is TNA homegrown and worthy of leading the company? They could have put focus on Kaz, Daniels, Crimson, Matt Morgan and The Pope, but they decided to give all the attention to RVD, Hardy, Angle, Sting and Hogan. All of those guys I mentioned from Kaz to The Pope have now left, not to mention that RVD, Sting and Hogan have also gone and Angle's probably going in the same direction. Putting the focus on those guys may have helped their ratings but it didn't help their future.

They definitely made a lot of bad decisions that were essentially burning money, but choosing not to push Morgan, Crimson, and Dinero were not those mistakes. Saving money would have been useless if they were pushing guys like that because the company still would have been in equally dire straights because they would have lost their audience if they pushed guys like those three who never had any business anywhere near the top of the card.

 

[Cereal Killer]

But Storm was a better face and Roode was a better heel. That is just the facts. And Roode working a program with AJ, theen Hardy, then Sting before Storm got his chance at Lockdown made for better matchups than Storm would have had with those guys.

How is it a 'fact' that Storm's the better face and that Roode's the better heel? Are you saying it based on what we saw from their feud? Of course what they were doing then in 2012 was likely to be better than their current work, as they were pretty much involved in the main storyline in 2012 before Aces and Eights (I hate having to write that name) showed up. Had it been 2012, I'm sure a cocky cowboy would play a better heel and that the guy that has the "It Factor" would play the better face.

They definitely made a lot of bad decisions that were essentially burning money, but choosing not to push Morgan, Crimson, and Dinero were not those mistakes. Saving money would have been useless if they were pushing guys like that because the company still would have been in equally dire straights because they would have lost their audience if they pushed guys like those three who never had any business anywhere near the top of the card.

So you're saying that those names wouldn't have been able to carry the company. Had they been given sufficient air time and capitalised (which they had the potential to do), they may have been able to do that. Sure, in 2011, choosing Hardy over any of those guys would be a better choice for your world champion, but again think of the long term effects. Today, those guys that had the potential of being TNA world champions wrestle elsewhere. Even if they weren't capable, a lot of the money spent on Sting, Angle, Hogan, etc could have gone towards new signings which would have obviously cost less, meaning they would have also been saving a good amount of money. Had they done that, amongst other things, their product would be much better than it is today.

 

[Dirk]

I saw Samuel Shaw "unveil" his "new" tattoos to Gunner in an effort to impress him. I honestly thought that Sam Shaw was Jay Bradley, that I first saw here:

It's like a kid attacked him with a crayon set.

I thought Shaw had those kid-drawing tattoos and that it was the reason he had to wrestle in the jersey. I mean, the tattoos are stupid, but it's not... jarring, at least. Wrestling with your torso covered in wool must be the worst...

 

[Dirk]

HOLY SHIT! That full-metal mayhem match was insane. Why wasn't that on PPV, though?

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Wolves weren't booked for BFG. Had to do with contracts, I believe.

 

[ABMorales787]

WWL just held their first major event in over a year tonight and clocked at 3,500 fans. Shane The Glamour Boy (Shane Sewell from back in 2008) is their new World Champ. I don't wanna be negative on TNA, but that's more than they can muster or even ROH can. And these guys have only held 5 events. TNA really should look into touring there some day. It's a very untapped market.

 

[Dirk]

Wolves weren't booked for BFG. Had to do with contracts, I believe.

Jon Gaburick strikes again.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

WWL just held their first major event in over a year tonight and clocked at 3,500 fans. Shane The Glamour Boy (Shane Sewell from back in 2008) is their new World Champ. I don't wanna be negative on TNA, but that's more than they can muster or even ROH can. And these guys have only held 5 events. TNA really should look into touring there some day. It's a very untapped market.

Cue Dragon Saga for a correction to this comment.