Lets get competitive, What TNA needs to do in order to Compete with WWE

[Poop Master Flex]

Sorry if this threads been done (as it seems like it would be something already talked about) and if it has feel free to merge or delete or whatever you feel, but I can't find one so I started this one.

Anyways with the recent news of TNA moving back to Thursdays it looks like they have (at least for the time being) thrown in the towel and decided not to directly compete with WWE, but there are already threads about the latest move so that's not the point of the thread.

Seeing that we have seen TNA fail at trying to compete with their bigger brother my question is simple: What does TNA need to do in order to give the WWE some legitimate competition? What does the IWC (especially those who have a giant boner for TNA) and casual fans alike think TNA needs to do in order to legitimately go head to head with the WWE?

Obviously there are some things behind the scenes that need shaping up, but I don't really want to use names because in all honesty we don't really know if Hogan and Bischoff are the problem as its mostly speculation and hearsay, and its really unknown how much pull Russo really has backstage (after the debacle that was the final years of WCW, I find it really hard to believe ANYONE would give this guy lots of control of their product).

Mostly I think TNA needs to change their format and even go back to their roots as a company. TNA stands for Total Nonstop Action and one of my biggest complaints is that these days its more like Total Nonstop Talking, where is this action you speak of? It doesn't exist, we already have a WWE so stop trying to be like the WWE because they're the big dog, WCW succeeded because it was DIFFERENT than WWE not because it was the same (the production values were the same and even superior, but the WWE was cartoony whereas WCW had alot more realism to their program), when WCW started copying everything the WWE did, thats when they started having big problems.

My other BIG issue with TNA is how their show is setup. If there is one lesson that both TNA and ROH can take from WWE is that a wrestling program is built on an episodic take, wrestling is supposed to be setup like a soap-opera for men, as in you build story-lines that go from episode-to-episode so that people will tune in the next week to see what happens.

Here's an example: Austin give McMahon a stunner 1 week (what is McMahon going to do next week?), the next week McMahon challenges Austin to a match and then Dude Love comes in and attacks Austin while SEEMINGLY having no alliances to either guy(why did Dude Love attack austin and not McMahon, I thought he didn't like McMahon, I gotta tune in next week to see what happens), The next week both Dude Love and McMahon say they have nothing to do with each other but Dude Love is all of a sudden the #1 contender for the title even though he hasn't wrestled in over a month (why does dude get a title shot, somethings going on here I will tune in next week to find out what?), the week before the PPV you find out McMahon will be at ringside during the title match (why is he there if he has no alliance, something really fishy is going on here, I wonder if he'll pull a Montreal Screwjob on Austin this Sunday? I really need to get that PPV).

As you can see by doing very subtle things in the storyline each week, you grab the audience and get them more and more into the storyline each week so by the time the PPV rolls around, THEY NEED TO BUY IT, THEY MUST FIND OUT WHATS GOING TO HAPPEN. So by following this format not only have they increased ratings consistently week-to-week, they have increased BUYRATES for the upcoming PPV, which is where the real money is made. Fixed Wrestling was created on this formula and TNA really needs to implement it into their company. This sitcom shit ain't working, why is Joe heel one week and face the next, it doesn't make sense? It seems like every episode of impact has a beginning, middle and end, where WWE has 1-2 shows as the beginning, 1-2 as the middle, and 1-2 shows as the end. The only way the sitcom feel is gonna work is in REAL PROFESSIONAL SPORTS because thats how they work (and they still build better storylines than TNA does). The sitcom feel works for UFC, not professional wrestling (you don't need much of a storyline in UFC, one guy fights another guy, they legitimately kick the shit out of each other, the winner gets the money(and maybe belt) and moves up the ranking).

Lastly (and this kind of ties in with my last reason) is they need to build and establish their roster and make people give a shit about these people. People ain't gonna buy tickets for any asshole wrestling and if they can't connect with the roster, then they don't have a reason to spend their time and money to watch the program. I love RVD, but TNA hasn't done a thing to make me care that RVD is their champion, he just kind of became champion one week with no build, so who cares?

I have more to say but those are the big reasons. I've written too much as it is so I would love to see what some of you people out there think? Do you agree or disagree, and if you disagree be sure to let me know why and also give reasons to what you think TNA can do to gain some ground against WWE again? Any responses are welcome as long as they contribute to the confad.

 

[philbrooks]

This thread is about four months too late.

Anyway I think they needed new owners and/or a management team as the current regime demonstratively don’t learn from their mistakes, cant separate good advice from bad advice or understand the business they are operating in eights into running the company. That’s before we even talk about them more competitive or anything on screen for that matter.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

Pure and simple:-

1) The X Division. I'm sick of multi people X matches. Back to one on one... better still get a working relationship with RoH. Desmond Wolfe, AJ, Joe taking on Austin Aries et al. Built right, an X Div Vs RoH feud could be everything the Invasion angle early in the noughties wasn't.

2) Tag Teams. Name 3 established teams in WWe! Money winner for me? Put the belts on Beer Money and bring in Chris Harris claiming AMW is back causing tension between James & Robert only for the pay per view to reveal the Wildcats partner is... Lance Cade. Run the feud a couple months then throw the World's Greatest Tag Team into the mix. Also on the RoH idea- Briscoes Vs MCMG?

3) Womens division. First and foremost, bring back Alyssa Flash and Kong! Diva wrestling sucks- promote the women back to the level that they can headline Impact again!

As far as the World and Global belts, couldn't agree more. Personally, I feel the Global belt should be dropped- it has about the same prestege as the million dollar belt. Logical storytelling, promoting individuals strengths in a non pg13 product... get me Paul Heyman!

 

[StopFantasyBooking]

1) Stop being WWE-lite - you already outlined this. Less talk, more action.

but the even bigger problem...

2) Stop pushing former stars and burying your own. Stop putting Hogan/Flair/Sting/Nash etc above people like Styles/Joe/Wolfe. Hell, stop having any of those old timers have any physical interaction at all.

 

[Yomommma]

There is nothing they can do to compete. They are on their last legs. And Vince won't even care to buy them out because there is absolutely NOTHING of value in that company. Say your prayers, eat your vitamins, and kiss your ass goodbye.

 

[hatehabsforever]

I know I'll take lots of grief for saying this, but I really and truly do not believe that there is anything that TNA can do to truly be competitive with the WWE. There's plenty of things they can do to improve their product and in doing so create an alternative that will appeal to some wrestling fans. This could make them a clearly well-defined and plausible number two organization. But to really compete with the WWE, like WCW did during the Monday Night Wars, I just don't think it's possible in today's professional wrestling era. There's absolutely nothing that TNA can do to actually threaten WWE and cause them to worry about a new version of the Wars.

WWE is just too far ahead. Too much history, too much longevity, too much money, too much main stream notoriety, too much talent, too much business acumen in terms of professional wrestling as a business. The gap is so wide that TNA will never close it, and if they ever even get close to closing this gap, WWE will kick it into high gear and obliterate them, just like they did with WCW (and ECW). But there's no need for WWE to do so, because there's no threat, now or in the future.

TNA should focus on providing a plausible alternative to WWE, focusing on being a strong #2 rather than trying with futility to become #1. Get away from WWE-like storylines, get back to the Action in Total Non-Stop Action. Push the Knockouts as wrestlers, not just bimbos flaunting T&A (althought that's good too, especially with Velvet Sky on the roster). Push the X-Division guys and let them showcase their talents.

Go back to Thursdays (which thankfully has happened) and stay there. Go live as much as possible. Focus more on homegrown guys and less on WWE rejects. Not to say you can't sign former WWE guys, just don't sign every single one of them and push them over your originals.

It's not 1990 anymore, don't build a show that acts like it still is. Keep Hogan, Flair, and Sting, but limit their involvement. If they're the focus of every segment, and close every show, TNA is dead in the water.

The Monday Night Wars will never be re-born, no matter how much the TNA smarks want them to be. The internet, greater television exposure, contract structures, and greater knowledge of the casual wrestling fans because of these things, make a re-birth of the Wars virtually impossible.

I think TNA can be really good, they show glimpses of this every 6-8 weeks. But they have to focus on being a strong #2, rather than a failed attempt at #1, which will ultimately leave them a defunct and dead former organization. Forget being number one, that's a pipe dream, no matter how much Hogan and his ego want to convince you otherwise.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I've said in a lot of posts before, as others have, even before the arrival of Hulk Hogan, that TNA is a company that doesn't have a sense of itself. I've heard people often say that TNA reminds them so much of WCW at times that it's scary or that TNA is "WWE-Lite" and I feel one reason why you keep seeing comments like that on these forums is because TNA hasn't really formed its own identity. Or, if it did, then it's long since abandoned it.

For the past several years, TNA has attempted to piggyback off of success that WCW and the WWE have had. I think that the hope was that they would be able to become a legitimate threat to WWE much sooner rather than later. I don't really think that it can work that way because both WCW and WWE had decades of history and generations of viewers that had watched.

When Ted Turner bought Crocket Promotions in November 1988 and renamed it WCW, he not only got Crockett's company but everything that came with it. That included the tape library of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling as well as the name and tape library of every company that Mid-Atlantic bought out. WCW was made up of Jim Crockett Promotions, Championship Wrestling from Florida, Central States Wrestling, Georgia Championship Wrestling, and so on and so forth. WCW was built on a foundation that was comprised of some of the greatest organizations in wrestling history. Crockett Promotions and Georgia Championship Wrestling had been seen on Turner programming for years and years. If you looked at the audience when watching some of those programs, you'd see everybody from kids to teenagers to parents and to grandparents in the audience. It's very much the same thing with WWE. Both those companies have legacies and TNA has tried to build itself by using bits and pieces of those legacies from the past 12-15 years.

Right now, TNA shouldn't worry about competing with the WWE. It's simply not going to happen right now. Personally, I think that TNA needs to establish its own identity, build its overall product up, build stars within the company and use them rather than bring in stars that made their names in WCW or the WWE and strive to be something different than either WCW or WWE. It's not something that I think it going to happen in a year or maybe not even 5 years. A lot of TNA fans have said that TNA is a young company and needs time to grow. I agree with that because it will take time to grow and become something that can legitimately compete with WWE. However, TNA has to learn to walk before it can run, not vice versa.

 

[Decarow]

I'm actually more of a WWE fan, but I do try to watch TNA. To me, the biggest problem with TNA is it isn't that organized. It just feels like a bunch of nonsense thrown together. It's just really confusing. Idk, maybe I should give it more time to sink in to me, but that's what I see as their main fault.

 

[donp71883]

First and foremost IMO, they need to lose the mind-set that they are competing with WWE. WWE is a juggernaut, and won't be brought down anytime soon.

Secondly, and this might sound a little too simple, but since Dixie Carter and Co. are so fan friendly, why not just ask? And I don't mean ask people standing in line for events, because they'd probably get a million and a half fantasy bookers talking their ever-loving heads off. But put it on the front page of the dot com, send text messages, read the forums here, whatever. But simply ask the fans, "What do you want that would make you absolutly HAVE to be home to catch Impact?"

Third thing in my book. Take it slower. I know that most fans are used to WWE and their style of programming, but slow it down. Keep the weekly show, but dump the monthly PPV. Do your PPV once a quarter, or even once every other month. This is going to trace back to making us give a shit about the talent, but right now, most of us simply don't care enough about the characters to buy a show every single month. Give slower build to feuds, and don't cram the feud down our throats every week either. You can carry a feud without having the guys involved interact directly every week. If AJ Styles and RVD are going to fight at the PPV, I (and I speak only for myself, but would assume others feel the same) don't want to see a triple threat week one, followed by a tag match week two, round it up with a fatal fourway week three, just to watch the two guys finally fight one on one.

Last thing that comes to mind, and again, this is simple. Title changes on broadcast TV. Not too many of them that make the title seem devoided. How many times have we all heard something like "RVD vs Jeff Hardy for the title" and think, Wow, this is going to be a great match...oh wait, it's just Impact, RVD is going to walk away with the title somehow. Another example of TV title changes being effective, would be back when Bischoff told the world that Mick Foley was going to win the title on Raw, how many thousands of people tuned in to see a title change? Why? Because it interests us. Don't make us feel like we have to buy the PPV just to see a change. Take us back to a day when "Anything can happen" meant something in the wrestling world.

Then there are the things that everybody else agrees on, make a credable tag division, bring back some of the awesome woman wrestlers they had, and build off them. Stop trying to be PG\PG-13, you're on a network geared towards adult men.

 

[CuddleBuns84]

A lot a great ideas in the forum, and the one I liked the most, was stop being WWE JR. Or WWE-Lite, just WWE express (Small kiosk selling WWE merchandise). TNA never had a real image, they have always been known as the place for a light schedule and decent money. With that light of a schedule, and size of the crowds it just didn't seem like real competition.

If I was in charge of TNA, I would much rather be a branch off company, or a stepping stone company. Something to help unknown wrestlers get a decent break in the industry. If someone with good talent got a big break and went to the WWE, I would be happy, and give that wrestler a huge send off. It would make much more sense to work with the WWE, then to call them out in a little building.

TNA is a minor league, might as well be the best thing in minor league wrestling. Cut down some of those veterans you have on the board. I don't want to see Flair, I don't want to see Jarrett, get the band out, because if I wanted to watch a band, it would be Godsmack. Slowly build up that client-ale. TNA hasn't really ever had a major demographic, they just tried build off the WWE's audience.

Not also that, but realize your in sports entertainment business. Not just the wrestling business. Give a live show that leaves them begging for more. Not really an indy show, but something that can capture the imagination of the wrestling fans.

In due time, the organization can get bigger, especially if they produce good wrestlers. Then, when the name is big enough, keep on doing what your doing but only better. The monday night wars were a big thing 10 years ago, and it won't happen again. No matter how much the internet screams for it. Just produce good wrestles, help develop good wrestlers, and show the world why TNA is different for the WWE.

 

[Ducey13]

I DO THINK that TNA CAN compete with WWE. 3-5 years from now. The comments above are right. TNA needs to establish its own identity. It needs to concentrate on being the #2 company and being the Best they can be. They are only the #2 company by default. Theres no one else with a nation wide televised show (I don't get HD Net). ROH has a HUGE following but they don't have a national show. If they did, they could very easily be the #2 company. So TNA needs to act like it gives a damn and is competeing with someone.

HATHABSFOREVER is wrong. Another Wrestling company can overtake WWE. It might not be TNA but it could happen. But like i said before, at LOT has to happen first. WWE sucked in 2002. If anyone else had had a wrestling alternative that already had a good following they really could have hurt WWE. WWE will have another period where they start sucking again. It bound to happen one day. Probabily when Stephanie and HHH taking over booking (UHHGG). When that happen there will be an opening.

So it can be done, but it won't be easy or happen in the next 2 years.

 

[youngbullzeye]

i think that they should get the fuck out orlando the impact zone makes them look like shit compared to wwe that arena is to small make me feel your a legit contender and go book in bigger places i feel sometimes like wwe has the mlb stadium while tna has a double a stadium get the fuck out of there i know some people will say well look at ecw they had a small areana and still did hell of a job and that brings me to the next piont be inovative something that no one has done ecw had hardcore wwf had attitude get away from the attitude get away from to much hardcore i mean i really like hardcore and the attitude but to me tna cant do this right and effectively at the same time and when you try to say they are the closest to the attitude era but cant deliver stop trying i mean as much as i would LOVE to have another attitude era i want it done right not some ass halfed shit tna tries to give us i mean ima tna mark but tna is kinda of getting boring to me and i find it hard to watch sometimes

 

[bullsgo]

1. Admit that Hogan is a washed up relic who does not equal ratings or dollars anymore.

2. Fire Vince Russo.

3. TNA management must give 100% complete creative control to someone not named Hogan, Bishoff, or Jarrett.

4. Bring back the Four Horsemen, using a new generation of stars led by The Pope. Rather than AJ, The Pope should have been Flair's mentoree. Have Flair and Pope come together as a unit(mentor and mentoree), which leads to Pope becoming TNA World Heavyweight Champion. After such an event occurs, Pope brings out his version of the Horsemen, who immediately attack Flair. This will lead to putting the original Horsemen together. (Arn, Tully, Windham) Have the originals, billed as faces, challenge the new horsemen to a War Games type match up. Have the original Horsemen walk out on Flair(Paid off) during the match, allowing Flair to be pummeled into what is assumed to be retirement. This could lead to Flair coming back as an underdog (ala Rocky) and defeating Pope for the title.

5. Give Flair one last brief title run as a face.

6. Turn Abyss back into a hardcore monster.

7. Build AJ as a face and highlight his pure wrestling skills.

8. Build a working relationship with ROH and showcase your under utilized talent(Motor City, Gen me, Lethal, Kendrick, Homicide, etc) on their shows. The two companies need one another to survive.

9. Use The Band as television personalities, not in ring performers.

10. Make the X-Division matter!

11. Give Orlando Jordan back his balls. He misses them.

12. Force Jeff Hardy to clean himself up.

13. Build up the Knock Out division. Make it matter.

14. Hire the Iron Sheik as a back stage reporter.

15. Bring back Awesome Kong.

16. Concentrate on developing new stars.

17. Turn Hogan Heel and blame all your failures on him.

18. Develop a one-hour internet show featuring the X-Division.

19. Develop a one-hour internet show featuring TNA knockouts.

20. Stop trying to compete with WWE and focus on giving the people a decent, watchable product.

21. Build up the tag belt. Make it matter again.

22. Stop wasting young talent: Desmond Wolfe, Samoa Joe, Homicide, etc.

23. Replace the announce team.

24. Cut the roster down by 50%.

25. Look for new talent in ROH.

 

[flocker]

Great ideas. Except maybe... I love Flair, but he's an awful face.

And I love bischoff, but he's an awful face.

My idea is this: find a fiscally responsible booker. Might be about as easy as finding dry water. But do it. Find a way to do live shows in smallish auditoriums - be the big fish in small ponds (like minor league hockey arenas). Give away tickets, but only to rabid fans. Teach your camera people not to show the small size of these arenas. Look BIG.

Next have Bischoff turn on Hogan. Let Ric Flair actually run him out of the company. Then turn on Flair and repeat process.

Hogan needs to get off the screen. If he is a writer/booker - he should be in a suit, not a sleeveless t shirt. Put a "brother or dude" limit in place. After the 5th time in a broadcast he says either of those words (combined) just shut off his mic.

Look at what has worked (in terms of ratings) and do it. A lot. Base the minutes of a show on what people tune in for. Anybody gets huge ratings, they get more time the next week. Anybody gets crap ratings, they turn into eric young.

Treat it like a real business for god's sake. Fire the coat tail riding jabronies and give us more of what we tune in for (well they started the firings). Keep the old guys who are good on the stick around, but don't put friggin belts on 'em. Unless it's for a very short time AND to get some of your best young guys over.

Find a way to keep your young guys. And keep em happy. And get em over.

 

[wushady]

They need stop trying to be like WWE their never going to be true competition.
They need to rebuild the x division to what it once was. That was something that made them different and set them apart from WWE.
Same goes for the KO division lately it's no better or worse than the divas after Tara leaves they'll have the Beautiful People, ODB, Love, and a couple chicks barely used like Taylor Wilde.
Start making better booking decisions Dixie needs to just be the owner and stop listening to fans and let the bookers do their jobs.
Stop ending angles right after they start thats been my biggest problem with them lately.
Go back to focusing on wrestling and less on skits and promos and especially stop showing Hogan 5+ times an episode he does not have the star power he use to.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

1. Stop buying veterans. TNA didn't need the likes of The Nasty Boys to get over. WCW started doing this as well, and it pushed their younger guys away from the spotlight ergo the future.

2. Stop thinking you can bring a fight to WWE. It's just not the right time. WWE has spawned into a freakin Mega Power itself. TNA vs. WWE isn't an overnight deal- Hell any wrestling fan that knows logistics knew how far behind TNA trailed in the ratings compared to Raw alone. Hell they lost the Monday Night Wars in less than a year, and it wasn't to the likes of Stone Cold or The Rock either...

3. Travel. Merchandise, booking deals, etc will go up much more than sticking around where you are.

4. Get Hogan and Flair out of the spotlight. Kind of goes hand-in-hand with #1. They are way past their prime. People want Styles, Pope, Anderson, and Wolfe. We had Hulk and Ric for 20 odd years.

 

[mikeyboy]

DUCEY13 said it , its gonna take some time,wwe has been around for years they are the only promotion alot of people know,tna has to build and get there name out to the masses , thats why they brought in the big names like hogan, flair ect. to get the attention of the casual wrestling fans who know nothing but wwe.
to all of you who keep saying tna is destined for failure , vince will buy them out and all that crap , grow the f#$@ up and quit hating , there are alot of us who are open minded enough to watch and enjoy both. wwe does not have to be the be all end all of pro wrestling.

 

[Gabriiel07]

As almost everyone have said, get out Hogan and Flair from the main event, if Shawn already did it, then I think its their time. And now that they are back on Thursday, go live, no more taped shows, well maybe at first yes, but then go live. Then, they would need to do at least the PPVs on different cities. Well, that's my opinion.