OK, here we go:
Going live every Monday: This is pointless. It makes no difference whatsoever if the show is live or it isn't. What matters is the quality of the show. RAW's been live for the past decade and lately it's been awful. Whether or not people know what's going to happen ahead of time doesn't detract from the actual product.
Ratings: The ratings mean jack. In my opinion, TNA put on the better show on Monday. The ratings show that more people watched RAW. Why? Most likely because a) they didn't know about TNA, or b) they did and just assumed it would be bad. And to be fair, TNA wasn't that good leading up to the move to Monday, but I'd prefer to attribute that to them just biding their time. You can't rely on the ratings solely as an example of how a show was.
Pushing of the "TNA Originals": I am so sick and tired of this argument. A.J. Styles is the current world champion. Abyss is fighting him for the title at the next PPV. What more do you people want? Maybe TNA should get rid of anyone who didn't work solely for the company when they started. That leaves Jeff Jarrett, Abyss, Jay Lethal (maybe), and that's it. Yes, under that logic, guys like Styles, Daniels, and Joe would be gone. Because, in case you guys forgot, they used to work for ROH. The TNA Originals argument is weak. A.J. is being mentored by Ric Flair while Abyss is with Hulk Hogan. The purpose behind that is to give those two rubs. Wait and see how it ends.
Six-Sided Ring: Another weak argument. It doesn't matter what kind of ring it is. What matters is what goes on inside it. You can still have crazy X-Division matches in a four-sided ring. In fact, TNA started with a four-sided ring. So what's the problem here? This is just a stupid and unnecessary complaint and Hogan is smart to ignore it.
Moving out of the Impact Zone: Now, I'm kind of on the fence with this one. On the one hand, moving and expanding their fanbase would be beneficial to the company. Problem is, they aren't as well-known yet as the WWE, and might not sell enough tickets. Then again, staying in Orlando means you have to deal with the same fans every time, which includes assholes like the Crucial Crew. I say they should wait a little bit on this one, but not too long.
Shock TV: This is a very, very bad idea. Yes, it may draw potential viewers, but unless they have something to keep them there, it will fail. That is a problem that WCW had after they lost the top spot to RAW. They relied purely on shocks to draw people in, but couldn't deliver enough to keep them there. The sad part is that this may happen because, hey, Russo. THIS is when TNA will become WCW 2.0, despite what others will say.
All in all, what TNA should be focusing on is simply putting on the best product they can. Other than that, they and the so-called fans they have need one very important thing:
PATIENCE.
The complaining regarding Sting's heel turn and RVD's debut pissed me off. There was absolutely no way they were going to give away a real match between the two, which has never happened before, on live TV. They needed to build something between them. Go back and listen to the crowd when RVD "wins". When was the last time you saw a crowd erupt like that? Especially recently? The beatdown by Sting needed to happen to establish him as a heel and get people to boo him. People might realize these things if they didn't think in the here and now and had patience. So, wait, and see what happens, before you start criticizing them and saying what needs to change, when they haven't even started yet.
I agree with you, man. People are comming on here and listing their ways on how TNA could improve but are making weak arguments.
Moving out of the Impact Zone It took years for RAW to get out of NYC. Yet people still watched. ECW was in Philly. Yet people still watched till Paul went bankrupt. Rome was not built in a day.
Stop the taping and replays on Thursday I never hear anybody complain about how Smackdown is taped. Or the fact that USA airs the AM RAW on Saturdays. Personally I don't mind the tapings since even if I do read the spoilers, I still watch the show since I'm the "I have to see it to believe it" type of guy. I do the same thing with Smackdown too. As for the replays on Thursdays, I think its a good idea. It's a good safety net to have for people who couldn't tune in or DVR the show on Monday. Right now, I don't believe that TNA is trying to overtake Raw all at once so why not have the replays to help generate the ratings on Thursdays too. Hell if they didn't do that and just aired on Modays, Spike might not have the patience to stay with the Monday night experiment. Remember too, there's a chance that Spike does this cuz they don't have their own programming to show. How many times can they show reruns of 1000 ways to die and Manswers? Also Spike is doing the same thing that other stations like VH1, MTV, TBS by showing replays on other days.
Sting and RVD If done correctly, the Sting heel turn good be very good. Him with that bat reminds me of HHH with the sledge hammer. Give Sting that kind of attittude and not redo the MEM turn, team him up with Fliar, Styles, and Wolfe, and you got an interesting heel. As for his beat down of RVD, it had to be done. They had to have Sting attack someone other than Hogan and Abyss to try to get the fans to boo him and who better than RVD? Did you hear the crowd chant his name? Sure it won't make Stings turn complete but its a very damn good start. Sting vs RVD will be a great match cuz despite Sting's age, he still delievers in the ring when the spotlight is on.
Hardy Alot of people on here are questioning whether Jeff Hardy will help TNA. Granted he still has the legal troubles however, if he gets passed that then hell yeah he will help TNA. The guy is awesome. Put him in matches with AJ, RVD, Daniels etc, team him up with Shannon Moore to face MCMG, Generation Me, Beer Money. He's the rare guy that you could put in any division, ME, mid card, tag team, and he will shine and improve that division drastically.
Who's a face/heel argument? I like the fact that the lines are blurred since Hogan/Bischoff joined. It reminds me of a real-life workplace whenever new management takes over. There is always the fear of layoffs, paycuts, and so forth. People have to re-establish themselves as the cream of the crop, aka Mass Confussion. And just like real life, it takes a few months of having the new management in charge for the dust to clear and roles are known. The dust is starting to clear in TNA. We know that Flair, Styles, Sting, Wolfe, Anderson are the top heels. Hogan, Abyss, Angle, Pope, Hardy, RVD, Jarret, Foley are the top faces. The guys who are blurred: Bischoff, Samoe Joe(since we don't know what the kidnapping story is leading too), Beer Money(although with their beat down of Jarret they are mostly heels in order to face Morgan/Super Mex), Everyone loves black and white. I prefer some touches of grey.
What TNA needs to do...
Shell out money to advertise Raw has a huge advantage since USA is part of the NBC family. With the collection of channels that NBC owns, commericals for Raw attract viewers of all ages and genders. TNA needs to spend money to buy ad time on other stations such as VH1, MTV, ESPN, etc. There are a wide varity of deals on tv ads, find something that fits the budget, and spend it. With all the money they make with PPVs, merchandise, blah blah blah, they could afford to do this. It's worthless to have a company and not advertise it properly.
Less Backstage segments This is one area that TNA has developed an over-kill mode. Backstage segments are important when they help the storyline but we don't need to see 5 segments about people convincing Hogan not to wrestle. And we don't need to see a commerical break, back to TNA to show Hall and Waltman walking in the back and bam!!! back to commerical.
Do something about Tazz Really Taz thanks for ruining the surprises Monday Night. He did it at the beginning of the show talking about Hogan/Abyss vs Flair/Styles when he said, "this might happen sooner then you think?" and again with the "What were you doing at 4:20 today" remark when Sting was making his way to the ring. Granted, everyone knew that RVD was there but the same was true with Hardy. There was a 50% chance of being wrong guessing who Sting's oppenant might be. Till Taz said that stupid comment, really that was the best he could come up with?
Move the front row seats back a bit For me the guard rail is way too close to the ring. That limits the high-flying moves to the outside in my opinion cuz it looks like guys are going to end up in the seats. A little distance could do wonders.
Don't end the show when someone is about to perform a trademark move on somebody I hated how Impact went off the air when Hardy was on the top rope about to nail the Swanton Bomb. That move is legendary!!!! Show it damn it!!!!!
A second show? I'm still on the fence about this but I think it could be benefical for TNA to have another show on during the week. And in no way shape or form am I talking about a brand split like Raw and Smackdown. Just use the show to showcase guys who didn't get air time on Monday and use some kind of rotation formula between Monday and the other day. More tag and X division are good things.
One final thought for those who are complaining about the direction of TNA. Like I said earlier, it takes a few months with new management for the dust to clear, the road to Lockdown will be when things become more clear. So don't nit-pick till after Lockdown and enjoy the things that TNA does well.
