[Official] Disco Nation

[gg inferno]

TNA isn't scripted to a T. the stuff is written, then the talent basically takes what's written and delivers it in their own way. the pros usually just deliver what's written for them, and the young guys that think they know what they're doing change most of their stuff. anybody can come up with a cathcphrase. you can. i can. anyone. the problem is the one's that don't have one, never come up with any on their own, and reject all of the one's that are given to them. then here they are years later with nothing interesting to say, nothing entertaining to say, and think they're more over than they are because they have good matches.

 

[Marty2Hotty]

yeah, jim ross didn't need to accompany. i liked the segment with rock saying he needed to get some fresh air. i think he was in the corporation at the time i dont remember. but he did bring the camera man with him.. and then austin drove up and they brawled

"you go to hell" rock sucker punches austin into the swamp. and what made it hilarious was there was a camera getting austin dropping into the river from a far angle.. how did that camera get there. when i saw that i asked the question but didn't give a shit because it was so damn entertaining

same with halftime heat when rock fought mankind.. a camera was on the crane going towards rock and rock's goofy face. i did ask the question when i watched it but i knew it was just entertainment and it was just hilarious and entertaining

i loved rock during that match. "i'm sorry, mick casn't come to the phone right now because he's all TIED UP" - strangles foley.

I loved dialogue during the matches.. that is somethign we donts ee often... because it's in front of a crowd.

when sting fought angle in an empty arean match this past week

-- The same week that WWE RAW drew its best rating since 2007, the 2/19 edition of TNA iMPACT! did 1.33 cable rating with 1.9 million viewers, the show's biggest audience ever. The previous record was a 1.24 with 1.8 million viewers. Last night's main event featured Kurt Angle vs. Sting in an "empty arena" match.

I liked that sting and angle were talking to eatch other near the end.. you can hear it.. like watching a movie. multiple camera angles. that is really different and cool.

As for the announcers always being there.. yeah, they dont need to explain that. i loved wcw/wwf when russo wrote when there were so many backstage segments back to back followed by the matches (which were short) because there was so much good charaacter development.. i watdhed to see what happens. TNA has WAY too much wrestling

but when you take the wrestling off. you hear the same ppl whining "wrestling is in the marquee". "they only had 36 minutes of wrestling that hour" or some bullshit like that. and tna reads that shit and puts out more wrestling becasue they're morons that are afraid to take risks to make their company grow

as for TNA being written...

as for catchphrases.. you need somethign cool, that will catch on and you need to do and say something badass everyw eek to make it catch on. if the young guys are rejecting the shit they're given, then they're idiots. i dont think TNA is like that though. i just think tna is afraid to make their show on the level that is capable of crteating stars

rock and austin were created because they were part of an era that had a lot of interesting shit go down. if your show is not interesting enough to get people talking, chances are you wont have stars that will do/say stuff that will get people talking..

aj and joe, after being there for 6 and 4 years respectively, dont have anything catchy or worth saying.

Petey Williams had his "What would arnold do" impression which was HILARIOUS btw.. they did that for a while, and didn't focus on character. now he's done...

Abdul Bashir had some controversial interviews with tenay once every 2 months, had controversial packages the weeks leading up to his debut. now he just wrestles. how do you do build character when you dont give these guys something interseting to do/say EVERY week...

AJ styles was doing a lot of goofy funny stuff in early 2008, and i think he was really growing. now, not so much.

they need to work on the entertainment aspect of the show. even foley is misused.. tna has the potential to do a lot of crazy shit

i read death of wcw just now *skimmed most of it*.. read the russo parts and the author basically burying russo. what a load of bull.

i liked russo taking risks with bagwell/riggs in the back been given teh script of how the finish should end, and bagwell changing it during the match. i liked that stuff

the late 99 stuff was great - with powers that be.. some of the best television ever..

tna needs to do shows like that. SO much character development at that time


---


I just wanted to make a further comment about hte interviewer following people around. on the show, disco, where you did "Jive Talkin'" and interviewed Dean Baldwin (Shark Boy) in the TNA Asylum back in August 2002 *i know this because i have the tape*.... they had asegment where Jerry Lynn was feuding with AJ Styles

They had Jerry Lynn drive WITH GOLDY (goldy was trying to interview Lynn), and then jerry drove to a store where Aj was at and proceeded to beat him up and throw him into some sort of box. (Russo was around then). it was kinda cool hwo they did that one. but this 'interviewer being with the wrestlers when doing segments' thing has been around for a while for TNA

Even when cornette is in the office with jeff,.. is it really necessary for lauren or jb to be there. sometimes TNA doesn't bother to have them there.. but most of the time, they're there lingering around.

Sometimes, it serves its purpose when JB is interviewing Kurt w/ Karen.. because JB would exchange some words - comedy-wise.. which makes it funny and work better than if JB wasn't there. even in booker's lockerroom if there's some exchange with JB, it may be funny or better..

but if they're not involved, it isn't necessary to have them there imo

- bottom line,.. just concentrate on making your show better.. creating stars by making your show crazy and giving these guys something cool to say/do every week that will go "OHHH AJ STYLES AND JOE .. i can't wait to hear what they say/do next becasue they do/say crazy shit everyw eek like rock/austin used to do" - TNA hasn't done this for aj and joe. that's why they're not stars

 

[gg inferno]

marty, it's not as simple as you think. the bottom line is that The Godfather worked because of Pacino, Caan, Brando, etc... You can't remake it with Yakov Smirnoff, Vin Diesel, and John Goodman playing the part of the Corleone's. That's how much better guys like the Rock, and Austin, and even Angle are than the young guys of today.

Here's an analogy. You go see Oscar contenders to see Heath Ledger, Slumdog, Mickey Rourke, etc... because the categories they're nominated in are worth paying for. I look at some of the young guys today as being the type that would be up for categories like best art direction and best song. yeah, they're really good at what they do, but the fact that a movie wins an oscar for a category that no one cares about isn't going to get people to see it. Alot of guys today have great matches, but I've seen so many matches in my life that I could really care less if I miss one. I haven't watched a single match lately, but I did youtube the interview stuff with Jericho and Michaels, because I felt like I was missing something. I've been watching wrestling since I was ten. I like strong interviews and segments. could care less about the match until the finish. and I think that there are ALOT more fans out there like me. I don't think there's anything that guys like AJ and Joe can do beyond an actually wrestling match that will get me to youtube it because it was such a great segment or interview. Hence, they'll never really get a fan like myself interested in them. Mind you, I like both of those guys alot. And I was entertained by their matches. It's actually disappointing that they're not better at the other things. I'd like them to be. But I don't think they ever will.

 

[klunderbunker]

That's a brilliant analogy with the Oscars. I'm the same way Glenn is on wrestling. I've watched wrestling for over twenty years and I've seen tons of stuff from before I was born so i think I've got a fairly solid knowledge of the in ring work and history etc. On the main page today there was a list of possible matches coming up at Destination X. Just about anyone with a solid bit of knowledge could have told you that was coming. I don't watch Impact because all I care about is the end result. If I miss a few weeks of shows, all I care about is what the end result is. Take the Mafia storyline for example. We all know that in the end, the Frontline wins and Sting goes back to being a face. Why would I need to watch the whole build up to that just to get to the ending? All that matters is that at the end of the day, the finish happens.

This might be a better example: on a tv show I used to watch, two people show up in an office, covered in blood and gore. They ask their boss if he's going to ask what happened. His reply was something like this: "you're back here alive, so I'm assuming it went well. The details don't matter." The same holds true for wrestling. All that matters is the end result and maybe a thing or two in between. Other than that, nothing at all. matters.

 

[Marty2Hotty]

i agree that Austin was great at what he did. Rock wasn't great until after a few months when he got written great stuff and he started really growing into his character.

however.. here's MY example. Remember WCW 2000.. or the mid/undercards of the Russo eras... guys like Lance STorm.. you gave him a great character "if i can be serious for a minute". him winning three titels and naming one of them the sask. hardcore int. title. (aka shit)

he ended up being really entertaining. the same applies to positively kanyon. even David Flair when he was psycho.. even tank abbott (a serious dude) joining 3 count. even mike awesome's crazy gimmicks (fat chick thriller, 70s guy)

if your show is crazy and entertaining.. guys like aj, joe, and even MMG will get over. Even Road Dogg and Billy Gunn were not over. they became the new age outlaws and really started doing crazy shit every week. aka pushing foley and funk off the ramps... and they would also take out LOD and gang beat down them with the old DX..

it was the way they were written.. it's THAT EASY. They may not be superstars like an austin or rock (to start), but if your show is really crazy and gets that buzz.. your characters will most likely do the same if you push them in that manner everyw eek

as for great matches.. you're telling a guy (me) nothing new. i know great matches are only great matches.. they're not gonna turn you into a star.. it's what you do and say every week on a really crazy well written show that attracts tv viewers that keep people wanting to see you and pay for you.

you can perform well in feuds during matches. but it's the cahracter that ppl really want to root for. it's the writing and whether the company is willing to take that writing to a character-driven direction..

as for what you said about aj and joe not youtubing etc..

Watch AJ when he was at comedic prime.. late 2007 - kurt angle's thanksgiving show. aj deciding whether to join angle or christian. AJ did some HILARIOUS segments during that time for TNA before he went back to generic serious babyface.

Joe. i'm not sure about this guy. they may want him as a goldberg.. but a little bit of "rock/austin' type humour in his promos won't hurt

I like entertainment and I'm sure most casual viewers want to see the finish of a match on television immediately as well..

but i want a great well defined product like russo used to write back in teh day. and i want the young guys to do and say somethign crazy so that fans can bring signs with the catchphrases or bring signs that refer to something they did the previous week

there isn't anything special that is written for these guys to do and say, which leaves TNA booking them in normal wrestling matches that puts nobody ovewr

 

[klunderbunker]

Glenn,

I was watching a battle royal tonight and was wondering, how are these booked? Obviously the ending is set in stone, but what about the rest of the eliminations? Is there really any set order for the people who are there to fill in spots or is it more or less just booked as it goes?

Thanks.