Report: John Gaburick and Jeff Jarrett Now Spearheading TNA Creative Direction

[Sweettre15]

- With Eric Bischoff out of the picture, TNA creative going forward will be in the hands of writers Matt Conway and Dave Lagana. The guys maneuvering the creative direction will be John Gaburick and Jeff Jarrett, who has had a lot more and more input as of late.

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter


So from the looks of things Jeff Jarrett and the former WWE exec will be spearheading creative while Matt Conway and Dave Lagana are still the main writers. I haven't exactly heard bad things about those two guys on their own but judging from TNA's product it's hard to say whether they should be sacked along with Bischoff and Hogan or not.

If any of you guys have a bit more info on their reputation as writers please feel free to disuss at length and also discuss your feelings on these changes in TNA creative.

 

[ABMorales787]

Conway, Gaburick and Lagana have been around for a good while. Jeff on the other hand, has more experience than the other 3 put together. With him off TV that leaves room for major potential.

However, it's clear that recent changes to creative have left a mark on the TV product. What is this, the 3rd or 4th time that creative has changed since 2009? Just from WZCW, I can tell a change there can have a mark. In a real wrestling promotion where you're responsible for so many things, wow. I'm just hoping this line up one to stick because there's a lot on TV that needs to be ironed out.

 

[Sweettre15]

Conway, Gaburick and Lagana have been around for a good while. Jeff on the other hand, has more experience than the other 3 put together. With him off TV that leaves room for major potential.

However, it's clear that recent changes to creative have left a mark on the TV product. What is this, the 3rd or 4th time that creative has changed since 2009? Just from WZCW, I can tell a change there can have a mark. In a real wrestling promotion where you're responsible for so many things, wow. I'm just hoping this line up one to stick because there's a lot on TV that needs to be ironed out.

I see....so were Conway and Lagana the writers when TNA had that hot streak of good shows thorughout the bulk of 2012? Specifically, When they were pushing Zema Ion as a new X Division star and James Storm, Austin Aries, and Bobby Roode were prominent in the WWE title picture? If so then maybe there is potential keeping those guys around and having them work with Jarrett.

Right now, I'll give them credit that the Angle/Roode feud has my attention outside of the screwy finish to their match because for an angle that didnt get alot of buildup it's actually pretty good but maybe that's solely due to Angle and Roode's talent. Who knows?

The AJ styles angle also has my attention as well somewhat but they need to end Aces N Eights for good and progress ACTUAL FEUDS in the X-division instead of treating it like filler.

 

[Fabulous Freebirds]

I say meh to Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett basis too many of his ideas from his days in the Memphis territory. More comedic wrestling with cowardly heels. A example of that would be the Bromans.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I don't know too much about these guys, but it's clear that whatever TNA were doing it wasn't working, and a change was desperately needed. There has been alot of change in TNA creative in the last few years without it leading to much success, so hopefully this will settle things down a bit, Jarrett can use his years of experience to help sort out the shambles of TNA at the moment.

It's so frustrating to me that the company has such a strong roster of talent (even with the recent releases), and they just cannot seem to make any progress and anything they do have that starts to work is cut off before it can grow into something good. The company seems to make the wrong decision at every available opportunity to do so, hopefully with this new creative team that can become a thing of the past!

 

[Pedigree1]

TNA has a lot of talent on their roster a lot of great talent. But this is what the 4th time creative has changed since 09? Outside of Jarrett I am not familiar with the others. TNA just seems it cant get out of its own way. They basically have no money to Tour and only throw on 4 PPVS a year. At least IMO you have to Tour to make money not go back to the impact zone.

Im hoping for change for this company god knows it has to happen. But with their low tv ratings no Touring and Few PPVS its not a good sign

 

[Fabulous Freebirds]

TNA has a lot of talent on their roster a lot of great talent. But this is what the 4th time creative has changed since 09? Outside of Jarrett I am not familiar with the others. TNA just seems it cant get out of its own way. They basically have no money to Tour and only throw on 4 PPVS a year. At least IMO you have to Tour to make money not go back to the impact zone.

Im hoping for change for this company god knows it has to happen. But with their low tv ratings no Touring and Few PPVS its not a good sign

Bob Ryder, who works for TNA as the director of talent bookings & travel, tweeted out this the other day:

"TNA schedule doesn't looked "reduced" based on schedule I saw today. Shows set for Jan 3,4,5,10,11,12,13,14,17,18,19,29,30,31. #busymonth"


They look to be busy in January.

 

[ramblinroy682]

You can't argue that creative has had it's share of problems. However, I'd argue that you keep bringing people to work with the same players expecting different results. Why was Aries run to stardom so great? It was a fresh star with some charisma producing something we haven't seen in TNA before. Aries was new. His feuds were new. His promos weren't the same old same old. Yes we've seen arrogant heels before, but it works. He puts his spin on it. Why did Roode versus Storm work. It was a fresh feud. We hadn't seen Roode as a singles star. We hadn't really seen Storm on his own much yet either. And the two definitely hadn't really feuded together before. But, it was an angle we've seen a million times. Former partners turned enemies. But, inserting new faces into these feuds made it seem new and fresh again. And while we had seen this before with Harris and Storm, it had been 5 years or so since that feud took place. Add in this revolved around the world title and it made it that much better.

TNA creative has been lazy in a lot of fronts. Hey we got Mr. Kennedy. Let's do the exact same thing WWE did. Give him a mic from the ceiling. Have him say his name...

There are tried and true storylines in wrestling. What makes them great are the people in them. TNA Creative needs to play to the strengths of their stars and be realistic about what those are. AJ Styles cannot carry a feud when a large portion of it will be storytelling through promos. Make it about who's a better wrestler. Put on great matches. I'm better than you kind of stuff. He's great in the ring. Keep it simple. He can produce.

Need a complex story where promos will carry much of the progression? Put a guy like Aries, Roode, or Storm who have the ability to do the mic work necessary.

In addition, TNA needs to turn over their roster a little more. I love Daniels and Kaz. And yes, they are doing some of the best work they've ever done, but I've seen Daniels and Kaz versus AJ, Samoa Joe, Abyss, LAX 1000 times. Why do we still have guys around who clearly don't move the ratings needle. Maybe no one can.

But, I'm ready for John Morrison versus Austin Aries. ECIII versus Kenny King. Gunner versus Magnus for the TV Title. I know Hardy does tremendous merchandise sales, but I don't care about his matches anymore. Truth is I don't care about Chris Sabin or Manik either. Get Mike Bennett, Kevin Steen, Shaun Ricker, Adam Cole, the Young Bucks, or some other guys that's out there who can produce just as good as Abyss, Hernandez, Kaz, Chavo, etc. I know Rhett Titus is out of ROH. Bring him in. ANX versus BroMans would be fresh.

I think TNA should take this opportunity to reset the roster. Save a little money. Focus on the strengths that they have in the main event guys. Get rid of the majority of the "experienced" mid card. Bring in some new faces. Stick to quality wrestling. Stick to stories that work. And really, really try to just be a solid wrestling company. Not go for broke. Be the Best TNA that TNA can be and not try to be the best WWE that TNA can be.