[Rumor] Major Changes to TNA's Product & Identity Being Discussed Internally

[WWEIsLife2]

So WWE completely drops wrestling from its name and now TNA wants to change everything also? For some reason the timing does not shock me at all.

Anyway, I think a few things need to be done here so in response to each of the lines:

1. A name change isn't going to help. People know it's TNA. You can call it Sally and people know what it is. It comes on Spike at 9 on Thursdays and is the other wrestling company. I still call WWE WWF half the time even though that's not its name. Everyone knows what I'm talking about though. Makes no difference at all.

2. This sounds like yet another reboot. TNA has had multiple ones of these in the last year or so. Let's see.

They go from being a company focused on the X-Division to focused on the older guys. They go from being focused on the older guys to being focused on AJ and having long main events with younger guys. They go from that to being focused on Hogan/Bischoff. They go from Hogan/Bischoff to WCW cicra 1997. Now they're talking about changing the whole thing again. Pick a style and stick with it.

The problem with the rebooting again is it'll reset the whole company and we'll have to start again from scratch. It doesn't help to keep changing things over and over again because you keep panicking and changing things again. TNA has internal problems they need to address, which I'll get to later.

As for the ratings, there are simple things to make things better. First and foremost, TELL PEOPLE WHAT IS COMING! Bischoff (in character) keeps talking about ratings. Here's the thing: a cage match on Impact might draw in some people. However, giving them an hour's notice isn't going to help. If someone doesn't watch the first 20 minutes of the show for whatever reason, they might not watch the rest because nothing has been established to tell them something is coming. Tell them there's a major match coming a week beforehand and they'll remember and think to themselves "Oh yeah RVD vs. Anderson in a cage is tonight. I'll have to check that out." Simple, yet effective.

Another issue, have some more wrestling. I know the talking parts are used to build things, but it's a wrestling show. If people want all drama or comedy or whatever, they'll watch drama or comedy. At the end of the day, a lot of the time the solution to your problems is having good wrestling. It buys you some time and makes things feel better in general. TNA doesn't have that.

A third thing on the ratings (and I'll get back to the other stuff after this) is pick up the pace. Hogan has always had the problem of taking FOREVER to get anywhere in his stories. It's been about six months since 10-10-10 and what is different? Sting is champion and Fourtune is face which they should have been in the first place. Anderson is still a jerk, RVD still hasn't gotten his showdown with Hardy, Hogan and Bischoff still control things. It's pretty clear this storyline is going to go on a lot longer and the fans aren't buying it. However, Hogan and Bischoff keep saying "We need more time!" Well they keep getting it and things keep going down. The big payoff for this isn't coming because by the time it ends, the fans go away. Their high point in the Immortal angle has been a 1.4 a few times. That's what they're suffering all these slowly declining ratings for? Some 1.4s? Really?

And now back to the list.

QUick changes would be an interesting idea. You need to be careful not to just change everything at once because there is a fairly large audience that could leave if you make them mad. I'd say do it more slowly, but I see the argument on the other side.

Spike needs to step in I think. TNA has been on a steady decline in the ratings for awhile now and that's not good, especially given their lead-in stuff.

KB I totally agree with you,gosh another reboot in TNA? How many reboots do they need before they can be taken seriously? They go from being known for the X-Division and AJ Styles in their early days to getting Kurt Angle and pushing Samoa Joe in the Main Event. Then they run back to AJ as Champion for awhile and panic again to bring in Hogan & Bischoff and make it a WCW re-run.

Thats what turns me off about them sometimes even though I do watch TNA as well. Just go with something,stick with it and stop changing things every 5 minutes.

 

[T2KFreeker]

Name Change isn't going to do it. Total Nonstop Action is just fine. They need to get rid of all the overdone and over the top storylines. If you get rid of the name TNA, here we go again, back to square one all over again. Part of what will define TNA is the name. Some people hate it, some people like it. Either way, what fans they have already know the name. Keep it. Get back to basics. TNA doesn't need to be a "Sports Entertainment" company, we already have one of those. Bring back solid wrestling and the rest will fall into place. Crap like the junk going on with Winter and Angelina Love is a great example of what TNA DOESN'T need right now. Trim the fat and run with the core group of wrestlers you have now. The roster is outstanding, for the most part, now lets use them the way they should be used. No more flip flopping heel/face turns, swerves, Networks, "General Manager" style characters interfering with matches, knocked Out Refs, all of these things are old, stale and predictable. I'll give you one, how about having Impact! start with a match every once in a while instead of someone standing in the ring blowing their lips and then someone else and then another, and then more people all come out and blah, blah, blah, the same damn thing over and over again. If I want talk shows, I'll watch Maury. I watch TNA because I want wrestling. I have faith in the roster and hope someone will pull their head out of their ass. I don't watch WWE because I HATE "Sports Entertainment". Three weeks ago Impact had an episode where it was all talk and like maybe three matches. I was thoroughly bored. If they keep with this crap, I will stop watching, which leaves me with nothing since RoH is now off of the air to boot. TNA needs to be a wrestling company. Leave the glitz and "Superstars" crap to Vinny Mac. WWE has it's fans and TNA has it's fans right now. Stop trying to draw WWE's fans to TNA. If you stop that and actually just focus on a strong show and good use of the roster, you might just lure them over without trying.

 

[An Angry Blonde]

I believe there are three/four main things TNA needs to do in order to grow...

#1:Act like the best and only Wrestling company in the worldAnd what I mean by this is that if your employes don't believe that they are working for the best, 9 times out of 10 then won't give it their all. They also need to stop mentionning the WWE on air and creating obvious rip offs( stings return promo:3-11-11 I think it was). If they act like the best, then maybe their wrestlers will give it their all to preform in front of the crowd. I believe this may atlest help improvement and growth.

#2: Ditch the WORTHLESS old guys and focus on TNA home grown talentIts obvious that Hulk Hogan ain't gainning much attention, and lets face it if Hogan can't draw well, no one will. So instead of spending your money paying the probably lagre amount of cash on hogan and some of the other old guys that are wasting TNA's precious time, and put the main focus on the AJ stlye's, The Beer Money's, etc. who are TNA orginals, and put some focus on the Sting's, The RVD's, and The Hardy's.

#3:Go on the road moreDo it,say once a month at first, and if buisnness starts to pick up, do it every couple weeks. A crowd is one of the few things that make a match or moment EPIC or SHIT. The better the crowd reaction, and the louder, the better. Plus this will also help give their wrestlers' more confindice in believing TNA is the real deal.

#4: Simplier storylines and more Realistic matches
People this day and age are going to have a hard time believeing a guy getting hit a couple dozen times and not showing any pain, or being hit with Janice(The weapon Abyss was carring awhile back) and not being out for atleast three to four months atleast.And complex isn't always better, so they should use with simple and easy to understand feuds/storylines that slowly escalate to being more complex. Also don't leave in-complete storylines, if you realise that it is a dumb idea, kill it off, don't just ignore.

Thats all I can think off right now, and since most of the other main reasons have been covered I see no point in re-posting them.And this is MY opinion, so don't give me shit for what I BELIEVE. Those were things that I thought might help TNA het out of this down hill slope they are heading down. If I come up with more ideas, I will surly add them to my list.

Also they shouldn't just have ONLY wrestling because that will almost gurantee that they will NOT survive. Ditch the parasites and keep those worth the money, and improve from there. Now I'm not saying to be a SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT like company, but with out storylines, the actual matches will just seem kind of a waste since they seem like they are fighting for no reason.

 

[Greydon]

You know what could place TNA apart from WWE. they had it years ago, IT was called the NWA. That gave them credibility. I was sad to see that go, but after the split they were doing well.

IMO, I think they should do more with what they have. Yeah I know, they can't push everyone. But there is something in business, "In order to make money, you need to spend money." Bringing in guys who at this time, if they were in WWE would have been released won't continue to work for the long run. Unlike WCW, they can't bring in a wrestler the next night. (Rick Rude DX and NWO) They have to wait 90 days, and unless that wrestler owns the name, they won't be able to be called what they were in WWE.

Honestly, if they want to try and be more wrestling. Use X-plosion or get another show, and separate the two entities. Like an x-division focused brand and the iMPACT brand. Also, they need to get out of Universal studios, I know they are doing it recently with the North Carolina impacts and PPV's but permanently get out of there. That would be the BEST thing they can do to "Rebrand".

 

[Mexican Mark Henry]

I like changes. Hopefully TNA will entertain me this time.

As you guys said, TNA has horrible booking. It is either never watch it or get into it. I only watch TNA like... 7 times a year... so if this one sucks, then I'm never watching it again.

I have nothing to do on Thursdays anyway.

 

[SpecialFNK]

I know 2 things that would make TNA 100% better guaranteed. better booking/writing and having Impact on the road in bigger arenas. you create more fans by having the product on the road where they can come and watch it first hand.
I do think they need more in ring wrestling than they have had, but I really hope they do not go to almost all wresting. IMO that would kill TNA and push it off of TELEVISION.

 

[Fenris]

I think it's a smart move and the right time. WWE just made known their intentions to fully break from the pro 'rasslin and become more Hollywood, WWE's roster just got punked the last month by The Rocks return. They're largely going with this wholesome clean cut look or hip hop VH1 look, they now seem to almost exclusively be recruiting talent to the roster via reality shows and they're in the Entertainment biz.

Now is the time for TNA to rebrand itself. But they need to do it right. None of this "WWE is this and were not." No no no, they need to act like WWE doesn't exist in their industry anymore. No more mentions of it, no more shots at it. TNA should rebrand themselves as the last major promotion standing in the 'rasslin biz and act like it. As Heyman would say, accentuate the positives. Nows the time to feature more X Division, bring in the fresh new faces with WRESTLING gimmicks and looks. Highlight an awesome tag division. Highlight Athletic knockouts who can throw down. Take the guys who can work the mic, get a few more and feature their promos above the guys who can't cut promos. Sign WWE "Entertainers" sparingly and only if they can work good matches or contribute something different. Bring back managers.

NOW is the time to do what they were trying to do for years only cranked up a few notches. It wasn't time yet and didn't work largely because it's hard to go up against a promotion that had Jericho, Benoit, Guerrero, Triple H, Batista, Angle, Edge, Christian ect ect ect on pure wrestling. Fans at the time could get that from the WWE. Now though? Now is the time to rebrand it and push it. Not as the only attraction but as part of the TNA package.

If they take the whole WWE doesn't exist mindset, ignores and distances from that completely and steps up as a pro wrestling standard bearer I think this could be GREAT.

 

[CaptainZaltan]

A name change couldn't hurt. Anything is better than a bad pun. But at the same time, it's only an aesthetic change, and not an actual fix for TNA's problems. After trying just about everything over the past few years without gaining much ground (including adding some of the biggest names in pro wrestling history, and changing timeslots temporarily), it should be blatantly obvious to the powers behind TNA that the main problem lies with management/creative, or the lack thereof. What else haven't they tried at this point? And just where is the accountability in TNA? There's no excuse for making a junkie your world champion. There's no excuse for putting that junkie in the ring with a legend like Sting and risking his safety by doing so. There's no excuse for having your producers (or whatever Hogan/Bischoff's roles are) sign their over-the-hill friends to contracts while releasing talented and dedicated performers, especially when few of them manages to last a year. There's no excuse for your main heel faction's best wrestler being Matt Freakin Hardy. There's no excuse for having your companies creative direction bashed by every online columnist, critic, and pro-wrestler with a twitter account week after week after week.

Obviously, TNA isn't all bad; I'm sure many can (and oh, they certainly will) name plenty about the show that is working for them. The roster is incredibly talented, for one. The problem is, the company is horribly inconsistent, and is noticeably perceived as second rate by the majority of fans. And that can't entirely (or even mostly) be attributed to a bad name.

 

[Aotearoa (Bushwacker)]

My biggest issue with Total Non-stop Action wrestling is that it is not total non stop action. Half the show is talking, I want action I want total non-stop action. To me this is false advertising really, LOL. Yeah I say change the name.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

My biggest issue with Total Non-stop Action wrestling is that it is not total non stop action. Half the show is talking, I want action I want total non-stop action. To me this is false advertising really, LOL. Yeah I say change the name.

I don't mean to get too technical and picky about it, but talking is an "action", so it lives up to its name

And I would like to see a new name. Something wrestling-y, but only if it will herald the coming of a new era for TNA. Just a name change and no other change is meaningless.

I wonder what they could name it ...

This should've been in the spam section. So ... many ... jokes ...

 

[AngryCenaFan]

Vince Russo is employed by TNA
is this not a surprise?

They shoulda fired him and brought in Heyman when they had the chance. Dixie is a mark and nothing more.

 

[Grishnak]

1. The Name - I don't care what people say, to 99.9% of the world, TNA stand for Tit's and Ass. You can't argue that. They need to change their name.

This is true. Think about the casual wrestling fan. They only know the big 2, WWE and WCW. Not everyone knows that TNA is a wrestling company. When the average person (not necessarily a wrestling fan) hears WWE/F, they think pro wrestling. But when the average person hears TNA, they think Tit's N' Ass.

A name change would help reinvent them.

 

[SpecialFNK]

I have to admit I get a little tired of hearing about Paul Heyman. there's no guarantee he would have did any better than Hogan or Bischoff. which one of these 2 had more success in the past? Bischoff. last I checked ECW went out of business just like WCW did. I don't know the reason ECW finished because I never watched it, but the reason WCW finished wasn't really the product. regardless of what was going on with the product, it was the AOL/Time Warner merge that killed WCW.

I also have to admit I'm not surprised to see wrestling fans on the internet want to see more WRESTLING. general wrestling fans probably don't really take the time to come on wrestling message boards to contribute. I consider myself a general wrestling fan. I want to be entertained when I watch TNA on TELEVISION the same I do when I watch any other show on during prime time. IF TNA went with a lot of wrestling and dropped the soap opera type stuff, I would probably find that boring and change the channel. I bet there are a lot more general wrestling fans than there are actual wrestling fans.

the booking/writing right now is borderline terrible. it takes WAY too long to finish a feud. how long have Jarrett/Angle and Pope/Joe been going on? way too F'n long! a feud should go no longer than 2 PPV, maybe occasionally 3 based on what's happening. but a PPV is where you are supposed to finish the feud that has been taking place during the weeks on Impact.

it says this in the article.. "aimed at giving TNA's product a recognizable identity". if you dropped a lot of the older well known wrestlers, they wouldn't be recognizable, regardless of the talent level.

another one of the problems in TNA is getting NEW viewers. what are they doing to get them? doesn't seem like much. you're not going to grow if your not doing much to bring in new viewers.

I think it's unfortunate that there could be a lot of WWE fans out there that don't want to watch TNA because they see TNA as the competition. it's like a rivalry where your either going to watch one or the other, and since WWE has been around for so much longer and much more established they are the promotion that people want to watch. TNA really does need to completely forget WWE exists. don't give WWE fans a reason not to watch TNA by continuing to be negative about WWE.

the talent is there in TNA, they just need to be smarter about what they do with it.

 

[Calderownz]

Some changes could be made and they could be a good thing. However, it really boils down to sticking with what works and phasing out the stuff that simply isn't connecting.

Old stars and the "taking over the company" stuff simply isn't working. The Network has it's moments, but it's just a version of the anonymous Raw GM stuff. They need to distance themselves from the WWE and that image and just focus on the stuff they have going for them.

They have better in-ring stuff. They have younger stars that have a more established connection with the fan. They have more freedom with what they can push. They are more adult-oriented. They are more athletic in nature. With the proper changes in booking, this alone is enough to get the company over.

The name, the ring are not the problems. You just have to get it all working on all cylinders.

 

[Chrome]

Eric Bischoff is in control for the most part as executive producer right? he has said that they need a second show.. maybe on another network (I remember in an interview he was saying that part of the reason WWE was popular was that theyw ere on different networks for different shows and that it helped create an awareness for the product)

In TNA's case.. its hard to jump to another network with TNA as the name.. most networks don't want to brand TNA say on FOX.. (as I hear he has a good relationship with)

I think the greater part of this is that he is probably trying to rebrand it something better to sell executives from other networks on.. (hence why they don't say SPIKE when they refer to the network as the network on TV as if they get a second TV deal it would put a wrench on it)

Personally I think the name change is simply baby steps for something bigger.. that is currently a road block for them. the intials T-N-A.

 

[rondiesel2005]

I know TNA were trying to say that the internet fans don't know anything about wrestling or they try to please the internet fans. I am sure anybody on here can help write a better wrestling script for TNA better than those people in TNA like Vince Russo. All we hear in TNA, if something happens they say" we not responsible for that" Then who is responsible for what happens in the ring and everything else?

Paul Heyman would have been a good choice but what he wanted was a bunch of young stars that are ready to go and be able to carry the couple for the next couple years because right now, we still got the same guys that are wrestling in TNA who are in their 30s, and we have yet to seen a new rising star in TNA. At the same time i don't think he wants to be in the middle with Russo, Hogan and Bischoff with their egos so large that they don't know what's best for the company

The fans including the internet fans who watch the show say they have to make some changes because what they are doing is not working. If the fans are not watching the product that means something is not working. It seems that the product has an obsession with fractions. I think that is one of the reasons why Booker T left TNA because he wanted to be in the ring and wrestle just about everybody in the company, but instead they put him in the main event mafia and maybe it has something to do with the creative team.

Speaking of Creative team, look at the talents they had that weren't on television for nearly a year. For example Rhino, i wonder why he stay so long when he not even being use properly and he was waiting around for creative team to give him something to use. Look at shark boy for example, he even said the same thing in the article on wrestlezone.com because if they don't have any ideas, they want the wrestlers to give them ideas.

Its going to take time for TNA to make some changes because they waited too long to see that they really need to make a change

 

[harrythem]

You know one way that, I think, would help them change? User submitted content.

There are hundreds of people who think they can write better storylines then the TNA booking team so, why not let them have a shot. Have a section on the TNA website which welcomes user submitted content, with the stipulation that the user gets no credit or payment for their work.

Sure, there'd be a load of crap in there but, like they say, give enough monkeys typewriters and they could produce the works of Shakespear.

Hell, it's worth a punt and, even if they don't use the storylines, there might be enough common themes that it'd give TNA an idea of the direction their fans want the company to head, so they can get their on their own.

 

[Chess]

TNA has gotten worse since Hogan has turned up and gotten involved in every storyline he can, yet for me it is still more entertaining than the WWE.

I would not change the name simply because it is now known globally and changing it would mean marketing, which TNA sucks at.

Everyone is going on about Russo booking being so bad. However for the few months before Hogan and Bishoff turned up, when Russo was in total control, TNA was growing and actually putting on entertaining (albiet clusterfuck) shows. Also hasn't Russos booking managed to get viewership of 1.5 - 1.8million viewers from 0 in eight years. I think Hogan and Bishoff should have NO influence on storylines as they always seem to have to be involved. I do not know anyone who tunes in to TNA to watch Hogan or Bischoff cut a shitty promo.

Perhaps someone can name an alternative to Russo for me. Not Heyman as he is not coming. I also do not think Dreamer would bring much. Perhaps Foley and Finlay could work together?

CHANGES:

Anyway for me TNA simply needs to get Impact on the road, yes it costs money but it looks so much better. If not impact atleast every PPV. I would not buy a PPV that is in the same location as the weekly show, it just screams second rate. I actually think TNA may have lost viewers recently by returning to the impact zone after the two shows they had outside of it.

I would get rid of Hogan. He costs too much, is always spouting shit on Twitter like a bitter past it has been. His ego is still showing itself by him having to be on Impact every week in many segments, does he not realise he is no longer of draw? I would keep Bischoff, but only to help with the production of the show, not as an on air talent or part of the writing team.

Finally I would actually put more wrestling on the show. I for one enjoy wrestling more than promos. I understand that stories need to created and played out but the wrestling matches should be longer than 3 minutes. At the moment most wrestling matches on TV last less time than it takes either Hogan or the Undertaker to get to the ring.

Finally TNA needs to get a second show. Xplosion is not a different show it is just Impact bytesized with a 3 minute match normally with EY in it. TNA needs to showcase the X-Division and US Title more and another 2 hour show would really help.

 

[RendarSelin]

TNA definitely needs to put on more changes to improve their product and take advantage of WWE's recent decision to market their brand differently. Whether they call themselves WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment, or whatever, the outside main media will still see them as a wrestling company. So TNA needs some changes.

1.) A complete overhaul of the TNA marketing department. Mark Madden exposed a great flaw in TNA's marketing. For those who don't read the Super Genius's column, Mark Madden had an interview scheduled with James Storm of Beer Money. And because of poor scheduling on TNA's part, James Storm couldn't make the alloted time because TNA marketing had forgotten that the time Mark Madden was told James Storm could be on his show, he was required to be in Orlando for the Impact tapings. This is just piss poor management, piss poor marketing, and extremely rude to a radio host who is going out of his way to help get YOUR product over. Mark Madden explained that despite the fact that James Storm being a guest would cause him to lose ratings, he was willing to do it out of respect for a wrestler he admires. The Super Genius went on to explain that even though he's been very critical of the WWE's product, he has never once had a problem with their marketing department or wrestlers being unable to make interview times because of poor scheduling.

From what I observe, much of TNA's marketing plan relies on their Internet fan base to simply spread the word and try to bring fans into the product. While Internet fans are passionate and love the business, they still only compromise about 10% of the wrestling fan base. So an expansion of advertising is necessary on TNA's part. They have names that fans recognize: Sting, Jeff Hardy, Kurt Angle, and friggin Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair! Buy advertising on buses, buy billboards, and hell, even hire some college students in local towns to paper WWE events. Get those fans aware of your existance!

2.) After you put your product out there, you need to show the fans your product is the absolute best. Spend some money to put the show on the road. Do advertising and giveaways with local radio stations. Make your product aesthetically appealing, make your show look first rate! While one can consider the Impact Zone a home stadium, it looks a little shabby compared to WWE. And this sends a message that you're not as good.

Along with aesthetic appeal, give wrestling fans what they crave: wrestling. Showcase your tag team division, showcase the high-flying action of the X-Division, the talented Knockout's division, and close the show with your top main eventers like Kurt Angle. Capitalize on the flaws in your opponent's product. Give these fans a show that will not only let them have an enjoyable time, but will have them coming back the next week wanting more!

3.) Continue doing the little things that your opposition isn't. I went to a TNA house show, and had a great time with the fan-friendly atmosphere, the autographs after the show, and the chance to interact with the wrestlers I cheered and booed all night long. WWE doesn't have this fan-friendly environment. TNA can capitalize on this! Show your fans you care about them. Give your fans an experience your opposition just can't. Exploit the fact that you have the ability to be more fan-friendly!

4.) Ease up on the use of blood and violence. WWE and TNA are definitely opposite sides of the extreme spectrum. WWE is terrified of having a drop of blood on their product, while TNA seems to lean way too heavily on blood. In my opinion, it's crippling their product. Blood and extreme measures have a place in wrestling and can do a great part to tell a story and exploit a hatred between wrestlers. But using it to the extreme makes fans numb to its effect.

5.) Finally, market your product to those that are most interested in the wrestling product: 18-24 year old males. Paper the hell out of college campuses, local college hangouts, areas where these types congregate. Hell, a college kid that's drunk on a Thursday night might decide to let some testosterone loose and watch your program if they know it's there.

That's just my opinion on the matter obviously. Much does need to be done, and I'm glad TNA is acknowledging they need a change to continue to exist. Hopefully they get it right.

 

[Fenris]

From what I observe, much of TNA's marketing plan relies on their Internet fan base to simply spread the word and try to bring fans into the product. While Internet fans are passionate and love the business, they still only compromise about 10% of the wrestling fan base. So an expansion of advertising is necessary on TNA's part. They have names that fans recognize: Sting, Jeff Hardy, Kurt Angle, and friggin Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair! Buy advertising on buses, buy billboards, and hell, even hire some college students in local towns to paper WWE events. Get those fans aware of your existance!

Good stuff all around. As a TNA fan I gotta say their marketing SUCKS. There are a million different ways to market a product and yet they barely market it really. Hell when they started they had a PERFECT opportunity to market the hell out of their product and missed. By that I mean NASCAR. You can get a TON of mileage(no pun intended) out of this one alone. NASCAR fans are working class southerners, the same working class type southerner that loved the NWA and WCW. Aside from bringing in a guy like Hermie Sadler go out and sponsor a few young drivers. Get that logo on the side of a car. Heavily sponsor a Jr series car, black with that TNA logo all over it. Have yourself a little TNA stand at each event and send some wrestlers and knockouts out there to sign autographs, take pictures and promote the product!

Same deal with Monster Jam, same kind of people who would be into a 'rasslin product. Sponsor a truck! Do the same promotional stuff at those events. Hot babes, monster trucks and 'rasslin works.

Legends contracts. Yeah WWE does it but so should TNA, even if that legend was a legend before TNA existed. One reason: Merchandising. To the casual wrestling fan, they can walk by an AJ Styles poster or figure, a Beer Money poster and figures ect. They don't know these guys. There's nothing there in the stores telling them why they should care. You sell posters at the Target or the Walmart with Hulk Hogan, Honky Tonk Man, Ric Flair, Kurt Angle ect fans recognize these names. Hey, I know these guys... I don't know these guys but they're featured with these names so they must be equal.

Not just figures and posters, which of course also opens up the Comic Cons(more on that in a minute) and Legends events, but go with energy drinks. Not THAT many people will go out looking for toys or posters to buy, but energy drinks are big business. Gas stations, grocery stores, stores like Targets, vending machines, you can get(and market) energy drinks everywhere. Now you have Flairs likeness on a can, Hogans on a can, Team 3D's on a can.... Then your young guys on some other cans. Same principle. I know these guys here, but these guys must be equals and cool too. Maybe i'll tune in and see what they're doing.

Back to the comic cons. RVD loves doing 'em and goes over big at 'em. Comic book collectors are yesterdays wrestling fan. Get RVD with his title belt, his merchandise and a TNA shirt out at any and all of 'em. Hook up with a GOOD writer and GOOD artist and create an NC17 rated Abyss comic book. Bring in another talent or bring back another talent you can create an edgy comic out of. Market that shit, get the comic guys into the TNA product.

The use of Celebs. IMO, they're doing it all wrong. Hiring Jwoww to show up for an angle? Waste of time. Paying Jwoww to sport a TNA wrestling t-shirt on Jersey Shore? Money well spent. The horny little teenagers watching that show and jerking off to all the silicone will hop online and google TNA Wrestling to see what it has to do with Jwoww. They'll stumble across even hotter bit breasted females and tune in. Do the same with other celebs. Like this whole Twitter bullshit but wtf do I know? I dunno, it makes more sense to me to see who has huge followings then slip them paydays to promote the product. Take the NFL guys for existence, give them a check, a tweet about TNA Impact and have them tweet it to their thousands of followers that they dig the product and loved so and so match.

That reminds me of Bart Scott and not merchandising that shit. By that I mean a TNA Bart Scott football jersey and figure. Makes no sense to pay these celebs and athletes and not try to make profit off of it.

Anyways one last idea would be to do some MMA/TNA crossover. Again, yesterdays Attitude Era fans are todays UFC fans. They missed the boat with Bobby Lashley. They should IMO bring him back, bring Batista in and do some crossover. WWE's talent jobs to Hollywood celebs, OUR talent kicks the shit out of MMA fighters. You could even do an ECW type invasion of UFC at a PPV, have your young talent sitting front row in TNA wrestling merchandise or scratch Dana Whites dollar sign to make a Batista/Lesnar crossover feud happen culminating in a UFC PPV fight and maybe a worked TNA match afterwards.

Whatever, the point is there are millions of ways to promote the product, TNA just needs to DO it. Be counterculture, be proud of being counterculture. Let the WWE be entertainment and hollywood. Be TNA, working class down and dirty 'rasslin. Market yourself as THE product for the impure, unclean non-hollywood America.

 

[Weems2k]

If they want to do a NWO style story have some sort of partnership with ROH. Have ROH invade TNA and start having regular TNA guys at ROH events. If you do that perhaps ROH could get a TV deal with Spike on a seperate night from TNA. Imagine the top ROH guys invading like Hall and Nash and confront Anderson/Sting and say we will show you wrestling.

Right, because even more people know about ROH. The reason why the NWO was, in my opinion the best angle ever, is that for one, the mainstream fan new who Hall, Nash, and Hogan were.

There weren't these IWC knob focks typing on a keyboard all day posting spoilers, rumors, etc about everyone either.

Each week on Nitro back then, you never really knew what was comming, or who would show up. That can't be done today. You can pretty much say that the Internet Smarks killed Pro Wrestling.

 

[X]

Right, because even more people know about ROH. The reason why the NWO was, in my opinion the best angle ever, is that for one, the mainstream fan new who Hall, Nash, and Hogan were.

There weren't these IWC knob focks typing on a keyboard all day posting spoilers, rumors, etc about everyone either.

Each week on Nitro back then, you never really knew what was comming, or who would show up. That can't be done today. You can pretty much say that the Internet Smarks killed Pro Wrestling.

Who the fuck do you think watches TNA? Mostly smarks. TNA isn't even 1/4 as big of a company as WCW was in the mid 90s, they don't have even a fraction of the same size audience or the same "mainstream" fans. They're fanbase is still largely "smarks". They sure as fuck would know what ROH is and who wrestles there, especially considering TNA built their entire fucking existence on stealing ROH's stars one by one. For fucks sake, half of their roster are ex-ROH guys with guys like AJ Styles and Samoa Joe being cornerstones of their company, both being guys who built their name in ROH, ESPECIALLY Samoa Joe. If Davey Richards showed up on TNA TV, the fans would know who he is. Same with Chris Hero or El Generico.


I hate how TNA fans act like TNA isn't a company built on indy wrestling with indy talent and SMARK FANS. Without those same smarks you just shit on, TNA doesn't even fucking exist right now.

 

[Weems2k]

And I'm sure you're one of them smarks. Prolly the same smark that blows their load all over Daniel Bryan each night.

Back to point, if the point of rebranding is to get a more casual fan to watch TNA, bringing in a bunch of indy guys only a few may have heard of to invade TNA isn't going to do it.

 

[Remix]

Who the fuck do you think watches TNA? Mostly smarks. TNA isn't even 1/4 as big of a company as WCW was in the mid 90s, they don't have even a fraction of the same size audience or the same "mainstream" fans. Their fanbase is still largely "smarks". They sure as fuck would know what ROH is and who wrestles there, especially considering TNA built their entire fucking existence on stealing ROH's stars one by one. For fucks sake, half of their roster are ex-ROH guys with guys like AJ Styles and Samoa Joe being cornerstones of their company, both being guys who built their name in ROH, ESPECIALLY Samoa Joe. If Davey Richards showed up on TNA TV, the fans would know who he is. Same with Chris Hero or El Generico.

And ROH isn't 1/4th as popular as TNA. X, I'm sure that many ROH fans watch TNA because, as you say the half of the roster that doesn't come from WWE/WCW came from there. But that doesn't mean that the indoe fans make up the majority of the audience. ROH iPPVs are lucky to get 1,000 buys. TNA doesn't release its numbers but I'd be shocked if they weren't ten or more times greater than that.

iMPACT is watched by over a million people every week. ROH on HDnet wasn't even in enough homes to get a nielson rating. What makes you think that the majority of those million US fans watch ROH? If they do, why the hell aren't they buying the iPPVs? And hell, if ROH has over half a million fans in the US alone, how the hell isn't it turning a profit? It's not like they rent out particularly high rent venues or pay their tallent thousands of dollars a night or anything.

As for the change in direction of TNA, it can't be a bad thing at the moment. The company needs some form of change in direction. Specifically the creative team needs to be changed up so that a different style of wrestling show can be produced. i.e. one that isn't a multi car pileup and the feuds and shows make some sort of sence.

 

[X]

And ROH isn't 1/4th as popular as TNA.

Bullshit. They regularly draw between 1000-2500 fans to their big shows, which is A) much larger than the Impact Zone, and B) Just as large as alot of TNA's PPV and house show attendances. Fuck ROH has outdrawn TNA when they've gone head to head in the same city before. TNA is slightly larger, yes, but not by nearly as large of a margin as you and others seem to think.

X, I'm sure that many ROH fans watch TNA because, as you say the half of the roster that doesn't come from WWE/WCW came from there. But that doesn't mean that the indoe fans make up the majority of the audience. ROH iPPVs are lucky to get 1,000 buys. TNA doesn't release its numbers but I'd be shocked if they weren't ten or more times greater than that.

LOL you think TNA get's 10,000 buys per PPV? No way man, not with the HORRID advertising and hyping they do for their PPVs, the usually shit cards they provide, and the terrible numbers they've been doing for PPVs regularly for the last few years.

But again, I point you to attendance. TNA is lucky to draw maybe one or two thousand more people to their shows than ROH regularly does. Not exactly a world of difference, is it? Especially when you consider the massive amount of free tickets TNA gives out.

iMPACT is watched by over a million people every week. ROH on HDnet wasn't even in enough homes to get a nielson rating. What makes you think that the majority of those million US fans watch ROH? If they do, why the hell aren't they buying the iPPVs? And hell, if ROH has over half a million fans in the US alone, how the hell isn't it turning a profit? It's not like they rent out particularly high rent venues or pay their tallent thousands of dollars a night or anything.

Few things.

1) Never said shit about TNA bringing in ROH names or doing an invasion angle. I didn't bring that idea up. All I did was address someone who was acting like the TNA and ROH fanbases are vastly different, which they aren't, at all. Same demographic, same hardcore wrestling fans, same smarks who chant "Fire Russo!" all the time. I didn't say shit about bringing in ROH names.

2) ROH most certainly is turning a profit. I don't know what you're basing the belief that they aren't on. They have a low overhead and have been turning a profit pretty much every year since 2004. Which, if you're counting, is longer than TNA has been turning a profit by the way.