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

[The Prodigal Anti-Lemming]

the 6 sided ring had to go, it was stupid to begin with. the ONLY reason to even have a 6 sided ring was just to be different than the WWE and hope to draw in new fans that way. professional wrestling has always been done in a 4 sided ring.

so any former WWE wrestlers in TNA are WWE scraps? this is just a moronic statement. I guess Anderson and Mickie James are scraps? I guess Steve Austin was just a WCW scrap then? because he started with WCW before he went to WWE. pretty much every wrestler does not start with a big company. there have been and currently are plenty of WWE wrestlers who got their start somewhere else.

When did I state that it was wrong for wrestlers to federation hop? It’s one thing for wrestlers to jump ship, it’s entirely another thing altogether for a bureaucrat who pretends he knows anything about wrestling talent to actively lure wrestlers that detract from the overall foundation of what TNA originally set out to be and furthermore, drive actual talented wrestlers to ply their trade elsewhere so that they can maybe be implemented in a manner that is more reflective of their individual talents.

Yes, the 6-sided ring was different from WWE...which is exactly why is should not have been scrapped. While I acknowledge that the quality of a wrestling match has nothing whatsoever to do with the number of sides in the ring, a 6-sided ring symbolized everything that made TNA different from WWE. And that is what TNA has to do: Stand out. You don't beat the competition by being exactly the same as the competition, you beat it by offering something different, something that the competition does not have. The six-sided ring was never going to make TNA number one, and that was never the reason it was established. It was established to contribute to TNA's identity.

I'm not saying that all of the former WWE acquisitions to come into TNA are crap. But if you think TNA has been spending its money to get the right WWE talent, then clearly you haven't been paying attention. A good acquisition here and there (Mickie James, Pope) does not make up for all the useless baggage TNA has accumulated since Bischoff "took over."

One of the "scraps" to which I am referring is Anderson. Horrible worker, and I don't care how over he is. The guy couldn't produce a quality match if he had Kurt Angle's brain. Jeff Hardy....don't get me started on him. TNA has turned his drug dependencies into a friggin' gimmick, and he's an overrated spot monkey to boot. Rob Van Dam is a bit better, but he became lazy during his WWE term, and handing him the TNA title at the expense of AJ Styles---and when a certain wrestler named Samoa Joe hasn't held the championship since 2008---was bogus. Matt Hardy? Are you kidding me? Lazy and fat. You'll also notice that Orlando Jordan, The Nasty Boys and Jimmy Hart were in TNA over the last year. Are they honestly, in your opinion, examples of fine, exceptional talent?

Perhaps if TNA was less driven towards signing whatever talentless WWE bum becomes available at a given time, the company would still have Daniels and Consequences Creed on the roster. And just now, I hear about Jay Lethal maybe leaving? Utterly unconscionable TNA. Give me ten Daniels' and five Jay Lethals over one Jeff Hardy, any day.

In calling WWE sendoffs "scraps," I obviously was not making a general term about all wrestlers that federation-hop. If TNA wants to pick up WWE talent, fine. My argument is that they could show better judgement (and maybe mix it up by pursuing indy and international stars as well). And TNA could do that in trying to woo some of the more "unsung" stars of the WWE roster. I'm talking about Alberto Del Rio. I'm talking about Jack Swagger. I'm talking about Wade Barrett. These guys won't come cheap, but these are wrestlers that WWE has put a lot of faith in carrying the company into the future. Seizing them now---and making good use of them---would be employing a WWE tactic against it.

I hate WWE. I hate their guts. But, I'll give them one thing, they've always been wise in knowing which talents to pursue and when to pursue them. In 1995, when they nabbed Austin, it was a brilliant maneuver because he had not been utilized properly by WCW. It was no-lose. Here was an exceptional prospect WWE (or WWF, as it was then) could just take, build up, and watch flourish, then criticize the competition to being blinded to the man's talent. And that is what TNA needs to do.

Why was WCW blinded to Austin's talent? Because they were distracted in obtaining every piece of dilapitated middle-aged wrestler out there. Doing this drove out all of the talented stars (who naturally went to the WWF) and left WCW saddled with overpriced useless dross that ended up strangling the company. TNA is doing very much the same thing as it stands right now.

As it stands right now, TNA is starting to smell like a dead animal. The Hardys, Andersons, Van Dams, etc are the flies that are being attracted to the rotting, stinking corpse.

 

[SpecialFNK]

I know I'm going to get negative comments on this, but whatever. it wouldn't matter if Mr Anderson was bad at wrestling, he would still be championship contender. you don't need to be a good wrestler to be great. Hulk Hogan was not someone who would have been considered a good wrestler, but he is a wrestling icon. there is a lot more that goes into making a wrestler great that how he can perform in the ring, especially when your company goal is ratings and your going to be appealing to more general wrestling fans on TV than you are actual wrestling fans. it's like watching a movie/TV show for the acting ability. you don't have to be great at acting to be a top actor/actress.

the 6 sided ring was such garbage. if you just want to be different, why stop at a 6 sided ring. TNA could do lot of things just to be different. mud wrestling, knockouts have to wrestle in jello/chocolate/whip cream/topless(RATINGS!), those fat suit sumo wrestling outfits, whatever. wresting is 4 sides to a ring. you don't need to change the playing field. there are many different sports leagues that play the same type of sport but all on the same type of field for whatever their sport is. if TNA just wanted to be different, they would never ever get to be serious competition to WWE. they would be more like a circus side show.

speaking of circus side show, IMO that's what Kong is. she's a freak. she can have short term success because of her size, but she's not someone who should maintain that. when you are also considering ratings, why would guys want to watch this huge sonamabitch? I think it would be different if a male wrestler had that type of look because there are so many more male competitors. who knows, maybe Kong actually is a man. wouldn't surprise me. certainly one of the most ugliest things I have ever seen.

 

[PowerHouse]

TNA needs to be a pure wrestling promotion... People love ROH and these Indy promotions that put on these great matches. TNA needs to bring that to TV on a weekly basis on a major network like Spike TV. You can have your promo time between the first and second hour right in the middle there. Other than that just give the people some awesome matches to watch they have the talent. TNA could be the next ECW in the sense of putting on fantastic matches and going against the grain of what is being done by the machine that is WWE. Copying WWE is not going to get the ahead or even close to WWE. They need seperate themselves from WWE totally. No more mentioning WWE or even refrencing WWE, that is making them look desperate for ratings. They need to forget WWE even exists.

 

[The Prodigal Anti-Lemming]

I know I'm going to get negative comments on this, but whatever. it wouldn't matter if Mr Anderson was bad at wrestling, he would still be championship contender. you don't need to be a good wrestler to be great. Hulk Hogan was not someone who would have been considered a good wrestler, but he is a wrestling icon. there is a lot more that goes into making a wrestler great that how he can perform in the ring, especially when your company goal is ratings and your going to be appealing to more general wrestling fans on TV than you are actual wrestling fans. it's like watching a movie/TV show for the acting ability. you don't have to be great at acting to be a top actor/actress.

the 6 sided ring was such garbage. if you just want to be different, why stop at a 6 sided ring. TNA could do lot of things just to be different. mud wrestling, knockouts have to wrestle in jello/chocolate/whip cream/topless(RATINGS!), those fat suit sumo wrestling outfits, whatever. wresting is 4 sides to a ring. you don't need to change the playing field. there are many different sports leagues that play the same type of sport but all on the same type of field for whatever their sport is. if TNA just wanted to be different, they would never ever get to be serious competition to WWE. they would be more like a circus side show.

speaking of circus side show, IMO that's what Kong is. she's a freak. she can have short term success because of her size, but she's not someone who should maintain that. when you are also considering ratings, why would guys want to watch this huge sonamabitch? I think it would be different if a male wrestler had that type of look because there are so many more male competitors. who knows, maybe Kong actually is a man. wouldn't surprise me. certainly one of the most ugliest things I have ever seen.

Please don't tell me you're one of those people who figure, "all women must have these measurements and be this hot to wrestle." Please. Get your butt on a couch and watch some Dynamite Kansai vs Aja Kong before you dismiss Kong as a circus sideshow because of her size. American women wrestling needed a monster heel, and that is what it got in Kong. She played to her strengths well, had some great matches with Gail Kim, and was promoted as a polar opposite of the no-talent cutesy cheesecake that has permeated WWE rings for years and of late has spread into TNA.

As far as Anderson is concerned, comparing him to Hulk Hogan is like comparing gravel to gold, considering Anderson has drawn the equivalent of gravel since coming to TNA. Lousy in-ring skills are fine when you're a proven draw like Hogan or Rock, but how many times did Anderson sell out Madison Square Garden?

Harken back to a time when TNA had great wrestling...they didn't draw, but at least had great wrestling, something compelling to see, something worth my time. Now TNA is bogged down with WWE castoffs like Anderson and Hardy and promotes shows that have talking, bad booking, lame angles, little wrestling...and still don't draw, Anderson and Hardy be damned. In 2009, we were getting PPV main events involving Styles and Daniels and mid card matches pitting Kurt Angle against Desmond Wolfe. Nowadays, the only thing compelling about TNA is tuning into to find out whether Anderson's latest catastrophic head injury will prompt his retirement, or whether Hardy's next drug binge will be his last ever.

As it relates to the six-sided ring, the flaw in your logic is that you're comparing it to ridiculous novelties and bad booking decisions. The 6-sided ring was far from that. Despite its number of sides, it was, at its heart, just a wrestling ring. They simply set it up and let the wrestlers wrestle in it, with maybe the odd reference to the ring itself and no storylines pertaining to it. The 6-sided ring was not a gimmick. It was a very well accepted part of TNA's identity. It enbiggened passionate support from TNA's audience, many of whom chanted "We want six sides" on the day it was banished.

You seem to be implying that TNA must stride to make itself better than WWE by attempting to recreate WWE's atmosphere. You say that in spite of the fact that this is all Bischoff has done since entering the company, and it is only making things worse. The only way TNA can succeed is by being different from WWE. They cannot succeed by offering the same garbage because inevitably, people come to view what TNA is doing as second rate to WWE.

 

[SpecialFNK]

Please don't tell me you're one of those people who figure, "all women must have these measurements and be this hot to wrestle." Please. Get your butt on a couch and watch some Dynamite Kansai vs Aja Kong before you dismiss Kong as a circus sideshow because of her size. American women wrestling needed a monster heel, and that is what it got in Kong. She played to her strengths well, had some great matches with Gail Kim, and was promoted as a polar opposite of the no-talent cutesy cheesecake that has permeated WWE rings for years and of late has spread into TNA.

As far as Anderson is concerned, comparing him to Hulk Hogan is like comparing gravel to gold, considering Anderson has drawn the equivalent of gravel since coming to TNA. Lousy in-ring skills are fine when you're a proven draw like Hogan or Rock, but how many times did Anderson sell out Madison Square Garden?

Harken back to a time when TNA had great wrestling...they didn't draw, but at least had great wrestling, something compelling to see, something worth my time. Now TNA is bogged down with WWE castoffs like Anderson and Hardy and promotes shows that have talking, bad booking, lame angles, little wrestling...and still don't draw, Anderson and Hardy be damned. In 2009, we were getting PPV main events involving Styles and Daniels and mid card matches pitting Kurt Angle against Desmond Wolfe. Nowadays, the only thing compelling about TNA is tuning into to find out whether Anderson's latest catastrophic head injury will prompt his retirement, or whether Hardy's next drug binge will be his last ever.

As it relates to the six-sided ring, the flaw in your logic is that you're comparing it to ridiculous novelties and bad booking decisions. The 6-sided ring was far from that. Despite its number of sides, it was, at its heart, just a wrestling ring. They simply set it up and let the wrestlers wrestle in it, with maybe the odd reference to the ring itself and no storylines pertaining to it. The 6-sided ring was not a gimmick. It was a very well accepted part of TNA's identity. It enbiggened passionate support from TNA's audience, many of whom chanted "We want six sides" on the day it was banished.

You seem to be implying that TNA must stride to make itself better than WWE by attempting to recreate WWE's atmosphere. You say that in spite of the fact that this is all Bischoff has done since entering the company, and it is only making things worse. The only way TNA can succeed is by being different from WWE. They cannot succeed by offering the same garbage because inevitably, people come to view what TNA is doing as second rate to WWE.

I don't watch women's wrestling for their wrestling ability. I don't care at all if they are terrible at wrestling. they are on TV for one reason, and it's not how they wrestle. now I'm sure if they need to have some wrestling ability, otherwise Lacey would still be around.

I wasn't comparing Anderson directly to Hogan. I was just using Hogan as an example of someone who was a complete product and not just someone who was a good wrestler.

the booking/writing in TNA really isn't that good. I agree there should be some more wrestling during the television show, but it is still a television show. I think if they had 80-90% wrestling that TNA wouldn't last long. what channel/network is RHO on? there are a lot more general wresting fans that want to watch an entertaining television show with wrestling.
in the end the most important thing to remember is TNA Impact is a television show. what doe most viewers want to watch? TNA really doesn't do a good job of advertising. I have never seen a TNA commercial on another network. I don't watch many other programs on Spike, but when I have I have never seen a TNA commercial then either. TNA should be having more commercials. TNA should also get out of the Impact zone and travel around to different cities. that would help create more new viewers.

 

[The Prodigal Anti-Lemming]

I don't watch women's wrestling for their wrestling ability. I don't care at all if they are terrible at wrestling. they are on TV for one reason, and it's not how they wrestle. now I'm sure if they need to have some wrestling ability, otherwise Lacey would still be around.

I wasn't comparing Anderson directly to Hogan. I was just using Hogan as an example of someone who was a complete product and not just someone who was a good wrestler.

the booking/writing in TNA really isn't that good. I agree there should be some more wrestling during the television show, but it is still a television show. I think if they had 80-90% wrestling that TNA wouldn't last long. what channel/network is RHO on? there are a lot more general wresting fans that want to watch an entertaining television show with wrestling.
in the end the most important thing to remember is TNA Impact is a television show. what doe most viewers want to watch? TNA really doesn't do a good job of advertising. I have never seen a TNA commercial on another network. I don't watch many other programs on Spike, but when I have I have never seen a TNA commercial then either. TNA should be having more commercials. TNA should also get out of the Impact zone and travel around to different cities. that would help create more new viewers.

When I say there should be more wrestling, I'm not suggesting that TNA go all ROH. Pure wrestling is a niche interest. As far as Impact, it's not Impact that I'm specifically complaining about, but rather the PPVs. Televised wrestling, whether it be WWE or TNA, just isn't what it used to be, and that will never change. As far as TNA's pay-per-views go, there does need to be more wrestling. The main problem with the PPVs right now is the booking. WWE alumnus harbor most of the top spots, while the AJ Styles and Samoa Joes of TNA too often get put in matches that aren't worth a damn if they're included in a PPV at all.

You're right that TNA needs to get off its butt and advertise better. I don't entirely agree with the moving around from city to city deal of your argument, as this is a huge expedenture that only hastened the demise of the old NWA and AWA, and the house show business ain't what it used be either. What TNA needs to do to succeed is to completely reevaluate four things: the booking process, who is being brought into the company, who is being let go, and the quality of the PPV events themselves.

TNA had some really good momentum going in late-2009, and the frustrating thing about it was that they seemed too anxious to take those really solid PPVs and expect the world. When their fortunes weren't really turned around overnight, the company seemed to go into immediate panic mode. What TNA needs to do is choose a direction (a good direction) and stay with it. As gains in the world of successful promoting are obtained via tiny steps and not by leaps and bounds, TNA may have to wait awhile to see dividends. But I would harbor a guess that if TNA had stuck to its guns in October '09 and recognized the part of what it was doing right, the company might be a whole lot better off than it is today.

As far as stance on women's wrestling, it's your prerogative if you feel that way, but if I want to see smut, I'll do an online search of lesbian porn. As a purist, I find it just as offensive when wrestling promotions pass a female wrestler off as mere eye candy as I do when lazy or incompetant male wrestlers are shoved down our collective throats.

In general, TNA needs to implement what was working two years ago, abolish what was not or is not working and fire Bischoff.

 

[AngryCenaFan]

You'd think TNA would learn their lesson after the M.E.M debacle and not start storylines until they have everything in place and ready to go.

Oh wait look whos' running that company
-A mark for a president who believes all of Russos trash
-Hulk Hogan coming and stealing checks
-The Red Rooster
-Eric Bischoff, the only one thats done anything worthwhile on the management side

Remember Dixie is the idiot who wanted to do that terrible ECW re-union show, with all the washed up ECW hasbeens, who did more damage to wrestling than anything, yes even Chris Benoit.

That hardcore trash ruined wrestling. Now guys try and kill each other for real, lol.

 

[Kharma Bites]

that hardcore trash may of ruined wrestling for you, but dont assume to imply it ruined it for us all. Im a big fan of hardcore wrestling wherever it has been. be it in the original ECW,TNA or WWE

the ECW reunion was a good idea on paper, but the execution fell flat when they kept alot of the guys around for months and tied them into the main story line(even if i was happy to see some of them again)

russo is not trash, he just doesnt have 100% control on what makes the final cut. same as most of the WWE writers get screwed over by vince. TNA makes alot of mistakes however and so does the WWE, both trying to change their brand names are 2 of the biggest i can think of

 

[Chocolate Thunder]

Bringing in a bunch of washed-up old men, who were never really any good to begin with?

I don't know why anybody expected that ECW thing to turn out any differently than it did.

 

[Kharma Bites]

its called nostalgia something alot of people are willing to pay for, as i said if it was a 1 off thing it would of been good, keeping them around however was what ruined it. i would also not say that none of them were any good, they were good at their niche quite obviously as it was very popular

bit off topic though

 

[Fenris]

TNA doesn't have anything close to the money to compete against the WWE at this point. Turner was a billionaire and gave Eric his pin number to go out and get anything he needed. Plus Turner was running his network at that time and could put Nitro on whenever he wanted.

You missed my point a little bit on saying they COULD compete IF they did what it takes. I'm not talking about spending billions ala Ted Turner. They DON'T need to do that. What they need to do is spend the money they have smartly. The example I used in that post was Randy Orton. Instead of signing any ex WWE name such as RVD, Team 3D, Dreamer, Hardy's ect to larger contracts the smart money would have been to bundle THAT money and adding some more and offering Orton a contract last year before he signed a 10 year extension with the WWE.

One method is just throwing money out the window, the other is a smart investment. They're already pulling a WCW on a lesser budget by throwing money at some of the talent they've signed instead of just investing a big chunk into something that will reap rewards.

 

[The Prodigal Anti-Lemming]

that hardcore trash may of ruined wrestling for you, but dont assume to imply it ruined it for us all. Im a big fan of hardcore wrestling wherever it has been. be it in the original ECW,TNA or WWE

the ECW reunion was a good idea on paper, but the execution fell flat when they kept alot of the guys around for months and tied them into the main story line(even if i was happy to see some of them again)

russo is not trash, he just doesnt have 100% control on what makes the final cut. same as most of the WWE writers get screwed over by vince. TNA makes alot of mistakes however and so does the WWE, both trying to change their brand names are 2 of the biggest i can think of

The ECW reunion PPV was a horrible idea. Yes, quality wise, it was TNA’s best pay-per-view of 2010, and that doesn’t make a damn bit of difference. Hosting a reunion show ten years after a promotion is dead when most of the original players are a decade past their prime sends a terrible message to talent that busts its ass night after night in order to earn a coveted spot on a pay-per-view. The message is this: Keep working your asses off guys, and we’ll keep ignoring your contributions to the company by donating our monthly event to a cast of workers that have done nothing for the organization.

The only reason the ECW event was scheduled at all is because it coincided around the same time Vince killed off his ECW brand, and the brilliant folks in TNA management figured it was a good opportunity to show that they were capable of doing something better than WWE. So because Carter and whoever else came up with the bright idea wanted to stick something in WWE’s craw, Styles, Joe, Angle the Machine Guns and the rest of the roster get told “Thank you for killing yourselves all month, now we’re giving your monthly spots to a bunch of Philadelphia hasbeens who have never been able to draw nationally.”

Tell me this: How the hell does TNA build their brand name by hiring guys long past their prime from a promotion that hasn’t been relevant for ten years? Nostalgia? Pfft. If I want ECW nostalgia, I’ll pop in a DVD of Barely Legal 1997 and watch these guys when they were at their personal best.

 

[The Prodigal Anti-Lemming]

its called nostalgia something alot of people are willing to pay for, as i said if it was a 1 off thing it would of been good, keeping them around however was what ruined it. i would also not say that none of them were any good, they were good at their niche quite obviously as it was very popular

bit off topic though

For every fan who remembers the old ECW days, I'll fathom to guess that there are 25 fans whose only knowledge of the brand comes from their exposure to it through WWE television.

And we all know how badly WWE bastardized it.

 

[Kharma Bites]

Theres a big difference between relevancy and popularity. i didnt think it was a horrible idea at all the only real issue is like you said the TNA talent which might of normally been on that spot.

hiring guys long past their prime as you call it is a quick fix to ganer fans, its certainly no long term solution and wont work unless if you have the product there to keep the new gained fans. but that is the thinking behind such things. its not as bad as vince thinking a pointless 10 min segment with snoop is better than having sheamus bryan on tv at wrestlemania who is also past his prime ;-)

in any case like i said if it was a 1 off then it was fine, but it wasnt and it ruined it. i dont have an issue with TNA trying stuff 1 things for sure i dont want them being a WWE clone

i do like wwe by the way, just nice to have some change ups

 

[ECWcyrus]

according to ewrestlingnews.com, hulk hogan tweeted about the TNA name change after last night tapings. he basically said no more TNA.....only impact. its been rumored of a TNA name change, so im just curious as to what your thoughts are on this.

Do you like them just going by impact?
Will it effect the product in any major way?

Note: if this has already been posted, im sorry, i did not see it.

 

[multiverseman.com]

It's better than TNA, but still a little clunky.

 

[amishpyrate]

a name change would help, but another thing tna..... i mean impact needs to do is ADVERTISE LIKE CRAZY. I still know alot of people who don't even know tna exists. thats why the wwe doesn't mention them, cause they wanna keep it that way

 

[Dizzy]

a name change would help, but another thing tna..... i mean impact needs to do is ADVERTISE LIKE CRAZY. I still know alot of people who don't even know tna exists. thats why the wwe doesn't mention them, cause they wanna keep it that way

Well from what I've heard the TNA brand name made it hard for them to get advertising and exposure.

Impact Wrestling is pretty self explanatory. Doesn't sound like a porno either.

As you can see, TNA is already making changes. Adding Hemme as a in-ring announcer, pushing Velvet as a singles wrestler, Crimson turning into the new Triple H/Goldberg, etc.