Should WWE be concerned about TNA?

[Louie Lips]

So my question is simple. Should the WWE be concerned about competition with TNA? Obviously right now WWE has quite a leg up on them, but with TNA's popularity rising and more and more WWE superstars joining the roster, lets just say 5-10 years from now will the WWE have legit competition?

 

[That's Just Weird]

5-10 years is a huge margin. They're not going to be worried for a long time.

 

[bulldog76]

Tough to say. It doesn't matter the talent if they aren't used properly.

Look at the WWE in the mid-late 90's. The were stripped down to Bret Hart, HBK, and Taker. Suddenly, the Ring Master becomes Stone Cold and goes into main-event mode. Too bad by this time Hart and Michaels were gone. Mick Foley went from playing in dumpsters with Funk and the Outlaws to main-eventer. Triple H was a mid-carder riding around in a tank. Glen Jacobs went from one horrific gimmick to another until they put a mask on him and called him Taker's little brother. Rock went from "Die Rocky Die" to "Rocky."

You have to have guys that are dedicated and smart and a front-office that knows when to pull the trigger. Time will tell if TNA has that. I don't think they have enough of that but we shall see.

 

[JGlass]

As long as TNA focuses on the wrestling more than the entertainment aspects of the business, the WWE has nothing to worry about. The way I see it is the majority of wrestling fans (keep in mind internet wrestling fans only make up about 10% of all wrestling fans) are much more interested in seeing huge feuds, flamboyant gimmicks, and then a eh match than see a great match without the huge feud and flamboyancy behind it. Of course, WWE represents the first description, and TNA represents the latter. Until TNA can match the showiness of the WWE, which will take, like you said, years and years and lots of money, they won't be much of a threat.

 

[The Catacomb]

TNA has too much to fix if they want to be serious contenders. They should move the whole show up to New York to get better, louder and more responsive audiences. There's no certain pop in TNA that the WWE gets for their main eventers. Even if TNA had the ultimate face, you would never really tell by their audience. The atmosphere of the show counts for a lot IMO. TNA in Florida is just a tourist attraction with dead, confused audiences. I think they also either need a three hour show or two hour and a half/two hour shows on separate days. They have thursday and they should have another on saturday night. Then they can develop storylines and characters better without sacrificing the wrestling. They should also make themselves the wrestling show for teens and adults and leave the WWE to their "pg" programming. Then in a short while, they'll be at WWE's level of fame and maybe surpass them if the WWE don't change what they do.

 

[JuviJuiceIsLoose]

I think it's gonna take a long time until TNA becomes a legit threat to the WWE.

As someone was a huge fan of the Monday Night Wars. Let me say that competition definitely brings out the best in Vince McMahon.

WCW didn't become legit competition for a long time.

Things like that take time. Building and growing a wrestling audience takes years to do.

They're also on a network that doesn't really promote them. The same network pretty much that didn't promote ECW when they were there.

TNA's only been around for what, 6 years? The WWE didn't become this huge juggernaut in 6 years.

Vince has been addressing TNA in interviews lately. So, maybe he does see them as competition. Also, it can't feel good to him when his stars like Kurt Angle and Bobby Lashley jump to TNA unexpectedly.

It also must hurt that the one wrestler that never worked for him, Sting, works for TNA. He tried really hard to get Sting to come to the WWE, only to have him go to TNA.

 

[BIGJUICYNIPPLES]

fuck know, because tna will fail.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Whether TNA can make it depends on all the factors mentioned above, but don't forget the one that makes or breaks most businesses........money.

At the time of their greatest ratings success, WCW was losing $60-$80 million dollars a year (according to the financial pages of several media publications) and the seeds of their failure were already planted. When their "plan" of knocking out WWE didn't pan out, Time-Warner pulled the plug and WCW folded. People figured they were winning the war because of the ratings, but the company was spending more money than they took in.

Is TNA doing the same? If they are, they will eventually fail, too.

Consider what they are paying their talent. It wasn't that long ago we were reading that Samoa Joe was complaining because he was making only $700 per match. Now, they have to pay guys like Kurt Angle and Sting money far in excess of what Joe used to make...... not to mention that Joe and all the previously existing talent had to be bumped up, too.

Is the revenue being generated by the company enough to keep it afloat? Can they afford to keep hiring high-priced wrestlers to work for them without draining the company's resources?

When considering whether TNA will continue, we should look more to the financial statements and less to the ratings.

 

[Dr. Stinger A. Zoidberg]

No, 5-10 years from now, look at TNA and look at WWE

TNA Wont Have:
Angle
Sting
Steiner
Nash
Booker
Team 3D
Lashley
Bashir
BG James
Kip James
Rhino
Jaqueline
Matt Morgan
Foley

WWE Wont Have:
HBK
Taker
Edge
Batista
HHH(Maybe)
Both Hardy's
Jericho
Thats it
While that is some of the WWE's top guys, TNA will lose more people and they mean more to TNA, TNA will not become competition.

 

[Nate DaMac]

fuck know, because tna will fail.

really? seriously? how are you still here? do you ever have anything to add to the conversation? anyways in ten years or so, maybe tna can compete. but im not sure thats really what they should aim for. just be your own product and let it grow

 

[Spjadoe05]

No, 5-10 years from now, look at TNA and look at WWE

TNA Wont Have:
Angle
Sting
Steiner
Nash
Booker
Team 3D
Lashley
Bashir
BG James
Kip James
Rhino
Jaqueline
Matt Morgan
Foley

WWE Wont Have:
HBK
Taker
Edge
Batista
HHH(Maybe)
Both Hardy's
Jericho
Thats it
While that is some of the WWE's top guys, TNA will lose more people and they mean more to TNA, TNA will not become competition.

am i missing something? y are lashley, edge, and the hardys mentioned? arent they all 35 and under?

 

[NaturallyPricele$$]

No, 5-10 years from now, look at TNA and look at WWE

TNA Wont Have:
Angle
Sting
Steiner
Nash
Booker
Team 3D
Lashley
Bashir
BG James
Kip James
Rhino
Jaqueline
Matt Morgan
Foley

WWE Wont Have:
HBK
Taker
Edge
Batista
HHH(Maybe)
Both Hardy's
Jericho
Thats it
While that is some of the WWE's top guys, TNA will lose more people and they mean more to TNA, TNA will not become competition.

I understand where you are going with this but how can you predict the future. Did people expect Ric Flair and Terry Funk to be wrestling close to age 60? Did people expect Owen Hart and Eddie Guerrero to die as young as they did? Alot can happen in 10 years.

 

[Kid A]

not now they shouldnt. i dont even know when TNA comes on, and when i do see it, it looks like retirement home shenanigans.

im surprised to see how these veterans dont know how to properly sell being hurt in the ring(ahem, booker)