Team Taz Academy And Team 3D Wrestling Academy

[ABMorales787]

It would seem TNA finally has a firm farm system. Comprised of wrestling schools instead of a developmental wrestling company. It's being reported that student's Taz' recently opened school are already getting try-outs via dark matches in TNA. Meanwhile 3D's school has been working to an extent. As far as I know, Jesse Neal is the only known graduate. But beside the point, TNA may very well have finally assembled it's own development system. It may soon add a school headed by the Nasty Boys as well as hinted by Hulk Hogan which only strengthens the new system. With TNA already at the point where no big superstar can make a major stir, it's time to look at the bottom now and search for youth instead of name power. And this system may very well do that.

So what are your thoughts? Can a school system like this work? Or should TNA invest in a developmental territory similar to WWE's FCW?

 

[shattered dreams]

Sounds like there is a spinoff of the ultimate fighter somewhere in there (let the Paul Heyman host speculation begin). I believe Rob Terry did a fair amount of training with Team 3D as well. TNA isn't ready for a full scale developmental territory yet but what they have in place with these schools is certainly a positive.

 

[Big Sexy]

Can a school system like this work? Or should TNA invest in a developmental territory similar to WWE's FCW?

1. I don't believe a school system will be very successful at all. You go to wrestling school to learn a lot of the basics but after leaving wrestling school guys are no where near ready for a major show like WWE or TNA. They need to gain experience on the indy circuit before they can really make any noise in the big leagues. It's nice that they have guys in the company with schools but these young superstars can't just go straight from graduation to a main roster. Remember the abomination that was the WCW Power Plant and how green the majority of those guys were?

2. Even though I don't like TNA's school system I also don't think they should invest in a developmental territory. That's a fairly big investment for a company like TNA. The fact is that they don't really need one. They've done just fine taking WWE rejects and repackaging them and also using the indy circuits, ROH in particular, to get some young talent. Why invest in a developmental territory when the indy companies are doing all the work for them?

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I don't buy this "school system" nonsense to begin with since talent can still be had from what few territories still exist — namely ROH, Chikara, New Japan, etc., but I do think TNA has a decent "in" with having working relationships with both Taz' and Team 3D's management that could berth them some talent every so often.

I just hope they don't rely on these green "graduates" to spark a new crew of stars. WWE did that with it's FCW drones and look what that produced — a truck load of nothing. The same generic "stars" with the same generic names, looks and move sets — none of whom have a distinguishing personality or trait to speak of sans Orton, Cena and potentially Batista.

Also, Rosie Lottalove was also a "graduate" from the Team 3D school I believe, for what it's worth.

 

[Rayne]

Wrestling schools are run by wrestlers so that they can make money. Unless these schools are operating on some kind of invite-only program (yeah, right- a professional wrestler refusing money?), you're going to get out what you get in. Primarily a bunch of dreamers with extra money and without the wherewithal to stick it out through years in the shit leagues. Why did Hulk Hogan never have a wrestling school? He never needed the money bad enough.

TNA talking about those schools amounts to free advertising for the wrestlers running them, and that's about it. There have been very, very few schools that have produced more than the odd star; the only two I can think of would be Killer Kowalski's school and Shawn Michaels' school, both now defunct.

The WWE has FCW so they can take wrestlers who are already trained in the basics, and then polish them in front of live crowds, on television, in the WWE style. FCW isn't the first stop for a guy who wants to be a professional wrestler, it's the stop before the WWE, after they've learned how to wrestle in schools and smaller promotions. Comparing the two is pointless, as they are completely different.

TNA doesn't need a developmental program at this stage in their growth. As IDR said, there are plenty of places from which they can poach talent.

 

[Joe's Gonna Kill You]

I think this a Good way to get some young talent into TNA by using The 3d Academy and Taz's School. While the 3d Academy is a traditional wrestling school where you go to learn all of the basics of wrestling. Taz is school is a bit different because its not for people you have no training its for people who already work the Indy scene and want to fine tune their skills whether its mic skills or in-ring skills and learn from someone like Taz who has made it on to National TV and has had a pretty successful career. This is Good way to get some talent into the company but this shouldn't be the only way they should also look to bring in guys from other indies like an ROH and others

 

[AntiChristDeicide]

Exactly TNA's developemental system is all around the world. Its nice that Tazz and Team-3D have schools to train wrestlers, but most on TNA's wrestlers are from other companies like ROH and the others are ex-WWE.

 

[Lash L'Heureux]

Bringing through young, potentially future stars is a good way for TNA to go though. I hope we've seen the end of the old 'vets', such as the Nasty Boys, Hall and Waltman etc.

Bringing through younger talent is the cheaper option and has the most longevity. With the likes of Team 3D's academy and Taz's school in place this is a good route for TNA to go down, but they should definitely not rely on them for all their future talent.

The likes of Magnus are still very young and are much improved, and he is surely far more talented than anyone likely to come out of the schools anytime soon. He's struggle to get on TV at all himself which definitely needs addressing.

 

[daby]

TNA needs something like WCW Poweplant. The only good wrestler that came from Team 3D school is Jesse Neal, who is very talented and very underated.

 

[JDavis328]

Well just to point this out since no one is,Team 3D and Taz are doing 2 very different things. 3D is doing a school where they train you and such. Taz is doing a finishing school where wrestlers who have been wrestling for 2 years or more and have yet to be noticed by any big promotions,can come and develop their skills more and have taz and his team work with you on your character. On the website he is very strict on 2 years or more. Since he worked at wwe for so long and works with tna now,he says he knows for the most part what both are looking for and will use that knowledge to try to get others where they can stick out and get noticed. Its a 6 week course with only 8 people being able to attend at a term. I think its a great idea and something I'm sure a lot of people on the indies have needed for awhile

 

[He's Phenomenal]

I don't agree with the developmental territory thing because all the guys end up learning the same style and no one stands out. Therefore no one takes an interest in those characters, basically because they are not characters. They've all been trained the same. They all wrestle the same, they all sound the same, they all just become...well, boring. The WWE have found this out. I started watching it again a few years back, for about a year, and only one guy stood out in that whole year. Randy Orton. He was the only one that I actually cared about his matches and the results. If anyone else was on the card, it really didn't matter to me if they won or lost.

Taz's 'finishing school', however, is something that could become some sort of use to TNA. If Taz spots anyone with 'IT', the first person he's going to is Dixie Carter.

Team 3D's Academy has produced a few wrestlers, as noted in posts above. With Jesse Neal being the major one. And I wouldn't be surprised if we saw Terrence and Terrel graduate from the Team 3D Academy, some time in the future.