Thanks for bringing Wrestling to matches

[EStreet]

TNA has recently provided wrestling fans with a flash to the past...a little bit of real wrestling.

This past week Daniels and Wolfe has easily the best match of the night and it didnt involve staged spots or rediculous slams but rather a brand of wrestling we have not seen in years (with any consistent basis). We saw a great contested match featuring techinical moves, holds, and reversals.

A few weeks back, Angle and Styles provided us with a tremendous match as well. featuring some real wrestling and a ground, grind-it-out match.

I don't know if its suprising then that these matches both went the time distance and were declared draws. I am also not shocked that even without the rediculous spots the crowd was still very into the match.

I just would like to thank TNA for bringing back these match types and asking for more of it. What do you folks think? Were these matches highlights for you? Why can't more matches be booked this way? TNA has some great wrestlers on the roster who can really make matches suspensful without staging high spots and making them too predictable.

 

[Leafy]

I watched TNA today and this was the only match I didn't fast forward. This was really a great match. This is what TNA has to do to make a great product. Get great stars that have trained all over the Indy scene and just let them have a great match. This was the highlight of the episode followed by the in-ring return of Tomko.

The only problem is the reaction to the time limit. The crowd crapped all over the limit. The crowd in the Impact Zone sometimes cheers for the wrong people or doesn't appreciate wrestling classics. I don't know how they can change this but it alters the product.

 

[The Original Moopah]

Honestly, TNA could be having more than one great match a night. Desmond/Daniels & Kurt/Styles were fantastic, but look at the rest of the show. One good match doesn't make an entire show worth watching, to me anyway. What they need to do is have another episode centered around wrestling itself. Less promos, more Wrestling..

 

[elaire26]

How appropriate yet another thread was made in regard to the DAniels/Wolfe match. I brought it up in the "Impact Aftermath" sticky thread. It's clear a true impact was made on fans this past Thursday, an impact I hope TNA does not ignore. Gimmick matches have their place, but I believe a return to scientific/strong style wrestling can truly seperate TNA from WWE. Lets face it, your not going to outVince Vince. He is "sports entertainment", and no other wrestling organization will beat him. Ever.

I agree with EStreet. There is plenty of talent on the roster to provide a good balance of science AND "sports entertainment" on TNA.

In contrast to what Shuffleboard says, I don't think the fans "crapped on the time limit". I thought it was a great indicator that Daniels/Wolfe drew the crowd in so much that they wanted more. That was awesome.

Moopah has the right idea: Less promos/drama, more wrestling.

This is the ony way TNA will beat out WWE. The Hogan stuff will wear off quick. Let him be the foundation to presenting a true alternative to "sports entertainment". TNA needs to bring back science/strong style before "sports entertainment" sends it to extinction.

 

[Slyfox696]

I haven't seen the match (hell, haven't seen TNA in forever), but I'm VERY leary of this "great" match. Mostly because I read comments about how TNA should bring in no-name Indy guys who suck monkey testicles to have more of these "great" matches. Not exactly inspiring stuff.

But, let's say it WAS a "great" match...why the hell are they having that match on free TV? Wouldn't it make more sense to hook fans to a good match on PPV, and build up to it? Again, keep in mind that I haven't seen TNA in forever (thanks to work), but I never have understood why people think that having great matches on free TV is good business.

 

[NSL]

I haven't seen the match (hell, haven't seen TNA in forever), but I'm VERY leary of this "great" match. Mostly because I read comments about how TNA should bring in no-name Indy guys who suck monkey testicles to have more of these "great" matches. Not exactly inspiring stuff.

But, let's say it WAS a "great" match...why the hell are they having that match on free TV? Wouldn't it make more sense to hook fans to a good match on PPV, and build up to it? Again, keep in mind that I haven't seen TNA in forever (thanks to work), but I never have understood why people think that having great matches on free TV is good business.

My opinion on whether or not it was a great match is pretty much a moot point, because I know I'm a mark for TNA, and I know you'll disagree and run me through the mud...But, I don't think the match was "given away", as much as it was thrown together, and they struck gold.

Last week, Wolfe cost Daniels a title win, and Daniels was obviously upset about it. So, they got a 10 minute match this week, and it started off rather slow. After 2 or 3 minutes they got going, and then it turned into a "great" match. The time limit draw was obviously planned, but TNA probably figured they'd get some power moves from Wolfe working Daniels neck, and some high spots out of Daniels, building for the close of the show, and for whatever they may get out of this once Hogan arrives.

Had TNA known this would be a main event-type match, I'm sure they would have held off, or at least told the guys to tone it down, or even planned some run-ins to kill the momentum.

EDIT: On topic, I like the wrestling. The best matches TNA had had lately have definitely been wrestling first, spots and storyline second. Morgan and Angle brought out the best in each other, and so did Joe and Lashley. Working good wrestling matches like those make it easier to buy these guys as main eventers. It's why we don't see Rob Terry or Jesse Neal holding any belts.

 

[Pedro08]

EDIT: On topic, I like the wrestling. The best matches TNA had had lately have definitely been wrestling first, spots and storyline second. Morgan and Angle brought out the best in each other, and so did Joe and Lashley. Working good wrestling matches like those make it easier to buy these guys as main eventers. It's why we don't see Rob Terry or Jesse Neal holding any belts.

I agree. I also like the wrestling and wish TNA would emphasize in-ring action rather than sports entertainment. Don't get me wrong, I know that spots and storyline are needed, but I just wished they would give the matches more than 3-4 minutes.

That is one thing that I'm hopeful for when Hogan takes over, a little more old-school wrestling. TNA certainly has the talent to compete with the WWE. Give the matches the time to show off their skills.

 

[TellMeWhy]

I'm glad TNA had this match. I had no idea Wolfe/Daniels match would turn into a tv classic. I guess, I'm trained to TNA giving us short 3 minute matches with no true meaning. But this match shocked me. TNA is capable of having about 3-4 matches a week that are just as good and this is something fans want. Hopefully, Hogan can give us more inring action and makes wrestling a priority.

I haven't seen the match (hell, haven't seen TNA in forever), but I'm VERY leary of this "great" match. Mostly because I read comments about how TNA should bring in no-name Indy guys who suck monkey testicles to have more of these "great" matches. Not exactly inspiring stuff.

But, let's say it WAS a "great" match...why the hell are they having that match on free TV? Wouldn't it make more sense to hook fans to a good match on PPV, and build up to it? Again, keep in mind that I haven't seen TNA in forever (thanks to work), but I never have understood why people think that having great matches on free TV is good business.

Well why shouldn't a company provide good free tv matches. Just because you're building up to a PPV doesn't mean a wrestling company should purposely reject the fans. TNA is not in the same boat as WWE and should use a different strategy. A growing company like TNA where new viewers are revolving in and out needs matches to potentially win over a new audience. They need to sell their wrestling and a match like could only help make or retain fans.

 

[Joshua08]

Ok i see your point. Real wrestling is definitely needed in a lot of fans eyes. BUT.. and that is a big but..sports entertainment is what sells. Plain and simple. Why do you think they have made WWE Tv-pg?? Because the kids that cheer for Cena week in and week out are tomorrows fan base. These days parents are super strict so they had to adapt to make sure the product is watched. TNA on the other hand, might be able to build a small independent fan base with actual wrestling BUT it will never be doing WWE numbers...

 

[Vintage]

TNA shouldn't worry about the numbers, just providing a better product. Give the fans what they came to see, wrestling. Hitting 5 spots and pandering to the crowd isn't wrestling, that's sports entertainment and we have enough reality programs on television already..

 

[Super Crazy]

My opinion on whether or not it was a great match is pretty much a moot point, because I know I'm a mark for TNA, and I know you'll disagree and run me through the mud...But, I don't think the match was "given away", as much as it was thrown together, and they struck gold.

Last week, Wolfe cost Daniels a title win, and Daniels was obviously upset about it. So, they got a 10 minute match this week, and it started off rather slow. After 2 or 3 minutes they got going, and then it turned into a "great" match. The time limit draw was obviously planned, but TNA probably figured they'd get some power moves from Wolfe working Daniels neck, and some high spots out of Daniels, building for the close of the show, and for whatever they may get out of this once Hogan arrives.

Had TNA known this would be a main event-type match, I'm sure they would have held off, or at least told the guys to tone it down, or even planned some run-ins to kill the momentum.

EDIT: On topic, I like the wrestling. The best matches TNA had had lately have definitely been wrestling first, spots and storyline second. Morgan and Angle brought out the best in each other, and so did Joe and Lashley. Working good wrestling matches like those make it easier to buy these guys as main eventers. It's why we don't see Rob Terry or Jesse Neal holding any belts.

I don't know if anyone corrected you on this, but Daniels cost Wolfe the title match, and you say that Wolfe cost Daniels the match. I have to agree though, had TNA known the match would be as great as it was, then I'm sure they would have held off.

Which brings me to my point, when you put together matches, you never know how it's going to go. You never know how good the chemistry will be, or how crazy the moves will be. I mean, sure with Daniels' background and Wolfe's background you could guess something good was going to come from it, but oh well.

Now, I must say, these matches are rather entertaining. I enjoy seeing something different from the usual one sided dominance and the victory, or the match that ends in disqualification. Seeing a match that is so good, that it ends in a draw, such as the AJ/Angle match, just really entertains me. It's good to see such technical matches from time to time.

I would not mind seeing more matches such as this, but they shouldn't do it too often. If they were to end matches in draws all the time, I'm sure it would get old quite often. However, it would be nice to see a storyline kind of centered around it.

I'll use Samoa Joe and AJ as my example, due to the fact that Joe had many time limit draws in his feud with CM Punk during his ROH days and well, AJ is the only one I can see switching it up so the match wouldn't be the same every time. But anyway, let's say AJ and Joe have match after match, and neither can beat the other for weeks. Then let's say, about a month or so later when they face off on pay per view, Joe or AJ finally wins, and wins the championship. Would that not make the win worth that much more? To me that would be a great tasting victory.

These matches are what pleases those who enjoy technical battles in the ring, and I am one of them. I would love to see more matches end in draws and be very technical matches.

 

[classicviolence]

It was an excellent match. No doubt about it. But TNA is not the only company that has put on great TV matches this fall/winter stretch. Did people not see the amazing Morisson vs. Rey Mysterio IC title match, or Christian defending the ECW almost every week and having excellent matches with the entire roster?? What about this past SD! with the Hart Dynasty vs. Wang/Jesse??

Good matches actually happen all the time, but it's the stupid promos and skits on both TNA and WWE that need to lessen during the New Monday Night War.

 

[RicSpade]

TNA is kind of goin in a WCW direction lately if you think about it. WCW was infamous for going to a time limit draw with guys like Benoit, Malenko, the cruiserweight and United States title, and the crowd would for the most part love it, chants of 5 more minutes would go off in the arena and usually we would get it.

Part of TNAs problem is half of the fans that go in there aren't 100% fans of TNA they went in cause it was free. Its kind of like back in the days of WCW Saturday Night when they would have a screen for the fans to know who to boo and who to cheer and they messed it up and had to retape it.

But I do commend TNA for bringing in some compelling new ideas or atleast making the show watchable cause I actually enjoy the storylines as of late.

 

[Miko]

It was a decent match, and yeah it was good too see something a little bit different, not exactly an epic encounter though, it's got fuck all on the AJ/Angle time limit draw. It was just two guys stretching each other for ages, it got a bit boring to be honest. Glad it was stopped after only ten minutes.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It was a decent match, and yeah it was good too see something a little bit different, not exactly an epic encounter though, it's got fuck all on the AJ/Angle time limit draw. It was just two guys stretching each other for ages, it got a bit boring to be honest. Glad it was stopped after only ten minutes.

Agreed. It's nice to see a wrestling match in which the wrestlers actually have some legitimate mat wrestling skills, but it's not something that TNA needs to do on a regular basis. Just as too many hardcore matches, cage matches, street fights, etc. lose their novelty, it's the same in this situation. They were wise to stop the match after 10 minutes because, simply put, it was also a bit on the boring side.

It was an interesting match, though hardly some sort of epic encounter. I know the Impact crowd started yelling "This is awesome", but these are also the same people that chanted "You've still got it" during the awful Jim Neidhart/Jay Lethal match last month.

 

[ABMorales787]

The crowd is crazy. They were having an odd "Yeah, Boo" chant going on during a rest spot. Other than that, having one high quality match per month isn't bad. We had Ange/Styles in October, Robert Roode's marathon of matches on Thanksgiving and this month we got Daniels/Wolfe. We can't rely on the good stuff only happening on PPV, otherwise what would be the point of watching the TV shows?

 

[Remix]

Meh, TNA have some awesome wrestlers on their books (Styles, Angle, Wolfe, Shelley, Joe, Williams, and Daniels to name seven just off the top of my head). So the question is, why the fuck did it take them so long to (re)discover that having good wrestlers given a decent amount of time to perform on TV is a good incentive to wrestling fans to keep watching and possibly to buy the PPVs. Fuck any combination of those guys would probably result in a damn good match, time limit draw (which is a great idea, as it doesnt diminish either man but leaves the match open for a more definitive conclusion next time they meet.) or not.

Putting on matches like that (with perhaps a little less time spent with one guy in a headlock/cravatte) is what TNA needs to do when going against WWE in January. WWE is the master of angles galore, TNA will lose if they try to deliver WWEesque programming at the same time. even if its just for one show, they should focus on the essentials of hyping hogan, building feuds and most importantly of all wrestling. There's a ready made audience of wrestling fans already infroint of their TVs at this time, and if TNA can hook them in while they channel surf during the ad breaks they could do very well indeed. Of course most of those fans will flick back to WWE straight away, but if it leads to a new load of fans becomming aware of the product, and potentially watching it on thursdays, the monday night Impact would be a success.

 

[kcordloh]

I see nothing wrong giving away hyped matches on TV.
I get the business idea, hype up a match, put it on PPV and get some buys.

Thing is, that 10 minute time limit between Wolfe/Daniels was much like Rock/Austin from 1998. You know the one, where it was like 8 minutes and it just got everyone amped to see more.


10 minutes is long enough to give away just enough of a taste to bait people into buying more. I disagree with a ton of draws, but I don't think TNA does it enough to be detrimental.

Compelling storylines draw, true. But a match that gets the fans involved is just awesome. Whether it's engaging because of pure workrate, or storyline, or both, it's still engaging.

TNA could carve themselves a strong place in wrestling (I'm talking solid status as a company, and not just WWE lite) by focusing more on wrestling and letting the storylines be more sporting in nature, in my opinion of course.
I have always wondered what would happen if someone booked wrestling like UFC is booked (awesome videos hyping the matches, the top stars made to look bullet proof on TV in matches prior to the PPV).