If there is anything consensus in the "wrestling community" about TNA's resurrection back to TV, it is that they will receive the same mediocre results if they try to maintain the same identity as before.
I've heard that they need to change the name of the company (great idea), shake up the announce team (another great idea), do away with blading, do away with PPVs, keep the 6-sided ring, etc. You can debate all of these topics and never unanimously reach a decision, but the one thing that is certain: TNA can no longer intertwine its brand with any generality that target viewers have associated with this 11 year old wrestling promotion.
So with that said, I think it's important for the decision makers to be much more selective with who is holding their titles.
Whatever equity was once built into the TNA World title is now gone. It's changed hands too many times (sometimes due to regret, which can be a good and a bad reason), it's changed hands uneventfully, it's been carried by guys who are only going to create pop out of a niche group of marks, and it's been carried by guys who strangely resemble the character of WWE's reigning champions: Austin Aries/CM Punk, Eric Young/Daniel Bryan, Bobby Lashley/Brock Lesnar.
When Bruno Sammartino held the WWWF title for 8 years, it worked because he was an attraction that promoters could tour with across the country and draw massive interest from audiences. He had characteristics that made him fascinating. When CM Punk held the WWE title for 434 days, he had characteristics that a mass number, not aggregates, of viewers actually cared about.
There are very few wrestlers on the TNA roster who have characteristics that massive amounts of viewers are going to actually care about. Kurt Angle comes to mind, Jeff Hardy comes to mind, and one other person comes to mind as well--someone who I feel TNA missed the boat with about 2 years ago. He has the look, he sure as hell has the mic skills, there are very catchy motifs about his character, I think he understands the business well, and he has a presence in a circle that I think greatly eclipses the wrestling community circle.
I always thought that the reason why Stone Cold Steve Austin was so over with the audience in the late 90's was because he epitomized "attitude" and ego. Back in the 90's, American culture was all about attitude and ego, steroids were running as rampant as ever, baseball was all about the home run chase, movies and TV shows were edgy and agitated the FCC, jeans were ripped, hair was dyed, sex was selling everything in sight. Rock and roll music reached its peak and the distorted strums of the bass guitar in the Texas Rattlesnake's theme song made every fan want to jump up and scream in excitement.
Fast-forward two decades. Many have referred this this era as "the wussification of American society". The internet has taken over the World, everyone and everything is sensitive now, you're "a racist or a bigot" if you're not socially conscious, bullies are not allowed, cheap beer sucks! craft brews ONLY! dude, check out how cool my beard is, hockey and soccer rule! everyone is accepted to college, I used to hate authority, but now I don't as long as they give me handouts because of I deserve it. Out with the old in with the new. Rock and roll is dead, technology is amazing and alive. Marry the divas, don't just screw them backstage. Again, CM Punk has all the characteristics that draw a great portion of today's audience. Daniel Bryan, too, and he's the future face of the WWE.
If there is one thing our most recent political elections have told us is that the country is more divided than ever before. Sure the technology driven/social sensitivity era has is in undoubted full effect. But there are whole other societies in America who still practice the traditions of the modern U.S., who preserve the qualities that grew our country into the greatest in the World, who bleed red white and blue, who have pride for the towns they come from, who love pick-up trucks, shooting guns, drinking Budweiser, listening to country music and most importantly, watching a good old fashioned pro wrestling match. These people are your opportunity.
But if you're going to come to their state and try to put on a pro wrestling event, they're going to pay to see the face of your promotion, not a tag-team partner or a mid-carder feuding with his once best friend.
The WWE and Daniel Bryan are going to own the future of wrestling by giving their audience who they want to see. Again, TNA's opportunity is in winning over the heartland of America's audience. They have their man. He's good friends with some of the major country music artists, he's from smalltown, Tennessee, and he goes by the name of "Cowboy" James Storm. Message to TNA: Storm can be your identity. If you don't put all of your chips on him now, your show will be cancelled within the next two years. Six-sided rings, the X-Division, and putting your show on a new channel are not making you different from WWE, and not distinguishing you from your past. And neither is your new logo. At the end of the day, the reflection you are casting screams "minor leagues". And yes, some people love baseball so much that they will pay $10 to watch a AA team play a baseball game. But you have a major league vision, and this is your opportunity to make your vision come to life.
I've heard that they need to change the name of the company (great idea), shake up the announce team (another great idea), do away with blading, do away with PPVs, keep the 6-sided ring, etc. You can debate all of these topics and never unanimously reach a decision, but the one thing that is certain: TNA can no longer intertwine its brand with any generality that target viewers have associated with this 11 year old wrestling promotion.
So with that said, I think it's important for the decision makers to be much more selective with who is holding their titles.
Whatever equity was once built into the TNA World title is now gone. It's changed hands too many times (sometimes due to regret, which can be a good and a bad reason), it's changed hands uneventfully, it's been carried by guys who are only going to create pop out of a niche group of marks, and it's been carried by guys who strangely resemble the character of WWE's reigning champions: Austin Aries/CM Punk, Eric Young/Daniel Bryan, Bobby Lashley/Brock Lesnar.
When Bruno Sammartino held the WWWF title for 8 years, it worked because he was an attraction that promoters could tour with across the country and draw massive interest from audiences. He had characteristics that made him fascinating. When CM Punk held the WWE title for 434 days, he had characteristics that a mass number, not aggregates, of viewers actually cared about.
There are very few wrestlers on the TNA roster who have characteristics that massive amounts of viewers are going to actually care about. Kurt Angle comes to mind, Jeff Hardy comes to mind, and one other person comes to mind as well--someone who I feel TNA missed the boat with about 2 years ago. He has the look, he sure as hell has the mic skills, there are very catchy motifs about his character, I think he understands the business well, and he has a presence in a circle that I think greatly eclipses the wrestling community circle.
I always thought that the reason why Stone Cold Steve Austin was so over with the audience in the late 90's was because he epitomized "attitude" and ego. Back in the 90's, American culture was all about attitude and ego, steroids were running as rampant as ever, baseball was all about the home run chase, movies and TV shows were edgy and agitated the FCC, jeans were ripped, hair was dyed, sex was selling everything in sight. Rock and roll music reached its peak and the distorted strums of the bass guitar in the Texas Rattlesnake's theme song made every fan want to jump up and scream in excitement.
Fast-forward two decades. Many have referred this this era as "the wussification of American society". The internet has taken over the World, everyone and everything is sensitive now, you're "a racist or a bigot" if you're not socially conscious, bullies are not allowed, cheap beer sucks! craft brews ONLY! dude, check out how cool my beard is, hockey and soccer rule! everyone is accepted to college, I used to hate authority, but now I don't as long as they give me handouts because of I deserve it. Out with the old in with the new. Rock and roll is dead, technology is amazing and alive. Marry the divas, don't just screw them backstage. Again, CM Punk has all the characteristics that draw a great portion of today's audience. Daniel Bryan, too, and he's the future face of the WWE.
If there is one thing our most recent political elections have told us is that the country is more divided than ever before. Sure the technology driven/social sensitivity era has is in undoubted full effect. But there are whole other societies in America who still practice the traditions of the modern U.S., who preserve the qualities that grew our country into the greatest in the World, who bleed red white and blue, who have pride for the towns they come from, who love pick-up trucks, shooting guns, drinking Budweiser, listening to country music and most importantly, watching a good old fashioned pro wrestling match. These people are your opportunity.
But if you're going to come to their state and try to put on a pro wrestling event, they're going to pay to see the face of your promotion, not a tag-team partner or a mid-carder feuding with his once best friend.
The WWE and Daniel Bryan are going to own the future of wrestling by giving their audience who they want to see. Again, TNA's opportunity is in winning over the heartland of America's audience. They have their man. He's good friends with some of the major country music artists, he's from smalltown, Tennessee, and he goes by the name of "Cowboy" James Storm. Message to TNA: Storm can be your identity. If you don't put all of your chips on him now, your show will be cancelled within the next two years. Six-sided rings, the X-Division, and putting your show on a new channel are not making you different from WWE, and not distinguishing you from your past. And neither is your new logo. At the end of the day, the reflection you are casting screams "minor leagues". And yes, some people love baseball so much that they will pay $10 to watch a AA team play a baseball game. But you have a major league vision, and this is your opportunity to make your vision come to life.
