unknownvicelord5
Dark Match Jobber
Imo I love the way TNA is going and the fact that they are on spike TV. I actually enjoy spike TVs programs.
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HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN's contract was already set to expire in October of 2011, but Panda Energy (the company his contract is through) decided on their own to activate the renewal clause. Therefore they did not even give him a chance to leave. Clearly he is doing what they want him to do.Yeah. Of course they do. Part of the whole 'showbiz' thing is shining up shit so that it looks nice, right up until the day you no longer want it. If it was my call to make, I'd be looking really hard at how long Hulk Hogan was under contract for, and making sure I squeezed every useful drop I could out of him.
Don't get defensive. We aren't talking hero worship here, we're talking about tracing dollars and cents.
Exactly this. The reason why people go over TNA's numbers is because of that investment into being a larger promotion. That costs money, and the Carters (and every other minority owner) are betting that the money spent turns into more money earned. From all indications, that isn't happening. (I'm going to discount the magic revenue stream argument.)
Why people are interested in this is because when those investors decide to pull back on the money they've spent, TNA changes as a result. How exactly, I'm not at all sure. There's about a thousand different directions to go from that point, but if you put less money into a project, that project has to change. (Unless, of course, absolutely hideous amounts of money were being wasted, a la WCW 2000. They were able to put on a television program that appeared largely the same as mid-'90s Nitro, because that company had a LOT of fat they could cut.)
It's probably the most interesting story in professional wrestling this decade; can a second televised promotion be viable in an era of industry-wide recession? (ROH doesn't count. Cable TV out here shows professional wrestling, but I'm not counting Big Time Wrestling either.)
AJ Styles is currently one of the centerpieces of the main storyline in TNA.
Bobby Roode was one of the best Champions in recent TNA history and is now a part of a prominent tag-team, the best one in TNA currently. He is also constantly on TV and involved in something.
James Storm is a former World Champion, had a huge program with Roode and is now doing smaller storylines but still featured on a regular basis.
Daniels went from a program with AJ Styles where he came out victorious, to being a part of the second (in my opinion) best team in TNA and pretty much not missing a week of Television, having promos and matches as well as a title shot not too long ago.
Now as far as the OP goes, not being in the title picture anymore means you've fallen. If you're doing some good stuff, fans couldn't care less if it was for the title or not. Personally, I think AJ Styles is more interesting now than during any of his Main Event runs. I think Aries is far more entertaining now than during his title run.
What do you want TNA to do? Keep the TNA originals in the title picture non-stop, 24/7, with no rotation and no focus on ANYONE else for years and years?
Fans need to realize that not fighting for the belt doesn't mean you've fallen. If you're featured on TV and have a match or a promo where you're not made to look like a dunce, you're doing just fine.
The originals had their turn already. Now it's Bully/Hardy. By BFG 13 it'll be AJ Styles and we'll get more originals.
This claim of the "fall" of the originals would only be valid if they vanished from TV for months and months after their respective main event runs, which hasn't been the case.
I just love it how when all of these guys were getting pushed to Main Event status, nobody said jack shit. Few people dared to mention that TNA finally did something we all bitched for, for years. Complete silence. Then, they stop Main Eventing and take a back seat to recharge their batteries and all of a sudden we again get the "when is TNA going to let them shine" bullshit.
WWE could take all of the TNA originals and make them household names overnight.
^ Guys like you are just never going to get it. WWE could take all of the TNA originals and make them household names overnight. Not because they have a magic formula for it, but because they are the WWE. They don't have to focus on building an audience, they just have to maintain the one they built over the years (or what's left of it) when the show was actually good. It's not like WWE is where they are because of Sheamus and Ryback. It started with Hogan, then Austin and Rock, and now Cena.
If TNA was in that spot, we wouldn't be having this conversation over and over, because Roode/Aries/Styles would all be big stars right this minute, even if they we're booked EXACTLY THE SAME over the last few years or so. There's a big difference between building an audience and maintaining one. The problem is there are too many people frustrated that the TNA guys aren't big stars, and they have no clue why, yet think they have all the answers.
And your WCW example perfectly sums up your problem. WCW became major with ex WWE guys that they brought in during the early 90s (Hogan, Savage, Hall, Nash, Luger). WCW's true failure is that they didn't create new stars once those guys brought them to that level. You're talking about TNA like they are in the same position WCW was in 1998, when today's TNA is more like WCW from the early 90s.
Jesus Christ, dude. What is this giant-ass gripe you have with Hogan not being a good investment and TNA not being better off in spite of him? Aside from the ratings/attendance being the same (or slightly less), TNA appears to be doing better in every other department.
Is this because of Hogan? Hell no it's not because of Hogan. I agree, Hogan didn't contribute to this. This is TNA's natural progression as a company. Going semi-live and fully on the road. I really think this would've happened with or without Hogan.
Either way, Hogan has his purpose in TNA and since they've had him for 2-3 years, I'm sure they're fine with paying his old ass as they have been for quite a long time. Are you involved in TNA financial matters? Is he hurting YOUR wallet somehow? What's up your ass?
He seems to have SOME value to them. The presumption that "Hogan = N#1 wrestling company overnight" comes from the fans and Hogan's trademark overhyping of everything which he is fully aware of, that's his job. Also from the fact that he's Hulk Hogan. The fans simply ate that shit up like hot bread. I say good job, Hulk. And if this presumption is not fulfilled, suddenly he's useless and just draining money out of TNA.
Does TNA appear to be in ANY financial peril at the moment? No. In fact, by the looks of it, they're doing pretty damn well. So what's the fuss about?
Let's get back on topic now, and discuss how the TNA originals are in the crapper. Apparently. Somehow. Someway.
^ Guys like you are just never going to get it. WWE could take all of the TNA originals and make them household names overnight. Not because they have a magic formula for it, but because they are the WWE. They don't have to focus on building an audience, they just have to maintain the one they built over the years (or what's left of it) when the show was actually good. It's not like WWE is where they are because of Sheamus and Ryback. It started with Hogan, then Austin and Rock, and now Cena.
If TNA was in that spot, we wouldn't be having this conversation over and over, because Roode/Aries/Styles would all be big stars right this minute, even if they we're booked EXACTLY THE SAME over the last few years or so. There's a big difference between building an audience and maintaining one. The problem is there are too many people frustrated that the TNA guys aren't big stars, and they have no clue why, yet think they have all the answers.
And your WCW example perfectly sums up your problem. WCW became major with ex WWE guys that they brought in during the early 90s (Hogan, Savage, Hall, Nash, Luger). WCW's true failure is that they didn't create new stars once those guys brought them to that level. You're talking about TNA like they are in the same position WCW was in 1998, when today's TNA is more like WCW from the early 90s.
No, my WCW example was an analogy. While WCW did have the established veterans to get noticed, they also failed to create new stars. Which is the same parallel problem in TNA.
WCW tried to become bigger with WWF stars like Hogan and Duggan and Savage and it did not work. It's when they CHANGED Hogan that things started happening cause of creativity.
The thing is, if former stars from WCW and WWE are doing nothing substantial for TNA, then why not get rid of them and focus on making TNA homegrowns stars instead. There's proof that it doesn't matter anyway. Angle or Hardy or Sting as champ won't get better ratings or buyrates than Roode or Storm or AJ or Joe. So why not give the ball to guys that are younger, fresher and have the chance to give you better matchs?
Okay, this is one huge negative of having Eric Bischoff and Hogan in TNA. These nonstop, ignorant comparisons to WCW, from people who may not even know the first thing about this time period in wrestling.
Again, there is a big difference between building an audience and maintaining one. Nitro was getting over 5 million viewers a week during their peak. Their mistake was that they didn't use that 2 year window to elevate new guys that would be able to take over when fans lost interest in the older guys. TNA is in an entirely different situation. If TNA was getting 5M viewers and pushing Hogan/Sting, you'd be 100% right, no debating. But they aren't getting anything close to that. In other words, this can't possibly be compared to the "Rise and Fall of WCW" Because there has never been a rise to begin with.
And as far as the complaining about the booking of the originals, again, WWE could take ANY of those guys and book them EXACTLY how TNA has booked them and they'd be big stars in WWE. That's just the way it is. Guys like AJ Styles and Aries are only going to get but so far with the TNA brand where it is, and they could have the most brilliant bookers/writers and Emmy-Caliber storylines and it would make no difference at all.