Things TNA do 'not' need to do

[Gelgarin]

Things TNA do ‘not’ need to do.​

Well howdy there kids.

NSL, who makes Don West look laid back when it comes to schilling, has been bugging me to post something, and since it’s three in the morning and I have important work to be getting on with I figured I’d give it a whirl. Think of me as a celebrity guest host for this evening.

I was originally planning to talk about how Nigel McGuinness can cut mediocre promos and everyone will rave about them because they all made up their mind that he was good before he débuted; but decided against it. Instead I’m here for the purposes of education.

TNA is at a major junction right now, with the arrival of Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff spelling major change for the company. At this point in time damn near every person on this forum has a list of “things TNA need to do to succeed” and is quoting it at every opportunity that they get. This would be fine, but for the fact that a lot of the ideas people have range from being poorly thought out to flat out daft. As such, I thought I’d take a few of the more interesting pieces in internet advice that have been spawned over the past few months and explain exactly why TNA would be out of their minds to follow it.


Suggestion the first: Start taping outside the Impact Zone.

No. No. No. No. No.

The WWE tape on tour because it in financially sensible for them to do so. The production costs are not an issue for them due to revenue streams, and it’s the only way for them to possibly draw crowds in the high thousands on a regular basis.

TNA, when performing in the US, can’t draw crowds like that right now. Their house shows frequently draw as low as the 5-600 mark, and at that level the cost of taping on tour starts to outweigh the revenue brought in. Add to that the fact that a key component of Impact is the old veterans who like working in TNA because it means that they don’t have to spend hours on the road every week, and touring starts to become a disadvantage.

For the occasional PPV it’s different. If TNA are confident that they can draw a couple of thousand people by moving the show then it become cost effective; especially given that PPV’s are bringing in their own revenue as it is. This being said; the fact that TNA still holds most of its PPV’s in the Impact Zone proves that it is the most cost effective location for them. If it wasn’t then they wouldn’t hold them there. Much as people like to believe otherwise, the people running wrestling promotions aren't usually idiots, and will invariably do whatever is going to bring in the most money.

TNA have a pretty sweet gig with Universal Studios to tell the truth. They have a decent arena available to them whenever they want it, they don’t have to worry about the constant hassle of booking venues every week, and they have a decent sized, pumped up, crowd attending each and every TV taping.

TNA can promote in other markets all they want. House shows are a frequent occurrence and bring with them all the revenue that would come from touring Impact, without any of the negatives. The crowd will be a similar size, they only have to bring a small portion of the talent, they don’t have to lug the set, camera crew, pyrotechnics team or Kurt Angle’s trapdoor with them… need I go on?


Suggestion the second: Invest in marketing.

This is the cardinal folly I see promoted. In fairness, a lot of big names think that this is the way forward, from KB to Disco Inferno, but I for one think that it’s utter madness.

Let me ask you this? Do you have any idea how much an advertising campaign costs?

I’ll enlighten you. A single, thirty second advertisement on prime time TV retails in at approximately $200,000, each and every time. You can get cheaper space, but you’ll reach far fewer people, and the fewer people you are reaching the less cost effective advertising tends to be.

When you’re selling mops then advertisement becomes a solid investment since X% of the people who view your advertisement will buy a mop off of you, and you will earn money back. TNA aren’t selling mops however, they’re selling a TV show that they don’t directly profit off of people watching.
Adverts for TV shows are less than effective as it is, since you can’t catch impulse buyers or benefit much from brand awareness. That’s why the vast majority of ads for TV shows that you see are either on the same network, or on one that has an advertising partnership with the network in question. This falls into the realms of Spike TV, who probably want to identify themselves more with MMA than pro wrestling right about now.

Don’t get me wrong. TNA could go on a massive promotion kick, buy a bundle of TV advertisements and it would probably boost the rating a bit, but in order to bring that about they’d have to pour a tank full of money down a drain with absolutely no chance of turning a profit on the investment in the near future.
TNA is a small company, and although they seem to have a good business model, I’m confident that they cannot afford to simply throw good money away on an inefficient investment.

What TNA needs to do is exactly what they’re doing right now, which is make use of as much of the free advertisement as is available to them as possible. I’m talking about thinks like radio interviews or TNA’s YouTube channel. That stuff hardly reaches any people, but it also doesn’t cost anything to produce. You won’t get the kind of immediate results that you would with TV advertisement, but you still generate a degree of long term growth and don’t have to put the company in jeopardy by spending money you don’t have.

A terrific example of what I’m advocating is Hulk Hogan. He’s managed to promote TNA on major shows on NBC, CBS and CNN over a very short length of time, and it hasn’t cost TNA anything.

Suggestion the third: Fire ______________

This is the old favourite that never goes away. For a start, let me make clear that TNA gain little to nothing from releasing people from the roster. Nearly all the talent in on a PPA contract and the company isn’t hurt in the slightest by keeping SharkBoy on the roster when he’s not being used.

Whilst I’m on roster changes, TNA are not going to dramatically change their fortunes by bringing anybody “in” either. There is a possible exception to be made for Hogan, but I’m not convinced that his presence alone is going to change anything.

Wrestling as a whole is still bogged down in an extremely 1950’s notion of what it means to draw. We still think wrestlers and individual entities are what brings in the crowds, when the simple truth is that in today’s TV driven industry, what draws fans in the product. Most people don’t watch TNA every week to see Mick Foley; they watch TNA to see TNA, because they enjoy the show. Individuals play a part in making that happen, but wrestlers have never drawn TV ratings in the manner that they are credited with. … but that’s a topic for another day.

Other things TNA do not need to focus on include overhauling their production values and removing Russo from creative, but I’m bored with this textual perambulation now, so I’ll cut off here. It occurs to me that I’m not actually offering a question for discussion, so I’ll just close by inviting people to cogitate on whether or not I’m a glowing beacon of down to earth intelligence, or a pompous idiot talking out of my ass.

Enjoy yourselves.

…

Now where’s my fucking pay check?

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I agree with you about taping outside the Impact Zone. They got a deal with Universal Studios so that's good for them as the wrestler's don't have to travel much which is one of the advantages TNA has over WWE. I don't know if Bound for Glory is the only TNA PPV that they hold in different cities (Slammiversary could be another) but I can see them holding their major PPV's in different cities but not every PPV. I don't think TNA will ever be in a situation like the whole Nuggets fiasco during the summer.

 

[NSL]

Once again, you prove you are the man. This is one of those threads that can have 3 posts, and still be a resounding success, because there's simply no reply to it. You're right on with everything, and didn't just post "They need to tape outside so I can go! Whooooo!!!"

I will add to the point you made on marketing though. I researched who exactly is in charge of their marketing, and almost fell off my chair. The man's name is Steve Allison, and he has quite the resume. Outside of his 20 months in TNA, he spent almost 5 years for Midway games, marketing some pretty big hitters. I doubted they're marketing abilities, and then realized this man knows his stuff, and needs to be given some time. He came in with no wrestling experience. None. In the short time he's there, we can say that the company has been on a constant upswing.

I won't credit him with everything, but it does seem like whatever he is doing behind the scenes is paying off. This is a smart businessman, and wouldn't be employed if he couldn't sell ice along the equator, which is what most people think of him.

Now where’s my fucking pay check?

I got nothing. Anyone got a few bucks?

 

[Pedro08]

While I agree with most of what you wrote, in terms of marketing, I think the emphasis should be on the house shows. I agree, that it makes no sense to spend $200,000 for a national campaign to promote Impact for a small bump in the ratings. Even WWE doesn't do that kind of national campaign that often, other than Wrestlemania.

However, take that $200,000 and put it to marketing your house shows and that money can go far. TNA has been running house shows in smaller cities where I'm sure it's not that expensive to run ads in the local paper or run a 30 second spot on the radio. Local tv ads are probably more expensive, but that could be an option also. Now I don't know if they are already doing this as they have not run a show in my area, but it seems to me that for a company that has a weekly national tv show, they should be drawing more than 500-1,000 people at the house shows.

 

[NSL]

TNA has been running house shows in smaller cities where I'm sure it's not that expensive to run ads in the local paper or run a 30 second spot on the radio. Local tv ads are probably more expensive, but that could be an option also.

There's one hole in your entire post, and it's this one. It's bigger than you think.

The house shows are in "smaller" cities, but those small cities are sitting right next to huge ones (see: tonight's show in NJ, and tomorrow's in PA). They get the big city people to come, but still perform in a tiny arena. The cost of advertising and such would still be just as high, because those cities are small enough that most of their media comes from the large town next door.

This is a smart move on TNA. They pay the low cost of performing in a small city, but get the benefit of people from larger areas coming in, and then word of mouth takes over.

Word of mouth is the best marketing tool. Ever.

 

[iamcountrymusic]

my idea is that they really shouldn't let Hogan wrestle again because it would probably look really bad in his state. Whether or not he's been training again and in better shape, he still can't move very much.
Another is kind of attached- don't let Nick Hogan wrestle. He's been training according to WZ, and it feels like to me that that is a reason why. They don't need Droz type accidents happening to Matt Morgan and Samoa Joe.

 

[NSL]

my idea is that they really shouldn't let Hogan wrestle again because it would probably look really bad in his state. Whether or not he's been training again and in better shape, he still can't move very much.

While I agree, I don't see any other choice at the moment. They signed arguably the biggest name in wrestling history. He's going to get in the ring. With whom, and when, we don't know, but it will happen.

I don't want to see it, and definitely think TNA doesn't need it, but we'll see it eventually. He won't be debuting until the new year, after he's had a chance to survey the landscape, and hopefully at that point, he'll see staying on the sidelines as a positive.

 

[wolvdog316]

I'm sorry but that whole post was a waste IMO and condescending.

Ever heard of to make money you have to spend money? It applies here.

Look, I'm no TNA fan, really not a big fan of wrestling in general right now, but TNA HAS to get out of the fucking Orlando bullshit. They have too. Because after 7 years they STILL are pulling in shit numbers. It isn't working. Remember, spend it to make it. Spend money to go out for a few months into top wrestling cities. Chicago, LA, Dallas, Houston, Philly. Places that will draw a decent crowd for them. And hype it ON AIR. Hype it on radio stations in the morning when people are going to work. Hype it in the afternoons. Spend it to make it.Get interviews with the major radio stations in some cities. Have Angle talk from 5-6 then maybe Morgan from 6-7. Have BIG matches, so that you CAN draw in those cities. And by doing that, you open up more markets that will see your product live, your also filming live so the suspense is there.

Also, fire Russo. He is inept at creating storylines that keep people interested. Look, you got Bischoff, big plus on that, but hey don't stop there, get Heyman. Who gives a shit if they hate each other, give them a common goal. Bischoff can have his next WCW, and Heyman gets his mainstream ECW he always wanted. And TURN it into that. Let two men who were HIGHLY successful at doing this, do their jobs.

I just can't fathom how some of you think. You want TNA to grow big, and gain momentum so they can be a force against WWE, yet you don't want them to spend any money to achieve that goal? Turner gave Bischoff everything he asked for and he dominated wrestling for over a year and half. Now Panda might not be interested in investing money, might be scared cause of WCW, but you can't expect to ever get out of the low 1s when your shows are taped weeks in advance, you tape your shows in a bullshit arena where your tickets are FREE, your crowds are pathetic except for PPVS, which are out of the arena.....Hrmmm go figure.

It just seems like somebody in TNA, maybe Carter, is scared shitless of failing. But to be the best you have to take risks. Calculate the risks, and if the reward seems high enough do it. Just don't be content on 1.1s when your barely beating your comps 3rd show

 

[NSL]

After 7 years, their numbers are fine. Compared to Smackdown (widely considered the "A" show now), they're doing what a #2 company should. For the sake of keeping a lively crowd, and keeping production costs down, they need to stick with what's working.

I'm getting sick of everyone saying "Fire Russo". Give me a time in TNA where were this many interesting, if not good, storylines going on at once? The main event people have their stuff to work with, and the mid-card guys have theirs. There's also an entire KO division getting a lot of work, and don't forget how great the tag division is.

Scared of failing? You're damn right they are. Look at how many other companies have fallen at Vince's feet. He almost single handedly killed the NWA, and there's no doubt that WCW and ECW going under were because of him. They don't need to worry about competing head-to-head. They need to worry about putting on a good product, and let the pieces fall where they may.

 

[jmt225]

I know one thing TNA needs to not do, and that's listen to Gelgarin's first suggestion.

Suggestion the first: Start taping outside the Impact Zone.

No. No. No. No. No.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

The Impact Zone is lame as hell, man. I can't stand the look, or the fans in Florida who show up there. It all makes me cringe. Sure, it'll give the pay-per-views that aren't there a more special Ora about them, so to speak, but still... Impact is hard for me to watch just because of that ridiculous audience, and I think a lot of people feel the same way. I know money is a problem and all that kind of stuff, but you have HULK FUCKING HOGAN now. He'll draw audiences to shows; that's a guarantee. As long as TNA let's people know they're coming (which they're currently terrible at), then I'm sure attendance other places wouldn't be a problem at all.

At the very least, they should revamp the whole studio into something different.

Also, something TNA needs to work on is not show the audience so damn much in close-ups every time something happens in the ring. It's annoying, it's just not a pretty sight.

 

[NSL]

How are they horrible at letting the fans know they're coming? Every week they run down where the upcoming house shows are, and they have it splattered all over the website.

As far as the crowd, they're lively, what else do you want? Big flashy signs? They'd get in the way, and they're annoying at times. Half-naked cheerleaders in the front row? They'd be distracting. They're people, just like you and me, so why ask only special ones to go to the show?

 

[jmt225]

How are they horrible at letting the fans know they're coming? Every week they run down where the upcoming house shows are, and they have it splattered all over the website.

Because they are. I have a few friends around the New York area, and they're wrestling fans. They have told me around town you can see plenty of stuff advertising WWE and what not, but yet... you never see any posters and billboards for TNA. You hardly ever see any commercial spots, unless you're watching Spike TV, and there's no mention of them on the radio anywhere.

Seriously, I know you've been to WWE house shows, right? Most people who go there are not wrestling fans, but they find out WWE is town because of a bunch of advertising. I ALWAYS know when WWE is coming to my city, and it's not because I keep track. I just see commercials for it, both on TV and on the radio. However, when TNA came to town a few months ago, I didn't find out that they were in town until a couple of days beforehand, when a friend texted me and asked if I was going (mind you, this friend is a die-hard wrestling fan, who watches every single Thursday, which is the only reason he knew), and since it was such late notice.... I wasn't able to make it since I already had tickets to the LSU game that weekend, if I remember correctly (I think it was the game against Vanderbilt). That's why it's in my head right now that one of TNA's biggest problems in their advertising. They do not do nearly enough of it.

As far as the crowd, they're lively, what else do you want? Big flashy signs? They'd get in the way, and they're annoying at times. Half-naked cheerleaders in the front row? They'd be distracting. They're people, just like you and me, so why ask only special ones to go to the show?

I'm not saying that, man. I'm just saying don't pan to them after every single spot. Not only is it annoying, but it's embarrassing as well. WWE does a good job most of the time of picking and choosing when to cut to the audience, and I think TNA should learn from WWE in that aspect.

 

[Mark_4_Drew_McIntyre]

there number 1 problem has got to be being in the impact zone every week!!
Number 2, they have to many hasbeens like ryno, team 3d, dr stevie and overated guys like abys and somoa joe. why not develop new young guys like jay lethal and consequences creed who have a lot of potential to be stars.

 

[finneycom1]

Gotta agree with what the guys are saying about the arena. Take that back, I wouldnt even mind the arena so much, but can't TNA do any live shows? I dont know what it is, but week that I watch Raw and Smackdown, even though Smackdown may have a better show that week. Raw still seems like it is just more exciting and in your face. I have to credit that to the 'live' aspect of it. And this is not JUST b/c of the celebrity host or anything like that. I have thought that about the comparisons of Raw and Smackdown for a couple of years now.

As far as having the tapings in the same arena, same look every week. Well, WWE arenas, as far as setup, look the same every week, so I dont think that bothers me to bad. It could use a little makeover, but nothing to drastic. But, I think if they want to build business, I think they need to tour the country and when it is televised, they need to let people know it. I guarantee you, a TNA live taping of IMPACT would fill an arena 10x compared to a TNA house show.

Other than that, right on with this thread post.

BTW, I have been critical in the past of TNA. (And got my ass chewed on here by the TNA faithful) However, I think all of us on here as a whole "wrestling fan community" will agree that we all want TNA to succeed. I want them to give Vince a run for his money. Remember, competition is GREAT for business. I have yet to see any competition from TNA. I do have faith that if Eric Bischoff is given a huge role, he will get the ball rolling on this. Time will tell.

 

[samboisdead]

I really liked your explanation of the product bringing people to watch as oposed to big name wrestlers. It made me stop and think. I am a big time football fan and I realized that when T.O. got signed by the Bills I got really excited about watching, but the truth is if they never signed him I would have watched the Bills anyway just because I enjoy football. Its a pretty simple concept really when you think about it. So truth is instead of bringing in all these overpriced names, TNA should just develop their current talent because if the product is good people will watch no matter what the wrestlers names are. Thats basically what WWE does. They hardly ever bring in a guy who already has name value.

 

[X]

Completely have to agree with JMT. The Impact Zone audience is one of the biggest things that pisses me off about TNA. Mainly because they're so fucking desperate to look cool that they begin chanting things like "This is Awesome!" thirty seconds into a mediocre match, or last Thursday when they began chanting "You've Still Got It!" to Jim Neidhart after he gave a single back body drop. My dead grandfather could give a single back body drop. I just had to throw my hands in the air and laugh when they started chanting that. The fans there just piss me off royally, more than any smark crowd ever could, I'd love to see them leave the Impact Zone just so we don't have to hear those fans chant about how awesome something is every time Abyss farts.

 

[jaxx]

Listen, I totally agree with a lot of the points made here and there are some that are just ridiculous. I want TNA to succeed very much, but it gets so frustrating to watch. They do need to get rid of vince russo and hopefully that will happen with the addition of Hogan and Eric. Vince Russo is horrible at booking and the storylines are not that great. I don't like that he books a payperview caliber match on Impact for 4 - 5 mins. that really pisses me off, because it hurts the company. A long time wrestling fan like myself wants to see matches like aj & kurt angle last 10 - 15 min with an outcome that makes sense. I hate mainevent matches that last 5 freakin minutes!!! Impact should always be booked solid, but i'm not going to buy a payperview to see Tara vs Kong if I've already seen it on impact in a meaningless 4 min match and i just used them as an example. This is the type of foolishness that russo does. I want to rant and rave about so much foolishness that goes on in TNa but i know i would be here all day. I'm so frustrated i think it would be best if i just stop watching. Trust me when i say that as long as russo books impact it will fail, but hopefully his time is coming to an end.

 

[XgringolocoX]

It's funny, I put up a posts a while back cause I feel the Impact Zone feels canned to me and got my azz chewed for it. Having the same audience in the same place just makes it all feel to contrived. Aren't we supposed to suspend our disbelief when watchin?
I also agree that TNA needs to better advertise house shows. I live in NYC and they run shows up here every so often which i miss cause there's ZERO advertising. I'm not saying that TNA needs to go on a huge media blitz and toss chucks of cash out the window, but really if you want people to show up mae sure they know you are there. You'll never reach out beyond your core audience if you don't advertise where the people are at. That's called preachin to the choir folks.
On a happier note, I'll be sitting front row at RAW this monday! can y'all say HOT ROD!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

 

[CuddleBuns84]

I really liked your explanation of the product bringing people to watch as oposed to big name wrestlers. It made me stop and think. I am a big time football fan and I realized that when T.O. got signed by the Bills I got really excited about watching, but the truth is if they never signed him I would have watched the Bills anyway just because I enjoy football. Its a pretty simple concept really when you think about it. So truth is instead of bringing in all these overpriced names, TNA should just develop their current talent because if the product is good people will watch no matter what the wrestlers names are. Thats basically what WWE does. They hardly ever bring in a guy who already has name value.

I know your a Bills fan, and you would of watched them anyway, but T.O.'s presence was to help the Bills become more of a playoff contender. Yes I know they are not, but he did sell some seats for them. You are right though, they need to work on their own talent, but like stated before, they don't travel that much, and have less time on the road which a lot of veterans like. So, till that's changed, the veterans will keep coming to TNA

 

[CuddleBuns84]

Time in and time again, I've said that TNA's main problem is that they have a poor NICHE. Nothing really makes them different from the WWE. It's the same old talent used that WWE used years ago, and it's veterans making good money, not having to travel. Bad Niche! BAD BAD BAD NICHE!!

It's great still seeing Sting in top notch shape making matches, but it's awful seeing Kurt Angle trying to be the bad ass that no one cared for. The young talent is rarely used, and if they make it to another or the WWE for a fact, they don't last that long because TNA has made their lives too easy, and made wrestling seem like a walk in the park. All the greats will say that they were on the road 6 days out of the week, working their ass to make it, and they made it, and they would never trade anything for it.

They also need to notice their surroundings. WWE, UFC, NFL, MLB, and even the Hulkamania 2009 tour made tons of different stops, and go to city from city bringing their product for their fans to enjoy. If TNA doesn't want to do this, they need to get off the air, and just stay in a small market. This isn't "Friends" or "The Office" this is a market based on live performances that stimulate fans to cheer and enjoy a great show. Ratings are nice don't get me wrong, but even non televised football games, and WWE live shows make money without being on TV. If raw and smackdown, and ECW lost their television spots, they would still be able to stay a live with their live shows. Where TNA would just die.

Another thing that bugs me is the name. Most of us remember the XFL. The Extreme Football League. The concept was nice, but if I'm going to take something serious I would expect a serious name. not a "Hey look at my team, They are the Extreme Football champions! Yea sure your team may of won the National Football championship, but did they win the Extreme Football championship? You may win your title, but if it isn't extreme, it's not extreme at all!" Now let's look at TNA. Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. "Yea, I tell you may be the World Wrestling Heavy weight champion, but I'm the heavy weight champion of Total Nonstop Action wrestling, that means I have too much action for everything else, You maybe the champion of the world, but I'm the champion an adjective, a verb, and a noun... You take that WWE" Yes, I'm suggesting a name change like Major League Wrestling, or The Championship Wrestling League, or United Championship Wrestling, something besides the crap we call TNA.

Last but not least, use the most important resource the company has. The six sided ring. This ring designed for Mexican wrestling or crusierweight wrestling, not for veterans like Jeff Jarrett and Kip James. Quit using it for a gimmick, and use it for matches that will make a wrestling fan jump with joy and remorse. ECW would of killed to have that ring, Sabu vs. RVD in a six sided ring, that would be amazing! That's what made ECW stand out from the competition was those amazing matches, same with WCW, with one hour matches on live shows. Then you had WWF which of course is now WWE, and they had their great matches like Hell in a Cell, which you would rarely see that match once a year, and when you did, you were in for a treat, because the fans would jump up in joy for amazing spectacle. What has TNA produced that has made the fans jump in shock and awe. What is TNA's Professional Niche?

 

[jaxx]

I'll tell you what tna's professional niche is. Its the x-division and the knockout division which they don't focus on like they should. These two divisions IMO sets TNA apart from the competition. If tna would focus on these two divisions the way they should tna would have an even bigger fan base, because lets face facts. These two divisions contain wrestlers who can actually WRESTLE!! AND ENTERTAIN!!! Now don't get me wrong, i know both divisions have some not so good wrestlers in it, but for the most part the divisions have awesome talent. Yes the heavyweight and tagteam division is good, but again the x-division and knockouts are TNA's aces.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I was watching the Rise and Fall of WCW DVD earlier and I noticed that there seem to be a few similarites between some aspects of WCW and TNA.

A lot of people, myself included, wants to see TNA succeed and grow. What I think TNA doesn't need to do is worry itself about trying to compete with the WWE right now. One of the major contributing factors to Jim Crockett, Jr. selling his company to Ted Turner was that he tried to grow too big too fast. Crockett wanted to be #1 just as Vince did and was focused on that to such a degree that he wasn't paying enough attention to what was happening. The company had a rabid fanbase that loved what was going on with the company's product and they were playing if big arenas just about every night, but Crockett wanted too much too quickly.

I see something similar going on with Dixie Carter right now. From press releases to speeches she's made, Dixie Carter wants TNA to go toe to toe with the WWE, she wants TNA to be the #1 wrestling promotion in the world and she wants it to happen yesterday. Now, compared to where Crockett promotions was in circa 1988, TNA is minor league when it comes to audience size. Crockett had Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, The Rock n Roll Express, the Midnight Express, the Road Warriors, Sting, Lex Luger, Ricky Steamboat and a number of others. Comparing that to TNA's roster and it's just...well it just looks extremely minor league overall. I'm not saying that to bash TNA, but Crockett Promotions had nearly all the best talent in the world at that time.

Jim Crockett Promotions really started to boom in the mid 80s after he'd been in charge of the company for around a decade or so. Crockett, Jr. was pretty damn good at his job and there are serious doubts about Dixie Carter's overall ability to run a successful wrestling company. When it comes to growth, it's something that just can't really be rushed no matter how quickly you want it to happen sometimes. TNA represents a substantial financial investment for the Carter family and I have a feeling that if TNA doesn't start producing the type of ratings, ppv buys and crowds that they want, Dixie's daddy is going to eventually cut the purse strings.

Even when Turner bought Crockett Promotions and renamed it WCW, the fans were still there. The company had built up a large number of fans over the years that stayed with it. Having Turner's nearly endless funds helped WCW out quite a bit as well, but the Carter's don't have that kind of scratch. That's why I believe that TNA is only going to succeed if it's given the time to do it. TNA needs to worry about TNA. It needs to worry about putting out a high quality product, it sure as shit needs to do some advertising and it needs to focus on concept of growth in the long term instead of trying to make it happen within a matter of weeks or months. Many within TNA management believe that Hulk Hogan is the golden goose and is going to launch TNA to another level, but interest is already waning in Hogan because people are realizing that Hogan can't bring to the table what he did in WCW. Everyone knows about Hogan's physical problems and about his backstage history in WCW. Nobody wants to see history repeat itself and nobody wants to see very bad, low quality matches in which Hogan dominates the TNA roster.

Rome wasn't built in a day and TNA is going to have to grow to compete with the WWE. That kind of growth isn't going to happen in a week or a month or even a year most likely. If Dixie Carter believed that building a successful, nationally based wrestling company happens quickly, then she really doesn't know what she's doing. If the Carters aren't in wrestling for the long haul, if they're not truly interested in reaping the potential rewards of TNA maybe 4 or 5 years from now, they'll wind up selling it.

 

[Randolph H]

I'll tell you what tna's professional niche is. Its the x-division and the knockout division which they don't focus on like they should. These two divisions IMO sets TNA apart from the competition. If tna would focus on these two divisions the way they should tna would have an even bigger fan base, because lets face facts. These two divisions contain wrestlers who can actually WRESTLE!! AND ENTERTAIN!!! Now don't get me wrong, i know both divisions have some not so good wrestlers in it, but for the most part the divisions have awesome talent. Yes the heavyweight and tagteam division is good, but again the x-division and knockouts are TNA's aces.

AJ Styles, Daniels, and Joe have been the kings of the X division for years. If you haven't noticed all of them are now main eventers for the TNA World Title. The focus has been heavy on X division guys. The Machine Guns get a lot of attention outside of the X division.

Basically that leaves Suicide, Black Machismo, Creed, Homicide, and Amazing Red.

IMO the gimmicks are killing the people currently used in the X division (Suicide, Jay Leathal, Creed). TNA needs to get rid of the gimmicks and infuse more talent within the X division so that they can do more with it.

The problem is that people have been taken out of the X division and given pushes else where, leaving the cupboard bare. Dixie needs to go out and get the next Styles, Daniels, and Joe from the independent promotions or ROH.

 

[johnbragg]

This deviates a bit from the real thread topic, but it fits the title.

Here's something that TNA doesn't need to do: Put a 50-something year old long-retired fatass with a huge gut in pink spandex on TV. Much less have him beat a TNA roster member.

My wife came through the living room when I was watching last night, and all she said was "Spandex is a privilege, not a right."

I'm being harsh on Jim Neidhardt here, who had a stellar career and all. But that career is over. Why is he beating a TNA talent? It's not like he's a big enough name in 2009 to justify him not "doing the job."

 

[jaxx]

AJ Styles, Daniels, and Joe have been the kings of the X division for years. If you haven't noticed all of them are now main eventers for the TNA World Title. The focus has been heavy on X division guys. The Machine Guns get a lot of attention outside of the X division.

Basically that leaves Suicide, Black Machismo, Creed, Homicide, and Amazing Red.

IMO the gimmicks are killing the people currently used in the X division (Suicide, Jay Leathal, Creed). TNA needs to get rid of the gimmicks and infuse more talent within the X division so that they can do more with it.

The problem is that people have been taken out of the X division and given pushes else where, leaving the cupboard bare. Dixie needs to go out and get the next Styles, Daniels, and Joe from the independent promotions or ROH.

Randolph I understand where you're coming from, but i want you to answer a question for me. Would you like to see the x-division main event impact sometimes? I would. Why can't the x-division title be defended in a mainevent? I am sure that it wouldn't lose any viewers because of the talent it has. Can anyone argue against seeing alex shelly and jay lethal in a match for the x-division title? We all remember what an awsome match lethal and angle had. Everyone knows that shelly can go also. I agree with you that they do need to hire more talent for the division, but they also need to stop wasting the talent they have. I'm glad to see them focus on amazing red, now i just wish they would keep don west off of tv. I wish they would focus more on jay lethal who gives some of the most funny and more interesting promos. But instead of doing that they bring in old ass jim neidhart to beat him in a match. Someone please help me understand how that helps one of the brightest stars in the x-division.