TNA is getting it right

[RVDisTNA]

TNA has really elevated itself as of late. They have so many interesting storylines going on at once, its refreshing.

You got The Fortune vs. EV2.0 story, The Abyss/RVD "They" story, The World title picture, Sting/Nash "Deception" angle is finally coming to a head, MCMG/Gen Me is off to a really good start and it really shines a spotlight on the tag titles/division.

Theres alot of really complex and mind bending storylines going on all at once right now. WWE hasn't done this in years! Everyone is completely dumbfounded at who "They" is. The Sting/Nash Deception angle has been perplexing people for months and TNA has done the right thing by drawing it out and building it up. Fortune/EV2.0 is your classic stable rivalry like the DX vs Nation rivaly or the N.W.O vs Horsemen rivalry of the late 90's.

TNA is giving us alot in terms for interesting storylines. And the wrestling has been thrusted to the front a little more too. I'm excited as hell about Bound For Glory. TNA has done a great job of selling this PPV, and giving wrestling fans a reason to buy it.

 

[gd]

Pretty sure you couldn't be more wrong here. TNA has been an epic pile of trash as of late. Not sure how anyone thinks otherwise. Running complex, muddled, and unexplained storylines isn't brilliant, it's just silly. Who really wants to see a stable where when Tommy Dreamer is the leaders of one of the stables? It's just awful.

The whole Sting/Nash/Jarrett thing is ridiculous as well. They've literally been doing the exact same thing for the last 7 months, talking vaguely about something that most people don't understand, calling out Bischoff and Hogan for no apparent reason, and having atrocious wrestling matches. And Sting has been cheered the whole time. Awful angle, going nowhere.

The whole "they" thing isn't that intersting either. Not only have they claimed "they" was someone multiple times before backtracking later on a show that most people can't be arsed to watch, but it's all but certain that once "they" finally are revealed, it'll be a huge disappointment. Really, what kind of group do you think could be coming in that anyone would care about?

They've overbooked the World Title situation as well, which would've been fine as simply Anderson/Angle. Instead, we have a triple threat main eventing the biggest PPV of the year. Don't even get me started on the worthless entities known as the Knockout's and X-Division.

I'm sorry, but TNA has been especially sub-par as of late. The only good thing going at the moment is the tag division with MCMG and GenMe, and maybe parts of the World Title stuff, since Angle is involved. Other than that, pure crap.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

I agree with the OP. I've been loving TNA lately. Everyone plays a role and while the storylines may seem to be separate, it's just one big storyline, culminating at Bound for Glory.

The only thing I don't enjoy is EV.2.0. But without them, Fourtune wouldn't have anything to do at the PPV so they're a necessary evil.

Other than that -- TNA is hyping BFG nicely, I'm excited for the PPV and can't wait to see what'll happen on the live show.

 

[manstis1804]

I would agree with TNA NOT getting it right at this time. I can barely watch the show, but I keep watching hoping they'll figure it out like they did late last year before Hogan and Bischoff came in and blew everything up. They have wrestlers I want to watch, but they're in angles that I don't want to watch. Their two "mystery" angles with They and Deception are just drawn out and nothing develops. They literally could have done with out the last 3-4 months and got to the punchline, but they just drag the shit out without breaking any new ground. They just keep dragging and dragging everything out, so long, without making it new, or interesting. I mean, seroiusly, it drags on for so long, I can't stand it. It just REALLY DRAGGGGS. You getting this?

 

[TheAbsolute1]

Oh my fucking gosh! How come every time someone tries to explain something good about TNA they have to bring up WWE.

4tune vs EV2 isn't making any sense especially because EV lost almost half their stable and FOURtune has too many people, get rig of Morgan and Williams and they have the PERFECT stable.

Abyss is making promos look so fake! The promo is suppose to make things look more realistic and give you more of an in depth look at what's going on. RVD takes time off after 6 months? And the story was he got ripped to shreds in a shit load of places. I've had stitches rip back open after 3 weeks so why wasn't there a drop of blood shed yesterday on Impact?

Now the Sting Nash Burke thing is VERY intriguing. I love the way they mad a huge deal about that big breasted chick. Motor City vs. Gen. Me has been electric. Two young athletic teams going at it, you don't get much better.

The World Title picture is making me mad. Angle has done wonders for TNA for the past 4 years and he's been faithful so YES he deserves to be in the mix, but Jeff and Anderson? WTH?! What about AJ? Joe hasn't seen a World Title shot in forever. So why not the originals who broke their backs making TNA what it is today? The Storylines aren't great right now.

 

[Derrtown]

I agree with the OP only TNA has been getting it right for the 2 and half years ive been watching them. EV2.0 still has Foley, Richards, Rhino, Dreamer, Raven, and Sabu the original guys on the Hardcore Justice PPV poster aka the original members plus theyve added Kendrick.

Williams for Fourtune is in the X title picture so that leaves... OMG 7 on 6. Or 7 on 7! Crazy, i know. I guess most people missed AJ and Kaz talking about how theyre sick of old guys coming into their house and stealing their spotlight. Or i guess they choose to ignore it and say the fued makes no sense... i dunno.

Abyss sounds and acts like a lunatic so id say thats in the realm of realism for what hes supposed to be.

And why not have Anderson main eventing? Hes been great, Hardy... eh. But TNA has had AJ, Joe, Pope, Wolfe, Angle, Anderson, Hardy, Sting, Abyss all fight for the title just this last year. Is that not enough variety for some people?

To each his own i guess.

 

[johnbragg]

I'm watching, but I'm not enjoying it much.

The "complex plotlines"--Deception, They--are like Schroedinger's Cat. Right now, they're neither good nor bad. The answers to the Big Questions will determine that. If the result is a new NWO rehash with Hogan, Nash and Bischoff, or "They" are Carlito, Mike Knox and Paul Burchill, then the "complex plotlines" were a huge waste of time, and TNA will be in real trouble.

If TNA Creative actually has answers to their mysteries, if they actually have been doing long-term story planning for months, then things will look a lot better after Bound For Glory.

 

[Rampage Bentley]

I'm with the people here who say TNA has been sucking.

They haven't done anything close to getting me interested in buying BFG, and I started off not at all opposed. As far as RVD and Abyss go, we've all seen and discussed the Mark Madden editorial, no sense in rehashing it. While they did try and rectify that a bit on Impact, it was too little too late. (RVD was concerned first about the title and Abyss was secondary, and even when he got to Abyss, he really didn't try all that hard)

And then there's Angle/Anderson/Hardy. Part of what makes a great match is the rivalries between the guys, but there's none here it's three faces who all "respect" each other... not a very compelling story.

The "Deception" angle isn't bad on paper, but it's borderline absurd just how long it's been going on without any motivation for Stash (Sting/Nash) being revealed.

And while MCMG and GenMe will be an amusing spotfest, I've seen it for free six times in the past two months (slight exaggeration, but you get the point)

Fortune vs. EV2 might be entertaining.... if it wasn't for EV2

TNA also has the tendency to take the one match that made the PPV worthwile and giving it away for free the next Impact.

Although not to be completely negative, I do like the addition of Pope to The Wolfpack, especially since he didn't really turn, he seems to have some info that we don't which makes you question how bad Stash really are

 

[Zeven_Zion]

I'm watching, but I'm not enjoying it much.

The "complex plotlines"--Deception, They--are like Schroedinger's Cat. Right now, they're neither good nor bad. The answers to the Big Questions will determine that. If the result is a new NWO rehash with Hogan, Nash and Bischoff, or "They" are Carlito, Mike Knox and Paul Burchill, then the "complex plotlines" were a huge waste of time, and TNA will be in real trouble.

If TNA Creative actually has answers to their mysteries, if they actually have been doing long-term story planning for months, then things will look a lot better after Bound For Glory.

I agree. I find it very laughable how people label a storyline good or bad when it's not even finished yet. The payoff is always at the end, not in the middle.

I think the storylines are all good because they spark my interest. I wanna watch and see what happens. But like you said, the ending will determine if we'll go "What the fuck?" or "Damn, I would've never thought of that, that was awesome".

 

[GameOver]

I would agree with TNA NOT getting it right at this time. I can barely watch the show, but I keep watching hoping they'll figure it out like they did late last year before Hogan and Bischoff came in and blew everything up. They have wrestlers I want to watch, but they're in angles that I don't want to watch. Their two "mystery" angles with They and Deception are just drawn out and nothing develops. They literally could have done with out the last 3-4 months and got to the punchline, but they just drag the shit out without breaking any new ground. They just keep dragging and dragging everything out, so long, without making it new, or interesting. I mean, seroiusly, it drags on for so long, I can't stand it. It just REALLY DRAGGGGS. You getting this?

Not gonna turn this into a WWE vs TNA, like i usually was, cause let's face it WWE is stale and does alot of nonsensycal stuff too. OMG tell me i didn't just say that

I've Been watching since the first year when i caught a glimpse of an xdivision match on YouTube, hoping since that they can get it right and it will be worth spending money on PPV's and as yet little has changed, it was actually at it's best initially when it was fresh and different

Now 8 yrs or whatever it's been, it's still the same boring location, the same half assed commentry/acting.

Too much going on that all ties in together but makes no sense overall.
as i said in another post you got
Abyss vs everyone, but semi siding with Fortune who are battling EV2 and ex WWE guys who are defending TNA/EV2, Sting Nash battling Jarret, Hogan, Bischoff over the fall of WCW which Nash had a huge part in i might add so he's a hyprocrite lol, meanwhile Hardy, Angle, Anderson, Pope are also fighting over a title that was never lost in the first place.

But that was a standard for WCW and now TNA, instead of actually having a title change hand in a (oh i dunno) a title match or a number 1 contender match, every few months they hold a tournament to determine a new champ/contender. Now no doubt the title change was RVD getting busted for drugs yet again, but so what write it into a title change.

A ranking system that supposedly is voted by fans, which it obviously isn't

Bring in big name after big name to "save" TNA, and within a few months it's apparent they were just being used then chucked into the corner or noone had any idea what to do with them once they were there.

And in amongst all this, there are some shining stars that are lumped in with 90% trash

Robert Roode, MCMG, Desmond Wolfe, Douglas Williams, Angle, Pope, Beautiful People. The rest is utter garbage for the most part.

It proves they can do something right, just gotta change the rest of the product and actually make some improvements instead of bandaids

 

[GameOver]

Also might add while they continue to do the bullcrap Abyss "obviously faking" torturing people they are not gonna get any major main stream exposure or sponsors and will continue to struggle to get anywhere

 

[osborne79]

Ok first off i want to say i am a wrestling fan, not a wrestling critic.
Yes TNA has been improving alot recently and is getting it right, i am really into the storylines fitting in with each other.
TNA has a great tag team division
TNA has a great World title division
TNA has a great X division
TNA has great factions
Fortune is amazing as it is, EV 2.0 is good

What i dont like in TNA is the deception angle is going on way too long and the tv title is useless.

I really think TNA is GETTING IT RIGHT!

 

[AndarielHalo]

OP is watching some other program entirely. I cannot possibly comprehend WHAT they are talking about or WHAT they think TNA is doing right. I can't name a single storyline going on right now that is remotely appealing, or that I can even describe without "or something" tacked to the end.

The whole Sting/Nash/Jarrett thing is ridiculous as well. They've literally been doing the exact same thing for the last 7 months, talking vaguely about something that most people don't understand, calling out Bischoff and Hogan for no apparent reason, and having atrocious wrestling matches. And Sting has been cheered the whole time. Awful angle, going nowhere.

THIS IS THE QUINTESSENTIAL SHITTY SHITTY BOOKING! WHAT IS THE STORY HERE? WHERE IS THE STORY ORIGIN? Did this have something to do with Sting saying he would tell Dixie Carter about some CONSPIRACY only for Eric to arrive to silence him and suspend him in that oh so unsubtle way of TNA's, implying perhaps Bischoff is involved in a conspiracy that Sting is on to?

So then what in the shit is this with him and Nash beating up on Jarrett and Joe? The only coherent thread is Joe; he's a part of this because Jarrett asked him to be. Everything else is completely inexplicable. Just there because who knows?

AND I'VE BEEN WATCHING TNA NONSTOP FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS! I CAN'T EVEN PINPOINT WHERE THIS FEUD BEGAN AND WHY!

The whole "they" thing isn't that intersting either. Not only have they claimed "they" was someone multiple times before backtracking later on a show that most people can't be arsed to watch, but it's all but certain that once "they" finally are revealed, it'll be a huge disappointment. Really, what kind of group do you think could be coming in that anyone would care about?

I actually thought STING was the one talking about a THEY. And then Abyss starts screaming about it... then goes silent for almost a MONTH when the EV2.0 thing begins with Hardcore Justice at its peak.


Now he's talking about THEY and doing stuff backstage that no wrestling fan in their right mind can believe and accept as even remotely real. It's not even a kayfabe thing like Undertaker shooting lightning and disappearing; it's more as if Undertaker literally killed his opponents after his matches and drank their blood.

They've overbooked the World Title situation as well, which would've been fine as simply Anderson/Angle. Instead, we have a triple threat main eventing the biggest PPV of the year. Don't even get me started on the worthless entities known as the Knockout's and X-Division.

The whole Kurt Angle on the road or retire thing completely fell to shit once he LOST a tag team match, but that apparently didn't count. Though it's actually been so long WITHOUT a champion that their former champion was GORILY MAIMED, STRIPPED OF THE TITLE, RECOVERED, AND RETURNED, and they STILL DON'T EVEN HAVE A CHAMPION DECIDED!

Considering that the ONLY REASON he was stripped of the title was because of his injury, WOULDN'T IT MAKE SENSE FOR ROB VAN DAM TO HAVE THE TITLE GIVEN BACK AFTER RECOVERING SO QUICKLY?!


Of course it would make sense; that's why TNA isn't doing it

I'm sorry, but TNA has been especially sub-par as of late. The only good thing going at the moment is the tag division with MCMG and GenMe, and maybe parts of the World Title stuff, since Angle is involved. Other than that, pure crap.

I have to disagree with this; Even the Motor City Machine Guns vs THOSE GUYS stirs very little interest and feels completely arbitrary, given the HUGE and EPIC series done by MCMG and Beer Money. They (TNA) set a standard they will never ever fulfill. I say "will never" because they CAN do it; they just won't, because they're stupid.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

Considering that the ONLY REASON he was stripped of the title was because of his injury, WOULDN'T IT MAKE SENSE FOR ROB VAN DAM TO HAVE THE TITLE GIVEN BACK AFTER RECOVERING SO QUICKLY?!
Of course it would make sense; that's why TNA isn't doing it

No, you're right. Strip him off the belt, have a tournament for the vacated title, book a Main Event for Bound For Glory with the Title on the line between Anderson, Angle and Hardy, promote that shit, have it be on every poster, every video package, then two weeks before BFG bring RVD back and make him the champion again. You are so smart.

He didn't recover. If you didn't watch iMPACT, he was taped up like a mummy and could barely walk. He's cleared to wrestle on 10.10.10. The most they could've done is to put him in the Main Event, which is stupid, because Abyss is left without a match and him attacking RVD goes to the shitter for no apparent reason. RVD will be the number one contender for the WHC after BFG.

Hope that answers your question.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

THIS IS THE QUINTESSENTIAL SHITTY SHITTY BOOKING! WHAT IS THE STORY HERE? WHERE IS THE STORY ORIGIN? Did this have something to do with Sting saying he would tell Dixie Carter about some CONSPIRACY only for Eric to arrive to silence him and suspend him in that oh so unsubtle way of TNA's, implying perhaps Bischoff is involved in a conspiracy that Sting is on to?

So then what in the shit is this with him and Nash beating up on Jarrett and Joe? The only coherent thread is Joe; he's a part of this because Jarrett asked him to be. Everything else is completely inexplicable. Just there because who knows?

AND I'VE BEEN WATCHING TNA NONSTOP FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS! I CAN'T EVEN PINPOINT WHERE THIS FEUD BEGAN AND WHY!

Soon after Hogan and Bischoff arrive in TNA, Sting comes back and goes bat-shit on Dixie. He's silent for months, fights with Double J left and right, and eventually opens his gap and begins the deception angle.

Kevin Nash is cranky because he's not on TV as much. Jarrett tells him that he needs to move on. He's old, and he needs to allow the younger talent to have their own spotlight.

Sting and Nash align. Why? Simple. Nash has been bashing TNA management, talking about the real bullshit being in the back. Sting has been going on a rampage, again speaking of bullshit in the back. These two guys found something out that we don't know, and they share a hatred for Hogan and Bisch - so they're now allies. This is also how Pope joined them. These three know something about Hogan and Bischoff that nobody else does. They're not saying it right now, because that would be completely stupid and would give away the entire storyline before BFG.

Why is Jarrett in this? Again, simple. Jarrett was feuding with Sting from the beginning of the year because he's a face -- he deffends Dixie and his company. Jarrett's been getting in Nash's face as well, because he was constantly telling Nash to move on. So, ultimately, they whoop his ass. Jeff is looking for someone to join him and go against those two - Joe is looking for a fight, and he joins J.J.

Now he's talking about THEY and doing stuff backstage that no wrestling fan in their right mind can believe and accept as even remotely real. It's not even a kayfabe thing like Undertaker shooting lightning and disappearing; it's more as if Undertaker literally killed his opponents after his matches and drank their blood.

So a guy disappearing and appearing from thin air, a man that is presented as a "dead man", a guy who shoots lightnings, a guy who is not a living human, makes more sense than a psychotic monster who brands people and attacks them with a weapon. Are you fucking kidding me? Are you telling me that there is NO WAY that a person can get a board with nails in it and fuck someone up, but IT IS possible to rise from the dead and shoot lightnings?!

WE'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO ACCEPT IT AS REMOTELY REAL YOU DUNCE! It's special effects - just like The Undertaker.

 

[Spicytunahandroll]

I agree with OP on this. TNA has really gotten better recently.

The story lines are interesting and intriguing.

The "THEY" story has had a great build IMO, with Abyss really over exasperating everything, and Making a huge deal of the 10/10/10 thing which is really good promotion for Bound For Glory. Even if the reveal fails, the build has been Phenomenal, and proves TNA can build great story lines. You want to know who "THEY" are, but you have bits and pieces of the story but not enough to say definitely who is THEY yet. SO they are keeping you guessing. Also It has given Abyss that edge that he has lacked for so long, It maybe a little "over the top" but wrestling was built on "over the top". Abyss is a legitimate monster again and that is the best place for him to be at. Who cares if he brands people or uses "janice"? Iv'e watched wrestling for over 20 years and seen way way worse than that. In the wrestling world you can do anything you want, it is that way in any major promotion in the history of time!


The Pope/Sting/Nash story line has been very interesting. They have given you small pieces of the story and you are suppose to be confused and start piecing the story together. I like the add of "TESSMACHER" to the story because it ties in to the earlier meetings Nash and Pope have had with her which could have been passed over and were not. You have people banding together who would not normal associate with each other to stop something that they know/see happening that everyone else is either blind to or is passing over cause they don't want to hear about or are a part of it.

TNA is making the World Heavyweight Title seem important by having the three top guy vie for it at the biggest PPV of the year. They have legitimately given all three ANGLE ANDERSON HARDY a chance to win it. Kurt and Jeff had two matches which proved they were pretty equal as neither man won but neither man lost either. ANderson beat POPE in the tourney to get his spot. Each of them has other motivation to get the title as HARDY want to get the title so he can give his buddy RVD a chance to regain it and Kurt Angle is putting his wrestling career on the line which means the world to him. Anderson is out to prove he has what it take to become a first time champion and beat two of the best in the business to do it.

The KO division is slowly taking an upturn as there are feuds between Madison.Tara and Angelina/Velvet. The KO tag titles are getting defended more often so Taylor and Hamada look strong as a team and could veer away to go for the KO title if they decide to go that direction. Sarita and Daffney are getting time on Xplosion and Sarita will get a shot sooner or later. Also there are reinforcements for the KO division on the way, so the division is really looking solid lately.

The Tag team division has been getting a lot of time recently and have super strong champions in The Motor City Machine Guns. Beer Money are legit contenders but have not pointed their way towards the titles as they are dealing with the Fourtune/EV2 power struggle. Ink INC has been built as a contender via video packages but they are going to need a big win to get a title shot. Generation ME are the #1 contenders after a very much needed heel turn which really made the team interesting after being bland for so long. They have a legit shot at taking the titles from MCMG at BFG since they have been methodically taking out Sabin and Shelly by injuring them every week. Even though they have not beaten them they have left an impression on the MCMG's and the fans that they are a force and could take the titles by "ANY MEANS NECESSARY".

The Fourtune/EV2 story line has done exactly what it was meant to do. Use the ECW guy to build up Fourtune as the dominant force in TNA and that you don't mess with Fourtune cause they will take you out if they see fit as to do so. Ric Flair and EV2 has put the "rub" on AJ Styles,Kazarian, Douglas Williams, Matt Morgan, and Beer Money and upped their standing in TNA and the wrestling business in general. That is what the feud was suppose to do.

 

[CuddleBuns84]

Well, it has gotten better, but it hasn't gotten great...

It was watchable the other night, had some good matches. No denying it. But you have 2 major surprise storylines happening, and the Return of RVD that makes it a giant cluster.

With the whole "They" thing going, and becoming a big part of TNA, wouldn't it of made sense to have Abyss win the title off of RVD?!?! I mean seriously. Abyss is claiming this major fraction is coming to TNA, that will make Dixie Carter unemployed. This is major serious stuff if your TNA. Wouldn't it make sense to have Abyss holding the title going into Bound for Glory, to take on Kurt Angle? Maybe have RVD return that night, and cost him the championship. Then Abyss flip out, and demand a title shot, and they will destroy everything in sight, then poof! out of no where "They" finally show up to lay out Angle and RVD?

It makes more sense then whats been happening. Why even have RVD show up? That really gets some people thinking... Well why doesn't he have the title.

Now the deception storyline. That's also weird. They are claiming that Hogan and Bischoff have a secret agenda. So, they attack Jeff Jarrett and Samoa Joe. Now they include The Pope...

The Pope just a few months ago was the biggest thing going on in TNA, then boom! Writing off the pages, comes back, and taps out to Kurt Angle. What the hell? Wouldn't it have made more sense to have him feud with AJ? Why on earth knock him down so far? Hell I would rather see him in the triple threat then Hardy. He is funner to watch, better on the mic, and could get the company rolling.

Oh shoot.. I got off the deception storyline. This thing has been played out since May!!! You had the Sting and Jarrett Feud, then Sting got the title shot, then the next week Kevin Nash was calling out Hogan or Bischoff... For no reason what so ever! Then sting joined in on the fun. Now the last month, you have had Sting and Nash go to ringside and just brawl Joe and Sting! What the hell?

Then last night, The Pope and Joe were having a good match, then Jarrett comes down to the ringside! It would of made more sense to have them attack after the match, but no! They didn't during the match! Hell, they could of had Jarrett accidentally cost The Pope the match, instead the bookers made the Pope look like an idiot staring down the brawl! What the hell. You could of had Bischoff come down the ringside, stop the match, make the Pope more upset about how he was being treated, and made the connection between Nash and Sting more meaningful. Instead you have a backstage segment, where Pope was just fine after being choked out. What the hell?!?!

The Deception angle needs to end! It is driving me up the wall. Too many stables wanting power in TNA. One stable is all you need. Not 5!

 

[CuddleBuns84]

"The Fourtune/EV2 story line has done exactly what it was meant to do. Use the ECW guy to build up Fourtune as the dominant force in TNA and that you don't mess with Fourtune cause they will take you out if they see fit as to do so. Ric Flair
and EV2 has put the "rub" on AJ Styles,Kazarian, Douglas Williams, Matt Morgan, and Beer Money and upped their standing in TNA and the wrestling business in general. That is what the feud was suppose to do. "

I don't know if that feud was suppose to do that... How many times does ECW have to make a comeback to put something over. I think Fourtune feuding with somebody else would of been better then EV2. I mean, I loved Foley 10 years ago, but it's hard to watch him now.

I think Fourtune should of been smaller then what it is. I'm thinking 4, 5 guys top. Then follow Evolution's steps. Beat the crap out of Jay Lethal and MCMG. Those are the young guys that need to be established. Throw in Ink Inc into the mix as well. Cause those guys need a rub. EV2 has finished their point, it's just odd seeing them for the third PPV. Technically 4th if you count the whole F'N show.

Now, if you were to do the EV2 thing, they should be the heels. Not Fourtune. I mean, look at the actual storyline. EV2 shows up, and Flair gets the his TNA crew to take them out. To show them, that it's their company, now ECW. Wouldn't it make more sense to have EV2 be the heels, trying to leach off of Dixie Carter? I think so... But I'm guess I'm a weirdo like that.

 

[schaeffershawn]

Ok, maybe im just blind but I do not see TNA getting it right. Here is what I see.

The x-division which was the backbone has been underwhelming at best. The division was once home to three of the best in the business Styles/Daniels/Joe, not to mention Sabin, Shelly, Kaz, and a host of others. Now the only one who illicit a response is Jay Lethal who cannot quite make the jump up despite Ric flair and others giving him the rub.

The tag division has only three teams the Young Guns/MCMG/Beer Money. Team #D are done and terrible even when they are around. That is not really a strength then because there are only 6 possible feuds, which even with heel/face turns only comes to twelve and still get boring. Aside from which Beer Money is engrossed in the Fortune/EV2 feud so there is no hope for three team stuff.

The women's division is a shell of what it once was. Now everything centers around the four ****es and Tara. Even the women's tag titles get drawn into it because of a lack of credible talent. There is only Wilde/Hamada and whatever make shift team is thrown at us when they feel like dusting off those belts once a month.

Fortune and EV2. It sucks. It sucks in ways that only Sports Entertainment Xtreme has sucked before. What is the purpose of having 6 of your best and brightest young talent feud with a group of guys who have never drawn a dime in the business? Does it some how elevate the guys in Fortune, no. All it does is prove everything mark madden writes about TNA as being true. Hell the only guys in EV2 who is worth a damn is Kendrick and Foley. Neither of which made their mark in ECW.

Abyss/RVD and they. I have been curious about who they are. Mostly because I know it will end up being a let down. seriously TNA's booking is like watching a car accident you can't help but watch. The Abyss RVD feud has been a let down period. If TNA was smart they would have had they revel themselves and help Abyss win the title. But that is commonsensical booking. Instead we get RVD off TV because of his contracted amount of dates, yet somehow he is not added to the main event of bound for glory to compete for the title he never lost.

The Nash/Sting vs Hogans boys does not make sense. This is the same Jarret who has ripped Hogan in the pass and hated Hogan's politics. Now we are suppose to buy Jarret being Hogans boy. As others have mentioned there is the fact that sting who is suppose to be the heel or maybe the hero of this is getting cheered. Or the fact that Hogan and Bischoff have not added anything to TNA that was not already there. Additionally Sting and Nash keep eluding to Hogans politics, which are not know to younger and casual fans. Still as I have always liked Sting and Nash I feel a little better about this story then others.

Which leads us to the nonsensical TNA world title booking. Aside from the fact that it would have made Abyss a good monster heel champion and added to the they storyline, lets look at the picture. Three faces of varying degrees. Hardy cant talk or wrestle. Anderson can talk but can't wrestle. Kurt is the best performer in the business in the ring. So what we have is Kurt caring two people and wining the belt in an all too predictable outcome. Why should we care? Why not let Kurt beat RVD for the belt in the first place. Or let Kurt beat Abyss for the belt so Kurt could have continued on the only watchable storyline in TNA going through the top ten?

If Tna is going in the right direction the ratings don't show it and the quality of tv and PPVs certainly don't show it.

 

[manstis1804]

Ok first off i want to say i am a wrestling fan, not a wrestling critic.
Yes TNA has been improving alot recently and is getting it right, i am really into the storylines fitting in with each other.
TNA has a great tag team division
TNA has a great World title division
TNA has a great X division
TNA has great factions
Fortune is amazing as it is, EV 2.0 is good

What i dont like in TNA is the deception angle is going on way too long and the tv title is useless.

I really think TNA is GETTING IT RIGHT!

How the hell does TNA have a great tag division and x division? Its like people just regurgitate what Mike Tenay shoves down your faces. TNA has 3 good tag teams, and one of them is in a faction so they're not tagging often. We're lucky if there's one x division match per week, and its always a 4 minute afterthought. As for great factions, there's on freaking faction that is decent, feuding with one that completely blows. I don't know if this is low standards or accepting everything the announce team and Dixie and Hogan and Bischoff and Flair and Jarrett and all the other people who talk too much tell you. Ever hear the phrase "don't piss on my leg and tell me its raining"? TNA has unzipped its proverbial drawers and are whizzing on your leg right now.

 

[DangerousDave]

TNA is beginning to get it right. All of their storylines are drawn out, but they have been intriguing. Just think about all the speculation by the IWC trying to figure out how these storylines interconnect and what the conclusion may be. I'll admit there are gaps or inconsistencies, but overall, the storylines are real mysteries I want to try to figure out and see if I'm right at their conclusion. How many words have been typed on this forum about "They", and all the other storylines going on now? About a gazillion, so someone must be watching and doing the same thing I am, watching every show and trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. To me that is the fun of following wrestling. I bet the buy rate for BFG is going to be good, because supposedly a lot of questions will be answered during that event. Every promotion from the Indys to the WWE do stupid things that you aren't going to necessarily like, but if you enjoy the overall product you can overlook that stuff.

I attend the matches in the Impact Zone every time they are held. (My usual disclaimer: I sit in the seats, don't chant, so don't bust my balls.) You can't really figure out all that is going on until you watch it on TV because you don't get to see all the backstage stuff that goes on. A lot of times these backstage scenes are what brings the whole storyline together or make sense out of an in-ring promo. You do however get to see stuff that doesn't get on TV, like RDV having to do his promo on Abyss twice. The first one was at the Monday night taping, which they screwed up due to some missed ques. Tuesday night they did the same exact thing, but shorter and smoother. Even the match between Abyss & Terry was the same match, with Abyss hitting Terry with the railing and RDV smacking the security guy with a chair. If you look closely at Impact and Reaction you will notice RDV's bandages are in different places from one scene to another. I wouldn't have notice that on TV had I not noticed the bandages were in different places between Monday & Tuesday night at the live show. You see matches that never make it to air or are for Xplosion, or brawls that go on a lot longer than seen on TV. I love going to the Impact Zone, but TV is what brings it all together for me.

 

[ilapierre]

I am happy to see positive TNA posts for a change. I have to say that I enjoyed the first Impact of the Hogan/Bischoff era but then wasn't so enthused about the next Impact and gave up watching for a few months. I returned to watch an Impact in April and still wasn't all that impressed. I tuned in again in June and was vaguely intrigued by an episode of Impact and then watched another episode in July and it got me hooked and i have been watching TNA as much as i can ever since. TNA's quality has improved a lot over the last half year. I really liked TNA two or three years ago and then found it got kind of stale before Hogan and Bischoff, and right now TNA seems to be headed in a really positive direction.

One thing I've noticed here on WZ is that it's easy for a casual TNA fan or long term WWE fan to be critical of anything that isn't already WWE because most fans grew up with the same old-same old and never 'got' anything that wasn't WWE. Unlike the 90s WCW fan, the 2000s generation wrestling fan must not have the patience or mental capacity to sit through or make sense of a storyline purposely booked to build suspense and attract new viewers. And those of you who contend that TNA's storylines are impossible to follow, are booked illogically, and could not attract new viewers and deflate interest are who i am talking about!!! Most of you whiners compare everything to a basic, and lazily booked, WWE formula of 8 Raw and Smackdown segments an episode where a feud begins right after a pay per view between two wrestlers who interfere with each other over four weeks leading up to the next pay per view that they'll face off at. Fans who eat this monotonous garbage up are used to one or two month storylines so basic a 2 year old could understand and predict it. Their brains must not have developed to the point where complex things can be comprehended in their entirety.

Since everyone thinks they know everything, they come on here and spout every little negative thing they can about what they don't like or understand. That's what most ignorant and stupid people do in this world, whether it be on an internet wrestling forum or in public with people with different political and religious views. People are too quick to criticize what they don't like and aren't willing to give stuff a chance if its different from what they think is 'normal'. When i wasn't watching TNA, i'd come here to see what people were saying and i saw a lot of people saying negative stuff. It was easy for me to see their point of view and i agreed with a lot of it. But i saw potential and kept my mouth shut because what respectable person comes on here and throws a negative tantrum about all the little things they don't like about wrestling!. I gave TNA a chance. Now i see quite the opposite of what i did before, cause i kept an open mind, and i'm really enjoying watching TNA. I find the only times i even question if i like it are when i read swayable posts here from TNA-haters who have completely over analyzed every little detail of every single Impact. When i'm actually sitting in front of the TV watching it for myself and letting myself make up my own mind I find i, for the most part, love what i'm watching. (minus ECW and Abyss). When i really don't like what i'm watching, i don't run to the computer and spew hate about everything i don't like and toward people who like what i don't like. I either stop watching altogether because it obviously sucks, or i keep watching it because a) it has potential or b) i like what i'm watching.

 

[californiachef84]

I would agree with TNA NOT getting it right at this time. I can barely watch the show, but I keep watching hoping they'll figure it out like they did late last year before Hogan and Bischoff came in and blew everything up. They have wrestlers I want to watch, but they're in angles that I don't want to watch. Their two "mystery" angles with They and Deception are just drawn out and nothing develops. They literally could have done with out the last 3-4 months and got to the punchline, but they just drag the shit out without breaking any new ground. They just keep dragging and dragging everything out, so long, without making it new, or interesting. I mean, seroiusly, it drags on for so long, I can't stand it. It just REALLY DRAGGGGS. You getting this?

This is an example of people who have ADD... You cannot wait to see how the storyline plays out, so it is automatically labelled as "being bad"... This is what happens when the WWE has been running for nearly ten years without any competition... Now people like Manstis1804 have had all of their hardwire reworked for what "pro wrestling" should be...

There used to be a time when storylines were told over a long period of time... However, the WWE started running PPV's every two weeks, and we started to get all of these "simpleton" storylines from the WWE... Now everybody thinks that ALL wrestling companies need to act like the WWE... Storylines should be wrapped up in a maximum of 6 weeks... WTF!!???

This is the very reason that I watch TNA... The payoff for these storylines may not even be that great, but at least I have actually been intrigued by them... At least the Deception angle and the "They" angle have made me think, and also made me excited for the payoff... When is the last time that you can say the WWE actually made you "think"??? Exactly...

It really all comes down to "brand loyalty"... Anyone on here who is under twenty years old thinks that the way that the WWE does things right now is the "norm"... Anyone who lived through and appreciated the Monday Night Wars knows that the current WWE product is NOT the "norm"... As a result, MANY fans have stopped watching... Don't believe me? That sure was a great 2.8 rating that Raw did this past Monday...hahaha...

Here is to hoping that TNA can deliver with their two BIG storylines at BFG... And even if you don't TNA, your still better than the Miz, Nexus, R-Truth... etc...

 

[MacSquirrely]

I agree that Deception and They angle must be aloud to run there course before being judged too harshly. My only worry is that TNA are going to think their fans are dumb and give us waterdown answered. A common thing about the They angle is, how awesome would it be if they turned out to be just voices in Abyss's head, no returning star or at least not in the flesh...

4tune doesn't make sense- drop some members and make the stable 4 wrestlers and Ric as manager and that makes more sense, you know like the name. EV2 is a waste of TV time. I'm not saying that some of the old ECW wrestlers shouldn't be in work or on TV, but a stable... Really? Dreamer and Raven working together? You have to be kidding me. Yes there needs to be another stable to work with 4tune (unless 4tune was trying to take over TNA), but EV2 isn't the stable for that angle. Plus TNA has had too many stables as of late...

MCMG vs GenMe is a nice storyline, but will it last the test of time? X-Div and KO-Div are failing, the latter should have Mickie James soon tho. I'm fed up with Jeff Hardy, he's todays' Sabu, a spot guy. Jeff's not a great worker in the ring and he has a court case over his head, the flame that he had in the WWE has gone out. Deal with it. Mr Anderson needs to pick- Heel or Face and have done with it. Kurt should loose the 3 way at BFG, clean pin by Mr Anderson, because Mr Anderson could become the biggest Heel in TNA by "ending" Kurt's career (note Retirement means nothing in wrestling)...

 

[czar76]

the problem here is no matter what happens on the 10th or what the outcome of any of the storylines are people are going to say it makes no sense and is shit. the current wrestling fan base is so brainwashed by what the wwe has force fed them over the years that no other company is given a chance.

Yes the storylines are complex, that's the damn point. it makes u think. likeing it or dislikeing it is secondary. the 90's style of fast paced, in ur face action left no room for storytelling. lets remember folks that this is more or less a soap opera. it doesn't have to be a tale for the ages it just has to move things along until something new is thought of.

the fans of today would never have liked all the matches and storylines of old that they often quote because those feuds make u think. dusty roads and ric flair had an on again off again feud for damn near ten years. when hogan and andre had the historic match at mania 3 it was the end of a long feud that had played out all over the world for years, sorry kids vince didn't come up with that one.

the point is tna is working but not in the popular fashion, it's old school.