TNA: On the right path?

[The Gribbler]

I will admit, I have been one of the fans who have been more than skeptical of the TNA product in the past. I have been one of the first to point out almost every booking fault that they have made and laughed when their stories were so ridiculous even I couldn't believe it.

But in the past month or so, TNA has been putting on a compelling, well written and terrificly wrestled product that has me tuning in each and every week. I don't know when the change took place but I cannot remember a month of wrestling that I have enjoyed more.

It might just be a temporary thing, but I am for the first time looking forward to the future of TNA.

What do you guys think? Is TNA on the right path? Or is this just a flash in the pan?

Awaiting your answers.

 

[johnbragg]

Mr. TNA is finally the TNA World Heavyweight Champion.

The feuds are focused on who will defeat who, or who will take control of the company in a semi-athletic sense.

No one is stalking anyone's family.

The amount of stupid seems to have been cut down.

The veterans are being used to actually elevate young talent, rather than have young talent in the ring with them to be devalued. Scott Steiner is isolated in a feud with the equally useless Bobby Lashley.

It could always blow apart on any given Thursday, but things look good right now.

 

[Eric]

But in the past month or so, TNA has been putting on a compelling, well written and terrificly wrestled product that has me tuning in each and every week. I don't know when the change took place but I cannot remember a month of wrestling that I have enjoyed more.

Sounds like about the time Vince Russo became head of creative.

I agree, and I've been enjoying TNA a lot more than WWE.

 

[NSL]

I'd say the improving ratings are a sign of this being a "yes". Nigel's debut was done great, and has brought in a whole new batch of fans. Impact has been getting steadily better, without blowing it's big one too soon, and that looks to be carrying on for a while.

The main event at Turning Point should be a great match, no matter how it's booked, and there's a ton of other stuff going on. It's got a little for everyone. Steiner and Rhyno feuding with the likes of Morgan, Hernandez, and Lashley is exactly what is needed, giving the younger talent the rub, while keeping the "known" talent on TV long enough to get them over.

The Knockouts have proven week in, and week out, that they are superior to the Divas in just about every way. It seems every match they have, whether it's a tag or singles bout, improves every week.

I know a lot of the guys backstage are worried about the direction, but that comes with change. Before they knew their direction because they knew everything was cyclical. It doesn't seem to be doing that this time...

 

[MoxViolence]

its funny this thread has been posted because i was watching impact last week and said to myself at this current moment...imo tna has NEVER been better. now tna's talent is undeniable. and right now the only thing that can kill their momentum is shitty storylines. but lets break this down.

aj is the world champ....LONG OVERDUE.

eric friggin young has become the shit. period. legends champ and all. i remember eric young getting bitched around by robert roode and jumping around as a bad imitation of superman. and NOW...eric young is THE....SHIT....

the tag team division imo can be a little better but hell anything is better than wwe's vomit inducing tag team division. that may change tho with the machine guns getting there title shots.

the Xdivision is great...i remember when team3d wanted to do away wit the xdivision. god that story sucked. but hey look at it now. amazing red is the champ. you got so many contenders that are all great.

Matt Morgan and Hernandez are a step away from becoming main eventers.

and the mafia is finally breaking up. that got stale quick anyway if you ask me.

OVERALL tna is doing their dam thing right now. and i can only hope it continues.

 

[2TheMax]

To point out the time TNA was starting to get better has to be when Jeff Jarrett was booted. Ever since then, the veterans have been taking the back seat for once.

It's a good thing you came up with this thread. Last night on Raw, I thought to myself that WWE was going to go to a similar path as TNA by shaking things up and having new talent in the main event; They're not. Once again, you have nothing but veterans in the main events at Survivor Series. The same people month in, month out.

Unlike WWE, TNA has been in the right direction as far as elevating their young talent. AJ Styles, Matt Morgan, Hernandez, Eric Young, Desmond Wolfe, Amazing Red, Bobby Lashley, The British Invasion, Abyss, etc. are all becoming attractions. Their booking may not be the best but at least TNA is on a positive format as far as their future goes.

WWE has no future stars. If another Brock Lesnar was to go to the WWE, all their young talent would get squashed. Trust me on that. It's only a matter of time.

 

[drondog]

TNA is getting better I think, but the more power they give Russo the more it scares me. When Rhyno came out last week talking backstage politics, it took me back to when Russo came out on Nitro and berated Goldberg (the hottest thing going in WCW at the time), and Hogan(Enough said) during the middle of a live show. Russo may have tried to lose his stripes when he found god.( Youtube-Steve Borden (Sting) interviews Vince Russo) Or maybe were in for another exciting Attitude era type stories. I just hope it doesn't crash hard like WCW, I think as long as they don't air dirty laundry on tv, they'll be ok, we have the internet for that. And as long as Russo stays off TV. They got rid of Jarrett don't make another one. And WOW wasn't it about 10 years ago when Jarrett was breaking guitars every show, and he was thought of to be the next Hogan. HAHA What a joke. TNA is definately looking into long term, and making new stars. And they have been really interesting. All they need to do is go live, I think being able to read 2-4 shows ahead people don't watch Impact.

WWE is a whole other playground. Vince will never change it as long as he's making billions. They're pushing towards the kids to get their parents money, while the parents sleep through the shows. They may be starting to make new mid-carders but main eventers will always be HHH,HBK, Cena, Orton, Undertaker, Jericho(sometimes) Bortista,Edge, and for now CM Punk. I would be willing to bet everything I own, that you couldn't find a WWE championship match in the last 5 years maybe 10 counting (Austin,Rock,Angle) that haven't been in the title match at the PPV. Around 8-12 superstars have been in every main event over the last decade. "Hey Vince, you think it's time to "shake things up a bit," hell A LOT"

WWE is way past stale, I can't wait until 24 is back on so there is something else to watch besides RAW!

 

[Randolph H]

TNA's story lines are getting better, I think that last weeks impact was a better show than this weeks raw. Raw was the average boring show, except for Kofi getting revenge on Orton. Nothing on raw topped the Desmond Wolfe segment on TNA. The whole hornswaggle thing is worse than the Prince Justice League thing with Super Eric. Then having DX get a restraining order on Hornswaggle (which was awkward and made no sense). I really dont think the currant creative team for TNA is as stupid as the currant creative team for the WWE is. The one complaint I do have for the creative team for TNA is the hoodies and hooded robes is really stupid. It might be ok if 1 or 2 characters have them.

WWE/WWF had the same problems it currently has back in the early to mid 90s. That is when WCW actually gained a larger audience. This is TNA's opening to take it to the next level, IMO. The WWE is turning off a large portion of it's audience like me. TNA over the past two weeks has really got my attention and I actually watched the full two hours.

 

[TheBestThereNevaWas]

TNA seems to be on the right path for the most part. They still don't market their product enough though.

My other gripe is how AJ is booked as champion. He got the belt as a charity pretty much, went to a time limit draw with Angle and sloppily beat Sting. AJ has been made to look like a self-doubting champion. If you're doubting your ability to beat the top guys, why are you the champion? TNA needs to book AJ stronger.

Hopefully they can keep improving.

 

[tvanderbilt]

i think they are doing great and i think with kennedy umaga potentially coming over could pull some ratings. But with hogan and bishoff potentially signing if they do this right omg things could get good, as long as the continue to make the product around the up and coming stars and not just hogan, business could pick up

 

[Maikeru_1979]

since it has been confirmed by tna that hogan and E.B are coming in I really hope that they don't end up like WCW...but as long as panda energy and Dixie are happy i really don't think that will happen.

i think this could be a huge step up for TNA and really launch them into more mainstream exposure and higher ratings.

 

[Fizzy]

Hell yea they are on the right path. They just signed Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff. They have Kurt Angle, Mick Foley, and Bobby Lashley who is bringing in more viewers because of his fighting career as well as many big draws in their own. They are definitely on the right path. With the signing of Hogan they will start getting talked about so much more and get more and more viewers. TNA will hopefully start getting better ratings and such because damn this is getting company is getting bigger and bigger stars.

 

[johnbragg]

I take back every single positive thing I've said about TNA in the last few weeks. They're going back to trying to wring the last few drops of revenue out of the used-up broken-down stars of the 1990s and now the 1980s.

There will be a ratings boost. They might crack 2.0 for Hogan's Impact debut. But within 90 days of Hogan returning to TNA, ratings will be back down to the 1.0-1.3 range. Hogan Knows Best premiered at a 1.9, but I have no idea how quickly it tapered off after that.

And I really don't know how you sell Hogan in a pay-per-view match in 2009.

 

[xJAYxJAYx]

There will be a ratings boost. They might crack 2.0 for Hogan's Impact debut. But within 90 days of Hogan returning to TNA, ratings will be back down to the 1.0-1.3 range. Hogan Knows Best premiered at a 1.9, but I have no idea how quickly it tapered off after that.

That may or may not be true. We can only watch and see if ratings drop back down after his initial debut. With Ric Flair possibly coming into TNA as well, I bet ratings stay up. Hogan is going to bring in fans that usually dont watch TNA or have never heard of TNA.

TNA's product is top notch right now. They are doing all the right things. I agree with the person that AJ's title run is looking a little weak, but I disagree that a time limit draw with angle is part of the reason he looks like a weak champion. Time limit draws are GREAT and I'm glad TNA is bringing back time limits.

Hopefully TNA will learn how to market their product a little more...once they do that, TNA will get a lot bigger!

TNA is doing a GREAT job right now!