TNA vs. MARK MADDEN

[UseYourBrain]

Man, Madden has really been forced to eat all of his words regarding TNA this far. His editorials basically blasted the hell out of TNA and mocked it's chances, predicting January 4th to be "A day that will live in infamy". But... TNA had some decent ratings, have created some word-of-mouth, and are going to feature Madden's boy, Ric Flair (who Madden would rip to shreds if they weren't friends for his mock-retirement) in a wrestling capacity. Best of all, TNA is now going head to head against Raw on a regular basis every Monday night. Is it just me or was Wrestlezone's "great wrestling mind" just made to look sort of foolish?

Now, Madden's not the only one guilty of prematurely dismissing TNA's credibility and I'm not going to pretend that TNA has overachieved in any way, either. I don't hate Madden and think he has the most interesting columns on the site, though I honestly don't think they're as fun as they used to be.

Does anybody else think TNA has at least STARTED to prove it's doubters wrong?

 

[Schizophrenic]

I do think they are going in the right direction. The storylines seem to be starting to get in their right spots and making more sense than before and the younger guys have been getting the breaks and tv time with a few vets thrown in here or there. But of course because it's TNA and Madden I am sure to him none of it is being done right. I have never been a fan of Madden as I think he was always a lame rip off of what Lawler was doing with bad Kevin Smith references. He knew whatever moves were written out for him and the only "entertaning" thing he did was get his ass kicked by Tank Abbot. He claims to not aspire to be involved in wrestling anymore yet comes off as a scorned lover. He will rip it to shreds and talk so much crap about a company and people that helped him gain money. Listening to him talk about the women in WCW made me want to puke and the way he still views them "rats who are there for eye candy and backstage pleasure' disgusts me. Also add on the fact that he would jump at the chance if ANY of the women in WWE or TNA proposed a night of fun.

 

[Tripleb2k1]

maybe...maybe not.

funny how no one mentions Hulk Hogan predicting on January 4th to pull in a 3.0+ rating and doing a 1.0+

 

[JJohns]

Personally, I don't think that TNA has started to prove the Naysayers wrong. One of the first things that Mark Madden has claimed is that TNA is Minor League compared to WWE. Look at the unfortunate incident that happened this week with the venue that TNA had booked for a house show. They booked a show in an arena that is basically an overglorified barn, and when the heavy snows came down, what happened? Most any other arena in the area stood up to the snow storms that hit the area. Why did TNA choose this particular venue, when there were many more venues in the area?

And trust me, Mark Madden will probably have a field day on that one. He already did when they announced that venue.

Oh, one other interesting tidbit I just found. This is from Mark Madden's January 2nd Editorial:

TNA’s own attitude toward Monday night is also a handicap. There’s no discernible long-term commitment to going head-to-head with Raw. There has to be. Monday’s TNA show won’t beat Raw. It’ll be lucky to do a 1.5.

I forgot....what did TNA announce that their rating for that night was?

 

[XgringolocoX]

Madden is neither right nor wrong yet. Though I find it funny to see folks ripping into someone who's been around the business and seen things which they don't ever have a hope in hell of seeing for themselves. Maybe, just maybe his opinion is far closer to the truth then what you are imagining or what you'd like to be true. Maybe.
I'm a TNA doubter. I don't hate TNA. I'd love for them to become a viable alternative in their own right. Beating WWE doesn't concern me, just be entertaining. IMO, as a TNA doubter, they haven't proven anything yet. I've said this many times in these forums that they have a great amount of potential. They just need to start directing that potential correctly.
IMO TNA just has a low-rent feeling to their broadcasts. Maybe it's just being in that studio ALL the time, maybe it's their production values.
TNA hasn't crossed the line yet. They do have the potential to do so.

 

[classicviolence]

I don't know honestly. The last 2 weeks of Impact ratings are around 1.2. SO it seems that they are losing some steam so to speak regarding keeping the new viewers happy.

The AAO ppv, was also a bore. The Pope/Kennedy match was well done to get the fans more behind the Pope character but everything else on that card was a abortion.

TNA is aiming correctly on its goal, however the execution is way off. I think that moving to Mondays permanently is good because it will help them expand, but they need to really stay focused on 1 or 2 main story arcs and not 5 at a time.

 

[TNARICK]

maybe...maybe not.

funny how no one mentions Hulk Hogan predicting on January 4th to pull in a 3.0+ rating and doing a 1.0+

He said the viewers would triple for him. They didn't triple but they did double to a 1.9.

Nowhere did he actually say TNA was going to get a 3.0 rating

Tired of hearing this

 

[dionlyone18]

TNA is so far been kinda shaky.not saying its bad.the storylines are kinda jumbled up and i kinda dont know where they are heading.but there pushing stars..deniro has gotten his big push.I personally dont like the whole "nature boy" aj styles deal..i kinda see it as a slap in the face that you think he is the next naitch.i also dont like how tna brought flair to them with a few dollars.but i see tna is getting that word on the street dea.but the last few weeks they kinda slipped to like 1.2.do i agree with madden?..not really..do i think tna is the minor leauges...with all due respect yes they are..now...i was the one who said a two months ago tna was going to be huge in about four weeks and going to be getting 2.1 ratings....im eating my words..tna has all this star power but no idea what to do.and i feel like they kinda rushed..i mean the jan 4 episode was sooooo sloppy and like they just wanted a bunch of big names on the marquee.but i kinda see it as a slap in the face on tnas standpoint when this past monday tna said they were going to monday nights and wwe basically said "were not paying them any mind and we not even looking at them" that will backfire on tna one day.but right now i still tna as that little brother in the background.its not going to be a three month thing that will make tna this "next big thing" not yet

 

[MisterTNA]

Usually Mark Madden doesn't have a clue what's going on, but he's right on the money here.

I don't see how TNA has proved anything to anybody. At least not in a positive way. Besides the 1.9 Hogan Drew on 1/4 their ratings have been been the same 1.2

Another thing, Tara and Love vs Beautiful People was the highest rated segment. Hogan, Band and Angle were the lowest. It's exactly as most unbiased fans said would happen. People will get sick of Hogan, Band, Flair. It's old. You can't advertise "Crossing the line" And "Something fresh" When your main storylines are surrounded by guys that headlined 10+ years ago.

I don't understand how Bisch and Hogan can't see what's going on. The women in TNA draw. Why? Because they are DIFFERENT then the shit people see on WWE. Besides Lita and Trish, and to an extent Mickie, WWE has never had a good female wrestler that was also beyond hot. TNA has quite a few IMO. They need to capitalize on that. That's what's drawing people in. Do like the WWE did with Trish. Put the girls in some main events, with the guys. Put them in the spotlight. I guarantee you the ending segment won't draw an pathetic 1.02

I love the Wofle, Pope, Morgan and Hernadez, but if they keep ending shows, and PPV with crap like AJ and Flair, and Hogan and the Band and E, and they keep drawing the low segments, it's not going to end well.

Hogan is FINALLY learning how hard it is to get over. Before, all Hogan had to do was do his ear cup, wave, pose and he was over and drew like nobody else. But now he's seeing how hard it is to draw when you aren't #1 anymore. In fact he might not even be in the top 5 right now. DX, Shawn, HHH, Cena, Taker, Orton, all draw more than him. This is where he has to finally be creative. How can Hogan get himself over, in a fresh and exciting way? If he figures that out, TNA might just be ok

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I don't think TNA has proven the naysayers wrong at all just yet. I'm surprised to see that the news of TNA's permanent move to Monday nights hasn't generated the overhwelming buzz and approval that I thought it would. Reactions seem to be mixed at this point regarding TNA's move just like the reaction to TNA under Hulk Hogan's direction seems to be mixed. Personally, I don't think TNA is really any worse since Hogan came but I don't think that TNA has made any real improvements either.

Hogan used his name and got the word out about TNA and that's good. That's what TNA needed as much as anything else. Hogan has made some changes in TNA that haven't met with approval from a lot of TNA fans, he's brought in some guys that haven't really gotten a warm reaction from the fans but he also hasn't started to bury a lot of TNA talent as was the major fear of a lot of people. However more and more with each passing episode of iMPACT!, Hulk Hogan does seem to be making himself the center of attention to the show and I'm not too thrilled about that.

The buzz and excitement for the live March 8th show against Raw isn't nearly as much as it was for the show on January 4th and it's been announced that Hogan and Ric Flair will be wrestling in a tag team match on March 8th with Abyss and Styles serving as their partners. The match will probably be shit, but Hogan and Flair are still two big names. Just hearing that Hogan and Ric Flair are actually wrestling again might be the little gimmick that this episode needs to attract some curious fans.

However, the WWE still has time to decide what they intend to do to counteract it. Personally, I won't be surprised to see if the guest host schedule isn't rearranged. If it's possible, I think the WWE will try to have Stone Cold Steve Austin be the guest host for Raw on the 8th.

 

[Legendary1]

Come' on already..TNA Impact on 1/4 did a 1.5 average for the night...NOT a 1.9 (So Madden was correct on his prediction.)

I would love for WWE to have some competition but so far the Impact show on Thursdays haven't been any better than the old Thursday night WCW Thunder shows!!. (HOWEVER, that is an improvement over what TNA was airing before Hogan & Bischoff....at least the shows are somewhat watchable now.)

If I'm TNA I would be very disappointed in the ratings since then. Yes it is a slight improvement but the 1.2 they have been doing the last couple of weeks is the same number they have drawn in the past every time they sign a major star. It spiked to that same rating with Angle, Foley, Sting, Christian.. (or within a Tenth of a point.)

Like I said, they are showing SOME signs of Improvement but still have a long way to go.....so far Madden has made some excellent points!!! (As he should..he does know a thing or two about this business you know??!!)

 

[CuddleBuns84]

Sorry guys, But Mark Madden has been on the money so far for the whole TNA thing. Not also that, but I can't blame the guy for hating that company. Most of the roster and staff are guys that had their hands in the cookie jars while WCW was going under. I mean, Kevin Nash got out with Millions, so did Scott Hall. Hell they were losing money to Hogan when it came to merchandise sells, because it all went to hogan.

So I understand where Mark is coming from. Not also that, but he did say they would be lucky to reach 1.5 in the ratings. No where near the triple he predicted.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
"He said the viewers would triple for him. They didn't triple but they did double to a 1.9.Nowhere did he actually say TNA was going to get a 3.0 rating.Tired of hearing this"

So, whose suppose to get the triple rating. Was it suppose to be when Hogan was on Jay Leno talking about the hulkamaniacs? Was when he was going to triple the ratings of my friend's Dave Youtube show? I mean, He said, in a interview that the ratings were going to triple just for him showing up on TNA. Ratings did not triple, not at all. But I guess the viewers tripled up for him, because well, as long as there is three times the amount of viewers not watching the show, that means he was never wrong? Crap, that mean said the ratings will triple for him, when he goes to TNA. It never happen. Deal with it. remember folks 3 times 1 is.... 3!!!!!!!

And as much the show having improvement! Yes it has. It is more interesting, and more approachable, to what it use to be. But like previously stated, It's WCW attempting to be WWF/E all over again. When WCW tried to copy the attitude era, people just turned in to Raw, because why watch amateurs try it, when the other guys do it better.

I Find this insert interesting:

"Another thing, Tara and Love vs Beautiful People was the highest rated segment. Hogan, Band and Angle were the lowest. It's exactly as most unbiased fans said would happen. People will get sick of Hogan, Band, Flair. It's old. You can't advertise "Crossing the line" And "Something fresh" When your main storylines are surrounded by guys that headlined 10+ years ago."

This absolutely accurate, but should scare TNA fans. In fact, scare the company. Some of the worst merchandise and products in the world, have been the Female strong image product. In the 1960's that had Spiderwoman, the comic book lasted 6 issues. Superwoman tanked in the box office. Most recently the Bionic Woman, could draw the ratings in. I'm not trying to sound sexiest, but that's how it is. On top of that, but Chyna in the WWE was a huge draw. She sold some crowds, and could compete with some of the guys. She was good. But guess what, She is on TMZ now, not getting in the clubs. T and A will get you show far, but not to the promise land of where the WWE is at. They tried women's wrestling shows and they have tanked. So if your biggest draw, is T and A, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

 

[JJohns]

TNA is shit. Simple as that. It's been shit for a while. When they were focusing on the things that WWE didn't focus on, it worked. People were interested in the X-Division, because it was something that WWE wasn't doing. But when you start doing things like "Stone Cold" Shark Boy, "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal and a nearly moment by moment rehash of the Montreal Screwjob, you are no longer trying to be an alternative.

That's where TNA is coming up short. It was great when at one time the only WWE rejects in TNA were actually guys that helped to create TNA (see Raven, BG James). They weren't the biggest names, nor were they meant to be. They were there to help build the company.

Even when Christian made the jump from WWE to TNA, you had goosebumps, because it truly was the first shot in a war against WWE. They got one of WWE's top younger stars (at the time). But then, it all started to fall apart. You had Angle come in, and it was still fresh in everyone's minds that he had just left WWE because he wanted to "deal with personal (drug) issues". Then you had Booker T come over, after he got released while suspended for a Wellness Violation.

TNA started to be less about being innovative, and more about picking from WWE's scrap heap and building a roster around that. Guys were coming over because WWE was too damn hard for them. Look at the guys that came from TNA to WWE. They weren't given major pushes right away, and a good number of them never even made it to the main roster (see....Ryan Wilson, Sonny Siaki[I know, there were other reasons for his release, and I commend him for doing what he did], Cassidy Reilly). Because unlike having the former WWE star label when you go to TNA, you actually had to earn your spot in WWE (with the exception of Christian, though he already paid those dues from his first WWE run, and Ron Killings). Even the guys that made the main roster, some of them didn't stay very long (Kid Kash, Frankie Kazarian, Monty Brown[family issues]). In fact, when you look at the TNA stars that came to WWE, the only two that truly stand out outside of those that made their name in WWE, WCW or ECW prior are CM Punk and Mickie James, and even they had to go through a period of time proving their worth to the company in developmental, and had their first shot at the main roster die before it even got started.

 

[The Marauder]

Ohh, I love this TNA vs whatever threads. Since I've been on here counted about 4 or more TNA bashing threads. I'm a TNA fan through and through but for you guys that rip on the company from time after time,are actually getting spoon fed by a guy with the status of a cafeteria worker? I mean explain that to me, please?

I have a few words to words to say to Mr. Madden. Look, Madden may have these so called "die-hard" WWE fans or marks fooled by his wit/bashing on TNA or people who watches it.

Bottom line: Madden is the worse person in the IWC.

I read his forums or articles whichever may be. The guy is a fucking douche that sits in his grandma's basement and craps on all the wrestling product that he couldn't even get a job for. And then turns around and kiss McMahon ass so he can think, he can get Jim Ross's seat when he retires. More importantly he act's like TNA is the crappiest product ever made because it doesn't "have the connection" like WWE or WCW. God, I'm sick of hearing that!!! TNA may not be as big as the WWE but TNA wrestlers are miles of ahead of theirs. The man got fired twice from two major companies and gained 50 pounds after WCW went out of business. I'm sick of him trying to point out "what's wrong with TNA again" and "fuck the wrestling fans" crap. "Wow, what an ego!!!" Hey, Madden if you want to change the wrestling world why don't type something worth reading instead of shitting on the product. Oh wait everybody; he doesn't believe in that because he's the so called anti-wrestling fan.

Another thing is that people on these threads always seem to ride Maddens dick because TNA has some damn flaws. I read, "Oh man,they have too many ex-WWE guys" or "I'm sick of TNA because they don't push certain X amount wrestlers." Then who the hell are you to judge what company the wrestler works at or what they do with him/her??!! The wrestler can go anywhere but NOT TNA! (If going to TNA then hang up the boots.) "Oh yeah WWE is perfect in every way". Another thing Madden, shitting on parts of TNA wrestling does not make you the "AL Bundy" of the IWC and if weren't such a damn bore you would get that through your fat head.

Thanks for your time people. I would love to read some of your replies.

Marauder

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

I have a hard time taking Madden seriously. I mean, he seems like a jealous, bitter woman. His articles can be interesting at times, but I mean, he just isn't credible, given his obvious bias against what seems to be the ENTIRE world of mainstream wrestling, since no one wants him.

 

[gd]

I don't think TNA has proved anything to anyone quite yet. Sure, they've done some positive things, but I still think it'll be quite some time before we actually get a clear picture of how successful they'll be.

As for Madden, I don't think he's really a big deal, at least not in TNA's eyes. There are thousands and thousands of people writing stuff about TNA on the internet every day. Madden is just another one of those guys. His impact is minimal at best.