TNA Wrestling fans are idiots

[Slyfox696]

Truly, this can be the only logical conclusion. As a long time TNA fan, and a long time wrestling message board user, I've been privy to many discussions regarding TNA, but the one discussion that I keep reading over and over again will have some relation to the following:

"This *insert writer/creative/head of TV* has no idea what he/she's doing and TNA is being ruined.*

First Jarrett, then Russo, D'Amore, Jarrett and Russo together, Dixie, and now Hogan and Bischoff, it doesn't matter who is writing the shows, they always do it "wrong". Which leads me to the only logical conclusion, which is TNA fans are idiots who have no idea what they want.

I mean, think about it. Back when they prominently featured their own talent, TNA fans called them vanilla midget wrestlers who could never compete with the WWE. TNA steals top level talent away, and suddenly they're not focusing on "homegrown" talent (whatever the heck that is anyways), and don't care about the X-Divison any more. When they prominently feature X-Division, critics put them down for having car wreck spotfests, and when they feature heavyweights, people criticize them for not having the exciting X-Division workers wrestle more.

And, throughout all of this complaining, one thing has remained constant with each and every new head of creative/writing/TV...TNA has grown.

So how big of an idiot are YOU? Have you been one of those whiners who always complains about how TNA doesn't entertain you, and yet still watch anyways? Or are there things you like about the product, you're just too shy/lazy to post?

Finally, I would like someone to explain how people can already be calling for Bischoff and Hogan's ouster less than a month in, despite people saying for YEARS that TNA should sign Bischoff.

I'm looking for answers. Please provide them.

 

[ABMorales787]

It ain't just the TNA fans. Its most "smarks". Kinda funny because for "smart marks", they aren't too bright.

Its a nasty habit to complain about a product simply because its not an overnight success, and I thing the problem here lies in the fact that WWE has been alone on their high horse for over a decade and there are people willing to say anything, no matter how stupid it is to "make it better". Rather than watching the product grow, they quickly wanna point fingers and wave wands hoping to have their voices heard as if it was the perfect solution. Fans need to learn that:

1) Not all the wrestling federations have to be the same as WWE.
2) Just because something changes overnight everything else has to fall in place immediate.
3) Professional Wrestling isn't all about character and story development.


My rant is over.

 

[a0161613]

Not all TNA fans have that logic Sly.

I'm more than happy to criticise the present and past regimes because at times there has been some horrible decisions. Seriously too many to mention.

But there have been some great choices and I'm delighted to say that AJ Styles on top of the company is the best thing they could have done and they did it in the right way at the right time.

The Hogan Bischoff thing has got major criticism but I wholly support them because Impact which was good but inconsistent, has now got better. I don't like a lot of things if I am honest but I like enough to give them a chance.

So I think it's just some marks who were never going to give Hogan and Bisch a chance.

 

[Schizophrenic]

Holy Crap I was ready to come in here guns blazing for someone who wanted to come into the TNA section and claim TNA fans were morons......then I read what you wrote. I agree with most of what you said. Like Numbers said, it's not all TNA fans but the hypocrites who want it both ways and they want it now dammit! The people that want something to change, are then given it and still complain because it's "not how I would have done it". I have come to the conclussion that some people feel when they get the internet they have this self righteous feeling that they have a right to say what they want and express their oppinions.....but no one else can, and if they do they are wrong.

 

[ncwriter2908]

I agree I have watched the TNA product and I have a few complaints, but lets face it if your going to get behind the company then you have to say Hogan and Bishoff stay. It doesnt matter if you like them or not. If you want TNA to be a success then they have to stay. Hogan is bringing in steady ratings and the show is getting better.

Oh yeah for the record I like seeing the old guys out there. They put on average matches at best but thats not why TNA needs them. They are entertaining personalities. The Band has alot of history and why not play it out. Its nice to see how the story has evolved after all these years. Also the Nasty Boys are mildy entertaining. I just think they need to learn how to give some of the young guys personality. I think thats why they paired Aj with Flair. I just think he needs a good fued to get him over with first time fans. Like he will fight Samoa Joe at the next PPV. Thats not going to get any buyers. Samoa Joe hasnt been interesting since his streak was lost. Also the new fans dont know who the hell he is. Aj is only midly acepted and known by them. They need to get Sting down from the rafters. He was the one who backed AJ and now Aj has turned heel? Flair is also one of stings biggest enemies. Sting would provide a nationally known name that the new fans recognized. I knew some people who oredered the last PPV just to see the outsider back in action and they were pissed that Waltman took Halls place. Also pissed they lost to what they called a no name tag team like Beer Money.

Tna has to realize by attracting new fans you have to slowly make them believe in these youngs guys not just put them in front of us like Sheamus!! they will never get over. People bitch about Daniels loosing to Morley. We all know wrestling is fake its not wether Daniels looses or not its he has to entertain. Oh yeah and Morley is a small known name which would attract more attention than Daniels vs Jay Lethal. Or even Daniels vs Joe with the new fans.

Get off Hogan and Bishoff back. Hogan isnt challenging for Aj's title infact he is shoving AJ down our throats every week. What are they doing thats wrong?

 

[JJohns]

I'll be honest, I USED to like what TNA had. I never complained about the "midget vanilla" wrestlers, except when they really were Midget Vanilla Wrestlers like Teo and Puppet. I always thought that the focus on the X Division was key, this was back when Sonny Siaki was the X Division Champion.

Then the X Division moved into more of a spotfest division, and I think that hurt the X Division. Then they brought in Samoa Joe and put him in the X Division. This was the X Division that I liked and remembered. A match that is about No Limits didn't need to be a spotfest, but more often than not, that's what X Division matches degenerated into.

I really started to dislike TNA around the time they brought Tomko in as Christian Cage's "enforcer" and started to turn into WWE lite. Today, I can turn it on, watch it for five minutes, and then turn it off. I feel no attachment to the TNA product. I personally like wrestling. That's why it pisses me off that my cable company doesn't get HDNet. But, if you're going to have a wrestling show that doesn't focus on wrestling, then at least make it someone enjoyable and give me a reason to have an attachment to it.

WWE does that sometimes (the Miz/MVP segments lately, the Straight Edge Society segments). TNA doesn't, as it seems that they are only able to rehash things that we've seen more than a decade ago, and are investing mainly in guys that I didn't enjoy watching in 2000, let alone 2010.

 

[December2Dismember]

I'm a 'TNAManiac' (as Hogan would say), I've been into the show for like 2 years and can honestly say I soley believe in the performers and I'm just happy to see the show gaining viewers. The product is great, the talent is the best in the world...what else could you ask for?

There alot of people saying how this is "WCW" - well flame me for saying but WCW wasn't all bad - and this is far from the last days of WCW - it's like WCW in it's prime. The Impact Zone is the new Charlotte if ya ask me. And anyone who watched the early Starcades knows what I'm talking about.

 

[Greenlight13]

Yeah I'd say this is more an internet smark problem than anything else. Certain people are just NEVER happy with anything TNA does and haven't been since day one. These people are called haters and they're just sad to be honest.

Nobody can deny TNA has improved on itself year in and year out, brought in a string of big names, bulked up their tag division, women's wrestling has been reborn on a national stage under them, gone from weekly PPVs to a one hour tv show, to two hours, now they're gonna start going live, they're doing the best ratings they ever have (consistently too) and have two of the biggest names of all time working for them in Hogan and Flair.

The reason people pick them apart is they compare them directly to WWE at every turn and everytime something goes a bit wrong they tear it to shreds and label it a failure of a company. WWE are decades old, have billions of dollars, a better TV deal and the benefit of being household. TNA is less than ten years old and was born from nothing with a limited free agent pool, cut them some damn slack people, they're not going to get there overnight!

 

[AndyUK]

I guess it comes down to the fact that a large percentage of TNA's fanbase are smarks and we all know how smarks like to complain about everything.

Personally, I'm really excited to see what Hogan and Bischoff do in the future and I've enjoyed all of the shows they've been in charge of so far. Do I agree with everything they've done? No but I don't have to.

People need to get off their backs and give them a chance. After all, they have only been in charge three weeks.

 

[Live2inspireX386X]

You sir are an Idoit,

I have watch TNA since before they moved to my hometown of orlando and once they did I started atending shows on a normal basis. If you counted down TNa top 10 moment in there company I can say i have been there for atleast 6 of them. During 2004-2005 anyone who watched TNA or went to the Impact Zone experince the best Wrestling since the attitude are TNa had a perfect mix of what they needed

The X division had plenty of prestige and was very close to main even level

The heavyweight championship was held by some of the most deserving wrestlers such as Raven and Ryhno people who arent looked at at "world championship meterial" giving wrestling fans what they love witch is unpredictablity

and also TNA was still stealing WWE talent but they didnt just take any old guy that once worked there like ken Anderson and Bobby L. Instead they took guys Like Jeff Hardy and Kurt Angle,people that where wrong by the E' and looking for a freash start they could base the company around guy like them

So to say TNA Fans dont know what they want is way wrong if you want to know what TNA fans want ill make it really simple:

MAKE TNA LIKE 2004 and things will be just fine and this is coming from a REAL TNA fan!

 

[Kenny Powers]

You sir are an Idoit,

I have watch TNA since before they moved to my hometown of orlando and once they did I started atending shows on a normal basis. If you counted down TNa top 10 moment in there company I can say i have been there for atleast 6 of them. During 2004-2005 anyone who watched TNA or went to the Impact Zone experince the best Wrestling since the attitude are TNa had a perfect mix of what they needed

The X division had plenty of prestige and was very close to main even level

The heavyweight championship was held by some of the most deserving wrestlers such as Raven and Ryhno people who arent looked at at "world championship meterial" giving wrestling fans what they love witch is unpredictablity

and also TNA was still stealing WWE talent but they didnt just take any old guy that once worked there like ken Anderson and Bobby L. Instead they took guys Like Jeff Hardy and Kurt Angle,people that where wrong by the E' and looking for a freash start they could base the company around guy like them

So to say TNA Fans dont know what they want is way wrong if you want to know what TNA fans want ill make it really simple:

MAKE TNA LIKE 2004 and things will be just fine and this is coming from a REAL TNA fan!

I think you just made Sly's point. TNA fans aren't happy with anything. Kurt Angle, Hardy, and Rhino weren't even in TNA in 2004. I'm sure it's a different experience watching the show live. I just don't know how you can prefer Ron Killings or Raven over AJ Styles or Samoa Joe? or even Jeff Jarrett during that time. There were some horrible gimmicks then.

There were some great matches, but no one knew about them. If Hogan was gone along with Bischoff and the rest of the big names, TNA would be back where they started. They need to go forward, not backward. You fans are the same fans that chanted Fire Russo, and now that Hogan and Bischoff has more creative input, you are shitting on that too. Make up your mind? You want Raven or Rhino as champion? but you want the original TNA guys over the new ones?

Rhino and Raven weren't original. They came from WWE. So did Hardy and Angle. You proved Sly's point again that you don't know what you want. As long as people are doing moonsaults off a six sided ring, that's all you care about. You talk about unpredictability, that is what TNA is now more than ever. Whats more unpredictable then Hogan and Bischoff working the audience, especially fans like you every week?

New talent, a new ring, and actual matches for a change instead of horrible gimmick matches like the electrified cage or blindfold matches. I liked TNA before because of their matches, but I couldn't get into the show. I have really gotten into TNA lately. The past 2 years I couldn't take anything serious.

Now I'm excited and look forward every week. So yeah.. if most of you Impact Zone fans had your way, TNA would be out of business in a month. Rhino would be world champion, and no one would care. It seems like those TNA fans are the ones that act like a child. They cry for a cookie, but when they get one they're upset because they don't have a glass of milk.

 

[acstylez]

First Off how the hell do you want people to level with you when you start with "TNA Fans Are Idiots". Second we all have separate opinions. I believe they could better utilize Stars who've already held the TNA championship and include more "T&A" in TNA(to explain sex sells. Lets be logical for a sec. Honestly now who wants to see Lacey screw up in the ring or would you Rather see her Flash her dare I say, T&A)? Next I also believe that the need to stop making big events that go no-where. Such as the "Big TNA All Roster Brawl of 09". How could that Huge fight change nearly nothing ? We go from (Frontline) " We've had enough of this Bull" to Yeah so what did we last week ?

 

[thaivuN]

Most TNA fans think the product is actually better than WWE when the wrestling show they love so much is pretty much the doing the exact bullsh*t that Monday night Raw is doing and that is boring the people like me watching at home by lowering the time of wrestling (heck even this week raw has a little more wrestling time than the TNA of last week that is freaking 16 min which is defended by you know who Russo) , bringing in some stupid and boring.....zzzzzzzzzz...promo(per example, the beautiful people who takes about 2-3 times more the air-time of the undertaker's entrance. The BP are eye-candy but i cannot stay awake when hearing their voice and long speech!!). And what's more stupid about TNA is that they promote more WWE than they do for themselves. I don't give a damn wheter or not they made another Earl Hebner moment, but WHAT THE **** were the bookers thinking when they made the segment with Kurt saying he's going to WWE. How stupid could you be to make your rival company looks like a better one when millions of people are watching this. I'm sure Vince must be laughing when he sees his rivals making him look like a good man lol


Now if i went to criticize everything bad, i could make a 200 page book lol

I'll really have to say that most TNA fans are the exact opposite WWE fankids and fangirls which is not a good thing. Fankids/girls know about little to none about wrestling and sometimes they are annoying....well yeah....marks lol. In TNA fans' case, just because they know a little bit more, they've become blinded. They blame wwe for not having the kinds of matches TNA has. well HELLO, does WWE needs to have half of their matches to become spotfests? Hell NO! Does Raw needs to add more wrestling time. Damn YEAH but so does tna.it's just facts that TNA just know nothing about what's good for wrestling and facts that TNA matches hold no meaning what so ever (by that i mean they won't remembered) as their matches has ZERO in-ring psychology. Good matches aren't just talents, it's about basic wrestling and psychology too (taker vs hbk was very basic and it was damn freaking great match.)

 

[Stuntz]

First Off how the hell do you want people to level with you when you start with "TNA Fans Are Idiots". Second we all have separate opinions. I believe they could better utilize Stars who've already held the TNA championship and include more "T&A" in TNA(to explain sex sells. Lets be logical for a sec. Honestly now who wants to see Lacey screw up in the ring or would you Rather see her Flash her dare I say, T&A)? Next I also believe that the need to stop making big events that go no-where. Such as the "Big TNA All Roster Brawl of 09". How could that Huge fight change nearly nothing ? We go from (Frontline) " We've had enough of this Bull" to Yeah so what did we last week ?

If you actually read his post you would realize that he was also calling himself an idiot to an extent, and everything he said was true. I personally am not expecting much from Hogan or bischoff.

Everyone want to say that TNA is like the old WCW....wasnt WCW the top wrestling company at one point? So that comparison isnt a bad thing if u look at it that way

First off nice pointless post. Next yes WCW was at the top of the food chain untill they ate themselves to death. That is when Vince buried them and the same thing will happen to TNA eventually.

I am not the biggest fan od TNA. As a matter fact I can only say I have watched maybe 20 shows over the past 6 years. Some of you are saying I am missing out, well I have given the company a chance many times and I am just not interested in it. I thought it was dumb of Dixie to let Hogan run rampade and do what ever he wants and still stand by that.

 

[BladeRunner]

Different people like different things. Different TNA fans prefer different parts.

What I've noticed is theres a large number of TNA fans that can be split into two categories right now.

The first category being the guys who like independent promotions. They've always rooted for TNA generally and been very supportive of it. But then when TNA actually started getting big, maybe even a truly international company, they bail on it because it's no longer "independent". So those types have come out of the woodwork since TNA changed and have been insulting it. A classic gripe from these guys is "TNA doesn't do enough with the X Division".

And then you got the new guys who have started watching TNA. These guys are the exact opposites of the former, in that they would have never given TNA a chance until it truly got big enough to somewhat challenge WWE. But these guys are even nastier in their opinions in that since it's not quite WWE they're gonna nitpick every single part of it obsessively. "The arena isn't big enough" "The fans are ruining it" "Those old guys can't wrestle".

And so now you got the old independent type fans arguing with the new tna fans. And that about sums up the message boards right now. One huge angry argument after another about random bullshit.

 

[ZeroVX]

Honestly, you have a really good point.

The "fans" of TNA seem to complain about everything, especially lately. "Oh, why're all these old guys here?" "Oh, Hogan and Bischoff are going to destroy this place like they did WCW!" "KILL RUSSO!"

I think the problem is that these people have zero patience. They want someone new booking for the company, and when that someone comes in, they expect things to instantly get better. When they don't, they assume that the new booker is crap and want them gone too. They flit from one extreme to the other. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they hate Paul Heyman if he went to TNA and didn't make it awesome within two weeks.

To be honest, I'm a bit guilty of this myself, although mainly towards Jeff Jarrett, and sometimes to Russo. I really, REALLY don't like Jarrett, and I'm still somewhat distrustful of Russo, despite his claims to have changed for the better. I'm still willing to wait and see what happens with Hogan and Bischoff, though.

 

[The Son of Maximillion]

people say they want something and when its delivered to them they dont want it and treat it like crap if its not the backstabbing buttkissing push killing and greed in wrestling its that also some tna non believers are just wwe marks, expect it to be like wwe or they just dont like it with ppl can say what they want about tna but tna has caught vinces eye in form of superstars being one hour before tna and with the things that hogan and bischoff is doing is good its just not to many fans really really understand what wrestling is or was

 

[Jack Tunney's Ghost]

I wouldn't say so much that TNA fans are idiots, but somewhat "Dazed and Confused."

I'm a dedicated WWE guy, so, I may be somewhat biased here, but, I watch TNA because it's wrestling on TV, I'm interested in what they're up to, and I'm also hoping and cheering TNA on to hopefully see a spark of competition get fired up that'll help make Vinnie Mac lose sleep at night.

I'll call myself a "Casual TNA Fan." I don't eat, breath or poop TNA, but, I'm interested in their product enough to sit through all of Impact!

From my observations of TNA, I will say that their fan base is highly dedicated to stay with what basically has been a highly schizophrenic company for the past 5 years or so.

How many writing regimes have been in charge within the past 2 years alone? The "Jarrett Crew," Russo and Company, and now Hogan/Bischoff (along with Russo apparently being watched under Hogan's microscope -- or it's the other way, he's allowed to run roughshod over everything TNA -- seems like Russo's role under Hogan is an ever changing story). But, each group of writers all wanting to put their fingerprints all over TNA... and each group with their own ideas of what they want to do... all different than the other groups.

TNA started off as a company that prided itself about being WRESTLING. TNA reminded you as often as it could that it was WRESTLING... hell... TNA = "Total Nonstop (WRESTLING) Action." Flash forward to January 28, 2010, TNA's head writer is bragging on his Facebook blog that there was ONLY 16 minutes of wrestling overall in 3 full weeks of TNA TV programming. I repeat -- BRAGGING about ONLY 16 minutes of wrestling on TNA TV for 3 weeks.

TNA was supposed to be it's own brand of wrestling using the X Division to prove it... and talent used specifically for TNA's coveted gimmick -- the X Division. The last time we really saw The X Division, they were bouncing around in a cage like monkeys on live Monday night TV with the guy who was supposed to go over in the match botching the ending by not being able to climb through the top of the cage...

Keep in mind also, that TNA has always underscored that they are NOT Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Remember when Angle came to TNA and how his promos buried WWE? What about Booker T? All the other talent brought over all reminding us that TNA was NOT WWE. At every opportunity, TNA has made it point to remind us that they're NOT WWE. Then, January 21, 2010, TNA decides to broadcast "The TNA Players'" version of WWF's most famous moment in history of The Montreal Screw Job. Scene by scene, incident by incident. BUT, Remember, TNA is NOT WWE, but, you just watched WWE's history!! Here's some friendly advice, TNA -- if you're going to keep telling us you're not and in fact "better" than WWE, stop booking like WWE!

Just to add to the confusion, you have former WCW talent, cutting the exact same WCW promos they did in WCW, but, on TNA television with just "WCW" replaced by "TNA" all the while they remind you that they're not WWE just minutes before The TNA Players perform The WWF Montreal Screw Job angle. Here's some more friendly advice, TNA -- If you want to distance yourself from anything WCW, especially when its a big challenge when it's mainly old WCW talent trying to put over TNA, have EVERYONE stop whining, bitching and moaning about "The Company" and how they're being treated or positioned in "The Company." It made sense for WCW because everyone knew that WCW was about to go tits up. But, when you keep plugging TNA as the company that's going to go "straight to the top, brother! Be the #1 wrestling company on the planet, brother! We're going to beat WWE, BROTHER!" My advice -- STOP FREAKIN' CUTTING WCW-LIKE PROMOS ABOUT HOW MUCH THE COMPANY SUCKS AND HOW MUCH TROUBLE TNA CAME CLOSE TO COLLAPSING BEFORE HOGAN/BISCHOFF CAME INTO THE PICTURE!!! No one except the locker room CARES! Forget the Russo-like "realism" crap and have the talent try... oh... I dunno... try to put TNA over! The old 2001 WCW promos don't fit in TNA today.

TNA fans have seen wrestlers come and go, championship titles getting renamed, different Impact Zone sets, rings going from 6 to 4 sides, new announcers, old announcers get demoated, different company owners (Jarrett/Carter/Love Sponges next?), gimmick matches promoted huge then dropped just as quick, losing the NWA affiliation, going comedy, then not going comedy, logo changes... you name it!

I gotta give the dedicated TNA fans credit for hanging in there... the rollercoaster ride that they've been forced to endure has been an ugly one.

I gotta give the TNA wrestlers who've stuck through this mess. That's DEDICATION. But, man, you guys must be confused by the radical change in TNA's "behavior" throughout the years.

I credit any of the TNA staff and crew who've rode it all out some mega props as well. They've endured alot stress with new management changes, bizarre writing crews and just the general insanity that both TNA and the wrestling business overall brings into one's life when involved.

I'm not saying that WWE hasn't been a smooth ride, but, it just seems to have been more intense for TNA within the past couple of years.

 

[MyNameIsMURF]

Has anyone thought of it like this?

TNA seems to be likening itself to WWE every chance they get INSTEAD of furthering themselves from WWE. This may seem like a bad plan altogether at a quick glance, and it surely leaves the TNA fanbase highly confused in the meantime. BUT, is this plan really as bad as it seems? I have started to think maybe -just maybe- TNA is trying to become so much like WWE that wrestling fans will start to see no evident difference in the two overall products. In the minds of TNA management, this would mean they would gain a stronger competitive edge against WWE, and thus be taken more seriously as a company. In the minds of wrestling fans alike, this means they would be just as likely to tune in to TNA as they would WWE since both products are virtually the same. When WWE smells TNA creeping unexpectedly closer, WWE will up it's game. All TNA has to do at that point is up their game too. Let the war games begin... I truly believe this is the gameplan in TNA right now. It's slowly but surely working..and effectively I might add. The only problem lies with TNA being able to push the envelope as far as WWE, which I don't believe they can at this point. It would take WWE dropping the PG rating and bringing back the unpredictable, exciting, entertaining era that was the "Attitude Era" to put TNA to a bitter shame. Either that, or Vinny Mac buys out TNA, which I don't see happening anytime soon.

and...Discuss!

 

[RicSpade]

Well I watched ECW (the old ECW), WCW, and all the WWE stuff from the late 80's to now, and I have watched TNA and AAA in Mexico and honestly TNA's biggest issue right now isn't because of the wrestling, I must be honest while my spanish is rusty at best I have no clue half the time what the hell is going on in AAA a guy gets beat down by 7 people and then gets pinned by Konnan only to have him come back and beat their ass right afterwards...

Now your wondering why I used that to start this off, and its because the issue isn't that right now they aren't focusing on wrestling its the fact that they are trying to get you familiar with the old characters and the new characters. Some people don't remember the Nasty's or the Band so they bring them out and have them talk about the past, and then you have Anderson who people want to hate because he cheats and they still think of him as WWE. Kendrick wants to be a loner, Morley puts over Wolfe while still making himself look strong by beating Daniels. The Nasty's beat EY and Nash you have to remember that TNA is breaking one of the most important hinderances in the business today and that is anybody can beat anybody in TNA.

WWE you can't see HBK, HHH, Jericho, Cena usually, but TNA doesn't look at guys as real Jobbers right now, the only real Job I seen anyone do had been Machismo, every other wrestler in TNA doesn't look worse than any other wrestler right now and that is key. Right now TNA is going to pull all the punches X-Division spot fests, new blood getting opportunity, old stars elevating new stars like Nash has done for the last 3 years. Just wait.

 

[3:10 To Umanga]

It would be amazing to see a wrestling show that actually includes, oh, I don't know, a good amount of actual wrestling?! For the most part, TNA is delivering that.

I could care less about the 6-sided ring, or the old entrance ramp with the tunnels that looked like it was on loan from 1980's Nickelodeon game shows. I don't understand why Jay Lethal has been dressed up as Macho Man for so long. More importantly, I don't care. Oh, and one more thing... the fan chants really don't make the show. Now to my points...

First off: Changing the aesthetics of the entire show and improving the production value will go a long way towards helping TNA be a major competition to WWE.

And let me clarify that when I say major, we all know (or should) that if TNA can push their solid ratings numbers so far closer and closer to that 2.0 rating... then we'll see if WWE begins to take them into account as a challenger. There is no Monday night football for a while, which gives a huge amount of viewership less to watch. If TNA can embrace some of the Attitude Era while presenting new and compelling storylines, they don't have to over-script everything or have the TV-PG initiative tying their hands. The camera work needs to be cleaned up considerably and the graphics need to continue the recent trend of improvement. When you go to a WWE live event, you have to at least appreciate the massively elaborate and perfectly run science of the way they put on a show.

Second: This new TNA could be a much more grown up product that WWE is offering right now. Vince is busy selling John Cena and Rey Mysterio and 1,000,000 different pieces DX merchandise. He is producing some of the worst movies ever created (i.e. Marine 1&2) For crying out loud, he gives TV time to Hornswaggle almost EVERY week. That in and of itself is a wide open door.

TNA needs to concentrate on themselves and building the roster to include talented performers. Then book them logically. Keep things fresh. Follow feuds through. Keep the shows fluid.

Hogan is a huge name. Flair is a huge name. Having those guys is a big deal. They didn't come over to job to Christopher Daniels just because he has been in TNA since the beginning. Bischoff was one of the driving factors in what was a great product in WCW for nearly 5 solid years. Yeah, things broke there and fell apart and problems sunk the ship. But get over it, deal with the fact that Hogan et al are in TNA and change is happening. See where it goes over the longterm.

Or... go start another thread asking if people think Hogan and Bischoff should leave TNA after 3 weeks. Just don't expect anyone with a brain to keep reading them.

 

[Melina]

I miss the old TNA, where the main focus was wrestling. Everything centered around matches which told the stories (instead of tons of promos). I understand that TNA is trying to grab WWE fans by getting tons of stars they are familiar with to come and be more comfortable with the product (Anderson, Kendrick, Hogan, Victoria, Hardy, ect.). But personally I think TNA just thinks their fans are ignorant, and will eat anything they spoon feed them.

I do not know how many of you guys watch ECW or Superstars. But each week those shows are both way better than TNA is right now. TNA used to be leaps and bounds better than both of these shows, but not now.

Same thing would happen though if they brought in Paul Heyman. People would beg for him to come in, and when he started working, no matter what, fans would be asking for his head. And again TNA fans would look like idiots, so to speak.

 

[Uncle Sam]

A Slyfox thread in the TNA sections. It's been many moons since this last happened.

they're own talent

Grammatical error. Your opinion is invalid.

But seriously, I suspect our dear Mr. Fox probably knows the answer(s) to his own question. I have a few sample answers for him to sift through:

1) The critics then, now and whenever are largely composed of different people of different tastes. TNA's audience is constantly changing and so will always be subject to criticism. Pour example, I never watched TNA pre-2006.

2) The product would be criticised no matter what it features. The same can be said of WWE. While many openly love the attitude era, some - NorCal, for example - label it as "the thing that nearly killed wrestling". Therefore, wrestling fans as a whole are idiots - it's not exclusive to TNA fans.

3) Eric Bischoff is awesome.

4) TNA has never been very good.

5) People are fickle.

6) "TNA fans" don't have a hive mind and actually think many different things.

What puzzles me is how TNA's booking is so inconsistent - as you pointed out - and yet their ratings grow at a gradual, regular pace. I've talked about it many times before and go into it in further detail in my upcoming book - 'The TNA Effect'.

 

[BradXXX]

Completely agree with the thread starter on this...

I guess what's completely amazing to me is hearing anyone complain about the beautiful people getting airtime. Hot chicks are awesome.

TNA has been improving every week from my vantage point. I don't even know how anyone could complain about last night's Impact but I've seen it happening already. It had more wrestling, the younger talent was put over and there was an awesome x division match. I for one am very excited about the x title being off of Amazing Red. I love watching Red wrestle but he doesn't have all the tools to be a champ.

Has anyone else besides me actually really enjoyed Impact more with the crucial crew and their cronies not in the front row?!! It's been so much better! Although from time to time I can see them on the top of the screen now being stupid and waving their arms trying to get attention.

The only 2 things I'd like to see from TNA are more hot chicks (maybe even some nudity on ppv? ;-) ) and more violence. Really hoping team 3D and Nasty Boys don't let me down on ppv, because I'm expecting some blood!

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

I think TNA fans are going to be unhappy for a while longer. Hardcore TNA fans love to watch nothing but wrestling. They are not interested in storylines, character development, nice looking sets, or wrestlers coming over from WWE. But, that is what is happening and will continue to happen. I am also disappointed in not seeing some of the pre-Hogan TNA guys, but only one thing is going to solve that problem.......

HAVING TWO SHOWS PER WEEK!

Once TNA moves to Mondays, they should really work towards keeping their Thursday night slot, or finding another network to give them at least an hour, hopefully two, every Thursday night. This would solve a lot of the hardcore fans' problems. Twice the weekly programming would result in twice the weekly matchups, and would also enable TNA honchos to put the guys on TV that TNA fans want to see. Two hour per week is not enough time to get everyone out there. If they tried to showcase every wrestler they have on just monday nights, there would be no room for good storylines, character development, etc. etc.

I don't think hardcore TNA fans are idiots, there just isn't enough time in TNA's current production schedule to showcase the guys/girls these people want to see. Until they add more tv time, the guys hardcore tna fans want to see are going to be stuck on the sidelines, because in all honesty, Hogan/Bischoff and obviously Dixie Carter do not believe those guys sell PPV's or draw tv ratings. And in all honesty, they didn't, no matter how talented they actually are.