TNA's Graphics

[ABMorales787]

Last night on Impact, several highlight packages were aired to hype Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle and more.

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Nice video packages, huh? They really put some effort on them. They do great video packages fairly often. But have you seen the entrance videos for the roster? WOW. Lousy, is the only word for them. Outside of James Storm and Dixie Carter, the roster just comes out to GIF images with their names on them while their themes play out. Why the hell? No, seriously. Just take a look at Christopher Daniels' entrance video from 2005:

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THAT's what he used to come out to. Beautiful highlight package, well done animated logo and great visual effects. Have you seen AJ Styles' video from the same timeframe?

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Is there any reason we had to put up with that seizure inducing kaleidoscope thing he had for an entrance video for 4 years? For some reason, TNA has let the quality of these videos absolutely dip. And for no understandable reason too. They're clearly capable of doing it. They give a sense of professionalism and the feel of a major company presentation when they look good. But when they look as lousy as they do on TV, it gives off a pretty bad vibe about their quality. TNA loves to put all their efforts to seem like a major company. And I believe they are a major company. But meanwhile, average people with their average computers and average lives are capable of making far better entrance videos.

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Hell, I made better ones:

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Anyone that has read my posts on the Live Discussion section will find I say the same thing each week about TNA. "Their Trons suck". The fact that a made up wrestling fed run by 7 shmucks have better presentation value takes away from the whole "TNA is an international wrestling promotion that performs in front of thousands and broadcasts all over the world each week".

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I completely agree, and I've been echoing the same sentiments for a while now. I don't get it, either. What's worse — I was told more than a few times that I was nit-picking over irrelevant aspects of the show when I brought it up over the years (especially back when Immortal and the like were the running wild [all pun intended]), because "there were more important things to focus on like booking", but I don't find this irrelevant at all, nor do I find entrance music irrelevant. To me, both aspects make the company look second-rate, when it's obvious as can be they have no desire to do so.

I get that music is costly, and I get that you have to pump money into things like this to exact change, but you also have to spend money to make money, so why aren't you? Please don't tell me it's irrelevant, because it absolutely is not. Part of the entire spectacle of wrestling is the entrance of every wrestler. It's why entrance music exists. It's why they pose, and why they have distinct catch phrases and mannerisms in and out of the ring. These things help not just to identify a wrestler, but to isolate them, and to elevate them. They help to establish stars.

With the right graphics, music and look, you can easily make a ten cent wrestler look like a hundred bucks. Don't tell me you can't, because there have been plenty who fly in the face of such a statement. I mean, Al Snow certainly never tore the house down, but everyone knows what to shout when "WHAT DOES EVERY BODY WANT!?" hits the PA.

I don't know what it's gonna take to get the ball rolling here, but I'm 100% behind it. There are too many guys in TNA suffering dearly from having generic, music and entrance videos that dull the luster of their stardom. I mean, the Wolves just came in and are being pushed to the moon right now. They're aligned with MVP, the new investor, who is part of the biggest angle on the show and in the company at the moment (MVP's music and entrance are cool, FYI), yet when the Wolves' music hits, it's as if someone was tasked with finding "something cool" from the "Generic Rock Soundboard" sitting in the back.

The same applies to Austin Aries — a former World Champion, Gunner, Chris Sabin, Samuel Shaw, etc.

 

[rbv13]

@ Killjoy, I’d have to say your creation is much better than any TNA production I’ve seen. It looks very well done after watching TNA's BS.

TNA has had a major issue with production values for a long time. They hit on a few items but completely miss on a lot. I would like to see them do away with the intro videos and reinvent a more classic style, late ‘80s/early ‘90s/Indy feel.

 

[ABMorales787]

I completely agree, and I've been echoing the same sentiments for a while now. I don't get it, either. What's worse — I was told more than a few times that I was nit-picking over irrelevant aspects of the show when I brought it up over the years (especially back when Immortal and the like were the running wild [all pun intended]), because "there were more important things to focus on like booking", but I don't find this irrelevant at all, nor do I find entrance music irrelevant. To me, both aspects make the company look second-rate, when it's obvious as can be they have no desire to do so.

I get that music is costly, and I get that you have to pump money into things like this to exact change, but you also have to spend money to make money, so why aren't you? Please don't tell me it's irrelevant, because it absolutely is not. Part of the entire spectacle of wrestling is the entrance of every wrestler. It's why entrance music exists. It's why they pose, and why they have distinct catch phrases and mannerisms in and out of the ring. These things help not just to identify a wrestler, but to isolate them, and to elevate them. They help to establish stars.

With the right graphics, music and look, you can easily make a ten cent wrestler look like a hundred bucks. Don't tell me you can't, because there have been plenty who fly in the face of such a statement. I mean, Al Snow certainly never tore the house down, but everyone knows what to shout when "WHAT DOES EVERY BODY WANT!?" hits the PA.

Remember when James Storm won the World Championship? People were a little perplexed at first and skeptical. When he debuted his new theme song, came to the ring with his new look and it came packed with it's own new entrance video, Storm went from midcard to looking like the bonafide face of the company within 2 weeks. He rode that for a very long time and his entrance had a lot to do with it.

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That speaks volumes of what a simple thing as a nice entrance can do for a wrestler. But TNA just ignores it.

 

[Charismatic Enigma]

It's funny you bring this up, I watched my first full episode of Impact last night (to see MVP) in a very, very long time and the exact same thought crossed my mind. Production value is HUGE in creating a perception about your product. Look at WCW, WWE, and ECW back in the late 90s, I would venture to guess that a big part of why WCW started to run away with the ratings is because they looked cooler, they had the graphics, the music, the pyro, the elaborate entranceway, even their ring mats had designs on them. I really believe this stuff matters…a lot. You can take a sub par product and make it seem important, or you can take a solid in ring product and make it that much better just with presentation.

I think it's inexcusable that a company on TNA's level can't produce better videos for their performers, when they have the money to hire big name stars, travel the world, etc. There is probably some kid fresh out of college that would make videos for the whole roster for pennies on the dollar, just for the experience on their resume.

While we're on the subject…I was also thinking last night that I wonder if maybe subliminally part of TNA's problem is that BLUE is their predominant color scheme. Because it is heavily associated with Smackdown, which is considered a B-level show, and TNA by default is considered to be the B-level product to WWE, I wonder if maybe making their colors more RED would have some kind of positive effect, it did work for Nitro…

 

[ABMorales787]

While we're on the subject…I was also thinking last night that I wonder if maybe subliminally part of TNA's problem is that BLUE is their predominant color scheme. Because it is heavily associated with Smackdown, which is considered a B-level show, and TNA by default is considered to be the B-level product to WWE, I wonder if maybe making their colors more RED would have some kind of positive effect, it did work for Nitro…

There's a reason Raw and Nitro did well with their Red color schemes. By nature red is a warm color and it radiates energy. So Raw having it's entire building in red would help give more energy to the crowd. That's why Smackdown's blue colors work in favor of it being the "wrestling" show as it used to be called. It's more passive and appreciative.

Impact Wrestling should indeed ditch the light blue scheme it has. It doesn't work for it's type of programming. But I would go with a bright green like Velocity used to have.

Then again, what the hell is the point? The graphic in the screen isn't even animated anymore. It's just a still image. They've been doing that for months.

 

[JamJam]

I'm glad you noticed this too in that their graphics in that Glasgow show were some of the best I've seen from TNA. I think right now, it just isn't a priority for TNA to fix this as they have other issues in the back. But I do agree that this is something that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. TNA and WWE look so different on TV and you can tell which one definitely looks like the big leagues. But right now, I think TNA is doing fine with what they're doing. They just need to fix whatever they need to backstage then go on and fix their appearance on TV.

Another thing is that they should probably give more time for a wrestler to come out. Like I remember Austin Aries vs. Bobby Roode for the world title and Austin came out then a millisecond later, Roode came out. Gotta give time for the audience to take in the entrance of a wrestler no matter how generic their entrance may be.

 

[mral82]

I agree that their Trons kinda bore as for Pete's Sake that person who does the music is Serg Salinas aka Dixie's Husband. He should help her make her product feel more big leagues than minor leagues. As far as colors their original Scheme was a Gold logo surrounded by a red outline when they were paired w/ the NWA. So instead of Red or Blue or Green they should go w/ a Purple kinda like WCW or ECW did for a bit.

 

[Marshyishere]

This is just a small example of the bigger problems with TNA.

Everyone seems to bag out the talent which TNA has on their roster, but considering it's size - they do have some quality performers.

It's the small things which are killing TNA, like you mentioned the entrances are poor, the promos are poor, the camera angles suck and the storyline of late has been all over the place (I admit this most likely has to do with all the changes to the current roster).

I for one am hoping that the likes of Sting, Hardy & hopefully Kurt Angle are on their way out, the same as Hogan & Jarrett left.

Signing new guns like the American Wolves, throwing them into a main storyline and making them into organic stars is the only way TNA will survive.

In saying that, if they cannot fix important issues like entrance themes and music, then they will unfortunately not make it to even being noted as a B rated wrestling show.

 

[lil steroid meat]

Not only are the graphics generic, but the music is too. And on top of all that, the audio for the show just sounds bad. I can't remember off of the top of my head which one it was, but on Impact it always seems like either the crowd is too loud or too low. And with the music on top of that, it just seems like a garbled audio mess. Plus sometimes they even have the audacity to play that corny music during promos lol (the Bully Ray/Knockout segment a few weeks ago where she was threatening to expose him or something).

I brought this up and was red repped because TNA "couldn't afford" better production values. But they can afford MMA stars and signing new talent.

Whatever, all they need to do is fix a few simple things.

They need change in color scheme because not only is blue associated with the WWE's B-Show, it also makes TNA look second rate to Smackdown, because they generally are in smaller venues. I'd go back to the old pre-Hogan red, yellow, and black scheme. It's ironic that prior to Hogan, they looked like a more big-time promotion just off of something small like that. Maybe even go with black and neon green like someone up there said.

And speaking of pre-Hogan, they need the six sided ring back along with the traffic tape on the entrance ramp (the yellow, black, yellow, black bars). Maybe even bring back the six sided entrance tunnel. That set their appearance apart and it looked cool. Right now they just look like a WWE Developmental Center playing practice for Smackdown.

And of course, they need better music. They don't need to go licensing out songs from actual artists, but it also doesn't need to sound like stock generic music. Where is the Steve Austin type theme song? Where is the Cena type theme song? Where is the nWo type theme song? Where is the Bret Hart type theme song? Where is the Shawn Michaels type theme song? Songs that are catchy, effective, and when they hit, it makes people want to jump out of their seats (or boo heavily). Aside from James Storm, Samoa Joe, and Robert Roode, the TNA entrance themes suck.

And of course like OP said, they obviously need to put more effort into the tron graphics.

I think one of the problems with TNA is that the people in the back don't pay attention to little stuff like theme music or video graphics, or the color scheme or entrance ramp or arena set up. They seem to think that one hot superstar or one hot angle is gonna set things off for them and everything will fall into place and that things like graphics and music are insignificant . . . what they don't seem to realize is that Vince McMahon, Eric Bischoff, and Paul Heyman were all perfectionists who paid attention to every single little detail and if it got on Raw, Nitro, or ECW's TV show/PPV's, it passed through the eyes of McMahon, Bischoff, or Heyman.

One thing I did like though, and this seems to be new, because it was only on the Glasgow edition of Impact, but they have this little scrolling square thing about the ring that has "Impact Wrestling" constantly scrolling across it (although personally I think they should go back to TNA), that was a cool thing.

I'll try to find a pic

You see that black and blue square at the top? Yeah that's what I'm talking about. They should use that for every show. And maybe make it lower so it's in the camera shot more. Maybe even make it six sided if they go back to the six sided ring. That's the first time I've seen that on a wrestling show and it looks really cool.