Total Nonstop Deletion: Future of the Business or Just a Fad?

[Psykohurricane55]

First of all, i want to state of the bat that i'm not really of fans of what the hardy'S are doing right now and i tend to fast foward all their vignette because i just can'T stand it. Having written that, i did try to watch the show last night and as much as i was hoping that i could get into it, i just couldn'T get into it at all and i gave up after the third match and what's the replay of 205 live that i had pvr earlier in the day instead.

But after listening a interview with jeremy borash on last sunday edition of the law and seeing the rating, it got me wondering if this is really what the futur of the business will look like in the next few years or if this is just a fade that will past as soon as something better comes along.

 

[deadman talking]

Total non stop deletion was awful! I was hoping for a good show. It might have been the worst wrestling show I have ever seen. I was embarrassed for the wrestlers! I like the broken Hardys thing but only in small doses. Perhaps I did not understand some of what was going on because I have only been watching the broken Hardys for a couple months. I don't know but it was awful. I expected a lot more.

 

[jpickens]

Had to feel bad for the wrestlers obligated to appear but the swipe at HHH was classic but overall it was a farce.

 

[Navi]

I read KB's review of it and even though I had wanted to watch it, was kind of glad I didn't. Sounded like a right giant clusterfuck. If this is the way TNA is going then I feel sorry for them. Matt and Jeff maybe have been allowed just a little too much rope to run with here. Might be time to pull them back a little.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

It's a fad. It's wildly popular right now (though it's also utterly polarizing), but I don't see years-long staying power here for the same reason we don't see even the most popular characters refusing to evolve or try new things two, four, six years into their runs.

Broken Matt is great, but he's done things like this in the past. They, too, reached an expiration date, which required him to move on to something else. Now, granted, this Broken Brilliance thing is more appreciated than his "cold-blooded" gimmick, complete with island-like braids, or even his "Matt Hardy Will Never Die" gimmick, but Broken Brilliance will also face its own mortality.

TNA is smart to keep striking at this while the iron is hot, but this isn't going to revolutionize their product. Rebranding might. Just look at the viewership numbers for all the proof you need here. TND and the Final Deletion did alright, but neither broke 500,000 viewers night-of. I'd argue that's largely due to the TNA brand itself being so utterly broken.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Based on everything I've read, especially a good number of detailed reviews for the show, it comes off very much like a fad to me. Pop is one of the networks I don't have, so I didn't see the show. Based on what I've read from a lot of people online and from reading various reviews on wrestling sites, it didn't come off as something that I'd have enjoyed watching.

I give TNA credit for trying to think outside the box. However, if they were drawing in the low 1 million range, which they were usually doing during their most productive years on Spike, I don't think they'd resort to doing this because it comes off like a stunt. Back in July, the "Final Deletion" episode averaged about 410,000 viewers whereas last night's TND episode averaged 329,000 viewers, somewhere around 25% less than FD did and on the low end of what the show usually averages. So, it's not breaking down walls or anything when it comes to bringing up viewership.

Still, as I said, I give them credit for trying to do something different. At the same time though, I also don't think they had anything to lose and when you've got nothing to lose you sometimes just try for a Hail Mary.

 

[roipdh123]

I didn't really liked TND this past Thursday.
I think the talent pool in TNA is really small.
They need to sign a lot more indy guys that don't work in Japan to exclusive contracts..that way the product we will be better and deeper.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

This Broken Matt stuff are best when they're isolated away from the roster. When you throw in all the boys in there, it becomes a mess and it makes everything look hyper fake.

It's fine if in Matt's own world all this stuff makes sense. At least then it's quarantined and we can just assume he's a nutjob. But it just doesn't work that well when the whole roster's in on it.

It was fine as a one-off type of deal, but this will hardly revolutionize anything. It's great for Matt and Jeff, it's great for TNA in a way, but it's not "the new way to watch wrestling" or anything remotely close to that.

What it did show is that over the top things can be entertaining as hell. It definitely did something that's never been done before. But, like any good thing in wrestling, please don't oversaturate the product with something that works.

Wrestling companies do that. Something works in its own world and then they decide to shove it in every segment, every show, every social media post, to the point where we feel abused by it and it loses whatever entertainment value it has. Because it's pushed on us. "Like this more! It works!"

That's not how it should be. The best way to do wrestling is when you have a number of angles, like the Matt Hardy one, that just work in their own world and they're isolated in their own environments. If they mix, it's very quick and very subtle. Otherwise it'll blow in everyone's face and ruin a good thing.

For example, I fucking love pizza. But if I ate pizza every single day for the next month, I wouldn't want to even think of it because it'll make me gag. TV content is the same. Do it smart, and it'll work. Shove it down our throats and we'll lynch you for it.

So far the Broken Matt stuff have been done well. Small slice of pizza there, one whole pizza one week - it's fine, there's still variety. TND was basically getting served 5 different kinds of pizzas in a 2 hour span and you were forced to eat it all because you like pizza. Nah, man. Too much pizza, I don't care if it's varied.

 

[TDFG]

I watched it but ended up just jumping to the main event.

I think filming at the Hardy compound is fine if it's only one match, I would have been more interested if it was just the Tag-Team Apocalypto match.

The whole broken character still has legs and is interesting, but I think TNA is trying this concept too much and the novelty is wearing off.

 

[jpickens]

They need to reign the Hardy's in before TNA loses all credibility.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

Total Nonstop Deletion was awful. Great build up, but no end product. I sincerely hope that TNA don't continue this route. First and foremost, the point of wrestling is to make the crowd forget that what they are watching is staged. Deletion took that back decades. It's probably the most cartoonish thing I can think of in wrestling since the 1994-95 WWE 'new generation' roster...

Then the production values. I get that it was at the Hardys Compound, so the lighting and camerawork was *supposed* to be worse than usual; I get that TNA haven't the resources to produce a sick product the way WWE do. But they could do a hell of a lot better. The excuse to clear the 'arena' (to go to the pre-taped Apocalypto) was awful - smoke fills the garage and an evacuation alarm goes off. Yet the wrestlers and referee continue - WTF? Nonsensical. But even worse, the commentators got evacuated too! So now, in a dimly lit, poorly filmed 'match', we don't even have commentary to help us understand what is happening.

The match started with four teams: Hardys, Helms Dynasty, Rock n Roll Express and the Decay. Really? Matt Hardy made a really compelling build up to this show. You knew that the likes of the New Day wouldn't really take part, but the build up started to make people doubt the obvious: maybe there *would* be representatives from bigger organisations? No, we got the geriatric express - a team that looked old in 1992 - and three TNA teams. And that's it. Later, more teams entered the fray. Nameless, faceless teams fed to Abyss and Crazzy Steve - Soul Time? The Ugly Ducklings? What was the point of DCC's involvement? How James Storm must wish he signed with WWE now.

The 'big shock' of the day was Hornswoggle's debut, after constant reminders by Spud of why wrestlers rarely make good actors, and the Rock is clearly an exception. Then despite actually looking dominant, 'Swoggle gets tired of being patronised by Spud and turns on his partner. In a tag title match. Yeah, ok.

The Hardys square off against the Rock n Roll Express in a 'dream match' (in whose dreams, exactly?) .... Which lasts for about 2 minutes before more focus is placed on Jeff Hardy and Ricky Morton (I think) inexplicably heading up cherry pickers and ... Clinching. Since they later allowed Jeff to Swanton onto the other member of Status Quo (well, missing him), they could surely have made a more memorable spot of Morton throwing Jeff down from on high.

Abyss and Crazzy Steve. Yeah, they are dead. Abyss got shot in the back with a firework (though completely no sold it) and Steve got 'erupted' from the Hardy volcano. No doubt they will show up unharmed in the next Impact, just like Triple H when Steve Austin killed him at Survivor Series 2000, only for Lazarus Helmsley to walk unaided to the ring on Raw days later.

Gregory Helms visited the lake of reincarnation twice. First 'returning' as Sugar Shane, and proceeded to bury his two young charges ("you ain't as good as Shannon, and you ain't as good as Evan") - way to go TNA. Trevor Lee was in probably the best match at your biggest event of the year, Bound for Glory, yet he's not as good as Evan freaking Karagis? Evan Karagis was amongst the worst of the cruiserweights in WCW. And as for Shannon Moore, I actually expected him to appear. He's not doing much else of note. Yet still better than Lee and Everett, apparently... When the Hurricane appeared, and cleaned house with Matt Hardy, that was genuinely the only bit I enjoyed of Apocalypto. It was tongue in cheek and funny, but then Helms disappeared!

Other random bits: Helms Dynasty fighting a speedboat who 'broke up a pinfall attempt'; Abyss having a firework bazooka duel with a drone; the referee being caught in the toilet; the random Lashley v Edwards interludes when they were not part of the match. Road Warrior Animal. Just why?

It just didn't make sense. Total Nonstop Deletion promised so much, clearly much more than TNA could hope to offer. And they let down themselves and more importantly the fans again. It's all well and good saying that at least it gets eyes on the product, but you've got to win over those eyes with compelling drama and good wrestling (of which there was barely any in this 'match' due it it mostly being fought in a back yard) otherwise you'll do more harm than good. Apocalypto looked poorly executed, badly booked and most importantly completely unrealistic.

Funnily enough, after Bound for Glory, I wrote on here that the commentators in TNA didn't do enough explaining of certain matches/rules. This went one further and eradicated commentators completely - and was possibly the worst route they could have gone down.

So no, I hope that TNA does NOT continue down this path. The Hardy angle is a very good one, but would be better suited in an actual wrestling ring where the Hardys are best utilised, and put a stop to this pre-recorded nonsense.

 

[jpickens]

Hopefully this is just a fad and will stop once the Hardys contracts are up and they decide not to renew.

 

[ShinChan]

Just a fad, I guess.

There's a significant line between the things TNA did in this match and professional wrestling. And this, as already mentioned, is polarizing. I, for example, watch professional wrestling programming mainly for matches. Storylines and other things are just additions. But here wrestling is almost negligible.

So, I hope that it's a fad only. Broken Matt Hardy is the best Matt Hardy but no need to just keep going with deletions every now and then.

I won't watch another.

 

[New Hot Fed]

I'm a TNA fan and while it was cool for shit and giggles for a time and I'll give Matt Hardy props in reinventing himself, I have to say I'm tired of it. You know all this Corman/Trauma-type of entertainment of "it's funny cause it's bad" has a short shelf life.

I'm actually happy that the ratings for Total Deletion were not that good. At this point, I would not even mind if both Hardys would not re-sign with TNA. Cause TNA to progress as a company they shouldn't be part of it. I don't believe in overly-produced backstage segments and in the ring both Hardys are pretty old and beatup, you shouldn't put your money in them. TNA should focus in guys like Eli Drake who can be entertaining in the confines of a wrestling arena. And hire much more guys.

 

[jpickens]

I'm a TNA fan and while it was cool for shit and giggles for a time and I'll give Matt Hardy props in reinventing himself, I have to say I'm tired of it. You know all this Corman/Trauma-type of entertainment of "it's funny cause it's bad" has a short shelf life.

I'm actually happy that the ratings for Total Deletion were not that good. At this point, I would not even mind if both Hardys would not re-sign with TNA. Cause TNA to progress as a company they shouldn't be part of it. I don't believe in overly-produced backstage segments and in the ring both Hardys are pretty old and beatup, you shouldn't put your money in them. TNA should focus in guys like Eli Drake who can be entertaining in the confines of a wrestling arena. And hire much more guys.

I believe you mean Troma when referring to your it's funny cause it's bad comment. I agree that they shouldn't renew but they probably will since I don't see Vince allowing this type of tomfoolery in the WWE.

 

[Navi]

I started to watch this but couldn't find it in myself to watch the whole way through. It just seemed to me that it was just a lot of excuse me, bullshit. I didn't have much of an idea what was going on and some of it just seemed absolutely ridiculous.

I'm a huge fan of the Hardy's and credit TNA with giving them the creative output that they wouldn't have got under Vince's watch, but too much is too much. The first Total Deletion was good fun and I like it when things are a little outside the box. This one on the other hand was just awful. Sometimes too much of a good thing can actually be a bad thing.