Want to blame someone in TNA for its regression...blame Vince...Russo!

[It's...Baylariat!]

I've seen numerous comments chiming in on how Vince Russo kills everything he gets his hands on. How he never believes in the title belts meaning anything and how he sometimes does storylines just for his own amusement. Well, I've come to the conclusion that after tonight, I'm blaming Vince Russo for the shit storm that TNA's had to undertake since Hogan/Bischoff's arrived. I'll break down the critical reasons and people that have contributed to the regression of TNA.

1. The Titles
Anyone tell me why you don't have a TNA Tag Team title match on your biggest PPV of the year? There's NO excuse for it. Period. Even the WWE puts the Tag Belts on the undercard at Wrestlemania. They didn't even do that. No matter what Russo wants to believe, people love the title belts. It makes the matches more meaningful. Flair's matches were meaningful because he was at risk of losing his title. The same goes for the Minnesota Wrecking Crew. They made the Tag Belts sound as important as the World Heavyweight Title. NO ONE in TNA does that anymore. It's stupid to do something like that.

2. Who's in the Main Event
No issue with Rob Van Dam as champion. He's good for the company and his a damn fine wrestler. Sting, as much as I admire him, isn't where he was 5 or 10 years ago. He doesn't need to be in the main event or in the title picture to be over with the crowd. And featuring Jeff Jarrett in a main storyline's not smart either. You have folks like Kurt Angle, AJ Styles, Anderson, Pope, Jeff Hardy, Wolfe and others are prime for the main event spotlight and would do a better job than Sting or Jarrett would. There's no need to have them involved in a feature storyline. Put them in the middle of programming and you'll be flying.

3. Too over the top
Anderson calling his fans 'assholes', the whole gimmick of Orlando Jordan, and implying that Abyss rapes Chelsea. Those have Russo written all over it. "HEY! Let's SHOCK everyone. People will watch if they're shocked!" No. They watch ONE time, then once it's done over and over, they'll tune it out. Keep it simple and within the realm of not ridiculous.

4. Push Abyss and Jay Lethal, not AJ Styles or Wolfe?
Why Abyss is getting the rub is beyond my comprehension. He's not a 'face' character. He's sadistic, mean, and nasty. The 'monster with feelings' gimmick does not work for him. Gives him no cred and makes it look like Rocky Dennis trying to wrestle. Jay Lethal's a solid in-ring athlete, but not in the same ballpark as Styles, Beer Money, Wolfe, etc. He's way ahead of his time and should concentrate on helping the X-Division. And jobbing two major stars like Styles and Wolfe makes NO sense. The point of a heel is to look ominous and to only lose when he's out thought. Not when he's just plain beaten down. That's not what faces do. Faces find a way to win by not cheating. Heels find a way to win BY cheating. How hard is that to book, Russo?!

5. No direction
Anyone have an idea where the company's headed? Any clue on what to expect next? Exactly. The WWE has a prime storyline with the NXT invasion going on. TNA has.. Dixie Carter stretching news out over the course of several weeks. No story between wrestlers or anything like that. Just 'We have HUGE surprises for you fans. Could be awesome!' It's stupid. And it shows in the ratings. TNA was better off without Hogan and Bischoff and with Russo having a lesser role in the writing.

So what say you? Agree with any of what I said here? Disagree? Lets hear it.

 

[Reddannihilation]

I've seen numerous comments chiming in on how Vince Russo kills everything he gets his hands on. How he never believes in the title belts meaning anything and how he sometimes does storylines just for his own amusement. Well, I've come to the conclusion that after tonight, I'm blaming Vince Russo for the shit storm that TNA's had to undertake since Hogan/Bischoff's arrived. I'll break down the critical reasons and people that have contributed to the regression of TNA.

1. The Titles
Anyone tell me why you don't have a TNA Tag Team title match on your biggest PPV of the year? There's NO excuse for it. Period. Even the WWE puts the Tag Belts on the undercard at Wrestlemania. They didn't even do that. No matter what Russo wants to believe, people love the title belts. It makes the matches more meaningful. Flair's matches were meaningful because he was at risk of losing his title. The same goes for the Minnesota Wrecking Crew. They made the Tag Belts sound as important as the World Heavyweight Title. NO ONE in TNA does that anymore. It's stupid to do something like that.

Unless you found yourself a time machine I don't recall Bound For Glory airing tonight so the whole "biggest of the year" thing is a tad off. Granted I do think the tag belts should've been defended tonight but Slammiversary is like the 3rd biggest TNA show of the year.

3. Too over the top
Anderson calling his fans 'assholes', the whole gimmick of Orlando Jordan, and implying that Abyss rapes Chelsea. Those have Russo written all over it. "HEY! Let's SHOCK everyone. People will watch if they're shocked!" No. They watch ONE time, then once it's done over and over, they'll tune it out. Keep it simple and within the realm of not ridiculous.

Anderson I believe came up with that himself, Abyss and Chelsea is weird but aside from Tazz's lone comment there hasn't been much to imply rape, Orlando Jordan's deal is just weird and I don't like it.

4. Push Abyss and Jay Lethal, not AJ Styles or Wolfe?
Why Abyss is getting the rub is beyond my comprehension. He's not a 'face' character. He's sadistic, mean, and nasty. The 'monster with feelings' gimmick does not work for him. Gives him no cred and makes it look like Rocky Dennis trying to wrestle. Jay Lethal's a solid in-ring athlete, but not in the same ballpark as Styles, Beer Money, Wolfe, etc. He's way ahead of his time and should concentrate on helping the X-Division. And jobbing two major stars like Styles and Wolfe makes NO sense. The point of a heel is to look ominous and to only lose when he's out thought. Not when he's just plain beaten down. That's not what faces do. Faces find a way to win by not cheating. Heels find a way to win BY cheating. How hard is that to book, Russo?!

This is something I agree with, Abyss should be a monster-heel it's all he's good at, as for Lethal, my guess is that Dinero was meant to be receiving that push and that due to injury they've just thrown it to Lethal. As for Wolfe he really should be in the upper-midcard/main event as the character he debuted as. AJ I think is getting placed into this storyline as a rival for Kaz which could work out.

5. No direction
Anyone have an idea where the company's headed? Any clue on what to expect next? Exactly. The WWE has a prime storyline with the NXT invasion going on. TNA has.. Dixie Carter stretching news out over the course of several weeks. No story between wrestlers or anything like that. Just 'We have HUGE surprises for you fans. Could be awesome!' It's stupid. And it shows in the ratings. TNA was better off without Hogan and Bischoff and with Russo having a lesser role in the writing.

I do agree that currently there's very little coherency within the company and I'm hoping they'll wrap up this Hogan v. Flair story soon and separate the Beer Money, AJ, Wolfe and Kaz faction so that we can finally have more singular storylines, it seems Factions are all TNA has lately.

So what say you? Agree with any of what I said here? Disagree? Lets hear it.

I agree with a lot of what you've said, but disagree with some of the things. Right now I think TNA is lost, they need to end these haphazard stories they're currently running and streamline the product. Currently the only things keeping my interest is Angle's war against the top 10, Anderson, Doug Williams war against the X-division and the potential for this AJ v. Kaz rivalry,other than that there isn't much. RVD as champ is fine but he should be up against someone like Wolfe, Sting is just confusing, the factions need to go and the heels need to stop being jobbed out like a bunch of *****es every week.

 

[Nate DaMac]

I whole heartedly 100% agree with you man. You see, I used to be one of these hapless TNA marks who just blindly followed the product and everything it put out. It had a couple of really high moments but lately, it's just dwindled away. There is absolutely no excuse for it, at all. They have some very good talent, they have brought some great speakers to the forefront, and some of the matches have been superb. But the booking is simply FUCKING GOD AWFUL. Sorry Russo, but that revolves solely around you. RVD vs Sting sounds like a good Main Event for a PPV....... in 2002.... Maybe. But in 2010, and with talent you have now, it's unacceptable. That's all I got right now.

 

[Trill Co$by]

Vince Russo isn't even the damn booker in TNA right now, Hogan and Bischoff are. Russo has gone on a break and hasn't been back in a long time, so get off his damn ass and point the blame at who it's supposed to be at.

Secondly, the tag titles not being defended isn't that big of a deal. I mean what background would the match have had? Better yet, besides this year's WrestleMania, name me ONE time when WWE had a tag title match that was actually broadcasted on PPV. The last I can remember is WM 20, there could've been some others but then again maybe not.

And then you want to say that Orlando's gimmick is out of place because the homophobic that you are, you can't accept that a bi-sexual can be a wrestler. It's called exploiting the obvious, and if you really can't stand it then go watch the show with so called "Monsters" or "Dead men". Abyss & Chelsea's storyline isn't implying rape as much as it is the fact that Chelsea is trying to understand the monster known as Abyss.

As for Anderson calling his fans assholes, why not? I swear there's been worse names for a group of fans who like a certain wrestler... for example, anyone else here remember being called a testicle and the fact that almost everyone cheered when that guy called you one? Yeah, that totally makes sense.

Abyss can't have emotions, yet Kane can walk around believing in mythical powers? Really? Yeah, ok... As for Jay Lethal, why not give him a push? The guy is great in the ring and has a lot of room to grow on the mic. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure that you're one of the many people who tell TNA to grow their own wrestlers. Well here's that wrestler for you, so sit back shut up and enjoy the product. And as for Desmond Wolfe, just because he's not champion in a damn week doesn't mean creative team doesn't have something in store for him.

And to say there's no story involved just shows you don't watch the show at all. Kaz and AJ have totally been at each others throats trying to be Flair's golden boy and defeat Lethal. Douglas Williams has been walking around with the X-Division title with a technical wrestling over high flyers storyline. Bubba and Neal are in a teacher vs. student storyline. And the fact that TNA has only been advertising every match on the card minus the women's title over the past few weeks is just enough to show me that once again you simply watched the PPV on a stream and tried to gather enough information at a failed attempt for a rant... and even worse, you tried to use Russo's name who isn't even active at the moment.

-_- I can't stand ignorance

 

[peep4life]

Abyss & Chelsea's storyline isn't implying rape as much as it is the fact that Chelsea is trying to understand the monster known as Abyss.

did you watch TNA last thursday dont rember who it was think it was JAY LEATHEL said CHELSEA WILL BEING COMING AROUND THE MOUNTAIN WHEN SHE CUMS. dont get it then your to young.
and for the tread i agree RUSSO just has never been that good to me but niether has HOGAN but TNA brought him in so yeah

 

[candy girl]

i think mr.lariat needs to lay off the DAMN CAFFEINE!!! seriously why do morons like yourself take this shit so seriously why? i mean every time i logged on this site it's alway's some topic devoted to tna and it's so-called failures as a company, these guy's are putting the lives and health on the line every night just to entertain you little morons and yet all you all do is bitch and moan about every aspect of the show....... here's a thought STOP WATCHING!!! better yet go get yourself some round trip tickets to orlando find dixie and tell her to her face that russo, and hogan ain't doing their jobs right and that she should hire YOU INSTEAD!!!!

 

[Kenny Powers]

1. The Titles
Anyone tell me why you don't have a TNA Tag Team title match on your biggest PPV of the year? There's NO excuse for it. Period. Even the WWE puts the Tag Belts on the undercard at Wrestlemania. They didn't even do that. No matter what Russo wants to believe, people love the title belts. It makes the matches more meaningful. Flair's matches were meaningful because he was at risk of losing his title. The same goes for the Minnesota Wrecking Crew. They made the Tag Belts sound as important as the World Heavyweight Title. NO ONE in TNA does that anymore. It's stupid to do something like that.

I agree that the title matches lately have lost their luster and really don't mean as much as they used to. The tag titles and the Global title are hardly mentioned. Even the X Division title is an afterthought. It is all well and good to push the heavyweight title, but don't forget about everything else.

2. Who's in the Main Event
No issue with Rob Van Dam as champion. He's good for the company and his a damn fine wrestler. Sting, as much as I admire him, isn't where he was 5 or 10 years ago. He doesn't need to be in the main event or in the title picture to be over with the crowd. And featuring Jeff Jarrett in a main storyline's not smart either. You have folks like Kurt Angle, AJ Styles, Anderson, Pope, Jeff Hardy, Wolfe and others are prime for the main event spotlight and would do a better job than Sting or Jarrett would. There's no need to have them involved in a feature storyline. Put them in the middle of programming and you'll be flying.

I still don't understand this whole rankings system where anybody can challenge RVD regardless if they are qualified or not. It is nice to see Angle taking a lesser role. I hope Sting and Jarrett take a lesser role too because there is no need for them in the main event. Wolfe, Styles, Anderson, Pope, etc are wasted.

3. Too over the top
Anderson calling his fans 'assholes', the whole gimmick of Orlando Jordan, and implying that Abyss rapes Chelsea. Those have Russo written all over it. "HEY! Let's SHOCK everyone. People will watch if they're shocked!" No. They watch ONE time, then once it's done over and over, they'll tune it out. Keep it simple and within the realm of not ridiculous.

There is too much shock and awe in TNA which really doesn't do much. It is fine every now and then but it gets really boring and idiotic after a while.

4. Push Abyss and Jay Lethal, not AJ Styles or Wolfe?
Why Abyss is getting the rub is beyond my comprehension. He's not a 'face' character. He's sadistic, mean, and nasty. The 'monster with feelings' gimmick does not work for him. Gives him no cred and makes it look like Rocky Dennis trying to wrestle. Jay Lethal's a solid in-ring athlete, but not in the same ballpark as Styles, Beer Money, Wolfe, etc. He's way ahead of his time and should concentrate on helping the X-Division. And jobbing two major stars like Styles and Wolfe makes NO sense. The point of a heel is to look ominous and to only lose when he's out thought. Not when he's just plain beaten down. That's not what faces do. Faces find a way to win by not cheating. Heels find a way to win BY cheating. How hard is that to book, Russo?!

I think Styles and Wolfe are being totally wasted right now. AJ looks weaker then ever and Wolfe hasn't won a match in ages. It's nice to see Lethal get a push, but Lethal is a guy that will never be a main eventer. He just isn't that type of person. The same thing can be said about Kaz. Abyss is beyond worthless. He is just the guy that TNA can get to go through barb wire and thumbtacks.

5. No direction
Anyone have an idea where the company's headed? Any clue on what to expect next? Exactly. The WWE has a prime storyline with the NXT invasion going on. TNA has.. Dixie Carter stretching news out over the course of several weeks. No story between wrestlers or anything like that. Just 'We have HUGE surprises for you fans. Could be awesome!' It's stupid. And it shows in the ratings. TNA was better off without Hogan and Bischoff and with Russo having a lesser role in the writing.

One good and bad thing about TNA is that they don't spoon feed you everything. Often on Raw and other WWE shows they give out too much information and it is usually annoying after a while. At least we get all the answers with WWE though. TNA gives too many questions without any answers what so ever. What was the purpose of Sting turning heel and doing the whole deception angle? Wasn't something supposed to happen at Slammiversary to reveal Sting's intentions?

Nothing happened. No explanation given. Sting didn't do anything or say anything new. No new feuds were developed after the PPV. The only thing that was mildly amusing was Tommy Dreamer's return. Which is about 3 months too late to be shocking. I just feel that Dixie's huge surprise will be a big letdown like the PPV was tonight.

There needs to be some direction in TNA instead of just throwing crap on a wall to see if it sticks. Most of the matches for PPV were made at last minute. Bischoff was asked why not book matches for the next week's Imapact so the fans know. Bischoff never even thought about it. I guess booking and promoting matches weeks in advance do nothing for the PPV? I love TNA as an alternative wrestling company that prides itself on wrestling.

However, there are too many cooks in the kitchen running the show. Just let Sting, Hogan, Jarrett, Hall and Nash, etc. sit back and give the ball to the young guys to run with. TNA can still have the old stars on the show, just don't focus the entire show around them. Also, for the love of God if you start something finish it. Tell how and why something happened. We still don't know who kidnapped Samoa Joe or why for example.

 

[Kenny Powers]

i think mr.lariat needs to lay off the DAMN CAFFEINE!!! seriously why do morons like yourself take this shit so seriously why? i mean every time i logged on this site it's alway's some topic devoted to tna and it's so-called failures as a company, these guy's are putting the lives and health on the line every night just to entertain you little morons and yet all you all do is bitch and moan about every aspect of the show....... here's a thought STOP WATCHING!!! better yet go get yourself some round trip tickets to orlando find dixie and tell her to her face that russo, and hogan ain't doing their jobs right and that she should hire YOU INSTEAD!!!!

Good God. Didn't someone ban this person before? I guess everyone who is critical of TNA is a moron. No one has any problem with the wrestlers putting their lives on the line to entertain us or anything. A lot of people have a problem with TNA's holes in their stories and in creative. It isn't the wrestlers that are the problem but the men behind the scenes. The sad thing is if TNA doesn't do a complete overhaul in their creative department then a lot of people won't be watching.

 

[CaptainZaltan]

Obviously it's impossible for wrestling fans to know just how much of the show is attributable to any given writer. Yet, whenever Russo is employed in a creative role, certain recurring trends are apparent in plotting, narrative consistency and logic (or lack thereof), continuity, stipulation matches, etc, that I hate. By the same token, whenever he's involved creatively, interesting characters are created. I despise what's DONE with those characters, and how characters move from point A to point B in terms of character development, but I will give credit where credit is due. From what I can infer of Russo's creative role, I feel he's good at creating characters, and absolutely terrible at creating a logical and involving plot-line with a satisfying payoff. In other words, while I think Russo has his strengths, 'Crash-tv' doesn't appeal to me in the least.

Lets face it, TNA has a talented roster, a network that is supporting them, strong financial backing, and some of the supposed greatest minds in the history of the business at their disposal. The product should be in a good place right now. To some, it might be. Personally, I can't stand it. My wrestling fan friends have given up on TNA long ago, and all I ever hear from wrestling columnists and reviewers is how bad the product is. That's a fairly subjective analysis, of course, but I would propose that if there wasn't a problem with TNA in the eyes of the people that DO matter (Dixie Carter, Spike TV, Panda), than we wouldn't have seen Hogan/Bischoff brought into the company, we would not be hearing talk of trying to recruit Paul Heyman,
and they certainly wouldn't have needed to turn tail and fled from the Monday night time slot. There is a problem with TNA. And if all of the tools are available and there's still a problem, at some point you have to take a closer look at the people wielding them.

To that end, I don't know why the buck should stop with Vinnie-ru. There are plenty of others involved in TNA's creative and decision making processes, and they should all be held accountable for the failures to date. Russo likely deserves his fair share of blame, but ultimately, he is what he is. It's his boss's job to know what his style is about, and to make use of his strengths while minimizing his weaknesses. And if that's impossible, then to replace him. Obviously, that hasn't happened. So is he accountable directly to Hogan/EB, or to Dixie, or to all three? Whichever it is, that person is equally responsible. Similarly, Russo isn't responsible for all of the terrible managerial decisions that he is forced to work around. From what we have been led to believe, Hogan was behind Abyss's face push. AJ's poorly thought-out title loss (ie: ending a long title run with an unadvertised dream match given away on free tv....UNADVERTISED) was the result of pressure from the network. The release of Chris Daniels, the situation with Kong, the hiring of Bubba and the Nasty'z and Hall/Waltman and Venis and Jordan, etc, were not Russo's decisions. Nor will it be Russo's fault when TNA's willingness to hire talent with drug/alcohol problems bites them on the ass. That's not to say I believe that every one of those situations was or is being handled in the best possible manner plot-wise, but I can certainly see how hard it might be to make lemonade with a glass of piss.

Bottom line is, I think TNA has to take a hard look at management as well as creative to try and get itself back on track. I don't like Russo's writing, but I don't think replacing him is going to solve TNA's problems. Even if he were personally responsible for every idiotic decision that's been made in TNA, that just means that the rest of creative/management were too stupid and complacent to come up with ideas of their own or differentiate a good idea from a bad idea. Put any other writer, even Paul Heyman, into that dynamic and the results will likely be the same. Don't get me wrong; I wouldn't mind seeing Russo gone from TNA, or preferably demoted to a position where he works exclusively with character creation and stays the hell away from scripting feuds or creating awful gimmick matches. But until his superiors get their heads on straight, I doubt such a move would fix much.

 

[geist inc]

I don't think the issue is with TNA at all, but more like the so called fans. Those who tune in week after week, and pick everything apart to seem like they give a damn. Those fans who asked for change, and when it happens they pick that apart as well.

The storylines exist and are easy to follow, it's clear to see new stories unfolding in the background. And yet the fans don't or can't see it, what I'm saying is basically give it time to grow. Nothing is going to change overnight that'll make it better than it is already, it's not WWE PG or is it WCW it's TNA and yes it really is different.

 

[shattered dreams]

I still don't understand this whole rankings system where anybody can challenge RVD regardless if they are qualified or not.

Why do you keep saying this everywhere? Since RVD won the title he has defended it twice. Once against Wolfe after he won the initial fan vote for the rankings and then once against the #1 contender after a month of buildup. You should stop trumpeting this false assessment of the ranking system use and RVD's title defenses.

On the main point I could not disagree more. If you want to blame someone choosing Russo as the main culprit is a joke. It is a cop out because he has always been a favorite scapegoat in industry failings. Why would you blame Russo when the situation is before Hogan/Bischoff we have an extended period of unfiltered Russo where the ratings are growing slowly but surely, they are building new stars and the in-ring product is arguably at an all-time high level. Then Hogan/Bischoff come in and we can definitely say Russo has less say than he used to and many people become disatisfied with the product. How can you blame Russo for Abyssamania? Clearly Hogan has a hand in that one. Bischoff is one of Jordan's biggest supporters as well if you are a hater of that character. Why anyone hates Jordan is beyond me anyway he is a good worker and can carry the character aspect. Isn't that what we should be asking for? When Hogan/Bischoff made their debut the company basically decided to reboot and start many things from scratch. They undid much of what Russo had been doing previously leading into the disjointed nature there for a while. Was it Russo's decision to go to mondays? yeah right. Did you hear him talking about any war like an idiot? Nope. Why would he bring in the nasties? Was it his choice to get rid of D'Amore? If you are frustrated with the product I could understand that but scapegoating Russo is simply wrong. Right now I agree with geist inc.

 

[a0161613]

I very much doubt that Russo is to blame. Hogan & Bischoff have made a big song and dance and so far they are not backing it up with any quality. They must have a massive say in it because otherwise why are they there?

I don't know why the tag titles are being discarded off the PPV and why there are people who are being pushed beyond their rightful place of where they deserve to be.

I'm very concerned for TNA because they are no longer the alternative. They are simply inferior and now they are going to be relying on fans loyalty.

 

[gd]

1. The Titles
Anyone tell me why you don't have a TNA Tag Team title match on your biggest PPV of the year? There's NO excuse for it. Period. Even the WWE puts the Tag Belts on the undercard at Wrestlemania. They didn't even do that. No matter what Russo wants to believe, people love the title belts. It makes the matches more meaningful. Flair's matches were meaningful because he was at risk of losing his title. The same goes for the Minnesota Wrecking Crew. They made the Tag Belts sound as important as the World Heavyweight Title. NO ONE in TNA does that anymore. It's stupid to do something like that.

Yes, TNA sure has done a shit job with the titles. Global Championship? Apprently it exist. Swear I've only seen Terry about twice in the last month though. Never a good thing. The #1 Contender's for the tag titles haven't been seen in a whole damn month. I'm sure some people don't even know who the #1 Contender's are. Completely idiotic. Supposedly there a KO Tag Titles as well. Who knew?

2. Who's in the Main Event
No issue with Rob Van Dam as champion. He's good for the company and his a damn fine wrestler. Sting, as much as I admire him, isn't where he was 5 or 10 years ago. He doesn't need to be in the main event or in the title picture to be over with the crowd. And featuring Jeff Jarrett in a main storyline's not smart either. You have folks like Kurt Angle, AJ Styles, Anderson, Pope, Jeff Hardy, Wolfe and others are prime for the main event spotlight and would do a better job than Sting or Jarrett would. There's no need to have them involved in a feature storyline. Put them in the middle of programming and you'll be flying.

Agreed. Sting needs to get out of there ASAP. Would've been much better served retiring at BFG this year, before he was that shit. Not sure if he can even have an above average match anymore. Porr guy needs to quit before he embarasses himself.

3. Too over the top
Anderson calling his fans 'assholes', the whole gimmick of Orlando Jordan, and implying that Abyss rapes Chelsea. Those have Russo written all over it. "HEY! Let's SHOCK everyone. People will watch if they're shocked!" No. They watch ONE time, then once it's done over and over, they'll tune it out. Keep it simple and within the realm of not ridiculous.

Not a huge problem for me. The asshole gimmick is kind of clever actually. I enjoy it, certainly more than creature of the night. That's stupid. OJ acting like a nut wasn't that bad either. Obviously the whole Abyss rape thing was horrific, but I don't think that had as much to do with being over the top as it did with simply using absolutely zero logic.

4. Push Abyss and Jay Lethal, not AJ Styles or Wolfe?
Why Abyss is getting the rub is beyond my comprehension. He's not a 'face' character. He's sadistic, mean, and nasty. The 'monster with feelings' gimmick does not work for him. Gives him no cred and makes it look like Rocky Dennis trying to wrestle. Jay Lethal's a solid in-ring athlete, but not in the same ballpark as Styles, Beer Money, Wolfe, etc. He's way ahead of his time and should concentrate on helping the X-Division. And jobbing two major stars like Styles and Wolfe makes NO sense. The point of a heel is to look ominous and to only lose when he's out thought. Not when he's just plain beaten down. That's not what faces do. Faces find a way to win by not cheating. Heels find a way to win BY cheating. How hard is that to book, Russo?!

I actually quite like what they're doing with Lethal. I fancy him over Pope, at the very least. AJ's character has been so lost lately I think he may need to hit rock bottom so they can regroup with him. Agree with the Abyss thing though. What kind of a feud sees the face absolutely dominate on 2 straight PPVs? A shit one, that what. Has Wolfe even won a match this year? Not likely. And people said he was going to be buried if he went to the WWE.

5. No direction
Anyone have an idea where the company's headed? Any clue on what to expect next? Exactly. The WWE has a prime storyline with the NXT invasion going on. TNA has.. Dixie Carter stretching news out over the course of several weeks. No story between wrestlers or anything like that. Just 'We have HUGE surprises for you fans. Could be awesome!' It's stupid. And it shows in the ratings. TNA was better off without Hogan and Bischoff and with Russo having a lesser role in the writing.

Spot on, my brother. After each of the last few PPVs, you're left wondering "what's next?" Nothing really meaningful has happened for months. Sure, the matches are pretty good, but they aren't heading anywhere. At least if Sting won there would've been an intriguing storyline with the belt, but instead RVD continues to move about with no direction whatsoever. A shame really.

So what say you? Agree with any of what I said here? Disagree? Lets hear it.

Is it Russo's fault? Fuck if I know. I'd say it's very likely though. Not sure how people can defend him so vehemently given his past track recrod. I'd say it's probably everyone in the company's fault, except Angle, who continues to be a fucking badass.

 

[Tiger Chaos Theory]

I've seen numerous comments chiming in on how Vince Russo kills everything he gets his hands on. How he never believes in the title belts meaning anything and how he sometimes does storylines just for his own amusement. Well, I've come to the conclusion that after tonight, I'm blaming Vince Russo for the shit storm that TNA's had to undertake since Hogan/Bischoff's arrived. I'll break down the critical reasons and people that have contributed to the regression of TNA.

Damn good thread idea.

1. The Titles

I've got no problem with the way title holder have been booked. Doug Williams is the most well written part of TNA and his title run has been amazing for a midcard belt. Even the Band have used heel tactics and cheap wins to their advantage, just like a heel team should.

Anyone tell me why you don't have a TNA Tag Team title match on your biggest PPV of the year?

First mistake. That's like saying Summerslam is the WWE biggest show, it's flat out wrong. TNA themselves have stated Bound For Glory is their biggest show multiple times.

They didn't even do that. No matter what Russo wants to believe, people love the title belts. It makes the matches more meaningful. Flair's matches were meaningful because he was at risk of losing his title.

Which is why he's making the people holding the belts look credible.

2. Who's in the Main Event

They got that whole list of people there to tell you that kinda stuff. It's the #1 ranked person plus the title holder. Not too hard to figure out.

No issue with Rob Van Dam as champion. He's good for the company and his a damn fine wrestler. Sting, as much as I admire him, isn't where he was 5 or 10 years ago. He doesn't need to be in the main event or in the title picture to be over with the crowd. And featuring Jeff Jarrett in a main storyline's not smart either. You have folks like Kurt Angle, AJ Styles, Anderson, Pope, Jeff Hardy, Wolfe and others are prime for the main event spotlight and would do a better job than Sting or Jarrett would. There's no need to have them involved in a feature storyline. Put them in the middle of programming and you'll be flying.

I can agree with this. Jarrett and Stings storyline shouldn't be featured in the middle of the title match. It does however, make sense. No way Jarrett would wait until Thursday night if he has a chance to cost the person who attacked him the world title. Logic was always my biggest complaint with TNA so I'll let them slide this time since logic is there.

3. Too over the topAnderson calling his fans 'assholes', the whole gimmick of Orlando Jordan, and implying that Abyss rapes Chelsea. Those have Russo written all over it. "HEY! Let's SHOCK everyone. People will watch if they're shocked!" No. They watch ONE time, then once it's done over and over, they'll tune it out. Keep it simple and within the realm of not ridiculous.

The Anderson asshole thing is going over very well. Is it ridiculous? Yes, but it's a shining example of what Anderson does best; elicit a crowd reaction. And I'm behind it one hundred and thirty seven percent. That other stuff, O.J. is kinda weird, but the IWC is blowing his current run of crazy out of proportion. The worst he's done in weeks is put on pasties.

4. Push Abyss and Jay Lethal, not AJ Styles or Wolfe?

This Styles needs to be involved in everything in the title picture thing needs to be stopped. Right now. The argument for it is as asinine as some of TNA's booking. If TNA has enough confidence in Styles to let him hold the title for the longest time in company history they aren't just going to drop him off the map no matter what angles he gets booked in after. Is he getting pushed to the moon right now? No, but why does he need to be. He's gained more than enough credibility and his rep with TNA fans will take more than a few months of not taking on the WHC every month to disappear.

Why Abyss is getting the rub is beyond my comprehension. He's not a 'face' character. He's sadistic, mean, and nasty. The 'monster with feelings' gimmick does not work for him. Gives him no cred and makes it look like Rocky Dennis trying to wrestle.

Agreed.

Jay Lethal's a solid in-ring athlete, but not in the same ballpark as Styles, Beer Money, Wolfe, etc. He's way ahead of his time and should concentrate on helping the X-Division.

He's not in the same ballpark as career tag teamer's and a person who's a jobber (by your own definition)? That's quite the thing to say of someone who has claim to a victory over Kurt Angle and A.J. Styles, something no one else listed on there can say.

The point of a heel is to look ominous and to only lose when he's out thought. Not when he's just plain beaten down. That's not what faces do. Faces find a way to win by not cheating. Heels find a way to win BY cheating. How hard is that to book, Russo?!

This is my biggest complaint over TNA. The constant shielding of top baby faces as to not make them look weak in matches. They win, then get attacked by heels. Heels don't cheat to win, they cheat then lose. Heels in TNA aren't even threatening any more. Top faces have had a stranglehold on wins over the last two PPVs and instead of being satisfied when a face wins,(like I'm supposed to be) I feel nothing because it's expected now. No heel looks like they can manage to win a PPV match and that is a huge problem.

5. No direction

Anyone have an idea where the company's headed? Any clue on what to expect next? Exactly.

I somewhat enjoy the unpredictable nature of TNA. It's too bad that when a heel is involved I know the face is going to dominate the entire feud.

The WWE has a prime storyline with the NXT invasion going on.

Hypocritical that you berate TNA for being unpredictable then praise the WWe for an angle that no one saw coming.

TNA has.. Dixie Carter stretching news out over the course of several weeks. No story between wrestlers or anything like that.

Besides what happens next win Sting/Jarrett, how Styles reacts to being told to take time off, what Dreamer will do now in TNA, how Wolfe will react to Chelsea face turn (eww, but it is a story), whose #9 so Angle can suplex the shit out of him, and will BK call Williams out on being a hypocrite. Those sound like stories/angles to me.

Just 'We have HUGE surprises for you fans. Could be awesome!' It's stupid. And it shows in the ratings.

Shush with that ratings reflect quality nonsense.

TNA was better off without Hogan and Bischoff and with Russo having a lesser role in the writing.

False.

So what say you? Agree with any of what I said here? Disagree? Lets hear it.

Little bit of both. I guess.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

i think mr.lariat needs to lay off the DAMN CAFFEINE!!! seriously why do morons like yourself take this shit so seriously why? i mean every time i logged on this site it's alway's some topic devoted to tna and it's so-called failures as a company, these guy's are putting the lives and health on the line every night just to entertain you little morons and yet all you all do is bitch and moan about every aspect of the show....... here's a thought STOP WATCHING!!! better yet go get yourself some round trip tickets to orlando find dixie and tell her to her face that russo, and hogan ain't doing their jobs right and that she should hire YOU INSTEAD!!!!

Hi, Candy Girl. I'm Lariat, you're TNA Section Moderator. Allow me to clarify a few of my statements and retort to many of yours.

What I said about Vince Russo has jack squat to do with how I feel about wrestling in general. I am well aware of the risks of wrestling and how it can affect the people we cheer and boo. You're basically getting on a soap box for no reason whatsoever. You're probably still sitting there looking at this very post and thinking you've made a difference or something. When all you've done is sound like a nutcase. I never mentioned having a problem with the wrestlers, just the stories and way things are right now. The goal for these wrestlers are to entertain us and make money. If they have low ratings because the storylines aren't captivating enough to garner them, then they'll be out of a job, hence their risks are all for not.

And if you want to know the truth, if I were to be in a Q & A session with either Russo or Hogan, I'd ask them about what direction they're taking the company. I've asked Bischoff on Twitter more than once where the company is headed storyline wise. They don't know themselves. Because they don't book long term. They book month by month. Which is a huge mistake. And as far as doing a better job? I won't go that far, but given the time and resources, I can give you watchable programming. Mind you, I don't factor in politics and bullshit backstage either, which may play into why you're seeing Nash and Hall with Tag Team gold and why Jarrett and Sting are still in main event storylines.

And guess what? You tell us to STOP WATHCING?!!?! Well, if you're tired of the posts on our forum, feel free to not log on here anymore and read our stuff. We won't shed a tear. I promise.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Why do you keep saying this everywhere? Since RVD won the title he has defended it twice. Once against Wolfe after he won the initial fan vote for the rankings and then once against the #1 contender after a month of buildup. You should stop trumpeting this false assessment of the ranking system use and RVD's title defenses.

Well considering that the fans voting polls picked for Wolfe for the first round and Sting to go against RVD in the next round is mind boggling considering Sting had the lowest votes and has rarely had any matches on television. I understand that there is a "committee" that also makes the decisions and the fans votes are taken into "consideration". It just doesn't make sense that Sting got the title shot.

The man beat down Hogan, RVD, Bischoff, and not to mention the founder of TNA Jeff Jarrett. He sent Jarrett to the hospital. Why would TNA management pick Sting for the title shot after he attacked every member of management. I mean the man can wreak havoc backstage and put his hands on the owner of the company: Dixie Carter, and he is rewarded with a title shot?

It doesn't make sense. It's not logical. I'm not upset about Sting challenging RVD, just the way everything was set up for Sting to do it. Just because he is a legend he automatically gets a title shot? Why doesn't TNA just put all the legends in the main event then.