These topics crop up with a great deal of regularity, and are usually quickly infested with arrogant, know-it-all WWE armchair experts, convinced they can 'fix' the 'broken' TNA product (the 6 sided ring thing keeps cropping up. Don't think anyone has yet mentioned the old chestnut - hiring Paul Heyman and letting him fire every wrestler over the ripe old age of 30 though).
Of course, there's always going to be room for improvement. Has any company ever produced a 'perfect' wrestling product (well, it's subjective, so of course not)? Just so I don't come across as a completely biased TNA mark, I will concede that IW could improve a few things here and there. Some of their entrance music is pretty lame. Could do with making some of them more distinctive. And sure, we'd all like them to eventually leave the Impact Zone, but considering they can't even run all their PPVs from outwith Orlando yet, it's a while off. Going live is a nice compromise though. And we can all agree that the tag and X-Division need a boost. I have faith that they have plans for both.
Someone suggested charging to entry to the Impact Zone to ensure only 'real' wrestling fans got in. Not going to happen. A - They contractually cannot charge, and B - have you ever attended an Impact taping not during peak theme park season? They're not exactly turning folk away, I'll tell you that.
The moron who suggested that even though Kurt Angle can 'still go', he's 'wasted in TNA'. What the fuck? You mean the best ever (still fully active) pro wrestler, who is still putting on great, exciting matches on a regular basis (have you watched his last 3 PPV matches?), and puts over more than his fair share of talent in the twilight of his career would be better used in the WWE? Doing what exactly? Jobbing to Cena probably, with a greatly trimmed down arsenal of moves. Fuck that. WWE marks just can't stomach that Kurt is still a contented TNA guy who has never expressed any real enthusiasm for returning to the 'E.
And while we're on a rant - it's easier to get blood from a stone than hard-earned praise for TNA from a WWE mark. I genuinely struggle to believe how anyone couldn't concede that TNA is currently producing the best wrestling shows. Half of the WWE roster is crocked or suspended, and the upcoming PPV is being main evented by a non-title cage match beteen John Cena and the Big Show. Hahahahaha! Where's my wallet? They had to bring back their elderly owner to TV this week to try and spike falling ratings. Their tv shows are ridiculous kiddie charades, riddled with immature, unfunny humour. The key difference is that WWE makes entertainment shows for children, with a bit of wrestling thrown in (repetitive, safe, predictable, drab wrestling, mostly by lumbering charisma-vaccume big men). TNA is a wrestling company, making wrestling shows for wrestling fans. See the difference? Let's compare current storylines:
TNA
1. Bobby Roode world title reign/rise of James Storm - fucking compelling viewing. Oh, and the main focus of their shows and PPVs, unlike another company...
2. AJ/Dixie - A slow-burning epic, filled with twists and turns. Not being rushed. Remains interesting. Punctuated with great matches.
3. Bully/Joseph Parks - As above. Nothing being rushed. Interesting. A little corny, but the suspension of disbelief required is quite old school. I like it.
4. Sting's masked attackers. Only just begun but a nice premise to keep Sting away from the world title picture.
5. Austin Aries' rise to the main event. He's over as fuck, and probably just as good, if not better than CM Punk and Daniel Bryan - both in the ring and on the mic.
6. The Bound for Glory Series kicking off. A universally praised concept returns. Makes it seem like the world title actually has some value...
7. Joey Ryan...
Add to this weekly TV title defences (just what all the smarks wanted) and Knockout segments and matches, with just 2 hours of TV a week?
WWE
1. Cena vs Generic Authority Figure/Angry Giant for the hundredth time. ZZZZZZZZ.
2. Prima donna UFC fighter (admittedly a huge draw) who doesn't give a shit about the wrestlig business, being paid to job, perhaps 3 times over the year for $5million (correct me on the figure if I'm wrong).
3. CM Punk/Bryan/Kane/AJ. What the hell is this all about?
4. Sheamus - A world fucking champion - has NO story.
5. Santino vs what appears to be a spoiled Mexican child.
6. Rikishi v2.0
7. Some clumsy fucking Goldberg wannabe who WWE talent is too scared to work with? Hahahahahaha.
While we're on that, endless, pointless, dull squash matches on TV, in a desperate bid to get guys over? Really? Giving Hernandez one solid, semi-entertaining PPV match with Kid Kash probably got him more over with TNA fans than Ryback is in the WWE.
I know you'll all say, "the rating don't lie". Sure, more people do watch WWE, and they make more money. Nobody is arguing with that. But who actually benefits here? Not you. It's VKM. It's the shareholders. The advertisers. The sponsors. But certainly not the average fan watching at home. They would get more benefit and personal utility from watching a better wrestling product.
So just to bring this thing into land, before I'm accused of going off topic, I think TNA could certainly make some small improvements to tweak their currently excellent product. But I believe their ongoing storylines and booking style make for a great show. Nothing is perfect. However WWE is force feeding the world the same old, bland bullshit, peppered with reactionary stunts to spike poor rating (bit like TNA used to do). So I think next time the question you need to be asking is not "what can TNA do, but what can WWE do, to improve their product and compete with the quality of TNA?" Not ratings or revenue. Or mainstream recognition. Quality.