Why Did You Stop Watching TNA?

[HORRORHOLIC]

I really enjoyed TNA before they got their TV deal. They really were an alternative to WWE and that's how they promoted themselves. Once they got the TV deal they almost immediately began trying to be more and more like WWE. The terrible acting during the backstage skits became extremely hard for me to watch. Eventually I started watching less and less and then almost not at all.

When they signed Hogan I became interested again because of all the talk of change. I liked the Hogan debut show because it seemed like a big deal. The set looked so much better, the normal ring looked better etc... But not long after it all started going downhill again. Bad story lines, bad acting, all of Dixie's "Major Announcements" etc... At this point I find TNA unwatchable. I don't watch it anymore at all, although I have tuned in a few times to see how things are going, but can't make it through a whole show.

 

[Cereal Killer]

In 2003, I had spontaneously discovered TNA. Since that day, I had watched TNA religiously. I always excited for each show and it always something interesting to talk about. Sure, I like WWE, but I loved TNA.

They had always provided a product which would appeal to me. The stories, characters and matches, how could you not watch? We had some of the most personal and intense stories and matches between guys like AJ Styles, Kurt Angle, Jeff Jarrett, Sting, Samoa Joe and Christian Cage.

Then there was Hulk Hogan. A lot of people disliked this period of TNA naming it "the downfall" or the "beginning of the end" or whatever. Guess what. Ratings in TNA were never so good. Apart from those months with magic rings and a blonde AJ, I loved it and apparently a lot of other people did too.

It wasn't what TNA did with Hogan in the short-term that drifted me away, it was what they did with him that affected TNA in the long-term.

They were paying Hogan A LOT of money from which they were expecting a good return from. By 2012, they should of realised that their roster consisting of Hogan, Sting, Hardy and Angle was still not getting them to where they had wanted to be. They could have let Hogan go at the time but no, they thought what they were doing was good enough to get them where they had envisioned when they had signed The Hulkster. They then thought that airing live and travelling on the road would do the trick. If a roster with Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, Sting and Hulk Hogan is not enough to get them where they wanted to be, how on earth was that going to?

Bear in mind, I was still watching TNA in 2013. However, they had decided to make even worse decisions by letting Styles off the hook and giving the world title to Eric Young. How will I take a guy that has spent most of his years in the industry as a comedy character serious enough to be a world champion? Sting had also left, Angle became a part time performer and they formed yet another faction which was power-hungry; an angle they've repeated since Planet Jarrett was formed in 2003. Nothing kept me interested.

Today, those long-term Hogan affects are felt. The roster is full of people that not many recognise, live events are getting cancelled and Spike TV is refusing to keep them. These aren't good signs people, and it's not only because of the money but the writers also. You need money to make a lot of the magic happen but it's not impossible to do it without. Just take a look at them in 2004. They had a fairly good product and that was all on a small budget. They're very capable of doing something like that again but nowadays, they're focused on paying tribute to ECW and The Great Muta

 

[King Patrick Star]

I stopped watching TNA for one reason. It’s not because TNA was getting worse or WWE was getting better. I’ve also stopped watching Smackdown around the same time I stopped watching Impact, which was on February 24th, 2014. I’ve recently decided to stop watching Raw as well. I just grew tired of spending 7 hours a week, watching these 3 shows, and only enjoying a total of an hour of it.

The reason for my change in viewership was… the WWE Network. Since Day 1, I’ve been watching every WWE PPVs, WCW PPVs, and in a few days, ECW PPVs, in chronological order. I started with Starrcade 1983, and currently, I’m on WrestleMania 13. My plan is when I catch up to the current PPV, whatever that may be by that time, I will go back and watch Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash Of Champions, in chronological order. After that, I may go back to watching Raw, Smackdown, and Impact…if Impact is still around by the time I’m finished. Who knows, maybe the WWE will be TNA and put them on the Network.

 

[Eupadrinho]

To me there are two thing's that destroyed TNA.

1-Hulk Hogan- I mean, was loving every bit of TNA back then, the wrestler's, the faction's, the storyline's. Hulk came in and made every single thing about him, made amazing wrestler's into jobber's and brought in old people.

2-The nail in the cofin of Tna was when they stoped airing monthly PPV's. There's nothing to build towards, every thing happens out of the blue... It does'nt help either that we know what's going to happen 6weeks in advence.

Ps: I apologize for my bad inglish.

 

[mlp420]

Ah, so we're back to the old "Scorned Former Fan" routine: Featuring a bunch of bitter so called former "fans" professing their love of TNA's old product.

Yet these same people will loyally sit through guys in bunny rabbit costumes and lame celebrity guest hosts every Monday night despite how much they complain about it. They stick with WWE through thick and thin, through all the mistakes they make.

It's pretty simple, anybody that says they were fans of TNA but refuses to support the company now that they are doing the things people claim they wanted and busting their butts to give the best shows they can, was NEVER a fan of TNA to begin with. You're just pretending, who do you think you're fooling?

 

[Trill Co$by]

I honestly haven't stopped. I still watch TNA because there are still a lot of great things coming along. The Wolves-Hardyz-Team3D was as good, if not better, than E&C-Dudleys-Hardyz and had a much bigger feel to it. Samuel Shaw and Gunner are entering to a perfectly awesome program that could lead to even better programs afterwards. The main event scene has been a very interesting scene. And as always, the X-Division, Tag Division, and Knockouts are reliable when it comes to expecting exciting matches.

Admittedly, some of the writing in TNA is bad and highly questionable, but overall the product is still entertaining to me.

 

[ABMorales787]

I HAVEN'T stopped watching it. The programming is ridiculously basic, there's no sense of direction, they aren't bothering with pushing talent. But I've seen worse and do watch worse wrestling during my weeks than TNA. It's not exhausting to watch. It's not over the top. It's not complex (any more). It's just wrestling. And it could use some direction, but I have no real problem with what I'm getting.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

I started watching TNA in 2006 because of all the former ROH talent they had & because of Kurt Angle's debut but I stopped watching after attending the Bound For Glory 2009 PPV.

Not only was the live event experience rather underwhelming (one of TNA's biggest shows of the year didn't even have the energy of a WWE house show IMO) but TNA really felt like it hit it's peak at BFG '09. The company was seemingly only getting bigger & better up until that point & then ever since then almost everybody craps all over the product, which I can't really disagree with. Talent like Angle & Samoa Joe were really starting to be mishandled around that time & Sting was being built up to either retire or have some epic moment/payoff at BFG & it just led to a forgettable promo where he said he wasn't sure what he was going to do. Shortly after that Sting would go on to have possibly the worst run of his entire career as Joker Sting & the team Hogan & Bischoff would come along & basically lay waste to anything that was good about TNA before that, not to mention bring in "talent" like Brooke Hogan, Garrett Bischoff, Gunner, Rockstar Spud, etc. The six sided ring was taken way, they started creating a lot of really awful stables/teams & the product just became a weird combo of WWE Lite & 2000's WCW where it was safe & didn't take any chances but still managed to make hardly any logical sense what so ever & felt very chaotic & jumbled up.

I heard the six sided the ring is back & I know Hogan & Bischoff are gone now but at this point I just don't care about anyone or anything in TNA anymore. Most of the truly great talent like Sting & AJ Styles are gone, Angle may or may not even resigned with TNA & the whole company just seems pretty much irrelevant at this point.

 

[tvcolosi]

Taping shows 6-8 weeks in advance. I never had time to watch the full 2 hours so I'd read the spoilers and most weeks a segment or 2 would stick out and I'd watch those. Now most weeks I try to find the spoilers for that week and after 2-3 click of the "more stories" link I give up. I've been reading the cluster of results every 2 months or so but haven't seen any footage since Young was still champ.

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

I liked TNA when Samoa Joe was in good ring shape and also was impressed when Angle debuted. But I have to say I have never really bought in to any storyline and i do not even watch TNA on free to air tv in the UK. I find Mr Anderson running around saying "i'm an asshole" to bewilder me. I also find the aces and eights storyline to be crap.

I was impressed with what little work I saw of Dixie Carter as a heel; she was actually very good on the mic. But she should not be on tv at the expense of the talent. What TNA needs, much like WWE, is no authority figure for a while; just a backroom manager that rarely gets seen on TV; ala Jack Tunney in the 1990s.

 

[Rayne]

I guess I was never a fan then, and I'm fooling myself.

If you're new to the mlp420 routine, REAL fans spend money on products that they aren't enjoying, because REAL professional wrestling fans have an obligation to support companies, even if the fan feels the company isn't providing them anything of value. It's sort of a reverse capitalism, where the consumer has a responsibility to serve the product.

Also, everyone who doesn't watch TNA must be slavishly watching the WWE and not enjoying it, but sending them money, because the WWE operates a giant brainwashing machine that forces people to watch their programming.

Remember that there were people who thought the shit that WCW was pumping out in 2000 was great, too.

 

[mlp420]

If you're new to the mlp420 routine, REAL fans spend money on products that they aren't enjoying, because REAL professional wrestling fans have an obligation to support companies, even if the fan feels the company isn't providing them anything of value. It's sort of a reverse capitalism, where the consumer has a responsibility to serve the product.

Also, everyone who doesn't watch TNA must be slavishly watching the WWE and not enjoying it, but sending them money, because the WWE operates a giant brainwashing machine that forces people to watch their programming.

Remember that there were people who thought the shit that WCW was pumping out in 2000 was great, too.

I never said that anybody has to support any wrestling promotion. I just made a very simple and undeniable point. I see the complaining about WWE on a weekly basis and I see who's doing it. A lot of those same people keep watching saying "I watch because I'm a fan and I want it to get better". I just don't understand how there's so much patience & tolerance for the WWE and all their flaws yet TNA hires Hulk Hogan four years ago and it's the end of the world no matter what they do going foward. It's undeniable which company is giving their absolute best effort every week on TV, even if it is for their own survival, and which company is mailing it in.

And no, WWE isn't brainwashing anybody, they have loyal fans that love that brand. Those people just need to be who they are and stop kidding themselves. You don't have to put an "I was a TNA fan" disclaimer in front of anything and everything bashing TNA. Root for and against who you want.

 

[Rayne]

I never said that anybody has to support any wrestling promotion. I just made a very simple and undeniable point. I see the complaining about WWE on a weekly basis and I see who's doing it. A lot of those same people keep watching saying "I watch because I'm a fan and I want it to get better". I just don't understand how there's so much patience & tolerance for the WWE and all their flaws yet TNA hires Hulk Hogan four years ago and it's the end of the world no matter what they do going foward. It's undeniable which company is giving their absolute best effort every week on TV, even if it is for their own survival, and which company is mailing it in.

You keep using this word undeniable. I don't think it means what you think it means. It's a very easily deniable point. You're generalizing the opinions of a broad set of fans based on a couple of unspecified examples. I don't understand how someone can support a professional wrestling promotion based on how they feel it's their duty to the company, but you seem to pull it off.

TNA's been putting on good professional wrestling matches lately, but reading this forum or any other, no one really gives a shit, which is exactly the genesis of this thread. Trying doesn't count for anything, it's results that matter, and the company you feel is 'mailing it in' has contracts to provide three times the amount of programming that TNA has. For now. If the WWE can triple TNA's "trying their hardest" rating by 'mailing it in', that's some real shit right there.

Dixie Carter's promised a Major Announcement though. Her track record of those is pretty good, so let's wait and see what happens with that. I'm looking forwards to a few certain people proclaiming TNA's bare survival as a major victory, assuming that they don't simply air a Kurt Angle vingette.

 

[mlp420]

You keep using this word undeniable. I don't think it means what you think it means. It's a very easily deniable point. You're generalizing the opinions of a broad set of fans based on a couple of unspecified examples. I don't understand how someone can support a professional wrestling promotion based on how they feel it's their duty to the company, but you seem to pull it off.

TNA's been putting on good professional wrestling matches lately, but reading this forum or any other, no one really gives a shit, which is exactly the genesis of this thread. Trying doesn't count for anything, it's results that matter, and the company you feel is 'mailing it in' has contracts to provide three times the amount of programming that TNA has. For now. If the WWE can triple TNA's "trying their hardest" rating by 'mailing it in', that's some real shit right there.

Dixie Carter's promised a Major Announcement though. Her track record of those is pretty good, so let's wait and see what happens with that. I'm looking forwards to a few certain people proclaiming TNA's bare survival as a major victory, assuming that they don't simply air a Kurt Angle vingette.

My point is easily deniable yet you can't deny it in a coherent way. What exactly does "results" mean? You just admitted they've been putting on good matches "lately" but trying doesn't equal results. That doesn't make sense. Are they putting on good matches or trying to put on good matches? Which one is it? Was the tag series with The Hardys/Wolves/Team 3D an example of the good quality wrestling people claim they wanted from TNA or was it not good because the ratings didn't skyrocket?

In any event, it's going to take TNA a long period of solid shows and establishing trust in their brand before they move the needle. WWE had some great shows in 1997 when they introduced the Attitude Era that got half the viewership they got in 1999, for instance. And I'm looking forward to the announcement from Dixie too. I hope it disappoints you.

 

[Rayne]

My point is easily deniable yet you can't deny it in a coherent way. What exactly does "results" mean? You just admitted they've been putting on good matches "lately" but trying doesn't equal results. That doesn't make sense. Are they putting on good matches or trying to put on good matches? Which one is it? Was the tag series with The Hardys/Wolves/Team 3D an example of the good quality wrestling people claim they wanted from TNA or was it not good because the ratings didn't skyrocket?

In any event, it's going to take TNA a long period of solid shows and establishing trust in their brand before they move the needle. WWE had some great shows in 1997 when they introduced the Attitude Era that got half the viewership they got in 1999, for instance. And I'm looking forward to the announcement from Dixie too. I hope it disappoints you.

Results are making money. This isn't a business about making art. Not a difficult concept to suss out.

You have this whole 'us vs. them' thing going on, where if someone doesn't like the product that TNA has been producing, that they must want TNA to fail and will be horribly disappointed if they don't. I want businesses to succeed just like any other sane human being; I just enjoy watching a select few of TNA's more rabid fans who don't understand words like 'coherent' and 'undeniable' suffer. Which is a perfectly cromulent reaction.

 

[jrush1978]

For starters i dont sit around and watch Bunny's. I haven't watched WWE since Mania and i have no desire too. I really only watch some ROH & New Japan anymore (and old stuff).

For me like any other show I simply stopped watching TNA because it failed to entertain me. Too many times I just didnt quite get the payoff I wanted.

Towards the end Storm not getting the title in his hometown, Hardy just randomly going over Aries, and then the loss of AJ STyles and i just completely lost interest.

 

[GeminiGarlord]

Results are making money. This isn't a business about making art. Not a difficult concept to suss out.

No business is about making art

That's kinda the definition of a business

That doesn't change the fact that judging a product on how much money its makers make rather than how it affect (entertain) us is just a very odd way to approach it.

 

[Rayne]

You have the analogy backwards; I an not judging how entertained I am by TNA's product based on their fiscal success. I'm not entertained by the material TNA I been producing for the past few years, which I've covered in a previous post.

However, one of the most fascinating stories in professional wrestling over the past decade has been if TNA can develop into a self-sustaining company over more than the short term, and this is where ratings and money matters. Watching the WWE make money isn't all that interesting, because they do it in a very predictable fashion. (I am keeping an eye on the WWE Network, because that's a major part of their business strategy moving forwards.) Paying attention to TNA is like being a Jets fan; holy SHIT do they make some bad decisions,but they're never boring doing it, and once in a rare while they pull off a win. Also, some of their fans are incredibly obnoxious.

So there are more stories in professional wrestling than who wins the big match, and no, I'm not judging how entertaining Samoa Joe is by how much money Panda Energy makes.

 

[enviousdominous]

Let's rewind the tape bruh. Think about the moment that made you recognize TNA as a big time player in the pro-wrestling world. For me bruh, it had to be an epic three way dance featuring Jack Evans.

[YOUTUBE]rPqrepU2zK0[/YOUTUBE]

For now, I prefer to remember TNA for why they earned my attention way back when. Plus, Hogan.

 

[enviousdominous]

Let's rewind the tape bruh. Think about the moment that made you recognize TNA as a big time player in the pro-wrestling world. For me bruh, it had to be an epic three way dance featuring Jack Evans.

[YOUTUBE]rPqrepU2zK0[/YOUTUBE]

For now, I prefer to remember TNA for why they earned my attention way back when. Plus, Hogan.