Why We *Really* Hate TNA...

[Alex]

I honestly think some people hate TNA because its not WWE.

Everything people complain that TNA do WWE does. TNA's ratings are still the same (Raw still gets high 2s/low 3s for the past couple of years) storylines are stale and bland (until recently WWE was doing this also).

Simply put because WWE has been around a lot longer and has a better legacy people cut it some slack, if both companies were the same age i'm pretty sure the reactions would be different.

 

[TCBT]

If I could put my psychology hat for a minute, here's my theory as to why people (including myself) dislike TNA:

The wrestling fans of the 90's were just that - WRESTLING fans. Yeah, you had a preference: WCW or WWE - but at the end of the day, it was just cool to be a wrestling fan. You always had a good storyline to follow. When WCW was stale, WWE gained momentum. When WWE was stale, WCW gained momentum. Everyone had a reason to watch - to see how one organization was going to belittle the competion; to witness a famous wrestler 'jump' to another fed; to fall for inexplicable heel/face turns.

Fast forward to now. I think people put a magnifying glass over TNA because they WANT TNA to succeed! People hate TNA because it's not getting where fans want it to get.

Let's face it. We're not really fans of the "Attitude Era." I mean, we are, but that's not what the 90's in wrestling was about. Really, we're fans of competition. That's what brought up the best in each organization. The Attitude Era brought Mae Young giving birth to a hand (and people actually celebrating it), Triple H humping a corpse, Big Bossman turning a chihuahua into rice, the ever-so-hyped/never-explained GTV, and the list goes on. It's not the blood and adult content that made us happy. It was the fact that we had two companies pumping out the best they had each week.

I think it boils down to just that: we've seen first hand that TNA is no where near capable of competing with WWE. And that pisses a lot of people off. I think that if we watch TNA for what it is instead of what it isn't (WWE's competition), we can be thoroughly entertained.

But it damn sure doesn't help that TNA tries everything in their power within each promo to remind us they're trying to unsuccessfully compete with WWE...

 

[Optimist Prime]

First of all, you can't really take it upon yourself to speak for everybody else when you say "Why WE *Really Hate TNA..." - that's not really fair as you're automatically assuming everybody has the same point of view as you and that you are also going to speak for them specifically as well.

Secondly, your post had a lot of one-sided descriptions that never once looked at any of the other many positives that go along with those same instances or people.

For example, Vince Russo - whom you described as "someone people dubbed as 'The guy who killed WCW'" - and only a few paragraphs below say that "WE are all looking for the Attitude Era again. Which is very contradicting because Vince Russo also worked for the WWF and was actually the head writer when WWF went head-to-head against the ratings leading WCW of the mid-to-late 90's and was a crucial part keeping WWF alive as well as creating that same Attitude Era that you're claiming everybody wants back...let along him also gaining back control of the ratings. He was the mind behind most of the "true" attitude era...an era that many WWE fans especially over on the WWE boards seem to miss dearly since WWE went in the PG direction. Under Vince Russo - DX, Stone Cold, The Rock, and all the other groups and stables that had come out were helped and fueled by Vince Russo at that time. Did Vince Russo help WCW? No, but that wasn't necessarily his fault. WCW was filled with a lot of aging stars and stars who hadn't made a name for themselves yet. Even the Chris Benoit's and Booker T's were up there in age and were already veterans of the ring and had a reputation of many years where simply rolling them over into main event status all at once had to be carefully done...and clearly wasn't. WCW gained so much success with the NWO that they overplayed their hand. They milked it until the last drop had fallen and never prepared themselves properly for the transition to something new. That is what killed WCW...they were a victim of their own success. Vince Russo didn't kill WCW - some of his ideas may have contributed but it was much larger than just one man...it was a collective disaster that had taken place and anybody thrown into that position at that time (2000-2002) would have (more than like) fallen on their face. The self-destruction was inevitable. What WCW should have done (and did do a little bit, but not much) was prepare a little better for when the NWO juice ran up. They somewhat did this with Goldberg and such but, like the NWO, it ran out of juice very quickly. There are many other factors but I don't want to get too far off on a tangent here.

Other things you "add" under the list of reasons why WE hate TNA is that the ratings haven't gone up in the past 3 years...thus making yourself, and those your supposedly speaking for, sound like followers. If one of the reasons that a person dislikes something or hates something is based on statistical data claiming that the majority of other people don't like it either...that's basically like saying "I also hate TNA because everybody else does..." and attempting to pawn that off as a logical reason just doesn't rationally make sense.

I personally believe there are two reasons why TNA isn't becoming as successful as they could at the moment and I'm going to say that this is my own opinion based on my experience both on this forum and with the people I talk to.

The first problem is perception. Many people already have jaded perceptions about the stories they heard through jealous angry wrestlers where certain older stars acted in a certain manner towards younger newer talent and have convinced themselves that these same stars are definitely going to do that again. And when people do this...it alters your reality of what is happening. You already have an idea set in your head...so when things that contradict your views are happening (in this case: these stars are actually trying to help the younger guys get known and get a push) they're either not doing it well enough (because due to your perception - what is good enough?) and any time that something happens that supports your perception (Hogan is on tv) that automatically takes over as something that is ruining the program regardless of all the other things that took place that show them positively helping the younger wrestlers and all.

And then when everybody collectively either refuses to watch because of this...or openly complain about what is going on...it manipulates the situation even further as (like you even described) you see that the ratings are low and hearing all the negativity posted about the company so you may perhaps decide to join the parade and it ultimately contributes to the harmfulness towards the company.

Second reason: In my opinion, we live in an entitled society where we're hardly ever satisfied as it is...with almost everything and anything readily available to us...the excitement and thrill unfortunately takes a hit as these types of things aren't as appreciated as they once were when they were more rare.

Another reason why WWE gets away with their junky product and TNA doesn't is because of brand loyalty. WWE has a rich history of nostalgia for quite a lot of people and, like any other kind of product in a market, reputation and history of success go quite a ways. Grown ups who once were big fans of the legends of the past are now taking their children to the events because it's a way of taking yourself back to your childhood in a way...and you try to do the same things with your kid that you did when you were a kid perhaps. Who knows? I'm only guessing. I do know, however, that brand loyalty, reputation, nostalgia and long periods of success certainly help steer people's minds in certain directions...which is why TNA is hiring all of these old legends in the first place. They want recognition and they want to be known.

The same people who complain about the old legends and ex-WWE veterans being signed by TNA are the same people questioning why WWE is getting away with a poor product and TNA is getting attacked as they are at least striving for better. Yet, they don't notice that they are actually linked.

-Prime

 

[ABMorales787]

People say it and say it and say all day long. They just don't realize it. There is a reason why TNA is "failing". And it's the same reason why WWE is seen as lackluster. While WWE tends to play it safe and focus more on getting media attention, TNA tries to work in waters that have been treaded already. The reason being that for most people, it works. See WWE. While I don't find The Nexus attractive these days, at this point, it's literally an NWO re-hash. Right don't to it's spin-off stables. Yet people enjoy it. I have no issue with it. Siding to TNA, they have a similar thing going on which had been planned much more earlier. To most people, the MEM is still fresh on their minds so it tend's to draw negative outing from most fans. But that's the issue. There is nothing new to explore. Go "Attitude"? Most people would like it at first, but I'm sure they would change their minds in a hurry once they see the same old shtick from the last decade. Which is why these days, the WWE's PG days seem almost embarrassing. It worked in the 80's. Why not today? Because days have changed. And so has wrestling. But unlike the rolling mind of Pop Culture, professional wrestling is guided by a team of 4 or 5 men, not the likings of the teenage mind worldwide. Wrestling doesn't evolve as fast as the rest of the world. It's not the first time it's suffered from such a drought either. The early 90's had TV ratings lower than those of today.

It pains me because no matter what TNA tries, it still doesn't move up. For 3 years both WWE and TNA have been in a rut and not a single wrestling fan that expresses their opinion likes it. Youth movements, nostalgia, a reboot, nothing works. And the company, contrary to popular belief, is growing. In a pace too quick for it to handle. People expect a lot from it, because it's number 2 in the US and because it's got a major TV deal. I can't really blame them because one company can't please all, so they jump to the other and still no satisfaction. Yeah, it's a pain, but that's how it looks. The frustration can be blinding, but it can't be what guides opinion.

TNA lacks a lot, I know. But the wrestling business does as well and we make TNA ride that pressure along with it's own issues. This company stands at #2 after 9 years. Thats a task that took years for WWE and WCW to accomplish. It hasn't reached it's full potential yet, but it's held huge names of the biz and has great deal of success. Like what they do or not, it's pretty ridiculous to say they are doing everything wrong. If that were the case, they would be dead by now. If that were the case, such big names wouldn't go there. If that were the case, WWE would've eaten them alive already. But nobody makes a move. Because at the moment, theres no new road to take.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Hates a strong word so I wouldn't say I hate TNA, but really there are a lot of reasons why people "Hate" TNA and I can understand where they're coming from (sometimes). Here are some good and bad reasons why people hate TNA:

Good Reason
1) Lousy overall product - outside of their kick ass tag division there isn't alot to get excited about whe product. Same shit different day.

2) Lack of homegrown talent -TNA is flooded with too many wrestler who were made somewhere else and thats an issue. When most people see wrestlers past their prime practically owning TNA it comes off as an independent show where a bunch of wrestlers who don't care come and make easy money. Its never a good idea building your roster around some one elses trash.

3) No long term vision - TNA reminds me a lot of watching old Nitro, often good but no long term thinking goes in place. It's really hard to get invested in a product that changes week to week (or month to month).

Bad

1) its not WWE - terrible reason to bash anything. Its OK looking at WWE as a blueprint, but it certainly shouldn't be the end all be all of your decision. Watch the product first, then judge later, at least give it a shot.

2) Unrecognizable wrestlers - never judge a book by its cover. TNA has the best talent roster in the world, just because some guys aren't big names doesn't make them bad. Guys like AJ Styles take a back seat to NO ONE in the world of wrestling.

3) Hogan and Bischoff have ruined TNA - Bullshit, they were brought in to help but its not like they're the bosses of TNA. All they can do is make suggestions, its up to others whether or not those decisions happen or not. I would say they have neither helped or hurt TNA. Sure the ratings aren't getting better but they aren't getting worse either. Maybe a waste of money, but they have nothing to do with the overall shape of the company. From what I've heard they actually have little say in what goes on the air, they can make a suggestion, but its not up to them. Blame the boss, not who the boss hired.

For me it all depends on the reasons to hate TNA. I certainly don't hate them, I want them to do better and sometimes their lack of growth is frustrating, but I'll still give it a shot once in a while. All in all there's no reason to hate TNA, they're the competition and thats never a bad thing.

 

[itssoeasy123]

What they need to do is move away from the 18-35 demogrpahic and try to gear the biggest demogrpahic today of wrestling fans, the kids.

If they want to compete with the WWE, the only way they ca do that is by gearing away kids to their show. Becuae it's obvious that the older demogrpahic is'nt growing but getting smaller. Kids are the future of wrestling and TNA need to realize that.

They all think their right with the "We won't go PG, that's what WWE did, were smarter than them." Busllshit.

They need to evolve and created their own identitiy, becuase right now it's Thursday Night Thunder. They need to stop signing the old WWE stars for exposer, becuase it's obviously not working.

They have:

Hulk Hogan (biggest name in wreslting history)
Ric Flair (one of the biggest legends in history)
Kurt Angle (one of the top guy's in the last decade)
Jeff Hardy (Hugely over in 2009)
RVD
Mr. Anderson
Mick Foley

And their higest rating for 8 years was a 1.45.

They need to realize that gearing towards a bunch of attitude era rednecks won't cut it anymore in this generation of wrestling fans. The kids and their family's is what's keeping WWE alive, and it's keeping them mainstream. TNA want to be the competition, but it's obviously gearing towards another demogrpahic opposite of WWE's isn't gonna make the WWE fans watch your show.

 

[shattered dreams]

Good reason to hate: Lack of homegrown talent -TNA is flooded with too many wrestler who were made somewhere else and thats an issue. When most people see wrestlers past their prime practically owning TNA it comes off as an independent show where a bunch of wrestlers who don't care come and make easy money. Its never a good idea building your roster around some one elses trash.

Bad reason to hate: Unrecognizable wrestlers - never judge a book by its cover. TNA has the best talent roster in the world, just because some guys aren't big names doesn't make them bad. Guys like AJ Styles take a back seat to NO ONE in the world of wrestling.

The rest of your post is pretty good but I do not get this assertion. Recognizable names is the opposite of indy. Indy is predominantly a bunch of nobodies wrestling their asses off and maybe throw in a couple never was'es. If they were main eventing Val Venis then I would understand the indy comparison but there is a huge difference between most, if not all, the veterans TNA is using and the people relegated to the indy circuit. There is a glut of information that shows that when it comes to entertainment it is much harder to get someone to give unknowns a chance. From a personal perspective your assertion might be true but from a business perspective it just doesn't fly. WWE essentially had a monopoly of all wrestling talent for anything that happened before 2005. Is TNA supposed to field a roster without any veterans? No matter how much smarks might like it, ROH will never be mainstream and make the type of money that comes with that. It is just smart business if someone drops a talented performer for you to use them.

What they need to do is move away from the 18-35 demogrpahic and try to gear the biggest demogrpahic today of wrestling fans, the kids.

Great idea. Gear their product towards an audience that does not fit the key demo of the network their show is on! Also, since when is that the biggest demographic? Oh right it isn't. WWE is trying to shift towards that younger audience but their business was down across the board last year. WWE has not seen a benefit from this shift at all yet. It may pay some dividends long-term but short-term it has not been successful.

 

[SpecialFNK]

2) Lack of homegrown talent -TNA is flooded with too many wrestler who were made somewhere else and thats an issue. When most people see wrestlers past their prime practically owning TNA it comes off as an independent show where a bunch of wrestlers who don't care come and make easy money. Its never a good idea building your roster around some one elses trash.

who in TNA is their own home grown talent they should be building?
AJ Styles was champion for awhile, but word is he never drew. I do think they should put Styles back up near the top, and think that time will come sooner rather than later.
Samoa Joe? someone else who was at the main event level, but didn't draw? I also think TNA should be building Joe up to be main event level.
IF they didn;t draw before, doesn;t mean they can't now that TNA has more recognizable names for general viewers.
who else is there? Morgan? he was elsewhere, but getting major push now in TNA.
I've heard people talk about Robert Roode having a lot of potential for the future, but do you split up one of the best tag teams right now?

maybe TNA needs to be bringing in some younger talent to get started. Tommy Mercer "Crimson" is maybe a step in the right direction there.

 

[Vinco Menz]

I have been watching TNA for years now and I honestly want to love it. I want it to get big and popular and compete with the WWE, thus forcing both companies to get bigger and better. I want to like TNA, but honestly, they are just making it so hard to even care.

The problem I have with TNA is its reliance on the past. Almost everything in TNA has to be throwback to an old WCW or ECW stroryline. At first, it was kind of cool to see a couple of great moments play out again on tv. It was kind of a tribute to the past, but TNA has reached the point where they have become a poor man's WCW by constantly rehashing old storys. If TNA really want people to start talking about it in a positive light, then they need to stop looking to the past and start moving towards the future. Since TNA is supposedly the more edgy adult oriented show, then they should come up with some brand new edgy storylines that explore topics that are considered taboo in today's society.

Another thing that TNA needs to do is stop their reliance on wrestlers from other promotions. Its ok to have a few like Kurt Angle, who are proven stars and veterans that can actually benifit the show, but to constantly hire wrestlers like the Hardys, Moore, and all the EV2 guys shows that they can not make their own stars and can only survive off of the waste of the WWE. Instead of taking th old stars of other shows and making them the stars of TNA, TNA should be taking them and having them put over their own stars, showing that their Robert Roodes, AJ Styles, Samoa Joes, and Jay Leathals are better than the WWE.

That being said, I think what TNA needs to do is ditch Russo and some how get Jim Ross or Paul Heyman to run creative. Russo's stories are obviously not working and TNA needs someone new to breath fresh life into the company.

 

[itssoeasy123]

Originally posted by shattered dreams
Great idea. Gear their product towards an audience that does not fit the key demo of the network their show is on! Also, since when is that the biggest demographic? Oh right it isn't. WWE is trying to shift towards that younger audience but their business was down across the board last year. WWE has not seen a benefit from this shift at all yet. It may pay some dividends long-term but short-term it has not been successful.

It's not the network, it's the show. Some of the USA's show are TV-14 just incase you did'nt know.

If TNA want to compete with World Wrestling Entertaniment, the only thing they can do is gear the kids away. But their not looking to doing that, that's why their failing at being even a dot on WWE's radar.

It is the biggest demographic the WWE has right now. Watch a episode of RAW, there's kids everywhere. Kids are asking their parent' to buy t-shirts, PPV's, video games. Their giving WWE money becuase they love the WWE.

See, being more family-oriented is working for the WWE. TNA being edgy is'nt working for them, you know why? The kids don't want to see a old man bleeding, or heel's ruling the company. They want a top face who can take down those said heels. They want a hero, or two hero's to rid of the evil. Tha'ts why TNA can't grow, they have no top face.

TNA can't compete while being a older demographic, becuase they won't gear away the WWE's fanbase, mostly of kids.

Look at what happened during the Monday Night Wars. WWE was getting dominated by WCW when WWE had a PG product. While WCW has the NWO running around, taking over, Bischoff turning hell, more edgier stuff than a Bret Hart 20 minute rant.

Then, instead of being a idiot, Vince though, "hey, their edgy and taking my fans, I gotta be edgy to get them back."

Then the birth of Austin 3:16, DX, The Rock. WWE became edgy because they needed to take away WCW's fan's back to their show.

What TNA is doing today is obviously not working, and until they realize it TNA's not going anywhere.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

The rest of your post is pretty good but I do not get this assertion. Recognizable names is the opposite of indy. Indy is predominantly a bunch of nobodies wrestling their asses off and maybe throw in a couple never was'es. If they were main eventing Val Venis then I would understand the indy comparison but there is a huge difference between most, if not all, the veterans TNA is using and the people relegated to the indy circuit. There is a glut of information that shows that when it comes to entertainment it is much harder to get someone to give unknowns a chance. From a personal perspective your assertion might be true but from a business perspective it just doesn't fly. WWE essentially had a monopoly of all wrestling talent for anything that happened before 2005. Is TNA supposed to field a roster without any veterans? No matter how much smarks might like it, ROH will never be mainstream and make the type of money that comes with that. It is just smart business if someone drops a talented performer for you to use them.

Allow me to elaborate. when I said independent shows I meant I've seen quite a few that basically rely on legends that were past their prime 20 years ago (I love Bob Orton Jr and Snuka too, but I saw them in an independent show and it was so embarrassing it was sad). Most independents are nobodies who work their ass off for peanuts, but a good chunk rely on old washed up wrestlers.

I agree, they could use some WWE stars but as of right now there is just too many of them. For example, there was no reason to have EV 2.0, Hogan, Bischoff, and Matt Hardy. On the flip side guys like Angle and RVD were smart because they can still go and contribute to the company. I'm not saying don't grab veterans because they can help greatly, but grab ones that can contribute, not just any veteran you can because they were big somewhere else (like when they grabbed Val Venis and put him over daniels, or when they brought in the Nasty's). Veterans have their place, but should be used to help build their talent they already have, even AJ and Joe would learn wonders from guys who have been at the top, how could u not? My point is if veterans are there they should be used to build talent and build towards a better tomorrow, not completely take over the show. Why watch a show full of guys past their prime when they can watch guys in their prime like on RAW? Veterans are necessary, they just don't have to overflood and take over the company, that helps nobody. Case and point TNA's ratings haven't gotten better since Joe and AJ were their top attractions so obviously the veterans aren't helping. Its not necessarily the veterans fault but they have been wasted nonetheless.

SIDE NOTE: You're totally right about ROH, love the product but they will never get big unless they can add more entertainment to the product.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

First of all (shameless plug warning) if you check out my debut column made two weeks ago on WZ, you'll see my feelings towards TNA in more depth. But the reason I am so hard on TNA is that they have an insane amount of potential. They have more potential star power than the WWE, more legends with experience to train up the green talents, and some of the most athletic and talented wrestlers I have seen compete in a match. With Kurt Angle, Sting, Kevin Nash, Ric Flair, Eric Bischoff, Team 3D, Hulk Hogan, Jeff Hardy, RVD...with all of that experience on one show there is no way that they should be as terrible as they are most of the time. At that point the only logical conclusion is that the writing staff is just terrible (which we already know). That's why I can't stand TNA. They have so much potential to be a fantastic show, but very rarely show it. It's also full of greedy people who don't want to actually make a wrestling company succeed, but make money for themselves instantly...

 

[SpecialFNK]

Sting and Nash are 2 guys who should be helping to build up the younger talent. I think it was around last summer when Sting was using the bat and turning heel where he wrestled some, but I can't really remember the last time I saw Sting be much of a factor as a main event wrestler. I have also only watched TNA since the start of 2010, so maybe it wasn't long before that before he was a major factor in TNA. early 2010 he seemed more like the image of Sting, walking around the raptors and his name was more of a factor that he really was.
I think the problem with Nash is that he still wants to be a major factor, when his time has already passed.

I think Hogan/Bischoff had the plan of turning heel/forming Immortal for while before it even happened. Hogan spent time building up Abyss as something great, then Abyss turned on Hogan, and then everyone would be surprised when they were really together. IMO the time building up Abyss with "the ring" and everything back when was stupid! if Hogan and TNA really wanted to use Hogan to build up someone, that could have been a GREAT opportunity to have Hogan build up AJ Styles.

 

[rondiesel2005]

First of all (shameless plug warning) if you check out my debut column made two weeks ago on WZ, you'll see my feelings towards TNA in more depth. But the reason I am so hard on TNA is that they have an insane amount of potential. They have more potential star power than the WWE, more legends with experience to train up the green talents, and some of the most athletic and talented wrestlers I have seen compete in a match. With Kurt Angle, Sting, Kevin Nash, Ric Flair, Eric Bischoff, Team 3D, Hulk Hogan, Jeff Hardy, RVD...with all of that experience on one show there is no way that they should be as terrible as they are most of the time. At that point the only logical conclusion is that the writing staff is just terrible (which we already know). That's why I can't stand TNA. They have so much potential to be a fantastic show, but very rarely show it. It's also full of greedy people who don't want to actually make a wrestling company succeed, but make money for themselves instantly...

you are absolutely right about greedy people and that's what I discover when Hogan and Eric Bischoff arrive to TNA. Ric Flair is there to make money we all know that. So many potential stars in TNA, and writers act like they don't know what to do with some of them. Am glad i haven't seen Hogan in a while, i mean he doesn't need the attention if he is not the draw guy anymore. I don't know if some of these guys are contributing to TNA like giving writing staff ideas how to improve, honestly they need a lot of help

 

[rondiesel2005]

Sting and Nash are 2 guys who should be helping to build up the younger talent. I think it was around last summer when Sting was using the bat and turning heel where he wrestled some, but I can't really remember the last time I saw Sting be much of a factor as a main event wrestler. I have also only watched TNA since the start of 2010, so maybe it wasn't long before that before he was a major factor in TNA. early 2010 he seemed more like the image of Sting, walking around the raptors and his name was more of a factor that he really was.
I think the problem with Nash is that he still wants to be a major factor, when his time has already passed.

I think Hogan/Bischoff had the plan of turning heel/forming Immortal for while before it even happened. Hogan spent time building up Abyss as something great, then Abyss turned on Hogan, and then everyone would be surprised when they were really together. IMO the time building up Abyss with "the ring" and everything back when was stupid! if Hogan and TNA really wanted to use Hogan to build up someone, that could have been a GREAT opportunity to have Hogan build up AJ Styles.

Sting wasn't doing much around the time when Hogan first arrive to TNA, sting was mostly doing promos, not a lot of wrestling. He was basically walking around. The last time i remember Sting wrestling in a match was when they put him against RVD

 

[CrayzChris]

I agree, TNA just comes off as "second rate". So you can bring in guys like Flair, Foley, Angle, Sting, Scott Steiner, RVD, Anderson, The Hardys, and Hogan from now till eternity. But the truth is, if these guys were half as good as they think they are, they would still be in the WWE. If Vince felt these guys were a threat to his company, they'd still be working there. I'm sure Vince can offer them much more than they are making in TNA.

TNA is made up of former WWE stars who couldn't take the schedule or violated the WWE's wellness policy...AND a bunch of younger, up and coming guys, who are just trying to get some exposure, hoping that someday Vince McMahon will call.

TNA is where careers go to die, and where hopefully young talent will be recognized and given an opportunity elsewhere.

If you have any heart at all, and any pride in yourself, then you should want to be the best. Anyone who is "happy" being in TNA, is simply just thankful to have a job. Most of these guys are just settling for a steady job, and just lay low and stay under the radar so they can get a check. And it shows in their performance. I don't want to watch guys who are just doing the bare minimum to get paid, or guys who just wrestle as a hobby.

TNA does a horrible job marketing their talent, which is why Zack Ryder is more over with the WWE audience than AJ Styles is in TNA. Listen to the fans, their reactions don't lie. No one cares about ANY of the TNA "talent".

I always read interviews with guy in TNA who complain that in the WWE their promos were scripted...but in TNA they can say whatever they want. THAT'S THE PROBLEM. TNA doesn't establish any characters. You need an outline, you need limits, you need to KNOW who these characters are. And more importantly, the talent need to know who they are. They don't. The booking is so inconsistant, it's ridiculous.

Did they hire Matt Hardy because he actually is an asset to the company? Or did they hire him because "he's a former WWE guy, so people might know his name". And "it might make Jeff Hardy happy to have someone to film youtube videos with when they're drugged up in Denny's".

TNA is run by a bunch of people who just desperately want to be friends with the wrestlers. TNA is not run as a business. If the people in charge actually cared about growing, and making money - they would make smarter decisions in terms of talent. You cannot tell me that ANYONE in TNA truly believes that Jeff Jarrett can draw a dime. No one cares. Jeff Jarrett is a mediocre talent, who peaked over 10 years ago in a feud with Chyna. Does TNA management truly believe that Scott Steiner was a good hire? At this stage of his career, does he offer ANYTHING? He can't even put over younger talent by jobbing to them, because he hasn't been over since 2001.

If TNA cared about the future of the company, and actually wanted to put on a good show, they would fire all these "has beens" that they push to the moon. Think of all the money they would save by firing Hogan, Flair, Bischoff, Nash, Steiner, Sting, Team 3D, and the Hardys. That money could be put into their production value, and getting out of that soundstage they work in.

Not to mention, their "agents" are collection of guys who never drew a dime in the business. Where does someone like Simon Diamond get the balls big enough to tell someone like Kurt Angle what he should do? It's ridiculous.

Why do I hate TNA?

Because I'd rather be watching Robert Roode and AJ Styles feuding over the World Title, and establishing themselves as major stars in the business - than watching a guy who wrestles between court dates, or some "A-hole" who was too sloppy and injury prone to get the job done in the bigtime.

 

[finoj05]

I agree, TNA just comes off as "second rate". So you can bring in guys like Flair, Foley, Angle, Sting, Scott Steiner, RVD, Anderson, The Hardys, and Hogan from now till eternity. But the truth is, if these guys were half as good as they think they are, they would still be in the WWE. If Vince felt these guys were a threat to his company, they'd still be working there. I'm sure Vince can offer them much more than they are making in TNA.

Those guys go to TNA for the easier schedule. To turn that around into a "they can't hang with the big boys anymore" argument is completely ridiculous. It's a typical WWE mark argument. Anybody that leaves isn't good for the company but if they suddenly return a couple of years from now it's "OH SHIT! THEY ARE BACK! YES!" Long after the drug charges started, WWE marks were counting down the days till Jeff Hardy came back for his revenge on Punk. Then suddenly when he jumped to TNA the tune changed and he became a fat washed-up drug addict. Rob Van Dam was offered plenty of times to go to WWE but he didn't for 3 years. Was it because of the schedule? Yes, but don't turn that around and say he isn't worthy or some shit. Terrible argument.

TNA is made up of former WWE stars who couldn't take the schedule or violated the WWE's wellness policy...AND a bunch of younger, up and coming guys, who are just trying to get some exposure, hoping that someday Vince McMahon will call.

You mean... like Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Matt Morgan, Robert Roode, James Storm and several others who have re-signed several times? I guess Matt Morgan and Robert Roode are waiting for Vince McMahon's call after signing those 5-year contract's with TNA that were reported last year. Go ask Lance Hoyt and Low-Ki how that worked out for them.

TNA is where careers go to die, and where hopefully young talent will be recognized and given an opportunity elsewhere.

I didn't expect you to be watching the show with anything but shit-colored glasses, but Scott Steiner, Kevin Nash, Ric Flair, Mick Foley, Mr. Anderson, Christian (who was hired back to WWE), Gail Kim (same) were better in TNA than they were for the latter part of their WWE careers (or in some-cases, their entire careers).

If you have any heart at all, and any pride in yourself, then you should want to be the best. Anyone who is "happy" being in TNA, is simply just thankful to have a job. Most of these guys are just settling for a steady job, and just lay low and stay under the radar so they can get a check. And it shows in their performance. I don't want to watch guys who are just doing the bare minimum to get paid, or guys who just wrestle as a hobby.

You are a psychic. Did not know that.

TNA does a horrible job marketing their talent, which is why Zack Ryder is more over with the WWE audience than AJ Styles is in TNA. Listen to the fans, their reactions don't lie. No one cares about ANY of the TNA "talent".

Wait... what? I am not even going to respond to this. How exactly did you come to that conclusion? Video evidence please?

I always read interviews with guy in TNA who complain that in the WWE their promos were scripted...but in TNA they can say whatever they want. THAT'S THE PROBLEM. TNA doesn't establish any characters. You need an outline, you need limits, you need to KNOW who these characters are. And more importantly, the talent need to know who they are. They don't. The booking is so inconsistant, it's ridiculous.

Everybody else I have spoken too has said that is what makes TNA interesting for them. But no, it must be THE problem.

Did they hire Matt Hardy because he actually is an asset to the company? Or did they hire him because "he's a former WWE guy, so people might know his name". And "it might make Jeff Hardy happy to have someone to film youtube videos with when they're drugged up in Denny's".

If I had the time and patience to answer you in more detail, I could probably list dozens upon dozens of talents released in the past 3 years that haven't been signed by TNA.

TNA is run by a bunch of people who just desperately want to be friends with the wrestlers. TNA is not run as a business. If the people in charge actually cared about growing, and making money - they would make smarter decisions in terms of talent. You cannot tell me that ANYONE in TNA truly believes that Jeff Jarrett can draw a dime. No one cares. Jeff Jarrett is a mediocre talent, who peaked over 10 years ago in a feud with Chyna. Does TNA management truly believe that Scott Steiner was a good hire? At this stage of his career, does he offer ANYTHING? He can't even put over younger talent by jobbing to them, because he hasn't been over since 2001.

NEWSFLASH: Jeff Jarrett FOUNDED TNA. He is there because he half-owns the place. He built the company on his back and was there when they couldn't rely on guys like Scott Hall, Raven and Ron Killings to show up. Scott Steiner was one of the more entertaining guys on the roster and became a trending topic on Twitter last week when he returned.

If TNA cared about the future of the company, and actually wanted to put on a good show, they would fire all these "has beens" that they push to the moon. Think of all the money they would save by firing Hogan, Flair, Bischoff, Nash, Steiner, Sting, Team 3D, and the Hardys. That money could be put into their production value, and getting out of that soundstage they work in.

You obviously have no idea what it takes to run a wrestling company. Those stars pay for the party in so many ways that I am not going to sit here and explain them to you.

Not to mention, their "agents" are collection of guys who never drew a dime in the business. Where does someone like Simon Diamond get the balls big enough to tell someone like Kurt Angle what he should do? It's ridiculous.

Val Venis, Fit Finlay and Billy Kidman are WWE agents currently. NO different.

Why do I hate TNA?

Because I'd rather be watching Robert Roode and AJ Styles feuding over the World Title, and establishing themselves as major stars in the business - than watching a guy who wrestles between court dates, or some "A-hole" who was too sloppy and injury prone to get the job done in the bigtime.

Good luck making a casual (non-TNA) fan sit down and watch a guy he has never heard of face AJ Styles, a guy they probably heard of as a cruiser-weight style wrestler. Let's see if they sell-out an arena.

But no, that's fine, believe all the internet speculation about Anderson and the false idea that AJ Styles and Robert Roode can main event a wrestling promotion in 2011 without the likes of any of the "has-been's" you mentioned.

Take Undertaker, HHH, Cena, Orton, Edge and Rey Mysterio out of the WWE and see how long till their stock plummets with The Miz, John Morrison and Kofi Kingston main eventing the shows.

 

[CrayzChris]

My mistake, I thought that this was a Thread where we could discuss "Why We *Really* Hate TNA". I didn't realize that stating my opinion meant that I watch TNA with "sh*t-colored glasses". And who says I'm a "WWE Mark" ?

I've been a wrestling fan for 26 years, and I've watched the WWE, NWA, GWF, IWCCW, WCW, ECW, TNA, WSX, ROH, Chikara, and other random indies.

I am a wrestling fan - All I want is to be entertained. TNA does NOT entertain me!! Maybe that means I'm a clueless schmuck who doesn't know the first thing about wrestling. Maybe that means I'm just a miserable human being who doesn't know how to how to have a good time. Or maybe it means that I, like so many other people on this board, am sick and tired of TNA not living up to their potential. I watch TNA every week, hoping that it will be better. I watch every show with a "Let's give it another chance" attitude.

I don't need to tell TNA what they should do to be more successful, because I don't work for TNA. What I can say, is what they are doing is not working for me - and clearly it's not working for a lot of other people, or there wouldn't be 3 pages worth of posts about Why We Really Hate TNA, or a "General Complaints" category on this board.

I'm so sick of people talking about "casual fans". How could you get "casual fans" to watch your show, when the people who ARE watching your show don't even want to watch your show?

I remember when Styles & Joe & Daniels were having their knock down drag out matches years ago. I had no problem getting my friends, who were "casual fans" to watch. "Hey, there's this guy AJ Styles and he's awesome, you have to see him....come over for the pay per view". And those people were hooked.

When I tell my "casual fan" friends that Scott Steiner just returned to TNA, they say "Oh Jesus..."

When I went to my first ROH show years ago, and told my friends about it - they came with me, and loved it - and we went to every ROH show in the Tri-State area for 2 years straight. And then followed some of the ROH guys to Chikara, and WSU and a few other indies.

The best way to draw in a "casual fan" is to put on a great show.

And I'm sorry, but TNA does not put on a GREAT show.

And for the record, the WWE doesn't put on a GREAT show either, but they have their reputation behind them.

 

[SpecialFNK]

I guess some may have a different idea of what a casual fan is. I don't think casual wrestling fans have to be fans more specifically of wrestling, but just want to be entertained. maybe casual fans don't really care about how exactly specific things are or take things too seriously.
I would think a casual wrestling fan who has followed wrestling for awhile would hear the name of someone like Scott Steiner and be excited because he is/was a big name. he doesn't have to put on a great wrestling match for people to be entertained.
I haven't watch WWE for a few years now and have only been watching TNA since the start of 2010. I would consider myself a casual wrestling fan who was pulled in by TNA when they added even more names that I recognized. it isn't very often that I am NOT entertained by what TNA does, even if I think they should be better.

TV viewers are obviously important. IMO your not going to get a large number of viewers to watch wrestlers they have not heard of or know who they are regardless of how talented they are. the use of these big name/former WWE wrestlers isn't bad for TNA, but it's how they are used. if your going to continue to use big name/former WWE wrestlers to get wins over the younger talent of the future then your not helping your company build. you also don't have to use the big name/former WWE wrestlers to lose over and over, but maybe a battle back and forth with each getting wins here and there would be better.