WWE vs TNA Thread (Business Strategy, Creative Direction, Head-to-Head Shows, Etc.)

[LEGEND KILLER]

Hulk hogan and Eric bischoff signing with tna is hugggge and I must state I'm very pro wwe and loyal but I'm sure to click into impact to see this unfold...

This is obviously wishful thinking but what if Shane mcmahon leaving wwe was a work and he and Vince purchased tna much like wcw without the story leaking. So people ask where is the money coming from to sign hogan?? The mcmahons! Shane could build up his roster. We could have some more major stars jump between tna and wwe. Then all of a sudden January rolls around Shane shows up on tna and BOOM he announces much like years ago he owns the competetion! It would be the whole invasion angle again!

Wishfully thinking??? Yeah...but just imagine this would be HUGE!

Tna's stock regardless just rose, which will elevate wwe's game which means we all the fans win!

Thoughts on if Shane did buy tna how u would re-do the invasion angle??

 

[byrnside]

Vince buying WCW was hardly kept on the hush hush. I can remember reading about it on the internet, much like we're reading about TNA signing Bischoff and Hogan today. Shane wouldn't be stupid enough to buy TNA when his father would ACTUALLY be the competition. He'd lose so much money, as I am confident he'd be thrown from his father's will and thus lose his share of the family fortune.

 

[D-Will316]

why a competition, if shane did buy it they should just form one ultra-wrestling promotion.(and then rule the world! mcmahons)

 

[Binga09]

I hate to say it, as this is something that I would very much love to see happen, But look at the facts. We're just not going to see it.
Firstly, I doubt Jarett would throw away the entire TNA Corperation for money. I don't perosnally think he would use this spand of time to undo everything that he has from the very first edition of Impact. It's just, something I find very, very hard to believe.
Moving on however, I'm a little suspicious why Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff and Ric Flair would potentially want to go to TNA, but I guess in time, These questions will be answered. What I wouldn't be too dissapointed to see while on the topic is a WWE Invases TNA Storyline ( Vice versa ). It would obviously be very similar to when Smackdown and Raw went onto invade one another, But just think of the combinations. Undertaker vs. Sting, Triple H vs. Kurt Angle, Batista vs. Bobby Lashley. The list just keeps going on. Not only that, It would also inevitably benefit the ratings on both shows.

 

[The_Killswitch]

They dont air Impact/TNA here in New Zealand. So Im yet to watch an actual Impact broadcast.
But yea with the Hiring of Hogan/Bischoff shit will get very interesting,maybe our networks here will actually buy rights to air Impact here.

Can anybody tell me where impact can be found? How long each show is etc.. Ive been keen to see it just to see how talented how great their talent is etc..

 

[WRESTLING_GENIUS]

If Shane bought TNA and actually went against his dad 4real then wrestling would be bigger than ever, fuck Hulkamania, And forget the Attiude ERA, Hell 4get about the first Monday night Wars, Because it would be father versus Son except 4real and no work or shoot... But this is not gonna happen however so the WRESTLING_GENIUS will not comment on dis situation even further...And YES I KNOW I AM A GENIUS......

 

[Jtkronus]

They brought in Mick Foley, Kevin Nash, Kurt Angle, Sting, etc, etc. How much of a difference they made in impact? Zero, Nada, Zilch, Doughnut Hole. All they are doing is killing the fire that was there before TNA cut ties with NWA. Ever since they have been WCW through and through. It doesn't matter if Hulk Hogan is out there signing with them. Especially with the problems he's had in the past years. I can tell you right now that Eric Bischoff is going to HATE and I mean HATE TNA. Unless they do one thing with him, give him power. I see that being a problem because Vince Russo is the head of creative. We all know the history of them 2. This whole situation is gonna give TNA the same ratings, 1.0-1.2. Maybe when Hulk first shows up it might be 1.5-1.6. Then it will drop. That's what happened with Kurt Angle. In all, it will not make a difference.

 

[THETommyTommy]

In all honesty I think even though Hogan hasn't been doing well these past few years it was the best decision for TNA, they already have some huge names including Angle, Lashley, Sting, Nash and Styles and Hogan is possibly the biggest name of them all. Screw it if he sucks, he brings in publicity and that's what TNA needs! TNA vs WWE would push WWE to become great again and maybe get rid of the silly PG rating, and god can you think of the interpromotional matches! Styles vs Cena, Taker vs Sting, Angle vs Triple H (again!) and maybe the Knockouts Division can teach the Divas a thing or too about REAL wrestling (or as real as it gets) Kong vs Phoenix!

So all in all, if the McMahon's did purchase TNA... they just made the best decision in wrestling history, think of what'll happen once the dust has settled, a reformed entertainment bringing together the true best of the best!

 

[Jugganauts09]

I have really been against any ideas that TNA/WWE wars for along time and the signing of Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff doesn't change my mind about it all TNA is doing is bringing in more advertisement and selling more merchindise i dont think Vince Russo or whoever is in charge of TNA has any plans on "invading" WWE anytime soon, well lets face it if TNA goes to "invade" WWE they will loose and the last 6 years of TNA will ceast to exist

 

[Mustang Sally]

He'd lose so much money, as I am confident he'd be thrown from his father's will and thus lose his share of the family fortune.

Shane doesn't need the proceeds from his father's will. He already owns 1/4 of the WWE stock and doesn't have to work in the company in order to be as wealthy as Midas.

That said, there's no reason for WWE to buy TNA. At this point, the smaller company isn't competition for them and with the way they're spending money on wrestler's salaries, all WWE has to do is wait for TNA to run out of funds.

It hasn't been that long since Samoa Joe was complaining about making only $700 a match. Then, TNA started bringing in guys like Sting, Nash and Angle. Can you imagine what it must cost to employ people like that?

And now, to add to the comedy, they bring in Hogan. He's not working for free, I guarantee that.

Yes, WCW tried the same thing (bringing in expensive WWE talent) and wound up losing between $60-80 million dollars a year (according to the Wall Street Journal). The difference is that WCW had Time-Warner money behind it, which allowed them to exercise this fiscal irresponsibility until Time-Warner finally pulled the plug.

I don't know where TNA is getting the money to bring in Hogan & friends. I don't know if they have a plan or not. But if I was McMahon, I'd wait until TNA taps out (no pun intended) and then pick them up for a song, same as they did with WCW.

 

[Derekjt]

Any McMahon buying TNA would be terrible for the business. Ever since WCW folded wrestling has went further and further down the shitter. And then came TNA. I just hope that they make all the right decisions and don't get put in a position to get bought out.
Seriously do we want another company with TV- PG ratings? If that were ever the case then I'd pray for HD-NET to expand for a little more ROH.

 

[maar130]

Don't think Vince will never buy TNA, I thing he likes them being there, maybe for him it was too borng being the only fish in pond, so even if TNA is a small one, he likes that because he sees them as something he can actually compare somethings of his own company to, are as scout ground. I mean Christian went there and after seeing what he could do on his own he got him back, even if he is not allowing him to do much. Same with Hardy who was the most succesful re-hire form there becoming WWE champion and WHC. Also got Gail kim back, even if he is wastin her talen but got her back.

So all in all is good to have TNA there and he knows it.

Now with Hogan signing is good as long as he does not wrestle, I would hate to see AJ slow down his pace to 1/4 of it total to try to match Hogan's speed only to lose to him. I know it is believable with Hogan's size to defeat AJ with the Legdrop but first he will need to match his speed an lets be honest, he has never been a fast wrestler and is kicking 60(56 years old). Hope he passes his knowledge instead of trying to make this all about him, seems to be the case with the comment about the reality show trying to find the next Hulk Hogan, Tough Enough (which was not bad at first, damn it brough Morrison) or Celebrity wresting anyone?

Now signing Eric Bishoff would benefit them more in my view, he would help them promote TNA, maybe not to great highs but it will benefit them.

 

[Razor]

There shouldn't be a question of "Where did they get the money?" Hogan is apparently running TNA now. He's going to get paid the amount that Carter gets paid, and perhaps more whenever he shows his ugly mug on TV. However, they could have very well worked it into his contract that any TV appearances don't garner him more pay. Or they could have made this deal knowing full well that paying Hogan, Bischoff, and Flair their pay will leave them in the deep red. It's either a well calculated move, or the promotional equivalent to going all in.

Either way, Shane didn't buy TNA. Why would Vince wait until now to do so? You would think he'd do so back before the guest host concept. You know, to save us the embarrassment of having Maria Menounous wrestle on our TV screens.

The only thing you could argue is the new rumored Monday night show that is supposed to go head to head with Raw. In my opinion that goes with my earlier argument that this is the equivalent to an "all-in" bet by Carter and her father.

This is, essentially, just hoping for the redemption of a old storyline that could have been soooo much more. I don't blame you. But once people realize that the Attitude Era isn't coming back no matter how much you cream your pants when you hear the name Stone Cold, the fewer Invasion Wars threads I have to see and the happier everyone will be.

 

[WWESUXTNARULZ]

TNA will continue to go higher than the 1.2 ratings they re getting try triple amount they should bring in DDP and GOLDBERG to TNA that will raise ratings higher but tie them into long term contracts 5-6 year deals with Hogan,Flair and whomever they bring in
Seriously I won't be suprised when Rey Mysterio heads to TNA and Batista since they are mistreated in WWE Soon Michaels will head to TNA to rejoin Kevin Nash then we ll see how ignorant WWE Circus marks really are! WWE keeps shoving us JOhn Cena vs Randy Orton for 30th time yawwwwwn
All we get is the same old recycled matches over and over coz WWE doesn't seem to care for its audience they turn their MOnday Night Raw to MOnday Night with David Letterman and Tonight Show with Jay Leno they are getting worse instead of having Vicky GUerrero or Teddy Long switching around back and forth!
NOw TNA will destroy WWE Circus from where it was left it was 84 weeks expect them to go over 84 weeks in the next 3 years !!

 

[AjStyles]

It is seemingly impossible but quite within reach, its been about a year since i've last seen shane in wwe, i've also found out that he quit thenwwe as an employee so that maybe the reason for his departure from wwe

 

[tap-out]

Simple,

Nothing but you thoughts on what this means for the WWE and the direction they will go in.

Personally, i believe this is great news for wrestling fans in general. I believe that Bischoff really wants another shot at sticking it to Vince and the E. I believe we are going to see some changes in the coming months from both prgorams. I think you will see RVD signed by either one to counter the other, as well as other FA.

I think this may be something Vince will endure in the long run. It will force him weed out all the crap and implement the steps and programs necessary to produce a solid program again. I am really interested to see what happens with this new show. If it is just another time slot and not a brand, i think that will help TNA. Vince in the long run is going to need to find a way scrap the brands and crappy talent and produce a two day a week program, much like the old days. BUT KEEP ECW. ECW will be good use for them to continue to do what they are doing, TV time for up and comers. It would be nice to see stories continuing from monday to friday and feuds given proper time to establish their place in the company. We could see some of the tiles combined and unified and some moved to ECW to give it just a little bit more credibility.

In the end, IF, and that is a big, if, Bischoff does do what we all believe, we may be in store for some good ole wrasslin again!

 

[UFOcalling]

TNA needs to find a team to be the head of creative and stick to it. I can't believe they're going to let Hogan have complete creative control, and from what I've read - they're considering letting Russo & Ferrara go?!? Seriously, I can't believe that TNA management has let this happen.

Bischoff, Hogan & Nash were the reason that WCW went under. They were the ones that held everyone else down, and booked Nitro in such a way to make themselves the only stars. I hate it when people blame WCW's downfall on Russo, at least he got new wrestlers in the main-event when he came over.

Yes, Bischoff did bring WCW into the limelight 13 years ago, but he did that by stealing WWF's talent...not by the way he booked the show. Russo & Ferrara brought the WWF back out of the gutter by the way they booked the show. By the way they elevated new talent, created new characters, and made WWF "adult-oriented".

If you give Hogan creative control, it's all over. He's going to book himself in the main-event for every episode of Impact...seriously, how long do you think AJ is going to have the belt now that Hogan has the reigns? How long is it going to be before we see Brian Knobbs with the X-division championship?

I hope I'm wrong, hopefully Bischoff and Hogan (and Nash) have learned from their mistakes with WCW. I hope they're going to book TNA the way that's best for the company as a whole, and not what's best for them as on-screen characters.

 

[StopFantasyBooking]

Honestly things can only go up from here. WWE might be shit lately, but TNA is the drizzling shits.

Hopefully TNA will last long enough to make Vince get rid of ******ed crap like divas who can't wrestle and anything having to do with Hornswaggle.

 

[Madico_Fs]

Honestly,

I feel now that TNA has Hogan and Bischoff, changed their time slot to be in competion with the wwe it wont me enough in the beginning. WCW wasnt the best in the beginning but I personally feel that Vince has made enemies with too many wrong people, namely Bischoff, his creative ideas with both Ric Flair and Hogan and many other WWE Legends also.

I dont think scrapping the brands is the right thing to do because WWE does have a lot of talent and ECW is the home of developing new superstars (some fresh from FCW like Ted Diabasis), Smackdown is rivalling RAW as the Flagship show only because if we want to see actual wrestling matches, nothing with hornswoggle and the Guest Hosts, Smackdown is the Prime time out of the 3 WWE Brands. The only Sorta-Brand I would scrap is WWE SUPERSTARS, only because i feel it can be replaced simply by having a Saturday Nights Main Event more frequently say....every 3rd Saturday Night where Mid-Carders and the Mid-Card Title Holders (IC and US) can both grow and develop their skills.

Ive only started to view TNA recently, however i like what they are doing....adding Bischoff and Hulkamania to it will fuel another Monday Night War....BUT....who will win this time?

 

[CuddleBuns84]

Ha ha, two years TNA should be going under. The WWE will thrive off of this more then TNA will. With Hulk Hogan being a Main Eventer in TNA will hurt the company more then anything. Because this isn't when a big sale, and isn't the same Legendary Hulk Hogan. This is Reality TV star Hulk Hogan who is too emotional for the screen. When Hogan returned in 2002, and went against the rock it was magical, and amazing. One of the top matches of all time. For some reason Hulk Hogan vs. AJ Styles doesn't get me hyped up. Kurt Angle vs. Hogan isn't a dream match. Hogan vs. Samoa Joe reminds me and a god awful 80's gimmick match. He would been a great consultant or but TNA will hit some boosts, but then it will die. TNA, the next USFL!

 

[wrestling fan 666]

Won't people learn from history? I love TNA, and got nervous when they took in Kevin Nash and the rest of the former WCW alumni; but Hogan. I respect what he has done for the business, but his time is long past. Now what's worse than bringing Hogan back, give him creative control. Why can't they just leave things be? TNA gets great ratings, have great talent, and anyone who's seen it live can testify how family oriented the stars are before the show.

I was originally concerned when the MEM formed because I felt "here we go again, another NWO, the only thing missing is Hogan". I say this for WCW never gave the opportunity to the younger talent; they were just concerned for their own Main Event spot and the money involved. What destroyed WCW was the careless spending, the reckless way they treated their talent, and all the major egos involved.

This upsets me because there is no other competition for WWE except TNA and I really don't want to see it go under because of stupid decisions. Competition is great, but there is no need to go head to head with RAW; it simply doesn't have enough power to compete with WWE. TNA is edgier, more adult, more creative, and simply perform better; but people turn to WWE out of habit-not necessarily for content. Why not just leave it on Thursdays and give us all wrestling fans something alternative to watch without kowtowing to pressure to be number one over WWE?

 

[Rated R SuperFan]

Being a big TNA fan I have mixed emotions about Hulk Hogan and Eric Bichoff signing with TNA . I mean they have given Hogan complete creative control of TNA the only person Hogan awnsers to is Dixie Carter's father . Which is a VERY Dangerous situation . Bichoff I think does want another run at Vinnie Mac and the E I think he deserves his second chance however make it his last chance if he screws up in TNA too much dump him and Hogan all together and get back to what TNA was doing before .

With that said IF Hogan does the same ol' BS of booking himself in the top spot / title picture / keeps his friends on top ect ect this will KILL TNA quicker the it killed WCW . I do see this as a window for "Nature Boy" Ric Flair to get back in the ring with TNA and win his 17th World Title .Which if done right would be a good thing however if it's over Hogan that wouldn't make sense IMO . I mean who doesn't want to see "Nature Boy" Ric Flair VS "The Icon" Sting one more time !! I don't think TNA should move Impact to Monday or any other night just yet maybe once they make the show better then move it to Monday or Friday night. Now I think this will make WWE change (for the better I hope) because it can't get much worse I think Vince needs to quit the brands and have one WWE roster have all three shows ( Keeping ECW seperate) and have Monday and Fridays to work the storylines build the fueds and have the payoffs at the PPVs. just like the old days when wrestling was the cool thing becasue it mattered . All and All I think Hogan and Bichoff signing with TNA will be a good thing if it is done right . I see more free agents (friends of Hogan) like RVD signing with TNA because of this deal and let's face it havin' RVD on Impact is a MAJOR PLUS !! I hope TNA hasn't started a slow dangerous death sentence for it's self .

 

[StopFantasyBooking]

I mean who doesn't want to see "Nature Boy" Ric Flair VS "The Icon" Sting one more time !!

I know I sure don't. I'd rather watch Hornswaggle vs Melina.

Besides, after the amazing send off Ric Flair got last year, he should never step foot in the ring again.

Hogan in TNA is just going to be the final straw for WCW2.0.

 

[maar130]

Well try to see it in a positive way, Hogan would be a great consultant if he wants too, Bishoff should be a great promoter of the company if he is willing to work with themand expand their horizons. It will be good for everyone because TNA will grow and its ladnscape will be bigger, which meansd more jobs and money for wrestlers.

Now lets get real, still is no competition to WWE, but an alternative. WWE will watch to see how it works and will keep an eye on it, but if they don't see a treath, they will do nothing.

Look at it in an objetive way. TNA neither has the money or the audience to star swapping stars from the WWE like WCW did, and sorry but that was one big part of the Monday Night Wars, it was not because WCW was better, it was because they used treacherous tactics to get their audience like telling everyone the results of their shows, taking its stars etc. In the end the better product won. Sorry but TNA has a good product but not a better product than the WWE, because if RAW sucks there is Smackdown, even on that shit of a network they are in, they present a good product there and even if WWE consider it the B show, it gets more praise than the A show on a weekly basis. ECW is a good scout ground for both shows and well even Superstars is good because even if it is not a brand it present good midcard matches like Sunday night Heat used to do.

Also If TNA want to compete directly to Raw it might not be the smartest decision, and if TNA does not knows it, Spike TV knows it and has backed from it multiple times, one of the reasons why they did was that when Raw got broadcasted on a Thursday it cut Impact audience in half. You may say "it was only one night", well thank God for TNA it was one night, because if the did on a weekly basis TNA would suffer from it and they should not rush themselves into a fist fight. They are doing well now, they should allow themselves to grow and show WWE what they can do after this.

WWe would look into it, if they see it as something that is worth the time they will make some changes, if not, they will remain the same.

Now on the negative way, if Hogan wants to wreslte (hopfully not) and go over like usually do (examples, HBK and Orton at Summerslam) it would really hurt TNA and would be the worst that could happen to them, why you thing Cena Vs Hogan never took place? or Hogan VS Jericho? Hogan say he backed off but in reality do you thing WWE wanted Cena to job to Hogan? or Hoganwanted to job to Cena? With Jericho is not a big issue because win or lose he always gets out holding his own as a great wrestler (for me it would suck to see him lose but for most fans it will be OK) but for Cena? who's character has made look like Superman, some one who has kick out of almost all finisher in the WWE (Sweet chin Music, Pedigree, RKO, Batista Bomb) to be put down to sleep by a big boot and a Legdrop by a crippled Hogan? Sorry but with all nostalgia I won't buy it, Ten years ago I would but not now. I dind't buy it in 2002 when he defeated HHH, which for me with all nostalgia, crippled HHH momentum as face.

And lets not start with TNA, crap if they allow Hogan to beat Angle or AJ or even Sting, then TNA would really had a bad invesment on its hands.

 

[WinstonDeckard]

This is devastating news for TNA. For one, they've finally started pushing their young stars (or more accurately they're self-branded stars) and this has to be seen as a huge setback in their progress. It sends a message to these stars that the company does not have faith in them being the faces of the company and I'm sure these young stars have seen what happens when Hogan signs anywhere. He gets creative control and he pushes his cronies and lackeys and the rest or the young get left on the sidelines. I honestly feel TNA has been on the right track latey, they just created one of the best debuts in recent memory with Desmond Wolfe, they have built up quite a few of their own stars in recent weeks and this comes as a shock.