Passing the torch

[Swiss Ultimate]

One thing that I disagreed with about Bischoff's twitter-rants was simply the idea that what they were doing was very effective.

I agree that big names are going to garner interest in the product and properly using those big names is going to make you money, at least in the short term.

I won't go so far as to agree with Heyman either, I don't think the answer to TNA's plight is simply firing everyone over 40 but, I definitely think there time is clearly up as well. What we need to see is a lot more torch passing from the more seasoned veterans.

What's stopping them?

Money. There's no pension, that I know of anyways, in wrestling. A guy can make a name for himself in the business and find himself waiting tables in his 40s if he hasn't invested his money wisely.

Ego. These guys got into the business, mostly, because they wanted to perform and entertain. It's hard for someone like that to just say, "I'm done, it's the younger guy's turn." Actors usually don't retire for that same purpose, they may work less but, once you have become a performer you're usually one until you die.

Legacy. Fans of wrestling have a notoriously short memory. Even the "smart fans" have trouble remembering those wrestlers before their time. The current generation of fans that are keeping the business afloat have to be educated why they should care about Ric Flair. "Oh, he used to be great? Well, he's old as fuck, senile and he looks like shit. Somebody give him a shirt."

So what exactly is in it for the older guys? I know some of them genuinely love the sport and are trying to help the new breed but, what is the business going to do for the veterans? Maybe, hiring them on the corporate side like in the WWE? Coming up with a pension plan for guys whose entire lives after becoming wrestlers are spent on the road?

Until these issues can be addressed, the old veterans are not going to merely step aside.

[Next Big Thing]

For most of them it's money.

Look at Nash. He walks with a noticeable limp. He couldn't even take a bump off the apron from Joe at the PPV. Sting wrestles in a t-shit now because he's ashamed to show his fat gut. If these guys were financially secure, I doubt they'd be out there putting the strain they put on their bodies.

Look at the ECW guys. They speak with great pride about the "hardcore" matches they put on. We talk about the tables set on fire, the thumb tacks, New Jack's dives, but what did it get them? They did all that shit for an I.O.U. from Paul Heyman that he still hasn't paid on. Now, their youth is gone, they acquired no skills outside of wrestling (and even within the business no major promotion is going to hire these guys to full term contracts), and their bodies are broken.

We all know about Flair's financial predicaments and I'm pretty sure it's the same for Hogan between the divorce and the payout for his son being a piece of shit.

Also, the ones who did make money probably didn't have the foresight at the time to save it or invest properly. We see it all the time with athletes and lottery winners who acquire tens of millions of dollars and don't properly save it. Why should a wrestler be any different?

I'm sure ego plays a part too, but I remember Flair saying in that shoot he did with Piper that if he saved as much as Piper did we wouldn't see him as much so my guess is money is the primary culprit.

[Fox]

It's been so fucking long since the torch has properly been "passed off." To end an era with one superstar and ring in a new era with an up and coming superstar is a huge moment and one that doesn't just change the wrestlers involved, but changes the company as a whole.

Having guys like Nash, Sting, Hogan and Flair in TNA is great if they're going to pass their torches along to the new stars of today, but that isn't what's happening. In order to pass the torch, the match needs build. It needs to be an epic encounter. Sting versus Rob Van Dam or AJ Styles should get months and months of build, and when RVD or Styles pins Sting's shoulders to the mat and wins the World title on PPV, it should fucking mean something. It should mean something more than a new champion - it should mean the beginning of a new time in TNA. It should mean Sting is going to stop wrestling because he can't hang anymore. He's still a legend, but he's not the present: AJ Styles is.

But that's not what happens. Hogan feuds with Abyss and Styles with the idea of "helping the young guys," but when the feud goes back and forth and is simply a continuation of something else instead of a singular event with a beginning and an end, it doesn't mean anything for Abyss or AJ Styles. When it's just a series of matches and sometimes the young guys win and sometimes the old guys win, nobody really comes out looking better. The only way to "help the young guys" in that situation is to job out and make them into stars, and do it with proper build-up and an epic encounter.

Look at Lesnar versus The Rock (which is a weird example considering Rock's age at the time). They built Lesnar up to be a menace for 6 months, had him challenge Rock in the main event at the second biggest show of the year, Rock jobs clean and disappears and Lesnar owns the WWE and the title. THAT is how you pass the torch and make a new star. Mick Foley's feud against Randy Orton is also an incredible example of passing the torch and making a new star. TNA just doesn't do this.

I have no problem with the Legends in TNA, but only if they do their shit right.

[Next Big Thing]

It's been so fucking long since the torch has properly been "passed off." To end an era with one superstar and ring in a new era with an up and coming superstar is a huge moment and one that doesn't just change the wrestlers involved, but changes the company as a whole.

Having guys like Nash, Sting, Hogan and Flair in TNA is great if they're going to pass their torches along to the new stars of today, but that isn't what's happening. In order to pass the torch, the match needs build. It needs to be an epic encounter. Sting versus Rob Van Dam or AJ Styles should get months and months of build, and when RVD or Styles pins Sting's shoulders to the mat and wins the World title on PPV, it should fucking mean something. It should mean something more than a new champion - it should mean the beginning of a new time in TNA. It should mean Sting is going to stop wrestling because he can't hang anymore. He's still a legend, but he's not the present: AJ Styles is.

The other key part of that is that the torch which is being passed must still be lit.

Rock jobbing for Brock was monumental, not just because he was The Rock, but because he was still on top of his game and could still go.

At this point in TNA, if Nash or Sting put someone over clean would it matter? Samoa Joe choked out Sting at the last PPV and that's basically an after thought in the eyes of most fans. Flair put Jay Lethal over, how much of a rub did Lethal get from that?

HHH and Taker might be the only torchbearers left who could put a young guy over clean, walk away, and have that match be a meaningful part of that guy's career.

[thedamndest]

The older guys in TNA don't really offer anything at this point. If they aren't a draw by now they never will be. They'll only get worse with age. Putting on terrible matches with young guys doesn't really do anything for the young guys. That's why Rock putting over Lesnar worked so well.

If TNA insists on keeping them around as promotional tools only the biggest names should stay and they should only exist in managerial capacities.

[crusnik]

The older guys in TNA don't really offer anything at this point. If they aren't a draw by now they never will be. They'll only get worse with age. Putting on terrible matches with young guys doesn't really do anything for the young guys. That's why Rock putting over Lesnar worked so well.

If TNA insists on keeping them around as promotional tools only the biggest names should stay and they should only exist in managerial capacities.

I totally agree.Hogan ,Flair andthe rest should be either a manager,if they can;t completely get away from the ring or go to the front office. In my opinion (only with Flair n Hogan)they should have hung up the boots after they were inducted into the hall of fame.I saw Flair's last night on raw after his wm defeat to HBK n they gave him such an ovation.... everyone from the back came out even taker came to pay his respects.Now him , along with Hogan being in TNA it seems to cheapen that show of respect they gave n shit all over it.:nono:

[Tom Guycott]

...But that's not what happens. Hogan feuds with Abyss and Styles with the idea of "helping the young guys," but when the feud goes back and forth and is simply a continuation of something else instead of a singular event with a beginning and an end, it doesn't mean anything for Abyss or AJ Styles. When it's just a series of matches and sometimes the young guys win and sometimes the old guys win, nobody really comes out looking better. The only way to "help the young guys" in that situation is to job out and make them into stars, and do it with proper build-up and an epic encounter...

...TNA just doesn't do this.

I have no problem with the Legends in TNA, but only if they do their shit right.

I may be wrong, but it looks kind of like where this whole Wolfpac thing is heading. They're fleshing the story out half-ass'd, but I think the INTENT is that Nash and Sting, using some "Russo magic" worked shoot shit, are a couple of grumpy old guys who still want their last shot vs youngsters who will take their place.

The problem comes from TNA seeing the potential, but then taking a shit on it in execution. Are Nash and Sting supposed to be heels? They're being put over as two guys who merely disagree with Hogan and Bischoff. Didn't they just do this angle with the MEM just a short while ago? What happens when they get beat? Will the winner dissappear (a la Jay Lethal) in the end?

As I said, the INTENT seems sound, but TNA has a knack for screwing the pooch on what could be gold. Look at their track record: Machine Guns insanely over? Let's keep them off TV for a VERY long time, then have a tourney with Beer Money like a year and a half later to remind people why they once cared. Knockouts division entertaining? FIRE THEM (or, make no effort to retain) and hire fat botch machines (Knuckles and Lottalove). AJ Styles is the man? The company icon, eh? Held every TNA title, you say? Well, now that we got a TV deal with Spike, let's make him a comedy act, Christian's bitch, then Flair's bitch! There's more, but this would turn into a wall of text.