TNA silencing fans
 

From PWInsider:

After some ringside fans turned their back on Sean Morley's win last night, a Universal Studios employee named Bernadette approached fans and warned them not to be negative towards the show and to watch their language (since fans were calling him a "porn star", of all things.) under threat of being removed from the show. That left a bad taste in a lot of the longtime regulars' mouths and I was told there was something of a small protest at tonight's taping with fans who would usually be standing ringside in the pit instead sitting in the bleachers to "show TNA the difference." Universal had several employees, including the aforementioned Bernadette, address the crowd before the tapings, asking them to behave and stay in line with the taping. While I'm not a fan of anyone telling fans what they can do at shows and who they are supposed to back, the reality is everyone in that building gets in for free, so it's not like they can claim they are paying to express their opinions. Still, I can see such a thing being rejected by fans and the last thing any company needs is to create a backlash among their most loyal fans.

I get why they're doing this. I've grimaced more than a few times in the past couple of weeks to something TNA expects to work get completely shit on by their fans, but those are mostly stupid decisions. I mean, Hogan trashing the 6-sided ring and basically saying it caused them to fail? Yeah, I don't think that's going to go over very well with the long-term fans.

FRONT FUCKING PAGE



Before tonight’s TNA iMPACT tapings began in Orlando, members of the TNA staff addressed the crowd at the iMPACT Zone about their behavior.

Fans were told not to curse, make obscene gestures or gang signs. The fans were referred to as “cast members” and were basically told they needed to be quiet, according to a fan in attendance.

This is likely another decision made by Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff, who haven’t been pleased with some of the reactions from the TNA crowd lately.

Instead of fighting their die hard fans (and let's face it, the fans who go are usually more than casual fans) they should be embracing them and using them for rating what works and what doesn't.

Vince used to do this at MSG. It was his home base and he would gauge the crowd reactions for what worked and who was over. Of course he ignores the fans too now, but still.

I'm not saying fans should always be listened to, but when you're getting "bullshit" chants and heavy negative reactions towards angles, you need to look at what worked and what didn't and adjust it, at least to the point where you're not getting shit on by your corner stone fans.

Getting rid of the 6 sided ring was an incredible idea, tbh. It feels like an actual wrestling show now.

First of all, source your shit.

Second of all. Wow. I do believe this, and it's a HUGE mistake.

Next thing you know they'll be piping in fake chants because the crowd is too quiet.

I totally agree. I mean, love or hate the six-sided ring, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to imagine that the hardcore fan backlash for that is going to cause some issues. If I was someone totally new to TNA, and I watched it and saw the fans chanting "bullshit" and crapping all over things? I don't know that I'd be excited to keep watching or come back.

I don't think everything has to go over crazy well, and you certainly can't FORCE someone love an idea, but when your main angle (Hogan being a face and bringing the company to the next level) and other key ideas are being unequivocally trashed by your fanbase, it may be time to alter course. This isn't like people being resistant to change, like with the ring; a lot of this is really key stuff the company is banking on. And this isn't like with WWE or a touring company where if something gets pissed on in one place, maybe it'll work out better on the next stop. TNA has to deal with pretty much the same fan-pool, and if they alienate them, they don't have many other places to turn.

I don't have a problem with the ring, because that heat will die down in a few weeks. But there are plenty of other things they will be shitting on.

And I hope they're as loud as possible and make as big of a stink as possible, even with a taping they can do damage without being "out of control".

Do you really need to turn your back on Val Venis though?

That's kinda dumb

I think that's the best kind of protest honestly. It's entirely visual so they can't really obscure it.

Again, I agree. I think the fans are overreacting to some things, like the Sean Morley incident, and that's really going to hurt them rather than TNA. The way they did that is fine and smart, but the reason for it seems like an overreaction. When you act like everything you don't agree with is the end of the world, it makes it real easy for your opposition to paint you as crazy/negative/spiteful/whatever.

While the heat may die down shortly over the six-sided ring, and I personally didn't even really notice the change, I suspect the company's reaction to the fans' reaction, like Hogan shooting on TNA and its fans for failing to make it to the next level because of the ring, could have some pretty dramatic longterm consequences.

Nah I disargee. It looks you are trying to get yourselves over.

It's just one match. It's something that's utterly pointless to protest.

There have been times I have been annoyed by the TNA crowds, but pulling stuff like this isnt cool. Negative crowd noise is better than no noise at all. But I can definitely see this coming from Bischoff and Hogan. Hogan looked really annoyed that the crowd was upset over the ring change.

No it isn't. They're bringing in former talent who were midcarders ten years ago and going over their established stars. That should never, ever happen the way they're doing it.

I don't know the answer to this question, but did TNA ever really use the 6-sided ring for the one thing I thought it would be visually good for: 3-way tag team matches? It just always looks like something's off when there's a 3-way tag match in a 4-sided ring because only 1 corner is left open and there's not equal separation among the teams.

Well, at the sake of sounding like Noid, Val never really got his fair shake in the E machine and can still work great. It's not like Headbanger Mosh came in and started making Daniels his bitch. Morley is ripped, can work the mic, and can still work a great match. The only thing I don't like is that their running with the sleazy Vall ripoff gimmick. Other than that, I think it's fine.

HUGE MISTAKE!!!!! The first straw in the death of TNA...... IMO, Rule #1 in pro wrestling is "to make the crowd happy" If the crowd is happy, business is good and vice-versa..... telling the fans what to do is absolutely ridiculous...... I can understand them wanting to cut out the profanity, but you cannot program all the wrestling fans into liking what Hogan wants them to like.... absolutely ridiculous..... If I ever go to a TNA event, I want to have the freedom to chant "THIS IS BULLSHIT" or "FIRE RUSSO" or "FUCK YOU HOGAN" because I paid my $100 or whatever to get into the building and have a good time...... and if that doesn't fit in with "management's" plan..... then fuck 'em

A total overreaction.

Now with that said silencing your fans probably isn't the best way to go. Also putting Val Venis over Daniels is a stupid move though.

wow, TNA needs to get the F out of Orlando. These fans are just a bunch of morons

nah nah nah nah

nah nah nah nah

hey hey hey

Goodbye TNA

Well clearly that didnt work as the fans fucked up AJ Styles' promo when he came out with "escorts"

Wait....the crowd doesn't pay to get in?

I'm glad they changed the ring, but it would have been better if they made it into an angle rather than "Hey, hope the fans like this!"

wtf?

They turned their back on Anderson too.

It looks like his comments over the relief effort in Haiti have gotten new TNA personality Bubba the Love Sponge sent home from a production meeting and possibly fired from the company. Bubba wrote the following on his Twitter today:
“Eric needs to chill out on this power trip. Hogan is cool. Eric is running wild. here in orlando things r all messed up. Was suppose to be at the prod meeting @11 they called and said not 2 come??? This is starting 2b not fun. All because of my Haiti comments Sorry people can’t handle the truth. And what does my Haiti comments have to do with tna wrestling. I didn’t say them on dixies air. I don’t think tna is ready 4someone like me. I shoot hard from the hip and ms Carter (although i have a ton of respect 4her) has never had a guy that is as outrageous as I am and has a Nationwide delevery method. So right now I would describe our relationship like oil and water. And it’s not good. im headed home. My agent Is coming to Orlando to deal with mess. not that I’ll ever b on tna again but tell me any tna personality that has more followers.”
Bubba also noted that he was supposed to be a part of the deal with ‘The Band’ at last night’s Genesis pay-per-view but someone vetoed Hulk Hogan so Bubba wasn’t involved.
He also said last night that Jeremy Borash is gone from TNA and he (Bubba) did not want the job of being Borash’s replacement.
Note from Ryan Clark: Again Bubba, go away. You sound lame and immature.

Yeah, i'm getting abit sick of the ring discussion now. The bitches moaned before that it was there now they're fucking moaning its gone. :roll: Wrestling fans are never happy.

TNA has more of a reality TV feel to it....it's like the coke binging brother who goes to a funeral in a rented tux and leaves because he rented it 3 days too early. I have no idea what that means. I digress.

TNA will never find an identity trying to be a seasoned product quickly. In all honestly as in all companies...you have to learn how to manipulate your market. You silence the fans through the wrestling, the six-sided ring was a cliche come to life. I must admit I liked it visually, but you can't have that in a small arena. Too many bodies and too many matches to develop characters. I mean come on a three-way tag match? Can you really tell a good story with 3 tag teams long enough for a storyline. no....so why bother.

I designed a ring for TNA to use. Could I post it on here?

Wow. They got rid of the thing that really distinguished them (the ring) and now they're going to piss off their fans.

Are we SURE Vince didn't air-mail a lethal dose of poison to TNA in a big red and yellow package?

The six-sided ring was more of a burden than anything else. It seemed more like a gimmick and it definitely took away from match psychology.

As far as trying to control the fans a bit goes, I can see where they are coming from. It must be frustrating as shit to play to fans that refuse to acknowledge the face/heel dynamic and cohesively rebel against anything they don't like. Not sure if reprimanding them is the right choice but I dunno.

if anybody watched genesis last night u would have seen scott hall pull a fan over the barricade and slap the shit out of him. why dont they punish scott hall instead. it is his job to stay in character and ignore the fans.

TNA fans are fucking retarded.

:lol:

i love tna but they need to get rid of all the dumbasses like scott hall and x pac they are stupid drunks

Thank you, taker707, for providing TPWW's newest Meme.

Seriously? THE RING was taking away from match psychology? Not the dumbass finishes, the shitty-ass buildups, the RING was taking away from match psychology?!

Not to mention the talent who take spots over psychology and storytelling.

Well obviously, among other things as well. I think they've at least been taking steps in the right direction the past couple weeks.

You know, minus the Nasty Boys, Scott Hall, Sean Waltman, and Bubba the Love Sponge.

what the hell does that mean xero

What does what mean?

THAT!

TPWW'S newest Meme

He means that 90% of the roster would rather do circus stunts to get the crowd going instead of doing it the right way.

Well, that isn't what you meant. I EXPLAINED IT ANYWAY, GOD DAMNIT.

pretty sure i was speaking my own mind and said nothing someone else said if u could read u would see that

What? bigfred419, can you utilize some puncuation please? You fucking savage.

well you fucking dick, im sorry you suck and try to make everyone else feel as shitty as your life is. why dont you get a girlfriend and get laid ass clown.

Kane86?

Oh my God. It's Kane86.

Edit: LOL Narc.

This horrible realization hit Xero and I like a truck at the exact same time.

yeah nothing bad is happening from Hogan coming in at all

TNA, we are wrestling

Every time I read the title of this thread I think of TNA fans literally being "silenced" by assassins while they are just chilling at home or something.

TNA would actually have to have fans at home, Lock Jaw

does anyone see a connection or make a connection to TNA letting fans into their product tapings for free versus WCW giving away tickets to Nitro at the Omni the night DX invaded Nitro?? Obviously there is an issue if TNA can't come up with the gumption to charge for tiketing into their TV tapings...although i'm sure with the massive changes, Hogan and Bischoff have charging prices in mind down the road for TV events and scrapping the free admission.

what does that mean?

owen apparently is inferring that TNA has little to no viewers at home would be my educated guess and he's referencing to the lack of any rating above a 2.0 in their 6 year history i believe would be his substantiation??

http://forums.wrestlezone.com/showthread.php?t=92893

My head exploded at crucial crew

"Want some compelling TV? Wait until the entire pit revolts and empties into the ring on live TV. The way things are going, this is not altogether inconceivable."

I want to see this, and I want to see this badly.

Specifically during a Hogan promo.

loyalty to brands/products is great....but the guy really has no room to bitch when he gets into the product every week for FREE....and even if he did pay for a ticket....every ticket to a sporting event has a disclaimer having for the management of the event or the management of the building to remove you from the event at anytime with no refund of purchase of ticket price for any actions, statements, gestures that they may deem inappropriate or a distraction to other ticket holders. Not to mention that there are kids in the show, i've seen them before....he has no right to whine about using profanity or vulgarity....and i'm sure TNA has some sort of disclaimer posted in the building that they have the right to remove you from the event for any reason at anytime without disclaimer to you objecting or having a right to remain at the event. In my opinion the dude has no grounds for bitching...its the liability he assumes for attending the event.

Seriously, the SHOULD charge for tickets and/or get out of the Impact Zone.

It'll cut down on the retards who amuse themselves chanting for the popcorn vendor. If you're bitching about the sides of the ring, you're fucking retarded.

Nothing shocking with Orlando Jordan and the Nastys. Nothing.

Outside of that, honestly, It's a good idea to have shows held outside of the Impact Zone and to promote your shows as WRESTLING. That's actually a good idea from Hogan. Cut down on the stupid backstage shit, and focus on the in-ring product.

If TNA wants to be taken seriously, they need to look like an actual fucking wrestling show and tour the country and perform in actual arenas.

I'm a big fan of the switch back to a traditional ring. It just makes it easier for me to concentrate on the action, and given the dimensions, makes the matches more enjoyable to me.
I just feel like it's too cramped and awkward in the six sided ring. Even if it's not, and the dimensions technically include the same area, it just always bothered me.

So I'm good with that. Val Venis going over Daniels....um, not so much. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that Val Venis hasn't done anything but job on Heat for 10 years...and the fact that Daniels is one of their best homegrown talents who was in a PPV world title match last month...
In a hypothetical scenario of a 1998 Val Venis picking up a victory against Daniels, I'd still consider it an upset and not really the best decision.
Really no excuse for that.

Is TNA fucking nuts?

1) They SHOULD be charging an entry fee, don't they need money? Second of all if its free you can get an old hobo turning up just for warmth (insert Scott Hall joke here).

2) Censoring the crowd? First of all are TNA so dumb that they think they can just ask the fans nicely and they will calm down? If that worked then Vince would have come out at ONS2 and asked the fans kindly not to riot. If its free to get in then why the fuck would I care about getting kicked out?

I can see exactly why the fans are shouting and gesturing what they are, can TNA really not see why this stuff is getting shat on?

I would say TNA is majorly underestimating its fan base here, and it will turn round and bite them in the arse if they are not carefull. Shame I live in the UK, would quite like to see the impact zone before it gets turned into WWE Universe HQ.


On a side note, THE 6 SIDED RING IS OUT OF HERE!!! Wooooooooooo.

Squared Circle, not hexagonal circle.

Something about this just screams pot and the fucking kettle.

People it's a known fact that ever since TNA has filmed at/in Universal Studios they have let people in for free.

It's a Universal Studio thing not a TNA being completely inept thing.

And that guy in the Crucial Crew is an even bigger tool then Bubba's army and Hogan marks.

I have my doubts they could get anywhere near a decent crowd for real arenas on a regular basis.

I think they could do it. It would take a hell of a lot of work (which would have to start now) and tweaking to their production and such, but it could be done.

TNA do tour, they just dont film those shows


also i think its pretty obvious that the audience dictates who they like and who they don't like, you know freedom of speech and all that.

tna should be breaking their backs to please the audience, they are NOT cast members.

except 'Beard Money Guy' who im nearly 100% sure got the telling off in the first place

Why is anyone taking sides on this? Both TNA, and it's fans are fucking batty.

There are less batty fans than there are "fucking insane" figure heads in TNA.

I stand corrected. :)

Hi pot, I'm a kettle.

Their regular smarks are the only real thing they have going for them, not the people you want to piss off.

TNA needs a Right To Censor group..only..call it Right to Silence. They come out and make the people running their mouth in the ring or in the back shut up. Maybe the fans will get the hint then.

did anyone else see the crowd flash the jim cornette pic


'fuck this company'

oooh look what i found Re: TNA silencing fans
 

<div><object width="420" height="339"><param name="movie" value="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/xbx712" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/xbx712" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="339" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always"></embed></object><br /><b><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/xbx712">tna cast members</a></b><br /><i>by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/katanimation">katanimation</a></i></div>

If this is Re: TNA silencing fans, why not post it in that thread??

it deserves its own thread dammit

Not really, considering your video's status is "publishing in progress... "

its done

k

Wait a gosh darn moment here!!!!
Are you telling me that if you give people a crappy product they're going to be Vocal about it? The guy who thinks he invented getting the crowd involved doesn't get it?
:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::|

"What ya gonna do, when the crowd starts chanting 'change the channel' on you?!"

Hogan: We're gonna bury Styles, Joe, Daniels, The entire X Division, and I'm taking the world title.

Fans: Touche.

these are the fans who chanted fuck you russo, next live show we may get fuck you hogan clap clap.

Oh God I hope so. Hogan deserves to be shit on.

"Cast members?" I'm sorry, if I bought a ticket to one of their shows, I should be free to express myself, whether they like it or not. That's what a fan should do.

You're not buying a ticket, at least in the Impact Zone. It's free to get in, even PPVs.

They have a right to do it (more so than other promotions because it's free to get in), but it doesn't make it right.

yep that is true i went to a game show at that park years ago they can control the audence like they do with the tonight show and the late show.

That's the thing, I think Hogan and Bischoff want the smarks out and to draw in marks.

It's the bigger audience but they aren't doing it right. At all.