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**Fox** · 10-17-2014, 09:24 AM

I was really into TNA when they first started up. They offered a uniquely different experience from what the WWE was offering at that time. The X-Division was especially intriguing, as it gave us a style and pace of wrestling that simply could not be found in the WWE. Guys like AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe, Chris Sabin, Low Ki, Petey Williams and the rest of Team Canada, and Rhino offered some awesome match ups. While the main event was relatively stale and a bit rampant with guys of the past (Jeff Hardy, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Jeff Jarrett), they looked to have a very strong undercard of guys who would one day eventually take up the mantle of being the main eventers of the company.

I think the trouble really started for them when Hogan and Bischoff came on board. The company got obsessed with becoming a WWE look-alike, even going so far as to remove the six sided ring that made TNA immediately recognizable as an alternative. The influx of ex-WWE superstars killed the momentum they had going with the home grown stars. Main event feuds revolving around Bischoff, Hogan and Dixie Carter continued the process of killing off interest in their home grown talent. When it turned out that these ex-WWE stars weren't going to shoot them to the moon the way they'd hoped, they buried them, too. In the end, nobody looks like a star and nobody has any real value.

Guys go from being groomed for "the spot" to being in pointless feuds and tag teams. Guys like Robert Roode, Austin Aries and then the god awful Eric Young all got "the moment" of winning the TNA World Title, but were then swiftly moved back down the card. No character is consistently pushed as "the guy" or even as one of "the guys." Their most recognizable talent in Kurt Angle was only really used properly for the first year or two - by his end with the company, even Angle, a former Olympic gold medalist and WWE Champion, didn't mean a thing.

Now, a TNA PPV card is a who's who of nobodies. Manik? Crazzy Steve? Magnus? Kenny King? The BroMans? Ethan Carter III? Rockstar Spud? Completely unrecognizable names that make up the majority of a TNA card. And I'm not even talking about from a casual fan perspective - I'm a huge pro wrestling fan who tries his best to keep up with the reports and results - have been since I was 10 years old - and I don't even know who the fuck these guys are. And you've got Jeff Hardy, maybe their only recognizable and bankable star left, running around as "Willow", a douche bag in a weird tribal mask.

TNA is just fucked.

10-17-2014, 09:24 AM	#26
Fox "Ask him!" Posts: 10,075	I was really into TNA when they first started up. They offered a uniquely different experience from what the WWE was offering at that time. The X-Division was especially intriguing, as it gave us a style and pace of wrestling that simply could not be found in the WWE. Guys like AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe, Chris Sabin, Low Ki, Petey Williams and the rest of Team Canada, and Rhino offered some awesome match ups. While the main event was relatively stale and a bit rampant with guys of the past (Jeff Hardy, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Jeff Jarrett), they looked to have a very strong undercard of guys who would one day eventually take up the mantle of being the main eventers of the company. I think the trouble really started for them when Hogan and Bischoff came on board. The company got obsessed with becoming a WWE look-alike, even going so far as to remove the six sided ring that made TNA immediately recognizable as an alternative. The influx of ex-WWE superstars killed the momentum they had going with the home grown stars. Main event feuds revolving around Bischoff, Hogan and Dixie Carter continued the process of killing off interest in their home grown talent. When it turned out that these ex-WWE stars weren't going to shoot them to the moon the way they'd hoped, they buried them, too. In the end, nobody looks like a star and nobody has any real value. Guys go from being groomed for "the spot" to being in pointless feuds and tag teams. Guys like Robert Roode, Austin Aries and then the god awful Eric Young all got "the moment" of winning the TNA World Title, but were then swiftly moved back down the card. No character is consistently pushed as "the guy" or even as one of "the guys." Their most recognizable talent in Kurt Angle was only really used properly for the first year or two - by his end with the company, even Angle, a former Olympic gold medalist and WWE Champion, didn't mean a thing. Now, a TNA PPV card is a who's who of nobodies. Manik? Crazzy Steve? Magnus? Kenny King? The BroMans? Ethan Carter III? Rockstar Spud? Completely unrecognizable names that make up the majority of a TNA card. And I'm not even talking about from a casual fan perspective - I'm a huge pro wrestling fan who tries his best to keep up with the reports and results - have been since I was 10 years old - and I don't even know who the fuck these guys are. And you've got Jeff Hardy, maybe their only recognizable and bankable star left, running around as "Willow", a douche bag in a weird tribal mask. TNA is just fucked.