The Future of TNA

[D Mac]

What do you think will happen to TNA in the next few years? Will it get better, stay the same, or fade away all together?

[Mooияakeя™]

Well, whatever u may think here. Call it a broken record, but although I don't "hate it" to me I still think the 6 sided ring belongs in MMA. I associate a Pro Wrestlin' ring with "the squared circle"... 4 sides! Likewise with UFC / Cage Rage, I think "octagon". I know many peopel in the business think this will stop them growing, I don't think it will stop them growing, but I think they just won't get to the levels of WWE, or even what WCW had in it's last years.

As for wrestling there's many things they can improve upon and there many things they need to get rid of. Paying huge salaries to old wrestlers may have killed WCW off in the end with the mad money and the power trips, and I think many fans are "smarter" now, and with the changed face of wrestling that ECW / Cruiserweights gave us, it's more beneficial to have someone who can really whack a good match together than someone who is there for nostalgia and because he's a "name".

So that along with others, in order to really make a big push for big success they need to set out a plan of pros and cons that would help them get along. if this was me on the team, i'd put up:

PRO's

X-Divison
Gimmick matches / PPVs (Ultimate X - Lockdown - all good ideas to build on)
6-sided ring (I know what I just said above, but they could use this in some form at a PPV. like call it "OCTAGON PPV" (lol shit name I know). But use it like Lockdown where all matches are in a 6-sided ring (or combine it with lockdown and have a 6-sided all caged PPV).
Some decent talent (will be reletively cheap compared to other promotions to keep, and some just need the right guidance to polish up in-ring and mic work)
TV tapings in Florida to keep costs down - This is from a purely business point of view and is essential for them. They can easily take loads of PPVs on the road.
Offers an alternative to WWE

CONS:

6-sided ring as a permanent feature - I don't think it will kill them if they keep it though!
No PPV Structure (like the big 4) to follow (as they guy said in his "fuck that shit vid on youtube")
Entrance Music - Nuff said, bar 1 or 2 - it's shit. Period.
Announce Team - Do fuck all for me. I enjoy Michael Cole and JBL 10 times more than these goons.
Washed up has beens - They don't always pull in the crowds and they cost too much
Tapings every 2 weeks - I think they at least need to knock this down to every week. Not nessacerily live, but compared to what WWE wrestlers are expected to do, turning up weekly to film a show is not bad at all.

[FourFifty]

[Rammsteinmad]

Given time I think it'll become a big contender in Sports Entertainment. Especially if wrestling ever has another boom period.

I too have always disliked the 6-sided ring however. It's cool that they went for something new and fresh, but it just doesn't do it for me. TNA with a four sided ring was awesome.

[Kane Knight]

It will, by 2009, break its previous ratings, scoring a 1.3. By 2013, it will shatter its previous record by hitting a 1.5. Of course, the population will have boomed so much by then that anything below 2.0 is either canceled or about to be.

[Tommy Gunn]

The few shows I've catched on TV have been an absolute mess and remind me at best of WCW Thunder-quality booking.

The blindfold match I sat through just pissed me off to watch.

Too much talent to work with, with a joke of a booking team.

[IC Champion]

Has anyone even been following TNA in the last 2 or 3 months?

[Kane Knight]

Originally Posted by Instant Classic Has anyone even been following TNA in the last 2 or 3 months?

I've watched it 3-4 times in the last 2 months. Every time, it was the same. About the only thing worth watching was Cage, and everything else made me want to throw something at my TV.

[Jordan]

Originally Posted by Mooияakeя™ Well, whatever u may think here. Call it a broken record, but although I don't "hate it" to me I still think the 6 sided ring belongs in MMA. I associate a Pro Wrestlin' ring with "the squared circle"... 4 sides! Likewise with UFC / Cage Rage, I think "octagon". I know many peopel in the business think this will stop them growing, I don't think it will stop them growing, but I think they just won't get to the levels of WWE, or even what WCW had in it's last years. As for wrestling there's many things they can improve upon and there many things they need to get rid of. Paying huge salaries to old wrestlers may have killed WCW off in the end with the mad money and the power trips, and I think many fans are "smarter" now, and with the changed face of wrestling that ECW / Cruiserweights gave us, it's more beneficial to have someone who can really whack a good match together than someone who is there for nostalgia and because he's a "name". So that along with others, in order to really make a big push for big success they need to set out a plan of pros and cons that would help them get along. if this was me on the team, i'd put up: PRO's X-Divison Gimmick matches / PPVs (Ultimate X - Lockdown - all good ideas to build on) 6-sided ring (I know what I just said above, but they could use this in some form at a PPV. like call it "OCTAGON PPV" (lol shit name I know). But use it like Lockdown where all matches are in a 6-sided ring (or combine it with lockdown and have a 6-sided all caged PPV). Some decent talent (will be reletively cheap compared to other promotions to keep, and some just need the right guidance to polish up in-ring and mic work) TV tapings in Florida to keep costs down - This is from a purely business point of view and is essential for them. They can easily take loads of PPVs on the road. Offers an alternative to WWE CONS: 6-sided ring as a permanent feature - I don't think it will kill them if they keep it though! No PPV Structure (like the big 4) to follow (as they guy said in his "fuck that shit vid on youtube") Entrance Music - Nuff said, bar 1 or 2 - it's shit. Period. Announce Team - Do fuck all for me. I enjoy Michael Cole and JBL 10 times more than these goons. Washed up has beens - They don't always pull in the crowds and they cost too much Tapings every 2 weeks - I think they at least need to knock this down to every week. Not nessacerily live, but compared to what WWE wrestlers are expected to do, turning up weekly to film a show is not bad at all.

First of all an Octagon has 8 sides, TNA uses a hexagon. WWE used to tape Raw two at a time, maybe even four I can't remember, it saves money for them right now.

[Innovator]

They're a lot of problems they have to deal with in order to contend, or even think of contending with WWE.

-Two hour timeslot, not so much as to get more TV programming, but it would give more people airtime to get over. Only people given a chance to get over nowadays are the established guys, not how it should work.

-Announce team. Someone let them know to shut up once in a while.

-Orlando fans. They need to move where they tape Impact. The fans are in it to make themselves over. They have a sense of entitlement which they shouldn't have. Someone compared them to ECW fans...but the ECW fans paid to get in, these douches just show up.

-Too many face/heel turns. They should freeze their roster for 3 months, have no turns in that process, make their creative team come up with stuff that actually is creative.

Just some observations; TNA has the opportunity to be a true alternative, but are just following in WWE's footsteps.

[The MAC]

They need to develope their own stars not wwe/wcw/old age home rejects. There are some really talented guys there but you can never tell as they just dont get to showcase their skills. There's this "cheapness" that lingers at TNA: The sloppy vignettes, those AWEFUL backstage promo's, Cornette being taken seriously on tv.

I think the booking team needs someone who's old school and can write a stable wrestling show. Someone to contrast Vince Russo's "new age" booking.

[Mooияakeя™]

Originally Posted by Jordan X First of all an Octagon has 8 sides, TNA uses a hexagon. WWE used to tape Raw two at a time, maybe even four I can't remember, it saves money for them right now.

Yeah as soon as I wrote that about the octagon I knew I was wrong, but was too tired to change it, so went to bed. - But you get what I mean with the whole 4+ sided ring. lol.

It may save money for TNA right now, but the question is asking in a "few years time". WWE doesn't do it anymore, and they're at the top of the pile. TNA is sticking steady on ratings and is just turning over a profit. So it's my thoughts they should do one a week, then maybe start moving it out, but staying close to Florida state so it "gets out a bit" weekly.

[Mooияakeя™]

Originally Posted by MacGyver007 They need to develope their own stars not wwe/wcw/old age home rejects.

Yup I agree and is what I meant by my "Washed up has beens" con and the "decent talent" pro.

I think I should add to mine

Angle's we care about - Not some random shit like VKM / CH. I just don't fucking get it. I don't care. They need to make me care as a fan, but more importantly to them, as a customer.

[The Naitch]

hopefully dead

[mrslackalack]

When TNA started people didnt think it would last a month and yet its been going on for over 5 years now. They still have ALOT of work to do but they are decent. At least theres an alternative to WWE out there.

[BigDaddyCool]

Originally Posted by FourFifty

I agree, but only with more fire.

[Kane Knight]

Originally Posted by mrslackalack At least theres an alternative to WWE out there.

No, there isn't.

[Bad Company]

I really want to see a WCW Style ring in there.

[Sepholio]

Come on. This is the company likely to put all their titles onto one man. ALL OF THEM, plus the IWGP title. That is almost as dumb as when WCW put the title on David Arquette, and we all know where they ended up.

*flush*

[Mr. JL]

I find is hilarious that TNA still does not charge the fans any money to get into the Orlando building for their television tapings.

$5 or $10 bucks... just anything

[Mr. Nerfect]

Originally Posted by Mr. JL I find is hilarious that TNA still does not charge the fans any money to get into the Orlando building for their television tapings. $5 or $10 bucks... just anything

That's what they should be doing. $5 for a TV taping, $10 for a PPV. It is more income than they currently have coming in, and more money is never really a bad thing.

I understand what TNA is trying to do for the most part. A lot of people don't, and they criticise for it. For example, Kurt Angle as first-ever TNA World Heavyweight Champion. So many people in the IWC have been bitching because Samoa Joe didn't get the belt. This was to decide the first Champion, and Kurt Angle has the best resume out of everyone in TNA. He is a great choice to establish the belt.

I think to really improve their quality, they need to start thinking more like an indy fed. That's why so many guys like Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Senshi, Alex Shelley and Homicide signed with them in the first place. Now a lot of those very same people want to leave. That's because TNA has tried too hard to be sports entertainment.

TNA is loved by Spike TV, so they will probably have a home. They need to get that second hour, though. For the most part, especially when it comes to PPVs, TNA has been very good with using time as much as possible. I'm hoping that they get a second hour on Spike, and another two-hour slot on another network. Too much TNA? Not when you look at their roster. Their main event scene arguably consists of Kurt Angle, Christian Cage, Jeff Jarrett, Samoa Joe, Abyss, Sting, AJ Styles, Eric Young, Robert Roode, Chris Harris, James Storm, Rhino and Tomko. Some guys are just there because they are associates, or in a stable, of a main event guy, but that is a lot of talent. Four hours a week would allow better pacing of these guys, and perhaps an upper-midcard division for some of the guys like Tomko, Eric Young, Rbert Roode, Chris Harris and James Storm to wet their chops.

They also need to part ways with old talent. I understand why they wanted Don West in the early days. He was all they could get. Now they have Raven under contract. He's a great talker, he has some significant in professional wrestling, he's done the job before, and if you've heard him comparing the build of a match to masturbating, you'd know he can be quite funny when he needs to. Raven should replace Don West as colour commentator of TNA as soon as possible. Kevin Nash is another candidate, but I think he is too unreliable from a substance standpoint, as funny as he is. Just have him hang around Alex Shelley more.

Speaking of getting rid of old talent, there are so many guys in TNA who can be released without any harm to the company. It saves TNA money, and it frees up room. It's a part of the business, and TNA needs to make some crucial cuts. I think four of those cuts come in the form of BG James, Kip James, Brother Ray and Brother Devon. I'm sorry, but all four guys stopped being relevent after they left the WWE and couldn't use their real names anymore. Have them job out good to The Steiners and The LAX, and then let's forget they were ever on the roster. Rick Steiner could probably be released, as well. Scott is the one who contributes the most.

This brings me to my next point. Scott Steiner is apparently going over to Japan soon, to work in AJPW. I think a deal like this is really good for TNA, and if they developed a relationship with AJPW, and traded some talent back and forth, it would be great for both companies, I think. Minoru Suzuki defending the AJPW Triple Crown in a TNA ring is something which could be quite special. The WWE doesn't like to admit anyone exists outside them, TNA forming relationships with Japanese and independent promotions could help them appear different. I guess Ring of Honor and TNA are competitors now, but if TNA tried to, I'm sure ROH would be eager to have the occasional ROH match on TNA television, while they get back some of the talent under TNA contract until 2009 for the occasional appearance.

But yeah, I think the most growing TNA can do is in their attitude. I think they should stop trying to be like the WWE, and start relying more on the wrestling world outside WWE, because that is really what TNA thrives on.

[Kane Knight]

So if they charged 5 bucks a head, how many people do you think they'd put in the seats?

I know it'd be more, but the question is what the tradeoff would be.

[Pepsi Man]

Originally Posted by Alienoid06 Speaking of getting rid of old talent, there are so many guys in TNA who can be released without any harm to the company. It saves TNA money, and it frees up room. It's a part of the business, and TNA needs to make some crucial cuts. I think four of those cuts come in the form of BG James, Kip James, Brother Ray and Brother Devon. I'm sorry, but all four guys stopped being relevent after they left the WWE and couldn't use their real names anymore. Have them job out good to The Steiners and The LAX, and then let's forget they were ever on the roster. Rick Steiner could probably be released, as well. Scott is the one who contributes the most.

So wait, they should release Team 3D, but keep the Steiner brothers?

[Mr. Nerfect]

Originally Posted by Pepsi Man So wait, they should release Team 3D, but keep the Steiner brothers?

No, I said Rick could be released, as well. Scott Steiner is the one they should keep, because he helps their relationship with All Japan, and he's been pretty great since he came to TNA. Team 3D might be a lot better now that they're heels, but they run into the same problem every couple of weeks. They become boring.

[Pepsi Man]

Originally Posted by Alienoid06 No, I said Rick could be released, as well. Scott Steiner is the one they should keep, because he helps their relationship with All Japan, and he's been pretty great since he came to TNA. Team 3D might be a lot better now that they're heels, but they run into the same problem every couple of weeks. They become boring.

You said Rick "could" be released, like an afterthought almost...and honestly, in TNA, the whole roster becomes boring every few weeks. It's in every TNA contract.