"
But they'd still outdraw Bound For Glory on PPV.
RIMSHOT."
Not hate-mail, but to be honest there does seem a side to most smarks that almost revels in TNA not getting things right.
Thoughts?
Not hate-mail, but to be honest there does seem a side to most smarks that almost revels in TNA not getting things right.
Thoughts?
I gave them the benefit of the doubt for more than a year of my time, and they gave me Aces & Eights and a Joseph Park storyline that I got invested into and then saw it go less than nowhere. In fact, he ended up as a comedy jobber. It's not even that they do stupid stuff on occasion, it's that they do the SAME STUPID STUFF that they've done before and it keeps blowing up in their face. In fact, they do the same stupid stuff that WCW did before them, not limited to hiring the PEOPLE who were in charge of the stupid stuff that WCW did, and they never learn. So as much as I'd like to see competition for Vince, this is not gonna be it, and they might as well raze it and start new with something else because the TNA "brand" means nothing.
Are there any of the old territory promoters still around? The modern age of indy wrestling would actually work - as Vince seems to prefer sports entertainers, the purists on the indy scene would flock to a well-promoted professional wrestling promotion with decent pay. Crockett/Sapolsky could make enough money to keep Spike happy, and as long as Dusty isn't around hopefully Crockett can't be worked.
ReplyDeleteI know I'm swiping at air, but dammit I miss professional wrestling.
ReplyDeleteI'd make a joke about gallows humor and Aces & Eights, but I'm a few onths too late.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest competition to Vince would be the first company who gets a national TV that blends MMA with wrestling. Basically use MMA matchmaking to set up wrestling matches. The TV show would be a mix of Raw/Primetime/Sportscenter.
ReplyDeleteHalf hour of in studio analysts with 45 minutes of wrestling. No more non title matches, and World title matches only happen on PPV. Matches on TV would be used to decide rankings and the TV main event would be to determine a title's number one contender and once every month, a lower level title match. No storylines. After a PPV match is announced, the feud evolves through interviews between the two wrestlers.
You subtlety introduce wrestling cliches into the show. The matchmaker names a controversial number one contender, champion keeps ducking a wrestler, manager cheats. Old school with state of the art wrestlers. Treat it like a total shoot.
You still have to be invested in the characters though, and that's the catch. I actually think the flip-side would be more effective, a shoot fighting company with wrestling sensibilities. Where the guys and gals can kick ass for real and also be able to pitch a story and cut a promo, etc. Basically just clone of a bunch of Chael Sonnens, but with a crisply booked show around it. I think UFC tries this, but doesn't try this at the same time.
ReplyDeleteAlready tried that. They called it "Brawl For All"
ReplyDeleteIt's dead. Let the corpse rest in peace.
ReplyDeletePro wrestling ain't in heaven, it's down there..... IN HELL.
ReplyDeleteWhat? I'm not talking about mixing MMA fights with pro wrestling. I'm talking about mixing in MMA matchmaking.
ReplyDeleteI didn't mean it sound like you cut out wrestling promos and characters. I meant you hide it. Instead of cutting a promo in the middle of the ring with a t-shirt and wrestling trunks on, you cut a wrestling promo in the studio disguised as a 1 on 1 interview with the analyst.
ReplyDeleteDid you hear that the Funk brothers are going to start a new promotion?
ReplyDeleteTheir first PPV is called Bound For Dory.
They totally ripped off Mr. Feldman, who came up with Bound For Corey.
ReplyDeleteAces & AIDS?
ReplyDeleteI saw some wrestling show on TV the other day, it had philanderers, cheaters and freaks running around. I think it was called "Bound For Maury".
ReplyDeleteI thought I was watching wrestling, but it was gay porn. What was the name of it...? Oh yes, it was Bound For Gloryhole.
ReplyDeleteWhat about, like, a football league, except it's... (E)XTREME.
ReplyDeleteI still think you could make TNA work, but I think most hardcore fans would rather buy into a "little engine that could" promotion (think NXT, ECW, or even late 80s NWA) than WWE-lite.
ReplyDeleteFirst, change the damn name. There's nothing wrong with Impact Wrestling or some new name stemming from that. TNA is a 5th grade-level double entendre and should die a quick death. Even TNA fans don't give a crap about the TNA name or history--change it already.
Second, hire bookers and agents that even WWE homers like me respect and can get behind. Jake Roberts, Raven, Jim Ross, Paul Heyman, Gabe Sp-not spelling his last name, Kevin Nash, Foley--any guy with a high wrestling IQ, is willing to stay OFF camera, and doesn't subscribe to the sillier elements of the WWE sports entertainment model. Obviously, some guys are more likely to be obtained than others.
Third, put more effort into production. Notice that I didn't say more money, just more effort. Only the main event last night was produced at a high level in terms of build-up, videos, entrances... so why couldn't they have tried with many of the other matches? *Man Mountain Rock shrug*
Fourth, just continue to poach the right talent. Their roster is pretty solid as it is, and they probably only need cosmetic surgery as opposed to reconstructive surgery.
I often make that mistake.
ReplyDeleteWWJBD?
ReplyDeleteI'd rather start seeing some of the people who put it there join it in the ground.
ReplyDeleteLooking right at you (sadly NOT through a scoped .50 cal sniper rifle), Russo.
I really want them to be good. But they just put the title on a guy with anti-charisma.
ReplyDeleteThe Guerreros will run competition across the Rio Grande with Bound for Gory.
ReplyDeleteAnd Chavo's winning their title. NO BUYS.
People are snarky about TNAs failure because theyve done dumb stuff. They have a cable timeslot, had an enegry conglomerate as its backer, and a roster with some workable talent. While Im not gonna be delusional and say we could fix all of TNAs problems, there are simple obvious things theyve been doing continually wrong for awhile.
ReplyDeleteIts like that co worker you have that always does shit wrong...at first you try to help him but after he continually keeps making the same mistake, you just get fed up with them.
I've been saying that to a friend of mine for years
ReplyDeleteClash of the OOOOO CHAVO
ReplyDeleteJosh Brolin?
ReplyDeleteThat sounds frightfully boring.
ReplyDeleteThey should never have chosen Russo over Cornette.
ReplyDeleteWhere do you base it out of to start, and what's the touring schedule? (Not day-by-day, but just a weekly "snapshot")
ReplyDeleteJesse Baker?
ReplyDeleteLOL at the WWE Network. They going to tease it to investors every year before WrestleMania??
ReplyDeleteUntil there's a launch date announced, it's not happening. And I can't imagine the WWE getting it up & running in 4 months with ZERO distribution deals announced yet. Those dont just materialize.
Unless the rumors of the WWE Network being like HBO, where you pay $5-10 a month for it, are accurate. In which case, they shouldn't even bother with it.
Has anyone ever proven that this "energy company" actually does anything besides shovel panda dung?
ReplyDeleteHe's not even the best champ named AJ in wrestling.
ReplyDeleteAnd then their company will be taken over by the Andersons.
ReplyDeleteAnd they'll run their first PPV called...Bound for Gene.
WWE Network: bignasty said it perfectly. When (if?) it happens, it happens. Much like TNA's "death", stories on it may be exaggerated for effect.
ReplyDeleteHogan: (crowd chant) DON'T COME BACK! DON'T COME BACK!
RAW: You know the drill.
Fernum: And this was on PPV because?...
Carter: Quick, snarky name for the move? I've got nothing at the moment.
Have Bully Ray and AJ styles have a 'soap on the bathroom floor' match
ReplyDeleteHe should be trying to distance himself from the Derrick Bateman character, not tie the two together. These two characters more than normal are NOT supposed to be the same person. More TNA stupidity.
ReplyDeleteBring back Monty Brown
ReplyDeleteI'd pay $5-10 a month for it.
ReplyDeleteIf the $10 a month model was sustainable, 24/7 would have more than 80,000 subscribers or whatever the last number reported was.
ReplyDeleteI wish there was a way to get 24/7 on Dish or Direct TV. It sucks lliving in the middle of nowhere.
ReplyDeleteIf it was uncensored stuff from World Class, Mid South and Memphis. I'd buy it.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone want to join the BoD Fantasy Basketball league? There is one spot left. Draft is tomorrow at 9:00pm EST
ReplyDeleteI watched an old westeren themed show called Bound For Rory Calhoun. It left me in good standing.
ReplyDeleteI swear to GOD if WWE Network doesn't know what to show at 6:05 on Saturday...
ReplyDeleteIf 24/7 had serious content on it, and not a couple days' worth that lasts two weeks, it'd be worth the $10
ReplyDeleteAs it stands... sometimes the content matches the value, sometimes it's not even close.
Did anybody even notice that they're basically doing exactly what WWE is doing with their main program? A popular crowd favorite campaigns and wins the world title and the evil boss doesn't want him to. They are literally just copying WWE move for move now. Being WWE Lite is one thing, but being so desperate that they've resorted to just copying what the competition is doing and hoping people pick their shitty version? TNA is dollar store cola at this point.
ReplyDeleteThey used to just be infurating by making stupid decisions & always losing momentum on any good thing they had, but now they've progressed to being actively insulting, treating its audience like a bunch of fucking morons who won't notice their complete bankrupcy of creativity and integrity.
The 50 or so people who watch NXT regularly already know he's Derrick Bateman. It's not a big deal.
ReplyDeleteI really didn't expect he'd keep the bulldog driver as a finisher, since it's become so identifiable with Dean Ambrose. But then, I don't think it's the worst thing in the world for one guy to have the finisher of a well-known guy in another company. Disco Inferno used to give guys the Stunner, for crying out loud.
ReplyDeleteEven with a launch date announced, I won't believe it until I actually see Mean Gene introducing the first show.
ReplyDeleteHaving a 'joke' character like Disco using the Stunner was possibly an intentional shot at Austin and WWF (although it didn't work).
ReplyDeleteBut for guys who are 'closer' in profile, I think Arn Anderson used the DDT as a finisher in JCP/WCW at the same time Jake was using it in the WWF. It used to be a lot more common for guys in different promotions to have the same finisher or different finisher.
when ec3 hit that movie, i was like '1st tna has an amazon bodyguard for their female champ, not unlike aj and jimmy snuka jr.-ette, and now they have someone hitting a very particular kind of ddt i've only ever seen elsewhere... also in wwe
ReplyDeletewas hoping there'd be some update on whatever was going on with kurt. the HoF rejection seemed really weird. i noticed his face when he was taking the watch out and was looking at it while sting talked, and he didnt look happy. he didnt look.. anything. so either he's *really* good at selling his ambivalence, or something was up
ReplyDeletesame thing with the ending of his match: it felt a touch too legit to be a him (er, an angle)
i'm quite happy with 24/7: world class, nwa, mid-atlantic, worldwide, various one-off matches
ReplyDeleteWhat's the email address?
ReplyDeletebbayless781@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteTrying to watch some of Bound for Glory earlier after just watching BOLA 13, baaaad idea
ReplyDeleteBingo. And I love this EC3 character regardless.
ReplyDeleteWe on tha mutha-ship, Tony!
ReplyDeleteI've not seen the guy's finisher yet, but if it's a 'Carter' using a DDT-type move then I'll go with 'The Check Bouncer'.
ReplyDeleteLos Matadores should get a human manager. Maybe Olé Anderson.
ReplyDeleteBuddy Rose, Michael Hayes... I never got the obsession with each wrestler having 'his' finisher. It leads to some shitty finishers.
ReplyDeleteI would definitely need to see what kind of content they offer - if I even have it available on my cable provider. If they stuff it with a bunch of "original" programming like Total Divas and that Legends House stuff, I may pass.
ReplyDeleteMMA still needs to start mixing in wrestling elements.
ReplyDeleteWhen does Dana White start doing ladder matches and three way fights.
THREADJACK:
ReplyDeletehttp://nodq.com/wwe/384383199.shtml
CM Punk and AJ Lee are dating. Add that to CM Punk's extensive list of sexual conquests.
jebediah bartlett?
ReplyDeletei heard it's on shaky legs, though
ReplyDelete...too soon?
Watched BFG on youtube this morning after seeing the results last night, and holy shit guys, this company is absolutely finished. I mean, this shit was just sad to watch. FOr as much shit as we've given TNA over the years, the state of the company now is infinitely worse than it was even two years ago.
ReplyDeleteJust listen to that crowd last night— completely fucking dead. Nobody is over, nothing matters. Magnus-Sting looked like something off an indie high school gymnasium show in terms of crowd apathy and pathetic in-ring action.
James Storm, who last year looked like he was on his way to becoming the face of the company before they fucked him over, is now fat and jobbing to Zack Ryder knock-offs and gets pretty much zero crowd response.
Jeff Hardy, who in WWE was at John Cena-levels of heat, now means nothing.
They pulled a swerve on their fucking HALL OF FAME and now that means nothing.
Kurt Angle and Roode had the best match of the show? Yeah I guess, but it still ended with a completely fuck finish in which Angle somehow beat himself with his own finisher. Because God forbid if Angle put Roode over.
Ah, you know what? Who cares if ANgle puts Roode over or not. Nobody, that's who. Nobody in that crowd would have cared one way or the other as it was obvious that 90% of them walked into that building with comp tickets. It could have been a taping of Maury for all most of those people cared.
Feel the excitement of Magnus vs Sting!
http://s12.postimg.org/dhkpw3j3x/Screen_shot_bfg_2013.png
Can't beat the guy decked out in the Hogan costume texting in the front row during the semi-main event.
Someone posted here the other day how crazy it is for us to be rooting for TNA to fail. Well, after watching the saddest pro wrestling pay-per-view since "Legends of Wrestling", I'll say this: TNA has already failed. It's over. I really, really hope that they go "out of business" to the degree that the company is sold, because they have absolute zero chance of being at all worthwhile under Dixie Carter and Eric Bischoff and Hogan. They need to be sold to Spike/Viacom or ANYONE else, and Bischoff needs to go, along with a huge turnover in this completely dead-in-the-water roster. Last night's show was a fucking death knell for the ages.
Speaking of "competition" for Vince, what are the chances of NJPW trying to steal US market share somehow or vice versa? I have no idea how the mechanics of this would work but it seemed like an interesting thought.
ReplyDeleteTrust me, I know it very easily could be. This isn't an idea you could start doing tomorrow because outside the WWE, the talent probably isn't out there to pull it off. But if you could pull off the Primetime dynamic of the hosts being just as entertaining as the wrestling, it would have a shot of being a true alternative to WWE.
ReplyDeleteIn a perfect world, Vegas, to make it seem like it fits right in with MMA and boxing.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing, and I ask this in all seriousness.
ReplyDeleteSo estimates are saying there were about 2,000 - 2,500 people in the crowd last night. Do we think that was more or less than the amount of people who bought the show on PPV?
And yeah, that sounds like an asshole thing to say, but I think it's very possible that they drew that small of a number. If BFG last year got around 15-20k buys, I don't think it's out of the realm of possibilities for this year's card to have dropped by 10-15k buys or so. I mean, probably not, and yeah they probably got over 10k buys, but I don't think it's a guarantee. The product really fell off a cliff this year, and AJ Styles vs Bully Ray is an absolutely horrible headlining match. Plus Jeff Hardy was completely put in a non-drawing spot on the show.
Anyway, really curious as to what the number ends up being.
Everything you say here is dead on, but it has to start with the company being sold and Dixie/Bischoff/Hogan being run out of town. (And yeah, Hogan is "unsigned", but since WWE doesn't seem interested in his washed up ass I assume Hogan will be back in TNA soon enough.)
ReplyDeleteSpike itself needs to buy the company, maybe shut it down for a month, hire a competent executive team (obviously Shane McMahon as President, Jim Ross as lead announcer and head of talent relations, and Shane/JR/Gabe/Raven as a creative team would be the dream), gut the roster, and completely re-boot the thing.
Impact Wrestling federation, something like that.
But as long as Carter/Bischoff run the place, it's completely worthless.
Lucky, Lucky fucker.
ReplyDeleteYes but they will only show an hour if the Braves are playing.
ReplyDeleteHe does look like he could kick anybody's ass, but he damn sure can close it.
ReplyDeleteAwww him and Lita broke up? :(
ReplyDeleteGood for him, not only is she pwretty, she has that geeky side and a love for wrestling that he shares. Good for her as well. Actually, I don't think I would turn down a three way opportunity with them.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't see it happening, while they both might technically be "wrestling" WWE and NJPW are so different that there's not going to be much of a crossover audience. Even many IWC types don't give a shit about puro. If NJPW wants a bigger U.S. presence they'd better off targeting UFC fans than WWE fans. And I'd imagine that WWE trying to make a serious run in Japan just wouldn't be cost effective.
ReplyDeleteSome sort of working agreement between NJPW and WWE wouldn't be the worst idea in the world though. Creative has nothing for someone? Send them to Japan for a while. And I bet Karl Anderson would get over like a motherfucker in WWE. Anderson vs. Punk or Bryan? There'd be so many snowflakes that kids would get the day off from school.
Good post. I dont know much about the business model of NJPW, even I though I like the product.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a huge fan, probably because I don't really like real shootfighting, much less worked shootfighting, though I do like some of the junior stuff. I don't know much about the NJPW business model either, but they do seem to know their limits and not take unnecessary/stupid risks. Outside of the cross-promoted Kollision in Korea show I don't think they've ever run a show outside of Japan, and while I remember hearing about them having some kind of TV deal in Europe I think it was year or 2 behind real time. Outside of their iPPVs (because fuck it, why not?) they don't seem vert interested in international expansion. Hell, AFAIK you've never been able to buy DVDs or tapes of any Japanese company in the U.S. besides FMW. Puro is kind of like Formula 1, in that it's just too much of a niche thing to succeed in the U.S., at least financially. Whoever runs NJPW now (Inoki is out, right?) is smart enough to realize that. Bernie Ecclestone, corrupt asshat that he is, does not.
ReplyDeleteThis is a serious question, not a snarky "I'm a big fan of one company and despise the other one" thing, but can we call ROH the #2 company in the U.S. now? Probably not, right? But with each day that goes by you could at least make the case that they're close to tied.
ReplyDeleteBTW, with Chikara gone what would people call the #4 promotion? As much as I hate to say it, it almost has to be CZW.
PWG surely?
ReplyDeleteNever mind how many people were in the crowd. How many of those people actually PAID to get in?
ReplyDeleteI'd put CZW above PWG right now. From a financial perspective, not a quality one, obviously.
ReplyDeleteFor my money PWG is the best wrestling promotion in the United States. Financially I am not sure where they sit though as they only run one show like every 6 weeks
ReplyDeleteWe all noticed it a few weeks ago when Dixie cut the promo on AJ. And the reaction was pretty much what you said.
ReplyDeleteShane?
ReplyDeleteI was able to get B+ tickets at the door 30 minutes before the show for less than a new shirt at Macy's. There's no way they grossed more than 60k on the whole gate.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great point. The junior stuff would be much more digestable for a north american audience. Either way I think if NJPW ever wanted to get a foothold in the US they would have to get some kind of promotion from the wwe, at least at first. I could see them gaining at least some kind of niche audience here but I don't know if they could get the whole million or so impactr viewers. The best bet for any kind of #2 promotion would be to somehow get roh in tnas spot (basically just a national cable deal, with network financial support)
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't even know where to look it up, but I bet ROH is on TV in as many markets as TNA, plus you can watch ROH TV online at their website if you don't have a Sinclair channel in your area (disregard that last part if you can watch Impact at TNA.com or wherever). ROH's problem isn't a bad TV deal or lack of network support, it's a lack or marketable talent.
ReplyDeleteLet's try to think out of the box and name someone other than a Bischoff, Hogan or McMahon.
ReplyDeleteI'm probably the biggest TNA supporter on this board, but Scott has given them more than a fair shake. He was pretty high on them as recently as a year ago. I DO think there are a lot of WWE homers who hate anything that isn't run by Vince, but Dixie has made a company that is more than deserving of any amount of ridicule.
ReplyDeleteI'm friends with this girl who's, we'll say, not very smart. She's sweet, and she means well, but she's dumb as shit. I find it uncomfortable to be around her in public because she says/does stupid things and I know everyone is laughing at her and she doesn't know it. I feel similar towards TNA these days.
ReplyDeleteHas CZW gotten any better or is it still that Zandig "extreme" bullshit. I really don't know much about the company outside of the Zandig interview and some awful meat hook match he was in.
ReplyDeleteany drummer knows that a "ba-dum tsshhh" sound isn't a rimshot. a rimshot is where one hits the head and rim of the snare simultaneously. what most people confuse with a rimshot is called a sting.
ReplyDeletewhy do I care about such things?
Hey, I'm Australian. I have as much interest in basketball as a cat has need for pyjamas.
ReplyDeletewell said.
ReplyDelete