411 Fact or Fiction 03.09.07: TNA Losing NWA, Austin’s Return, Angle, More

1. TNA is making the right move splitting from the NWA because the NWA name has no value left.

James Thomlison: FACT. See, I don’t like this question at all. I want to say fiction because yet forced to say fact. I do think it’s a fact that they are making the right move in the split. TNA has been growing for five years, and continues to grow. In that growth comes independence, individuality, uniqueness, etc. When the promotion first started, most would have laughed at you if you tried to convince them that a “TNA Champion” was credible in some way. That has changed now. You have known superstars on your roster that not only have you brought in but have built yourself; nobody is going to say that Kurt Angle isn’t a credible champion because his official title starts with TNA. They have gotten to the point where the names they have on that roster will legitimize the company having its own belts. That being said, you’ll have a hard time convincing me that the NWA has no value left. Maybe economically, and maybe in terms of size, stature, and importance in TODAY’s wrestling world. But there being nothing to the NWA name? Tell that to the Ric Flair’s and Harley Race’s of the world. The NWA’s contributions to the wrestling world are legendary, and although they may not be nearly as prominent, that’s no reason to forget past accomplishments.

Mathew Sforcina: FICTION. They aren’t making the right move because the NWA name has no value left. They are making the right move because TNA is going in a different direction and a different speed than the NWA is. The NWA name does have some meaning, problem is that you need the video library that Vince McMahon has in order to show it. If TNA was a WWE offshoot then they would be crazy to do this. But they aren’t, so it’s a smart move. That said, it does, possibly, leave open a cross promotion down the track, in a year or so. Joe vs. American Dragon, world title vs world title? Yes please.

Score: 0 for 1

2. The failure of WSX shows that there isn’t that much interest in “hardcore” wrestling anymore.

James Thomlison: FICTION. The failure of WSX shows that there isn’t that much interest in “hardcore” wrestling which happens to take place during a MUSIC show on a MUSIC network. It was doomed from the start. If any of the names on the roster were credible enough to enjoy some sort of mainstream (yes, MTV is mainstream) success, they’d already be on the roster. A half hour show doesn’t let you do ANYTHING. Those guys were unknown on week 1, and they were still unknown on week 3. Not even Russo can cram good wrestling, character development, and storyline progression into thirty minutes.

Mathew Sforcina: FICTION. Yeah, JT covered the points pretty well. 30 minutes and a bunch of unknowns on MTV does not spell success by any standards. It could have been ROH’s best work there, and it still would not have worked. However, DVD is calling, and WSX might have some, small future left…

Score: 1 for 2

3. The quality of WWE booking will go right back down immediately after WrestleMania.

James Thomlison: FICTION. Depends on who you ask really. You can please all of the people all of the time. I will use a personal example for this. Take SmackDown; to me it has been booked fairly well for I’d say the better part of at least nine months which would put it at last summer, so why would I feel that the booking would suddenly drop off just because the big show has come and passed? ECW’s booking has been a bit better, but I attribute that more to the New Breed vs. Originals storyline than I do to WrestleMania. RAW has been better for I’d say at least two months now, and as far as I’m aware, Shawn Michaels, John Cena, Edge and co. aren’t going anywhere after WM. So I’d say no, the E has it’s ups and downs and I think they’re having an up regardless of what shows are upcoming.

Mathew Sforcina: FICTION. …in that back down implies they have somewhere further down to get to. I keed, I keed. Seriously though, WWE tends to have a bit of a halo effect in the weeks after WM, as they deal with the aftermath of their WM matches. Now, ask about if the booking will be bad in a couple of months time, THEN you’d get a different answer.

Score: 2 for 3

—SWITCH!!!—

4. The fact that Steve Austin still gets bigger pops than everyone on the current WWE roster shows that WWE has yet to create a major star since the Attitude Era.

Mathew Sforcina: FICTION. Pops don’t automatically equal stardom. It sure as hell helps, but the Attitude Era fans and today’s fans are different. The business is less huge, hence the stars aren’t quite as mainstream. But that doesn’t mean that those who the WWE…oh screw it, doesn’t mean John Cena is not a major star. He is. But he don’t get Austin sized pops because half the crowd’s voices are softer and the other half are booing him. But the guy moves merchandise like Austin did, except to kids, has a movie that’s ended up doing quite well on DVD, John Cena is a major star. Just not an Attitude Era style one.

James Thomlison: FICTION. Completely agreed. John Cena is a perfect example of this, as Matthew noted. He got a bigger pop because he’s Stone Cold and we haven’t seen him in a year. Put John Cena on the shelf for a year, have him show up randomly on RAW sometime next March, and you’ll get a pop close to as big as the one Austin got. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not comparing the two, and while Cena is popular he isn’t anywhere CLOSE to Austin’s yet. Just adding to what Matthew said and reminding everyone than in many cases of superstar, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Hell, I miss Jericho more today than the week after he left!

Score: 3 for 4

5. Fans don’t care if pro-wrestlers like Kurt Angle used steroids.

Mathew Sforcina: FACT. Fans don’t care. Fans don’t care that RVD uses pot, that Austin has beaten up a woman, that CM Punk can’t keep his hands off Maria, that Kelly Kelly doesn’t know a screw job from a blow job. The rest of society damn well cares, however. Steroids are evil, says the media (except in those cases where due to injury they are needed to repair muscles…which Angle could so easily claim and be convincing about). People who use steroids are evil people. Ergo, says the media, Kurt Angle is evil. Fans have a really different set of criteria with which to judge wrestlers than society. Fans won’t care Angle did steroids. But they aren’t the ones who will crucify him for it.

James Thomlison: FACT. I mean, ….duh. Telling a wrestling fan that a wrestler uses steroids is like telling a baseball player that four balls equals a walk. Just common knowledge. As long as we can be entertained and pulled in emotionally – be it a ring, a field, a court – whatever, we don’t give two shits about what goes on in the back and what a wrestler or athlete does in their spare time.

Score: 4 for 5

6. Kurt Angle will never work a shoot fight from here on out.

Mathew Sforcina: FACT. Well, apart from the daily fight against sanity.

James Thomlison: FACT. I’ll have to assume you said more here and it got cut off, but I can’t say there was any more necessary. It just won’t happen. He might have gone bat-shit, but I can’t believe he drinks ALL of his own Kool-Aid about how great he is. Stepping into the ring with a professional MMA with any sort of experience under his belt is going to do nothing but get Kurt Angle fucked up. That, and I’d say after all he had to do to save his marriage, no WAY the wifey lets him do this. She clearly has the power in the relationship because she is the one who walked from he. It is up to HIM to make it work, not her.

Score: 5 for 6