My Take On 9.25.07: TNA is Out of Excuses

Dear Total Non-Stop Action Wresting, Jeff Jarrett and Dixie Carter,

It is me again, your sometimes favorite and sometimes least favorite analyst Larry Csonka. I felt that it was time to write you a letter with the impending debut of Impact going to two-hours. I feel that this is an important topic and hope that you take to heart what I am about to say as a longtime, since day one, fan of the promotion.

You started off as a weekly PPV company, and while some of the shows were good and the concept bold, it was a financial failure. You lost a lot of money, lost your initial backer and had to scramble for new support. You found that and carried on. There were many good times, the inception of the X-Division, reviving tag team wrestling, the X-Cups, Ultimate X and showcasing a load of new talents to the world of wrestling fans. Sure there were bad times, the Dupp Cup and masturbating midgets; but the good for the most part outweighed the bad. I stayed with you and supported you.

You then said if you could only get a slot of regular TV, that the people could see this wrestling being reinvented. You got a slot at 3pm on Fox Sports Net. While a bad financial move, as you had to pay for the time, it was a step in growth and an evolution of your product. You were on the national stage and moving forward. I stayed with you and supported you.

Then you said monthly PPV would be the answer, you knew that the weekly PPV business would put you out of business. You made the move in 2004 and got onto monthly PPV. You began like a lamb with a meager showing, but then when XXX and AMW had their epic cage match rematch at Turning Point, the wrestling world was listening and you put them on notice that you were for real. It was a long battle, you lost a lot of money but the evolution of the product was there. I stayed with you and supported you.

From there you said that a prime time TV slot was the answer, so you dropped the FSN TV deal and went internet only as you negotiated the SPIKE TV Deal. You put on great Internet TV and great PPV, there weren’t a lot of watchers, but what you provided was great wrestling. You were on the rise and you got that TV deal with SPIKE TV 2-years ago. Once again it was another step forward, another evolution of the product and things were looking up. I stayed with you and supported you.

While you had a great roster of talent, one thing you said is that you needed star power. The roster was working hard, but you thought you needed more. It started small with popular wrestlers such as Raven and Rhino. You had Jeff Hardy, but he wasn’t in any condition to be there. Team 3D was the next big acquisition, the most decorated tag team in all of wrestling. DDP was in TNA, Scott Hall, Sean Waltman and Kevin Nash as well. You then signed Christian Cage and made a huge deal of it since he was a popular free agent, and then things got even bigger when you signed the ICON Sting. The pieces were in place, you got what you asked for, more recognizable stars to draw in the fans that weren’t watching. Finally, with his release, the golden goose was dropped into your lap when you were able to sign Kurt Angle one year ago. You had your great roster and you had your stars. You evolved yet again, and I stayed with you and supported you.

With the success of the UFC specials, which helped lead to monster buy rates, you then said that you needed hype specials before PPV’s. SPIKE granted you these specials. Sometimes they were hit and sometimes they were miss, but you had them. Sometimes you hyped them correctly and sometimes it seemed as if you forgot that you had them. But it again was another evolution of your product. I stayed with you and supported you.

You asked for mainstream attention, you had Tito Ortiz, Dennis Rodman, countless baseball and football players and the most recent addition Pacman Jones. They got you Sports Center moments at the expense of the hard working roster, many there since day one. You got what you wanted, and I stayed with you and supported you.

After all of that, the last request and goal was to get two hours in prime time. You said that this was the answer, the key to success. You claim that this will give more time to get to know the wrestlers, put on better and longer matches and to fully show what the TNA product has to offer. All I have been hearing for as long as I can remember it seems is that, “Once we get two hours in prime time everything will be fine.” Like it is a magical thing. Well you have it now, and I am with you and supporting you.

TNA, this is it. I supported you through all of this, I supported you through a ton of shit that you put on early on:
-I lived through Ed Ferrera and his stupid ass dreadlocks.
-I survived Don West’s early commentating days and his screaming “THIS IS TOTAL NON STOP ACTION” for a tornado DDT. And still doing worse.
-I saw a masturbating midget in a garbage can.
-I saw a tag team that dressed like penises and were called the Johnson’s. Richard and Rod (Dick and Rod, see the connection.)
-I cried through the Dupps and the “Dupp Cup.” (Possibly the weirdest and stupidest concept of a hardcore match involving a stick horse, spanking and an outhouse.)
-I lived through Rowdy Piper coming in and using TNA for his own personal shoot interview, although you couldn’t understand him anyway.
-I saw Sean Waltman, Scott Hall and others constantly given opportunities and throw them away.
-I put up with Jeff Jarrett’s ego.
-I put up with Vince Russo 3 or 4 times, whatever time we may be on here and all of his shitty booking.

I stayed with you and supported you.

But this is officially it. You have gotten everything that you have said that you needed to succeed. Everything you needed to compete, to be the best wrestling company in the world. October 4th will come and go, and you get a grace period because one week means nothing. But after 6-8 weeks come and go, and if you are still doing a 1.1 rating and 20,000 PPV Buys, I don’t want to hear anymore excuses. What could you possibly say? You have gotten everything you “needed.” You are now officially out of excuses. I stayed with you and supported you through out all of this, and will probably be here until the end, whenever that may be. But this is it; this is the time. This is your time. If you cannot succeed now, don’t blame the fans that have supported you through the years. Don’t blame me or others for a harsh review. Don’t look any farther than where ever you may be sitting, because you have no one to blame but yourself.

Sincerely,

Larry T. Csonka
Co-Webmaster
Wrestling Editor
MMA Contributor
411wrestling.com

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