Are We Having Fun Yet… 04.12.08 Total Nonstop Dissapointment

Now with that out of the way, it’s time to get down to business. TNA has been around since 2002 by my estimation. In the beginning the company, founded by Jeff Jarrett and his father Jerry Jarrett, was supposed to be an alternative to the normal programming found in Vince McMahon’s WWE. Working out of Orlando, Florida, TNA was supposed to be everything the older federation was not. The ring was fashioned into a rather unique six-sided shape, and the business was based on weekly PPV shows to keep costs down. The new edgy programming even had certain interesting rule differences. For example, any title could change hands due to a disqualification or count out. TNA at this point was not seen as any real competition to the WWE by either the fans or the McMahon-owned federation.

With Vince McMahon’s purchase of WCW in 2001, any and all competition ceased to exist in the world of professional wrestling. Though I still do find the current WWE product entertaining, I think that fans have been subject to seeing many of the same gimmicks, matches and story lines over and over again. As TNA began to grow and even get its own primetime wrestling show, the WWE took notice. The two companies seemed to be keeping a casual business relationship; WWE even advertised TNA programming on their home site WWE.com. However, at this year’s Wrestlemania the shit really hit the fan.

TNA made several attempts to hijack some of the WWE crowds at Wrestlemania, which took place in Orlando. There were several trucks in the area with TNA advertising, TNA wrestlers near the arena and even an attempt to fly over the Citrus Bowl itself with an advertising banner. Most of these efforts were thwarted by the WWE, who somehow found out about them before most of the damage was done. One thing, however, may have put a WWE superstar in some very hot water.

All WWE superstars were told to stay away from TNA employees. Robbie McAlister, however, went against the WWE’s wishes and purchased tickets to the TNA show that week. As McAlister sat and enjoyed watching the show, TNA cameras picked him up in the arena and announced his presence to the world, but more importantly they called him out to the WWE management. The incident caught McAlister looking like this:

Notice the “Oh Shit” look on his face. This brings me to my first problem with TNA: when you are a new, upstart company you will get NOWHERE looking like the bad guy. Let’s look at all the success that Paul Heyman had during the era of ECW. Heyman attracted what is arguably the most passionate, loyal group of fans of all time by focusing on how his small company was putting itself up against the likes of corporate giants Vince McMahon and Ted Turner. TNA is never ever going to be an alternative to the “evil corporation” that the WWE is if it plays the role of the villain. TNA pulled a really awful move on a guy who just wanted to go out and support his friends at a show, and they come out as the people who are probably going to cost this man his job. I have to say TNA you just pulled an:

ASS MOVE!!!!

Moreover, the Wrestlemania takeover itself was a bit of shady business. TNA has to go out there and win their fans with the quality of their shows. By panhandling for people to attend their tapings they’ve sent a message that they have to stoop to advertising gimmicks for support. TNA has a locker room filled with great talent; they do not need to send people out to try and scalp an audience from the WWE. Would the story of David and Goliath have been anything memorable if David was an asshole? A little humility goes a long way in this business, and TNA is plugging itself more shamelessly than the Paris Hilton Sex Tape.

TNA is building itself up to compete with the biggest dog on the block. And this is a great move because the best thing for the wrestling industry is competition. Look at the fun we had during the attitude era and the Monday Night Wars. Wrestling promotions need this sort of stimulus to keep them edgy and innovative. Vince McMahon can sell the same main event for several PPVs because, honestly, we can’t find the quality of his productions anywhere else. So, what can TNA do to put itself in the best position to take on the WWE? Well, let’s take a look shall we?

When the Monday Night Wars were in full swing, we knew WCW to stand for something other than “World Championship Wrestling.” To many young fans (in the greater NYC area at least) WCW stood for “Wheel-Chair Wrestling.” One of WCW’s biggest problems was its habit of signing veterans who were way past their prime. Older wrestlers like Scott Hall, Scott Steiner and Kevin Nash were all regulars on WCW programming. TNA is starting to have a very similar problem. They feature the same three veterans (and more) on their program, and they’re even older now. When Kevin Nash is still on your roster it is very hard to dispel arguments against your programming. TNA has to not only feature younger talent like AJ Styles; they also have to stop featuring should-be retirees.

As an alternative to the very heavyweight-centric style of WWE wrestlers, TNA prides itself on its unique and fast-paced X-Division. Why the powers that be in TNA decided to stop doing this is beyond my own personal understanding. The X-Division was my favorite part of TNA. Everything the company stood for seemed to be exemplified in this group of matches.

The ring’s shape, while unwieldy elsewhere, seemed to be perfect for the high-speed X-Division matches. If TNA was supposed to be the “alternative” to wrestling as usual, this division was their number one selling point. TNA must have seen things differently, as the division has been pretty much ignored since Team 3-D ran train through it, defeating every wrestler on the division roster. TNA has buried their best division, and it seems like a tall order to build it back up since so many wrestlers were beaten by all of 2 men. TNA has to reestablish this area’s credibility and focus on why it is different from the WWE.