Shining a Spotlight 12.14.06: TNA's Turning Point

Posted by Michael Weyer on 12.14.2006

Another look at TNA's status and how Russo is turning into more of a problem than a solution. Plus, reader mail.

Welcome to the new Thursday afternoon slot for Shining the Spotlight. Sorry I couldn't give a heads-up about the change but I had put the column last week to bed when I was told I was being moved and picked this day as I usually need a little extra time after the weekend to put the column together.

Also, I know I missed the Turning Point roundtable but made the mistake of thinking the deadline was going to be on Saturday night. It's ironic, considering how Turning Point has inspired this week's column, putting off my Starrcade retrospective.

I know I spoke about TNA only a few weeks ago but after what's been going on the last few weeks and especially after Turning Point last night, I feel the need to vent a bit more. I still have a lot of hopes for TNA but sadly, what progress they have made is being undermined a lot. And a key cause of that is one of the IWC's favorite whipping boys, Vince Russo.

I said I was going to give Russo a chance when he started with TNA in September. And at first, he seemed to be going okay with a few unique moves like that reverse battle royal and such. However, over the last two months, Russo's imprint has become more and more visible on TNA and it's not a good one. Maybe I was being too optimistic, too hopeful that Russo had changed his methods and ideals. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. Sadly, Russo has thrown a lot of doubt onto the future of TNA under his control.

Let's begin with one of the biggest problems of all and that's the Voodoo Kin Mafia. Yes, it's an incredibly stupid name but I'll give Russo a break and admit it's hard to think up of a name to match the initials VKM. Of course, the obvious move would have been to simply forget it but Russo plunged ahead and now has the James Gang (which was a perfectly good name), begin to yell out about how they were the backbone of DX and this new reunion is horrible without them.

Putting aside how utterly unfunny their skits are (I'm a Studio 60 fan so I know about stuff that's not funny but those involved in creating it think is), the problems with this whole thing make TNA look more second-rate than they are. Indeed, that's the key problem, that Russo and by extension, TNA, think they're on an equal par with WWE and can make these pot-shots. Unfortunately, they're not and harping like this just makes them sound petty. The "million dollar challenge" is just utterly ridiculous. First off, does TNA even have a million dollars to give away? Second, do they honestly think Vince needs it? And third, do they truly believe anyone is going to buy the idea that Vince even pays attention to the VKM, let alone "wants them to stop?" WWE has barely acknowledged TNA's existence, let alone anything they do.

The one thing that has always aggravated the hell out of me with TNA is this constant delusion they have about being bigger than they truly are. A promotion that still runs 98% of their shows in front of a non-paying audience of under a thousand people cannot claim to be on equal standing with WWE. Unfortunately, Russo is apparently under the impression that they can and, just as he did in his WCW tenure, he's taking shots at the competition who are so far ahead. Also, Russo is making another key mistake he did in WCW, which is assuming every single fan is as well-versed in the Internet as he is and doing constant "insider jokes" that go over the heads of the casual marks. The result is that TNA is wasting time on the only show they have on two past their prime guys doing stupid sketches and cracks that basically give free publicity to WWE.

It was the same thing when Bischoff challenged Vince to a fight in 1998 and Goldberg challenged Austin. Both times, WWE rightly ignored it and this will probably be the same thing. Of course, Vince can always accept the challenge, make a million bucks and have VKM beaten down by DX, a match that will probably earn a few thousand more PPV buys so in essence TNA will have wasted a million dollars to make WWE more successful. But I'm sure none of that has entered Russo's mind.

Whenever a new booker arrives in a company, it's going to shake up plans. And unfortunately, that's been the case as Russo seems to have diverted, if not outright derailed, some of the pushes and long-term plans for some workers. Topping this list is Bobby Roode who TNA had really gone to work for with the videos on him choosing a manager and seeming to push him well. But now, they've killed that push with his constant losses to Eric Young and making him look like a jerk with Traci, which is just cheap heat. And on Young, Russo is actually managing to screw him up by having him go too far in the goofball range. Worse, they're giving him scripted stuff that just isn't as funny as the stuff he was improving so well. The "bikini contest" was just too much. Yeah, WWE does crap like this but TNA's entire line is that they're supposed to be better so they should be above this. Wasting a PPV on idiocy like this just hurts the company's image.

Speaking of image hurting, let's talk about LAX. People harp so much on Cryme Time being an insult, but where's the ranting on how they're turning LAX into "Mexicans are thugs" stereotyping? It started off okay with pride in their country but has now lowered itself to stuff like flag-burning and yelling about "whites are against us." This culminated at Genesis as Cornette stripped them of the tag titles, a decision the crowd booed loudly. When the crowd is backing the heels on something, you know you're making the wrong move and thankfully TNA seems to have recognized that by letting them keep the belts. But again, they keep harping on LAX being "disrespectful" while they're doing the same sort of sneak attacks and such other heels do. This uncomfortably comes close to saying that LAX is worse because they're Mexican.

It reminds me of a comment Russo made when he joined WCW back in 1999 in which he said you would never see the Mexican or Japanese wrestler over because "I don't want to sound like a big bigot or a racist or anything like that but I'm an American. If I'm watching wrestling here in America, I don't give a shit about a Mexican guy or a Japanese guy wrestling. I'm an American and that's what I want to see." It seems Russo is still stuck in that mentality which does not bode well for LAX. What's been saving them has been the fact they're hugely over with the crowd and have proven themselves well against some top teams and thus have won respect. They're still on top but the act is starting to shift into an uncomfortable stereotype.

For the rest of the tag scene, it looks like they're finally going with the AMW split that's been hinted at for months. It is a shame as Harris and Storm just gel perfectly and as I recall, when they tried singles in 2004, they didn't exactly meet with big success. It also robs TNA of a top team while the Naturals push, which seemed set to carry them to the top, has also stalled. True, the tag scene in TNA is still better by far than WWE but pushing the wrong guys while breaking up one of the better teams they've got isn't a smart move.

Moving onto the main title scene, as you may recall, every single guy on the Genesis roundtable, including me, predicted Sting would retain the title against Abyss so you can imagine the collective shock we had when Abyss won. Now, having Abyss as the champion isn't too bad an idea. I've always had a soft spot for the guy and I do agree it's been long overdue to give him a chance at the big belt. The way they did it, however, wasn't good. I know TNA has had this DQ rule for a while but how many times has it been mentioned before? At least giving fans a heads-up for it would have been a good idea. Then there's the fact that the match had brawling outside, interference, foreign objects aplenty and yet it takes Sting pushing the ref aside to earn a DQ. The worst part was that Abyss had been made to look weak with a loss to Angle and winning the belt in a match where he was completely battered. That's not exactly a convincing way to put over a new champion.

Now they have done some nice bits with Mitchell talking about how Sting has become as bad as Abyss with his attacks and such. However, Russo marred the segment with Sting trying to talk to Abyss by having him use Abyss' real name. This is yet another example of Russo's shoot style going too far. The whole point of Abyss' character is that he's a twisted monster and no one but Mitchell knows his origins and Russo helped stain that image by using his real name. Even WWE doesn't have people refer to the Undertaker as "Mark." They now seem to be trying to turn Abyss face, a dynamic that could be interesting but could also blow up in their face. I thought Rhino was more fun as the brutal monster but going face forced that to change and I'd hate to see it happen to someone as cool as Abyss.

Time to talk about the X Division, which is still suffering from TNA allowing Kevin Nash to turn it into a big joke. While I do have to admit that his commentary is pretty funny and has even gotten West and Tenay to make some good lines, Nash is making what was TNA's biggest asset look poorer. I'm truly afraid of this PCS thing as it sounds way too close to the AWA's Team Challenge Series which was a mess so convoluted I don't thank even Russo could have figured it out. At least the X title itself is more steady now. I was worried when Russo hot-potatoed it from Sabin to Styles to Daniels in as many weeks. But thankfully, Daniels is keeping hold of the belt and is just the guy to reestablish its credibility. True, I'd love to see Daniels in the NWA World title scene but it's nice to see him get a good run with the title again. However, Russo is throwing yet another of his baffling swerves into things but having Jerry Lynn suddenly side with Sabin, the guy who's been running him down, against Daniels, which makes no sense.

Speaking of sudden turns, there's AJ Styles. I'm not that thrown by the heel turn as I said back in May that trying AJ as a heel would be pretty cool. He's got the cockiness and the arrogance for it and I look forward to seeing him show it. I am a bit surprised, however, at how sudden it is and there seems no reason for him and Rhino to suddenly have this beef. They have helped build it up with his backstory but as there was no real connection between them before, it's hard to sell the AJ heel turn. Their match at Turning Point was good with AJ using the cheating roll-up to really put him over as bad with the crowd. Hopefully, they can make it really work as seeing a heel AJ as NWA champ fighting with Angle would be worth a lot of PPV buys.

I've been putting off talking about the whole "Base Brawl" thing they're doing now. Now, I realize they could use all the free publicity they can. And I admit, it even makes sense to have the White Sox guys back after the way they were hyped last year. Still, seeing some baseball guys wrestling is something even WWE wouldn't be pulling nowadays, let alone "the new face of professional wrestling." Once again, it cries back to all the celebrity tie-ins WCW had that helped turn it into a joke. We can only pray Russo doesn't get it into his head to have the baseball AJ win the X Division title.

Then there's the feud TNA is doing that's bringing in all the interest, which of course is Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe. Now I was worried after Genesis. All the hype and we get a thirteen minute match with Joe tapping out? I could forgive the lack of time but I was pissed as hell that Joe's first loss came to Angle. The whole point of the undefeated streak was that when Joe did lose, it would majorly put over the guy who pinned him. But Angle doesn't need that rub, he's got more than enough going for him. It was yet another example of TNA giving an outside guy a huge push off the bat over the older talent.

At least they got the rematch going at Turning Point which was a longer and better match. But even that had flaws with several minutes spent on the ankle lock battle and then Angle using that chairshot-bouncing-off-the-ropes bit which was a bit out of place for these guys. But making Angle tap out did give Joe some credibility back. I hope TNA holds off on the rubber match for a bit to give both men a break and build up to it better. This one should be the make-or-break classic we all hoped the first two could be and should be handled just right. Personally, I'd give the win to Joe but then I've been talking for months on how Joe should be challenging for the NWA title. Either way, it should give both men a boost again and show how TNA can still do top-notch action.

So TNA is doing some things right but a lot of the stuff they do is too much "Crash TV" and joking to really sell the company as a true alternative to WWE. I had hoped that the prime-time move would make them realize they have to beef up the Impact action but if anything it's gotten worse with more time on angles and skits than the in-ring stuff. Hell, even ECW shows give more time to matches. TNA only has this one hour to reel fans in and make them really want to buy the PPVs but they're not going to do it with Eric Young trying to get in shape for a bikini contest. It bears repeating that TNA doesn't charge for fans in the Impact Zone, they have to make their money with the PPVs. Give no reason to buy and there's no money to be had.

The biggest challenge for TNA creative is on the horizon. I'm talking about the inevitable return of Jeff Jarrett. TNA still seems intent on pushing Jarrett as a face, a move I just don't see working due to the long-standing hatred the Impact Zone fans have for him. The bigger worry is how Jarrett will effect the main event scene when he comes back. He and Russo go back a long way and Russo helped give Jarrett his big pushes in WWF, WCW and TNA before so it seems almost sure he'll be back in the title picture in no time. It will be different with Abyss and Angle around, not to mention Jarrett pushed as a heel, which Tenay and West will keep on selling even when the fans won't buy it. Right now, Jarrett's absence is a breath of fresh air for TNA, allowing the other talent to really flex and grow. But that growth will be cut down if TNA turns back into the Jeff Jarrett show.

I know this all sounds more negative than I usually go for. But I do enjoy TNA and it hurts to see a company with so much grand potential turning into the very product it was set up to be the contrast to. I know they want to be on a par with WWE but copying the worst aspects of the soap opera/swerves/kayfabe breaking style is not the way to do it. They have lots of talented athletes but making them look like jokes just hurts the company line. It also hurts their attempts to bring in new talent and some may balk at going to a company that's putting scripted stuff over in-ring action, the same kind of atmosphere the WWE has. Russo has some ideas but the worst parts of his writing style are coming out now and that's putting a major hurt on TNA. They need to focus on their strengths and what they got now instead of thinking ahead to the far future. And they certainly need to stop thinking they can compete full-on with WWE as an equal force, which is just idiotic. I'm hoping they can forge ahead because if they go under, it'll be a bad turning point for the business.



Mailbag's been pretty quiet lately. Nothing on my AWA article and even last week's ECW one didn't have much volume, making me wonder how many readers I really pull in. But here goes as Big EZ talks about my Survivor Series retrospective:

I liked your article on previous survivor series and am looking forward to this year's edition. The 3 traditional SS matches look cool, but I feel they should do away w/ any single matches and keep it strictly SS matches. For a 4th SS match, I came up with a RAW divas vs. smackdown divas match:

mickie james, torrie wilson, victoria, candice michelle, & maria
vs.
ashley, layla, kristal, michelle mccool, & jillian hall

Leave the singles matches (batista-booker, undy-kennedy, etc.) for other shows (like SNME).

I do agree it was better without singles matches but they are now part of the tradition and in some cases, it fits in with the calendar better. I am surprised they haven't done any Divas matches as that just seems a sure thing.


Onto last week's ECW column, Christopher Geer sent this rather loud message:

JUST ONE COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU SAID ABOUT VINCE GIVING ECW A CHANCE.I MUST DISAGREE WITH YOU ALL VINCE DID WAS USE LETTERS LIKE ECW TO TRY AND MAKE SOME QUICK MONEY ON TALENTLESS PERFORMERS LIKE KEVIN THORN-ALL IMAGE AND NO SKILL. MAYBE KEVIN THORNE HAS THE ABILITY OF RICKY STEAMBOAT(HA) BUT THAT IS JUST THE PROBLEM YOU WILL NEVER KNOW WHO HAS ANY ACTUAL TALENT BECAUSE THEY NEVER HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO PERFORM,HOW EXACTLY CAN YOU EVER EXPECT TO FIND OUT IF ANY WRESTLER HAS REAL TALENT WHEN YOU ARE ONLY GIVEN 2 1/2 MINUTES TO WRESTLE,I WILL FREELY ADMIT I WAS A HUGE WWF FAN FOR ABOUT 20 YEARS, NOW I WONT EVEN LOOK AT WWF WITH KURT ANGLE GONE MYSTERIO OUT FOR AT LEAST A YEAR,BENOIT ON THE BOTTOM OF THE PILE THER IS NO REASON AT ALL TO EVER TURN ON WWF WRESTLING IF YOU CALL BUMS LIKE JOHN CENA,BOBBY LASHLEY AND BATISTA BIG STARS THE WWF HAS PLENTY TO WORRY ABOUT BECAUSE THOSE GUYS ARE USELESS MAYBE JOHN CENA SHOULD STICK WITH HIS IDIOTIC IMAGE OF BEING A RAPPER. FANS SEEM TO THINK GOOD MIC SKILLS EQUAL GOOD WRESTLER-I AM NOT SAYING I EXPECT VINCE TO COMPLETELY CHANGE HIS FEDERATION TO SUIT FANS LIKE ME,BUT IT WOULD NOT HURT TO HAVE A PURE WRESTLING MATCH ONCE IN A WHILE,JUST FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT.FOR EXAMPLE I WAS AT A RING OF HONOR SHOW THAT FEATURED PAUL LONDON AGAINST MICHAEL SHANE AND THEY TORE THE HOUSE DOWN THE LIKES YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN,THEN HE COMES TO THE WWE AND DOES MOVES WE ALL HAVE SEEN A THOUSAND TIMES BY OTHER WRESTLERS WHATS IS THE POINT TO BRING IN NEW WRESTLERS JUST TO MAKE THEM DO MOVES OTHER WRESTLERS DO. FOR EXAMPLE LITA (WHO IN MY OPINION IS TERRIBLE)DOES 2 MOVES THE MOON SALT AND THE HURACANRANA,MY GRANDMOTHER HAS DONE THAT MOVE, DIFFERENT WRESTLERS SHOULD EQUAL DIFFERNET STYLES,REY MYSTERIO IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE HE IS WELL VERSED IN THE LUCHA STYLE OF WRESTLING BUT WHAT DO WE SEE, A VERY SILLY STUPID MOVE LIKE THE 619 EVERY,EVERY,EVERY MATCH. SOMETHING DIFFERENT WILL NEVER HURT A FED LIKE WWE,VINCE SHOULD TRY IT BECAUSE THE WWE/WWF WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT IS JUST AN AVERAGE WRESTLING COMPANY AT BEST- NOW AS AN ENTERTAINMENT ORG. I AM SURE HE IS CONDIDERED THE BEST BUT THE MATCHES THAT TAKE PLACE IN THE WWE THAT ARE CONSIDERED BIG MATCHES ARE A TOTAL JOKE TO ME.GETTING BACK TO A COMMENT I MADE ABOUT LITA BASICALLY FEMALE WRESTLERS IF VINCE WANTS PRETTY FEMALES TO WRESTLE IN THE WWE HOW COME HE NEVER WENT OVERSEAS FOR TALENT LIKE MANAMI TOYOTA,SHE IS NOT ONLY BEAUTIFUL AND SEXY BUT SHE CAN PUT ALL THE WOMEN WRESTLERS AND MOST OF THE MALE WRESTLERS IN THE WWE IN HER POCKET,NEVER MIND THE FACT THAT SHE IS JAPANESE THE MOVES SHE DOES HAVE TO BE SEEN TO BE BELEIVED,CAN ANY WWE FAN ACTUALLY SAY SHE IS BORING IF THEY SAW HER,THAT WOMAN CAN BRING A 80 YEAR OLD MAN OUT OF HIS SEAT,WWE FANS SHOULD BE EDUCATED ON WHAT GOOD WRESTLING IS FIRST BECAUSE THEY SURE WON'T UNDERSTAND IT IF THEY WERE NOT EDUCATED.THANKS FOR READING, CHRIS

I sent Chris a letter noting how TNA does the same lack of time for their Impact shows, which is worse as they only have one TV show a week to sell their talent. I agree WWE could do better looking abroad for female wrestlers but they still sell looks over talent, sadly. I also pointed out how putting in all caps was frankly annoying and he sent this reply:

YOU ARE RIGHT TNA DOES THE SAME NONSENSE BUT SAMOA JOE IS WAY BETTER COMPARED TO MAIN GUYS LIKE BATISTA,LASHLEY,CENA,HHH AND THE REST.I'D WATCH 2 MINUTE MATCHES WITH JOE ANYDAY OF THE WEEK NEXT TO THOSE BUMS,BY THE WAY I LIKE MENTIONING THAT JOHN CENA IS A BIG PILE OF WORTHLESS GARBAGE,I CAN SAY THAT OVER AND OVER AGAIN----PS WE SHOULD BE DISCUSSING THE LOST ART OF WRESTLING INSTEAD OF ME USING caps

I agree wrestling is worth talking about. I just wanted to say that's it harder to take your words seriously when you keep sending in all caps like that.


Joey has this to say on that column:


Hey man, just read your column and really, I couldn't agree more with most of what you're saying. In a way you're right, the ECW fans are partly to blame, but is clinging to loyalty and love for a defunct promotion long past its death really something that should be looked down upon?

Personally, I was really enthusiastic when the announcement was made that ECW was coming back. I didn't delude myself into thinking they would be presenting the same product we remembered from the classic days of the mid to late 90's. What I was hoping for really, was a modernized ECW with a big budget. Something that would have the feel, the soul, if you will of ECW, but without the constant wondering if this would be the week that the promotion went out of business or Vince or Eric swooped in and bought up ALL the talent. It just made sense to me... I mean the whole reason bringing back ECW was even possible is because of those obsessively loyal die-hard fans. The whole reason the ONS's were successful was because of the "ECW faithful", so in the end, when the product that is the new ECW ends up presenting content that not only seems to ignore the opinions of those same hardcore fans that made the comeback possible, but actually seems to go out of its way to put on a show that we DEFINITIVELY don't want to see, I can at least understand why most fans are lamenting the fact that Vince ever decided to bring it back.


Anyway, after December 2 Dismember I decided to stop watching wrestling. I was one of those diehards. Not just for ECW, but for WWF/E as well. I stayed loyal through the early 90's when the WWF was among the worst television ever broadcast. I stayed loyal when watching WCW was the "cool" thing to do. Since I'm 7 years old, I've loyally followed Vince's company, and I just can't anymore. I've had it. I'm tired of being disappointed and I'm tired of seeing no-brainer after no-brainer being botched for stupid reasons. It's sad because I never thought it would happen, but here I am, wondering what I'm going to do with my Monday nights now. I even wrote Vince a letter detailing my reasons for leaving (even though I know it doesn't have a prayer of getting anywhere near him, it was more for my own sense of closure).

Anyway, sorry this ended up being so long.

No problem, Joey. I think giving up on the sport totally is a bit much. TNA still has potential and if you can find it, ROH is awesome stuff. I can get how some older fans are getting tired of it. I had a period in 92-93 where my interest waned but returned with new developments in the sport. I think the same thing can happen if you give it the chance. Me, I see myself in for the long haul no matter what. I agree that Vince made a bad move not catering to those fans but as I pointed out, he might have thought it was too narrow a base to put the brand he was paying for at risk. The future will tell whether he was right or wrong.


Craig McNicoll has this last letter:

Weren't Paul Heyman and Jim Cornette in the WWE together for awhile, with Cornette being canned for
reasons unassociated with Heyman? Sure Cornette was doing OVW and Heyman was on, I belive, Smackdown at
the time but they were in the same company together if I was not mistaken.

I sent a letter back to Craig pointing out that yes, they were in the company but Cornette's never been a fan of Heyman's as he feels ECW was an insult to the traditional wrestling style Cornette was used to. I sent that in to Craig and got this reply:

Maybe, maybe not. I do see your point however. On the other hand, Cornette has problems with Russo as well and they're working together in TNA.

Actually, Cornette is not happy with Russo being around and some rumors are Cornette might want to quit soon. They are a clash of big styles and egos and it seems inevitable that will come apart soon.



Also around 411:

WWE vs TNA is back imagining Nitro vs Shelly

Quick Talkdown tries to save ECW

Julian counts the Top 10 Worst Moments of 06

Meehan continues his year-in-review stuff with ECW, raising great points on fan feelings of the promotion.

Piledriver Report also talks about ECW and Heyman's future.

Don't forget Triple Threat, Hidden Highlights, Column of Honor, Ask411, Fact or Fiction and the rest.


Check in next time at the new Thursday afternoon spot. For now, the spotlight is off.