Are We Having Fun Yet... 04.12.08 Total Nonstop Dissapointment
Posted by Gary Traverson on 04.12.2008
Check out this week’s column as 411’s Gary Traverson takes an in depth look at recent TNA blunders and offers some insights onto the current state of the company. In what ways can TNA change their course and offer wrestling fans a breath of fresh air? Click now to read all about it!
Well the biggest show of the year has come and gone, and usually things start to slow down in the IWC. This week, however, I am privileged to have so much to talk about in my column. The first (almost obligatory) shout out has to go to Ric Flair. Thanks for many years of great memories and matches – you'll be missed. Let me also say that yours was one hell of a final match. Leave it to the Nature Boy to make a room full of grown men cry. Happy send off Naitch!
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.
Well that's all for this week folks, tune in next week as I tackle the overuse of the standard handicap match. Thanks for reading, and I look forward to your responses.
Secondly trying to advertise during the competitions biggest show is smart business. Call it an ass move all you want, its intelligent.
Did you seriously call Scott Hall, Scott Steiner and Kevin Nash old in WCW? In 1999...
Steiner - 36
Hall - 40
Nash - 39
Its well known that in the later 30's is when wrestlers hit their prime, so calling them old in WCW is really off base.
Posted By: Curtis (Guest) on April 12, 2008 at 03:24 PM
Uhm...40, 39 and 36 are pretty damn old to me. TNA is pretty low for trying to mess around with the Wrestlemania ppv. It only shows like the writer posted how low they are. =P
Posted By: Guest (Guest) on April 12, 2008 at 04:21 PM
Yeah, some great business moves. What kind of message does it send when TNA's going crazy because one of WWE's JOBBERS happens to show up at their show?
Posted By: AJP (Guest) on April 12, 2008 at 04:33 PM
Totally agree on the old past it faces that TNA are focusing too much time on now, but I have to say I was a little dissapoined in the column.
There's nothing wrong with how you write but from the description on the main page I was expecting a large piece on how TNA has changed over the years and what they've done right and are now doing wrong in some depth. Instead it felt like half of it was about TNA and Robbie, TNA advertising in Orlando and then a bit tacked on at the very end about what they're not doing right at the moment.
I'm not giving you needless flaming like some have and no doubt will (ah the lovely IWC) but I was a little dissapointed is all.
Posted By: Col (Guest) on April 12, 2008 at 04:40 PM
Ummm Jericho is 37, Benoit was 40ish at WMXX, Angle is 40ish. 36 is old? Edge and Christian are 36 this year. Have you watched wrestling for more than 6 months? Wrestlers are like NHL defencemen, they dont peak until their mid 30's.
Posted By: Wooder (Guest) on April 12, 2008 at 04:51 PM
"Would the story of David and Goliath have been anything memorable if David was an asshole?"
Of course it would have. That's why I love replaying Big Show stomping on Mayweather's hand over and over again.
Oh, and congratulations for writing a completely useless column. I hate TNA as much as the next IWC smark, but people have been explaining the reasons far more eloquently than you for a long time now. Stop trying to be Csonka with the gimmick images and find something interesting to write about before you submit another column.
Posted By: Ange (Guest) on April 12, 2008 at 05:09 PM
It was Dixie Carter's idea to fly an airplane over the Citrus Bowl to advertise iMPACT!. The company TNA had an agreement with decided against flying the plane due to the weather, but TNA feels the company breached its contract since other planes did fly.
Highlander Robbie McAllister came to iMPACT! on 3/27 with his little son, since he is good friends with Johnny Devine. The two stood in line with fans and got tickets. He was trying to be as discreet as possible and that's why so many people were pissed off that TNA showed him on camera. It's also not that often that you get to spend time with your family and kids when you're on the road so much.
Larry Zbyszko was spotted in a Smokey Bones restaurant in Orlando during Wrestlemania weekend cutting promos of TNA. Zbyszko also put over his upcoming book.
Posted By: what ever man (Guest) on April 12, 2008 at 05:34 PM
Who the blue hell is Gary Traverson to offer insight on TNA? Who is he? TNA's recent blunders? What blunders? Does he mention that TNA is now turning a profit? Something WCW and ECW almost never did? All the hate from the IWC smarks and 15 year old WWE fan boys isn't going to change that.
Posted By: Stewie (Guest) on April 12, 2008 at 06:01 PM
"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 six sided ring didn't come until the tail end of the weekly PPVs. The company was originally based in Nashville.
Scott Steiner, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were not old when they were regular players on WCW programming. I'm sure you were thinking of actual older stars like Hogan and Piper.
I normally don't dog a column I don't like or don't agree with the opinion stated, but this column was just filled with bad, false information.
For a real aalysis of David and Goliath read your colleague Hubbard's new column.
Posted By: Mark (Guest) on April 12, 2008 at 06:11 PM
The second paragraph alone shows how little you know either about a) TNA. Let me show you.
Let's examine your second paragraph a little. You start your primary discussion of TNA with "In the beginning", (Not a bad place to start, the beginning always makes sense) and proceed to write an excellent sentence. So far, so good. Then a statement claiming that TNA was based in Orlando Florida early in its existence. Or, was it Nashville? And isn't Nashville the location of TNA Corporate Headquarters? And furthermore, wasn't the six-sided ring introduced years after the company's inception(Late 2004/early 2005)?
By simply adding such words as "Later" and "Then", you could have avoided this kind of ridicule and could one day have a respectable column that'll be read.
It's almost depressing that I put this kind of effort into your "story", but at least I didn't read past paragraph two!
Posted By: Brian (Guest) on April 12, 2008 at 06:42 PM
I can't help but be amused by Robbie's face when they showed him still. Sure it was a shitty thing for TNA to do but at the end of the day he was TOLD not to be there. Yes it sucks if you want to go watch your friend, but if you do that when you've been ordered by your boss not to then you really don't have a leg to stand on if you get caught out.
Posted By: Col (Guest) on April 12, 2008 at 06:43 PM
"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."
Wrestlemania attracted tens of thousands of wrestling fans and media to Orlando. TNA is a growing wrestling company and it would be completely stupid for the company to not try to steer some of those people to its programming. You clearly have no business savvy whatsoever if you think TNA should have simply ignored the near 100,000 wrestling fans in its own backyard that week. Your comments about older wrestlers were also way off base. Some of the most famous matches in history involved so called "Wheel Chair" wrestlers. Ric Flair was 40 when he had his famous series of matches with Ricky Steamboat. Bret Hart was near 40 when he had his famous match with Austin at Mania 13. Hell, Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair just had one of the most memorable matches I've ever seen and their combined age is over 100. Try to put more thought into your future columns please.
Posted By: Bob (Guest) on April 12, 2008 at 07:09 PM
I just first have to say that
A.)You have no idea about the history of tna.
B.)40 is not old in any fashion, Men I work with are much more proficient at 40 than people my age.
C.)Shady business equals growth.
WWF- Bought air time in other promotions markets to steal fans(Very shady at the time)
WWF-Gave huge contracts that other promoters could not equal so they were eventually killed(Extremely shady)
WCW-Bought Talent out from under Vince Mcmahon in order to grow, and it worked for yrs.
TNA- Shows a wrestler on national tv, and had plans to fly a plane over Wrestlemania.........big deal, Mcallister should never have been in the audience anyway. And as for the plane, please you see it everywhere nowadays, and who would it affect? A small portion of the crowd that might look up at the right moment? Pulease its not a huge deal.....
But once again, before writing about wrestling, maybe you should pick up a book and read about the history of the sport. Need I even mention the huge amount of shooter in the early days of pro wrestling whose sole job was to intentionally hurt the competion and steal a title or win?
Shady Business is Professional wrestling at its core!
Posted By: mphull08 (Guest) on April 12, 2008 at 07:52 PM
Not many people seem to have noticed it is actually Robbie McCallister now. Prior to that, it was Robbie McAllister. Advertising during WrestleMania was smart business strategy. They apparently had to turn away thousands of fans from their live iMPACT!, so that's a good sign. You're not completely stupid or anything, but not the best column you could have put forth. Keep up the writing, though.
Posted By: Matt Eli (Guest) on April 12, 2008 at 09:41 PM
Um, Gary, if you didn't take the time to notice, but TNA already books things differently (and better) than the WWE in featuring the Knockouts division, the most competitive division in wrestling today.
Also, TNA also gives a crap about tag teams, something the WWE almost never does. Once LAX wins the belts again the division will go through a renaissance.
I liked this article better when the other 100 or so previous IWC writers wrote on the same subject.
Posted By: Orlando (Guest) on April 12, 2008 at 10:30 PM
yes and i guess people neglect the fact that Taker is 46,HBK is 42,HHH is nearly 40,Finlay is nearly 50,JBL is 40,so its not just TNA it's the business in general. Also TNA uses the older guys to give rubs ala Petey and Steiner,Sting can still go,Nash can barely walk but would make a good colour commentator,Booker can still go,Stenier can go when he wants to.Joe is most likely winning the belt. As much I dislike the creative team atleast everyone gets tv time unlike WWE when you see guys like Funaki once every 6 months.
Posted By: Danny P (Guest) on April 12, 2008 at 10:45 PM
Hey Stewie, are you sure TNA is really turning a profit? I know that's what they say but seriously. I don't know what their books look like but I'm pretty sure you can't make money by having your entrance gates free of charge (unless it's a ppv). But then again they do pay their wrestler peanuts (that's why they can be booked for Indy shows) so you might be right after all.
Posted By: NastyRud (Guest) on April 12, 2008 at 11:08 PM
on behalf of Taka, Funaki isn't on tv as much because he is evil, indeed.
Posted By: NastyRud (Guest) on April 12, 2008 at 11:11 PM
The ONLY reason TNA had to turn away thousands was because they all were there for WM. As much as I don't like TNA (only because Tenay & West are a joke) I would have gone too because after all it's a FREE wrestling show.
Posted By: NastyRud (Guest) on April 12, 2008 at 11:16 PM
Turning away fans is not good. TNA knew there would be a load of fans there. Why in the world would you not get a bigger building? Yeah great you showed a guy on TV that is usually a jobber. Not only were fans upset but TNA wrestlers were upset with management. Kurt Angle has held the TNA title for 299 days and the only other person as Sting for 2 days. i am tired of Kurt angle.
Posted By: Kyle (Guest) on April 12, 2008 at 11:44 PM
Hasn't this subject been done several thousand times by now?
Posted By: Owain J. Brimfield (Registered) on April 13, 2008 at 05:09 AM
Christ, give it a rest already!! Can't you 'writers' find anything else to type about than continually bitching about TNA? If i read one more column about them showing McAllister on-screen then I will, ahem, Scream. It's no more different than what WCW did from 95-98 and it didn't harm their business did it. Lighten up.
Posted By: Kliq316 (Guest) on April 13, 2008 at 01:01 PM
I for one thought this was a very good column. Nothing said here was unfair and it shows most of you people are nothing but marks.
I agree that you can't fight a conglomerate if you play the asshole.
TNA always showed most of it's PPVs from Orlando. The shows are there so the company is there regardless of where corporate HQ is.
And Stewie is "turning a profit" good enough to compete with the E? Youre not going anywhere with just making a few bucks here and there. Make a product people will want to pay to see first!
How can you people argue that Nash, Steiner, and Hall are in their prime. You have to be kidding me!
The plane over the citrus bowl was foiled by the WWE not the weather.
These are OPINION columns, obviously everyone is going to have a different take on things. Flaming the author does nothing but prove the IWC is an immature group.
Curtis just because something is intelligent doesn't mean it wasn't morally reprehensible which is obviously what this guy was saying. Which is true.
And back onto stewie "something WCW and ECW almost never did." Yeah and TNA ALMOST never turns profits either. Nice proving the point you disagree with. And as for who this guy is, he's a columnist its his job to critque things.
And for the record "shoot wrestling" is booked and is a part of wrestling, shoot promotions are not. T
Posted By: Matt (Guest) on April 13, 2008 at 01:07 PM
i love all these TNA marks who are trying to defend a terrible organization. gary was spot on, TNA is WCW 2008 and it sucks. Want to watch real wrestling? Ring of Honor.
Posted By: john (Guest) on April 13, 2008 at 01:25 PM
I think Gary's spot on. TNA sucks the wang.
Posted By: Chigg (Guest) on April 13, 2008 at 01:39 PM
Great article, really insightful. Haha you really pissed a few people off today, bro. I don't think anything in this was unfair and any indescrepancies the readers are pointing out seem to be more their want to find something wrong.
Posted By: Guest#7434 (Guest) on April 13, 2008 at 02:33 PM
This is starting to become one of my fave 411 columns. But hey, did you expect to get away with critiquing TNA on this site. WAAAAAAY TOO MANY MARKS ON THIS SITE!
Seriously people Traverson is right. And he clearly does know his TNA history, though I agree you shouldve shown a better timeline, but this IS just your second column. Looking forward to more.
-Ste
Posted By: Ste (Guest) on April 13, 2008 at 03:44 PM
I started watching wrestling in 99 as a 13 year old. I preferred the youthful WWF roster of Austin, Rock, Triple H to the past-it roster of WCW (Hogan, Piper, Flair). TNA has this problem nowadays with the likes of Sting, Nash, Booker T, Road Dogg etc
Posted By: Luke (Guest) on April 13, 2008 at 06:04 PM
I don't want to say this is one of the worst columns in the history of legitimate journalism, but jeez dude. It just felt terribly lazy, and believe me when I say I know a thing or two about laziness.
This looks like a very early draft of something that would be much longer, or at least much more intelligently or passionately written, given even just a couple more hours to really think it through. I mean, there are tons of factual errors, not much information to back up statements, and half thought out ideas that aren't quite coherent yet.
The biggest problem I have though is that most of this isn't remotely original. If you are going to cover these things that have been gone over so many times before, you need to put a new spin on them, or add something new to the table. The bit that is (TNA's shady business tactics), is carelessly written, and at very best, extremely difficult for an unbiased, or even marginally business savvy mind to rationally defend.
Look, you have to be at least a somewhat capable writer to have gotten a gig here, so I know you are a good deal better than this, for even having gotten the chance to write here at all.
Finally, please do not take it as egotistical or mean spirited when I say this, but I have written comments around here (on several different occasions) that are better, more passionate, more focused, and more rational than this article. In other words, you really need to step it up. Consider my words a challenge.
This is 411mania, the journalistic equivalent of Ring of Honor. If you can hang here, then there's a chance you can eventually parlay the experience, skill, and notoriety you attain, it into something bigger and better. This is an excellent opportunity for a journalist, or just a writer in general, to hone his or her skill, one I hope to have someday soon myself.
Make the most of this shot that you have earned.
Posted By: twf's sdc (Guest) on April 14, 2008 at 02:55 AM
Insane expectations much, sdc? Chill man, they can't all be winners. And stop writing so many long comments, showoff. You ain't that good.
Posted By: Guest#0988 (Guest) on April 14, 2008 at 05:16 AM
A) There are no factual errors.
B) The morality of the business moves is in question, not the overall effectiveness thereof.
C) Your comment is not only stupid, but unnecessary.
D) If everyone stopped doing something because it has been done better before, there would be no TNA. U see what I did thar?!
Posted By: Guest#5790 (Guest) on April 14, 2008 at 10:01 AM
Who is Stewie to leave stupid comments? I mean who the hell is he?
Nice column !
Posted By: Vincenzo (Guest) on April 14, 2008 at 12:26 PM
A) The factual errors have been quite well gone over already. Are you blind, Guest#5790?
B) This is professional wrestling, a business not remotely known for it's morality, least of all from WWE itself. And WWE invaded TNA's home turf with WrestleMania, so whatever rules there were pretty much go out the window with that. The only bad thing they did was out Robbie, who wasn't supposed to be there anyway. Especially not where he could be seen.
C) That's subjective enough to say the same thing about your comment. At least I tried with mine.
D) Ah, that tired WWE-lite nonsense. If that were really the case, there would be no tag team division to speak of in TNA. The Knockouts would be almost entirely useless eye candy, and the three real talents would have to put them over, and the keep the pretty hacks from injuring themselves and others. The midcard would also be a joke. Most of the guys not in the main event wouldn't have enough of a personality (let alone talent) to make me care about them one iota. But by all means, hold on to your outdated beliefs.
Adieu. ;)
Posted By: sdc (Guest) on April 15, 2008 at 04:36 AM
I have to agree with the majority of commenters that this column wasn't very good. It's not the end of the world, just try to step your game up with your next column.
Posted By: Tim L. (Guest) on April 15, 2008 at 11:33 AM
Good job proving you're an idiot sdc. The "factual errors" referred to are bs. The shows are in Orlando, so TNA works out of Orlando. You're all wrong there, TNA prides itself on it's "regional feel" which mean its region is Orlando.
And the six sided ring WAS built to set the product apart the author is correct, just because he didn't put the word "later" in. If you need everything spelled out for you you shouldn't be allowed on the internet. Noob.
And just to sound as "sophisticated" as you I will end in another language.
Buenos Tardes.
Posted By: Guest#3282 (Guest) on April 15, 2008 at 11:58 AM
It's the same one sided thought process...Flair was ancient in WCW but when he came back to WWE he was a legit competitor and everyone sucked his balls. Rightfully so, he deserves it. But it's another perfect example of bias on the internets.
Posted By: Greg (Guest) on April 16, 2008 at 10:55 AM
I am a fan of both promotions and feel that many WWE fans are excessively hard on TNA. Yes they have put out some shit in the past (Most of 07 was shit) but they are back on track now with the PPV's feeling a lot like 2005 which was a brilliant year for the company IMHO.
So what if profits are marginal? They have been around 6 years... All that matters is that they keep gradually improving things..
Many of the feelings about older wrestlers in TNA are blown way out... WWE do the same thing in pushing the same talent over and over.. Both promotions do it and it does get stale but if they pull out good matches and help elevate talent occasionally I see it as a relatively minor thing...
Both companies do both good and bad things, I just can't get the hate from both camps.. Can't we just support the performers and the business they perform in? You can't please everyone i guess...
Posted By: TheEvilOne (Guest) on April 21, 2008 at 12:02 AM
