Dwell not upon thy weariness, thy strength shall be according to the measure of thy desire.
~Arab Proverb
Apparently, this is the fiftieth of The Figure Four Leglock, so I am going to begin today by thanking some people. Bare with me. First I would like to thank you, the reader and especially those of you that email me with your thoughts and ideas. Over the years, plenty of you have willingly to support me and in fact I’m so very lucky that I can’t list all of you. Thanks to Annie for being kind and helpful, perhaps the funniest woman on earth, Ginger, Eddie, my newest boss, who has a smart mind for this business, Martin and Joe for allowing me to have the opportunity to work at TBL, Gary Birch, Dave Meltzer for being an inspiration in wrestling journalism to me, Scott Stover, Mike Valente, Ben Turpen, “Marky Mark” Mike Vechinski, Steven Manguino, who’s been here with me since the beginning, Mick Foley, Anne Roberts, Gabe Fanelli, and the original doctor in my family, Veronica. Everyone else too! The relationships forged during my time in this position are plentiful and I’ve gotten into some really heated arguments as well (always fun). Also many thanks to the promoters good, bad, and ugly that have put on a product over the years. From Verne Gagne to Bill Watts and the McMahon family. It’s been fun. And many thanks to the wrestlers that put on the matches, you’ve really made this a worthwhile trip. Maybe two hundred years down the road, what you spent your life doing won’t be so looked-down-upon.
Today, I am presenting part two of my column looking at NWA:TNA. The first part is located here. In that column, entitled “One Year In: The Trials and Tribulations Besetting NWA:TNA.” Unsure about what the theme should be to part two, only that there is a necessity for one. I realized what I would talk about in part two, after seeing the TNA show that followed the week after their mediocre anniversary show. It was a tremendous show, and shows us what we might have know all along — TNA has the potential to be big. It’s hard to ignore the negative (see part one), but comparable, it’s hard to ignore the potential. Thus, this column is entitled “Aptitude.”
NWA:TNA has many things to work with and many are different from the advantages that WWE has when it comes to fighting off competition. TNA doesn’t have the same restrictions, demands, traditions, or rules and regulations. They also don’t have a TV deal, cash reserves, longevity in the market, or resources as does WWE. However, many within the company believe that NWA:TNA, as of right now, has everything that they need to compete with WWE besides a TV deal. I am also of that opinion. The main goals of the company at this stage should be to continue to satisfy their base audience weekly right now and find a TV deal. It will be a hard battle, but the results will be astronomically different compared to acceptance of the status quo (which, to their credit, doesn’t seem to be a problem). It’s the difference between this being a transition from this stage to a larger one or TNA staying a small-scale strictly-PPV product that will perish down the way. By hiring people like Brian Hughes, former president of TNN, to an executive position meant to locate a national TV deal, and creating a New York office, show a commitment to expansion. With increased financial action, Panda Energy, majority owner in TNA, seems to also have a rejuvenated approach to the company’s future. Again, the battle will be tough but ultimately a transitional stage necessary to survival. TNA survived year one because of Panda, they will need more than luck to make it through years two, three, four, and five as they get some true footing under them.
Selective financial investment in periphery established characters will be necessary, this is a concept that WWE failed to harness in their recent failures with Hulk Hogan and even Roddy Piper, prior to his being fired. Wrestlers will need to make commitments, both financial and emotional in the company. Booking needs to make a commitment to the middle- and long-term future of the company. The mentality needs to be that the company can reach the successes of ECW, but only with the product being supreme and the focus of the workers (I will outline why below). These are important, but there’s something else that’s very important — the termination of Vince Russo.
Those are certainly words that many of you may like to hear. Especially Russo apologists. I am not going to get knee deep in a discussion on Vince Russo, because that’s a topic for another day. But I will say that, strictly based on his track record with NWA, he has to go. Russo has shown that he’s only committed to getting his character over, rather than that of the wrestlers. His booking has also been incredibly meaningless and insulting. For TNA to move into the public’s eyesight and gain their trust and viewer ship, they need to move into a new era free of the puerile chains that are presented by Vince Russo’s booking. He can remain an on-air character.
The next discussion that comes up when looking at TNA is their course of action after getting that elusive. One of the options that’s up for grabs, is the topic of a two part series that I’m working on now and will have for you this summer. But the real battle happens when NWA:TNA reaches the big time and has to compete with WWE. There are clear options that will help them.
(1) Be different than WWE – In only a few years, North American wrestling has gone from three major league companies to one. Since the most recent multi-organizational peak, millions of fans have been lost and are turned off by the WWE product. What they need is an alternative and TNA can provide that. Unlike with Jim Crockett’s territory back in the 80s, TNA has a better chance of making it’s way into the market and not dying off like Mid South or AWA. Pat McNeill, a columnist for the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter, wrote an article recently, looking at the positives of the cutback on violence and man-on-woman violence, a move supposedly precipitated by iNDemand, although NWA:TNA denies those rumors. “One of the staples of World Wrestling Entertainment over the past five years has been women bumping for men,” he writes. “This was an aspect of wrestling that was lifted from Paul Heyman’s Extreme Championship Wrestling…The bottom line is, most people are uncomfortable with the idea of men beating up women, and with good reason. Most young men are taught from an early age that it’s wrong to hit women. Domestic violence, which usually consists of violence by men against women, is a big social problem. WWE may be “sports entertainment,” but it is difficult to think of a major sport where men consistently manhandle women. It is also tough to come up with another form of entertainment that features men injuring women on a regular basis. This development can only help NWA-TNA in its quest for mainstream acceptance.” Simply because of the fact that so many fans have dropped out from watching wrestling is proof enough that there is a lost market. It’s one with coverage of large demographics, and in tough economic times, one that will be willing to pay for cheap and accessible (but good) entertainment. TNA needs to set itself apart from two booking patterns it has found itself in: the esoteric and the photogrammetric simulcra of the McMahon-founded style of booking. And how ironic that is, because in the end they are only spoofing themselves. People aren’t looking for that.
(2) Despite the urge, don’t jump on every WWE reject as soon as their release has dry ink on it – It’s simple: it comes off minor league when D’Lo Brown jobs out on WWE and then is introduced in TNA as some misused hero. In the short term it helps, but over the long run, it changes the fans perception of what kind of company TNA is. Reputation is everything.
I don’t think that it’s a question where TNA has the aptitude to be a competitor to WWE, and on its own, present a compelling a successful product. What they do with what they have, just like as it was to their predecessors, is their choice.
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LETTERS
Our featured letter this week comes from Annie, who has Mil Mascaras fever.
Trevor,
Great column and I mean that. I love both Hogan and Piper and because we live in America, Piper is free to say what he wants. Also, because we live in America, Vince (and this kills me) is free to fire him (I so hate Vince).
Anyway, as for Hogan, the entire thing just makes me sad. I will miss him as I’m a true Hulkamaniac. But I didn’t like the Mr. America gimmick anymore than I liked the Blue Blazer for Owen Hart (RIP) I guess white guys in masks don’t excite me.
Annie
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