The emerging truth is here. In the past few months I have ranted and rambled about the arrogance, ignorance, and overall cockiness of the World Wrestling Entertainment empire. Well my friends I am right, and I know you know I’m right. While I love the WWE, and respect it’s performers and owner Vince McMahon. I don’t love the way they do business now. Shoving talent down our throats, continuing to feed us Vince Russo-ish storylines, and force feeding us Diva searches and jobbers making a million dollars winning a WWE contract after dressing up as a girl and being body slammed by the Big Show. I can’t stand it anymore. I remember the good old days when storylines where for the sake of the wrestling matches, and the wrestling matches were for the sake of the storylines. The WWE I love is that WWE. Not this version. Not the version with the E at the end, instead of the F. WWF wasn’t cocky, WWE is. While I still enjoy watching Raw and SmackDown, I wish they would return to their old traditions and fame they felt as the WWF. Their own faults are what’s holding the company back from being what it was in the nineties. The emerging truth is WWE can’t survive, and thrive without competition. They just can’t. Without competition they stray away from the motto of “putting the fans first,” and instead present us with a “we could give a crap less” frame of mind. They need competition, they need it now. And it looks like competition has came sooner then you thought.
On June 20th, the wrestling world will be rocked with two wrestling broadcasts live on Monday night. Not since World Championship Wrestling officially closed it’s door on March 26th, 2001 has a wrestling show broadcasted itself during or even on the same night of WWE Monday Night Raw. The competition just hasn’t been there. No one, and I mean no one has been able to build the acclaim of a WWE or a WCW. Total Non-Stop Wrestling is no exception. They aren’t in that league yet. But they are very close, and increasingly getting closer. WWE is getting more and more ignorant and arrogant, while TNA wrestling is becoming more smart, more ring saive, and out to impress the fans. Total Non-Stop Wrestling will present the first Monday night broadcast of Impact! on Monday night, the night after their big Pay-Per-View on June 19th in Slammiversary. You can argue Impact! isn’t a established television show. Well, fine. That’s a fair argument. Not that I agree, but it’s fair indeed. But when you look at the way TNA impresses fans with their X division, their abilities to propel wrestlers as main eventers (one of WCW’s biggest flaws), and their innovative style, then you know a lot of fans will flock to see what they pull and what they are all about. When a lot of fans lay eyes on TNA for the first time the night after Slammiversary they will something they’ve never seen before. A Six-Sided ring that makes the possibilities in the ring seem endless. They’ll see a fan base dedicated to the product, something not seen on the national stage in wrestling since ECW. They’ll see a incredible lucha-libre and high flying X division that outweighs the WWE version of the Cruiserweight division. Most of all they’ll see new up and coming superstars you can’t see on WWE, and old and familiar faces that you can’t see on WWE anymore. It will be fresh, it will be familiar, and it will be innovative. I am confident as a TNA fan, and a big sympathizer of their abilities that this will be big. Real big.
Now I know their is a lot of cynicism when you bring up TNA wrestling. It’s no where near WWE’s league, it’s full of spot monkeys, it’s all WWE has beens, as well as WWE hopefuls. I say bologna. Give them a break. I promise you this. Watch two weeks of Impact! (the new two hour Impact!) on WGN, and tell me you won’t be impressed. Give them that chance. Even if you’ve seen TNA, and weren’t impressed before. TNA can’t please all of you, but I know they can please a lot of you. This exposure in the primetime slot at WGN will give Impact! and the Total Non-Stop Wrestling company new heights to reach. TNA has the advantage of established wrestlers on the card, new and fresh faces to add to the mix, as well as the NWA titles for marquee value. What’s really not to love?
I know I love TNA. And I know I love competition. And while I must admit at first I don’t think Impact! will be a threat to Raw, or it’s viewer ship at first, I have a feeling things will snowball. This won’t be overnight. Even the biggest of TNA’s fans will admit that. It’s going to take effort, and professional to make it work. But I think things will stick with fans. Casual fans will see something new besides WWE, and knowledgeable wrestling fans will have something else to wipe the taste out of their mouths after they watch five minutes of a Triple H promo or a Diva Search segment. Make it official: TNA is the new competition. This is the new “Monday Night War.” Let the games begin. And once the game begins, there will be no turning back. Not for WWE. Not for TNA. It’s time for a new era in professional wrestling. Whether your with TNA or not. Or whether your a WWE loyalist, or a non-WWE fan. It’s time for a new stage in our industry. A stage we haven’t seen since March 2001.
The death of World Championship Wrestling meant the end of that era. That era is here once again. WWE has gotten cocky, and is full of attitude. Competition from TNA will give them a reason to shape up, or ship out. And this will gives fan another choice besides WWE and Raw. This isn’t a bad thing. This is a very, very good thing. Raw versus Impact will spell more choices in wrestling, and will lift the limitations of one company to the national landscape in pro wrestling. Raw and SmackDown have went through new barriers, and Impact will add to that mix making things bigger and better. Wrestling is, has, and will be benefited by the emergence of new competition. The emergence of new opportunities, and new hope for non-WWE fans. The emergence of fresh faces, and re-emergence of old superstars. TNA is the emerging brand in the world of wrestling. And that my friends is the emerging truth!
ECW One Night Stand is just around the corner. I know a lot of ECW fans are excited. While I’m not a ECW fan myself, I am too excited. Not only for the nostalgia, but for the basic competition to the World Wrestling Entertainment. Yeah I know, ECW is owned by WWE. But hey, it brings wrestling back to it’s glory days when the WWE wasn’t the only wrestling company on the market. While, I’m a big WWE fan, I’m begging for some competition. If you didn’t catch that drift from today’s column.
Is any other WWE fan tired of being told to shut up and not watch WWE if you disagree with some of the actions they are taking? It’s not like I’m bashing and insulting WWE out of malice and hate. I love the WWE, and on the contrary I want to see them at their very best. So what would be the point of having column if I didn’t express my views? Yeah I’m concerned about the direction of the WWE. I guess I’m not one of those fans who sits here believing their the greatest thing on earth, they do nothing wrong and Vince McMahon is perfect, and that any other product besides WWE like WCW and TNA is garbage. I’ve even gotten one fan who loves WWE so much he told me not only TNA sucked, but ROH as well. Well, I’m not a big sympathizer of ROH, I must admit one thing that they aren’t and it’s bad.
Lastly before I go, the summer will mean more time on my hands, which means I’ll be coming up with a lot of great columns. If last summer was a indication, then this summer will be a tremendous time for this column. From the self proclaimed and wrestling fan acclaimed most controversial columnist, I’ll see you all next duration, right here on “The Wright Idea!”
Till next time………
“No one, and I mean no one has the outspoken attitude I bring to my column. I take pride in saying what I believe, and not caring what people think. If you care what people think, I think that effects your ability as a columnist. Am I controversial? Yes. Do I give you my true honest opinion? Yes.” – Jordon Wright
E-mail: jjw14@sbcglobal.net
AIM Name: PhenomenalJordon
