– It appears TNA is doing another gimmick similar to one WCW did back years ago. TNA will be introducing “TNA Live” on their website soon, which will be an online radio show. Stars such as Don West and SoCal Val will be hosting the show. Word is that they will be doing live streaming video pre-game and post-game shows for iMPACT.
Jeremy Borash wrote the following on his Twitter today: “Very big news. Time to fire up this machine again. Look for an announcement about “TNA LIVE” coming next week to TNAWrestling.com!”
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Clearly NOT a WCW-like project. TNA has already done a bunch of pre and post game shows for iMPACT! and they’ve done pre and post game shows for PPVs. They’ve also done TNA Spin Cycle on YouTube. It’s also very reminiscent of WWE’s Byte This, which means that WWE must also be very WCW-like.
Online wrestling smarks are calling this a WCW-like project because they are dying to try to find a way to make it seem like nothing going on at TNA will be new or original. And many of these “wrestling fans” are just hoping for TNA to fail so they can walk around and say, “I told you so,” like anyone cares.
Everyone needs to stop the hate and just be wrestling fans. What’s going on with TNA right now will only help the business.
Totally, fully, 100% a “WCW-like project.” Couldn’t agree more. Much like WWE’s Byte This! was 100% a WCW-like project, as you pointed out. I think sometimes it’s your bias love for TNA that makes you not realize being “WCW-like” is NOT always a bad thing. If some “marks” out there feel it is, let them! They don’t know what they’re talking about anyway! WCW was a very creative wrestling entity at its start (and for many years, in fact!) and was the reason WWF became what it is today. So if you ask me WWF/E has been in its history as much WCW-like as TNA is today. Let’s say it like it is!
By the way – nothing on TNA (or WWE for that matter) is original. It’s just a different form of something that’s already been done because of the nature of professional wrestling. There are variations of what’s known and sometimes they can be good ideas, and sometimes not so much.
Bischoff and Hogan have been known to do great, creative first shows, much like Impact this past week, although there were a few major mistakes in that show, the most important one of which was not promoting a follow-up show (not once was it mentioned there’s a new Impact next Thursday or the show will move to next Monday?). Even Hogan admitted that was a huge mistake on Bubba the Love Sponge today. It’s the follow-up and EB/Hogan’s history as company leaders that worries some people!
It’s a little strong to tell people to “stop the hate” and especially if it concerns the post above, where there was absolutely no negative words being mentioned, simply a comparison to a concept that was used in WCW. In fact, I think it’s just as “mark”-ish and unfair to claim people are “hating on TNA” just because they compare it to WCW sometimes. Not to mention this gimmick was done very successfully by WCW back in the day. I personally compare WWE to WCW too when appropriate, and if it’s in a negative way, then I’d say so.
The headline of this entry is clearly meant to be negative and it follows similarly negative-themed entries regarding TNA on the site. My pro-TNA bias is the same as your anti-TNA bias – two sides of the same coin. Much of what you wrote in your comment is similar to what I wrote in my latest column over at the other site:
http://www.tnastars.com/2010/01/08/major-impact-youre-all-a-bunch-of-marks/
Everyone is a mark – you, me, and the folks reading this right now included. However, I’m aware enough to admit it (unlike nearly everyone else involved in the online wrestling community). I’m also aware enough to not interpret being a mark as a knock on my being a fan of wrestling.
Today, the search for good content online is the search for separating the marks who believe their own “smart” BS from those who are just wrestling fans that happen to own a “.com.” And, unfortunately, that applies to all aspects of the internet and to most websites dealing with sports. It’s like people are afraid that if they’re just regular fans of a sport, then they won’t be able to have that “Ah ha! I told you so!” moment with their friends while watching the game.
In professional wrestling, people are missing otherwise entertaining shows because they’re hyperfocused on ridiculing and pointing out what they knew was going to happen. I couldn’t imagine being that cynical of a wrestling fan! If people don’t like a product, they shouldn’t watch it – like I do with WWE. It’s not my cup of tea (and I don’t like tea to begin with), so I don’t watch it.