The Wrestling Factor #1: Six Sides of TNA
Posted by The Stinger
on 10/03/2006
Hello, and welcome ladies and gentlemen to the first fulltime edition of The Wrestling Factor. I am your host, hopefully each and every week, the man known as The Stinger. It's been awhile since I last wrote a column, too long in fact, but everyone needs a break from time to time, though I also had a five week battle with a colon infection. Refreshed and ready to rock though peeps, so hopefully you enjoy whatever it is that I'm going to write about. Yeah, that's right, I'm writing from the hip this time out, no planned topic or anything, just whatever pops into my mind during the time that I've given myself to write. So with that said, let's not waste anymore time with an introduction, and let's get this ball a rolling.
TALKING POINTSWWE has continued its streak of great additions from its Home Video department with the recent release of
Brian Pillman: Loose Cannon. The two disc collection takes a look at the life and career of Pillman, along with interviews with his peers and family. It also comes jam-packed with 15 matches plus more extras. Now while a review of it may be in the works for a very special edition of
The Wrestling Factor, for the time being just take my recommendation to pick up a copy of it. It's not the best release from WWE, but it's certainly very good, especially if you like Brian Pillman. A must have DVD as far as I'm concerned, and I was really glad to see WWE make it. Now, they just need to make a "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig two-disc set, and I'll be a very happy Stinger.
I've once again begun watching
Friday Night Smackdown on the CW, and I must admit that it's a pretty good show. You see, prior to the CW, Smackdown looked awful in my area due to the UPN affiliate being a completely worthless, rundown station. The feed would cut out, the wrestlers would appear in pixels, brief commercials at random, and just really awful stuff that made you not want to watch. Well now, we have two CW channels, and while Smackdown still looks bad on one of them, the other one looks awesome. It's like watching RAW again, from a production standpoint. Now that I can actually enjoy watching it, it's clear to me that Smackdown has some good stuff going and No Mercy should be a good event, though certainly not worthy of my $40. If Smackdown can keep the momentum gained by premiering on the CW, then they'll have a strong case of being my favorite wrestling television show. And yes folks, their opening video owns. Now if they'd just get a new set and do away with that damn giant fist.
FACTOR ANALYSIS: SIX SIDES OF TNAFor the first time in the history of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling history, they have managed to actually garner a lot of interest and get a lot of people talking about them. And that's all because they signed Kurt Angle. But don't worry folks; this column is not about TNA signing Kurt Angle, because I don't think it's that big of a news story. It's not like he jumped ship from WWE, he was fired and took the only option that made any sort of sense to him when WWE wouldn't accept his offer to be rehired. No, instead, this column focuses on TNA as a wrestling company in 2006; what they're doing right and what they need to do heading into their primetime debut, and changes that need to be implicated both on camera and backstage.
Total Nonstop Action WrestlingWhen people think of professional wrestling, in the mainstream, they think of World Wrestling Federation or World Wrestling Entertainment, and possibly even World Championship Wrestling or Extreme Championship Wrestling. Regardless of what you think of, there' no denying what each company's name has in common, it actually sounds like a legitimate company. Even the initials represent that company feel. That's not the case with TNA or Total Nonstop Action.
When it comes down to it, TNA is a perfectly acceptable name for a TELEVISION SHOW, as long as it lives up to its namesake. But as a wrestling promotion, nothing screams "worse than Indy" than the company name of Total Nonstop Action. The workers of TNA actually tell people they work for Total Nonstop Action, and that just sounds stupid. It's a horrible name for a wrestling promotion.
You're not going to attract a large audience and be accepted as legitimate competition to the number one wrestling organization in the world when your name sounds completely ridiculous, just so you can play off of a sexual innuendo. Fortunately for TNA, they're in a pretty good spot in terms of national and worldwide popularity, that meaning they are no where to being big enough for a company name change to matter to a lot of people. A name change for WWE had to hurt a little because they'd spent over twenty years building and branding that name; WWF was every bit as known as NFL or NBA. Realistically, whether some people want to admit it or not, TNA isn't very well known.
A name change would do wonders for the company, it'd be easier to market mainstream and they wouldn't come off automatically sounding like a second rate organization. Of course odds are they won't change their name, but then again TNA has never had the reputation of doing something that makes sense. But they should realize that the sooner they make a smart business decision like picking a new company name, the better their chance at becoming a major promotion.
Our Ring Has Six SidesTNA's ring has six sides, but only one Angle. Yeah, we get it, and that's going to get old, fast. For a company that likes to make believe that they focus on wrestling and provide professional wrestling as an alternative to WWE, they sure like to get away from the basics of real professional wrestling. There's a difference between wrestling and garbage and high spot matches, which seems to be the only thing TNA can deliver. Using the six sided ring further detracts from the product, in my humble opinion. A wrestling ring is the squared circle, key word being SQUARE. Using the ring TNA does, is spitting on the tradition of wrestling, all in an attempt to look different and be innovative (which they fail at for not being the first to use the stupid ring).
When I watch a TNA Impact or pay-per-view, and I see a good match, I still can't help but be annoyed by the six sided ring. It takes away so much from my overall enjoyment, because I find the damn thing to be repulsive and stupid, almost as much as the TNA name.
Being different for the sake of being different doesn't do any good for anybody, especially when you spend your time masquerading that you're different, when in all actuality you're, as Jim Ross would say, "trying to out WWE the WWE". Be different by offering an actual alternative in terms of in-ring product, not by adopting a stupid looking six sided ring and trying to pass it off as an actual wrestling ring. If you're going to use the slogan "we are wrestling", then try presenting a traditional wrestling show, with a traditional wrestling ring. A true alternative would have storylines that actually revolve around wrestling, and then actually have wrestling on your shows.
Every single casual wrestling fan that I know thinks the six sided ring is the dumbest looking thing in wrestling, and is distracting. Essentially, it's nothing more than a gimmick. The quicker TNA gets rid of it (and yes I realize they've been using it since 2004), the better off they'll be. Unfortunately, much like a name change, this doesn't seem like it's going to happen in the foreseeable future
The Ups and Downs of the X-DivisionWhenever someone on the Internet tries to talk someone else into watching TNA, they always base their case around the X-Division, the so called shining light of Total Nonstop Action. I don't see it though. I use to see it, but not right now. There's a pattern with how good and bad the X-Division is, and you guessed, it has to do with Jeff Jarrett.
When Raven was champion and feuding with Rhino, the X-Division was cooking. You had Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels and AJ Styles wrestling against each other for the championship in singles matches and the brilliant five star triple threat from last years Unbreakable. Notice though, Jeff Jarrett wasn't champion then, and Raven/Rhino wasn't the main-event. And when Rhino and Christian were champion, the division remained strong, even if the Joe-Daniels-Styles feud was getting old.
However, when Jeff Jarrett becomes champion, the X-Division is once again buried so that it doesn't outshine Jarrett and his World championship run. The Kevin Nash angle is an example, and so is the current Jackass storyline, which odds are TNA will eventually listen to the fans and stop that wrestlecrap.
I'll be honest here, I'm not a huge fan of spot monkey matches, but even so, the X-Division has some legitimately talented wrestlers and could/should easily be the highlight of any TNA Impact or pay-per-view. The fact that it isn't, because it's being held down, speaks volumes of TNA. You can criticize WWE for their treatment of the Cruiserweight division all day long as well, but the fact is WWE doesn't try and pass off their cruiserweight division as something to main event with, only to turn into a joke when Jarrett snaps his fingers and gets his World Heavyweight Championship back.
Showing the World We're Number TwoI was watching wrestling long before "The Monday Night War", so I'm not one to believe the notion that publicly trashing or even acknowledging the competition is the norm. As a matter of fact, I despise it. I didn't like Team 3D's shoots, Rhino's lame "burning" the ECW Championship, Christian's ripping of WWE last year, the "Cookiegate" incident, and I'm not liking Kurt Angle's comments on TNA's website where he trashes the WWE.
You know what it means when you have to resort to mentioning the other fed; it means that you're desperate for attention and that you are number two in every possible way. There's a reason WWE doesn't acknowledge TNA, and that's because TNA is below them and they have no reason to advertise for TNA. They're the number one promotion in the world, and they've earned that position. The constant whoring of the WWE name in TNA screams loudly the fact that TNA is far behind the WWE.
In TNA's current state as a company, you cannot completely compare their mentioning of WWE with WCW's mentioning of WWF or vice versa. That was a different situation, and different at that by a large margin. The two, when the cheap shots and bashing and parodying started, were in direct competition; they were battling it out for the same audience on the same night, and at the same time. Is it still the right thing to do? Of course not, it wasn't then and it never will be, but the difference is both WCW and WWF had a reason to do so.
TNA however isn't anywhere near the level that WCW was at, they're more around ECW 1995-1996. I don't mean in terms of worldwide status or video and pay-per-view distribution, I mean on the level of being any kind of threat to WWE. When you advertise your supposed competition the way TNA does, you're bound to have someone tune into them just to see if there's any kind of response. TNA comes on a night when WWE isn't on though, so that shouldn't really be a problem because fans can watch both without having to try and flip between the two. If I'm running TNA, and we come on different nights and I don't have to worry about WWE stilling my ratings, then I'm going to be more concerned with how bad my product is, not with telling folks how bad WWE's is.
Main Event Madness and Inept BookingThe main disaster, the main detractor of the in ring product in TNA, is without question the main-event scene. The tag division is thriving, the X-Division has and will again thrive, but the main-event of the company is nothing short of "last days WCW".
I don't like the guy, but I don't hate on him the way some folks do, but truth be told, Jeff Jarrett is NOT a credible World Heavyweight Champion. Vince McMahon and the writers at WWF at the time seem to be the only ones who truly know Jarrett's limitations and where he should be on the card. You look back to JJ's feud with Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels in 1995, and you see a guy that in can have a great, show stealing match. But you also see a guy in the ring with guys that either will or should've gone on to the main-event. Jarrett's problem is quiet simply; he's not good enough to main event, but is just right for an Intercontinental or United States championship.
Of course Jarrett isn't the only thing wrong with TNA in the main-event picture, he just happens to be the big problem. Guys like Christian and Sting have come in and hogged the ME. No doubt about it, Kurt Angle will too, unless TNA's inept and predictable booking comes into play and Angle does the obligatory "help Jarrett win" routine at Bound For Glory.
TNA's booking, despite what many would try and tell you, is devoid of any fans opinion. I don't mean that a fan should be on the creative team, I mean TNA doesn't listen to their fans, just like WWE doesn't. If they did, Jeff Jarrett would not be champion. Sting would not be in the running for it. Samoa Joe is TNA's biggest attraction, yet he's understandable frustrated with the company. Sure, he's "undefeated", but every time a big push gets underway for him, they toss him in a triple threat or four way match, so that he doesn't have to win. They push him to the main-event, yet pull the plug before he ever actually gets there, so Sting and Jarrett can main event an allegedly "WrestleMania" like pay-per-view. Even WCW had enough sense to not run that as a main-event, selling point, on a pay-per-view.
Be different, be the alternative. Quit giving your fans the same tired crap that they've seen between old guys and WWF/E mid-carders, and show the world that your homegrown stars are the faces of the company NOW, and the faces of the industry for years to come.
NWA World Heavyweight Championship: Abyss (c) vs. Samoa Joe
^^That's a match that could be built towards for months to the point where it would be an epic TNA match. Not to mention the fact that it'd be better than main-event TNA's offered for the past year, without question.
The Backbone of the CompanyIf you've watched
The Monday Night War DVD, then you'll probably remember a quote from the late Eddie Guerrero. He said that himself, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Rey Mysterio, and others, were the backbone of WCW. They were the workhorses, even though they weren't the main event. When WCW lost them, they "lost their backbone".
TNA has four cornerstones, in my opinion at least, and they're the four guys who consistently put on the best matches.
AJ Styles: There's a reason they call this young man the phenomenal one, because well he is. He's TNA's Triple Crown champion, he's won every championship they offer, multiple times. He's all-star number one for TNA, and he's been there since the very beginning. And yet, he's a go to guy. He's the guy when TNA doesn't have Nash, DDP, Sting or any other old guy in the spotlight; they give the title to for a month or two. He's the guy who helped make the X-Division championship the most prestigious title in all of TNA, at one time. And right now, he's the guy currently involved in TNA's only good storyline: Styles & Daniels vs. LAX. When it comes right down to it, no matter who AJ is wrestling, he's bound to give you a good to great match, almost without fail.
Christopher Daniels: TNA isn't exactly known for the being the company where guys have personalities, where guys can work the stick and deliver a really good promo; hell, there's only a handful in TNA capable of doing that, and Daniels is at the top of the list. Not only can Daniels cut a promo like few in TNA can match, he's also be a part of many "Match of the Night" matches for TNA. He's a dedicated, veteran inside that ring, and it's a shame that he's just now getting to be a star. He can work heel, just as good as anyone, but he can work face just as well, and not many can pull that off well. He's constantly overlooked by TNA, despite being very over, very entertaining, and consistently having some of the best matches on the card.
Samoa Joe: I talked about him in the last section, and it's time to do so again. To put it bluntly, Joe is TNA's biggest potential to be a major breakout, "next big thing" in professional wrestling. If they were to book him the way that he should be booked, people would tune in and watch, because he's a guy people want to see. Friends of mine who either don't like wrestling, or just don't like TNA, love to see Samoa Joe in action. His style is vastly different than anyone else in TNA, with Senshi coming closest to him. He reels you in, makes you go "Holy Shit!" or "Someone tell him this isn't real". And when the fans start the "Joe's Gonna Kill You" chant, you find yourself thinking, "DAMN! He is, he is gonna kill him". He's awesome in every sense of the world, and there's no wonder he has more 4-5 star matches in just over a year in TNA than practically anyone else does. Joe doesn't disappoint.
Abyss: TNA's resident big man has been a part of some the companies most insane and brutal matches, and for the most part, it has been a rather thankless job. He gets a shot at the title here, and then one down the line, but it's always one and he never wins it. Abyss works entertaining matches, he has an entertaining character with a fantastic manager in James Mitchell. But you're telling me the monster Abyss can't win the World Championship when Jeff Jarrett and Ron Killings can? Abyss is a very good big man wrestler, but when you put him in a gimmick match, he can really give you something special. Why TNA can't see what a huge asset Abyss is, is mind-boggling. He's a workhorse for that company, and it's a shame his efforts go unappreciated.
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That's going to do it for this edition of
The Wrestling Factor folks, and yes, I realize this was quite a long piece but I think he subject called for it. Hopefully you all enjoyed it, if you didn't then hell, thanks for reading and there's always next week. Feedback can be left at
wrestlingfactor@gmail.com and if you could, please label the subject heading as "Wrestling Factor Feedback". Until next week, I am
The Stinger and this has been
The Wrestling Factor. The Sting stops here...
- The Stinger
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