I couldn’t be happier that TNA Wrestling will be on Destination America.
Mostly because I don’t think my cable system has Destination America, which saves me the trouble of watching TNA.
Instead, I’ll watch Lucha Underground, which has already proven to be clearly better than TNA. It didn’t take much, or long.
If this column has a familiar theme, it’s because I’ve written it before. One of these days, people will listen.
(Oh, before I forget…listen to Colt Cabana’s podcast interview with C.M. Punk. Lots of interesting stuff, but the overriding theme is: HOW CAN A BILLION-DOLLAR CORPORATION BE SO ***KING PETTY? Answer: Because, at heart, WWE is a mom-and-pop carny huckster operation. We now return to the column, already in progress…)
Kevin Kelly wrote a good column about what changes TNA should implement. For me, it’s about who they shouldn’t use and what they shouldn’t do.
Josh Matthews will apparently replace Mike Tenay on play-by-play. That’s a good place to start. Replace Taz, too. Never put Dixie Carter on TV again. EVER. Overhaul the roster. Trim all the fat – for creative reasons, not budgetary. (Although saving cash won’t hurt, either. This is not a big-money TV deal.)
Yes, it’s my tried-and-true concept: THE FACES OF FAILURE. (I think that used to be what Kevin Sullivan called his gang of goons.)
Tenay, for example, is pretty good. Recent performances were uninspired and lacked motivation, but consider the lame product. Taz just stinks.
At any rate, when viewers, for years, watched the horrific product that is TNA, they saw and heard Tenay and Taz. They were the faces (and voices) of failure. If TNA comes back with that announce team, previous terrible programming will resonate in people’s minds. It’s the same with Dixie, and the same with various key performers (though you’ve got to keep somebody).
Kelly’s column had lots of good ideas. I especially like the notion of rotating bookers. Booking a wrestling promotion needs to be handled by one man. He needs to be the bottom line. That gives programming a common thread, a consistent feel. WWE has perversely proven that with its two dozen writers.
But if one man does it, it’s a burnout job.
TNA should give the book to one man, and he takes a break after a specified time frame (but is available for consulting regarding work he’s booked).
Fire John Gaburick. He was just an errand boy in WWE, a liaison. He has zero creativity. Nothing on his resume suggests otherwise. I have my doubts about Dave Lagana. Look at TNA’s programming. How could you not have doubts? I like Kelly’s suggestion of using Matt Hardy and Tommy Dreamer to book. Hardy is both smart, and smart to the business. Look at Dreamer’s House of Hardcore shows. He’s tapping into something marginal, but at least he’s tapping into something. There’s nostalgia. But HoH moves forward, too. Dreamer gets it.
TNA also needs to decide what it wants to do, and what it wants to be.
TNA uses a six-sided ring, but never pushes it. It’s just THERE. It’s not exemplary of a unique product. It’s just THERE.
Whenever I watch TNA, it seems they couldn’t wait to get the show over with, get paid, and go to the bar. Been there, drank that. They need a re-launch. New Blood vs. Millionaires’ Club?
BTW, here’s what going to happen after Jim Ross calls the Tokyo Dome show: Ross is going to get re-hired by WWE. I don’t know what Ross would do at WWE. It could be money for nothing. But the last thing WWE wants is for Ross to get back in the game somewhere else. It will be Ross’ call. put it that way. The Tokyo Dome is a shot across WWE’s bow.
WWE should put Ross back on Raw. WWE announcing is at low tide. Cole is remarkably inconsistent. JBL is bad beyond description. (I’m still a King mark. Guilty pleasure.) Then again, could anybody do a good job announcing with a lunatic screaming in his ear? Probably not.
Oh, about TNA: Honestly, what they do doesn’t matter. Nobody is going to watch. Not on TV, not on PPV, and not live.
Follow Mark on Twitter: @MarkMaddenX
