It’s Wednesday morning as I write this column, and all of the expectations surrounding TNA Wrestling and their live debut on Destination America tonight are swirling around the wrestling channels with the tenacity of Tom Arnold on speed. All the build up, all the talk, all the answers we’ve been waiting for, are going to be answered tonight. When the “new” TNA Wrestling launches, are we going to see a somewhat different approach to professional wrestling as TNA President Dixie Carter has stated, or is it just going to be the same old TNA – satisfied in settling for the WWE scraps?
But, even though tonight should tell us something about the direction that TNA has decided to head in with their new partner, it’s really going to be the weeks that follow that tell the story. Is TNA going to be fully committed to a plan this time, or will Dixie Carter simply be taken by the wind once again by whoever is in her ear at the time?
Having worked for TNA Wrestling and Dixie for over a decade , that was usually the playbook. There was never any consistency, ever. The product would go here, there, and everywhere, depending on what did and didn’t get over in just a matter of weeks. The lack of a long term commitment has stifled that company, and that lack of “staying the course” starts and ends at the top.
As TNA launches on Destination America tonight, they enter with all the scapegoats gone – Jarrett, Mantell, Hogan, Bischoff, Prichard and yes, even Russo. We’ve all been released of our duties in order for Dixie Carter to clean her slate and go with her people that she’s in control of.
Were the above-mentioned a headache for her at times? Of course, but that comes with visionaries, and risk takers, and those that aren’t afraid to take chances or try something new in order to advance the product. Are some ideas going to fall flat? Absolutely, but in business, if you want to succeed, at some point you have to decide to “go for it”, as opposed to just “playing it safe”. And, that’s not only from a creative perspective, but from a business one as well.
