Hello people. If there’s one thing that strike me about wrestling today, and it applies to both of the major North American promotions, it’s inconsistency. We all know about that the real c word in wrestling - credibility - causes people to groan into their alphabetti spaghetti whenever you mention it, but I think we can all agree about the importance of consistency. The problem I find is that if even when things are going well, that neither WWE or TNA can string together a sequence of good shows. It’s always two or three shows of solid build up, and then one damages it. The problem is, the bad shows are often so bad that they negate almost all of the good work.
Take WWE. Anyone whose read Take Up Thy Wrestling Boots and Walk recently knows that I’d recently been enjoying the offerings from WWE. I’d also been looking forward to Summerslam, and was debating ordering Summerslam - the first time I’d have paid for a WWE pay per view for a number of years. Even Wrestlemania hadn’t hooked me in for the past couple of years, but all of a sudden the Nexus angle, plus a couple of other things, had captured my imagination.
Thing is, the old consistency bug bit again, and the biggest party of the summer killed all that momentum dead. I’m not going to review the event - you can read that anywhere - but in a nutshell, they interrupted a match I was enjoying, all of the title matches were forgettable, the Miz’s promo was overlong and bored me so much I nearly fell asleep, Michael Cole did his best to castrate the Nexus by suggesting that Cena had been through a war (even though his argument with Jericho was based around his hardly being in the match), and the fact that to all intents and purposes, the angle is dead. It doesn’t really matter what they do subsequently to try and get their heat back. Boot out Darren Young? Who cares, really? They attacked Bret, Vince, and Steamboat, and went on a destructive rampage. You can’t get that heat, that potency back easily. Thing is, they had outside interference, they cheated a lot, they had a two on one advantage, and they still lost. In one night, they took the best stable in wrestling since the new world order and turned them into a bunch of limp dicks.
There’s a newspaper here in the UK called the Sun. They are owned by Newscorp, the same people who own Fox News. They also own the company that broadcast WWE here. It’s probably the only paper on this side of the water to even acknowledge the existence of professional wrestling. They reviewed Summerslam, and pretty much agreed with my reaction, claiming it was a mediocre event, forgettable at virtually every level. So, I was kind of disappointed, and watching the tv shows the past week have kept that disappointment rolling. Kane and Undertaker wrestling again, plus the leaner, meaner Nexus continuing their misguided attempt at domination has left me with that oh so familiar ‘meh’ feeling again.
Then something happened when I was watching Impact. Yeah, I watch TNA every week too. That’s quite a lot of wrestling for someone who claims to be bored by it, huh? I’d started watching again awhile ago, and both companies entertained me that week, but it soon became apparent that TNA didn’t book as well as WWE. Everything seemed just that bit harder to follow in TNA, and they didn’t seem to use their time quite so well as they might have done. There was nothing in TNA that hit me quite the same way that the Nexus angle did, plus there was an awful sense of self-satisfaction about the place that just seemed a bit unwarranted.
Imagine my surprise then, when I noticed that watching this past week’s impact, that in many ways I prefer TNA to the WWE.
Don’t get me wrong, they have the same consistency problem. They can’t book a good month, and I doubt they can put more than two good shows together. Thing is, WWE booking good shows had obscured a few things from my view, and when they ran dry, the things that appeal to me more about TNA come through more clearly. The structure of the company makes sense, for one thing, which is something of a novelty these days.
Have you ever stopped to think about the story of power in the WWE? Not the real story, but the one on screen. The owner is a commentator, while power is vested in a series of fan friendly presidents. Then he hates a wrestler so much that he moves from behind the announcing table, and takes control so he can use his power to end his career. Then he splits his empire into two, hiring different people to run each show, turning up occasionally to terrorise wrestlers or the people who run the show. At no point here does this make any sense. In the old days, when a president like Jack Tunney or Gorilla Monsoon enforced the rules, then there was a certain credibility (ok, sue me) to it all. Fans through the door were good for business, and an authority figure giving them the matches that they wanted to see plays into that quite nicely. You can believe that a man who gives the people what they want succeeds in business, and so manages to maintain his power.
TNA, to a degree, have that. Dixie Carter isn’t a major part of the shows, in the way that Vince McMahon has been in the past, or the way that Hogan and Bischoff currently are. She’s much more reminiscent of those dead president’s. You only really see her when she needs to do something. Granted, in the past few weeks we’ve seen her far too often with this whole EV2.0 thing, but in the week just gone she was in the show just the perfect amount, foiling fourtune by signing all of the old ECW guys to contracts. There’s a lesson here for the WWE, if they want to continue with general managers. Authority figures have been so hands on in recent years, you feel that WWE don’t really know how to do it with a light touch anymore. The general manager could take the more hands on, in the thick of things role like Bischoff and Hogan take, while a figurehead president could cover both shows and keep everything in check; in short, they could be the ultimate place where authority resides, with Vince McMahon off camera.
I also quite like the ratings system that TNA operates. It acts like a league table, and ties the entertainment aspect of wrestling back to its more sporty roots. Think back to the mid nineties, where wrestlers didn’t go back and forth, having match after match over the world title for months. The champion had a match, and unless there was a controversial ending, at the next pay per view he would defend the title against someone doing well in the rest of the company. Take Shawn Michaels first reign. He defended against Diesel, then the Bulldog twice (the first match declared a draw), then Vader, Mankind, and finally Sid. Michaels certainly didn’t feud with Mankind, not really, during this period. This was effectively an interlude in the existing Undertaker vs. Mankind feud, which at that point in time, Mankind was winning. Now, the TNA system doesn’t work perfectly, much like Dixie Carter as company president, but I like the idea, and the format.
The conclusion that I reached while watching this decent but unspectacular edition of Impact is that TNA’s better structure means the company has to book less well in order to put out a good product. By having an evident structure, it is easier to get the rush that comes from transgression. In the WWE, things need to be unbelievably anarchic to get an out of control feeling, because everything seems chaotic to begin with. It’s like a world in which 2 and 2 can be anything you want it to be, on any given day. Compare that to a world in which 2 and 2 usually makes four, and the day it makes five seems groundbreaking.
I’ve already made it clear though, that TNA is far from perfect. So here is my laundry list of things that I think would make the company better.
First, get Tazz out of the announce position. Mike Tenay is better than either Michael Cole or Todd Grisham today, and in many ways is the only ‘old-school’ wrestling announcer left. Tazz brings little to the partnership though, and I’d replace him with an out and out heel. You’ve got Eric Bischoff there, and I can’t think of anyone better to do the job than him.
Second, and I’m hoping this is slowly being remedied, is to use Matt Morgan correctly. One of the things we seem to have forgotten in the past few years is that you don’t have to be a great wrestler to be a great wrestler. What I mean is, Matt Morgan could draw just as well as Kevin Nash did in the mid nineties if he were utilised correctly. At the moment, he’s playing too cocky, where as a man his size needs to be threatening. Change his ring attire, stick a pair of sunglasses on him, make him drop the obnoxious crap and give him some powerful looking offense, and all of a sudden you’ve got a credible title contender. Just like Big Kev or Kane, it won’t matter how many times he loses, because it’ll always be believable. Right now, he’s being held back. He’ll also have a damn sight more longevity than mr. scream, Abyss, who’s boring after what, a month of being a heel?
The third thing I’d have to do would be to get rid of that smugness that seems to permeate the whole show. The amount of times they break off to talk about ‘this company’, or ‘the amazing things that person x has done for this company/this business’, makes everyone feel a little sick. It’s kinda nice, once in a while, to do it for a genuine legend, but these guys do it almost every week, and with such a feeling of self congratulation that you just want to scream, or worse, switch over. You do feel like reminding them that this is time being wasted… and also, that they lost their little ratings war.
On that topic, can we shut the fans up? I’m fed up of hearing ‘this is awesome’ being chanted at a match that is, frankly, anything but. I can’t remember ever seeing a TNA match that was awesome, to be frank. It’s been years since they’ve had one I’d consider memorable. The problem here is that TNA fans are so busy being smart all the time rather than shutting up and watching the show that it detracts from the product. You think Beer Money are awesome heels? Fine, then boo them, you freaks!
In spite of all this, I’ve kind of turned full circle in recent weeks. The wrestling may actually be more enjoyable in WWE - they do have Christian, after all - but there is so little of it that it doesn’t make up for all the other areas, many of which I’d say TNA are actually ahead of their competition. The last few shows have created a situation where in all other aspects, I’m actually far more optimistic about TNA shows.
Considering that a few weeks ago I thought WWE was awesome, I can’t help but think they’ve really dropped the ball.
And finally…
Take Up Thy Wrestling Boots, Tommy Dreamer. He’s one of the people you think of when you think of ECW. If you knew of its existence in the mid nineties, along with RVD, Taz and Sabu, he was one of the only guys that in conversation you put up against WCW and WWF guys in ‘dream’ matchups. Since the death of ECW, Dreamer hasn’t really ever had that role, and has been neutered in WWE. It is nice for someone of my age to see Dreamer actually get a run on top of the card again, before his career actually winds down.
And walk, Michael Cole. I’ve never been a fan of the heel play by play announcer. It just doesn’t really work. Michael Cole does it particularly badly. He’s a decent, but unspectacular, announcer at the best of times, and in this role as Miz cheerleader, he just comes across as a buffoon. The best heels, whether they are announcers or wrestlers, always believe in what they are saying, always give it credibility, and that’s something that Cole ignores. He’s too blinded by Miz, by the job of getting him more over, I guess, to be believable. It also results in his regular commentary getting worse, something he can ill afford.
With that, I’m signing off. Take care everyone.
Couldn't agree more with a lot of your points, in particular your sentiments that the Nexus angle is effectively dead on the water from here on out or, at the very least, that it is not going to reach the heights it could have.
TNA needs more than three things to help it...
Nicely done...
Hey Doc,
Thanks for reading. Yeah, I dunno where they are going to take the Nexus angle. As for TNA... well, they actually need one thing, and that is to learn how to book well. Everything works pretty well in TNA until it comes time to actually execute it, then they are usually more miss than hit.
Again, thanks for stopping by man, good to hear from you.
I've only been recently getting back into wrestling at all, and while there are a lot of ways in which I prefer TNA to WWE, I've found WWE to be more consistently entertaining recently.
I agree that Nexus should definitely have won at SummerSlam, but I think they're doing the best job they possibly can to get their heat back considering the loss. In this case, "best they possibly can" doesn't necessarily mean "good" but I guess it's something, at least. Though I agree there's no way they can now be elevated to the point they would've been able to before.
TNA definitely needs to learn how to book well, and I'd argue they should just get a new commentating team. I've never really enjyed TNA commentators that much, whether they be Mike Tenay, Tazz, or (especially) Don West. I think both Tazz and Tenay have done a good job commentating in the past, but for whatever reason, they just don't click well together.
I have to say, I kind of enjoy Michael Cole's heelish mancrush on Miz for the humor of it, but I don't think that's what he's really going for with it.
Meritorious column, as always.
I have to say that I am not sure I could go so far as to say I look forward to TNA more than WWE, ever. But I understand your point. The drop-off after the Nexus crash and burn at SummerSlam has been disorienting.
Also, I feel that if you were going to get rid of one announcer on TNA, it should be Tenay. He has always come across as small time to me, always playing second fiddle and trying too hard to reincarnate the not-quite-dead ghost of Tony Schiavone in that everything that happens is the biggest thing to ever happen in the industry. I honestly would prefer to see just about anyone in that role. Except for Don West.
Phrases like alphabetti spaghetti are why you're one of the best. Much love, Prime.
MMCI
I will say this for TNA: Fortune's beatdown of the Extreme Superstars a couple of weeks ago left me intrigued. One might argue that it wasn't "original," but almost nothing is anymore, anyway. I agree with you that TNA seems to be really missing the boat on Matt Morgan. A little over a year ago, he was in multiple magazines because of his being involved with the ill-fated America Gladiators redux. I think that should have been the time to really push him. They could have really capitalized on that publicity.
While I'm in agreement with the good doctor about TNA being in a more dire position than you've given them credit for, I do want them to cut the shit and put on the show they're certainly capable of producing.
With Nexus, the 'E certainly seems to be flirting with disaster. Especially with the report that Nexus may well cease to exist "In it's current form" come October. I really hope that report is a smokescreen, and that what whomever leaked that little scrap of information was alluding to is, perhaps, an established veteran taking the reigns from Wade Barrett, thus changing the group's "current form." If not, this angle could potentially fail more severely than the Alliance angle.
Good to read you again, Pt2.
Always a pleasure.
volume six: At a CrossRhodes
available now
I haven't watched a full episode of TNA Impact in a long time, so I might not have the most biased opinion out there. But my perception of TNA at the moment is that they're relying way too much on the past reputations of their wrestlers. I understand that having familiar faces might help draw people who used to watch the WWE before. But having stuff like bringing in a ton of wrestlers, the majority way past their 'prime', from a company that has been defunct for almost ten years and giving them a show won't do them any favors in the long run. I don't know how many old ECW guys are still around, but the fact that they're still in the company, given high-profile matches, just feels wrong to me, and makes me not want to tune in. Add the idiotic fans chanting "This is awesome!" at random intervals, and I just want to kick a hole through my TV.
The WWE, on the other hand, has been giving other guys more opportunities. Although it's mostly out of necessity (the old guard retiring or getting hurt), it's a refreshing change. Despite the Nexus losing at Summerslam, last week's Raw featuring each of them in individual matches was one of the more enjoyable Raws in recent months, in my opinion. Although things aren't at their best in the WWE, it feels that they're doing a good job at ensuring that they won't have to rely on an 40-year-old John Cena in 2017. That's what I'm personally liking on the WWE at the moment. I wish I could enjoy TNA more, like you, but my brain can't process it for some reason. I guess I'll always be biased towards the WWE.
One more thing: I thought that the TNA Rankings system would be one of the company's saving graces, and I find it has a lot of potential, as you wrote. But has it really been pushed as much as it could? For example, I have no idea what the rankings are now, so I went to the TNA website to check them out. However, where the hell are they on their site? The home page has no link to the rankings. I checked the roster page, and the rankings aren't there, either. After clicking on links for a few more minutes, I gave up. You would imagine that something that they want to push onto fans would be easily accessible.
I've rambled incessantly long enough here, it seems. No wrestling company is perfect, and many people will have countless opinions on the rights and wrongs of each. It also seems to change on a monthly basis. Some people even change their opinion on a weekly basis. It's tough to be able to see towards the future.
Glad to see you writing here again. Don't be a stranger.
There were a few ways to inject life back into the Nexus angle, but last week's Raw was a piss poor attempt. Having Nexus lose was one thing but having Barrett tap out clean to Cena was a terrible booking decision. Obviously in the grand scheme of things it's to be expected but SummerSlam was early enough in this angle that they needed to retain their heat. Even though I hate a countout or DQ on PPV, I'd rather see Barrett purposely get disqualified to avoid Cena beating him then lose clean. Just seemed foolish.
As for TNA, once upon a time I loved them and they still have a lot of great talent; they just need direction. My biggest pet peeve with them is the amount of times a wrestler turns heel/face seemingly out of nowhere.
Good read
Time for some feedback to feedback.
Corso: Yeah, in recent weeks I've found WWE more entertaining too, but it did all come down to earth with a bump. I'm not sure that Nexus really had to win, but its more the way that they lost that kills the angle rather than anything, for me. It's just kind of naive booking. Honestly, I think they are lame ducks now.
My main reason for removing Tazz is exactly as you say, that he doesn't click with Tenay. I can't help but think if they put a genuine heel with him then that might work a bit better. As for Michael Cole, it's kind of fun for a bit, but I've never really been a fan of making your main commentator look like an idiot. It's certainly not in the best traditions of Gordon Solie.
CBT: Yeah, that was kind of interesting, they only problem I had with it was the amount of EV2.0 love in's that they had before they got to this point. It got to the point where I'd fast forward through a lot of them, because much like a WWE promo, someone would be in the ring for ten minutes or more, and the sum total of what you learn from it could have been fit into 90 seconds or less. Again, this is the TNA booking problem. What they had was fine, but how they got there kind of sucked.
I wouldn't be surprised if the WWE realise they have fucked up on the Nexus, and realise that the best option may well be pulling the plug. I'm not so sure about the others, but they could have installed Wade Barrett at the top of the card for the foreseeable future, but now the only way they could do that would be for him to go over Cena in the blow-off match. That ain't going to happen, unless Cena wants six months off.
M: Yeah, it was a surprise to me too. I'd been really disappointed with TNA for a few weeks, and then just out of nowhere this structure just seemed to jump out at me and I realised I kinda liked it. There's far too much wrong with them for me to get too optimistic, but the bit that really struck me was that I think because of the better organisation on-camera they'll only have to be half-decent for me to enjoy it, while WWE will have to press all the right buttons.
We'll have to disagree on Tenay. I've always thought he was at least decent, and once JR past his best a number of years ago, I've thought that as long as he stays out of angles, he's the best of the major commentators. I enjoyed him in WCW, and with a few exceptions, I've enjoyed him in TNA. He doesn't remind me of Tony Schiavone too much, although if you go back pre-WCW, that's not really a bad thing. Schiavone in NWA was pretty decent. Somewhere down the line, probably around 1990-91, he turned into a pretty poor announcer. But yeah, I'd take Tenay over Cole and Grisham, especially if he had another co-commentator to work with. The 'thug from red-hook' thing was fun a decade ago, but not so much now.
Gen: You're right on a lot of things here. TNA do rely a lot more on older guys. Not so much as they used to, as the pushes do seem to be aimed at a number of guys that either they brought through, or people that were released by the WWE early. That said, we do see too much of a lot of people, and both Van Dam and Jeff Hardy are perpetual main eventers. Kevin Nash and Sting seem to take up time without offering anything significant. As I said in the column, I'm kind of enjoying seeing Dreamer in a decent role, but to be honest I am hoping its a short run thing rather than a prolonged one. I don't want to see him wrestling Ric Flair in six months time, y'know? WWE, as you say, bring people through a lot better - they have the resources for that - and although I've said in the past I think far too many of their guys blur into one, there are a number of people that will be future main eventers.
You are right about the rankings system. I love the idea, but you'd think that they would push it a lot more, foreground the whole thing a bit better.
I do expect to prefer WWE, head to head, a lot of the time. I guess what I was saying is that while watching TNA I was surprised to find that although I prefer the wrestlers in the WWE, and they make the most of their positives better, and that they also have better production values and all that goes with that, in spite of all that there are things about TNA that make it that much easier to get into the show. Now, it's TNA, so I expect them to fuck that up, but it came as a surprise to me and seemed like a decent basis for a column.
Monkey: You are bang-on about the TNA Heel/face thing. What I think they need to do is sit down and plan a year or so in advance. Not likely to happen as long as Russo and Bischoff are there, but long-term booking works. I'm sure it'd cut most of the stupid shit out.
Yeah, Nexus really needed to seem like a force for a lot longer. They spent all that time building a 'numbers game' thing, and yet when Cena was 2-1 down, and had been driven into the concrete, he could beat the pair of them. It's called undoing several weeks work in three seconds. I thought the perfect ending would have been like the Team Canada vs. Team USA match from SS'97, when Vader pinned someone (Doug Furnas?) and then Bulldog clocked him with a foreign object for the cheap win. Barrett does that and a month or so down the line the rematch should be awesome. The ball was, most seriously, dropped.
Thanks for stopping by, guys.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
