TNA Financial Problems?

[Chris]

But what your suggesting wouldn't really push TNA any further at all from their current stage. If anything it makes them digress. Sure they wouldn't have the financial issues but without ANY big names they also lose that exposure and with a bunch of young guys they basically just become another Indy promotion for guys to use to get into the big leagues (Basically WWE and WWE alone with your idea). As a whole shunning out all the old guys hurts TNA in the long run.

That's what Deezy is saying he wants though. They've failed at being a true competition to WWE, so he's saying make them a true indy fed and a real alternative, using little older guys and focusing on younger talent. They'll end up with a niche fan base, may even do better than they do now ratings wise and definitely won't have to pay the talent as much as they do now.

 

[ThatGuyFromNukemHigh]

Hell it worked for ECW back in the day, If they did bring in someone from another company they were used sparingly, and more often than not used to put over an ECW guy. They introduced us to names like Benoit, Geurerro, Jericho, & Mysterio, they gave Austin his first real chance on a microphone, and as guys left for greener pastures, they pushed another ECW guy to fill his spot. Its not rocket science, and there is a reason listening to Heyman about a situation like this is very sound advice, because he lived it, and made it work enough to turn profits at times.

ECW was an alternative to WWE & WCW, TNA can be that same alternative today for the massively overwhelming juggernaut that WWE is today.

 

[Troy]

I think that deezy is on the right track. All these big signings haven't taken the company forward and they have gone backwards with ratings since bringing them all in. They may draw a few more people when on the road, although I doubt it since their house shows still normally pull around 500 people, but they cost a lot more money and I don't think that they are bringing in a decent return.

I wouldn't go for the blanket age ban though, some wrestlers hit their peaks at different ages so using the same method for everyone wouldn't work. I would look harder at cutting a bunch of guys that have been there for years and haven't progressed that far and that don't add anything to the show. I would also dump a lot of the former WWE/WCW talent and try to focus more on new characters.

I also 100% agree that TNA need to actually become an alternative again. Offer something different rather than being an inferior version of the bigger company. Focus more on the X-Division, focus more on the women and on tag teams. Bring in a constant flow of young talent from all over the world to keep the product fresh. Relying on Hogan, Angle, Hardy, Sting, Ray just won't work long term.

 

[Keith]

I sit somewhere in the middle of this thing. I don't go along with the idea that the likes of Angle and Sting have not progressed TNA, because its possible they wouldn't have a national TV deal without them. Also the company has become more known world wide and have had great success in the UK market as a result. Still the problem remains of their poor ratings both on TV and PPV in the states and the fact that they still throw away far too much on big names without too much of a return, the introduction of Bischoff and Hogan have shown that.

Going back to deezy's main point, that is how TNA got noticed in the first place and because in reality they can't compete with WWE it does the sound the best way forward for them. I don't mind a few older guys around as long as they put over the younger guys more and are not so much the focus of the shows. A happy middle ground in other words.

 

[CGS]

Ahh My bad, but yeah I'm in the same boat as Keith with the whole idea. I still think it would be stupid to shun all the older guys who still can perform at a high level. If anything having them around can help push the younger guys even further and allow them to hone their skills a bit more. But yeah too many old guys hogging the spotlight is similarly stupid business.

I do agree though that they need to get that unique edge about them back. The X division was what originally put them on the map and it's kinda a shame that they have pretty much put that to oneside. I believe that the X Division WAS their niche. Most of the guys were exciting, they were young and they were eager to impress. TNA do need something like that again and when the young guys DO impress having an older more experienced wrestler to work off can only elevate them further.

Just think you really need a balance between the two

 

[Troy]

I sit somewhere in the middle of this thing. I don't go along with the idea that the likes of Angle and Sting have not progressed TNA, because its possible they wouldn't have a national TV deal without them. Also the company has become more known world wide and have had great success in the UK market as a result. Still the problem remains of their poor ratings both on TV and PPV in the states and the fact that they still throw away far too much on big names without too much of a return, the introduction of Bischoff and Hogan have shown that.

Going back to deezy's main point, that is how TNA got noticed in the first place and because in reality they can't compete with WWE it does the sound the best way forward for them. I don't mind a few older guys around as long as they put over the younger guys more and are not so much the focus of the shows. A happy middle ground in other words.

TNA were signed to SpikeTV over a year before Angle made the move and whilst Sting was on hiatus. They got the deal because SpikeTV knew how important wrestling was to their channel and when WWE left Spike they simply signed the second biggest wrestling promotion to a deal. If ROH was number two at the time they would have got the deal instead. As long as SpikeTV is targeted at adult males they will have a place for TNA.

A few older guys are fine if they add to the product. They needed some early on to get exposure and to encourage people to tune in but once people tuned in it was the X-Division that hooked them. TNA has now been around for 11 years they shouldn't really need to be as reliant on the older names as they are. In over a decade they should have been able to create more stars that can lead the company forward. As you said the ratings are still poor so what they are currently doing isn't working, they may as well try something different and drop some of these big names that havent drawn for them.

 

[Dale]

Because its the image thing. TNA need to say they are at the fore front of cutting edge new talent or fresh matches and feuds. When the fans see the likes of Angle or Flair on the show they just think that those guys made it big in other promotions and will always be known as WWE or WCW guys. Then when you have someone who didn't make it such as Anderson or Morgan they see them as guys who weren't good enough to make it in the big leagues so why should they take them serous in TNA?

So if your Bryan/Cesaro/Sandow/Rollins of this world were to get released tomorrow from the WWE, you don't think TNA should sign them purely because they are seen as WWE or to some extent ROH guys? It just blows my mind that you would write off a whole pool of talent just because they worked for the WWE. Just because they've signed some trash ex-wwe guys like The Nasty Boys, Orlando Jordan, Matt Hardy, Sean Morley, Ken Anderson etc it doesn't mean they shouldn't pick up guys like Christian, Angle and even your women like Tara and Mickie.

For me, you just have to make sure that those signings don't overshadow your talent you already have that on the roster that are in a similar position to them. Sting needed to be used sporadically and as an attraction similar to how Taker is used although they could probably get more out of him on a regular basis. Hogan should still be the big boss, but in more of a Vince role where he appears here and there for the big angles and big decisions. Angle & Jeff, while they been seen as WWE guys (even though Angle has spent more time in TNA) can bring credibility to the main event scene. Take someone like Magnus for example, he's going to be getting a rub by working alongside Angle & Sting, two bonafide stars and multiple time world champions. You take an upcoming heel for example, maybe someone like Roode or Aries and them going over Angle, Sting or Jeff is huge and would actually make them legit, whereas if you didn't have those guys around in the company they'd have to be going over the likes of AJ & Joe who just don't have the appeal, name value and all that jazz.

I just think in the end up from my perspective at least that signing ex-WWE guys is perfectly fine so long as they still offer something and are booked well.

 

[Deezy]

Again, I said turning a profit was priority, it never meant I coudn't use veteran talent when I get some extra money to burn. There is a happy medium, but let's face it, I don't want people with name value overshadowing talent I am building my company around first. I would need time to build up my homegrown talent into looking like stars, THEN bring in other talents for them to feud with. But first and foremost I would need to bring that company into the black first and that means tighten the belt, book smart, and make my guys look like a million bucks while only paying them 500 an appearance. It's just that simple.

 

[Keith]

So if your Bryan/Cesaro/Sandow/Rollins of this world were to get released tomorrow from the WWE, you don't think TNA should sign them purely because they are seen as WWE or to some extent ROH guys? It just blows my mind that you would write off a whole pool of talent just because they worked for the WWE. Just because they've signed some trash ex-wwe guys like The Nasty Boys, Orlando Jordan, Matt Hardy, Sean Morley, Ken Anderson etc it doesn't mean they shouldn't pick up guys like Christian, Angle and even your women like Tara and Mickie.

For me, you just have to make sure that those signings don't overshadow your talent you already have that on the roster that are in a similar position to them. Sting needed to be used sporadically and as an attraction similar to how Taker is used although they could probably get more out of him on a regular basis. Hogan should still be the big boss, but in more of a Vince role where he appears here and there for the big angles and big decisions. Angle & Jeff, while they been seen as WWE guys (even though Angle has spent more time in TNA) can bring credibility to the main event scene. Take someone like Magnus for example, he's going to be getting a rub by working alongside Angle & Sting, two bonafide stars and multiple time world champions. You take an upcoming heel for example, maybe someone like Roode or Aries and them going over Angle, Sting or Jeff is huge and would actually make them legit, whereas if you didn't have those guys around in the company they'd have to be going over the likes of AJ & Joe who just don't have the appeal, name value and all that jazz.

I just think in the end up from my perspective at least that signing ex-WWE guys is perfectly fine so long as they still offer something and are booked well.

Now you are taking what I have said to the extreme. I never once said that they should hire no ex-WWE guys just that they should not build the company around them at the expense of the younger talent like they have been doing in recent years. Also I did praise the likes of Angle, Christian and Sting, and I would throw Tara
and Mickie James in there as well. Most of the guys you mentioned are different cases because as of yet apart from Bryan none of them have made it big in WWE so if they left for TNA tomorrow they could start from scratch without too much of a issue. That is part of the problem with Anderson, he made it to a decent enough level for TNA fans to say "hey there's that ex-WWE guy who didn't make it big there" you either have to be a lower card guy who can be repackaged and sold as a TNA guy or Girl or have to be an over top level talent, but still in your prime or close to it.

 

[DeathChamberzMusic]

Loyalty doesn't exist in wrestling, they need to cut deadwood like AJ, Joe and Sting.

I don't care if they are TNA originals or whatever, it's proven nobody cares about these guys anymore. Rose tinted glasses aside, AJ has been getting constant pushes every year since company founded and every time he has failed to connect with fans. Fantastic athlete, enjoyable enough to watch in the ring, but isn't going to be a star, it's took him a decade to get to where he is now......which is where he was in 2005, 2006, 2007, and go on from there.

You could put John Morrison in his spot to the same effect, might even be cheaper.

Cutting Aj and Joe would be the worst things they can do Aj is still a face of TNA I say you need to get rid of some of the big name contracts I really think they need to go back to what they used to do pushing the tag women and X divisions. They are cheaper to run and it suits the majority of the wrestlers.

Be very careful who you bring down from WWE and also look who you can bring up from like the indies as there already made stars. And don't gotta be WWE and change everyone name.

 

[The Cork]

Hiring all those big names haven't done anything for TNA's exposure, the ratings have been the same pretty much the whole SPike run, so saying these big names bring in people is just false. Spike TV is the main draw here, people know where it is and I doubt keeping big names will change anything. Why can't I just reboot the company and bring it in a new direction? The current format isn't working, all it does is bleed TNA of funds if anything.

Going younger is a viable option, because a wrestling alternative is what I'm offering, how the fuck am I supposed to be an alternative if I keep around familiar faces from a bigger company? It just makes me my show look second rate. But if I handpick new guys I can build from the ground up, it means this is the only place you can see these guys who are just going to hit their primes, not a bunch of fucks who are past it and don't really care about my product.

I find it odd, that a person suggesting making my own stars instead of using old guys is met with nitpicking.

The big names certainly ain't helped bring in anyone, but I do think they are keeping them static, if you were to purge the roster of any name value I'm sure you'd drive away a significant percentage of fans.

I'd relate it to something like the last season of Scrubs, where they hired a bunch of jobber n00bs to take JD & Turks place...thus killing the show dead.

Just can't see more people wanting to tune in to a show featuring indy guys as opposed to the Angles and Hardys. Plus, TNA have horrendous talent scouts anyway, look at 99% of Gut Check contenstants. You're gonna bank on these guys to find you a bunch of next big things? lol.

 

[Deezy]

Dude, this is the hypothetical "what I would do" with TNA, I would be the guy looking for talent, I would be the guy hiring people. I would be the only boss. Which is TNAs problem, like WCWs. Noone knows who is in charge and can just go to anyone with a problem and create deadlocks in production and the creating of new talent.

I'm not saying TNA should do this, because I don't have the faith in that company to try anything out of the box like I suggested.Nor do I think they could pull off something like that. It's just what I would do if given the oppurtunity. Which we all know isn't going to happen. Just a hypothetical from me.

 

[The Cork]

O I C.

In that case, Matt Morgan unifies all titles and squashes Hogan at BFG.

Hogan brings back Hall and Nash and they beat up vanilla midgets like AJ every week.

Also bring back Russo, guy was an awesome troll heel. (srs)

 

[Deezy]

Heel Russo would be a great idea, he was definitely good at pissing people off. Especially marks who think every bad idea in wrestling had something to do with him.

Bet anything a drunk Hall would bring in more ratings than any Joe/Daniels/AJ 3 way ever would.

and Matt Morgan should've been their top guy 2 years ago, hell Lance Hoyt should've been a star when the Impact crowd got on his bandwagon in 05.