DESSERT – General TNA Thoughts
These are just some general thoughts I had throughout the pay-per-view. For the sake of easiness (or laziness), I will use my notes from last year as a guide, but with add-ons:
THE 6 SIDED RING: I am still neither here nor there on this. Its effect was negligible. But one thing I noticed & didn’t like was…..
THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE RING & FRONT ROW: This really has to be extended for mine. It’s an injury waiting to happen & I know through personal experience from playing a few sports that when there is a barrier of any sort not far from a side or boundary line, it is very off-putting & can cause you to pull up earlier than you want to, which could in turn cause knee injuries & the like.
THE CROWD: I was unsure last year, but I am now almost certain that (excluding cost factors) TNA would be better off moving around a little more than they do. The crowd reactions from the regulars are often good, but can also stand out in the wrong way. And without it ruining matches, I do feel it does adversely affect some bouts in a number of ways.
PRODUCTION: This is hardly a concern nowadays as TNA have lifted their game well with graphics, entrances, promos & the like. I don’t count the below-average pre-show as a production problem per se.
DIRECTION & CAMERA-SHOTS: I was rather scathing with my criticism of this last year, but it has clearly improved now. It’s still not quite up to WWE’s standards, but it is now more than acceptable. I only counted a couple of times when I was a little annoyed with not being able to see something in the ring because the camera-work missed it or had switched elsewhere (EG: uselessly showing the security staff 2 hours before Pacman showed up).
COMMENTARY: Mike Tenay is still sufficient & Don West is still below-average. I hated West when I first heard him… He has definitely improved, but still is too annoying to put up with. His absolute doozy from this show was the following line: “There’s plenty of liquor there on the bar… There’s white liquor & there’s brown liquorâ€. They aren’t f’n crayons Don… I’d love to see you go up to a real bar & order “white liquorâ€! Anyway, he is darn lucky to still have a job for mine & why TNA haven’t at least given someone else an extended shot is beyond me.
JEREMY BORASCH: Going on from the commentary point, Borasch is the main backstage interviewer. To be honest, he hasn’t bothered me in the past & I have actually always felt that he has been a good worker as he does multiple things for the company. But during this show, he was simply annoying throughout. In fact, he made Todd Grisham seem like Hall Of Famer ‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund!
MATCH ORDER & IMPORTANCE: TNA have always been good in this area for mine, but it was almost impossible to tell with Hard Justice as there were too many bad matches!
TURN RAVEN & BG JAMES INTO MANAGERS: I know there are quite a few wrestlers past their best in TNA, but these 2 are both rather good on the microphone & would better be used as full-time managers only. BG can hardly move & his limited repertoire has shrunk even further than when he was a part of the New Age Outlawz. And while Raven is useful in the ring, it is more in a hardcore way where duplication exists with Abyss anyway.
TOO MANY TAG-TEAMS!: While I have been known to complain that there are not enough tag-teams in WWE, there could actually be too many in TNA. There were definitely too many tag matches throughout Hard Justice and it seemed to water down their importance as feuds didn’t appear to be concentrated where they should be. Furthermore, using this technique of filling up an event lessens the depth of the undercard & midcard matches, which was obvious here.
THE X-DIVISION: Hmmm, I worry about the mainstay of TNA. Kurt Angle currently holds the title & there are rumors that the division could be scrapped. As it pertained to Hard Justice, 6 of the division’s best were thrown into a tag match which was more there as an entertaining opener, even if it was a fine one. I think each & every TNA ppv should include a heated singles rivalry between 2 X-Division competitors.
MAINSTREAM APPEAL: There is nothing wrong with TNA attempting to get some mainstream appeal. And despite the over-hype, someone like Pacman Jones isn’t a bad person to target. It will be interesting to see if there is any increase in ratings & buyrates over the next month. My guess is that it will be minimal. But the fact that TNA’s name has been mentioned here & there is a positive as it lets the general public, and more importantly the casual wrestling fan, know that there is indeed another player in town. Of course, they have to be careful to not put so many resources into this & neglect other areas, as it is the other areas that will keep the viewer’s interest in the medium to long-term.
TALENT ROSTER: I don’t see any problems here as there is sufficient talent throughout TNA to more than get by. The problem is whereabouts some of the talent is on the card & how they are being used. I think they can afford to cut some costs by releasing some of the true undercarders. This would allow them to move a few of the wrestlers who are wrestling around the midcard down a notch.
COMPETING WITH WWE: With talks of a 2 hour weekly show being imminent, this debate is going to rear its head once more soon enough. I won’t get into the debate as to whether TNA is competition or an alternative to WWE, but I can say that TNA are still a fair way away from being anywhere near equals. Look, I’d watch their weekly shows for free if I was able to, but I am a die-hard. I just can’t see the casual fans, especially the younger ones, getting into TNA as much as WWE. Not yet anyway… & maybe not for a long while, if ever.
from lords of pain
These are just some general thoughts I had throughout the pay-per-view. For the sake of easiness (or laziness), I will use my notes from last year as a guide, but with add-ons:
THE 6 SIDED RING: I am still neither here nor there on this. Its effect was negligible. But one thing I noticed & didn’t like was…..
THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE RING & FRONT ROW: This really has to be extended for mine. It’s an injury waiting to happen & I know through personal experience from playing a few sports that when there is a barrier of any sort not far from a side or boundary line, it is very off-putting & can cause you to pull up earlier than you want to, which could in turn cause knee injuries & the like.
THE CROWD: I was unsure last year, but I am now almost certain that (excluding cost factors) TNA would be better off moving around a little more than they do. The crowd reactions from the regulars are often good, but can also stand out in the wrong way. And without it ruining matches, I do feel it does adversely affect some bouts in a number of ways.
PRODUCTION: This is hardly a concern nowadays as TNA have lifted their game well with graphics, entrances, promos & the like. I don’t count the below-average pre-show as a production problem per se.
DIRECTION & CAMERA-SHOTS: I was rather scathing with my criticism of this last year, but it has clearly improved now. It’s still not quite up to WWE’s standards, but it is now more than acceptable. I only counted a couple of times when I was a little annoyed with not being able to see something in the ring because the camera-work missed it or had switched elsewhere (EG: uselessly showing the security staff 2 hours before Pacman showed up).
COMMENTARY: Mike Tenay is still sufficient & Don West is still below-average. I hated West when I first heard him… He has definitely improved, but still is too annoying to put up with. His absolute doozy from this show was the following line: “There’s plenty of liquor there on the bar… There’s white liquor & there’s brown liquorâ€. They aren’t f’n crayons Don… I’d love to see you go up to a real bar & order “white liquorâ€! Anyway, he is darn lucky to still have a job for mine & why TNA haven’t at least given someone else an extended shot is beyond me.
JEREMY BORASCH: Going on from the commentary point, Borasch is the main backstage interviewer. To be honest, he hasn’t bothered me in the past & I have actually always felt that he has been a good worker as he does multiple things for the company. But during this show, he was simply annoying throughout. In fact, he made Todd Grisham seem like Hall Of Famer ‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund!
MATCH ORDER & IMPORTANCE: TNA have always been good in this area for mine, but it was almost impossible to tell with Hard Justice as there were too many bad matches!
TURN RAVEN & BG JAMES INTO MANAGERS: I know there are quite a few wrestlers past their best in TNA, but these 2 are both rather good on the microphone & would better be used as full-time managers only. BG can hardly move & his limited repertoire has shrunk even further than when he was a part of the New Age Outlawz. And while Raven is useful in the ring, it is more in a hardcore way where duplication exists with Abyss anyway.
TOO MANY TAG-TEAMS!: While I have been known to complain that there are not enough tag-teams in WWE, there could actually be too many in TNA. There were definitely too many tag matches throughout Hard Justice and it seemed to water down their importance as feuds didn’t appear to be concentrated where they should be. Furthermore, using this technique of filling up an event lessens the depth of the undercard & midcard matches, which was obvious here.
THE X-DIVISION: Hmmm, I worry about the mainstay of TNA. Kurt Angle currently holds the title & there are rumors that the division could be scrapped. As it pertained to Hard Justice, 6 of the division’s best were thrown into a tag match which was more there as an entertaining opener, even if it was a fine one. I think each & every TNA ppv should include a heated singles rivalry between 2 X-Division competitors.
MAINSTREAM APPEAL: There is nothing wrong with TNA attempting to get some mainstream appeal. And despite the over-hype, someone like Pacman Jones isn’t a bad person to target. It will be interesting to see if there is any increase in ratings & buyrates over the next month. My guess is that it will be minimal. But the fact that TNA’s name has been mentioned here & there is a positive as it lets the general public, and more importantly the casual wrestling fan, know that there is indeed another player in town. Of course, they have to be careful to not put so many resources into this & neglect other areas, as it is the other areas that will keep the viewer’s interest in the medium to long-term.
TALENT ROSTER: I don’t see any problems here as there is sufficient talent throughout TNA to more than get by. The problem is whereabouts some of the talent is on the card & how they are being used. I think they can afford to cut some costs by releasing some of the true undercarders. This would allow them to move a few of the wrestlers who are wrestling around the midcard down a notch.
COMPETING WITH WWE: With talks of a 2 hour weekly show being imminent, this debate is going to rear its head once more soon enough. I won’t get into the debate as to whether TNA is competition or an alternative to WWE, but I can say that TNA are still a fair way away from being anywhere near equals. Look, I’d watch their weekly shows for free if I was able to, but I am a die-hard. I just can’t see the casual fans, especially the younger ones, getting into TNA as much as WWE. Not yet anyway… & maybe not for a long while, if ever.
from lords of pain