How TNA can compete with WWE?

[Senhor Perfect]

Interesting article listing three steps TNA needs to take to compete with WWE. Agree/disagree?

Spoiler

The Roman poet Ovid once said, "A horse never runs so fast as when he has other horses to catch up and outpace." That was certainly the case in the late 1990s when Vince McMahon and the WWE faced real competition from WCW and, to a lesser degree, ECW. But in 2013, McMahon is more secure atop the pro wrestling world than anyone in history.
Today, WWE's main competition (and in this context, I use the term 'competition' lightly) comes from Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling. Airing Thursday nights on Spike TV, TNA's Impact Wrestling consistently draws ratings that would have gotten a primetime wrestling show cancelled 15 years ago. WWE Raw's ratings are typically at least three times higher than Impact Wrestling's ratings.

Depending on your perspective, you could applaud TNA for rising above all the other independent promotions that sprang up in the vacuum created by the demise of WCW and ECW. In operation now for 11 years, TNA has lasted longer than the original ECW (nine years) and is quickly catching up to WCW (13 years). However, I'm sure Dixie Carter and Hulk Hogan aren't satisfied with playing second fiddle to the WWE.
No one can accuse TNA of not trying to compete with WWE. Over the years, TNA has had a stable of A-list wrestlers that would make any promoter jealous. Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Sting, Roddy Piper, Jeff Jarrett (TNA's founder), Scott Steiner, Kurt Angle, Christian, Booker T, Kevin Nash, Jeff Hardy, and a young CM Punk have headlined WWE events around the world, yet all have failed to take TNA to the next level.

Many wrestling fans would argue that TNA's own homegrown wrestlers are the true talent base of the promotion. AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Austin Aries, Bobby Roode, and James Storm have entertained TNA fans for years and have given the promotion respectability. However, the time has come for TNA to take drastic measures to make the quantum leap into the stratosphere known as the WWE.

TNA has already tried to emulate the successful angles of other promotions to no avail. Factions such as Team Canada, Aces and Eights, Fortune, and the Main Event Mafia failed get over like the Four Horsemen and the NWO did. Giving its women's division more airtime than the WWE does hasn't brought in the 18-35 male demographic. And TNA's highly respected X Division has become nothing more than another cruiserweight division.

In my opinion, TNA has to take one or more of the following three steps to truly keep Vince McMahon awake at night.
3. Hire Paul Heyman as head of creative
Paul Heyman's critics contend that his promotion, ECW, never rose above third place and went out of business in less than 10 years. However, that was because Heyman tried to micromanage every aspect of ECW's business operations. The wrestling, promos, and storylines of ECW are legendary. With Paul Heyman directing TNA's creative plans, the promotion won't need to copy anyone else's storylines.

2. Focus more on its UK market
I'm not suggesting that TNA will become more popular in America by leaving America. However, TNA's best crowds are always in UK arenas. The episode of WWE Raw that took place after Wrestlemania 29 has already reached legendary status because of its amazing crowd. A rabid crowd is infectious, even to fans watching on TV. If TNA could film more episodes of Impact Wrestling in the UK, it would indirectly spawn excitement in America as well.

1. Sign a top WWE wrestler (John Cena or CM Punk)
I know this sounds like replicating failed business models of the past. However, that aforementioned list of WWE wrestlers would pale in comparison to a surprise run-in by John Cena or CM Punk on a live broadcast of Impact Wrestling. TNA would have to keep it a secret until it happens, which isn't as easy today as it was 15-20 years ago. And they would have to do it soon as rumors persist that Cena and Punk's injuries are mounting in the WWE.
At the end of the day, it's possible that Vince McMahon cannot be dethroned and the WWE will never be challenged again. The NFL put the old AFL and USFL out of business and is now the most powerful pro sports league in the world. It's also possible that a large portion of old-school wrestling fans jumped ship to MMA and they are never coming back. But TNA has to take a different approach if it ever hopes to compete with the WWE.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/tna-compete-surpass-wwe-192600651.html

 

[Laura]

I'm no expert, but those three steps sound highly unrealistic. IMO, the only way TNA will ever compete with WWE is with some amazing innovation that will force people to watch or risk missing a piece of wrestling history (like the Austin/Vince feud). Which is, of course, easier said than done.

 

[seabs]

They've had entertaining TV before and haven't risen above so Heyman won't grow the company, filming in the UK would be cool but won't help them grow either and signing a big wrestler is obvious but none is going to work with advertising TNA need to make a buzz out of these things otherwise they won't grow.

 

[Cloud]

TNA need to ensure that they keep a talent base coming through like they did with Roode, Aries etc.... This could be where they shine if they can keep high class talent coming through and with the company slowly but surely things will change. Its never gonna happen overnight it needs years or a massive investment of a billionaire to make it happen with speed.

 

[Lockard 23]

I agree with Laura. They need to do something innovative that gets people's attention. Not sure they can, though.

Everyone seems to think they need a much more aggressive and smart marketing strategy. In the few times that I've bothered to flip over to Spike TV at all, I always usually see a commercial for Impact but the issue is that Spike TV is pretty flat in general as far as overall viewership goes. Maybe it would help reach more non-fans and turn them into regular hooked viewers if they went to a more popular channel.

And I'm not delusional when it comes to Heyman's booking power (some think any company he got control over could be turned into a threat to WWE overnight) but he once took what should have been nothing more than a CZW-like company in most ways and made the kind of impact he did with it. I would be optimistic that a wiser and more experienced Heyman would be able to take TNA and do perhaps something innovative with it. Maybe not a WWF/WCW situation right away if ever but his creative mind being behind it certainly couldn't hurt. It almost happened in 2010 but Dixie didn't like his idea on firing most of the older legends (or at least transitioning them into non-wrestling roles or roles in promoting the company) and so it didn't happen.

Not sure what else TNA could do... What they're doing right now obviously isn't making the audience grow. I think I might have to agree with the article that no matter what, WWE may be impossible to compete with. They've just been around with an established brand name for far too long. I've mentioned this before but even when WCW was pummeling WWF in the ratings, there was still a large portion of people who had respect for the WWF because of being the giant it was back from the 80's. There were wrestlers in WCW even during their two year run who still said (Jericho, for example) that their dream was to one day work for WWE. And this logic still applies today. Most guys coming up are gonna wanna work for the big company. And even after they end up in TNA, their goal is likely gonna be to one day make the jump to WWE. Didn't Austin Aries and Rob Terry both try to make the jump already? This also goes for indy wrestlers coming up. Most of the good ones are gonna be snapped up by WWE and those that aren't are gonna want to be.

This isn't a knock on TNA, just the harsh reality for any non-WWE company at this point that wants to be a mainstream success.

 

[Nano]

I agree with Laura too, they need something new that people like or enjoy not only feuds like now but a storyline that attracts the same or more than the Austin/McMahon storyline

 

[CM Punk]

I'd agree with Laura, but how do you plan on catering fans that have never seen the product before?
You'll gain some hundred to thousands of fans, but at the end of the day, it won't be a MAJOR game changer.

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

I don't see why they need to.... WWE is a global powerhouse, TNA is a young company barely 10 years in doing amazing things in its own right.

 

[Nano]

I don't see why they need to.... WWE is a global powerhouse, TNA is a young company barely 10 years in doing amazing things in its own right.

Yeah, that's true but think about the other fact is that ten years making great stuff should be enought to be at least a show that emits in America and Europe, I think they need something big to grow sooner or later...