Star power isn't everything

[chessarmy]

Its obvious the amount of star power TNA has IS NOT translating to high ratings/buy rates. I get the feeling that everyone backstage in that company thinks if they have a star studded roster, ratings will go through the roof and PPV buy rates will automatically increase. We've seen many wrestling legends work for TNA over it's existence and none of those things happened.

Kurt Angle + Jeff Hardy + Rob Van Dam + Sting + Hulk Hogan = .6

Yes, a .6, with all that star power, and that list doesn't even include Nash, Hall, Waltman, Anderson, Bischoff, guys that should "draw". Nope, through it all, TNA's rating persists. Yes, I know this past Monday's edition of iMPACT! scored a MASSIVE .9 rating, but thats still NOT the number they should be getting with all the star power on the roster. So, what does all the above prove? Well, star power isn't everything, it isn't the magic potion that catapults wrestling promotions to the promise land. TNA has so much talent, so many household names on the roster, and yet the highest rating they've ever achieved is a 1.5. Pathetic.

TNA needs to trim the fat on their roster, and actually focus on GOOD BOOKING, because thats what draws. Contrary to popular belief, you don't need every big name star the industry has ever seen to pop a rating, because that just leads to short term success. Long term, you need to actually use the guys on the roster correctly to draw ratings and buy rates. TNA continues to misuse their talent and instead of pulling in the 2.0's everyone knows they're capable of, they're stuck in the .6-1.0 range which is an embarrassment. First, the excuse was they wanted to go to Spike, so they got there. Then they wanted to move to Thursdays, so they moved. Then they wanted to go to prime time, so they moved to prime time, then they wanted 2 hours, so they got two hours, then they wanted to go to Mondays so they went to Mondays, then they wanted to go to an 8-10PM time slot, so they got their time slot....

AND THE RATING STILL SUCKS.

The people running this company are complete fools, instead of fixing the problem that is so glaringly obvious (inability to promote the product, asinine booking), they make excuse after excuse and what does it lead to? NOTHING. "Oh, we need a better time slot, oh, we need more star power", no TNA, you don't. I'm starting to think TNA could sign The Rock, Steve Austin, Michael Jordan, George Bush, The Jonas Brothers, God, Jerry Springer, Shawn Michaels, or fucking Lord Zinu, and the rating will always be the same. Why? Because TNA's booking is awful, they don't know how to market their own product, and the idiots working backstage will never figure it out.

So the point is this, will Dixie Carter ever figure it out? Will she learn that to draw ratings and buy rates, you need to actually give the fans something they want to watch? Will the dumbasses who run this company understand that Mondays is not the answer, signing everyone known to man is not the answer, but good booking is? Because with TNA in financial trouble right now, and with the company showing no signs of improvement, I don't see Bob Carter sitting around and letting this "long term investment" fail any longer.

Thoughts?

 

[CMS]

It is obvious Dixie Carter is just lost at what she's doing. Anybody, in any, business, would already be considered dumb for doing what she did, handling the control of her company to a guy with no experience in what he's doing, Hulk Hogan. Besides, i just find it minor league how Dixie makes all her announcements via Twitter, but that's just my personal opinion.

I have no hope for TNA. Everything they do is just seizure inducing. Nothing makes sense, and the way they rotate the damn roster is painful. I don't the point on using some guys one week and then letting them sit the next week to use the entire other half of the roster. The storylines are also stupid, I mean, the only storyline half good is Kurt Angle vs Mr. Anderson and they just had a damn match looking for a KEY. Yes, they are fighting for a key that will open the cage so that they can get away...even though they hate each other and want to tear each other apart.

TNA is just handling themselves horribly. Starting by the fact that their every single effort is being poured into this ratings war they have absolutely no chance of even competing in, while the place where they actually gain money of, PPVs, are letting to dry. Destination X had to be the worst PPV build up in recent history.

 

[Hometown Kid]

There are no major draws anymore, in any major wrestling promotion in America. Dixie has no idea how to run a wrestling company so she let the idiots around her tell her what would be a success. Unfortunately for her, those henchmen don't know how to run a wrestling company either. So they ended up signing a bunch of "stars". Anderson, Pope were pretty much the only additions that have made the company better.

I've been a supporter of their product, but ever since Hogan (who again, has NO IDEA about running a wrestling company.) came in, everything that made TNA a much better product in '09 has fallen by the wayside. It's worse than when Dusty was coming up with gimmicks in '03.

They just need to take a back to basics approach, cut some fat and grab another show so their roster isn't forced to work a 4 hour show in 2 hours. They're in such dire straits that the only thing that can turn the ship around is a complete overhaul of...everything.

It's not anything that hasn't been said before though...

 

[Lady Redfield]

Most of these guys are fat and old and kids just don't give a shit about them anymore/don't know who they are.

NwO was already done before. I fucking loved them in their WCW days but those days are long gone and the last thing I want to see is them get back together at this point (even though they are 'the band' now, which is a gay name).

Making it WCW 2 isn't going to help. It wont ever be like WCW, no matter how hard they try to make it. The Blue storylines are another thing. It's been said a million times now. Fuck off with the pointless, stupid, pathetic storylines.

I don't like how they try to make it like the Attitude Era either. I feel that they are just trying to damn hard with it and it isn't flowing as well as it did when the WWF was doing it. Making it forced just so you can try to steal something that worked for the WWE wont make the company succeed.

 

[The Showstopper]

They have a nice roster apart from the oldies. Like AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, Rob Van Dam, etc. But HORRIBLE booking, TNA barely ever makes sense. Hiring WWE's retirement home isnt going to help the ratings either.

 

[Chuck Taylor's Grenade]

Ad-Ver-Fucking-Tise

It doesn't matter who you bring in or what matches you promote if you don't advertise them or let people know when it's gonna be on it's pointless.

This past Monday when I was watching Impact I saw an ad for Main Event Championship Wrestling running a show near where I live. Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Lawler are gonna be on the show. If this minor leagues independent company can afford a 30 second spot on spike tv then why the fuck can't TNA? Between Spike TV's money being flushed into TNA and Panda Energy's money they should be able to pay for ads on every network, every major wrestling related web site, radio stations and so on.

 

[TDamien]

Sting, Angle, and Booker T got TNA credibility among wrestling fans.

Hogan got TNA into Mainstream Media.

Bottom Line... Everybody knows what WWE is. Before bringing in Hogan, the vast majority of people (who do not follow wrestling) didn't know what TNA is. Now most of those people know what TNA is and that's where it has to begin. For that alone, I give Dixie a lot of credit.

 

[MizMasta3000]

I have been saying this since Petey Williams left, TNA should be building some homegrown talent. Look at AJ Styles. All of the originals from like 02-05 should be the flagship stars. They total fumbled the fucking ball with Daniels and Joe it's sickning. They dropped the ball with Petey (ruined by Steiner beforehand). Lets put it like this: no one wants the "what could have been" matches you failed to do when WCW or WWE was around.

 

[TDamien]

I have been saying this since Petey Williams left, TNA should be building some homegrown talent. Look at AJ Styles. All of the originals from like 02-05 should be the flagship stars. They total fumbled the fucking ball with Daniels and Joe it's sickning. They dropped the ball with Petey (ruined by Steiner beforehand). Lets put it like this: no one wants the "what could have been" matches you failed to do when WCW or WWE was around.

This I can agree with but now that TNA is a big name, they can do what they want... and like I said "it took the Hogan signing to get them there."

WCW did something similar which slowly developed stars like Diamond Dallas Page, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerreor, Booker T, Chris Jerrico, etc. The guys that we're seeing the most of on TNA right now are names that the public knows. Eventually, more people will get to know who AJ Styles, Beer Money, Pope D'Angelo Dinero, Somoa Joe and other TNA orignials are and they will run the show.
Hell... Daniels can always return.

 

[chessarmy]

Bottom Line... Everybody knows what WWE is. Before bringing in Hogan, the vast majority of people (who do not follow wrestling) didn't know what TNA is. Now most of those people know what TNA is and that's where it has to begin. For that alone, I give Dixie a lot of credit.

Yea, you're right.

People now KNOW what TNA is, and still don't watch...

 

[CMS]

WCW did something similar which slowly developed stars like Diamond Dallas Page, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerreor, Booker T, Chris Jerrico, etc. The guys that we're seeing the most of on TNA right now are names that the public knows. Eventually, more people will get to know who AJ Styles, Beer Money, Pope D'Angelo Dinero, Somoa Joe and other TNA orignials are and they will run the show.
Hell... Daniels can always return

I'm sorry, did you just mention Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and Chris Jericho as succesful WCW pushes? Wasn't that the precise reason because of why they left?

 

[Mr. McMAnderson]

TNA got some heads turned their way via the X Division. Circa 2005 TNA and the X Division were making wrestling a little more interesting again. They tried to increase brand awareness by signing Sting, Angle and so on. Now they need to go back to where their bread is buttered.

 

[TDamien]

I'm sorry, did you just mention Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and Chris Jericho as succesful WCW pushes? Wasn't that the precise reason because of why they left?

They were successful in WCW but became bigger in WWE. Though none of them ever got the heavy weight title in WCW... they had big fan followings, their t-shirts were selling, and they held other titles.

Another name that became huge in WCW and is now huge in WWE... The Giant, now known as the Big Show.
Diamond Dallas Page got a huge contract in WWE after WCW was bought out but unfortunately was cut short due to an injury.

Anyway... you can argue the level of success that Benoit, Guerrero and Jericho had in WCW but to say they were not successful until WWE is not true.

 

[TDamien]

Yea, you're right.

People now KNOW what TNA is, and still don't watch...

As I said "that's where it starts." Raw had it's time of horrible ratings. Like in the early 90's, watching it was an embarrassment. That was with characters like Papa Shango, Dr. Issaac Yankem DDS, Viscera, and many of the worst wrestling characters ever.

 

[MizMasta3000]

lol Isaac Yankem. Can't believe that was Kane before Kane was Kane.