THE RECOVERY OF TNA WRESTLING
By Todd Oblak on 5/20/2010 4:18 PM
The Recovery Of TNA
TNA Wrestling is having some trouble. Ratings have tanked, the show has moved back to Thursdays and now roster cuts are imminent. What is there positive to say about the company right now? It's an alternative to WWE, but so is ROH....they just don't have a nationally televised show on a major cable network.
I don't understand how TNA got this so wrong. What was their mission? Be an alternative to WWE. Do things better than WWE does. Make an impact in the market and start the Monday Night War again. Sounds good right? Then why did it fail?
Simple, WWE has an audience....TNA does not. WWE has a name, they have a proven brand and a devoted following. They have changed their marketing strategy to be PG and geared more towards kids.....problem with that strategy is their primary television show still airs on Monday nights between 9pm - 11pm. If I were betting I'd say if they ran 8pm-10pm, RAW would draw higher ratings from their "target audience."
Who exactly is TNA's audience? They want it to be the 18-49 year old males that have given up on WWE since it turned into a kid's show again and they want to bring over some of the UFC crowd. So why do they book it like a 90s crash TV clusterf**k?
Why is it that TNA can't realize they are sitting on a potential goldmine? They just have to realize they can't keep going to the same stupid well over and over....it's not 1997 anymore. The internet has changed the game since then and TNA needs to realize this. So what could they do now to fix their product? It should be simple...define their audience and target them.
Everyone knows that professional wrestling is scripted. How do you blur that line between UFC and pro wrestling enough to bring the 18-49 year old males back to watching?
Simple.....stop wasting precious TV time on people that do not relate to the audience you are trying to sell your product to. That being said, TNA needs to have a reboot of sorts (not an actual reboot like WCW did, they need to just build up for 2 weeks or so that a major change is coming and then just do it).
I'm thinking of actually taking the concept everyone thought they were going to run with and actually run with it. That being said, take guys that can actually wrestle and have them wrestle and fight to where it feels legitimate (so the whole "ring vs Chelsea" type gimmick match would never happen in TNA ever again).
I'm not saying anything about any of the talent personally, however I have not seen anything over the last 4 months to make me think there is any use in keeping the following talent in TNA:
Stevie Richards
Eric Young
Hamada
Hector Guerrero
Jimmy Hart
Kazarian
Kiyoshi
Lacey Von Erich
Brutus Magnus
ODB
Raven
Rhino
Rob Terry
Sarita
Scott Hall
Sean Waltman
Shark Boy
So Cal Val
Taylor Wilde
Tomko
I'm not saying cut everyone on the list above, however I know that TNA needs to free up some money and those listed above are not drawing money for the company. If you ask anyone that pays money for TNA (live events, merchandise or PPV), I guarantee the names above will not be listed as reasons why they spend money with TNA.
I say go ahead and retire Sting and free that money up too, right now. The ship has sailed.
As for Hogan, Bischoff, Jarrett, Nash & Flair....I'd like to see what they could do in supporting roles with no influence on booking ever again. I can't STAND to see Hogan come out and do the dreaded "punch of doom" on a mid 20s guy that in real life would make Hogan tap in 30 seconds. It's just ridiculous to have all these former stars making decisions when they are on-air talent and they have no reservations about pushing themselves way past their prime....it's what's killing this company!!!
In my TNA, I'd push Wolfe, RVD, Hardy, Styles, Joe, Morgan, Anderson, Angle, Hernandez & Pope as my main eventers. Guys that can ACTUALLY go.
The Global title needs to go, it means nothing. The European title meant more. Build the X division back up as meaningful and just have 2 singles titles.
Douglas Williams, Homicide, Red, Kendrick, & Lethal could drive the X division.
MCMG, Beer Money, Ink Inc. and 3D are great draws and can keep the tag team scene alive....throw some other tandems together and maybe they can find something that works.
If TNA could just push the matches as close to real (think more MMA, less circus clown), make wins and losses count, have an actual ranking system that meant something and stop trying to shove crash TV down the viewers' throats.....they might have a chance to grab some of that 18-49 yr male demographic they are trying so hard to achieve. That's it....get away from the over-the-top slapstick working and make the matches grittier. Define a new way of working a match.
This means no more slapping the canvas trying to get the fans to clap along to build you back up. When you have your opponent weakened, go in for the kill rather than turn your back on them. Make the action feel more real and more people will watch. Make the angles real. Involve what happens outside the arena. Make it feel like the guys really don't like each other, not that they just wait until the next time they're in the arena together to continue their feuds. Have the camera crew follow guys to the bar, to the hotel, etc.
Unless you don't want to grow your audience and be the adult alternative to WWE....then don't listen to me.
