wrestling / Columns

For TNA, Destination America Move Was a Step Forward

January 30, 2015 | Posted by Wyatt Beougher

Introduction: Apparently, there was a show on the WWE Network on Sunday night. I will admit to watching it, but for some reason, I don’t remember most of it. I will leave it up to you, the reader, to decide whether that is because it was a forgettable show (a cardinal sin for one of the Big Five pay-per-views, in this columnist’s humble opinion) or it was just my mind’s way of dealing with what was one of the most disheartening and thoroughly disappointing shows in recent memory. I am sure that I will write about it at some point, but for today, I would prefer to focus on something that has actually maintained my interest in the new year, that being TNA and Impact Wrestling’s move to Destination America. I had intended to put my thoughts to page regarding the move prior to their Destination America debut; however, the real world issues I mentioned in last week’s Lucha Underground column prevented me from doing so. In the end, I believe that is all for the best, as now I can reflect on the first three editions of the “new” Impact Wrestling. And while TNA still has work to do, I find it hard to believe that anyone can consider this move anything but a step forward for the promotion.

DISCLAIMER: Several Zones here on 411 feature (or featured) weekly 3/4R’s column, including the Wrestling Zone that you are reading this particular column in, and rather than step on those talented authors’ toes, I am going to break down my thoughts on TNA’s move to Destination America slightly differently. I’m still going to look at what I think has improved, what has regressed, and what has overall stayed the same, but this is by no means intended to be a 4R’s column; Larry, Jack McGee, Jack Stevenson, Daniel Clark, and whoever else all have that well-covered. With that said, let’s take a look at what I have liked.

The Positives

The Wrestling: This is first and foremost, as it should be on a wrestling program. While TNA has by no means been on-par with New Japan Pro Wrestling’s in-ring output thus far in 2015, they have still featured a solid mix of matches that highlights the talent that they have on their roster at present. When the first Destination America episode of Impact started with a brawl that went all through the arena and featured the entire TNA roster, I was concerned that TNA was still trying too hard to be ECW, but thankfully, those fears have proven to be unfounded. The No Disqualification match between Bobby Roode and Eric Young especially benefited from the wider variety of in-ring action, as I think it would have lost a great deal of the emotional weight that it carried had every other match featured brawling around the ringside area and the use of foreign objects. Each division has gotten its time to shine, the majority of TNA’s roster has been well-represented in their first three weeks, and, most importantly in my opinion, the overarching storyline that TNA is currently telling has played a role on the outcome of some matches, but not so much that it has become a nuisance.

The Booking: Again, TNA has not been perfect on this count, but, for the most part, I have enjoyed what they have done thus far, whether it was removing an obviously biased Kurt Angle from a position of power, the emphasis on all of their titles, or even the way the BeatDown Clan has been booked thus far. I will admit that putting the X Division title on Austin Aries only to immediately give it back to Low Ki initially seemed pointless for me, but the commentators did a good job of playing up how the circumstances had changed in the Low Ki/Aries rematch based on Ki being a part of the BDC, so at least it made sense from that aspect.

What I liked the most about the booking thus far in the Destination America era is something that I complement NXT on frequently – taking classic wrestling storytelling tropes and modifying them to fit the present day. The most prominent example that comes to mind is Samoa Joe starting the BDC’s win streak with an illegal low blow that led to him getting a submission win over Kurt Angle – the heel used nefarious means to gain an advantage, but still got a decisive win, which leaves him looking strong without taking away from the face, and also makes the fans want to see the face get his comeuppance. Later in the show, Eric Young used an eye rake to set up a piledriver on a chair to pick up the win over Bobby Roode – a classic heel move followed by a strong victory. This holds true for pretty much every match a BDC member has been involved in since their debut – the wrestler or wrestlers involved in the match gain an advantage through either underhanded means or interference from other BDC members, but the outcome has been decided in every match by someone actively participating in the match, including this past week’s tag team matchup that featured the team of Bobby Roode and Kurt Angle taking on BDC representatives Eric Young and Low Ki. If you have been a TNA fan since the Jarrett days, you should be able to recognize that this is a marked improvement for the promotion. It is still too early to see how these storylines are going to play out; however, even at this early stage, they represent a marked departure from the WWE’s current style of booking feuds; i.e., the same pair of wrestlers or tag teams facing each other week after week and trading wins and losses.

Another great example is the storyline that is developing between Bram and Magnus – prior to Feast or Fired, Bram was fully invested in his friendship with Magnus, claiming that they’d take all four cases if they wanted to. During the match, Magnus took advantage of what was happening in the ring and ended up with the only case that the duo were able to secure, a case that Bram himself had been vying for. Unfortunately for Magnus, the briefcase he ended up with was for the tag team title shot, and Magnus picking Bram as his partner will likely do little to mitigate Bram’s belief that Magnus stole the case from him. The writing is pretty clearly on the wall here, and while I think it is a foregone conclusion that Bram is going to turn on Magnus, will it happen during the course of their tag team championship match, after said match, or at some future point down the road? Or will Magnus be able to convince Bram that they would be in the same boat (earning a tag team title opportunity) no matter which one of them secured the briefcase? TNA has given themselves a myriad of possible paths to pursue, and even if they do go the predictable route, Bram’s turn will make sense.

The Beatdown Clan: While I will admit that another heel faction taking over TNA is probably the last thing the promotion needed (especially when so many of the players involved have already been there and done that as it pertains to being part of a main event heel stable), the booking for the BDC has been nearly flawless thus far. Their relationship and motivations have been explained and nearly everything that they have done has felt like it fits within their stated mission, which is to capture all of TNA’s title, rather than usurping control of/destroying the promotion. Even their name, which sounded corny at first, actually fits within their methods. And while I personally feel like it would have made more sense to have King take the X Title from Aries and allow Joe Ki to add some depth to TNA’s shallowest division, using Ki’s rematch clause to capture the faction’s first goal actually makes sense. Plus, as I mentioned with the Magnus/Bram example, Lashley’s unwillingness to do business with the BDC makes sense, considering that for the vast majority of his 2014 reign as TNA champion, he defended the belt cleanly and did not have to rely on the machinations of MVP. MVP giving Lashley the Kiss of Death (Godfather-style) to set up the BDC laying waste to Lashley and subsequently stealing his title was also a classic heel move.

Ethan Carter the Third/Austin Aries: Both of these guys picked up where they left off on Spike and continue to steal the show any time that they are on-screen. Carter’s feud with Borash has been one of the only highlights of the new “you can see everything” gimmick that TNA has been pushing, while Aries rebounded nicely from holding the X Division title for one week and managed to outdo the fantastic Robbie E during the Feast or Fired revelations with that final look into the camera.

KONG: While Bobby Lashley has been haunted by comparisons to Brock Lesnar for his entire career, in 2015, in my eyes, Awesome Kong is the closest thing that TNA has to Brock Lesnar. Not only was her return easily the biggest moment of Impact’s live debut on Destination America, but, like Lesnar, every time Kong is on the screen, it feels like something important is going to happen. Kong has a mystique that no other female wrestler (and few other male wrestlers) in the United States can lay claim to, and while I have been a big fan of Havok during her brief TNA run, Kong’s return has only reinforced my belief that Havok does not possess that same intangible something that the former Kharma has in spades. And I do not mean to take anything away from the veteran of SHIMMER and SHINE, but Kong is a once in a generation talent and TNA is significantly better for having her back on their roster.

The Production: First and foremost, I want to compliment Josh Mathews and Taz, who complement one another well. Taz still has his issues with calling Knockouts’ matches, but I believe one would be hard-pressed to argue that the current commentary team isn’t a vast improvement over the Taz/Tenay combination. And while Taz isn’t significantly younger than either JBL or Booker T (and he is actually one year older than Michael Cole), TNA’s commentary duo still feels significantly fresher than their WWE main roster counterparts, especially any combination that features Jerry Lawler. And as much as I praised Lucha Underground’s Matt Striker and Vampiro last week, I would honestly give Mathews and Taz the nod over them, though I still think NXT’s combination of Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, and whoever their third partner might happen to be comprise the best group of commentators of the major televised promotions.

More importantly, I like a lot of the little touches that TNA has implemented since signing with Destination America, most notably focusing on their use of the six-sided ring and incorporating hexagons into their on-air graphics, set design, website/social media, and especially the hexagons on the sides of the ringposts. The six-sided ring is arguably the first thing a new fan would notice when tuning into TNA, and adding all of those subtle touches subconsciously plays up the differences between Impact and the other weekly television shows available to the North American fan. Plus, the music they have used on Impact is an excellent change of pace from the Nu-Metal theme song RAW, Smackdown, and the majority of the WWE’s pay-per-views have used since the late 90’s.

I am well aware that TNA has caught a lot of flak from their detractors regarding the blacked out arena, but I actually find myself enjoying it, as it reminds me of New Japan during wrestler entrances and conjures up nostalgia for the old Madison Square Garden shows from the 70’s when only the first row or two of fans are visible during matches. Obviously, I cannot speak to future shows, but from what I have read, the tapings in New York City were well-attended, so blacking out the crowd was a conscious decision on the part of the production team and not something that was done to hide a nearly-empty arena. Again, it provides a readily apparent visual difference between TNA and the WWE, and I am all for anything that furthers the brand differentiation. It finally feels like TNA has decided to give fans an alternative to the WWE, and I am all for it; however, this process has not been without its missteps.

The Negatives

Talent Misuse: From the previous section, I hope that you can gather that this is only a relatively minor complaint; however, it seems to me like that rather than bring a guy like Khoya in to squash Tigre Uno, who has been on the roster for over a year already (and, I feel like I can say with some confidence, is currently wishing he would have opted to stick it out with AAA until Lucha Underground debuted), should TNA not utilize the wrestler that they already have on their roster? Also, why only have twelve people in your Feast or Fired match if you have at least twice that many on your active roster? Would it not have made more sense to have at least some of the BDC involved, since their intention is to win all of the titles in TNA? Or the Revolution, since both The Great Sanada and Manik are former X Division champions, and reclaiming that gold would give Storm more opportunities to spread his message? Again, it is a minor point of contention, especially in the face of how well TNA has utilized the majority of their roster, but one that I felt was worth mentioning.

Bobby Roode: Roode is, with the possible exception of ECIII, the most complete, most marketable talent on TNA’s roster. That is why it is all the more upsetting to see him filling the recently-departed Bully Ray’s role of “guy who screams every word of every promo”. Hopefully this is a temporary phase that can be chalked up to Roode the character being distraught about losing his title (and his best friend).

“Behind-the-Scenes” Looks: As I mentioned above while talking about ECIII, aside from Carter and Tyrus taking over the gorilla position and using it to harass Jeremy Borash, there has been precious little value added to Impact’s broadcasts by cutting back and forth between the gorilla position, the production truck, various backstage areas, and Impact Studios in Nashville. This could still turn into something that benefits the promotion, but at the moment, I just do not see it.

Camera Angles/Cuts: Josh Mathews has mentioned more than once that Impact is now providing “cinematic” camera work during their broadcasts, but the biggest difference that I have seen from the Spike broadcasts is that they cut from camera to camera a lot more frequently, which is reminiscent of an action sequence in a movie, but it seemingly leaves their camera operators unprepared and limits how much of the action we can see. This was readily apparent during the Angle/Roode vs Young/Ki and Feast or Fired matches, where the production truck would cut to a cameraman, who then had to quickly zoom out, leaving us with a shaky shot of someone’s torso with little idea of what was going on around it. I will chalk this up to growing pains as they experiment with a different style of production, but for my money, no promotion does “cinematic” better than Lucha Underground (though that’s exclusively in their character vignettes and backstage segments). Right now, TNA’s vision of “cinematic” is on par with Olivier Megaton taking over the Taken series – it’s not awful, but is a step down from what we are used to.

Overview

I think most of TNA’s detractors would like to boil the promotion’s move to Destination America down to a line from an old country song – “one step forward and two steps back”, but I think that is a hard position to effectively argue (though I am confident that the usual faces will still try). Since moving to Destination America, TNA has shown a renewed focus on wrestling that highlights the best aspects of their roster, opted for contemporary updates on classic booking tropes (rather than relying exclusively on those of the Attitude Era/Vince Russo), and refreshed their production to make it look, sound, and feel different from the WWE. On the other end of the deal, Destination America has provided Impact with a broadcast partner that actually advertises their show, provides them with replays and a recap show, and actually treats Impact like an important and valuable part of their network; something I can’t ever remember Spike doing (though, admittedly, my memory isn’t as good as it once was). And the relationship has paid off, as Impact viewership has risen each week since the move to Fridays on Destination America.

Sure, they have yet to hit the numbers they were at on Spike, but their share was remarkably close last week, and considering Destination America’s network penetration in relation to Spike’s, and the percentage of people who are actually watching Impact out of the total number who actually get Destination America, I think all but the most stalwart TNA detractors have to look at this new relationship as a success, at least in the early goings. Only time will tell if the two parties can keep up this momentum, but always remember:

Watry called it.

Wyatt Beougher is a lifelong fan of professional wrestling who has been writing for 411 for over three years and currently hosts MMA Fact or Fiction and reviews Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

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