8 Things The New TNA Needs To Do Going Forward

Welcome back to column time with Larry. Today I am here to write about TNA, and more importantly, some suggestions as to what the company could and or should do in order to turn things around under their new overlords, did I say overlords? I meant saviors, Anthem. This isn’t fantasy booking or a list of unrealistic changes, these are all changes that are mostly easy to pull off and would easily make things better for the company moving forward. I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I hope that I can share some good suggestions here today. Feel free to share your thoughts or list, share what you feel TNA needs to change in order to succeed and thanks for reading.

8. Get a New Announce Team : Josh Mathews and The Pope are not good at their job, in any way. The Pope feels like he’s not even a real person, he’s a caricature of Dusty Rhodes and not in a good way. Pope wants to be Dusty Rhodes so bad that in doing so, he hurts the product. I can only hear, “Let Pope tell ya something, daddy!” only for him to literally tell me nothing of use so many times. I am sure the Pope is a nice guy, but he is completely useless, filled with bad jokes and clichés that do nothing to add to the product in the ring; he doesn’t advance stories, he takes up space and is simply bad. Josh Mathews is a guy I really used to like and felt he had a future in WWE as a main announcer. When he got released by WWE and got picked up by TNA I felt that this would be his big chance, but he has failed. At times Mathews feels like a parody of a WWE announcer, trying to get big moments over with forced verbiage and commenting on things trending on Twitter. In regards to that, Mathews fails as a lead announcer because you cannot trust him and he doesn’t come off as believable. He tells you “so and so is trending on Twitter right now” and the show was taped weeks ago and this is an obvious lie. When you’re the main announcer; you’re setting the narrative for the company, you’re selling the stories and possible PPV events and the audience needs to feel as if you are sincere and that they can trust you. TNA’s announce team constantly fails to do that; they come off as carny shills. It’s easily one of, if not the weakest part of the product.

7. Ignore WWE As Much As Possible: There are certain things in the history of the company that I have really disliked, TNA paying too much attention to WWE and or trying to be WWE-lite instead of trying to BE TNA has always bothered me. Throughout the years, TNA has constantly paid too much attention to WWE, they took shots at them in a pathetic cry for attention, and they don’t even do it in a fun or creative way that the old ECW would have. And the worst part is that when they do this, they have always come off looking poor, second rate, or bush-league. Use any description that you please, it has never worked out well. While this sort of thing played well during the attitude era and with a renegade ECW, these days it doesn’t matter, and just makes them look bad. And then there is the fact of how they pick up talent from WWE. It has almost always been the same. They sign the guy, they debut him under the illusion that it is the BIGGEST announcement in the history of the company and a game changer. From there they officially debut them on a show that doesn’t matter, some shitty music hits, and they do one of two things. They either stand there or point to the ring as the announcer has an orgasm, “OH MY GAWD YOU KNOW WHO THAT IS!” or they cut a promo right away talking about how they never got their chance “in New York.” Hell, there have been times that TNA has been one of WWE’s best advertisers due to the way they have talked about them. Just because someone was on TV in the attitude era or worked for WWE does NOT mean that you have to try and sign them and push them. I don’t care who they are friends with. They are nice to have around at times, cogs in the machine, but they aren’t your main draw. And then there are the choices to pick up guys like Baraka & Dax, who were never considered good and washed out of NXT. EC3 was a guy that showed promise and a guy that many were shocked when he was released because they thought he could be a star; Baraka & Dax were just two dudes who were painfully average and never improved. Now let me make this clear, I feel that TNA has done a good job of this as of late. The Broken Hardy saga, 2016 Lashley being amazing, guys like Galloway and Edwards being used in prime positions; TNA has really improved on this; but any time there has been a change in direction or regime change, the company goes back to being WWE-lite like it’s a security blanket. I hope that they do NOT do that this time around; it would be a complete disappointment and ruin too many good things that they have done. Focus on being TNA and establishing what that means.

6. The Product Needs a Facelift & New Public Identity: The company needs a facelift, it needs a PR overhaul and it needs be done quickly. Despite a consistent product in 2016, the non-TV issues and past history of the company have continued to hurt them. There are fans that are too burnt by the old TNA that still refuse to give them a new chance, because all they hear is the bad news. The perception is that the company is a mess (and to a degree it is, with the lawsuits, Corgan vs. Dixie battle and all of that stuff). There is nothing that tells these fans that may want to comeback that there is something worth coming back. Positive reviews are a good start, but those only go so far. Word of mouth from other fans is another good tool, but that falls into two areas; the irrational fan boys (they are in any form of entertainment) that do nothing but say that all is well and it’s the best show on the planet, and the haters that claim the show sucks, never improved and that its not worth the time. Both overreact, both are incorrect and do the product no good. The “new TNA” needs some sort of PR campaign to go along with the quality TV product, they need to make the company feel new and fresh. Even the smaller independent promotions can pull this off on social media, they need to do something to remove the stench of what fans perceive as the old TNA, and paint the company a something worth your time as a fan. Matt Hardy does a great job of promoting his “Broken Universe” stuff, but he has always done well/been ahead of the curve in promoting his stuff. Look at Evolve, they run a series of tremendous mini-documentaries that highlight the talent in the promotions, the big angle and are so good that they make you feel as if you are missing something if you’re not following the product. But even more than a fresh coat of paint, they desperately need to have a real identity. This is something that has been an issue over the years. They cannot ignore the past, and there is a lot of good stuff to play off of, but they also can’t he locked into that identity because TNA today is a very different animal. I don’t even know what TNA really is. They produce a good weekly TV product, Lashley is awesome and has finally developed into the performer WWE hoped he would be, I dig the Hardy stuff but I also wish they would actually do something with the X-Division and move on from the Gail Kim era of Knockouts. I appreciate Gail, but the feud with Maria lasted an eternity and had handcuffed the newer Knockouts (Jade & Sierra) that could and should be the faces of the division. Sit down, make a plan and decide on an identity, promote that, and stick to it.

5. Lock Things In, Have A Plan & Explanation For It & Follow Through: One thing wrestling companies seem to have issues with is introducing a concept or story, properly explaining it and then and most importantly, follow through on it. TNA, like any other company, has been guilty of this. The TV title being defended each and every week, the various attempts at rankings, and the latest is the Team X Gold concept. It sounded cool, something special for the X-Division, which does need featured, but what in the hell is it? They are matches of X-Division talent or former X-Division champions, they have to stay as the established teams of three until the competition ends, rules are “strictly enforced” and…? Why are they fighting? What’s the goal? I see there is a flag, is it wrestling capture the flag? Are there brackets or a point system? Is it a new title? What is the actual end game? We know none of this important information. Right now it’s getting people on TV, which is good because some of them are fresh faces, but that’s it. I want answers, I want a reason to care and a reason to be invested in the matches. Right now they are just solid and fun little trios matches, which is ok, but it has to be more. Moving forward, when they have a concept, a plan or a big angle they need to announce it, establish and reveal the vital parts and most importantly follow through on it. Give the fans and viewers a reason to care and to stay invested.

4. Consider Relocating to Canada: With Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp. controlling the purse strings and being a Canadian based company, something that they may want to consider is relocating TNA’s base of operations and TV tapings to Canada. I think that there are several reasons that this makes sense and would work. First of all, with Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp being located in Canada, if you relocate the office to Canada, you already own office space for the TNA offices. Secondly, Anthem is looking to cut costs so that TNA can run at a small loss and maybe, maybe even start to make money. Well, if you film the TV in Canada, you then are looking at tax incentives and breaks…

* Canadian content domestic producers, the Production Services Tax Credit program has been very successful in attracting foreign producers to Canada. The refundable federal tax credit is equal to 16 % of the qualifying labour paid to Canadian residents during the making of a qualified production, net of any “assistance” which includes the various provincial tax incentives.

* Recognizing the significant economic impact of the film and television production industry across Canada, the federal and many provincial governments have continued to support programs and have in many cases, increased the value of the tax credits to remain competitive. Depending on the Canadian province, foreign producers can access combined federal and provincial tax credits ranging from 32 % to 70 % of eligible labour, as well as tax incentives on local qualifying spend ranging from 20 % to 30 %. Many provinces offer various bonuses, and these details can be found under ‘Learn about Tax Incentives’.

If you relocate, you can use your own offices to house TNA, you can use your own people (who are already there) and you get those tax incentives, helping with the bleak financials that they need to repair. But there are even more important reasons to make the move. If the company is going to not sign as many people/lock up as much talent to guaranteed money (due to the financial situation), moving to Canada will change the location enough that you can bring in an infusion of new talent, even if they are part time. Canada has some strong independents, and partnering with someone like Alpha 1 Wrestling to use some of their more seasoned talents like Mike Bailey, Heidi Lovelace, Veda Scott, Space Monkey, Team IOU, and Josh Alexander (who is no longer working the US because he needs a work VISA) and maybe even guys like Ethan Page and Darby Allin (if their WWNLive deals allow) would bring a new diversity to the roster, and you are creating new relationships with other companies

Moving to Canada would get you away from the stagnant Impact Zone, where the zombie like amusement park people filter in and then sit on their hands and crush the vibe of the show. A fresh venue in front of fresh fans could make a world of difference to the vibe of TNA’s TV product. On top of that, and this may be ambitious, if I am Anthem I either enter into a long term lease or purchase a large warehouse and build my own “Impact Zone.” Once again, you will get into those tax incentives and breaks, but you can create something cool and special. One thing that PWG and Lucha Underground have is this word of mouth that they are the cool place to be. Actors and MMA fighters sneak into PWG because it’s the cool thing to do. Lucha Underground’s Temple is a great venue that houses a rowdy and insanely hot crowd. They have created something that the fans think is cool and that translates extremely well to TV.

And then, if they set up their own venue, they can not only create something new and fresh, but also open up some new revenue streams. Arena Mexico has been CMLL’s home for an eternity, and the thing that allows then to make more money is that they pay no building fees and they control concessions. You build this new Impact Zone (500-700 seats), you do your best to make the venue feel like it is the cool place to be, you charge a SMALL amount for tickets ($5, $10, $15, three seating tiers) and then you sell affordable concessions and then sell your merchandise; holy shit, you’re like a real company. I don’t mean that as an insult, but a lot of the wrestlers over the years have stated that it’s hard to perform in the current environment in front of the dead crowds that do not pay to get in and the fact that their merchandize is rarely sold. You could easily made $6,000 on the gate, plus concessions and merchandise.

3. Largely Stick With What You’re Doing TV Wise.: I have been saying it all year; I strongly feel that the TNA TV product has been the least of their issues. At the worst TNA TV has been solid and unspectacular some weeks, but generally Impact has been good. The company has accepted that they are a TV product, and are doing what Lucha Underground did well in season one. They set up a three to five week block of TV, they tell stories and set up matches and they pay it off in a more important style TV show. There is nothing wrong with bring a TV product, they were forced into it, but when you accept it, you can still produce good things. I LOVED season one of Lucha Undergrounds; there were no PPVs or live events but they produced a quality TV product that I highly enjoyed. TNA is doing a good job with their TV; the shows have been easy to watch, they do build to things and it has been quality episodic TV. With new management comes a lot of change, and that is understandable, but the one thing that they do not need to change is the TV. The TV can always improve, but it is one area that does not need a drastic overhaul.

2. DO. NOT. HIRE. VINCE. RUSSO.: Vince Russo has never been good for TNA, he tells a lot of good stories on his podcasts about how eh did this or how he suppurated that, using things TNA fans loved and claiming that it was all him. Much like TNA’s reliance on attitude era/WWE cast offs, TNA has gone back to Russo too many times. He had the early 2002 to 2004 run, he again was there from 2006 through 2012 and then there was the whole “super secret probation” return in 2013 and 2014, which was a big part of TNA losing Spike. But besides my personal feeling that he has been bad for TNA, he’s not a good storyteller. Russo is a guy that has great ideas sometimes, but all too often he gets lost in the middle and then fails to properly climax the big idea. Despite all of the issues behind the scenes, TNA Impact has been solid to good all year long. I don’t need Vince Russo’s wacky ideas or swerves cluttering up the product. If I want wacky and insane, I have Broken Matt Hardy thank you very much.

1.Give Us Great Matches: Pro Wrestling is about great characters in a great story that is taking us on a journey to hopefully a great match as the final chapter. As I have been taking stock as I prepare for a series of year-end columns, looking at the best matches of 2016, it smacked me in the face; TNA has failed in delivering “GREAT Matches” in 2016. TNA has had a lot of good matches, even some very good and bordering on excellent matches, but nothing I would consider close to a match of the year candidate. In years past TNA ALWAYS had a few matches that would get into or close to my top 10, but in recent years those great matches have been less and less. Part of it is poor match making. In years past when TNA ran monthly PPV, they would often just take two guys that were great wrestlers that could work well together and tell then to cut loose for 12-minutes and they would deliver. But they don’t do that anymore, not for TV and not even for the One Night Only shows. So part of it is the poor match making, and I strongly feel that part of it is poor agent work. All too often the matches on a TNA show, especially the One Night Only shows, feel the same. If feels as if Al Snow (or whatever agent is in charge) told these guys, “Go out there, do some back and forth, brawl on the floor for a bit, come back in and work a relaxed and safe home stretch with no real excitement or near falls that click, and then go home; they’ll love it.” TNA needs to identify their top performers, they need to pair them together and they need to try to put on some of the best matches that they can. In the early 2000s there was a time where I felt TNA PPV smoked WWE PPV, even with the Russo booked Jeff Jarrett finishes, they seemingly always put on a match that made people talk about the show. It feels like forever since TNA has put on a collection of matches that got this sort of attention. The TV has been good, but they need to deliver some great wrestling to get the attention of fans. There is so much good wrestling out there, so much good wrestling that grabs the attention of fans and makes then spend money and on these promotions, and TNA just doesn’t have that right now.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia.”