Shining a Spotlight 10.23.08: Iconic Management

There’s been a lot of complaints made about TNA lately. Well, more so than usual for the company. Not a lot of people are happy with the end of Bound For Glory, with Sting going over to win the world title yet again over the man who’s supposed to be the company’s biggest star. Then we get word of Booker T getting some sort of “legends” belt with the idea of basically a championship created as a vanity piece for a guy who’s been massively over with fans for a decade already.

This isn’t going to be a total anti-TNA rant, trust me. I’ve done those before and I don’t feel like ranting on it so much again. I do think TNA has improved in many ways with in-ring action and some booking in recent months. They do still suffer from the fact that with the odd exception (Creed comes to mind), they’re still relying on the same roster of guys they’ve had for three years rather than make an attempt to bring in really fresh and new talent. Even the Knockouts are settling into the same faces. Knock WWE all you want, but at least they make the effort to bring in new guys.

The presentation of the older workers is suspect as well as ex-WWE guys are generally pushed to the moon immediately upon their entrance over the TNA regulars. Plus TNA goes to extreme lengths promoting them, often to a ridiculous degree. I still remember a few months back where they did a bit on Kevin Nash and actually called him “one of the pioneers of wrestling as we know it today” which is so laughable I can’t even muster a smile at it. The more they push these older stars, the more TNA ignores the chance to really grow on their own instead of being continually seen as WWE’s younger cousin.

The thing of it is…I can understand the mentality a bit. Wrestling promotions have always relied on the big names, the veterans, the icons who can keep things going. In old days, the promoter was often a champion as he was the one guy who could be counted on to never leave and his close friends or family would get pushes as well. TNA hasn’t been around that long so they don’t quite have the “icon” quality of their workers. So reaching out for guys who can claim the status is understandable and in fact, something TNA has been doing for a while. They tried to get Hogan in 2003 but that fell apart and they did a big push for Savage in ’04 only to have him walk after one (bad) match. So I can understand how they want to give themselves a bit more respectability by pushing some big names.

But it leads to a question of how much name a veteran truly has. Because let’s face it, some guys really are coasting on their past nowadays and not putting in any real effort or, for that matter, the care of effort into it. On the other hand, you’ve got veterans who still go out there and put on amazing matches and are hugely over. You can’t paint them all with the same brush but realize there are levels which makes the whole “Icon” thing harder to determine.

We have to start with Hulk Hogan. Love him or hate him, it cannot be denied that Hogan is the biggest star this business has ever known. He’s bigger than wrestling, it’s true. Mention pro wrestling to an outsider and Hogan is probably the first person who’ll come to mind. He’s managed to parlay that fame to various enterprises including his reality shows which may seem laughable but hey, he’s laughed his way to the bank. True, that’s probably going to cost him with the divorce but he still gets his name out there. Hell, Us Weekly has a regular feature where Hogan “moderates” various celebrity feuds which shows how he’s linked to wrestling.

The thing about Hogan is that he’s always had this bizarre ability to hold fans’ attention. The stories of his ego, his politicicking backstage, his selfish pushes and all is well known to most of the fan base. But when “Real American” starts playing, crowds will pop nonetheless even if it’s just a brief appearance. Sure, he’s past the time for Vince to give him a run with a title but Hogan still has the status as a superstar who could give a push to most anything he touches. You think any other wrestler could have gotten that “reality wrestling championship” show off the ground? Again, he may be more of a joke but Hogan maintains a status as a mega-star that almost no one can touch.

Flair has some of the same status, still highly respected despite some rough last years in the ring. Flair himself has acknowledged that as respected as he is, he just doesn’t have the fame level Hogan does. While he claims to have finally given it all up, I do suspect Flair could manage a few more decent matches if he wanted to and still get fans behind him. Of course, his own ego can be an issue but any promotion that can talk Flair into doing some matches will have a big push going for them.

It is interesting to note how many older workers in WWE can still go. I wrote the other week about how the Undertaker is still hugely over with fans after nearly two decades and still turns out some great matches with other big names. Shawn Michaels is the same way, showing little sign of the weakness of age, turning out amazing matches at a superior level. More importantly, both men have been shown in recent years to be willing to give the rub to younger workers, to help make other guys stars. They may still get runs at the main event but the still earn their spots through their ring work and how fans still cheer for them like crazy.

I’m not saying all of the ex-WWE guys in TNA don’t deserve runs. While I personally feel Christian isn’t the equal of Edge in either heat or in-ring ability, I do acknowledge that TNA let him spread out more than he would have in WWE. Booker T had proven himself as a big star and championship worker in WWE just a year before he jumped to TNA. As for Angle, while he may have been slowed by injuries and personal matters, he is still an in-ring wizard who’s shown himself as a good title-holder.

The presentation of those men, however, is open for question. We’ve all seen how Angle has been made to look at various points either a complete idiot or overbearing husband or intense maniac. Angle is good with either comedy or serious stuff but shifted about forth and back like this in mostly idiotic sketches and an inordinate amount of time for Karen. Booker fared better with the revenge angle for Sharmell’s injury but has really blossomed with the brilliantly done backstage bits of him with the huge dressing room and acting like a bigger star than he really is, which fits his character well. So letting him create his own title is perfectly in character and if they can book it properly, it can really work. I’ve felt the mid-card’s needed their own title for a while so letting them run with this can be a good move.

What’s a bad move is letting Sting be champion again. I respect the man for his in-ring accomplishments and all but he simply is not the man a company should be letting run with its big title. It’s not just that Sting is older now or that he’s slowed down in the ring. It’s that he’s spent so much time away from the ring but when he comes back, is instantly pushed to the main event scene. This is the third straight year BFG has ended with him winning the title and this time it was over the guy who TNA fans have accepted as champion. Yes, Joe’s reign hasn’t been as good as many hoped but he’s a hell of a lot more over with fans than the aged Sting.

Again, I understand some of the thinking of TNA as they sign a guy up to a one-year contract, they’ll want to push him as much as they can. Unfortunately, that’s another major problem, that everyone knows that Sting is just going one year to the next. Hell, right before he made his latest signing, there was talk of WWE doing a DVD on him as they expected him to be a free agent again. He gives the impression, knowingly or not, of being a guy who just sits around counting his money until he signs up again and comes back and immediately gets pushed to a title run, no matter what. The man is a legend to many but as the guy you want to build your company around, he just doesn’t fit anymore.

On the subject of folks coasting on past fame for money, we come to one Kevin Nash. How Nash keeps getting big pushes and screen time is baffling to a lot of folks. I chalk it up to the fact that wrestling (and this goes beyond just Vince McMahon) has always embraced big tough-looking guys regardless of how they can move in the ring (remember, it was WCW who first brought in El Gigante). Plus, Nash has always had that unique personal charm that gets people liking him even knowing the damage he does. The guy can be funny in skits and commentary but we all know his in-ring work (which was never that good to begin with) has deteriorated to a massive degree yet he’s still pushed on. It happened in WWE in 2003 and TNA has kept it up, only to take it to another degree with that “legend” aspect as if everyone forgets the man helped book WCW to oblivion.

WWE has used veterans and “icons” to a large degree but they manage it differently. Michaels and Undertaker are still massively over and able to work great matches. The Flair retirement angle was brilliantly done which paid off with a great battle and heartfelt retirement speech. WWE still has their veterans but know that you can’t build main events and such over guys pushing fifty (well, unless Vince is involved but hey, he’s the boss). But TNA, who have so much talent on their roster, is relying too much on pushing guys based off the past rather than really building toward the future.

I find it so ironic that Jeff Jarrett appears to understand this for himself. While the death of his wife has obviously robbed him of a lot of the drive he had for the ring, Jarrett didn’t come back challenging for a title but a battle to keep fans happy. He seems determined to keep TNA going behind the scenes but has to recognize that snagging old names isn’t going to help the company’s’ bottom line. Fans may enjoy some of these guys (some of whom can still go) but if TNA is to survive, they have to stop spending to snag some guy like Foley, who will probably only two a couple of matches and commentary (you don’t hire someone who’s a harcore icon and not expect at least one brawl out of him). Instead, they need to get new blood, freshen up the roster and really make an effort to get out from WWE’s shadow.

I want TNA to succeed as I do enjoy the company, been a fan for a while. I just get so frustrated seeing them make so many mistakes. And believing that investing so much in “Legends” and “icons” rather than try and make their own stars (as they did with Styles, Daniels, AMW and Abyss among others) is a major one. You can use veterans and icons as they are a part of wrestling. You can use them to get interest, you can use them to make new stars, and you can use them to sell tickets. But if you just keep using the same guys and ignore the younger ones, that’s trouble. WCW had that mentality and we all saw what happened there. I don’t think we want to see TNA going the same way but if they keep relying on the past, it doesn’t bode well for the future.

Also around 411mania:

Chin talks the Importance of the New Age Outlaws

Don’t Think Twice has a nice bit on whether wrestling could merit academic study.

The Wrestling Bard concludes his HBK/AJ Styles program.

Evolution Schematic continues to talk about SHIMMER

For the Record debuts with a look at the future of HHH

Tim does his take on the lost art of selling

Five-Star Conversation discusses the heiarchy of the WWE roster

Thoughts From the Top Rope discusses Jeff Hardy

Piledriver Report continues its history of HBK

Brooklyn Brawlin talks about Jericho’s title reign

Don’t forget Column of Honor, Triple Threat, 3 R’s, Ask 411, Fact or Fiction and the rest.

For this week, the spotlight is off.