What About That Other Wrestling Company?
Sorry for the delay in posts. Bloggers need vacations too.
We spend a lot of time here inside the Steel Cage discussing WWE, and even Ring of Honor. But what about that other outfit – you know, the second biggest wrestling promotion in the country?
As a wrestling connoisseur, it may be my responsibility to follow Total Nonstop Action Wrestling closely, but I have to admit to having little interest in the product as of late. The unfortunate reality is that TNA is a company stuck in neutral, with zero momentum – even since Samoa Joe’s historic world title win a few months ago.
While WWE may often get a lot of heat for relying so heavily on the same cast of characters to headline their shows for years, TNA is far more guilty of this crime. What’s more, that cast of characters is far smaller, and less talented than WWE’s.
Sunday night’s Victory Road pay per view was headlined by Samoa Joe defending his title against Booker T. Also involved in this program have been Kevin Nash – who has had a volatile mentor-protégé relationship with Joe – and Sting, who got into it with the champ last night.
Kevin Nash, Booker T and Sting? Why it’s WCW Nitro circa 1988 all over again. But then, what could we expect from a company whose vision is spearheaded by Monday Night War-era relics Jeff Jarrett, Vince Russo and Dixie Carter?
The truth is, there is a lot to like about TNA, but some of the company’s strongest assets are often also its most obscured beneath a stubborn insistence on doing things just as they were done ten years ago – right down to tired “worked-shoots,” predictably unpredictable turns, and the self destructive notion that the only wrestlers who deserve to be in main events are the ones who have worked in the past for WCW or WWE.
Obviously, Samoa Joe is the exception to that rule, and TNA is to be commended for putting the world title on a wrestler who many people feel embodies the future of the sport. As well, not all the former WWE wrestlers are tired cast offs. When healthy, Kurt Angle remains one of the very best performers in the world. As well, Christian Cage, Tomko and a few others still have plenty of gas in the tank.
But aside from Joe – and to a far lesser extent A.J. Styles – TNA has done little to make their “originals” into bona fide main event stars. And yet, it is in TNA midcard that you will find some of its best talent – names like Jay Lethal, Homicide, Alex Shelley and the members of TNA’s women’s division – which is deeper than even WWE’s. Unfortunately for them, none were ever a featured act on WCW Thunder, like say, 46-year-old Scott Steiner.
But none of this is to say that TNA’s problems are owed to its locker room. On the contrary, wrestling promotions have done a lot more with a lot less over the years. But TNA quite simply is a ship lost at sea, without any direction. Week after week, month after month, we get some overly complicated gimmick match with little consequence, Don West and Mike Tenay screaming at us, one wrestler “unexpectedly” turning on his partner, and over and over again.
The most frustrating part is, TNA brass has no reason to think any of what they’re doing is working. Impact’s ratings have long since stalled out in the unspectacular 1.0 range. While TNA has managed to generate new revenue – and perhaps even start making a little money through licensing deals and house show tours - there is no sense of real growth in the company.
Indeed, TNA suffers from many of the same shortcomings that WWE has been criticized for as of late – a stale main event scene, a talent pool without as much depth as it should have, a lack of longterm planning, assinine writing, etc. The main difference is, WWE can afford to take its hands off the wheel here and there, while TNA cannot.
And so, it can be rather taxing to fit in another two hours of wrestling into my week, but I will continue to try to ramp up our TNA coverage here. Then again, I don’t hear anyone complaining.
