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WRESTLING COLUMNS

The Reasons NOT To Watch TNA Television & PPV
July 6, 2004 by Pedro Rodriguez


I watch both WWE and TNA on a weekly basis. WWE is the company that began most of wrestling fans and wrestlers today as TNA is considered the new guy and is out there trying to make a name for itself. There's nothing wrong with watching both since they each have a different value for everyone, but there are some things TNA should fix right away.

1) No Build-up Alright, so you're watching the PPV and next thing you know, America's Most Wanted is attacked by Abyss and Monty Brown. Now, They make a match for the next week on the PPV. Now, where's the buildup" Okay, we have Impact!, but we'll only see an attack and no actual promo cut. That is the problem. Most of TNA's problem stems from this. Without a buildup, you have no reason to buy it. You're not really into ordering it since there's nothing behind it. Without a good buildup, you can't expect people to buy the PPV.

2) They make you buy the PPV Impact! is free TV as the main show is $9.95. A few weeks back, there was a match between Ron Killings and Jeff Jarrett that had a controversial finish. The show ended with the question "Who's the champion"". Now, we tune in to see Impact! to find the answer. But what do we get" The answer will be on the PPV. That's the problem. When you're on the edge of your seat to find out something, you have to buy the PPV. Also, Impact! is really just promoting the PPV every single commercial break and between scenes. It's not helping us when you're shoving the PPV down our throats. Also, if you want the better matches, you have to buy the PPV. Sad.

3) Storyline Issues This is another problem. Their storylines just plain out suck. Okay, so you have the wrestling, but where's the rest" Where's the glue to it" You had a good storyline with S-E-X, but when you dropped that, everything else did too. Now, you have two guys dressed as a Hawaiian and Irish guy, a tag team that covers another in makeup, and to top it all off, Jarrett hits a guitar on everyone's head. Plus, there's not much behind one. So, he wants the title. He attacks the person. We do this all over again for the other divisions. Hmm, brilliant.

4) Weak Heavyweight Division Now, WWE cannot strike gold with their CW or Tag division, but they can with their other divisions. TNA cannot draw well without a Heavyweight division. Sure, people will want to buy it for the X-division, but if you're focusing half the show to Heavyweight division, then why would they purchase it if it's not that great" Sure, you have Jeff Jarrett, Ron Killings, Chris Harris, Ken Shamrock, AJ Styles, and Raven, but that's it. Right now, where are half of them doing" Well, Styles is back in the X-division. Harris is back in the tag division. Raven is somewhere around. And Ken really won't stay that long. So, you're left with only two guys and that's not alot to make a division.

5) Why would you pay $9.95 every week" You're not gonna buy every PPV just to know what happens this week or what's currently going on in the storyline. Sure, you may buy a few for the special occasions (Ultimate X is Mandatory), but for what else" Nothing really since most of the PPVs are not even worth that much. We have Impact! and a few PPV is enough. The rest is dealt with the internet.

Final Words: Now, I'm not against TNA completely, but only for those reasons. The X-division is refreshing from the crap the WWE calls the Cruiserweight division (though, the CW battle royal was really good). Now, I'm not saying "Don't watch TNA forever in your life" since it's a nice watch, but I'm also not saying "Don't watch WWE" either. Both companies have alot of flaws and both have alot of great qualities that the other can't match. In truth, it's your choice to watch it.

by Pedro Rodriguez ..


Brad Dykens wrote:
Now that WWE's product is getting better, and TNA's is getting worse, it's good to see WWE's fans getting out and defending them!
NCDrummer13 wrote:
I'll admit, WWE isn't near as god as it used to be. I'll be the first to admit it. But TNA is no better. In fact, TNA is worse. TNA bad wrestlers, and equally bad storylines. I'll delve into my reasons below.

Too much juggling -- TNA's been doing all kinds of stuff with their wrestlers, and it's hard to keep up. AJ Styles vs. Jeff Jarrett, where'd that feud go" What happened to that TNA Championship feud" I tune out for a month, and I see a gauntlet match between Jeff Jarrett, a washed up country singing wrestler, and his "Elite Guard," who all suck, against Ken Shamrock and 3 Live Kru. Which brings me to my next point.

Ken Shamrock, who, if I'm not mistaken, just returned a week or two ago, is getting a world title shot. TNA needs PR desperately if they have a guy just returning getting a Title shot. I mean, Shamrock is a good wrestler, but I don't think he should get a title shot right from the get-go. I think it's bullshit. If I went in TNA today and got a job there, besides the fact that I'm 14, I'd probably get a world title shot.

TNA is made up of two kinds of wrestlers. It's already a known-fact. They have the "Young and up-and-coming superstars," i.e Indy Jobbers who can do a flip or two, and "Your favorite household names" i.e WWE Rejects. I mean, TNA has some alright wrestlers. Raven is good. Styles is ok. Sabu is cool, and CM Punk is pretty good. Sandman is awesome, but then we have the deadweight. We have Sharkboy, Red, Daniels, Skipper, and AMW. There's more, but I'll get more into them here.

Abyss is a mix of Kane and Mankind, but only he's a really bad wrestler. Kid Kash sucks, botches simple moves, and is trying to be Kid Rock. Go figure. Team Mexico = a really bad version of the LwO. Team Canada = The UnAmericans in disguise, but bad wrestlers. Hell, Test may suck, but he's better than all of Team Canada combined. Then, there's a lot of these guys who go show-to-show, without a contract. To run a good business, you need consistency. Vince has mastered that.

Than we have B-List celebrities like Dennis Rodman, and we have crappy sports stars and Brian Urlachr making appearances to boost PR. That won't boost PR. No one cares what Dennis Rodman does anymore.

Overall, TNA wrestlers don't compare to guys like HHH, HBK, Eddie Guerrero, Kane or Chris Benoit.
Josh9_87 wrote:
i love the site but i dont agree about tna being garbage, i also dont agree about wwe "getting better" but thats just your opinion
Sean Janzer wrote:
Listing Chris Daniels as dead weight is bullshit. No mean to call your opinion stupid,but it is. Daniels has been in pro wrestler for a little over 10 years. Steve Corino calls him the hardest working man in the buisness. Anyone listed as deadweight in TNA,besides AMW,is not dead weight. Abyss,he could kick Kane's ass, he has talent. Kane did have talent.....as Isaac Yankem. If a 14 year old went in to TNA and got a title shot it would also mean you'd get three feet from the ring and get a guitar shot from Jarrett or Russo would give you a goofy gimmick. Not only that but I doubt you will or EVER have any abiltiy in a wrestling ring. Why pay $9.95 every week for TNA" Maybe to see pro wrestling" Not the shit WWE calls "sports entertainment". Best thing on WWE lately musical chairs on RAW and London and Kidman winning the tag belts on SmackDown. Team Mexico=talented wrestlers from Mexico,the LwO was WCW's Mexican talent trying to stay around when the nWo was around. Team Canada=WAY different than the Un-Americans. Test REALLY sucks. Petey Williams doesnt. His finisher "The Canadian Destroyer" is awesome. Can anyof the Un-Americans do a flipping piledriver" I dont think so. Raven is being treated like he should be now. Jarrett hell he makes me belive that he deserves that belt. I think he does,he's been around since 1986. Shamrock,might I add he never had his return title shot from when he lost it. He also is a hell of a submissionist. Killings,you WWE people probably only think he's bad due to K-K-Kwik. Well K-Kwik was a bad idea. Sabu throws chairs,do you guys throw chairs" No" Why not" Oh yeah your not Sabu. CM Punk,isnt even in TNA right now. He's in Ring of Honor. Maybe if you watched TNA you might know this. As for TNA using WWE let gos like D-Lo. Well what did WWE do with D-Lo,job him" Yeah. Now at least D-LO wins matches. I take it you WWE fans LOVE The Rock and HBK and those main eventers. Rock rarely even fights anymore. HBK is past his prime by a lot. HHH sucks. He admitted to steriod use. Benoit,1 of 2 RAW main eventers. Jericho,2 of 2 good RAW main eventers. Eddie,only good SD regular maineventer. JBL,great gimmick but he sucks. Taker,old but can still put on good matches but isnt a regular talent like Eddie.

WWE bad ideas,re-using gimmicks,letting Triple H decide his(and his friends) fate,Tomko, not using the cruiser division,and not pushing talent. TNA bad ideas,Jarret still going after the NWA title,not giving the title to Raven,AMW being tag champs(good idea:feuding with The Naturals),pushing the wrong talent(but it works out in the end). Over all TNA is more watchable. Their main eventer shave more charisma and talent on average than WWE. Their X dvision is WAY better than Cruiser. Tag divison is more fun due to newer,younger teams(other than WWE's new SD tag champs). WWE had its time. The 80s through early 90s. But still f'd up by not pushing more talent. Piper,Hennig,Rude,Roberts,Bulldog,Owen all should have been World champions. WWE will die,maybe not within the next 2 years,but TNA is getting bigger. They dont have Bischoff to mess it up by giving wrestlers control over character. They have Jerry Jarrett,a former wrestler. Who more than likely to know talent than WWE's bs writers/"creative team".
Bjoern Asprem wrote:
I agree that putting wrestlers like Daniels, Skipper, Red and AMW on the deadweight list is plain nonsense. You just listed three of the best cruiserweights in America on your list, plus the most promising tag-team in years, who also happens to have Chris Harris, which in some years will be a star if TNA handles him properly. His push was well-deserved, but he shouldn't have gotten the title just yet. Kid Kash crap" His in-ring performance is of a very high quality, and he attempts moves that WWE wrestlers can't even name (maybe except London). If you'd listed Dallas as crap.. then I'd agree. But he's a big man, right, and I guess they are automatically good. And I don't really see why you list Kane as one of the greatest in WWE. He's big and slow with few moves, compared to Abyss who is big and pretty fast for his size, and has plenty of moves that nobody in the WWE does (like the Torture Rack Bomb). Abyss is the best big man to come around in years.
Brad Dykens wrote:
I guess it depends on your definition of "Dead Weight".. A guy who has little or no potential and doesn't really serve a purpose, like say, A-Train, would be my definition of dead weight (almost literally).. What the author was trying to say by naming Daniels, Skipper, Red and others perhaps is that they are not being used to their full potential. They have yet to fully exploit the "Fallen Angel" gimmick the way it has been done successfully on the indy circuit for years. Elix Skipper is continuously called "Pound for Pound The Best yada yada" but really hasn't been put into anything special except the X-Cup. I like to think TNA is just saving a few things for their future..
wrote:

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