Recent developments in TNA have made me wonder about the
company's creative direction. There's clearly a long term plan in place.
Several months' worth of storylines involving Bully Ray fooling everyone into
thinking he's a reformed character while secretly being the President of Aces
and Eights can attest to that. But are feuds pitting Ray against 'The Hulkster'
and Sting really what TNA fans want to see? I know I'm not interested, and I
find it difficult to believe I'm the only one. TNA's improved over the last two
years but it's still a promotion awash with nonsense and performers who aren't
pulling their weight.
Things aren’t beyond saving though. There are numerous
things that could be done to make TNA a more enjoyable viewing experience. I've
come up with a list of suggestions that I think could improve the TNA product. They’re
listed below, and anyone at TNA who happens to be reading this is welcome to
use them.
Go all the way with Christopher Daniels:
'The Ring General' has been one of the most entertaining things on Impact for
almost a year now. What started as a seemingly throwaway pairing with Frankie
Kazarian has had staying power and has shown that the twenty year veteran is
still capable of reinventing himself and staying relevant. Effective heels tend
to end up receiving cheers from crowds who appreciate how good they are at
their job so it says something about how good Daniels is that he remains capable
of getting the desired reaction.
Daniels could have made a very effective top heel. The focus on the Aces and
Eights group, and his incompatibility with it, made that impossible. That
shouldn't stop TNA continuing to give him things to do. Nor should it preclude
him from consideration as a future world champion. 'The Fallen Angel' is one of
TNA's greatest assets. He should be the star of the company's next long term
booking cycle.
Lead heel material
Make Magnus and Samoa Joe a tag team:
They've already been reunited through the magic of battling Aces and Eights.
Have them announce on Impact that they've decided to reform their tag team
because they realise they can succeed together. If and when they do split,
don't rush it. That's a scenario that could be used to bring Magnus into main
events.
Make Robbie E and Jesse Godderz a tag
team: It's been acknowledged that they have similar gimmicks. Why not
embrace that and have them work as a unit? It's not like either man is anything
special alone.
Should the writers be inclined they could even grant the combo an ECW-style
entourage, perhaps installed to protect them from the monstrous Rob Terry (who
can be downed with a… erm… framed picture). They'd already have Tara, a great
character who I think excels when placed in a group setting. They could bring
back Cookie. They could give them a bodyguard, maybe some plucked from the list
of cuts suggested below.
Gunner could be put with them to run interference. Give
him a bizarre costume (as was done with the Musketeer and Mitch in the Simon
and Swinger group) and you could get some laughs (and some incredulous looks).
Is getting laughs a bad thing? Not with these guys. Robbie E, Jesse and Tara
are all well established as comedy performers in TNA.
Once they've feuded with Rob Terry they could move on to Eric Young. A
programme between comedy performers would be a nice change of pace, and there'd
be lots of matches to book if EY were still hooked up with ODB.
Finish the Aces and Eights angle: It's
been running for a year now. It took months for the group's members to be
revealed. The final line-up is uninspiring or detrimental to the product. It could have been used as a tool to make
bigger stars of the likes of Garrett Bischoff and Wes Brisco. They've found
themselves playing even less important roles than they were when they were Team
Angle 2.0. Instead it’s just been an excuse to hire a truckload of former WWE
guys.
It's a boring, uninspiring plot that's outstayed its welcome and has nothing
left to offer. If the goal was to make Bully Ray the heel champion then the
objective has been achieved. 'Calfzilla' is good enough to go it alone from
here, perhaps retaining Devon for their history together and to play up the
Team 3D reunion.
The writers need to come up with something new. Something that's not a knockoff
of the nWo. We've seen plenty of those. Put wrestling at the centre of stories
and make wins and losses matter instead.
Get rid of the TV title: Let it go
with Devon or, if he sticks around, stop him wearing it. Seriously, it's
worthless.
Make Taryn Terrell a wrestler:
Having a gimmick referee for the Knockouts division seemed like a peculiar idea
to begin with. I assumed it was going to lead somewhere. It hasn't. The most
notable thing Taryn's been involved in has been an accusation of iffy
officiating. Not exactly thrilling, is it?
Why not have Gail Kim reveal that she's lodged a complaint against Terrell that
will prohibit her from officiating matches for the foreseeable future? That
would excuse Taryn from ref duty and allow her to enter into a feud with Kim, using
the excuse that she remains a TNA contracted performer and a trained wrestler.
She's not on par with the rest of the Knockout crew but she might learn by
association. Failing that she could always be put in a tag team.
She learnt that move from Mae Young, you know
Improve the Knockouts division:
Fairly broad point? Yeah, but I've got several suggestions that don't fall
neatly under their own headers.
First of all, hire Ivalice Velez. She was far more impressive than Lei'D Tapa
in their match on the February 28th Impact. The audience connected
with her too. That's a very good indication that someone warrants a contract.
Lei'D Tapa, who was signed in Velez's place, could be built up as a monster
heel. Treat her like a modern day Awesome Kong. Have her stand in the aisle to
watch KO matches for several weeks before attacking someone like Mickie James
or Velvet Sky to setup her first programme. Maybe even allow her to beat the
champion for the title in her first official match as a Knockout. That could
make her a star immediately.
Of course for that to work fans would
have to care about the division and its performers. That's not a tough thing to
achieve. Viewers want to care about the Knockouts, they're just not given much
of a chance to do so. Give them all their own characters again, along with
something to do. That could include bringing up some of the ladies assigned to
OVW to help flesh out the ranks (so to speak) and reactivating the Knockout tag
belts.
Release some wrestlers from their
contracts: I know Matt Morgan only re-signed last summer but what's he
done since returning? Nothing. He's been with the company since 2007, which is
more than enough time to carve a niche for himself. That he hasn't means he
probably never will. The story of Morgan becoming frustrated with his lack of
opportunities before becoming serious and targeting the champ had been done to
death too.
Joey Ryan has transformed into a spectacularly banal character since getting a
regular gig with the league. He could be released and not be missed.
RVD is another guy that has nothing to do in the current TNA. He's a man
trading on past glories. He's still fine in the ring and better on the mic than
he was in his prime but he's faced everyone of worth and done everything of interest.
Give someone else a chance to reinvigorate the X Division.
Contract expirations are underrated
The entire A&E roster is ripe for a firing too. That includes Mr Anderson.
TNA have floundered about with him for so long, switching him rapidly between
heel and face, that he can't be cared about anymore. As I mentioned above,
perhaps keep Devon around if there's a purpose behind it.
Finally, get rid of Hogan and Bischoff. The latter's not an on-screen performer
but he's just as useless as 'Thunderlips'. Neither man has done anything to
make TNA a more known brand or a more profitable company. There has been a
distinct lack of fresh and entertaining programming too. The company has simply
kept churning out the same WWE-inspired weirdness it has for years. If they
knew how to improve things they'd have done it by now.
Make better use of Sting and Kurt Angle:
By which I mean make both men part time. Use them as special attractions. Have
Sting appear on Impact only to build up pay-per-view programmes. Have Angle
replace Hulk as the General Manger and keep any wrestling matches he has either
for PPV or for specially hyped episodes of Impact.
Restock the roster with young talent:
Recruit fresh blood. The X Division in particular is bare. Why not make an
offer to John Morrison. I'm sure one's been extended before but try again. He
could attract fresh eyes to the X league. Longer term he could progress to
wrestling for the world championship.
Kenny Omega and Sonjay Dutt should be natural choices to bring in. Both men
would improve the booking options of the roster and make good challengers for
Kenny King. How about the Young Bucks (or Generation Me as they were called in
TNA) and BLKOUT? Those are four guys who could work in both the X Division and
the tag division, another area of TNA programming that could do with some work.
Closing statement: The TNA roster is
need of a shakeup. The product has been the same for so long that nothing feels
fresh, no matter how it’s dressed up. The only way TNA is going to improve is
with a refresh of the roster and a different tack being taken when it comes to
concocting long term booking plans. Bully Ray having the title isn’t a problem,
but pretty much everything else is.
