Vince Russo's Greatest Triumph

I was initially going to make this a Top Five Shows Booked by Vince Russo post. Then I started looking back on his body of work and it quickly became clear that wouldn't work. Russo's strength as a writer was in long-term storytelling and having something for everyone on the roster to do. His weakness was letting the act of actual wrestling be the focus of a show. Which has basically left us with a situation where there aren't many particularly good single shows booked by him.

"Cos it's a deadly game! Deadly game! Deadly game!"

The one time Russo managed to perfectly apply his approach to a pay-per-view was at the 1998 Survivor Series. That's the one, in case your wrestling lore is rusty, that featured a one night tournament (dubbed the Deadly Game tournament) to crown a new WWF champion. It allowed Russo to cram in everything he was good at and enjoyed, namely pushing the mid-card, constructing satisfying arcs for main event talents, and swerve developments, into one show, perfectly built to over the preceding months.

Part of the reason the show worked as well as it did (and holds up better than practically anything else Russo booked) was the build it had. After SummerSlam in August he and his writing partner Ed Ferrara set about repositioning key players in preparation for the story they knew they'd be telling at Survivors. Mankind became a sympathetic, comedic good guy. The Rock dropped the Nation of Domination (an albatross around his neck by SummerSlam anyway) and officially went face, dubbing himself 'The People's Champion'. Undertaker and Kane, who had been at loggerheads since Kane's debut the previous October, formed the first of many alliances and began pursuing WWF champion Steve Austin. Really, Austin was the only man not recast after SummerSlam. He remained the top babyface with the same agenda he'd always had: having the title and being a thorn in the side of Vince McMahon.

Vince was central to all of this. He butted heads with The Rock, based on his own hatred of "the people". He began manipulating Mankind, promising to make him his new "corporate" champion but clearly having little but disdain for him and using him simply as a tool in his wider plans. Which he did with Undertaker and Kane, of course, only they were presented as being intelligent enough to understand his schemes, playing along because it tied into their desire to be the champion. And, of course, his hatred of Austin was undiminished.

Through a typically Russo-esque convoluted sequence best summed up here as a double pin from the Brothers of Destruction, Austin was stripped of the WWF championship. An attempt to crown a new champion in a 'Taker v Kane match didn't work out because Vince (stupidly) made Austin the guest referee, leading the match to end with Austin attacking both competitors and declaring himself the winner. Vince's next plan to crown a champion was the Deadly Game tournament, bringing us back around to Vinnie Ru's greatest triumph.

The show featured a ludicrous fourteen matches (plus another four before the broadcast began) but was paced and structured so well that it avoided feeling bloated. Practically every match contributed something to the larger story of the show and the handful that didn't were either enjoyable enough to be overlooked (Shamrock v Goldust) or were short enough for it not to be an issue (Snow v Jarrett). The main characters were all placed in matches that advanced their own plots. Mankind found himself pitted against blatant ringer Duane Gill in the opening match (amusingly hyped up so much by Vince so as to deliberately mislead people into believing they' be seeing the injured Shawn Michaels), setting him and the audience up to believe that he truly was Vince's chosen one. Rock found himself pitted against Team Corporate henchmen in his first two matches and against Undertaker in his third, making it clear McMahon was doing everything in his power to keep him away from the final, and that the audience were right to believe in him because he overcame Vince's stacked odds.

Austin was ever so slightly an afterthought, odd considering he was the clear cut top star. He trounced Big Boss Man in his opening round match, received a bye in the second when nobody advanced to face him, and was double crossed in his semi-final match against Mankind. But this was all done for a reason. It allowed Rock and Mankind to close the show, helping to raise their status in the process. The double cross aspect of his semi-final loss was done to reunite Vince and Shane McMahon after Shane had been demoted to, in Vince's words, a lowly referee. It created a reason to further protract the McMahon-Austin rivalry to and neatly took 'Stone Cold' out of the title picture until WrestleMania.

Of course it's the main event that this show is, rightly, most remembered for. Mankind versus The Rock was a competitive match (although not as good as the work they'd do together over the months that followed) that played out with McMahon and his entourage at ringside. It was set up to make viewers believe that Mankind was Vince's choice for champion and Rock was the underdog fighting against all the odds. Not only did it make sense in its own right but it was a framing device designed to call back to the main event of the previous year's show. For anyone unfamiliar with that (not that I'd expect many bothering to read this far to be unfamiliar) the '97 Survivor Series had seen WWF champion Bret Hart defending against on-screen and real life arch rival Shawn Michaels, with it being (fairly) common knowledge that Hart was on his way out of the company and refusing to lose the belt to Michaels. The match ended with Michaels applying the Sharpshooter, Hart's own finishing hold, to Hart and Vince, who was uncharacteristically at ringside for the match, demanding the bell be rung and Michaels announced as the new champion.

That sequence, by November 1998, had become known as the Montreal Screwjob (because it was a screw job that took place in Montreal, obvs). It's something that's been played on a lot since, both by the WWF and others, but in late '98 it wasn't something that the WWF seemed reluctant to acknowledge or dwell it. That changed when Rock placed Mankind in the Sharpshooter and McMahon had the bell rung.

A successful swerve.

Russo and the rest of the WWF's creative types had had the genius idea of ending the show with a swerve turn, a reveal that The Rock and Vince had been in cahoots all along, Mankind a mere patsy in the chairman's villainous machinations. Russo has rightly been accused of booking too many swerve turns in his career but this one made complete sense and provided a neat payoff. Of course it was The Rock, with his movie star good looks and third generation status, that was Vince's chosen one, not the affable, slightly out of shape Mankind. Rock's victories over Corporate henchmen in the earlier rounds immediately made sense. His only real challenge all night had been his match against 'The Dead Man', and he'd won that after interference from Kane.

The show provided a great climax to story threads that had been present since SummerSlam and set up fresh ones that ran the company through to WrestleMania XV the following March. It was a pivotal show for the promotion creatively and showed just how good the Russo approach could be with the right conditions. He would never again produce anything this good. Certainly not enough to concoct a top five list.

Narrative is a Draw Too

Is it enough these day for wrestling companies to put on excellent wrestling and expect people to watch their show or buy their DVDs? I don’t think so. While high quality wrestling is obviously desirable I don’t think it’s enough to sustain TV ratings, live stream buys, tickets sales, DVD purchases and so on in 2014. Or any other year come to that. There needs to be an ongoing narrative to hook you and keep you coming back to watch the great wrestlers doing their great wrestling.

A large part of pro wrestling’s appeal comes from its narrative. Its predetermined nature and associated theatrics mean that stories can be told in matches and, more importantly for the purposes of the point I’m making, across a number of shows to keep people entertained and tuning in. Y’know, like a soap, those things which millions of people become hugely invested in.

This isn’t to say that everything has to be in the Vince Russo-slash-Days of Our Lives mould. That approach has a very limited appeal and has been done very successfully before. There are dozens of alternatives. New Japan, for example, focuses on the journey up the card of a wrestler with wins and losses having a heightened meaning. WWE, generally speaking, tells stories about their mighty heroes overcoming long odds. Meanwhile TNA struggles with telling interesting stories and is floundering as a result.

The result of storytelling.

A continuing narrative is as intrinsic to pro wrestling as the wrestling itself. Without a compelling storyline people have no reason to invest in characters and keep watching. Wanting to see a babyface win a championship or a heel receive their comeuppance is something that can only be properly and effectively achieved if there are bookers or writers in place to structure plots over a period of weeks, months, or, in exceptional cases, years.

A roster filled with talented wrestlers is great. It’s ideal, in fact. But it’s not the be all and end all of a great wrestling promotion. If someone just wants to watch great wrestling these days they’re spoilt for choice. YouTube and similar sites provide countless great matches for free. Every promotion from New Japan to EVOLVE puts on its fair share of quality wrestling. Great wrestlers and great wrestling are not hard things to find.

My point (yeah, I’ve got one) is that wrestling companies need to offer people more than excellent wrestling. That’s good to have but it won’t necessarily keep people coming back. Give us reasons to support these great wrestlers and want to see them win. Narrative is a draw too.

RIP TNA

I woke up this morning to news I'd been expecting for a while. Spike TV have opted not to renew their contract with TNA. Impact Wrestling, the promotion's flagship show, will not air on Spike after the current contract expires in October. Without that weekly slot, and with no house show or merchandise business to speak of, TNA's chances of survival are massively slim.

There are a multitude of factors for Spike's decision not to renew. The one that acted as the metaphorical final straw was, apparently, Vince Russo. Spike TV have a long-standing grudge against Russo dating back to his previous stints being involvement with TNA. His failure to produce the levels of success he promises is the cause of this. Spike discovered Russo had been involved in the booking of TNA since some time earlier this year or late last year and made the decision to cut ties.

Maybe she'll be the last champ?

Which is understandable. They'd made it clear to TNA top boss Dixie Carter that they were not willing to help fund a promotion that was taking creative input from Russo. Instead of doing the intelligent thing and simply not using Russo, Dixie seemingly defied Spike and discreetly hired him, thinking she could keep it quiet (Spike discovered he was working for TNA when Russo accidentally sent an email to a Spike employee (note that there are already conspiracy theories that say Russo’s actions were deliberate)). Spike TV were not technically in charge of TNA but they had been funding the league for quite some time, making Dixie’s decision a dumb one. By hiring Russo, Dixie practically guaranteed the contract with Spike would not be renewed.

There are other reasons Spike would have been less than keen to continue its relationship with TNA. Their inability to keep hold of AJ Styles and Sting, the latter of whom Spike helped to cover the costs of because they felt he was a significant name worth having around, really wouldn't have helped. The viewing figures, which generally lay somewhere around the million mark, would have been a disappointment too. In and of itself that rating was fine and it had seen small improvements over the last few months, but TNA had been in its Thursday slot for years (ill-conceived and brief 2010 switch to Mondays aside) and should have been able to increase their average number by now.

The company's general lack of direction and overall image were likely big problems too. TNA had been drifting for years, aimlessly stumbling from one vague concept (usually focusing themselves around a new signing) to the next. There was no long term goal or focus, no image that helped to differentiate it from WWE or Ring of Honor. It fact, it felt as though TNA were happy to simply be a number two promotion that aped the approach of the number one promotion. Being an alternative to the market leader with an approach that was clearly their own would not have guaranteed greater ratings, or anything else for that matter, but it would have made TNA a more attractive prospect for Spike (and indeed for other prospective TV partners). Why be happy as number two in sports entertainment when you can be number one with your own approach?

It looks grim for the Total Nonstop crew. Without a television presence the company’s as good as dead. Their list of options are to find a new channel that's interested in airing Impact, getting some impressive and lucrative sponsorship sorted out and streaming shows online (or perhaps returning to the weekly pay-per-view model they first used in 2002) or relocating to Britain and mining their popularity on Challenge for all it's worth, while still desperately trying to find a new US network. The relocation seems massively unlikely. Spike would have probably covered costs of primarily taping in the UK (read about that here) had the partnership continued but TNA can't handle a full scale redeployment itself. It's simply not practical, and Challenge is unlikely to be interested in helping with the finances. Technically I suppose it could as it's run by Sky (Britain's biggest cable provider for non-Brit readers) but it's just not how things work over here. And even if it were I don't think TNA is that valuable to Challenge. It may be their highest rated show but the numbers aren't astronomical.

I don't know enough about the setup of US TV stations to rattle off a list of prospective new homes for Impact. I'm sure there are some and I'm sure one or two could even end up being better for TNA than Spike was. I can't imagine why any network that doesn't already have a vested interest would want to affiliate itself with the promotion. But I’m not in TV and I’m looking at the situation from the perspective of TNA having been completely missable for practically its entire existence. A show that stands a good chance of attracting a million viewers each, and has the potential to expand and attract more, is probably quite desirable to many TV people.

Streaming online is probably not going to happen, but it’s not impossible. TNA parent company Panda Energy has been willing to throw dosh Dixie's way in the past. Setting up a streaming service feels like the sort of thing all involved would convince themselves would work. I could see TNA going with streaming until the money stops coming, which likely wouldn't be for three or four months at least. Who knows, maybe streaming could work out well for them. I doubt it though. Weekly PPVs are even less likely. That wasn't a sustainable approach for the company ten years ago, so it certainly won't be now.

It’s possible Spike will buy TNA themselves. They know they’ll get a certain rating from it and could theoretically expand the live event schedule and sort out the woeful merchandise situation to get some money rolling in. They’d need an entirely new management team but considering the way TNA’s been run into the ground by the Carters I think that’s something Spike would be keen on anyway. If the view in that company is that TNA is a decent investment that could be turned around (and I think that with the right approach it could be) then a Spike purchase is just about plausible.

I fear the worst for TNA finding a new TV home and surviving this debacle. The TNA-Spike deal lasts until October. It's unknown when the last episode of Impact will air on the channel but October would seem a sensible assumption. If something new can't be sorted out then there's a strong chance Bound For Glory could be the promotion's last hurrah.

This won't be the last time I write about TNA in the next few months. As much as I find their product totally unengaging I'd like them to survive because it creates jobs for wrestlers and wrestling people and the possibility’s there to turn things around. But right now that happening looks highly unlikely.

That Wrestling Podcast Episode 50

That Wrestling Podcast Episode 50 by Dave Hatton on Mixcloud

Thought the first episode of That Wrestling Podcast after WrestleMania XXX would be all about the big show and the following night’s RAW? Think again.

For this episode we take a trip down memory lane. No, not WrestleMania XXIX. Or XXVIII. No WrestleMania at all. In fact the topic isn’t even WWE related. No, in this episode we discuss World Championship Wrestling.

This didn't help.

Specifically we talk about what caused WCW to spiral out of control and ultimately go out of business. Everything from the booking to the huge guaranteed contracts to the overreliance on the New World Order angle is discussed. And, naturally, the fact that it ended up being owned by a company that didn’t want anything to do with the wrestling business.

This is a topic I’ve wanted to write about before. It’s one I’m sure I’ll cover one day but not anytime soon. There’s so much to cover that it needs to be done right. This podcast episode will have to suffice for now.

Eric Young's Turn

How do you combat the most popular wrestler in WWE closing the year's biggest wrestling show as the world champion? Well, if you're TNA, you find someone who looks vaguely like Bryan and switch your own world title on to him at the first televised opportunity. The man deemed most suitable was long-time comedy performer and mid-card mid-roader Eric Young.

Eric Young is not a bad wrestler. Nor is he an especially good one. His sole previous foray into main events (as part of the heel World Elite faction) was utterly unmemorable and saw Young busted back down to his natural role as comedy face soon after it ended. It’s that role he's been known for throughout his TNA career. He’s the comedy guy who goes out and makes the punters laugh. He’s also, for the record, a former Knockouts tag team champion, hardly something you look for on the CV of a prospective world champ.

Eric Young is the TNA champion

The title change, which aired live on Thursday 10 April and has been made available through TNA’s YouTube account, came about after EY survived a Michinoku driver and a low blow and drilled Magnus with a piledriver. But really, how it came about is irrelevant. What matters is that a longstanding comedy performer has been awarded TNA’s top prize.

Eric Young does not have the aura of a world champion. Nor do I believe he has the ability to cut it as an underdog champion who flukes his way to successful title defences (a viable way of turning someone into a legitimate main event act over time). He has been promoted far too quickly to the role of champion and his win has harmed the prestige of the title and, by extension, the promotion.

The TNA championship is once again looking like something that everyone gets a turn with if they stay under contract long enough. That simply shouldn't be. A promotion’s world title should be its top prize, something only the elite win. It's not as important as it was in the days of kayfabe but a world title is still a significant part of a promotion's success. The champion’s credibility (or lack of it) will help to form people's opinions of the company as a whole (especially a smaller outfit like TNA). A meaningful championship is needed for a lead babyface to chase and hold. If the title means nothing then what has that top star (or anyone else) accomplished by winning it? Any athlete needs a prize worth competing for.

Bobby Roode or Austin Aries would have been a better choice for the role of relieving Magnus of his title. For starters both already have title reigns notched up, which would have avoided giving yet another member of the roster their go with the belt. More importantly they are both more credible than EY. They both look, talk, wrestle and carry themselves like main eventers and have histories at the top of the card. There was an obvious storyline to present in having a heel ally of Magnus gradually turn on him before taking the title from him, and either ‘A Double’ or ‘The It Factor’ would have been a perfect fit.

And let's spare a thought for Magnus. He had what should have been a career defining reign curtailed to reward a mid-carder's loyalty and-or to give the audience a Shock Moment™ (this more than anything else has convinced me that Vince Russo has indeed returned to TNA¹). He is not the most talented man in TNA but he looked and acted the part, and was growing into the role of both champion and faction centrepiece. Of the talent at TNA's disposal he was one of their best choices for a fresh start champ. Perhaps he'll get the strap back in a few weeks. Perhaps he'll go on to have a longer, more impressive reign in the future. But the damage is done. He is now the man whose first reign ended at the hands of ‘Showtime’ Eric Young.

This is another example of TNA floundering around aimlessly, desperately searching for something that will click with viewers and ignite their popularity. It's not something that will cause the downfall of a company. At this point it barely registers above the background hum of absurdity they present on a weekly basis. When the story of TNA's downfall comes to be written this will simply be another point on the graph. But it’s one that could, and should, have been avoided.

***

¹ I've defended him in the past and will defend him in the future but I disagree (as talked about above) with Russo’s belief that wrestling championships are simply props that embellish the drama of the stories he's telling. They can enhance the perception of a wrestler or feud and lend credibility to a company. Think of how Daniel Bryan’s recent journey to the top of WWE would have been affected if there were no meaningful championship for him to win in the main of WrestleMania.

That Wrestling Podcast Episode 1

That Wrestling Podcast by Dave Hatton on Mixcloud

I’ve wanted to do a wrestling podcast for a while. The usual excuses are what’s stopped me: a lack of time, insufficient understanding of technology, and an absence of people knowledgeable and willing enough to record the thing with me. As evidenced by this blog I’ve not got a shortage of opinions on the wrestling business, it’s just everything else I’ve missed.

This situation changed when Michael, a guy I worked with in a bookshop, moved back to London. My technological ineptitude remains but I now have someone to record a podcast with. So we’ve recorded one, very kindly hosted by the Voices of Wrestling website (where odds and ends of my writing can also be found).
 

I wanted to post something here on the blog for two reasons. One is to plug the podcast, which I think we can all agree is a fairly natural thing to do. The second is that, due to a general unease when getting the thing onto the internet, I didn’t really manage to provide a decent summary of the episode. Where better to do that than here?

The idea was that Michael and I would start out discussing his time in Japan and then catch up on what’s been going on in wrestling over the last year or so (because he’s not managed to keep up with anything except the major developments). Aside from a couple of seconds to check that the sound quality was decent (it is) I’ve not listened to the thing back but I’d be surprised if we spend more than five minutes talking about Japan. So if you’re hoping this is going to be puro-heavy (why you’d think that when I never write about wrestling in Japan I don’t know) you’re going to be disappointed.

Things got better once we moved onto American wrestling. We discussed WWE a fair bit, although I can’t remember anything specific (which entirely contradicts what I said above but so be it), as well as TNA and Ring of Honor. The main TNA subjects were Bully Ray and Chris Sabin’s respective world titles reigns and the Aces and Eights storyline. We touched on the fact that the company’s future is pretty bleak, but that should surprise no one.

We picked our winners for the ROH world title tournament and discussed the merits of Kevin Steen and Davey Richards. Steve Corino came up too, if you still want to classify him as an ROH performer. In between all of this we discussed gimmicks in modern wrestling (including an idea for a mid-card WWE guy), WCW and Vince Russo.

It comes in at almost exactly two hours, which is a pleasingly round number that we reached completely at random. Future episodes, which will appear as and when we’ve time, will hopefully be shorter than that. Give it a listen (you can download it through the Voices of Wrestling iTunes account) and let us know what you think.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled complaints and suggestions.

In Fairness to Russo

Vince Russo had his strengths as a writer.

This is not something you’ll hear many people say. Or see them write. The general opinion on Vince Russo is that he takes credit for things he has no business taking credit for, has an unhealthy obsession with swerve turns and worked shoots, and that he was a talentless hack who produced nothing of value without Vince McMahon around to filter the good from the bad. Oh, and that he killed WCW.

There’s probably some truth to all of those points. He has claimed in interviews that he suggested certain lines or mannerisms to big stars such as ‘Stone Cold’ and The Rock, which have been refuted elsewhere by other people. In a collaborative field such as professional wrestling there’s always bound to be some dispute with regard to who created what but I’m generally inclined to side against Russo on this point.

He was around the roster but I can’t imagine him coming up with all the things he claims he did during the late nineties. Rock, Austin and others were talented enough to work out their own material. And still do, noticeably without the input of Russo.

His obsession with swerve turns and worked shoots is again something I shan’t try to argue against. Russo does seem to love both things. The evidence is there for all to see. His defence is that employing these tricks allowed him to better emulate “edgy” shows like Jerry Springer and Beavis and Butthead, which were popular shows during the Attitude Era and have been cited as sources of inspiration by Vinnie Ru.

I can see what he was trying to accomplish with this approach, although he came close to going overboard in the WWF and went completely off the rails when he was heading up WCW. There though it wasn’t Russo’s sole decision to employ worked shoot angles: a good portion of his time as head creative force in WCW saw him working alongside Eric Bischoff. You only need to look at the current TNA product, which Bischoff has been helping to produce for a number of years and has recently been put in charge of, to see that he’s just as enamoured of the approach as is Russo.

The thing about Russo being filtered by McMahon is probably valid too. When Russo moved to WCW he had nobody working above him as far as creative was concerned. He had to take into account the creative control clauses of certain performers and the desires of parent company chiefs but otherwise was free to produce what he wished. That it was mostly insane nonsense (though strangely compelling insane nonsense over a decade later) shows that Russo probably did need McMahon around to decide what would work and what wouldn’t.

I think it’s completely ridiculous to claim Russo killed WCW. He certainly didn’t help matters but the promotion was in trouble long before he joined and was going to be axed whether he was around or not. Turner bosses didn’t want to own a company that couldn’t pay for itself. Nor did they want a wrestling programme on their television schedules. That’s a fact and a larger contributing factor to WCW’s downfall than Russo’s booking. The ratings had been tumbling long before Russo was brought in, because the WWF had a more dynamic, interesting product.

For the record, the creative control clauses didn’t help WCW either. They hampered whoever was in charge and were a contributing factor to the WCW TV product gradually falling apart once the WWF took the lead. Everyone had been happy to go with the vision of whoever was in charge when WCW was on top. Once they were in second place everyone had a different view on how to get back into first, which prevented a coherent vision formed and presented.

 

Vince Russo: one of the most divisive figures to ever work in pro wrestling

 

What Russo did well was ensure that everyone on the roster had something going on. Whether it was a memorable gimmick or noteworthy feud, it was rare for any member of the roster to be doing nothing under Russo. In the WWF at least. His lack of success in WCW meant he wasn’t around long enough to pay attention to lower card performers there.

I don’t know what Russo booked in the WWF but I can hazard a guess. To my mind it seems reasonably safe to assume that Vince McMahon would have been more heavily involved with the headline scene and star creating process. Those were the most important areas for the promotion to concentrate on and McMahon, as the boss, would likely have made sure he was the one primarily concentrating on them. I imagine Russo would have had input and come up with broad storylines but it would have been McMahon’s area.

I suspect Russo concentrated more on the middle and lower portions of the card. I’ve never read or seen an interview in which he hints that this is the case, but that’s to be expected. Why would he admit to being the man who booked Taka Michinoku, Val Venis and Steve Blackman when he can say he was the genius planning out the drama between Austin, Rock and Triple H, pulling them aside to feed them cool lines as he went? With nobody able to prove him wrong Russo is in a perfect position to embellish the truth.

The booking similarities between the WWF mid-card and the Russo-in-WCW experience in general lends this theory credence. The WWF mid-card featured a lot less forward planning and consistency than the headliners and rising stars did and is where most of the Attitude Era’s plethora of swerve turns took place. It was a less polished, more anarchic feel than the top of the card, similar to what Russo would later be unquestionably responsible for in WCW.

But, as I said, his strength was always having something for people to do. Everyone in the WWF, from Crash Holly to D’Lo Brown, from Mideon to Tiger Ali Singh, was distinguishable from their peers in a meaningful manner. Did it all work? Of course not. We got Naked Mideon, Lo Down, and the unresolved implied castration of Val Venis by Kai En Tai. But we also got Crash Holly’s belief that he was a superheavyweight, the Headbangers’ reign as “mystical” tag team titles and a variety of wrestlers appearing under the Blue Blazer mask as though they were all one person. It was hit and miss, but at least there was something happening.

Compare that to the modern WWE product. I’m not going to trash what WWE are giving us now because in truth the company has been steadily improving over the last two years following half a decade or so of infuriating drifting. Things are getting better thanks to an engaging main event crew and a renewed focus on creating new stars.

But the fact remains that once you get down to the mid-carders there’s not much going on there. Wade Barrett’s a good example. We’re told every week as he walks to the ring that he’s a former bare knuckle boxer from England. The only things about him that can be said to reference this gimmick (and true or not it is a gimmick) is his Bullhammer finisher and the taunt he does when he climbs into the ring. In practice there’s not really anything to separate Barrett from the various other mid-card villains running around the place.

The WWE writing team could learn from the Russo approach. The promotion will always succeed or fail based mostly on the strength of its main event line-up. But it doesn’t hurt to give career mid-carders something to do as it creates a livelier, more varied and compelling show. And, more to the point, the mid-card is the home of every future headline star the company has. Wrestlers don’t just turn up ready to win world titles and main event pay-per-views.

I’m not going to advocate Russo being rehired to write for RAW or being posted to NXT. He is not someone who should have any direct contact with any current WWE creative team member. But exposing writers to his approach by showing them videos could give them a better understanding of writing for a full cast, rather than just a select four or five.

Creative Control

WWE has been using a team of writers to script their TV shows for over ten years now. Before that they used bookers. The difference is significant. A booker is someone who has been around the wrestling business for a substantial amount of time and understands how to apply its unique psychology to the structuring of plots designed to keep fans paying to see to guys fight. A writer is someone who understands how to structure a television show, using the medium's episodic format to keep people tuning back in every week by using characters, skits, and wrestling matches in equal measure.

The previous system comprised a collection of backstage personnel. Jims Cornette and Ross were involved in booking for a while, as were then-full time performers Shawn Michaels and Triple H. Gerry Brisco, Pat Patterson and others were involved over the years too.

The era of the writer began when WWF Magazine editor Vince Russo was inducted into the federation's creative process. Vinnie Ru has always insisted that he's a writer, not a booker, taking a great deal of pride in the title. Russo, you see, writes TV shows. He doesn't book wrestling.

Vince McMahon has been the man in charge throughout. He retained the final say when there was a booking team and he does so now with his cadre of writers. The WWF is his company. Nothing happens without his authorisation. Basically if Vince doesn't like it, it doesn't happen.

That's important to remember when advocating either approach. Whatever examples you may pluck from WWE's (or indeed the WWF's) past they have ultimately been okayed by the same man. It is all, in a sense, one man's creative vision. Both approaches have brought the company success.

The label of writer is often tossed around derisively by wrestling fans. It's important to note that the success of the company's most critically acclaimed period (yep, the Attitude Era) is usually attributed to Vinces Russo and McMahon. JR left the process (because of his full time job announcing RAW and running the talent relations department), Cornette left the company, and Patterson and Brisco became agents, focusing on matches. While he wasn't the only guy involved Russo was one of the driving forces. I feel this needs pointing out simply to illustrate that not everyone who calls themselves a writer is bad for the product.

Nevertheless the current approach of hiring guys with little or no experience, knowledge or passion for wrestling to be writers is seen as the biggest problem the current WWE product has. It's not a sentiment I'm inclined to argue with. WWE has spent too long concentrating on wooing guys with film, network TV, and Hollywood experience. They know how to bring a fresh perspective to WWE, which is valuable. But it’s happening, and has happened, at the expense of a basic knowledge of what wrestling fans want. It may be marketed as sports entertainment, but WWE will always be wrestling.

Broadly speaking the trouble is that all the writers have the same set of experiences to draw on. Their backgrounds are too similar to provide any meaningful variety in the world of wrestling. Yes they have their place, but it's alongside people who understand what makes draws paying customers to wrestling. Those who know what's been successful, and why, should be working alongside those with a broader experience of television production.

Maybe CM stands for Creativity Manager

This isn't to belittle the efforts of the writing team. By all accounts they have a pretty tough travel schedule and work very long hours. On top of that their role is a constant balancing act between suggesting things that will better the product and not being so radical as to alienate them from the mercurial Mr McMahon. It can't be an easy gig.

But working under tough conditions doesn't change the fact that the current scripting system isn't working. A change is needed in this department, and the most effective option available is to get rid of some of the writers. That would allow for a more streamlined process. The guys that should go should be a mixture of newcomers who aren't grasping what makes wrestling (or sports entertainment) work and veterans who've been around long enough to have contributed all their best ideas. This doesn't have to mean sacking them. WWE's a big corporation, find somewhere else for them to slot in where their experience will be just as, if not more, valuable.

The writers should be replaced with those who know the industry. Agents, managers, commentators, GMs... whatever roles these guys currently play on TV they've all been around wrestling for long enough to have an idea of what a 2013 audience may react to. If someone doesn't work out that's fine, just remove them and give someone else a shot. It's not like WWE doesn't have enough staff for this to work.

I think it would be worthwhile allowing a select few main event guys the chance to contribute more in this area too. CM Punk, John Cena and The Rock are all said to have a degree of influence over what they do and say on TV. Why not put then in the writing team in an official capacity and see if their ideas can benefit the roster as a whole? Cena may not be a great wrestler but maybe he could turn out to be wrestling’s answer to Proust.

Down and Out in Orlando, Florida

Nearly thirty years ago Hulk Hogan body slammed and leg dropped The Iron Sheikh in Madison Square Garden to capture his first WWF world title. He was champion for the next four years, spearheading the promotion's expansion from regional territory to national powerhouse. By the early 90s he'd gone part time and was eying a career in Hollywood. That didn't pan out and so 'The Hulkster' returned to wrestling full time.
 
He did not head back to the WWF however. Thanks to the famous steroid scandal that hit the Fed in ‘94 (and also because of the offer of a fat paycheque) Hogan wound up in WCW. He defeated Ric Flair for the Big Gold Belt in his debut match on July 17^th 1994 and remained with the company until it was sold by AOL Time Warner in March 2001.
 
Hulk's final appearance for World Championship Wrestling came at Bash at the Beach 2000. He won the company's world title from Jeff Jarrett in a whacky worked shoot (or possibly legitimate shoot, nobody seems entirely sure) that was more angle than match, prompted by disagreements between Hogan (who had a creative control clause in his contract) and head writer Vince Russo, and never appeared for the league again.
 
At the time many felt that Hogan’s career as a headline attraction in wrestling could be over. A return to the WWF seemed likely. A run in the main less so.
 
Hulk proved everyone wrong. He inked a contract with the WWF in early 2002 and made his first appearance for the company in over eight years at February's No Way Out pay-per-view. While the nWo reunion he was a part of on the show was ultimately underwhelming and disappointing it set 'The Hulkster' back on track to the top.
 
He was in the most anticipated match of WrestleMania X8, facing The Rock. Despite losing that match he was booked to headline Backlash the next month. Not only did he headline that show but he toppled Triple H to become a six time WWF champion. His reign didn't last long (the belt changed hands again at May's Judgment Day) but that didn't matter: Hogan had risen back to the top of the card in record time, despite his age and physical limitations.
 
By WrestleMania XIX Hogan was feuding with Vince McMahon and once again got himself a prime slot on the bill. He and the chairman clashed in a wild and memorable street fight that featured the surprise return of Roddy Piper and went on a respectable second from last.

One more WWE run, brother?!

 
The law of diminishing returns finally began to catch up with 'The Hulkster' shortly after that. Fan reactions decreased, his physical state worsened and he had a variety of fallings out with WWE management. 2005 saw him inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and main event SummerSlam against Shawn Michaels, arguably the final meaningful aspects of his WWE career (at least for now).
 
Hogan's most recent WWE appearance was the 15^th anniversary edition of RAW, held on December 10^th 2007. Things went quiet on the Hogan front until October 2009 when it was revealed he, along with former WCW chieftain Eric Bischoff, were to join TNA. And that, readers, was the first sign that Hogan had finally accepted that he was not the huge draw he had been in the 80s.
 
It was widely believed at the time of the announcement that 'The Immortal One' was only returning to TNA (he had briefly been linked to the group during one of his sojourns away from WWE in 2003 but had never appeared in an arena for them) because of the very expensive divorce he was going through. Hogan had teased a trip to TNA before, but only when negotiating with WWE. Having exhausted his options in New York the former NWA affiliate was his best bet for making quick cash.
 
Hogan and Bischoff made their IMPACT debuts on January 4^th 2010. Almost three years later the pair have done exactly nothing to make TNA a more important part of the wrestling landscape than it was prior to October 2009. They have created no new stars, signed nobody to attract new fans, failed to increase ratings, and storyline quality remains the same. They have contributed nothing of value.
 
At 59 years of age and with a knackered back a return to the ring for a full match seems unlikely. Even with the shortcuts offered by a street fight or similar gimmick it seems a long shot. The occasional hobble-in to give bad guys a pasting seems to be the guy's limit for as long as he remains with TNA.
 
And how long will that be exactly? Hogan's contract came up for renewal late last year or earlier this year. That he's still with the group makes it clear he re-signed. Knowing Hogan's knack for self-preservation and bargaining prowess it seems unlikely that he didn't at least enquire with WWE about a potential return.
 
I think that sooner or later Hogan will be back in WWE. The TNA paycheque may be nice but sooner or later Vince McMahon is bound to find a use for 'The Hulkster' again. When that happens he'll easily outbid Dixie Carter. Perhaps the bigger question is whether Hulk will wrestle for WWE again. It may seem unlikely now but for the right price I suspect his back issues may disappear. Don’t count out one final ‘Mania appearance.

Russo Out, Lagana In

There's a reason I don't talk about TNA that often on this blog. It's because I don't feel I keep up with their product enough. I'll follow their title changes, read taping and PPV results and take note of face and heel turns, but ultimately that's part of the problem. I know just from reading about the promotion that there's too much going on for the amount of airtime available.
 
I gave up even attempting to watch iMPACT (or whatever name it was going under at the time) last summer. My feeling at the time was that if TNA wasn’t capable of using their talent properly it wasn’t worth spending my time watching.
 
Things may be about to change though. It was reported last weekend that Vince Russo was not backstage at the Against All Odds pay-per-view in Orlando's IMPACT Zone, sparking rumours that he had split from the company. This was confirmed on Tuesday in a tweet from company president Dixie Carter, who wrote the following:
 
TNA and Vince Russo have mutually parted ways as of this week. The separation is amicable and professional. We are glad for the opportunity to have worked together and wish each other nothing but good luck and success in the future.
 
Adding to the good news is that Dave Lagana, former SmackDown, WWECW and Ring of Honor writer and current head if TNA’s Ring Ka King project in India, has replaced Russo on the creative team. Following years of Russo’s anarchic, often counterproductive approach Lagana’s logical, well-paced booking should be a refreshing change to the TNA product in 2012.

Vince Russo: gone but not forgotten!

With the confirmation that Russo is no longer involved in TNA creative on any level fans who were driven away by his idiocy may be encouraged to give IMPACT a try again. The best way TNA can encourage people to tune in is to tighten up their focus and book with long term goals in mind.
 
The Bobby Roode heel turn on James Storm is a perfect example of how long term booking went disastrously wrong under Russo. Had that story been teased out over months it could have been the promotion's lead storyline before progressing into the lead feud. Booked correctly it could have made genuine stars of both Storm and Roode, something that should be a top priority for the company that has been known for using former WWE stars for so long. Had ‘The Cowboy’ been permitted a lengthier title run before dropping the championship to Roode he would have stood a far better chance of establishing himself at the top of the card. Instead the turn and the title switch all took place within a month and nothing made the impact (no pun intended) it should have.

Wasteful is the word you’re looking for.
 
This is the perfect chance to change the writing process the company currently has in place. At the moment a script is drawn up by the writing team and handed to Bruce Prichard, who notes whatever changes he feels are necessary before handing it on to Eric Bischoff, who does the same.
 
One or both of the note makers need to be taken out of the process, in order to speed things up and allow the writing team to get on with planning a compelling television product. Y’know, like they’re supposed to? Ideally Bischoff would get the boot. After two and a half years with the company it's clear he's incapable of doing anything in the wrestling business without pots of someone else's money to utilise.

Bringing Lagana into TNA proper is a promising sign. I hope TNA allows him and the rest of the team the chance to sort the creative process out. It's been slapdash for far too long. The company's wrestlers and fans deserve better.

Unamazing Crimson

I've recently discovered (via Twitter) that TNA wrestler Crimson has a surprising number of fans. Yes, Crimson, the man who has failed to have do anything memorable since debuting for TNA on the last iMPACT of 2010. He has so many supporters that I feel compelled to write a short blog detailing why he’s nothing short of absolutely ordinary.
 
Let's start with his tattoos. I’ve nothing against tattoos, and feel they can enhance the look of a wrestler. Undertaker, CM Punk and Randy Orton all fully tattooed arms and it doesn’t detract from their main event aura (in the case of Punk he’s actually made it an integral part of his persona). My problem isn’t with tattoos in general, it’s with Crimson’s tattoos in particular. They’re dreadful. They’re so bad that they actually draw your eye when Crimson’s on screen.

No wrestler should have tattoos so bad that you’re unable to focus on their promos, matches, entrances or whatever else. But Crimson does. It’s a bad move. Either get something that doesn’t draw they eye or don’t get anything. Or, maybe, just don’t get into the wrestling business.
 
As bad as the tattoos are the promos are worse. Every interview I've seen the guy do has been a typically clichéd, unimaginative growling mess. In fairness the content isn’t his fault: the writing team are the one's telling him what to say. But at the same time he has to shoulder some of the blame as he's the one providing the half-hearted, generic delivery and emphasising odd parts of sentences.
 
The most obvious reason to dislike the guy is his incredibly basic ring style. He wrestles like a WWE mid-carder. There's nothing wrong with that, in and of itself, but it makes it impossible to take him seriously as a future centrepiece star, which is clearly how TNA want us to view him.

Bischoff and Russo (and possibly some others, though I suspect they are the main culprits) seem to want to recreate the Goldberg push with Crimson. It’s just not going to happen. It worked with Goldberg for so many different reasons: a winning streak in wrestling (on that level at least) had never been done before; Goldberg was (and is) a charismatic performer who managed to connect with crowds very quickly; his matches were kept short and his opponents never got in any offence; and WCW had a ridiculously high number of expendable talent under contract that could be sacrificed on a weekly basis without the need of repeats.

Crimson has displayed no charisma, is routinely booked in relatively lengthy matches against people who fight back, and TNA doesn’t have anywhere near the number of heavyweight jabronis it needs to build Crimson up through impressive displays of physical dominance. I’m not saying there’s not a role for him in TNA, but it isn’t his current one.
 
I’ve not forgotten that he's Amazing Red's younger brother either. This is why he’s been lumbered with the awful ring name of Crimson (and Amazing Red’s been released too – so it’s rendered even more absurd than it was already. In Vince Russo’s mind having Crimson be the younger brother of someone so much smaller than him is hilarious. To everyone else it’s just a stupid name that will be laughed at by mainstream media. Not that that matters: how often does anyone hear TNA mentioned outside of wrestling websites and magazines and their own TV shows?
 

Crimson could have meant something in TNA had a little thought and originality been applied to his debut and long term plans laid out in advance. As things stand right now he’s not said or done anything to warrant the praise he receives and I can’t see that state of affairs changing any time soon. He may well be a future TNA world champion, but in the grand scheme of things what does that actually mean? I’ll tell you what: nothing.

Are You Joking?

The Dark Knight was released in July 2008. The Dark Knight Rises is due to be released in July of next year. So why has Vince Russo decided that now is the perfect time to get a fifty-something year-old man to impersonate the Joker? It’s a reference that hasn’t been relevant for three years, and won’t be again (at a push) for another year.

Vintage Russo. Vintage TNA.

This character shift is why people chant “Fire Russo” and use the #TNAwful hashtag on Twitter. But they won’t learn, so I won’t go on about it.

Two fifty-somethings, decades past their prime, conduct a meaningless angle that benefits no one

Identity Crisis

For the good of the wrestling industry in general, Total Nonstop Action needs to be successful. By having a second wrestling promotion in North America, capable of offering an alternative to the stale WWE product, everybody would win. It would give fans the option of watching a product that presents wrestling differently to Vince McMahon (for a start, by acknowledging that it’s wrestling and not “sports entertainment”). Wrestlers would have an alternative employer able to offer competitive pay, or at least creative freedom for slightly less cash. Even WWE itself would profit, as history has shown that Vince produces his best work when his TV ratings are threatened by a direct rival.

Sadly, that’s not the world we live in. Dixie Carter’s TNA is a long way from being the company the industry needs it to be.

The obvious and easy suggestion to make is that Vince Russo needs to be fired. His track record is horrendous. The only reason he’s managed to become a name in the business is because he happened to work on the WWF creative team during the promotion’s hugely successful Attitude Era (he didn’t head the team, he was merely a contributor alongside many others, so his claims that he was the man solely responsible for everything good seen on WWF TV during that period are utterly untrue). From there he journeyed to WCW, put them out of business with his inept approach to wrestling writing, and then wound up in TNA because he’d pushed its founder, Jeff Jarrett, as a champion during his obliteration of WCW. He’s managed to cling on to his job this long because Dixie Carter, the woman in charge, is clueless and sees him as a safe pair of hands.

Replacing Russo with a creative team that knows what it’s doing is the necessary first step to making TNA a success. As I said, Russo’s kept his jobs through being  a known quantity. It’s certainly not due to a lack of alternative bookers. Jim Cornette, Adam Pearce, Dave Prazak, Gabe Sapolsky, Paul Heyman, and Dave Lagana are some top names that could be approached if TNA were serious about trying to improve itself. Some of them are working for rival promotions, some have sworn never to work for TNA again, and some have been in talks that have fallen through, but there’s no harm in approaching them. Making an offer costs nothing.

Speaking of costing nothing: the sooner they stop using the iMPACT Zone the better. By using Universal Studios for almost all its TV tapings and pay-per-view events they are denying themselves revenue from admissions (the Studio prohibits TNA from charging an additional entry fee as people have already paid to enter the larger grounds). It also denies them the opportunity to grow their fanbase, as meaningful shows are presented so rarely in other locations. Plus, most of the regulars at the iMPACT Zone are detrimental to business, cheering and booing for what they please, regardless of the booking. True, this is something all promotions must deal with from time to time but basing yourself somewhere where frequent heel and face turns are dictated so heavily by a fickle audience is madness. Just because the handful of regulars approve of something doesn’t mean the TV and PPV markets will.

Taking the product on the road would present the product to a larger audience, heightening chances of increasing viewing figures, whilst creating more revenue from merchandise and ticket sales. iMPACT Zone fans may love Mr Anderson and AJ Styles, but how many times are they going to buy the same T-shirt?

Finally, touring more banishes the image of a regional promotion. Even if the company picked just five cities and rotated through them for a year it would make TNA seem more of a national promotion.

Realistically TNA could be doing a small tour every two weeks. Live TV may not come cheap, but that’s not an excuse. If small companies like Ring of Honor and Dragon Gate USA are able to present live pay-per-views every couple of months then TNA should be able to manage bi-weekly live tours, especially when they want to be seen as second to WWE.

A TNA tour could start on a Thursday with a live iMPACT, with the next episode being taped the following evening (either from the same arena or somewhere nearby). Saturday could be a smaller venue for a house show, with Sunday either being a second house show or a live PPV depending on the requirements. This would mean the roster and crew would only be on the road once every two weeks, which is about the same as the current schedule. It would also make moving and setting up all the TV equipment far more cost effective.

Another habit the company needs to drop is presenting a sports entertainment style of wrestling. The bookers suggested above all have experience working for promotions that had or have a unique style to their wrestling and feel to their programming. That’s what TNA needs, because if people want sports entertainment they’ll watch WWE. Most people would agree that the best formula TNA could use would be longer matches, more logical use of gimmick bouts, a more realistic approach, and the occasional use of swearing and blood (preferably from someone other than Ric ‘crimson mask’ Flair).

This is a combination of things WWE don’t do and corrections of things TNA currently do wrong. Whether the new identity ends up being this one or not, it’s something that desperately needs working on. One of the biggest mistakes that the current creative team has made (and they’ve made a lot) was getting rid of the six-sided ring. That was something that separated the promotion from all its rivals at a glance, and benefitted the styles of its top, home-grown stars. If they can get it back, they should.

The marketing team should be far more active with regards to trying to showcase themselves to the WWE audience. Why there’s not an annual TV special the night before WrestleMania is beyond me. In the past decade the weekend’s become huge for wrestling in general, not just World Wrestling Entertainment. By staging events from the host city each year Ring of Honor, Dragon Gate USA and others open themselves up to fans from all over the world who are in town for the sports entertainment supershow. This is exactly the market TNA needs to attract, and by presenting their show on TV they would have access to a home audience that’s equally as hungry for wrestling action. Isn’t it worth arranging just one special a year to get such a great chance of exposure to a market crying out for an alternative?

You’ll notice I’ve not yet mentioned the roster. This is because TNA has amazing talent at its disposal already and just needs to utilise it more effectively. Rebuild Samoa Joe as an unstoppable heel and present AJ Styles as the absolute best in the world. Get them, and others, on as many media platforms as possible, as often as possible, and you’d have a roster of men and women on their way to becoming household names.

As for Hogan and Bischoff, keep them for as long as they’re willing to stay and be booked by someone else. Hogan, if used sparingly and marketed right, can still make a modest difference to ratings, and Bisch is a better on-screen character on his worst day than Dixie Carter is on her best. Neither man should be the omnipresent TV force they currently are, but they can both serve a purpose.

TNA has the potential to be THE alternative that western wrestling needs. It won’t be easy, or quick, but if it starts now and doesn’t deviate once it’s decided on a course of action it could become a profitable and creatively successful promotion. I wish it luck.