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Guest Editorials
Guest Editorial: Why TNA Will Ultimately Fail (If They Continue on This Route) Oct 30, 2007 - 8:29:48 PM
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GUEST EDITORIAL
By Chris Evans, PWTorch.com reader
The squeaky wheel gets the grease, they say. And one could create a pretty well-established argument using TNA as that greasy wheel. Some would say that TNA is constantly improving. And yes, when it comes to television time and television placement, then yes, TNA has been improving. They moved from a weekly pay-per-view to a TV deal. But, let's be honest - ECW had a TV deal at one point, too.
And TNA looks like they are heading in the same direction as ECW - being shut down because they couldn't see the forest through the trees. TNA received most of its early attention because they were an alternative to the WWE. They served as a display for new-comers like A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels, two of many athletes who used a unique fast-paced, dare-devil style that was hinted at in the WWE (Hardy Boys vs. Edge & Christian), but quickly was smothered by Triple H vs. Scott Steiner. And although ECW went out of business due to financial irresponsibility, TNA and ECW suffer from the same disease: stubbornness.
Vince McMahon argued that Paul Heyman's product suffered because they "refused to change" to cater to TNN's standards. And I would argue the same. ECW tried too hard to be anti-WWE in its final days and TNA? Well, TNA is trying too hard to be the WWE and this is where a little ECW philosophy could help TNA: Hide the negatives, accentuate the positives.
One man once said, "Desperate times call for desperate measures" - and TNA is coming off as desperate. They have smothered the X Division for the sake of high profile, gimmicky, soap-opera-esque storylines and matches (WWE Cruiserweight Division, anyone?). TNA is also carting in stars to their company left and right to help give the company some credibility. And yes, business is business.
Would TNA benefit from Rob Van Dam or Booker T? Yes, of course they would. But, let's face it. Bringing in WWE Superstars and paying them crazy loads of money and promoting these guys (who, let's face - have given nothing to TNA - ever) main event slots and title runs, while using A.J. Styles as a minor player and Sonjay Dutt as an afterthough and having Robert Roode as stale as a pack of crackers left out overnight, hiring these new guys is just a slap in the face to the entire roster. Why not bring in Rob Van Dam to help establish Chris Sabin or Chris Daniels? No, it wouldn't happen. They would feud with Kurt Angle or Christian, two former WWE Superstars.
So, desperation is leading TNA to hire WWE stars for star value to feud in the top tier and do little to help benefit the company and its superstars. They need to be better integrated. TNA almost did this when they allowed Kurt Angle to job for Jay Lethal, but they ruined that when they discredited him the very next night. TNA needs to remember where they came from and what they stand for - and remember that what they are trying to do is set themselves apart from the WWE, not try to copy it.
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