I cannot stand watching TNA Impact, and a lot of it has to do with the presentation. The show is simply ugly. TNA television resembles WCW Saturday Night at times with their outdated set design and ugly graphics. You give me five minutes with MS Paint and I can create a better looking Slammiversary logo than the one being used now.

Another thing along those lines is music. While the music used in the WWE isn't exactly my cup of tea, it's a million times better than the generic TNA music.

Usually when I see someone in TNA that I actually like, all I can think is, "I can't wait until they go to WWE." Talents like The Motor City Machine Guns, LAX and even Samoa Joe are squandered in TNA.

Brett Davis
Van Nuys, Calif.

***

There is zero continuity on Impact. What happened last week will have no bearing on this week which in turn means nothing for next week. Even when you can wrap your head around the convoluted rules surrounding their gimmick matches, it's rendered moot in the end because there's no follow up. Heck, sometimes it doesn't matter within the same two-hour show.

Despite this, the show is still ridiculously crammed like the bad old days of Nitro, with at least two plot lines per segment and often times three. I thought it was a necessary evil when the show was one hour, but now it's clear the writers would rather see their material on screen rather than, oh, say, wrestling.

Granted, depending on the announce team to take you through the subtleties of an angle is not going to work since they're constantly super-excited about what's happening right now. That should be a positive, but when you tell an audience that everything is exciting, ultimately nothing is.

Look, there are definite positives in TNA: The Knockouts, the X-Division, the quality of wrestling (when it's allowed to last more than four minutes and not end with outside interference). But rather than market themselves as a true alternative to the WWE product, they try to pass themselves off as WWE-lite. They need to build trust - and loyalty - with a core wrestling audience before they can truly create a show to compete with Vince McMahon.

Andy Bruinewoud
Embrun, Ont.

***

I still do watch Impact every once in a while when there is nothing better to do, but it is extremely obvious that they have a long road ahead to become a "can't miss" type of show. The booking and storylines lack logic and build no interest in tuning in the following week. Adding more and more gimmick matches does not bring in the viewers that they should be targeting.

Fans like me who are tired of the same tired product WWE gives us three times a week should tune into Impact every Thursday night to see something different. Instead of seeing fresh faces, TNA mostly gives us former mid-card talent as top guys because apparently if you were good enough to be in WWE at one point in your career, then the guy must be awesome.

When TNA was on the rise, all over the internet were reports of how awesome the X Division was and how it had the potential to change the business. Ever since Impact went on the air, the X Division has not been featured or even given a chance to shine. A.J. Styles and Samoa Joe should be the poster children for TNA in the same way that Sabu was for the old ECW. They are revolutionary, and that makes them different from the rest of the pack. They stand out, and fans should feel they must tune in to see what will happen to them next.

Instead, TNA features mostly older wrestlers who either left or were fired by WWE. Another huge area where Impact is failing is the commentary. Why is everybody screaming? What happened to Mike Tenay, the professor? His knowledge of wrestling history was entertaining, and he would be able to tell the story of the wrestler and work it into the match. Whoever decided that the other guy should be allowed on the air should not be allowed to make decisions. Surely there is somebody better out there. TNA needs to wake up and recognize that the talent to succeed can be found on their own roster and not on the WWE unemployment line. Combine talent with logical storytelling, Impact could become more "must see" than Raw, and nowadays that should not be that difficult.

Jared, Ohio

***

I'm hearing all of this nonsense of how "TNA writing doesn't make sense," "feuds don't go anywhere," and "watching this show is worse than eating rotten bread." Aren't you a diehard TNA fan? Granted, you ask any TNA fan to name one meaningful storyline in the past two months (and no, Shark Boy & Curryman vs. Team 3D does not cut it) and they would have a hard time grasping it. Don't you y'all understand that it's just one big joke? You, as a fan, are supposed to laugh along with us. Surely our own wrestlers are laughing as their careers remain at a standstill. Surely our own writers and bookers are laughing as they remain either stupid or stubborn to learn from their mistakes. Surely our diehard TNA fans who thought that TNA was the new ECW remain at a loss in just what's happening to TNA.

You know that sinking feeling that you have in your stomach after watching Impact? My friends, that is not "frustration," "depression," or "bewilderment," that is called "entertainment." You see, we're not in the wrestling business. Oh no. We're in the entertainment business. And nothing spells entertainment like Eric Young looking for Elvis (the hijinks!) or Abyss talking to himself (the horror!) Who gives a fig if there's no foreseeable outcome to these skits, they fill up time! Don't you idiots understand that as long as we have our wrestlers doing something, they connect with the audience? Geesh! Today's wrestling fan doesn't want to see wrestling!

In a two-hour show, we're going to load up the card with trips to Gatorland and ladder matches for reindeer heads! You're supposed to be emotionally involved in our wrestlers and feuds even if we are not! All of your internet writers don't understand that Impact is to be seen as a joke. You're supposed to not take it seriously. However, what you should take seriously is giving us your money and involving yourself in our fine show.

But to answer your question, I don't watch Impact. Not many people in our company do.

"Vince Russo"
Florida

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