by James Caldwell, PWTorch.com assistant editor

Last week, we posted a TNA Survey with five questions on the direction of TNA to take the pulse of the discerning Torch reader's opinion of TNA.

Questions: (1) Has the Main Event Mafia angle been booked well and are you following TNA closer because of that heel faction? ... (2) When you tune in to TNA Impact, who are two or three wrestlers that you feel are the main attractions? ... (3) Do you watch TNA Impact more or less often than a year ago, and why? ... (4) Would you prefer TNA replace many short matches with fewer longer competitive matches throughout the show? ... (5) What is TNA's biggest weakness compared to WWE? And how about it's biggest strength?

Reax: (3) Do you watch TNA Impact more or less often than a year ago, and why?

This question clearly provided the most diverse response from Torch readers who commented on whether they watch Impact more or less than one year ago.

For readers who said they watch more of Impact than one year ago, the consistent response is because of the Main Event Mafia storyline. Perhaps there wasn't that one definitive storyline with a "hook" on Impact one year ago that was worth tuning in for each week. Now, viewers know what they're getting each week on Impact.

For other readers, knowing what they're getting each week could be considered a turn-off, leading them to watching less of TNA Impact each week.

Torch reader Nordberg wrote: "I've seen WCW fail and it seems to be the same with TNA. I don't want to watch a show that just serves the interest of the of the same group of guys who hogged the spotlight for years. I'd rather see younger guys get a chance to shine."

We also received several responses indicating no change from past viewing habits. Those readers have remained loyal to watching the programming every week, just as they had in the past.

Marc wrote: "I am pretty loyal to the product so it is about the same which is to say I always watch."

Or, they've simply stuck with the product because they're wrestling fans no matter how good or bad the product is.

Torch reader Kyle said about whether he watches more or less than last year: "About the same - even though the show is bad, I am a wrestling fan and enjoy wrestling."

Caldwell's Analysis: Reading through the responses, I didn't see readers pointing to a specific element of TNA Impact's regular broadcasts that has led to more or less viewing other than the obvious Main Event Mafia storyline.

TNA's ability to make other wrestlers or feuds stand out from the crowd is a monthly struggle. They have the Mafia and that's about it right now because it's difficult for viewers to get a big picture view of TNA's other storylines. Since the same wrestlers aren't featured on every week of TV and many wrestlers have contracts that only allow for certain number of dates per year, TNA's hands are tied to create those week-to-week compelling storylines that viewers can point to after a year and say, "Yeah, that Abyss-Morgan program really made me want to watch Impact more."

Right now, it's just taking TNA as it comes and deciding whether the sum of the parts is worth watching more or less than a year ago. It's fine for keeping that loyal 1.6 million viewing audience, but tough to build consistent feuds that will lead to people spending money to watch issues resolved on PPV.

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