AS I SEE IT 4/30: The New WWECW champion...and giving it all away
AS I SEE IT
Bob Magee
Pro Wrestling: Between the Sheets
PWBTS.com
Vince McMahon as WWECW Champion (I refuse to refer to it by the name he does...period). No wonder my eyes are all red, and my nose is running this Monday morning as I add this paragraph. I'm having an allergic reaction to egotistical booking...or is it pollen? My bet says egotistical booking.Menawhile, in Orlando....Think about it...coming off of their last PPV, Sting vs. Kurt Angle as the Main Event, a dream match for many mainstream fans...what were the ratings for this IMPACT?
1.0.
With Vince suffering a dip in post-Wrestlemania RAW and Smackdown ratings, TNA had an opportunity to reach outto fans and proved again their ratings are stuck at 25% of WWE's.... at 1.0.
If you want further proof of the mood within TNA, witness this comment from a well-known TNA figure who was at an independent booking a couple of weeks ago. A PWBTS writer, who hadn't seen IMPACT in a few weeks, asked this performer who [they] worked with in TNA. [The worker]asked our writer "Don't you watch the show?" The writer answered "No". [The worker] responded with "Ehhh, nobody else does either".
Nice to see how TNA wound up Christopher Daniels, who finished up with Ring of Honor this past Saturday in Chicago Ridge, IL. Ring of Honor played off of it by having him cut a heel promo by praising TNA and "quit" Ring of Honor, claiming in the promo that he wished he never had returned to the company after TNA pulled him following the last time they had attacks of jealousy over Ring of Honor (but blamed it on the Rob Feinstein incident).
Just gives fans one more thing to be pissed off at TNA about, and I don't mean in storyline. It is sort of amusing that Gabe Sapolsky did the windup heeling out someone who's going to TNA, and claiming they're going for the money.
> From Anthony Gonzalez from Lawton, Oklahoma :
"' how dare u insult tna u dumb mark. stfu already. at least they put on great performances and have great storylines.'
Wow what am I saying? TNA fans are very oblivious to the truth. Let me just start of by saying how great of a job you have been doing in writing your columns. Every time I ready, I feel myself agreeing to everything you have to say about TNA.
It is a shame to see TNA fans think that their company is not letting them down. It was the head honchos in TNA who called them WWE employees on the WWE's payroll. Though, it is hard to convince them what is going on because they are very emotionally stuck to TNA. I watched TNA last week, and I had to ask myself, "'hy do people even bother watching this crap when they know it is going to suck.'
Judging by the comment by the TNA worker above and the 1.0 rating, apparently not that many.
"One of my main problems though with TNA fans is that they say TNA uses young talent. My God please help me, look at the main event at lockdown. 3 out of the 10 guys from the main event were actual fresh talent from TNA. The rest were either from the old WWE, WCW, or ECW. Also, look who got the pin in the main event, Sting..................again.
I would continue on, but I think I have vented enough of my anger for now. Keep up the good work, and don't let those TNA 'fans' get to you".
TNA isn't using its main strength...the X division...as anything but comedy straight men for Kevin Nash. The fact is that not that many people wanted to see even Angle vs. Sting. If TNA hadn't spayed and neutered its X division, they could have gone back to them. It'll be hard to go back to them after they've been busy playing Randy Savage
> From Lucas:
"Hey, Bob. I read all the columns on this site, but yours seems to draw the most fire from TNA loyalists, some with deranged fury, but I'm here to defend what you're saying about the company that continues to spin its wheels. I'm going to make a bold statement right off the bat, and this goes for each and every wrestling fan out there. People who love TNA, people who bash TNA, people who work for TNA, and people who don't. NOBODY WISHES TO SEE TNA DO BADLY! I certainly don't. If TNA sank it would be bad for the wrestling industry as a whole. Even WWE has to recognize this, they have to know that the wrestling industry is on the downslide and is not in the public eye as it once was. Being the only game in town would only hurt the business. Competition is great for the WWE, TNA, everybody.
But then again I'm not one of these hypnotized TNA loyalists who you know all too well in ranting, raving emails. They bow at the altar of TNA and sing its praises no matter how badly they know it is in the back of their minds, attacking anyone who says otherwise, denouncing them as being on the WWE payroll.
I watch Impact every week and, I don't know about those angry emailers, but I don't make a habit of pointing at a dog turd and calling it a diamond ring, no matter how much I want it to be a diamond ring it's still crap. I read the emails sent to you saying that TNA is week in and week out the best wrestling program they've ever seen in their lives and all I can do is stare at the screen and say 'What show are you watching?!' They can't be watching the same show I am, because the one I see is so rushed they can't establish anything.
I keep reading articles, reports, magazines that always say so-and-so's going to make the jump to TNA, this wrestler, that wrestler. At any one time about a dozen wrestlers are supposed to be or are thinking about making the jump. I even read a magazine where the cover had Paul Heyman, Sabu, RVD, Lita, and a few others with the question WILL PAUL HEYMAN LEAD AN ARMY TO TNA? That'd be a lot at one time.
One glaring question keep leaping out at me whenever to read about something like that. Where is TNA supposed to get the money for all these people? Last I heard TNA is hemmoraging money right and left, losing money on PPV's, hovering over going out of business with every passing month. And now they're supposed to double their roster?! And where in their one hour program are they supposed to fit these wrestlers in? The show's rushed enough as it is. What, are the matches going to be two minutes long now? Are there going to be ten wrestlers in each match? I'd love an answer to this.
Thanks for lending an ear, Bob. Keep leading the good fight against, not necessarily TNA, but against crappy wrestling. It's not your fault that that's where it all seems to be coming from these days. Now where's my paycheck?
Heh. Yours is coming about the same I get my first from WWE. I'm still waiting. Vince, are you listening?
> From "The Wrestling Follower":
"The only disagreements with your previous TNA columns have been from nuts who refuse to or are unable to see the big picture. TNA was built off of the backs of wrestlers who made their names elsewhere. Abyss is the only exception I could think of, but he developed in NWA Wildside as Prince Justice.
Austin Aries made his name in Milwaukee indies and later, Ring Of Honor ironically by pinning Samoa Joe for the title. Do I need to name the rest? Styles, Lethal, Shelley, Sabin, Daniels, Rhino, Cage, Steiner, Angle, Nash, etc. I think the issue is freedom of expression with this newest story....
...ROH isn't invading Orlando any time soon, so what exactly is it that they are afraid of??? I love how ROH takes the high road. The Samoa Joe Farewell tour was the answer to TNA's decision earlier this year. Maybe Aries should beat Morishima for the title and become 2 time champion to show that they support him."
Well, that didn't happen...nor was there any real chance of it happening given Ring of Honor's tour in Japan; and their desire to have the belt on Morishima at least until then. At that point and after what I suspect will be some matches with KENTA and Marifuji on the tour, they can start a program that will eventually put the belt back on Bryan Danielson.
Since TNA hasn't given in and given fans what they want as of yet...If you feel that TNA is acting in a manner contrary to what you want them to do...just like any other company...with any other product... let TNA know that you'll no longer be spending the money you used to spend on TNA products; and will now be spending that money on Ring of Honor DVDs, live shows, and other revenue sources for that company.
To contact parties concerned:
Contact TNA to express your thoughts on this matter at http://www.tnawrestling.com/contact/index.html. Make clear to them that you will also be contacting Spike TV and Universal Studios.
Contact Spike TV at their feedback site at http://www.spiketv.com/interact/feedback/feedback.jhtml
* Debra Fazio/Spike TV - 212-767-8649 debra.fazio@spiketv.com
* Salil Gulati/Spike TV - 212-767-8705 salil.gulati@spiketv.com
Point out to them, as has been said before, that NWA-TNA needs Ring Of Honor's fan base to survive. and that those online and smart mark fans that have kept them alive until they were supported by their current backers. Without that fan base, they might well not survive.
You can also contact NWA-TNA via snail mail at TNA Wrestling, 209 10th Avenue South - Suite 302 Nashville, TN 37203.
If you use the snail mail method, send TNA copies of your recent cable bills that show you are now ordering their PPVs. Remind them that they will be losing a customer starting with their February 11 PPV.
Finally, since the last few weeks hasn't gotten anyone to back off, here's a list of the advertisers that ran ads on last week's IMPACT and their contact information:
Taco Bell feedback
(305) 378-3000
Phone: 650-628-1500/Fax: 650-628-1422
If you're moved to respond, tell the advertisers you're acting in support of a company you say you support. Tell the advertiser you won't be seeing their ads, since you won't be viewing the show they appear on. Tell them you're going to put your money where your mouth is, and tell a company like TNA that's made a business decision that you in turn have made a business decision of sorts; and you'll no longer support them as long as they continue with the "business decision" they've made.
Until next time...
If you'd like to add advertising on PWBTS.com (the flagship website of this column), banner ads are available for $400 for one year/$200 for six months. These ads would appear on each newspage appearing on the newsboard. Cube ads are available for $200 for one year, which would be placed on the main newsboard page. If you have comments or questions, if you'd like to add the AS I SEE IT column to your website or for advertising requests, I can be reached by e-mail at bobmagee1@hotmail.com.
(As always...this column represents the view of this writer and not necessarily of the website on which it appears).
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Labels: As I See It, Bob Magee, Column, ECW, Pro Wrestling, TNA, WWE
posted by Art Shimko @ 4/30/2007 09:54:00 PM
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