What's going on folks! I don't know about you but, depending upon your geographic location, I'm thrilled with the arrival of Fall. This is sooooo much more my season than Spring or Summer, especially Summer. Love it! Anyways, on to this week edition of The Cypher. This week, we'll take a slight departure from my WWE ramblings, and focus on TNA. At one point, this was the most promising wrestling promotion in North America. When ECW and WCW went bell up and Vince bought them both out, TNA was the best alternative we had, and boy was it welcomed. I first noticed TNA when they were under the NWA banner, and Ken Shamrock was its champion. I also noticed that a lot of guys on the rooster adopted the Paul hetman/ECW philosophy of bringing in guys that nobody else (WWE) wanted and would make stars out of them. This promotion that was ran by Jeff Jarrett but Dixie Carter, thanks to her parents investing in the product, was also President of TNA. They introduced new and innovative ideas into the fold with a six-sided ring (which was used within the ranks of the AAA promotion in Mexico) and something called the X-Division, which originally was thought to be a Junior Heavyweight or Cruiserweight division. This X-Division was putting on outstanding matches much similar to WCW Cruiserweight matches, and introducing young talent like Chris Sabin, Matt Bently, and Ring Of Honor favorites Christopher "The Fallen Angel" Daniels and "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles. This division, however, placed more an emphasis on high-risk moves and tremendous aerial spots.
Branching off from the independent circuit, TNA had a ton of promise building and it when Carter and Jarrett announced that they had a TV deal with Spike TV, us fans were very excited. Very quickly, we found out just how awesome this talent pool was. Their tag team division was off the charts, with teams like Triple XXX, Team Canada, The Naturals, and America's Most Wanted. This promotion purposely went against the "Sports Entertainment" route, and make a pure wrestling product, with story lines being not as high of a priority. For purists, this was nothing but a breath of fresh air, as the Attitude Era of WWE was coming to an end and the beginning of the mostly overlooked "Ruthless Aggression" era was on the verge of breaking through. Aside from new, burgeoning stars, we also saw some familiar faces. Wrestlers like Raven, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, R-Truth (he was known by his real name Ron Killings) in TNA, and others were also helping to better the product without it having to be another WCW spinoff.
Truthfully, even their Women's Division was different, but in a good way. Their women were tougher and put on more entertaining matches that didn't have to involve bra-and-panties matches. Gail Kim was the inaugural champion defeating the likes of ODB, former WWE Women's Champion Jackie Moore, Ms. Brooks, and Angel Williams and others. These women were clearly out to show off more than their gorgeous looks, they wanted to show that they could kick ass as much as the boys, and they absolutely did prove it night after night.
One area that they broke ground in was the fact that Ron "The Truth" Killings (R-Truth) became the first Black to ever hold the NWA World Heavyweight Title. Bobo Brazil was technically the first, but it was never recorded in the annals of wrestling history. Killings won that title twice. Unlike Vince would never allow a Black man to win the WWE Title, Dixie and Jeff saw his talent and his excellent promo work and allowed him to become champion.
Unfortunately, the notoriety it was getting started to become an albatross. We started seeing more worldwide stars such as Kurt Angle, Christian, The Dudleys, and even Sting come through the company. While this wasn't necessarily a bad thing, as Christian became a min eventer which was something he never was in WWE, it slowly started to become a WCW clone, as it started getting former WWE stars more and more. Then, the unthinkable happened. Eric Bischoff, Hulk Hogan, and Ric Flair joined. We knew things were completely going to change, and it did, in very unflattering fashion. Aside from the fact that they were moving their weekly shows away from Disney, which they affectionately called "The Impact Zone", they did the unthinkable. They got rid of the six-sided ring. The one thing that made them different in mainstream North American wrestling got canned, thanks to the vision and direction of Bischoff and Hogan. They also, briefly, wanted to move TNA to Monday nights. VERY bad move. From that moment on, things became a slippery slope for the once very promising group.
Then a few years later, they introduced a Hall Of Fame, which was pretty much designed to beat WWE to the punch when it came to inducting wrestlers who would be sure fire Hall Of Famers if Vince got his hands on them. The first inductee was Sting, a no-brainer as his legacy in the business makes him just as legendary and revered as peers of his like Flair, Hogan, and Austin. The next year was Kurt Angle. Although he was battling demons like depression and addiction, he still was an overwhelming choice as he remains the only professional wrestler that's an Olympic Gold Medalist. Not to mention he has fifteen World Titles to his credit. Many view him the greatest all-around wrestler in recorded history. This past Sunday, The Dudley Boyz (or as they would be called in TNA, Team 3D, due to Vince owning the name 'Dudley Boyz') were inducted, and much like the aforementioned inductees, they deserve their spot in immortality in the sport as they're legitimately seen by many as the greatest team of all-time, especially if one were to base it off of championships won, as they've earned over twenty-three tag tiles, a record that has yet to have been broken.
While this is to be commended on the part of Dixie, who took over total reigns as Jarrett decided he wanted nothing more to do with TNA based upon the direction his promotion was going towards, her lack of industry know-how and listening to some of the wrong people has caused this brand to have people, and sponsors to lose faith in the promotion. Spike TV decided not to renew their contract, so the quest is on for a new network. Many wrestlers such as AJ, Daniels, Kazarian, and others have left the promotion because they were getting fairly low-balled in the renewing of their contracts or because they saw the handwriting on the wall. House show numbers were grossly down and ratings were very, very dismal. Also of note, the X-Division wasn't as big of a draw as it used to be. It had loss a bit of its flare, and it was noticeable.
We have witnessed the downfall of one of wrestling's most intriguing promotions due to clumsy and ignorant mismanagement. It seems like no matter what Dixie tries to come up with, or people like her Senior VP of Talent Big John Guberick can think of, as well as her creative team, the quicksand is deepening for the company. Without a TV deal, TNA's days are numbered, and Vince can say he's won, yet again. Although he never really considered them a threat by any means, he knew who they were. Perhaps the problem here lies with the fatal flaw most promotions in the past would try to execute: competitng with Vince. If you try to compete with Vince, YOU WILL LOSE! However, if you offer an alternative, you have a better chance of expanding the wrestling market and set a precedent for your promotion on your own terms. just because Vince is the industry leader doesn't mean that you must follow his lead. Originally, TNA knew this and offered a phenomenal alternative to "sports entertainment". Then, with Rong Of Honor acquiring a TV deal with Sinclair Broadcasting, it seemed that wrestling was becoming a three headed monster again much like the days of WWE, WCW, and ECW.
I really hope Dixie gets it. She needs a complete overhaul of her product. Allow someone with wrestling sense (Jim Ross, Paul Heyman, Gabe Sapoltski, Danny Davis, etc.) to run the promotion from a creative and talent standpoint. The wrestlers there are talented and, if allowed, can put on quite an entertaining show. The NYC taping that have been aired have been some overall great displays of the entertainment and competitive storytelling they can offer. Although they brought back the six-sided ring, the damage has been done. Has it been too little too late? Maybe. Is there room to fix the problem? At his point, doubtful. If for some reason, they do acquire a new TV deal, Dixie needs to humble herself and overhaul her company. Dixie is NOT a wrestling promoter. Meanwhile Jarrett is putting the finishing touches to his new promotion Global Force Wrestling, which is already making news for their multiple partnerships with many different international promotions such as AAA, NJPW, Wrestle Zero-One, All-Star Wrestling, and a few others, not to mention the indies. This has potential to be the very badly needed alternative to Vince and the much overdue breath of new, fresh air the sport needs. TNA is no longer it. Ring Of Honor, although their talent pool is straight awesome, needs way better production value.
I'm rooting fror TNA. Really I am. However, if Dixie doesn't come to terms with her failures as a promoter and allow better voices of reason to dig her out of this hole that she dug for herself, the promotion will surely die. Here's to hopeful days ahead for TNA. See you guys and gals next week!
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