Hello, my name is Scott Sumner and I’m the new guy. Remember a week or so ago when the site was running some ads about how they needed new staff? Well, I’m here now…and you have to put up with my madness for eternity! *bats and scary music*. Nah, I’m just juggaling your balls a bit, just because the word “analysis” contains the word “anal” doesn’t mean that I’m an asshole.
Maybe you’ve heard…maybe you haven’t, but there’s an “alternative” to the WWE out there called NWA:TNA and many people are going crazy for these guys. However, for every screaming mark that’s chanting “TNA”, there seems to be 2 or 3 people dismissing the federation as nothing other than a “glorified indy.” Today, I’m going to give my personal analysis of TNA, as well as what I believe should be, and should not be changed.
The first thing that a lot of people say about TNA, is that they’re just an indy with a tv deal. That statement is pretty humorous to me, considering that the number 2 best-selling wrestling DVD of all time is “The Rise And Fall Of ECW.” Don’t get me wrong, I loved ECW, and I bought the DVD and enjoyed the hell out of it. My point is that I’m not the only one that loved ECW. It was legitimately considered to be the number 2 federation in North America back in 2000, even when WCW was still kicking. So why is it that a federation, that ran shows out of a bingo hall with video quality that sometimes resembled home movies, could be considered “the big time”, while TNA is still getting called minor league?
TNA impressed me when I first heard of them in 2002, because I was expected some low budget garbage, but these people were running PPV’s, and had pretty high video quality, along with a nice set up. Presentation is a lot, but for some reason, despite having the presentation of the big time, it still doesn’t feel that big. What gives?
Well, they’re running shows out of one location. They’re taping their shows a week or so in advance as well. I can say that the idea of taping the weekly Impact’s at Universal Studios isn’t very bad, but TNA is now holding monthly 3 hour PPV’s. Something about PPV doesn’t feel very special when nothing is any diffrent besides the amount of matches, and upgrade of match quality. The idea of people walking about Universal Studios and passing the building where TNA is airing their version of Wrestlemania disheartens me. It just makes them seem like a small time promotion.
On the other hand, we have the talent. I’m going to make a bold statement here when I say that TNA = The X-Division, AMW, Abyss, and Monty Brown. That may not look like much, but considering how big TNA’s X-Division is, there are several great workers in the company. American’s Most Wanted are considered to be the best tag team in North America at the moment, which should be a huge boost of credibility for the federation. Abyss and Monty Brown may not be workrate machines, but they are damn entertaining. Abyss is possibly the most physically intimidating guy I’ve seen since the debut of Kane in the WWF back in ’97, and he’s so intimidating not by being huge and having bulging “Batista muscles”, but by just looking creepy. Not creepy in a Christian way, but creepy in a “I’ll slit your f*cking throat” sort of way, and I love it. Monty Brown is a suprisingly charasmatic promo man, and his finisher “The Pounce” is catching on widely with fans, despite being one of the simplest finishers to be accepted since “The People’s Elbow.” The point here is that The Rock was so great, he made a simple elbow drop be considered a logical ending to a Wrestlemania Main event, if Monty can get his shoulderblock so over, imagine how great he could be?
For every great TNA wrestler, there’s some pretty bad main event guys. Jeff Jarrett has held the NWA Title since the weekly Impact shows began. This means that any new fans that TNA won over with Impact, has only seen lame Jeff Jarrett title matches. Now with Kevin Nash in the main event scene, things aren’t much prettier. Sean Waltman and Billy Gunn showing up can be a good if done right, but chances are it’s going to be bad. I’m normally optimisitic but, these guys have had so much trouble in their personal lives, I just don’t see how they can be any good in the ring now.
If TNA will push the homegrown talent, and give Jarrett something else to do without the championship for a little while, the product can be insanely entertaining. The X-Division guys are amazing (Ultimate X), the tag teams have the ability to put out greatness (6 sides of steel!), and having Monty and Abyss in the main event would really improve the world title scene. TNA has the look, they just need to TRULY be an alternative for the better, and if they do this, perhaps they’ll be the ECW of the new generation.
