One thing that I could never understand was people who are die-hard fans of any wrestling promotion. People who will stick with WWE, WCW, TNA, ECW or any other promotion through thick and thin, always support the company regardless of how good or bad the shows are. Those people will also often refuse to give another promotion a chance and completely crap on any other promotion simply because it’s not “their†promotion. Wrestling promotions are businesses. Would it make sense for anyone to say that they are die-hard Nike fans and therefore refuse to try on Puma sneakers? Would someone refuse to try a show on ABC because they only watch Fox?
In the last quarter of 2009, TNA put on probably the best wrestling product in North America. They made excellent use of their talent, booked great weekly shows and put on spectacular Pay Per View events. Turning Point and Final Resolution were arguably the best PPV events of 2009 in both WWE and TNA. While this was happening, WWE delivered a disappointing (to say the least) Survivor Series and terrible TLC. Yet I know people who refused to give TNA a chance because it wasn’t WWE. Earlier in 2009, after the WWE Draft, Smackdown delivered great in-ring action and feuds week in and week out. Edge, Jericho, Punk, Mysterio, Morrison, Hardy and others blew the roof off of every arena they were in and it was similar to the 2002 “Smackdown Six†era. Yet I’ve heard TNA fans that crapped all over it simply because it was a WWE product.
It seems to me that the smaller promotions, i.e. not WWE, have the most die-hard and vocal fan base. They consider WWE to be the evil empire and will often judge counter any criticism of “their†promotion with the ever relevant “But is WWE any better?â€. They believe that if WWE puts on a crappy product, which it often does, than it automatically negates any criticism of the competition. TNA fans are especially noteworthy in that aspect, as they expect people to follow TNA simply because it’s not WWE, regardless of the quality of the product. They will even find themselves defending booking decisions that they themselves find to be wrong, because just like followers of a cult or religious leader, they think that the “powers that be†know what they’re doing and everything will turn out for the best.
After TNA hit the reset button this month, I talked to some of those TNA apologists. Prior to Genesis, I heard that they only brought in guys like Sean Morley to put over the TNA talent. After Morley beat Daniels, they told me to just wait and see, there is a plan behind everything. Others said that they only brought the “new†old guys so they will have a company-wide feud between them and the homegrown TNA talent, which will end with the homegrown talent on top. When I pointed out that 2009 was all about the MEM feuding with the Frontline, they said that this time it will be better/shorter/whatever. This repeated every time in the last few years. It was like these people were suffering from the battered person syndrome, always justifying the powerful people who abuse them every six months or so.
WWE audiences never had a problem turning on the product if they didn’t like what they saw. The constant boos that Cena is receiving as the top face is the perfect example of this. Until this month we did not have something similar from TNA audiences in the Impact Zone. But recently, something changed and we have Hulk Hogan of all people to thank for. The new booking regime that he brought with him since 4 January caused the die-hard Impact zone fans to turn against stuff they did not like. The terrible ending to the X-Division match on the live Impact was greeted with chants of “This is Bullshitâ€. The fans took Jeff Jarrett’s against Hogan on the same show. When Hogan introduced the redesigned Impact Zone on Genesis, he was met with “We want six sidesâ€. The supposed heel Daniels was cheered against Sean Morley. The debuting Mr. Anderson was greeted with “overrated†chants. Those new developments actually caused a TNA production manager to ask the Impact Zone crowd to tone down their opposition and remember that they were cast members in the Impact tapings.
I see this as a positive development. The die-hard TNA fans showed that they were not blind followers anymore. That they still stand by their promotion but that the support is not guaranteed. They finally use discretion and judge things on merits. Hulk Hogan’s endorsement is not enough for the fans to buy into things anymore. The fans felt that it’s not their TNA anymore, that the attempts to compete with WWE at all costs are actually going against the grain of TNA. It’s not just about the number of sides that the ring has; it’s about the unique identity of the promotion. The fans want to like TNA; they don’t want a poor man’s WWE and by turning against the new product they’re actually showing great support for TNA. Sure, the 4 January Impact got the highest rating ever for the show, but that was a one-off accomplishment. Last week the show was back to its regular numbers (even if it was the top end of their regular numbers). If TNA continues with its new plans without listening to their core audience, they run the risk of not only not gaining new viewers, but also losing their most loyal supporters.
