2012 the year of TNA?

I've written a new blog as a follow up to the one I wrote last year with my opinions on the product of both TNA and WWE. Check it out and let me know what you think:

http://www.ewenebsworth.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/2012-year-of-tna.html

As I said these are my opinions but I am happy to discuss your thoughts and whether or not you agree with me. Let me know if there's anything you think I've glaringly missed - I haven't covered the past year in minute detail but tried to give a cursory overview of where the companies are compared to this time last year. As the title suggests I have lent towards TNA having the better year so far of the two promotions.

TNA are finally started to show sign of improvement since Hogan and Bischoff turned up. Logical booking, meaningful fueds and a diverse talent pool are quickly making TNA the go to promotion. And this coming from a WWE stalwart.

WWE has been an absolute mess this year. This has had some of the worst booking i've since in a long time.

The problem is I just cant see how TNA can compete. They've tried everything, big names, big gimmicks, a rebrand, good booking and their still overshadowed by the WWE. If trends continue then TNA will be a force in 5 years.

They do some things great like good in ring ability, knockouts division and x division...

However

If you watched TNA Impact this past week the conclusion to AJ Styles & Dixie's affair was cringworthy.

Improving, but still long long way to go to even be considered in the same breath as 'WWE'

Just ask yourself this question..."if you done a survey in the UK to name one current wrestler? I think majority would say CM Punk, Cena, the rock and no suggestion what so ever of a TNA name in there.

Sunnydapasingh1984 wrote:They do some things great like good in ring ability, knockouts division and x division...

However

If you watched TNA Impact this past week the conclusion to AJ Styles & Dixie's affair was cringworthy.

Improving, but still long long way to go to even be considered in the same breath as 'WWE'

Just ask yourself this question..."if you done a survey in the UK to name one current wrestler? I think majority would say CM Punk, Cena, the rock and no suggestion what so ever of a TNA name in there.

Balls!

If you asked people in the street to name one wrestler, the overwhelming winner would be Hulk Hogan - it wouldnt even be close.

I am not saying they would think of TNA for Hulkster, just pointing out the names you mentioned (other than the Rock) wouldnt be in the top 5.

Agreed, hogan is the biggest star the business has or ever will create, he's a global house hold name, the likes of cena and punk are only well know to people who have an interest in wrestling or to people who have links to people who have an interest in wrestling. For example my brother in law know nothing about wrestling and has never watched wwe/tna/wcw but he knows full well who hogan is.

People just can't stand the fact atm tna is miles better than wwe. It's not even opinion Tbh.

I'd rather watch fcw than raw/sd these days.

MtotheC wrote:Agreed, hogan is the biggest star the business has or ever will create, he's a global house hold name, the likes of cena and punk are only well know to people who have an interest in wrestling or to people who have links to people who have an interest in wrestling. For example my brother in law know nothing about wrestling and has never watched wwe/tna/wcw but he knows full well who hogan is.

I would say the Rock is a bigger name outside of wrestling than Hulk Hogan...

JoshSansom wrote:

MtotheC wrote:Agreed, hogan is the biggest star the business has or ever will create, he's a global house hold name, the likes of cena and punk are only well know to people who have an interest in wrestling or to people who have links to people who have an interest in wrestling. For example my brother in law know nothing about wrestling and has never watched wwe/tna/wcw but he knows full well who hogan is.

I would say the Rock is a bigger name outside of wrestling than Hulk Hogan...

Depends what you mean.

If you are asking who has generated the most box office $$$, then Dwayne would win.

However, if you were to ask people on the street to name a wrestler, then the answers would be one of the following:

Hulk Hogan
Big Daddy
Giant Haystacks

Then possibly these:

The Rock
Stone Cold
The Ultimate Warrior
Andre the Giant
Cena
The Undertaker

Mick Mcmanus and Kendo Nagasaki would proberly come ahead of a number of those too

Take your point Adam, mine though was that Dwayne has crossed genres like no other wrestler ever has. HH will always be well known as a wrestler though Rock is arguably now nearly as well known as an actor as a wrestler - that is a phenomenal achievement.

There's no contest that Hulk Hogan is the most known name in wrestling.
Then its The Rock and The Undertaker.

The average man in the street will have never heard of Punk, Orton or Cena, because there is absolutely no mainstream crossover.

by the way - great article!

Would you like it published on v2 as well with a link back to your blog?

I'd say Slammiversary was a better PPV than anything the WWE have done since last years MITB and last weeks Impact (where they had the gauntlet rumble match) was better than any RAW I have seen since I started watching again 18 months ago.

I asked my wife this question as she has no interest in wrestling.

She replied

Hulk Hogan
The Rock
The Undertaker
Stone Cold Steve Austin (though she struggled on recalling the full name)
Randy Savage

The rock
Stone cold
The undertaker
John cena

These are the names which would be known. Even triple h due to his movies.

Nobody in the year 2012 would remember hulk Hogan brothers

Sunnydapasingh1984 wrote:The rock
Stone cold
The undertaker
John cena

These are the names which would be known. Even triple h due to his movies.

Nobody in the year 2012 would remember hulk Hogan brothers

Hulk Hogan is easily the most well known wrestler, apart from perhaps the most recent generation. Most from ages 18+ will know Hulk Hogan which I don't think can be said for any of the others bar possibly The Rock.

Triple H's movies aren't even close to being mainstream, I doubt the DVD is even being sold in most UK shops. Most won't know John Cena to be honest.

I had to laugh at my 8 year old niece the other day. Apparently John Cena is Fred's (the annoying YouTube kid) Dad. It's doing the rounds in all the schools around here!

FreekShow wrote:I had to laugh at my 8 year old niece the other day. Apparently John Cena is Fred's (the annoying YouTube kid) Dad. It's doing the rounds in all the schools around here!

He played Fred's Dad in the movie I think that's why.

Crimey wrote:

FreekShow wrote:I had to laugh at my 8 year old niece the other day. Apparently John Cena is Fred's (the annoying YouTube kid) Dad. It's doing the rounds in all the schools around here!

He played Fred's Dad in the movie I think that's why.

Oh right. Can't say I've seen that film Crimey. Did you enjoy it?

FreekShow wrote:

Crimey wrote:

FreekShow wrote:I had to laugh at my 8 year old niece the other day. Apparently John Cena is Fred's (the annoying YouTube kid) Dad. It's doing the rounds in all the schools around here!

He played Fred's Dad in the movie I think that's why.

Oh right. Can't say I've seen that film Crimey. Did you enjoy it?

Don't worry I haven't watched it either. The 'face-palm' was directed at WWE and Cena rather than you by the way.

Although you could direct the facepalm at this quote from above:

The rock
Stone cold
The undertaker
John cena

These are the names which would be known. Even triple h due to his movies.

Nobody in the year 2012 would remember hulk Hogan brothers

Crimey wrote:

FreekShow wrote:

Crimey wrote:

FreekShow wrote:I had to laugh at my 8 year old niece the other day. Apparently John Cena is Fred's (the annoying YouTube kid) Dad. It's doing the rounds in all the schools around here!

He played Fred's Dad in the movie I think that's why.

Oh right. Can't say I've seen that film Crimey. Did you enjoy it?

Don't worry I haven't watched it either. The 'face-palm' was directed at WWE and Cena rather than you by the way.

I do have a tendency to jump in! I can't think of a more apt individual than Cena to play Fred's dad!

i know for the wrong reasons but benoit is a very well known one

Good shout on Benoit.

I think hot rod will be Better known then hulk in the UK.

Benoit would be complete alien to the average guy on the street I'd have thought.

On reflection I think that Heidenreich would be better known than Hulk Hogan.

If you asked a 100 people to name a wrestler past or present I'd wage my house on 75+ going with Hogan.

Send a Txt to a random non wrestling fan and see what they say.

Sunnydapasingh1984 wrote:Good shout on Benoit.

I think hot rod will be Better known then hulk in the UK.

Absolutely ridiculous.

Not a chance. Why? Because he played somebody Scottish?

Chyna his also now becoming more known and his actually a number 2 most searched Ex WWE superstar last year ( we all now why thou)

Crimey wrote:

Sunnydapasingh1984 wrote:Good shout on Benoit.

I think hot rod will be Better known then hulk in the UK.

Absolutely ridiculous.

Not a chance. Why? Because he played somebody Scottish?

Is it true that he has never actually set foot in Scotland, ever?

HitmanOwl wrote:Send a Txt to a random non wrestling fan and see what they say.

"told me to jog on"

I think that Pauline has a pseudonym!

I reckon that if you asked the common person in the street to name a wrestler, they would ask why Sting painted Hogans face.

FreekShow wrote:

Crimey wrote:

Sunnydapasingh1984 wrote:Good shout on Benoit.

I think hot rod will be Better known then hulk in the UK.

Absolutely ridiculous.

Not a chance. Why? Because he played somebody Scottish?

Is it true that he has never actually set foot in Scotland, ever?

I think that is a case of urban myth.

FreekShow wrote:

Crimey wrote:

Sunnydapasingh1984 wrote:Good shout on Benoit.

I think hot rod will be Better known then hulk in the UK.

Absolutely ridiculous.

Not a chance. Why? Because he played somebody Scottish?

Is it true that he has never actually set foot in Scotland, ever?

I imagine WWE will have done a show there at some point, so I doubt it.

Crimey wrote:

FreekShow wrote:

Crimey wrote:

Sunnydapasingh1984 wrote:Good shout on Benoit.

I think hot rod will be Better known then hulk in the UK.

Absolutely ridiculous.

Not a chance. Why? Because he played somebody Scottish?

Is it true that he has never actually set foot in Scotland, ever?

I imagine WWE will have done a show there at some point, so I doubt it.

I don't know whether he has up til now (though I assume he would have), but he will have by the end of August as he's appearing in Perth at SWE's Hell for Lycra.

I thought TNA was greatly improved up until the point on last week's impact when the worst actress in the history of the world revealed the worst ending to a storyline in the history of the world.

As for mainstream fame, I think the list would be very different depending on whether you're talking about the UK or US. It's also worth pointing out that, while Hogan would probably be the first name most people would say, it doesn't necessarily mean he is relevant in 2012. A non football fan might know the names of Gascoigne, Owen and Beckham but it doesn't mean they should be in the current England team...

crippledtart

I thought TNA was greatly improved up until the point on last week's impact when the worst actress in the history of the world revealed the worst ending to a storyline in the history of the world.

Granted it was pretty awful and whoever booked that needs their head examined but at least there was an ending unlike "who kidnapped Joe" or the "mystery GM" etc...

Fair point Mort, I also like that they followed through with the whole angle. My criticism would be that they should have planned a better ending and they should have picked a better actress to play Claire Lynch.

I was only kidding about it being the worst reveal ever.

crippledtart wrote:Fair point Mort, I also like that they followed through with the whole angle. My criticism would be that they should have planned a better ending and they should have picked a better actress to play Claire Lynch.

I was only kidding about it being the worst reveal ever.

Perhaps it wasnt an actress and reallyDixies neighbour who is a recovering addict!

reviewing the recent developments in TNA I believe we can now stop the comparisons to WCW -

The X-Division title has now added significance since the champion has the opportunity each year to have a world title shot at Destination X PPV

There is a drive towards pushing TNA original talent

TNA now have a Hall of Fame

Return of the Bound for Glory series

In years gone by TNA have been guilty of trying to imitate WCW's early success in the Monday Night Wars - factions such as the Main Event Mafia and Immortal were poor imitations of the NWO etc; previously ex-WWE talent were rapidly promoted to the world title putting a glass ceiling in place for TNA originals and Hogan and Bischoff let their egos get the better of them.

TNA is a completely different company now. The booking is far more logical, TNA originals are getting the opportunities they deserve, the X-Division is being restored to its former glory and given additional prestigiousness and the ex-WWE/legends are supporting the progression of the company not stealing the limelight.

TNA has proven over the past couple of years that it is capable of being innovative and I genuinely believe has a much stronger sense of identity now.

I personally don't want TNA to move to mondays. I don't think there is a need to try and replicate the Monday Night Wars. Eventually it put WCW out of business after WWF got the upper hand and I don't want TNA to suffer the same fate. TNA are doing well at the moment - they are playing more house shows, hosting their major PPVs outside the impact! zone and touring more often; hopefully in the next couple of years or so they can leave the impact! zone and take impact wresting on the road weekly or fortnightly. I would much rather see the company grow at a slow but steady pace eventually growing to a point where they are firmly established and can then renegotiate tv deals etc. If TNA are to be around in another 10 years time then I think they need to strategies long term and be realistic not idealistic and do irreparable damage to the product and/or company.

talkingpoint

When Hogan and Bischoff arrived on the scene, they had grand plans to challenge WWE's dominence but anyone could see that would never work and so over the past few months instead of focussing on competition, they have focussed on internal competencies and the product has improved remarkably.

This strategy should be applauded and while there may be storylines going forward that are pretty silly, if the majority of them are as good as they have been recently, TNA will continue to attract more and more followers and that will be good for them.

The "live" impact shows in London showed what can be done on a big stage and these events looked bigger and better than most PPVs, especially those staged in Impact Zone.

Getting out of it would be a good way forward.