TNA New Year's Resolutions

This year I'm not making any resolutions for myself; instead I am using mine on TNA. Heaven knows they need all the help they can get.

This article will concentrate specifically on things TNA can do to differentiate itself from WWE in 2014. Areas where WWE is weak or lazy, and TNA can be better. Things that WWE have done the same way for so long that they are accepted as the norm. Smaller, aesthetic changes that would establish TNA as its own brand with its own identity, rather than a second-rate WWE rip off.

So here are my TNA new year's resolutions:

1) Wrestlers should act like adults. They should not talk of their desperation to entertain and be accepted by the fans, and their promos should never resemble stand-up comedy routines. Instead, they should talk about the grown-up issues that affect their characters. Crucially, they should not seem like they are "performing" to the fans. A wrestler's promo about wanting to be TNA World Champion or seek revenge on a bitter rival should come across like they would be just as passionate about those matters if there was no audience at all. WWE has conditioned fans to expect babyfaces to be dorky and light-hearted, self-deprecating and happy-go-lucky, always trying to entertain the fans; there is no evidence to suggest that this approach draws money. The traditional wrestling babyface was never presented in such a way, and the industry seemed to do just fine for its first hundred years, so why not follow the tried and proven method rather than the inexplicable, unsuccessful, very modern alternative?

2) Everything that happens to a character, all of the time on all TNA programming and anything else that is designed to encourage fans to watch the product, should make sense to all of the audience. That means no insider references, unless they refer to matters that have been written into a wrestler's character. For example, Kurt Angle should only talk about letting people down in 2013 if it has been explicitly acknowledged on air that the character of Kurt Angle let people down in 2013. Now, you may argue that, given the character is called Kurt Angle and hails from Pittsburgh and won a gold medal in the 1996 Olympics with a broken neck, and has an ex-wife called Karen who later married Jeff Jarrett, he is the same person as the real life Kurt Angle. He's not though, is he? The real life Kurt Angle doesn't really hate Bobby Roode. The real life Kurt Angle would not use a moonsault in a fight. The real life Kurt Angle, if he discovered on a Thursday night that D-Lo Brown was a member of Aces & Eights, wouldn't wait until the following Thursday night to tell everybody else. The real and fictional Kurt Angles may be almost the same person, they may have 95% of their personalities in common, but don't assume that everybody watching Kurt Angle on TV once a week for two hours knows everything the real Kurt Angle has been up to since the last episode of Impact. The majority of them do not. Which takes us back to the point of this. TNA has to be treated as a fictional universe with its own set of rules and its own history. By all means, look to real life for inspiration, if it will help to tell a better story, but make sure that it is then acknowledged in a kayfabe sense, rather than assuming that everybody already knows.

3) The announcers are there to commentate on what is happening. That means, when a wrestling match is happening, it must be their sole focus. If football commentators talked about twerking and took selfies of themselves, they would rightly be chastised for it. They would also be giving the strong impression that the match itself is not important. Similarly, comedy skits that have no relevance to wrestling matches are completely unnecessary on a wrestling show. Again, it gives the impression that wrestling on its own is not worthy enough of the audience's attention.

4) Create a big-fight feel, where winning and losing is the most important thing in the lives of each wrestler. Wrestling is a simulation of a sport. Sport is ultimately about winning and losing. Acknowledge wrestlers' win-loss records, and ensure that wins and losses have ramifications. To really hammer this message home, when there is a title match of any description in TNA, it should be built up for weeks, with analysis and predictions from various angles, and montages showing the great moments in the history of that title. When that match comes around, ring introductions alone should take seven or eight minutes at least, with the announcers talking about the importance of the title, and the pedigree of both competitors.

5) Portray today's wrestlers being at least as good as previous generations. New wrestlers should be treated as at least as good as their predecessors. It is a fact of life in sports that new stars come along all the time, and eventually they eclipse the stars who were there before. Usain Bolt, Lionel Messi, Lebron James and Floyd Mayweather are the biggest stars in their sports because they rose above every other active competitor; people still acknowledge that Carl Lewis, Diego Maradona, Michael Jordan and Sugar Ray Leonard were great in their day, but there is no doubt that, at the age they are in 2014, they wouldn't stand a chance against the current batch. Do you want to know something scary? Of the four long-retired sportsmen mentioned, only one is older than Sting. All are younger than Hulk Hogan, who was the most featured TNA performer this time last year.

6) Too often in recent years, wrestling promotions have given title shots to wrestlers without explanation. Sometimes a wrestler will even receive a title match when their most recent televised match ended in defeat! In TNA, title contenders should be determined by an off-screen body which plays no part in storylines. There should be an explanation for why a wrestler qualifies for a title shot, the most prestigious opportunity in the business. Going back to a previous point, this explanation can largely be centred around wins and losses, with consideration made for the quality of their opponents, and so on. A wrestler should be experiencing a run of victories in order to deserve consideration for a title shot. Where two contenders have equal claim, they can have a number one contenders' match, but this should be a rare instance. Another consideration should be whether a wrestler has cheated to get ahead; establish a strong set of rules and enforce them consistently. This ensures that, if and when wrestlers do cheat to win, it is not only treated as a major development, but it also has ramifications. After all, if a boxer won a match by hitting his opponent with a steel chair when the referee wasn't looking, I'm pretty sure the boxing world wouldn't move on as though nothing untoward had happened. If cheats are allowed to prosper, it just makes the good guys look like idiots for not cheating. Furthermore, having a system where title contenders are announced by an unseen committee is a great way to fuel issues between wrestlers over who is the most deserving, and who feels they have been unfairly overlooked. This means that wrestlers can have heated personal feuds that stem from their desire to be the champion, again reinforcing the importance of wins and losses.

7) There should be no on-screen authority figures in TNA. These characters are not needed. The main stars should be the people who can settle their issues in the form of wrestling matches. On-screen authority figures are a dated storyline crutch, used out of laziness and habit. Wrestling never needed them before Mr McMahon came along, and they've never made anybody any money since. What would make TNA more instantly different to WWE than to make the promotion about wrestlers and championships?!

8) Completely rid TNA television of "WWE Speak". That means wrestlers are always described as wrestlers, never "superstars". The phrase "sports entertainment" should never, ever be uttered on TNA television. Avoid referring to wrestlers' charisma; let it speak for itself. Don't tell the audience that you are entertaining them; just let them sit back and be entertained. In addition, redefine what attributes are important to a wrestler's skillset. Establish that technique and tenacity are more important than size and physique. Make a big deal on commentary of explaining the importance of wrestling technique. WWE has shown in recent months that it is as reluctant as ever to push wrestlers who don't look like bodybuilders, so make it a strength and defining trait of TNA that it is the place where the best wrestlers wrestle. TNA should go so far as to rid its roster of anybody whose main attribute is their physique, but not before using those wrestlers to put over others strongly on their way out, while having the commentators ridicule the notion that a bodybuilder physique will help somebody win a wrestling match. TNA wrestlers should look athletic and in-shape, certainly, but they should also look fit and healthy.

9) Give fans satisfaction. By and large, wrestling fans want the good guys to win. Don't drag stories out for the sake of it. Don't be afraid to end stories, and certainly do not be afraid to end stories happily. Satisfaction is a key emotion that is crucial to wrestling fans enjoying a product. Make fans feel good about watching TNA, and rewarded for believing in their favourites. To use a recent WWE example, TNA should be the kind of place where Daniel Bryan would be the World Champion and top babyface right now. Not only would that make fans happier, but it would also make more money as a direct result.

10) The lack of on-screen authority figures, unhealthily muscular wrestlers and corny comedy would create a noticeable contrast to WWE and go a long way towards establishing an identity for TNA, but there are some aesthetic changes that could also be made simply for the sake of being different. For example, referees could go back to wearing shirts and bow ties. Maybe even get rid of the video screen. Try everything possible to differentiate the product, as long as it doesn't detract from it. There are so many things that TNA does without even thinking, because WWE does it and WCW did it before them. If TNA wants to succeed, it needs to think bigger than that. TNA needs to overhaul its entire philosophy, and present wrestling in a way that is not only different and imaginative in 2014, but also, I believe, closer to what the majority of fans want.

Great post CT.

Agree with most of what you've written...especially Point 4. For me this is TNA's biggest problem...the fact that half the time, matches feel like they're background entertainment at a convention or festival or something.

As far as Point 3 goes, I have no problem with comedy skits and backstage pranks. I feel they add to the entertainment (particularly enjoy the stuff that Kaz and Daniels do). I do agree though that they should not overshadow the wrestling. They do perhaps overdo it at times, which both lessens the impact, as well as getting in the way of the in-ring action.

Similarly I don't mind on-screen authority figures. They can be useful to help deal with an out-of-control heel, or mediate a feud that is threatening to get out of hand. I don't even mind the odd bit of management interference in matches to spice up storylines. Again though I think TNA are guilty of overkill, where they've had the likes of Hogan, Sting and Dixie (and before that Eric Bischoff) pretty much dictating the course of events and making way too many speeches in the process, instead of just letting events unfold, with maybe just the odd snippet to give us a clue as to who is behind things and why.

Regarding Point 9, I do think TNA have been far too keen to have heel champions and to have them keep their titles by winning dirty, or through interference. Not only does it get boring after a while, but it gives no credibility to the title holders.

The best movie villains IMO are the smart ones, who use logic and intellect. The same should apply to top heel wrestlers. A great example for me would be Austin Aries - though he's really neither a heel or face. However he largely does use his brain and wrestling ability to get what he wants, rather than resorting to dirty tactics or relying on  interference. Its worth noting that he's very popular with the fans, despite the ambiguity of his character.