How to book TNA in 2015

Should TNA renew their Spike deal or find another station how should TNA move forward in 2015?

Here are my suggestions:

Main Event:

Promote EC3 & Gunner as main eventers with Gunner chasing the world heavyweight title from EC3. EC3 is a rising star and would make a great heel champion with a few tweeks to his gimmick. Gunner has huge potential imo and as a baby face could be TNA`s Cena if booked correctly. I know there are a lot of detractors who think TNA have lost their star power (and that is true) but one of the major criticisms of WCW was the stranglehold the veterans had over the main event and the glass ceiling over the midcarders. TNA should promote itself as a land of equal opportunity where if you impress and have the ability anyone can become world champion.
Take away Dixie from the main event scene and give her less TV time.

X-Division:

Bring back Sonjay Dutt and have him win the X-Division title. Sonjay has history with TNA and is the "greatest X-Division wrestler never to be champion". It would be a feel good moment that TNA desperately needs.

Tag Team Division:

Reunite Beer Money to feud with the Wolves. I know Roode is currently in the main event and I do believe he deserves another world title run, but the tag division is in desperate need of strengthening and with some real competition for the Wolves. Having TNA`s greatest tag team reunite would create some great matches and moments against the Wolves. It would also create a nostalgia factor that could bring some fans back to the product. I think reuniting them is actually quite simple; Roode approaches Storm and says he is proud of his heel turn and that they are finally on the same page again. Storm having corrupted Sanada and having his redneck revolution he now believes being a heel is the only way to get a head in the wrestling industry and so decides to join Roode to reunite Beer Money and become tag champs again.


Booking/Creative:

Hire someone like Raven as head of creative. I watched a preview to a shoot interview with Christoper Daniels and he made this point which I thought was excellent. He remarked that all TNA`s current creative team are non-wrestlers and he believes having someone who was a former wrestler is needed to really understand what works best. Raven has also worked in TNA before and so would have some familiarity with its set up. He`s also respected by many fans and might bring back some more credibility to the product.
Have less authority figure angles and storylines
Stay away from factions

Hall of Fame:

There are several wrestlers that could be inducted for legitimate reasons, here are some suggestions I think are realistic and deserving:
Induct a TNA alumni rather than a wrestler on the active roster i.e. AJ styles.
Induct Samoa Joe - this would be in keeping with the current trend to induct members who at the time of selection are active members of the roster and he is only the third grand slam champion in the company`s history.
Induct Gail Kim as the first ever knockout Hall of Famer.

I think it is too early in the HOF tradition to be inducting non-wrestling staff such as Borash or Tennay.

Image:

I think the product needs a fresh image. I really liked the transition to the blue ropes and flame effects but now I think they need something new again. I would personally love to see a return of having the name of the event on the ring canvass itself like WCW used to do it rather than just on the ring apron. It may draw parallels to WCW but that along side the 6-sided ring would definitely make their product stand out against WWE. Also I think it`s like throwing the baby out with the bathwater if people were to criticize it for something WCW did - I personally liked the aesthetic of it and think it should be used again.

PPVs:

I said this in another thread so I won`t go into detail but have their big 3 PPVs filmed abroad in international venues. TNA has a growing international fanbase and they need that fanbase to continue growing more than ever. Hosting PPVs outside the US is a risky strategy but I think in TNA`s case if they can capitalize on their international fanbase and make each PPV feel like a big deal and something truly special then they should do it.

Marketing:

They need to spend more money and invest more in marketing their product, especially house shows. It is often cited as a reason for their poor attendance record and should be a priority in the future.

Well those are my ideas. Anyone else have any suggestions? Do you think my ideas are good or bad?

I like some of what you say and although I also realise that you cant mention everyone, but there are some people who are overlooked that need mentioning.

Completely agree with Gunner and EC3 being main eventers - I've been going on about this on the podcast for a few months now. The only problem is that you need some star power in between these two finally getting it on. Have this as the main event for BFG2015 and build towards it.

Maybe get EC3 with the feast or fired briefcase and have gunner take it off Lashley at some point. Then EC3 cashes in straight away to take it off Gunner. Then have Gunner chase it for a good 6 months, having to get through EC3s supporters (who MVPs gang could fit in with as they are deemed Mercenaries). HAve people like Storm brought in to the scene to try and stop Gunner too.

Beer Money vs Wolves vs Hardys has money written all over it. Build another team in there as well (Anderson and Shaw as an odd couple?)

I think Spud deserves a run with the X Division. Dutt, Aries, Joe, Low Ki, TJ Perkins/ Manik, Xema, Kenny King are all good enough to be entering into a series of matches. Possibly even have a BFG type series for it leading to Destination X.

Taryn and Kim are great together. Add Havok, Madison, Brittany and its quite a good division. Bin the BP as they don't bring anything anymore.

I think there needs to be one more midcard title - bring back the TV title that is defended every week on the show. Have a midcard division like Robbie E, Crazzy Steve, MVP, Rob Terry/ Freak, Magnus, Bram, Abyss compete for it but leave it on someone strong. Give it to Magnus to hold for 6 months.

Ex wrestler on the creative - Angle is an obvious choice IMO. I would go nowhere near Raven. PPV idea is good. Image idea is good too but I hate the 6 sided ring personally.

Yeah naturally I couldn't mention everyone, and I agree the X Division could easily become the strongest division again. I like Spud and yes I would use him in the X Division but he needs to lose his current gimmick if he was to be taken seriously as champion. I would definitely put the belt back on Kenny King at some point and Manik, in fact I think TNA should do more to promote the Manik gimmick for merch sales.

Angle is another great choice for creative though I think he's more concerned with trying to get back into the WWE. Why not Raven? It was actually one of Daniels suggestions.

As it now appears that TNA will be leaving Spike and going to a smaller network, I think that we will see these midcarders pushed out of necessity, as most likely the only 'big name' who will still be around will be Jeff Hardy.

Most likely the future for TNA will be nearer to a ROH-style promotion, in terms of developing up and coming wrestlers, who will be picked up by WWE when it is felt they are ready.

It may also be a case that as of next year, the Indy circuit and/or Japan may be much more lucrative for those who will not be of interest to WWE (e.g. Roode, Storm, even Gunner), largely due to being well over 30. Most likely 'long term' thinking will be difficult, as TNA will need to be taping 5-10 shows over 2-3 nights consistently going forward. Therefore a wrestler who has had a 'better offer' that week will then be missing from TV for months.

Sadly I think 2015 will be the end for TNA. Much of their audience will be lost (in the US, their key market) with the move to Wednesdays, and there simply aren't the resources to take the show abroad consistently, which I think is the only way to get good crowds. Possibly GFW will be doing what TNA should have - links with promotions around the world, which means they can run cross-promotions with these companies at limited cost to themselves, and present a weekly TV show with a 'hot' crowd.

The thing about Raven is that he is obviously an intelligent bloke but with my dealings with him, he is incredibly difficult and up himself.

What TNA don't need is someone who is so stubborn in charge of the product. They need someone who has worked at the top level but will also take guidance from others around him. I would imagine that Angle would, Raven would be too strong headed to listen to anyone in my opinion.

With Bull Ray leaving seems like they should have booked him into a 'losers leaves town' match with EC3. Would give EC3 a good rub in being the one to 'retire' Ray.

Angle doesnt have the experience of taking creative control so could probably do with a mentor of sorts, or someone in his ear to keep him from making crazy decisions. Paul Heyman could have been a coup de gras for TNA but no way he's leaving the WWE anytime soon.

I just can't see TNA lasting very long in its current format without a TV deal, if they don't find TV by 2015 then I expect they will either fold or have to go through a significant downgrade in terms of size and production. This would also result in a loss of a lot of roster members, think it's wishful thinking that they will hold onto the Hardys, Wolves etc. 

Would expect the biggest names would either be sounding out a way of getting back into the WWE, but I don't think many would be snapped up or moving back into the indies where it seems people can already make more money than they do in TNA, even in its current size. Would have thought the likes of the Hardys, the Wolves, Bobby Roode, MVP, Bobby Lashley, Abyss will have quite a big demand in the indies and Japan. 

I would think TNA would then have a much smaller roster and so introducing a third mid-card title again would be pretty pointless and it's booking and presentation would be unrecognisable from what it is today.

For the first time in a long time, I decided to give TNA a shot and watched the majority of last week's show and pretty much all of 'Hardcore Justice' which certainly left me with plenty food for thought.

X-Division
I'm not sure if this has finally been dropped yet but they really need to loose the triple-threat stipulation where all title matches (Might even be all X-Division matches) have o be under triple threat rules. It's a hindrance and really restricts storytelling. There's trying to be innovative, then there's just trying to be different for the sake of things.

I'm not sure if Low Ki is under contract yet, but they really need to sign him back up on a short-term deal. If he's still motivated like he currently is, then extend the deal. Samoa Joe/Low Ki was a great match-up this week! There's plenty of talent in various smaller indy promotions who would be perfect for this division. It's a great way to introduce the talent and see if they can be elevated to the main-event

Mid-Card Championship
I agree with Adam's concept of a mid-card championship, but completely agree with Crimey in that TNA lack the depth in roster to pull of a mid-card championship such as a Television Championship. Towards the end of the last belt, Abyss held it for well over a year yet barley defended the championship.

I was very impressed with Bram and the match he had with Abyss. Honestly, I feel that if TNA want to cater to the older audience, why not bring back a Hardcore Championship belt? Can easily bring in the odd ECW type wrestler for a one-time appearance. Guys like Knux, Homicide, Sam Shaw and even Gunner would relish in a division like this.

Tag-Team Division
Ok, it's great to see Team 3D and The Hardy's back in the tag-team division but with Bully reportedly not-resigning and the well documented problems with both Hardy's, to me it seems like a sticky plaster to cover the short-term solution. Fantastic call on Beer Money coming back, I'd also love to see LAX back in some capacity. On top of that, Bram/Magnus look like a really good paring but random tag teams like Gunner/Shaw/Anderson have no place. There's easily talent on the independent scene that would would for nothing if they could get their name out there. Bring them in and book them against BMI/LAX/Wolves

I am glad that my incessant TNA bigging up has got one new viewer in Enigma!

Only another 7billion to go and I can relax!

As for the Hardyz, I think they have proven themselves for long enough to put the issues behind them.

Low Ki has been great but until we finally confirm his ethnicity, I can't trust him.

I think this is a great topic for the podcast

Agreed love to hear the teams ideas.

There's a lot of speculation right now so it's hard to make accurate predictions for how TNA will look in 2015. I'm trying not to take too much notice of the speculation as a lot of it is just fuelling the haters. Time is running out though for TNA.

Some interesting ideas put forward here.

I've been watching some of the classic re-runs recently and image-wise I have to say I prefer the original red logo, ring ropes and belt designs.

I sincerely hope next year isn't TNA's last. They've had some amazing talent, but simply haven't used it to its maximum potential.

As TP mentioned, they've been crying out for some direction and good ideas in the creative team for years, barring the odd good story.

For a company that apparently built its reputation on the X division, it has been far too focused on the heavyweight scene and that alone, isn't enough.

X Division was quite good when I first started watching, but lately, there have been weeks and weeks of virtually nothing, barring the odd title match, followed by a flurry of one-off appearances when they needed to decide the new #1 contender.

Tag Team division also used to be fairly active with 3 or 4 teams always in the mix...back in the Beer Money days. Again its been pretty dead for some time, with just the odd match when they need to fill some programme time.

Same thing with the Knockouts. I think they had a dozen or so female wrestlers on the roster, back when Karen Jarrett was in charge, but for the last few years its centred around just 2 or 3 at any given time.


No specific ideas on how to book things, but I do know they need to (re)create the other 3 divisions...especially the X Division (which should be their main showcase for talent IMO), establishing stars (and their characters), pecking orders and feuds, in order to create some sense of history / continuity, so that matches don't just feel like filler material to support the heavyweights.

In short, I'd say getting some decent creative talent in, who can provide some direction and long-term planning should be their #1 priority..assuming TNA doesn't fold anytime soon...

If they hadn't completely dumped all over the MCMG we could have had one hell of a tag division at the moment