TNA is in a tough spot right now. There are more reports about them going out of business then there are results about their episodes. Most of these reports are false and even Dave Meltzer was recently caught making up fictional stories. There are rumors swirling about Spike TV wanting to cancel TNA because they don’t have faith in Dixie Carter. The dirt sheets are reporting that the reason X Division Champion Samoa Joe isn’t on TV is because he’s quietly left TNA. Kurt Angle is openly doing work for TNA on a pay by date deal while he attempts to get a contract from WWE. There is nothing but negativity surrounding TNA right now and that’s sad because nobody is noticing the improvements.
The improvements aren’t just coming from the steady increase in ratings either. During the Bischoff Era of TNA the show switched to a WWE style format. A show that would feature at most 30 minutes of wrestling but 1 and a half hours of promos. TNA has shifted back to what made TNA relevant to begin with. Promos are no longer 15 minutes. They’re kept to five minutes or less to leave time for matches. Every match doesn’t have a promo so this leads to a wrestling heavy show with every match getting 10-15 minutes at a minimum. However, it isn’t rare for a match such as Full Metal Mayhem to go for 30 minutes with few commercials.
TNA has also stopped trying to sell out huge arenas. Instead TNA now focuses on filling smaller arenas with die hard TNA fans. This has created a strange but interesting environment for viewers. At first glance it may seems strange because everyone isn’t standing the entire time but TNA Fans have strange reactions. Instead of chants they make rhythmic sounds while stomping their feet. They don’t yell instead they clap. You won’t see fans jumping and screaming after a huge win. Instead they’ll politely stand and clap. During the recent Full Metal Mayhem match for the tag team championships the crowd stood the entire match and only made sounds when something amazing happened (You should check out this match). At the end of the match they simply stood and clapped until the show went off the air.
There are occasional chants but for the most part the TNA crowd is a different breed than the WWE Crowd. You might not see a ton of signs but you’ll see people dressed as their favorite superstars. There’s always at least 20 people dressed like Jeff Hardy. There’s tons of Abyss masks. TNA also allows it’s wrestlers to sell merchandise through other companies. So it’s not strange when 75% of the crowd is wearing shirts with their favorite wrestlers, most not available on TNA website. TNA has also shifted from lighting the entire crowd to focusing the lights on the ring. This leads to the viewer concentrating on the action inside the ring, which is a lot.
TNA has made steady improvements within the ring, outside the ring and even in the office. Yet due to the dirt sheets mudslinging campaign these changes have gone unnoticed. The fans are still interested and they’re gaining in the ratings every week with a small roster. Meanwhile WWE is having it’s lowest ratings since 2005 with a huge roster and trotting out guest stars every week to no avail. The time of TNA is coming soon. TNA is rising.
You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He's also playing Pokemon Liquid Crystal on YouTube
Follow @OriginalKingD
TNA has also stopped trying to sell out huge arenas. Instead TNA now focuses on filling smaller arenas with die hard TNA fans. This has created a strange but interesting environment for viewers. At first glance it may seems strange because everyone isn’t standing the entire time but TNA Fans have strange reactions. Instead of chants they make rhythmic sounds while stomping their feet. They don’t yell instead they clap. You won’t see fans jumping and screaming after a huge win. Instead they’ll politely stand and clap. During the recent Full Metal Mayhem match for the tag team championships the crowd stood the entire match and only made sounds when something amazing happened (You should check out this match). At the end of the match they simply stood and clapped until the show went off the air.
There are occasional chants but for the most part the TNA crowd is a different breed than the WWE Crowd. You might not see a ton of signs but you’ll see people dressed as their favorite superstars. There’s always at least 20 people dressed like Jeff Hardy. There’s tons of Abyss masks. TNA also allows it’s wrestlers to sell merchandise through other companies. So it’s not strange when 75% of the crowd is wearing shirts with their favorite wrestlers, most not available on TNA website. TNA has also shifted from lighting the entire crowd to focusing the lights on the ring. This leads to the viewer concentrating on the action inside the ring, which is a lot.
TNA has made steady improvements within the ring, outside the ring and even in the office. Yet due to the dirt sheets mudslinging campaign these changes have gone unnoticed. The fans are still interested and they’re gaining in the ratings every week with a small roster. Meanwhile WWE is having it’s lowest ratings since 2005 with a huge roster and trotting out guest stars every week to no avail. The time of TNA is coming soon. TNA is rising.
You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He's also playing Pokemon Liquid Crystal on YouTube
Follow @OriginalKingD
