In the "What the Hell are you Thinking?" Department
TNA is bringing back....drumroll please...VINCE RUSSO. That's it. TNA is doomed. It doesn't get any dumber than this.
posted by Todd Martin at 11:37 AM
posted by Todd Martin at 11:37 AM
8 Comments:
Yes it does. Being in the energy business, one with virtually unparalled growth potential where many companies are setting profit records routinely, and investing in pro wrestling. Panda's investment in TNA is baffling to me, an individual who works with finances, when there are so many more effective things that they could be doing with their free cash flow.
But hiring Russo is probably the second stupidest thing you could do.
I'm waiting with bated breath for his first shoot-work-shoot promo.
These people obviously did not watch WCW during 2000. Russo is good at a few things, but booking good wrestling matches is not one of them. If TNA is going to be successful, that means it has to have good wrestling (to differentitate it from the WWE), and this ensures that will not happen. Also, it should be noted that Russo is the guy who started the Jeff Jarrett mega-push in WCW, so it looks like we'll be seeing plenty of JJ for the foreseeable future. Fantastic.
Generally, Russo appears to have good intentions and has some good goals he goes for. He mentioned in an interview with WrestleCrap that he always makes sure everyone on the roster has something to do. He also states that the biggest rule of writing is to not insult the intelligence of the audience because you will lose them. Good ideas to stick to, I highly recommend going to WrestleCrap and listening to the interview (only Part 1, Part 2 is where he tries to defend his decisions in WCW). It gave me a new perspective on him.
But he NEEDS to be kept on a tight leash to make sure he sticks to those good intentions and doesn't wander off with stupid shit. That stupidity includes raunchiness at the expense of quality, constant worked-shoot storylines and plot swerves that make no sense.
The Torch says he has a good vision for where it wants to go and Spike went go for the raunchy stuff, so we'll have to wait and see. And yes, I watched WCW 1999-2001 and Russo is horrible without a leash. TNA is in a rut right now, and it needs something.
I only hope his vision includes shooting Samoa Joe to the top and I hope that this doesn't mean more of Jarrett and what about Cornette.
And to make matters worse, Luger and Bagwell are making their TNA returns on Monday night. With Russo at the helm, is there any doubt that LAX will be dethroned soon by the legendary team of Buff & Judy Bagwell? And how long will it take for the X Division to regress into a motley crew of midgets, fat friends of bookers (hello Ed Ferrara), and women with extremely large boob implants?
WWE signed Too Cold Scorpio, which I think is good for them. He looked in great shape at Hardcore Homecoming and wrestled a decent match.
I dunno how spike won't go for the raunchy stuff but advertise public hangings and have 'death squads' and feature matches with a finish where one man is hung until he passes out. TNA is stuck in the middle of trying to be mainstream, trying to please their fans. They need to make some decisions. Lex Luger and Buff Bagwell can't be the answer and I don't know why they keep bringing in guys with bad publicity/track records. I mean you're trying to give your product a new face and they deface it at the same time, Russo fits in here. No wrestling company in this day and age is gonna survive with an active wrestler with the amount of power Jeff Jarrett has. The guys care about the product, but how much longer will they care as TNA moves more towards WWE and less towards what the business needs them to be. There is a HUGE oppurunity for them with the working relationship that they have with the ROH guys. I can't understand why they arent capitalizing there either. Forget WWE signing all the young talent they did that in the late 90s and have developed legitament stars and continue to do so because they use their resources and their base as a farm system in some aspects. TNA needs a vision and a vision form somebody who hasn't had their run.
What planet does Dave Meltzer live on that he hadn't heard anything about Oregon-Oklahoma by Thursday? And he's a guy that has been known to take shots at more popular sportswriters/columnists for their lack of knowledge of pro wrestling.
Post a Comment
<< Home