TOP 5 THINGS TNA NEEDS TO DO TO IMPROVE & SUCCEED

In pro wrestling, everything is a matter of opinion – including this article. I’m not saying that I cracked the code on TNA’s excessive failures, but I can say that these are certain things they can (yet have not) effectively implement into their business model. Clearly, anyone can dispute that by saying, “How do you know what they’re doing in the office, if you’re not there?” Well, I wasn’t in Dallas the day President Kennedy was assassinated either, but we all still know how that worked out, don’t we? Plus, I’m from Brooklyn, and we have a theory – if it walks like duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a f***ing duck!

Let me also add this disclaimer: I DO NOT WANT TNA TO FAIL. Yes, my perspective of their product is that it’s the drizzling s**ts, but I still hold out hope that one day things will turn around and they will be recognized as a legitimate alternative rather than a glorified indie promotion.

And now, on to my recommendations:

Stop Trying To Compete with WWE – Yes, pro wrestling is like having a retarded child. Of course you love it, but you know it has its limitations and you’ll spend the rest of your life making excuses for their f*** ups. When it comes to “sports entertainment”, NOBODY does it better than the WWE (after all, they coined the phrase). This is where TNA needs to get in touch with reality and admit to themselves that they will NEVER be as big or as successful as the WWE. It would literally take them another 50 years to catch up, and by that time, WrestleMania will be broadcasting live from the moon – yes, look up…THAT f***ing moon.TNA needs to steer clear from sports entertainment, and should make the effort to be recognized more as a competitive contact sport. The same way Ring of Honor or New Japan present their product, TNA needs to re-program the mindset of their audience and “Total Recall” them into forgetting that this is pre-determined. It needs to feel more like an exhibition of athletes, rather than soap opera storytelling. What better time than RIGHT NOW to restructure and implement those changes? It’s not like anyone is watching.In all likelihood, such an idea would be frowned upon. Everyone expects the goofiness that comes with the stigma of pro wrestling, and neither WWE nor TNA would ever consider shifting gears and taking the emphasis off of the entertainment aspect. I guess I’m too old school, and when I tune into a pro wrestling program, I expect to see PRO WRESTLING – but in this day and age, it’s the concept of “sports ENTERTAINMENT” that produces ratings and sponsor revenue. Well, so be it. If pro wrestling wants to be a circus, then WWE is Ringling Brothers and TNA is a f***ing petting zoo at a carnival in a local shopping mall parking lot.
Focus and Invest in Brand Awareness – In my opinion, I feel this is the most critical element missing from TNA’s business model. Just because you own a wrestling company and were fortunate enough to secure a weekly spot on television, doesn’t make you a successful promotion. You know the “if a tree falls in the forest” theory… the same applies here, but at least I can find a forest. Without Brand Awareness, the brand is as good as dead. The biggest problem is that TNA is as addicted to social media as a teenage girl. The one thing that TNA and social media have in common is that within five minutes, your last post is already forgotten and old news. TNA needs to find more effective ways to remain relevant in the minds of their audiences and casual wrestling fans. They need to invest more in the traditional ways of marketing and promotions. Full page advertisements in major magazines, outdoor billboards, radio promotions, television spots, endorsements, charities, etc.You know how you can tell if your brand awareness is working? It’s simple – study the people. How well does your fan base know/respect/admire your roster? How often do they wear your talent’s merchandise? How often do they quote your talent’s catchphrases? How many children play fight with their friends and emulate the talent on your roster? How many kids are dressing up as your talent roster for Halloween? How many of your homegrown wrestlers are household names? THAT is how you know if the image of your brand is burned into their memories.Sure, TNA has been failing miserably in this department for the last 15 years, but this is somewhat of an easy fix. The powers that be at TNA need to change the fans perception of the company. In many ways, perception is everything. It’s not necessarily based on the track record of what you’ve done, but rather on how confidently you carry and present yourself to the public. To steal a line from the movie Boiler Room, “There is an important phrase that we use here, and I think it’s time you all learned it. ‘Act as if…’, you understand what that means? Act as if you are the f***ing President of this firm. Act as if you’ve got a nine inch c***… ACT. AS. IF.”
For TNA, act as if the WWE didn’t exist; Act as if you are the most successful wrestling product in the world; Act as if you have the greatest talent roster money can buy; Act as if ratings don’t matter; Act as if your program is being viewed by millions instead of thousands; Act as if the last 15 years of failures didn’t happen; Act as if you were actually making a profit, paying your talent, and know what you are doing…ACT. AS. IF.
Squash Matches – To piggyback on Brand Awareness, TNA (and pro wrestling in general) needs to re-appreciate the value of squash matches. I could go on for hours over the importance and significance of squash matches and enhancement talent, but we’ll save that for another time. The two key components that TNA could benefit from are as follows:Enhancement matches need to do exactly what they are designed to do – enhance the value and perception of the talent you are building up. This is an opportunity to have your homegrown stars polished and shined for their TV close-up. This magic is lost when you have your best talents booked in matches with other great talents week-in/week-out. You never get to see the ANY of the workers in dominating roles. It never allows the fans imaginations to run wild by calculating their strengths and weaknesses, and then mentally fantasy booking them into dream matches. When talent is competing neck-to-neck with the rest of the hungry performers, they never get the opportunity to shine and be showcased. The limited time and spotlight is shared, rather than basking in a stand-alone moment. Even the winner of the match suffers on TV because all of his flaws have been exposed by an opponent just as good as he is.But let’s take the psychology and artistry out of the equation – this is a great opportunity for FREE word of mouth marketing. The fact of the matter is that there are THOUSANDS of wrestlers looking for an opportunity; Thousands of dreamers who would give anything for one moment in that spotlight, even if it was only to put someone else over; Thousands who just want to have the experience of standing in the middle of the ring in front of a live televised audience. Most wrestlers know they will never make it to the big time, but that little taste and those three minutes of fame is all they’ll ever need to validate that in some way, shape or form, that they’ve made it.
And when opportunity comes knocking, and that dream comes true, they will tell everyone they know about it. They will promote the hell out of it to their own fan base, their family and friends, and thru their social media networks. They’ll post, tweet and share the clips of their opportunity on the TNA Impact Wrestling stage. They’ll urge all their followers and supporters to tune that night to witness this once in a lifetime opportunity – thus, bringing new eyeballs to the TNA product and giving a boost to the ratings. From there on out, it’s up to TNA to convert those new viewers to loyal followers and increase the reach of their fan base. It’s the oldest and most effective way to promote – word of mouth! And it’s FREE!
Give The Talent More Creative Freedom – Here is one thing that I have to give TNA credit for, but at the same time, they have to turn up the volume on their efforts. It was only a few short years ago, that WWE would recruit talent into the NXT developmental system and attempt to repackage them into a WWE trademark. Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins, Kevin Ownes, Cesaro, Hideo Itami and even Finn Balor are just a few examples of the WWE wiping the slate clean and stripping talent of their track record and fan base, so that they could be re-introduced as a WWE creation. CM Punk wasn’t having any of that s***, and fought to keep his name, thus bringing his history with him. At the time, he was the exception to the rule. More recently, WWE has loosened up and noticed the value of letting talent be who they are and bring what they built. After all, this WAS what got them on your radar to begin with.Now WWE has signed former TNA stars AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Bobby Roode and Austin Aries – and rather than attempt to repackage them, they’ve decided to roll the dice and let these veterans bring the body of work and name recognition that they’ve already established For the most part, TNA has been doing that since day one. Of course there are some exceptions here as well, but it does appear that the TNA open door policy to creative input from talent is more accessible than it is in WWE.Common sense will immediately tell you that no wrestling talent is ever going to pitch you an idea to make their own character look like s***. No wrestler ever approached the booker with a concept to be mediocre. They’re coming to you with their passion, and while it is not logically possible for everyone to be put in a top spot, they can still exercise the art of getting over in defeat. All great heels know that.Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy proved this theory with their Final Deletion presentation, and while it wasn’t necessarily everyone’s cup of tea, it was different and got people talking. This is a prime example of listening to your employees and taking a chance on their creative abilities. I understand that TNA is running a business, but so are the wrestlers. They are independent contractors (aka self-employed) and it is up to them to prove their worth to management in order to earn a living.One of the biggest problems in pro wrestling is communication. As a former booker, this was one of my biggest strengths. I sat with the talent and discussed what I was looking to get to progress the story. I listened to their input and then my own spin on it so that it fit within the confines. I explained my decision-making so they better understood my vision for them. I even went as far as stepping into the ring with them to understand their point of view and more effectively work out some of the creative kinks and alternative solutions. The talents know their own characters and their limits better than anyone else. Their jobs become more difficult to perform when unnatural words are forced into their mouths, and they are expected to exceed expectations while suffering from creative confusion. Let them bring the magic that made you want to sign them to begin with. If not, it’s like asking a gourmet chef to cook you a meal using a microwave.
Take Dixie Carter Off TV – Just because you have the money to own a company, doesn’t mean you have what it takes to be an on-air wrestling personality. Some people are born with the gift of gab, and others take years of disciplined training on how to publicly communicate to large audiences, engage with them, and command their attention. In the wrestling business, it takes more than that.
You have to be able to read the audience. You have to know how to grab hold and control their emotional strings. And, you need to understand how to effectively tell an episodic story. Just because you own a wrestling company and made the executive decision to put a live mic in your own hand in front of a live televised audience doesn’t make you Meryl F***ing Streep. Even Meryl Streep wouldn’t know how to cut a wrestling promo or have wrestling fans clinging to her every word. You can’t go on TV and gloat about fifteen years’ worth of failure. Imagine if Vince McMahon failed at the very first WrestleMania, and still couldn’t figure out how to get it right by WrestleMania 15 – do you think the WWE would have survived?

As a television personality, Dixie Carter comes off as a “money-mark”, and Lord knows, I’ve been around hundreds of them. If you’re not familiar with the term, look it up – I’m not f***in’ Google. She has her head and her heart in the right place, but the one thing missing from both, is passion. I’m NOT saying Dixie Carter is not passionate about her company, her roster and the future of TNA. What I’m saying is that as a child, Dixie Carter did not have aspirations of owning and running a wrestling company, let alone being a prominent featured character in one. She never obsessed over the magic; she never studied a match; she never cut promos in the mirror or to her friends; she never envisioned herself in the main event and walking out as champion. She never fell in love with wrestling. This was just another “business opportunity” for a millionaire to get a tax write-off. Maybe Daddy should have bought his daughter a pony instead.