Here's a couple reader replies to my TNA blogs. I'll address each of them...
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John H. emailed: You probably won't respond to this but I was just curious why you don't like TNA's content or any of the new things they have implemented or tried to fix yet you seem to be a fan of WWE's repetitive who cares if you win, who cares if you lose format of basically the last 9 years. I think TNA has been MUCH better over the last month, not perfect but more interesting than WWE.
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My reply: Here are a few positive things I've said about TNA in the last two months from previous blog entries right here at WadeKeller.com:
-Jeff Jarrett is doing the best interviews of his career across the whole spectrum from comedy to serious. Of course, when he's serious he's full of false indignation, but he plays the notes just right. After Sky rolled Karen down the ramp and crashed her into the ring apron, I loved Jarrett looking toward Sky and saying, "She's a mother of five!" His delivery there was just great. He really has found his comedy touch and walks that fine line without taking into pure (ineffective) camp. (5/18)
-TNA deserves more credit for the roving backstage camera gimmick they do. It's different than what WWE does and as time goes by they're getting better at utilizing it effectively. It creates a documentary-type feel in contrast to things being arranged, scripted, and produced. (5/12)
-Good final picture with the main event wrestlers of Sunday's Sacrifice standing face to face backstage - RVD and Sting. (5/12)
-Good show. No big complaints. My full audio review and analysis coming up on the PWTorch VIP website. (5/12)
-Final Thoughts (6.0): Impact is a show that too often is going in way too many directions, many of which make you wonder if anyone is paying attention or has a clue or is even decent. There are times you see things in these shows that you cheer and say "more of that, more of that" and this show had more of those aspects than usual. (6/19 VIP/Newsletter report)
-Very good last man standing match. Styles injected athleticism that you don't see out of John Cena in the Last Man Standing format, and with Ray's strategic bumps and violence and in-context use of heavy blood, this all came together, including a suspenseful well-executed finish. The high-risk spots weren't in that range of so dangerous you feel guilty or sad for the wrestlers. (6/12)
Also, you must not be reading my WWE blogs and reports, as I find faults with both promotions, and I find good aspects of both - and I consistently write about both.
What I won't do is some weekly attempt to seem "balanced" by finding 60 percent good and 40 percent bad every single week in every product. Sometimes, as with last night's Impact, the "good parts" were buried underneath the dominance of the 50+ and 40+ year olds. The message sent from start to finish last night is that these X Division guys get this gift of a PPV all their own once a year, but after that they'll go right back to mid-carders and jobbers. They sent the message clearly with the video package at the start (Bischoff, Hogan, Sting, Anderson) and the main event (Sting vs. Scott Steiner) and the finish (Anderson's run-in on Sting and Hogan) that the real top stars aren't on Destination X next month.
I like X Division style wrestling. I don't like when it's presented as an opening card spotfest. I don't like that they do little to develop the characters in the X Division. What's at stake in Ultimate X? Why should we root for one wrestler over another? What about the four-way match next week? There's no reason to boo anyone or cheer anyone. The X Division is promoted like it's a faction of bland personalities who do dazzling highspots. That's the viewpoint of management that seeps through in how the X Division is presented. Yes, there were some good video packages and highspots last night in the middle of the show. They were not presented in a manner which is going to help Destination X be as successful as it could. The audience that's going to order a show just for "good matches" minus any investment in who wins or loses is tiny compared to getting people emotionally invested in wanting to see someone in particular win and someone in particular lose. That's just not part of the X Division booking most of the time.
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Jim Okerlund posted in the reader comment area after my blog on Impact last night:I like the vignettes, the promo videos hyping the X Division, and a lot of other things about this company, but the one thing they are absolutely killing WWE in right now is making wrestling match results - even the mid-card filler matches like Joe vs. Devon."
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My reply: TNA has a tournament where wins and losses matter. And the winner of the tournament gets a title shot at their biggest show fof the year. That is good. That helps make wins and losses matter, for sure.
TNA comes up short in another area compared to last week's Smackdown. When Wade Barrett attacked Ezekiel Jackson before the bell, the ref ordered Barrett to back off and checked to be sure Jackson was okay before starting the match, thus taking away the unfair advantage Barrett tried to get from a blindside attack. Last night on Impact, Scott Steiner (heel) attacked Sting (babyface) during ring intros, and not only did the referee call for an immediate ringing of the bell, thus rewarding Steiner for his cheating, but the announcers actually praised Steiner, saying he was simply retaliating for Sting (the babyface) attacking him earlier. It's that kind of screwed up nonsense booking that undercuts the positives that TNA has with their "wrestling matters" campaign.
So both promotions have strengths and both have weaknesses.
If you haven't yet, check out my blog earlier this week on how Spike TV rebranding their network and shifting the demographic focus could nudge TNA Impact Wrestling in a better direction that could lead to a ratings increase.
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