Black and White Report January 19, 2010: Dropping the Bombs
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Jan 19 2010, 8:01 AM
There are few feelings as horrible as that of helplessness. It’s why we hate being on an airplane with a crying child. It’s what’s caused, in large part, the rancor between the supporters of the two political parties in the United States. And it’s what can make being a wrestling fan so frustrating sometimes. There are a lot of things that seem obvious to fans that WWE and TNA could do to improve the product, yet we fans are helpless in our desire to help the big companies see them.
A lot of what’s been said in recent weeks about the WWE and TNA products has focused on who and what should be brought in to the companies. Who are the free agents that should be hired? This week, I want to look at the people and concepts that should be dropped from WWE and TNA to improve the product.
When it was announced that Hulk Hogan was joining TNA, there were immediate fears that his well-known cronyism would be made a prominent part of the fledgling organization. Those fears seem to have been well founded. I don’t know of any fans that are excited to see the Nasty Boys hobble around Universal Studios. Scott Hall and Sean Waltman look terrible and haven’t been able to recapture the magic of the nWo as “The Band.” But the most unfortunate Hogan crony to come in has been Bubba the Love Sponge. If you haven’t heard, Bubba, a shock-jock radio personality, made some incredibly insensitive comments about the tragedy in Haiti. Perhaps they were born of his feelings of helplessness, but in any case, they were inappropriate and painted Bubba as a tool. He has since apologized, but the damage was done. Because of his very recent connection to TNA, Bubba’s comments instantly tarnished the reputation of the company. A company that had been doing fundraisers for the devastated island nation.
Bubba was not used at the TV tapings on Monday night, a fact about which he complained tremendously. But it was the right call by TNA. A Facebook group calling for Bubba to be fired from TNA over his comments had nearly 800 followers at the time of this writing. Bubba should be let go from the company if only from a PR perspective, to show that TNA won’t tolerate hate speech of any kind from its employees. Now, I don’t condone censorship. And I completely agree with Bubba’s right to give his opinion in public. I also understand and agree with Eric Bischoff’s “controversy creates cash” philosophy. But as TNA is trying to grow its audience, this is not the type of controversy the company needs and wants.
Furthermore, getting rid of Bubba over these comments sends a message to the rest of TNA that even if someone is a Hogan crony, that relationship is not enough to keep their job with TNA. Both on-screen (Hogan and Bischoff) and off-screen (Dixie Carter in a company meeting) the mandate has been given that everyone in TNA needs to step up and support the company’s efforts. Work together to take TNA to the next level, or find other employment. Bubba’s actions are counterproductive to that goal, and he needs to be let go.
The other aforementioned Hogan pals should be cut, too. I don’t mind bringing in ex-WWE-ers, but I’m tired of them being given top slots immediately. Some, like Jeff Hardy, should be put closer to the top of the card because of their drawing power. However, Brian Kendrick and Ken Anderson, though talented, shouldn’t be defeating long-standing TNA main eventers in their initial outings. (I know Kendrick lost, and that’s good, but he didn’t deserve a title shot in his debut…) The message sent to the tenured TNA-ers is that they are second class citizens because they’ve only worked for a second class company. The next step for TNA is to change this perspective in the eyes of its wrestlers, and more importantly the fans. That’s accomplished by ignoring WWE and focusing on its own product. Use the amazing talent it has already. Build Samoa Joe, Daniels, Abyss, AJ, and the rest into the mega stars they deserve to be. Drop the attempts to be WWE Jr. Drop the worn out WWE rejects. Drop shock jocks who don’t understand they are not the center of the TNA universe.
Finally, TNA needs to realize that the number one way to guarantee that the fans, I mean the “cast members” in the Impact Zone, misbehave on camera is to tell them what they can and cannot do. I get the corporate fears Spike TV has about rabid fans, but telling your audience they’re not allowed to crap on what they don’t like will only drive them away. (If you’ve not heard, TNA did this exact thing at the TV tapings on Monday.)
Over at WWE, there’s one single major thing to drop that would instantly improve the product: the guest hosts. I like Jon Heder. We went to the same college at the same time, though our paths never crossed. I think “Napoleon Dynamite” is hilarious. I have a lot of personal connections to that film. But during his guest host spot on RAW his week, I would have rather beaten my own head in with a shovel than watch the dreck that was that show. It had gotten off to such a great start with the Vince-Undertaker-Michaels confrontations. The Vince-Triple H discussion backstage was also intriguing and solid. But every time Heder and Don Johnson were on screen, I wanted desperately to find something else to watch. I really didn’t want to see Heder’s average Joe body in a let’s-mock-Flair-for-joining-the-competition robe. The match was painful. But what it represented was worse.
This is the same company that six months ago took WCW to task on the “Rise and Fall of WCW” DVD for focusing on Jay Leno, Karl Malone, David Arquette, etc. at the expense of the younger stars. WWE has a roster full of hungry wrestlers who get relegated to ECW and Superstars on WGN because the Guest Hosts take up a lot of screen time. The concept is played out, and needs to be dropped. Get back to basics. But, Vince McMahon doesn’t want to see it that way. Jon Heder’s “Let’s hear it for movies!” and “We’re real movie stars!” comments in the ring were more reflective of how Vince views the company. And while the fans may not be leaving in droves, the company is not seeing an increase in ratings or attracting any new audience. It’s time to try something else.
Over the last couple of weeks, the hottest, most-talked about segments have been Bret Hart’s return, and the MVP/Miz confrontation. Take note, WWE. These were old school wrestling angles. They resonated with the audience. They’re what works. Did you hear the audience reaction to the guest hosts this week, Vince? No? That’s because there wasn’t one. They sat on their hands. Get back to basics, WWE. You want to market to kids, fine. But you can market to kids with good, old school wrestling story telling. The kind that build the company up twenty-five years ago, and again twelve years ago.
Both WWE and TNA need to take a hard look at the product and make some cuts. Drop the things that have bombed. Don't forge ahead with them because you know better than the fans. It only makes us feel helpless, and when we feel helpless, we turn away to find something else that doesn't make us feel so. It's human nature.
And there it is in Black and White.
A lot of what’s been said in recent weeks about the WWE and TNA products has focused on who and what should be brought in to the companies. Who are the free agents that should be hired? This week, I want to look at the people and concepts that should be dropped from WWE and TNA to improve the product.
When it was announced that Hulk Hogan was joining TNA, there were immediate fears that his well-known cronyism would be made a prominent part of the fledgling organization. Those fears seem to have been well founded. I don’t know of any fans that are excited to see the Nasty Boys hobble around Universal Studios. Scott Hall and Sean Waltman look terrible and haven’t been able to recapture the magic of the nWo as “The Band.” But the most unfortunate Hogan crony to come in has been Bubba the Love Sponge. If you haven’t heard, Bubba, a shock-jock radio personality, made some incredibly insensitive comments about the tragedy in Haiti. Perhaps they were born of his feelings of helplessness, but in any case, they were inappropriate and painted Bubba as a tool. He has since apologized, but the damage was done. Because of his very recent connection to TNA, Bubba’s comments instantly tarnished the reputation of the company. A company that had been doing fundraisers for the devastated island nation.
Bubba was not used at the TV tapings on Monday night, a fact about which he complained tremendously. But it was the right call by TNA. A Facebook group calling for Bubba to be fired from TNA over his comments had nearly 800 followers at the time of this writing. Bubba should be let go from the company if only from a PR perspective, to show that TNA won’t tolerate hate speech of any kind from its employees. Now, I don’t condone censorship. And I completely agree with Bubba’s right to give his opinion in public. I also understand and agree with Eric Bischoff’s “controversy creates cash” philosophy. But as TNA is trying to grow its audience, this is not the type of controversy the company needs and wants.
Furthermore, getting rid of Bubba over these comments sends a message to the rest of TNA that even if someone is a Hogan crony, that relationship is not enough to keep their job with TNA. Both on-screen (Hogan and Bischoff) and off-screen (Dixie Carter in a company meeting) the mandate has been given that everyone in TNA needs to step up and support the company’s efforts. Work together to take TNA to the next level, or find other employment. Bubba’s actions are counterproductive to that goal, and he needs to be let go.
The other aforementioned Hogan pals should be cut, too. I don’t mind bringing in ex-WWE-ers, but I’m tired of them being given top slots immediately. Some, like Jeff Hardy, should be put closer to the top of the card because of their drawing power. However, Brian Kendrick and Ken Anderson, though talented, shouldn’t be defeating long-standing TNA main eventers in their initial outings. (I know Kendrick lost, and that’s good, but he didn’t deserve a title shot in his debut…) The message sent to the tenured TNA-ers is that they are second class citizens because they’ve only worked for a second class company. The next step for TNA is to change this perspective in the eyes of its wrestlers, and more importantly the fans. That’s accomplished by ignoring WWE and focusing on its own product. Use the amazing talent it has already. Build Samoa Joe, Daniels, Abyss, AJ, and the rest into the mega stars they deserve to be. Drop the attempts to be WWE Jr. Drop the worn out WWE rejects. Drop shock jocks who don’t understand they are not the center of the TNA universe.
Finally, TNA needs to realize that the number one way to guarantee that the fans, I mean the “cast members” in the Impact Zone, misbehave on camera is to tell them what they can and cannot do. I get the corporate fears Spike TV has about rabid fans, but telling your audience they’re not allowed to crap on what they don’t like will only drive them away. (If you’ve not heard, TNA did this exact thing at the TV tapings on Monday.)
Over at WWE, there’s one single major thing to drop that would instantly improve the product: the guest hosts. I like Jon Heder. We went to the same college at the same time, though our paths never crossed. I think “Napoleon Dynamite” is hilarious. I have a lot of personal connections to that film. But during his guest host spot on RAW his week, I would have rather beaten my own head in with a shovel than watch the dreck that was that show. It had gotten off to such a great start with the Vince-Undertaker-Michaels confrontations. The Vince-Triple H discussion backstage was also intriguing and solid. But every time Heder and Don Johnson were on screen, I wanted desperately to find something else to watch. I really didn’t want to see Heder’s average Joe body in a let’s-mock-Flair-for-joining-the-competition robe. The match was painful. But what it represented was worse.
This is the same company that six months ago took WCW to task on the “Rise and Fall of WCW” DVD for focusing on Jay Leno, Karl Malone, David Arquette, etc. at the expense of the younger stars. WWE has a roster full of hungry wrestlers who get relegated to ECW and Superstars on WGN because the Guest Hosts take up a lot of screen time. The concept is played out, and needs to be dropped. Get back to basics. But, Vince McMahon doesn’t want to see it that way. Jon Heder’s “Let’s hear it for movies!” and “We’re real movie stars!” comments in the ring were more reflective of how Vince views the company. And while the fans may not be leaving in droves, the company is not seeing an increase in ratings or attracting any new audience. It’s time to try something else.
Over the last couple of weeks, the hottest, most-talked about segments have been Bret Hart’s return, and the MVP/Miz confrontation. Take note, WWE. These were old school wrestling angles. They resonated with the audience. They’re what works. Did you hear the audience reaction to the guest hosts this week, Vince? No? That’s because there wasn’t one. They sat on their hands. Get back to basics, WWE. You want to market to kids, fine. But you can market to kids with good, old school wrestling story telling. The kind that build the company up twenty-five years ago, and again twelve years ago.
Both WWE and TNA need to take a hard look at the product and make some cuts. Drop the things that have bombed. Don't forge ahead with them because you know better than the fans. It only makes us feel helpless, and when we feel helpless, we turn away to find something else that doesn't make us feel so. It's human nature.
And there it is in Black and White.
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