I recall when I was recapping TNA, often times I would find myself in a state of complete and utter frustration. Now it seems that WWE is the one filled with mindless plot holes - and the sad thing is their focus has always been more so on the stories rather than the matches. That’s not to say their current product is full of bad matches, but with the spotlight on story, you can become twice as frustrated with a show.
Let’s start with the Evil GM John Lauraunitis, in a story type that has been for a good while now, skating on no ice (See what I did there?). It is the same old formulaic story that takes center stage of the product, and each time it happens it carries even less interest, almost insulting the original.
John Cena as a character doesn’t show fear or intimidation of being “fired” or facing Big Show who has been destroying everybody.
The sad fact here is that it doesn’t even make Cena a bad ass. Mostly because we know he isn’t getting fired. The other factor is that Big Show may have been repackaged as this monster, but how many times has Cena already beat him? Don’t get me wrong, when Cena somehow lands Show in an F-U, I’m still impressed, but I’ve seen it done. It’s not going to have a profound ring this time around.
If the over-used storyline wasn’t enough for you, how about the extreme logi gaps on who the hell is actually in charge of the show. I recall Triple H having been in power and then Johnny Ace comes rolling through as Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and Interim General Manager of Raw. He managed to cheat a win at WrestleMania 28 to become the GM of both Raw and Smackdown. He’s the head honcho, no? Yet Triple H stops by to overrule him hiring Brock Lesnar. Then Vince McMahon rolls in to slap Big Show in the face and threatens to fire ACEhole. Up until this point, Vinnie Mac hasn’t been in control, correct? What’s up? This sounds like any given iMPACT! episode during 2007-2009.
Now, listeners of my ClubWWI audio will know I boycotted Impact Wrestling a while back, so I haven’t been following too much. Aside from Christian Cage showing up at Slammiversary to announce the top moment in TNA History, I’ve heard good things since they started going live, TNA has produced a better television product with some quality matches. More props to them, and I might just start lifting my ban and start watching again.
With all that being said though, have the tables turned? I’m not suggesting that TNA has risen above WWE. Far from it. But looking at the picture right now, WWE is soon to be rolling into a three hour Monday night affair on a weekly basis, with a product that can easily drag. TNA is keeping with two hour live television, and occasionally they go outside the Orlando box (something that could majorly boost them if they kept ALL pay-per-views out of the Impact Zone).
It’s going to be an interesting summer.
