TNA Making Mistakes that Could Cost Them in a Big Way

Okay so here's the deal for those of you paying attention. We have had to sit and suffer through the Monday Night Wars part 2 for over 90 days. I honestly cannot tell you why I have not dug a hole in the back yard and buried my sanity for still paying attention this far in.

The Monday Night Wars has become nothing more than a glorified train wreck. Every week seems to be a revolving door of what we saw 15 years ago. Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff in control, horrible storylines, and we're still having to deal with the nWo for something like the eighth or ninth time it seems. Although now they're calling themselves "The Band" and still getting nowhere. What they're failing to realize is that this is not 1996. So that being said, there are some things that have happened since Hogan and Bischoff took over that need to be addressed. Some of them are obvious, and one or two haven't really been covered all that much.

We're going to start with the removal of the six-sided ring. This caused quite a commotion earlier this year when fans walked into the iMPACT! Zone in Orlando and saw a traditional four-sided ring for the first time in several years. This is a topic that has been debated about since the change. Many people have said that it was the one thing that set TNA apart from WWE. To an extent that's true. But with me being a wrestler for 10 years myself, I can tell you that it doesn't matter what ring you compete in. If you have two talented athletes that can get the job done, then it shouldn't matter if they wrestle in a four-sided right, a six-sided ring, or infant's playpen. The ring or venue itself should not set the company apart from anybody else. However in defense, I did like the ring, because it added an extra dimension for the X-Division guys to thrill the crowd with. At some point though I do see the ring possibly returning.

A longstanding problem I've had with TNA is their Slammiversary pay-per-view event. For several years, the place they called home was the Nashville Fairgrounds, better known to TNA fans as the TNA Asylum. Current WWE star R-Truth (Ron Killings) is credited for the Asylum name. When TNA first started in 2002, they didn't have a national television deal. They ran weekly pay-per-views on Wednesday nights and charged $9.99 for them. They didn't have their big monthly events like they do now. One show, every week, and that was it. It has always been my opinion that the Slammiversary event should forever be held in Nashville. That could pose a problem however, as a friend called me recently and told me that the part of the Nashville Fairgrounds where TNA held their events was closing for good. So that said, they would have to find another venue. I just think it would be nostalgic for them to hold that event there every year. Kind of like when WCW would hold the Fall Brawl: Wargames pay-per-view in Roanoke, Virginia. It was guaranteed every year.

The third and final point I'm going to make here concerns the constant revolving door of talent going in and out of TNA. The biggest shock of late was the sudden departure of Christopher Daniels. He stunned Ring of Honor fans recently when he appeared at a recent event in Charlotte and told the fans in attendance that "the Fallen Angel was back" in ROH. TNA really dropped the ball with one of the few remaining guys that had been there the longest. Daniels, Awesome Kong, and Daivari are among the natural talents that have slipped through the TNA cracks as of late.

TNA needs to realize that what worked 15 years ago won't work 15 years later. What they need to do is go back to pushing the younger guys. There was a point in time where the X-Division meant every bit as much as the main event spot, if not more. I would gladly take a match between AJ Styles and Samoa Joe anyday over Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. I'm sorry, they just can't get it done anymore. Hogan has admitted in the past that after nearly every match he needs shots to his knees and he is in constant pain after every match. And Flair has just lost his legacy. He ruined that when he made the decision to return to the ring full-time. Hopefully though, management will wake up soon and realize that if they don't straighten up, Vince and the WWE will buy them out just like he did with WCW.