What TNA Needs to Do to Survive: Part 2 - Changes in Management

TNA (Total Nonstop Action) has to make changes very soon to their promotion and programming very soon, or TNA will end up going out of business within the next few years. If TNA wants to make a lasting impact on the wrestling world, it has to change direction, or be run off the road forever by the WWE.

TNA needs to make a significant change to it's writing team. There are three people that heavily influence the direction of TNA that need to be reviewed if TNA wants to ever reach the viewer ship of the WWE.

It was obvious at the beginning that Jeff and Jerry Jarrett just wanted to pad TNA with their own friends. The problem was that they padded much of the executive staff with people that did not have much, if any, experience.

Dutch Mantel:

Dutch was brought to TNA to work as a behind the scenes writer. The issue with this is that he had never worked on a writing team previous to this. In fact, he had been largely away from wrestling since his stint with the WWF/WWE as a manager.

It has been widely reported over many sites that mantel did not have any clue as to what he was doing when he first came on. He has learned some from his mentor, but nneds to be replaced now before TNA loses anymore ground.

Jim Cornette:

While being a great manager for wrestlers for years, Cornette has never been great at the business sense of wrestling. Cornette has always tried to side himself with the, "local," wrestling instead of with, "major league" wrestling.

Cornette has said himself that he is, "more micro orientated then macro orientated." This means that he can work on a small area of the wrestling business and do fine. When it comes to the overall direction of the industry, he is lost.

The perfect example of this is when he created Smokey Mountain Wrestling in the early eighties. He regretted this decision because he was to blind at the time to realize that the entire wrestling industry was in a recession.

As was stated in the first article, TNA needs to separate itself from the NWA and AWA. Cornette is considered to be a centerpiece for trying to bring the NWA back into TNA. Today's young fans are not interested in the history of the NWA, they just want to be entertained by today's standards.

Vince Russo:

The lead writer for TNA, and the mentor of Mantel is a genius who is not being allowed to work his magic. Arguably one of the greatest minds of wrestling, Russo has not been able to create the controversial storylines that have made him famous in the wrestling world. Like him or not, he was one of the main reason why the WWE beat WCW in the Monday Night Wars.

If was not for Russo, we would not have DX, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and the Undertaker would not have as much of his mystique. All of these characters owe their lives to Vince Russo.

TNA made a big deal when Russo was brought on staff, but why have fans not seen the kind of controversy that they are used to from Russo? Why is it that TNA has not allowed Russo to create the storylines that will bring them on par with the WWE?

Another aspect that could end up driving TNA into the ground is the relationship between Russo and Cornette. Their out of the ring feuds have been followed by many fans for years. You cannot have two members of your management at odds with each other like they are. If will only cause for an explosive situation in the future.

If TNA wants to be remembered for years, it has to take certain steps to insure that legacy. Ownership and management of TNA have to put the company first, and friendships second.