If You Were In Charge [TNA Edition]

[JR Judy]

You had all creative say and all the power. Who would you push? Who would you get rid of? What kind of changes would you make?

[JR Judy]

As much as I love TNA, they need some new directions to take the next step.

1) Get out of the iMPACT! Zone. As much as it is a cool environment, with fresh crowds every night for tapings, half of them are simply Universal guests who wanted a free show. You need to begin to go to larger arena's and get true wrestling crowds. It will not only create more revenue, but also creating a better environment both live and on television. If the live crowd is in to it, the announcers, the wrestlers, and the people watching at home are more energized. Wade and I went to a house show in Columbus, and it was louder than the previous RAW we went to. Live audiences who pay, WANT to see your television programming.

2) Enough faction wars. Once this Immortal/Fortune war ends, TNA needs to drop the idea for a while. First he had Jarrett and Sting armies colliding in 06. Then M.E.M./FrontLine/World Elite in 08. The beauty of gang warfare is it is fresh and opens up chances for more stars to shine. The problem with this current angle though, is the heels look very weak minus Jeff's title win last night. Take the next month and have the heels dominate, allowing the faces to come back at a big PPV such as Lockdown.

3) Nix the knockout tag titles. Yes, you have the best women's wrestling right now. Yes, your women actually take bumps and have passion to wrestle, not just look good. Yes, you give them ample time to shine and build feuds on TV. No, they don't need two belts. Simple as that, because half the time, I forget who the single's champ is, let along the tag champs.

4) USE YOUR TALENT. Jay Lethal, Motor City Machine Guns, Amazing Red, Eric Young, guys like that have not been on TV in a few weeks, yet are entertaining fan favorite wrestlers, especially in the iMPACT! Zone. Bring these guys out and let them showcase their talents.

5)Tag Teams and X-Division. 6 Months ago, Beer Money and Motor City Machine Guns showed the world why they are the two best teams in the world and why TNA has arguably one of the best, if not the best tag division ever. But the difference with ROH and TNA is ROH recognizes their stellar tag division and highlights it much much more. On their next PPV, not only do their tag champs have a tremendous title defense, but also they have showcased a dream tag team match. On TNA's last ppv, the tag champs were in a 6-man tag match with Scott Steiner. Yes it fit storyline, BUT in a division which is starting to flop, it may be time for a revamp. As far as the X-Division goes, the division needs a jolt ASAP. With Joe, AJ, Daniels, Williams, Sabin, all out of the division, you need to import or create new stars for the division to get back to where it was and showcase it more often. Those matches are what TNA can do better than anyone when they book strategically.

6)Call 1997 back and return Hogan. As much as I love Hogan, he doesn't fit the "owner" mold like Eric Bischoff does. Flair fit nicely back in to his Evolution-era role, but Hogan can not fit the sidekick role. If you are going to use him, especially as a heel, use him sparingly and more like Mick Foley, for appearances OUTSIDE of the iMPACT! Zone to boost attention.

7)Drop the dead weight. Gunnar, Murphy, Rob Terry, Orlando Jordan, Kiyoshi, guys like that who can't wrestle, draw, or you don't seem to care about. Open up roster spots for new people and open up TV time to build new stars, rather than killing off the careers of 3D by spliting them up.

8)Do what you do best, BE DIFFERENT. You are PG-14, you have more hard hitting wrestling, and a more real feeling than the WWE. USE IT! Make your show different, go live, and make it feel like ANYTHING can happen. Make people say, "I know this is all scripted, but there is no way that was supposed to happen". Make people say oh my God, jump out of their seats, and ask for more. And be creative, don't simply recycle generic storylines, look at each individual wrestler and create storylines that make sense with personalities.

9)Get a dominate figure much like Goldberg was. Much like Cena is. Much like Samoa Joe used to be. People like a big badass who dominates and wins. Someone they can get behind. Make this person run through TNA. Similar to Goldberg, but make it different. Recognize the streak sooner, have people attempt to break it, it can build feuds and storylines to fill up holes in TV shows or on PPVs.

10)Finally, much like WWE, revamp the PPVs. Make every match mean something and be something people wanna see. The six-man tag from Against All Odds, no one wanted to see. Yes it made sense, but just a generic tag match was pointless. And keep the use of stipulations to a minimum. Yes save those matches for PPV's, but not every single PPV needs four stipulation matches. A few here and there make the match types more rare and more important. And make the PPV mean something. Against All Odds had that feel of Immortal must win, but the lack of showing a pissed off Bischoff didn't drive home the importance of their respective matches.