Originally Posted by AlexiR:
“Austin vs. McMahon is the height of simplistic story telling so for that matter was that other big 90s angle the nWo (at least at the outset).
There's absolutely nothing sophisticated or complex about the way WWE told the Austin/McMahon story and in fact when you break it down its actually one of the most repetitive angles in wrestling history. They had a formula that worked and they just repeated it endlessly with ever so slightly different window dressing. The use of The Rock for example isn't sophisticated story telling. Vince McMahon can't fight Steve Austin every month on Pay-Per-View and so he needs a representative. That representative should be the polar opposite of Steve Austin because that makes their conflict straight forward and easily defines them in the eyes of the audience. And this use of The Rock is effectively the same basic model they used with Mankind before The Rock. Indeed its the moments of the Austin/McMahon saga where WWE attempted to be more sophisticated and complex that don't work – The Higher Power being the obvious example.”
You're ignoring the point I was making so I too will ignore this unnecessarily long history lesson.
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“Only this isn't a remotely accurate representation of the NXT booking.
Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn has been one of the most effectively booked angles on any wrestling show in a long time that's not only brilliantly defining two central characters on the show but filled with compelling story. Prior to that the Zayn vs. Neville angle was an infinitely better example of a face vs. face conflict than what we're currently seeing on WWE television with Bryan and Reigns in that not only was it interesting it also did something to help establish and further the characters and pushes of both men (particularly Zayn). They've had Hideo come in as a much hyped foreign star who's subsequently been targeted by members of the roster jealous and angry about the level of hype he's been given. That's simple incredibly straight forward booking but it works to get everyone involved over.”
No, I'm the audience, so I'll tell you if it's compelling or not. I cannot abide this "I'm the smark so I'm right attitude" you are espousing. We are all wrestling fans. If I don't like the product and my view is in the minority, that doesn't make me wrong. I am simply stating that the NXT booking is so simplistic that I get nothing from it. Great matches, no doubt, but it's an indie show. The stories aren't there. Everything is so "by the book" - wrestling needs to go forwards, not backwards. The book needs rewritten. NXT is not doing that.
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“I'd also point out that there's absolutely nothing wrong with treating your titles with meaning and having members of the roster actually want to be and remain a champion. In fact that's exactly what any wrestling promotion should be doing. And as the booking of the women in NXT has demonstrated it doesn't have to be anywhere near as flat and lifeless as you seem to be suggesting.”
Of course this is true, but generally speaking, all the greatest feuds have been about more than titles.
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“The point I was making is that TNA's many failures are not (as has been suggested) one of failure of opportunity or disadvantage. They've had a decade on a network available in the same number of homes as USA and effectively failed to move the needle in that time. At no point was the suggestion that TNA should have been equalling WWE's audience but rather that they should have been able to show signs of life and actually grow an audience in this period because they had every opportunity to. However rather than discuss TNA's failings you've chosen to try and spin the debate off into pointless analogies.”
TNA didn't make any huge jumps but a quick look at the ratings does show that they peaked in 2011 with a 1.17 average rating compared to a 0.89 average in 2006. By contrast, RAW's average in 2006 was 3.90. In 2011 it was 3.21. That doesn't even take into consideration the huge leaps TNA made in the international market in this time. Now, of course, TNA lost that momentum over 2013 and 2014, dropping to a 0.94 average by the time they left Spike, but this is no different than WWE, whose 2014 ratings averaged at 2.95. It is ridiculous for you to claim victory for WWE during the last ten years whenever they have lost such a huge share of their audience. The fact is that wrestling has had to take a backseat to TV shows with a movie budget and investable characters/storylines. RAW didn't have the likes of Better Call Saul or The Walking Dead to contend with during The Attitude Era.
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“With that said let me also just point out at this juncture that Channel 5 is in fact completely capable of outing rating BBC1 (and has done so in the past) and that BBC2 is also completely capable of doing the same (and indeed has done so in the past).”
BBC One and BBC Two are two sides of the same coin so of course it is capable of doing it. Channel 5 in 2011 had a 4.4% audience share; BBC One had a 20.7% audience share. I was unable to find the 2014 numbers but they're unlikely to have changed much. I would love you to show me an example of a primetime Channel 5 show beating a primetime BBC One show in ratings.
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“WCW didn't reverse the slump by buying in top stars alone. It reversed the slump by offering a better product and growing an audience. I'd also point out that TNA signed Jeff Hardy and Kurt Angle. Two men who were hardly nobodies before departing WWE.”
Hardy's issues were well-documented. Angle was the only top star at the peak of his game TNA ever signed.
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“So you're going to ignore that this industry slump has had two promotions widely available on major cable networks? Also that WWE have promoted a whole string of incredibly successful shows during this period and shifted a monumental amount of merchandise? In truth the slump (in so much as it exists) has really only kicked in during the last few years and TNA should have been well established by then.”
WWE shifted more merchandise in 1999 than anybody other than South Park. This is an established fact.
Where do you think they are in world merchandise sales in 2015?
You can't just have an opinion on TNA with some people if it's in anyway a criticism. 