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Column: The Real iMPACT - TNA listens to it's fans
By: Brandon Vokac Hello everyone welcome to the next edition of The Real iMPACT. I was planning to write the third part of my column about timing, and how TNA listens to its fans, when I saw something that bothered me, and I felt I needed to write about. In this impromptu edition of The Real iMPACT, I want to talk about the ratings as of late. It has been noticed recently that since Samoa Joe has become champ that the ratings had dropped. Now, I don’t think that this has anything to do with Joe being champion, as much as I feel that the timing of when Joe became champ wasn’t good. In the second column that I wrote, I talked about timing, and how it’s everything in wrestling and one of main points was the timing of Joe becoming champ. I felt that Joe should have been champ long before his win three months ago and at the end of the paragraph I wrote “Whether this plan to wait until now (for Joe to become champion) works or not is yet to be seen, but we will have an answer for this soon.” Now, many people may think that this proves my point that this was bad timing and I agree to a certain extent. When looking back, making Joe the champ right before summer wasn’t a good idea and it probably would have been better to make him champ at, let’s say Bound for Glory in the winter months. As the Professor said in his last column, there is that summertime lull when everyone is outside and most people don’t watch much TV. But we have to remember that TNA’s plan is to have Joe carry the title for the next couple of months. So, I say we wait to blame to low ratings on the fact that Joe is champ. In fact, if you’ve watched iMPACT every week since Sacrifice the main story line has been the Kurt Angle, Karen Angle, AJ Styles saga not Joe’s quest to be the best. On the June 19 edition of I iMPACT beating out the June 17 edition of ECW. Now, to some, this is a big deal, and I feel that it is a small victory for TNA but not as big as TNA and Spike TV have made it out to be. According to the staff here on the site, TNA and Spike TV were so ecstatic over the news that they held a private celebration, and it was noted that last week's ECW went up against the deciding game of the NBA Finals, whereas TNA went up against reruns. Now, why TNA should be excited over the fact that they beat ECW by only .02, I really don’t know because A) TNA is experiencing some of its lowest ratings since it came onto Spike TV and B) ECW is one of the worst wrestling shows on TV. They have maybe four or five guys who people actually know (but don’t give a sh*t about), the rest all are jobbers, and the announcing is a joke. Let’s wait until next week to see if they can beat them again, and if they can then we have more reason to celebrate. Anyway, my point is that is should be expected to beat ECW every week (considering that many feel they can go head-to-head with Raw in the next few years). Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad they beat ECW, but it’s like I said they should be beating them already. Now, my thoughts turn to how we can make this better. When I tried to think of ways to get the ratings up, I came up with four thoughts that could help. The first thought was that they need to have more x-division matches on iMPACT. What I mean by that is x-division matches that have not only importance but are great matches too, not ones tossed on just to fill a spot on the show. When the MCMG faced Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino that was one of the best x-division matches I’ve seen on iMPACT or a PPV in a long time. It was what TNA is suppose to be total nonstop action wrestling. We need TNA’s x-division should be about the best vs. the best every week, and that’s how they prove themselves as the best. TNA should have mini-tournaments every month to find out who the #1 contender is, or bring back the rankings system and have people face each other every week to move up the rankings system to receive a title shot. You could have great iMPACT matches with the likes of Kaz, Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Homicide, Curry Man, Jimmy Rave, Consequences Creed, Johnny Devine, Shark Boy, and Doug Williams fighting to make it up the ranking for a title shot. The second was that TNA needs to feature Samoa Joe more. He’s the Champ, and he wrestles only every once and a while. He should be in the main event at least two of the four to five weeks of iMPACT in between PPV’s. After Joe faces (and beats) Booker T at Victory Road, him and Kevin Nash need to feud already. TNA blew the element of surprise, of Nash using Joe to get to the top because everyone is waiting for Joe and Nash to just start fighting. The way I think that the next couple of PPV’s should go like is: Hard Justice: Joe vs. Nash for the World Title; Joe wins by DQ after Nash tries to break Joe’s arm or leg (why the leg? see next PPV) with a chair No Surrender: Joe vs. Nash for the World Title in a No Surrender Match or Last Man Standing (how can you win a last man standing match if you can’t stand); Joe wins after destroying Nash like the old Joe use to do. Bound For Glory: Joe vs. Sting for the World Title; Joe wins in a passing of the torch match of sorts, which is Stings “last” match Genesis: Joe vs. Abyss for the World Title; Joe beats Abyss in a very bloody brawl that includes thumb tacks, barbed wire, and a lot of blood. This shows Joe’s hardcore side. Turning Point: Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. the return of CHRISTOPHER DANILES for the World Title: Chris attacks Joe in Curry Man attire, and then pulls off his mask to reveal that it’s been him all along. The next week he explains that for the past year he’s been doing this stupid Curry Man gimmick in TNA just to get on TV, and while he’s been there, he’s seen Joe rise to the top and steal his spot at the top of TNA. He then demands a title shot. Joe comes out and says that he earned everything that he’s gotten so far in TNA, and if he wanted a title shot all he had to do was be a man and ask him to his face but he already promised the next title shot to…AJ Styles. Joe then says that he’s a fighting champ and is willing to face both for the title; AJ Styles beats Samoa Joe and Chris Daniels, after using the spiral tap on Joe while he has Chris in the coquina clutch and Daniels is about to tap and pins Joe to win. Final Resolution: Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels in a rematch: Joe asks for his rematch while Daniels complains that he was never pinned; Chris Daniels beats Joe and AJ to win his first title, after the ref if taken out Joe makes AJ tap to the coquina clutch but the ref doesn’t see it and Chris hits Joe over the head with a chair and pins AJ after the angel’s wings. Against All Odds: Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels in the first ever three way 60 Minute Iron Man Match: Joe challenges both AJ and Daniels to this match because he’s pissed that he was with in an inch of retaining and regaining the title at the past two PPV’s; Joe comes back to win the title after he was losing to Daniels: 2 and AJ: 2 with five minutes left. Joe beats AJ after using a muscle buster off the top rope that knocks AJ out of the match, and then makes Daniels tap out to the coquina clutch with 1 second left. This then sets Joe up for another title run through Slammiversary. I think that that is an awesome lineup of main events for the next seven months. I would also try to bring in Rob Van Dam, CM Punk (if he becomes available), or Bobby Lashley to feud with him too. This would give Joe some awesome matches if he were still the champ or for after he loses the title. It also brings AJ Styles back to the main event as well as brings Christopher Daniels back into the fold and into the main event. Some might not like the idea of two transition champions in a row but I like it because it shows that on any given night the title can change. My third thought is to bring the fans into the show. What I mean by this is that you have them be able to vote for some of the types of matches that go on or who the wrestlers face in matches and have the voting be a week in advance. This would give the fans what they want because they voted for it. Now some might say that that idea would be better for a PPV instead of iMPACT, but this way it’s all about the fans and not about making money. Because when you do it like WWE does and put it on PPV everyone can vote but not everyone gets to see it and then it’s about making money and not the fans and that’s what is suppose to be about to begin with. This could be a once every couple of months or every month but that depends on how popular the concept is. On the other hand, you don’t want the idea to get worn out but that would be for TNA to decide. Another way this makes the ratings go up is that it shows that the weekly show is just as important as the PPV. My fourth thought is something that everyone has wanted TNA to introduce for a long time, and that is a middleweight title. Now this could be a US Title, an Intercontinental Title (that could be defended not only between TNA talent and international talent too), a TV Title, or some good name that TNA can come up with like the x-division. Personally, I like the idea of a TNA Pure Championship like ROH did. This title would be defended once a month on iMPACT like to other titles should be doing too. This gives TNA a title match on every show in between PPV’s. Titles would change occasionally and the rematches would occur only on PPV’s, and if the person cheated to win and it was proved then the match would continue at the next PPV. I have one more thought before I let you guys get on with your day, and that’s that I think that the replay of iMPACT every Saturday may be hurting the rating that TNA gets every Thursday. If you think about it TNA has about a half a million people tune in to catch the replay every week. With those people watching iMPACT on Saturday instead of Thursday TNA could be getting a 1.5 every week instead of a 1.0. or 1.1 on Thursday and a .4 or .5 every Saturday. Just a thought but TNA might want to get rid of its replay to get more people to watch iMPACT on its original time so it give people more urgency to make sure to watch it every Thursday night. I hope you enjoyed this week’s edition of the Real iMPACT! This article has been viewed 1055 times.
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