The following article has been submitted by long time O-ster, Jeff Brown. Tha O Show thanks him for his contribution. Enjoy.Recently, our beloved "Raw" play-by-play man and BBQ sauce entrepreneur Jim Ross posted up a new blog on his official website.
In regards to a WWE-TNA rivalry, Ross said, "In all due respect to all involved, the good folks at TNA have a few miles to travel before they arrive on the same level as the WWE. The huge misconception here is this; the decision makers at TNA simply need to focus on improving their product and not worry about an imagined war with the WWE.
That is largely what the WWE did during the Monday night wars which cannot be compared to an updated Monday night war with TNA, in my opinion. This is not a personal attack on TNA or anyone else but the simple fact is most businesses get better when they focus on what they are doing and not what the alleged competitors are up to."
TNA was a genius company 4-5 years ago...but now it feels like ECW and TNN all over again. It seems the product has been all in all garbage since the signing of "Tha O Show"s favorite writer Vince Russo. We bitch about it and run over this all the time...they seem so desperate to do so much... the storylines suck...the booking is generally crap...it's downright pathetic.
Honestly, I'd rather pay 10bucks a week to watch TNA as it used to be: three hours long, chicks dancing in cages (especially never knowing when you might see lollipop girl's titties), a diverse roster of wrestlers, and a feeling of a company directing a product towards ME, THE CONSUMER, an "Advanced Grappling Arts Enthusiast"...instead of watching what they put out for free today.
Now, we can blame Vince Russo all day, but keep in mind, it's not like the company was handed over to him...or that he gets to make the final decisions...hell, he didn't even seek the job out if I remember correctly. I think one variable has been left out of the equation...the one man that's responsible for the entire product and it's inception...none other than Jeff Jarrett. That's right, J-E-Double F J-A- Double R-E Double T. Now, I'm a big conspiracy theorist, so followme through this.
Step 1. Deliver a great product for a few years with your face all over it.
Step 2. Take your face off the product temporarily while simultaneously putting the name of another man that is hated amongst the majority of your consumers AND intentionally lower the quality of the product (not so much that it goes in the toilet, but letting it teeter on that line).
Step 3. Put your face back on the product and resume delivering the product as you did before... putting yourself over as the "savior"...plus it makes for a layered "face-turn". Talk about a hell of a plot to put one's self "over"!
Don't get me wrong, I actually mark out for Jarrett quite often. Aside from Christian and Sting, Double J is the only guy on the roster that has proven that he can grab the mic at anytime and deliver gold. Plus he's as solid in the ring as any other main eventer that TNA has to offer. But like a lot of entertainers, he wants that spotlight. He held that spotlight for a long time and people started to hate him for it; so what better way to change people's minds than to leave, "let" the product go to crap, come back and "save" the show?
9 comments: on "Why You Can't Blame It All On Vince Russo"
This is a very plausible argument from the way you presented it. And while I do think that Jarrett is a key factor in what has happened to the product, I'm not so sure this is a conspiracy theory.
Russo has this tendency to use Jarrett as his creative security blanket, meaning that he would have Jarrett be the central focus of the show and mold the show around him. Now, Jarrett's taking a sabbatical, so Russo no longer has the centerpiece that he was accustomed to using.
Now, I know that the hole in that argument is that Jarrett still does have the final say in creative decisions, but maybe during Jarrett's off-screen time, he legitimately wanted to just relax and clear his head, so he didn't do a whole lot to filter any bullshit out.
Quite honestly, and I think everybody is in agreement with me on this one-as long as TNA becomes a better product, who cares why it happens?
How do we know that it was Jeff Jarrett's decision to do this? RUSSO could have came up with the plan to drive the company down and have Jarrett as a "saviour". I think TNA is doing small things that people fail to realize here. They are re-desiging the X-division and putting more focus on guys like Sabin,Lynn,Senshi,Austin Starr,Jay Lethal etc. They re-desgined Christopher Daniels and AJ Styles as "heel" characters. LAX is getting a huge push. I find all of these movements to be positive. I perfer the product to as it originally was but I don't see any turning back.
Good Article Jeff.
Who said Jim Ross was beloved??
Oh, but Donnie, JR is the best play-by-play man in the business. He has never once stated anything in his commentary that was untrue or would imply a revisionist history. And his barbecue sauce is the best there is.
And I've now got sores on my tongue from pressing it into my cheek so firmly.
Maybe while taking a page of the Vince Russo playbook, Donnie or Dan-E-O could try an overexagerated southern accent, and deliever like O's and No's or something else in Good Ol' J.R. Fashion this week. Or get Ed Ferrara on the roundtable.
In no way do I think J.R. is the best play-by-play but he isn't the worst. Anybody remember Kris Kloss? He wasn't terrible on WSX but on XPW he sucked so much shit it was pathetic. I also like Joey Styles alot, but since his famed OHHHHHHMMMMMMYYYYYGOOOOOOOOOODDDD, every play-by-play man but Michael Cole and JR have tried in some way shape or form to emulate it.
Dont know how I ended up on XPW but, good article Jeff, and you might actually have something with that theory.
The original sentence which makes no sense was supposed to say deliver O's and No's like JR or something else in that fashion, excuse me my brains farting.
Thanks Brian, I know "Conspiracy Theory" is a little too much... its more like a marketing ploy of sorts... like when coca-cola was temporarily replaced by "The New Coke"... it helped people realize how great the original coca-cola really was... so when they brought the original product back, sales sky-rocketed past the plateau they had been on prior to the temporary product replacement
Yeah, but New Coke was the shit, though. When I first tried it, I was like "Aw snap! Now this is gangster!"
Again, tongue in cheek for a very specific reason. Dan-e-o and Big Daddy Donnie both know why, I believe.
*clears throat*
TNA, a.k.a. "The Jeff Jarrett & Friends Power Hour" isn't that great of a product, but it still beats what the WWE throws out 1/2 of the time (look at this past monday's RAW).
But there is still so much they can do to better the Thursday night product.
-Cut out about 1/2 the crap that doesn't belong in a one hour show.
-Less interview segments/promo cutting = more wrestling we get to see.
-Have a a decent storyline going into a feud. Not 1/2 decent, but just decent. Not this Abyss/Sting bullshit with the Prison Yard "Non-Match" (as I call it), The Last Rites match...Why can't we just call it for what it is? A casket match. Or does Uncle Vince have a trademark on that term...not to mention calling the casket a "death bed". That right there was just *cough* fucking ridiculous. To make it even worse, the Sting/Abyss feud is probably the best TNA can do at the current moment. Cause God only knows it sure as hell isn't Christy Hemme/VKM.
LAX/Team 3D....you mean there's a tag team division in TNA? When did that happen? Could've sworn that several months those tag belts were being defended on a very regular basis.
At least we haven't been forced to put up with Don West trying to do his best "Good ol' J.R." immitation. Key phrase being "at least".
Other than that, I couldn't tell you anything else that is going on in TNA. Why? One word...
OVERBOOKING.
It's not just Russo's fault. A lot of it also falls on Jeff Jarrett and Dutch Mantel. So if we're gonna blame someone, let's blame all three guys before we go nit-pickin to single someone out.
Oh...by the way. Russo's shoot at "Bash at teh Beach 2000" is still golden in my humble opinion.
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