Vince Russo replaced as head of TNA Creative.

[Romo 2 Austin]

THANK YOU DIXIE CARTER!!!!



ProWrestling.net is reporting that Bruce Prichard has replaced Vince Russo as the head writer of TNA. Russo is still working on the creative team, according to their report and is formatting the TV show once Prichard dictates the direction.

[Romo 2 Austin]

and a quote from WrestlingForum.com poster "Boss P" that I fully agree with...

OK, that explains it. I was wondering why the whole Bobby Roode booking over the past few weeks has made sense.

[zrinkill]

Brother Love is running TNA now?

:laugh2:

[BrAinPaiNt]

Brother Love is running TNA now?

:laugh2:

He LOOOOOOVVVVVEEEESSSS You!

I don't follow the stuff now but I remember him back in the day. The character was lame but I have to admit he made me laugh with the loooove you lines.

[BraveHeartFan]

No matter that he played that character on TV he's still far better for booking than Russo.

Russo is absolute garbage. This is definately a great move by Carter and TNA.

[Romo 2 Austin]

No matter that he played that character on TV he's still far better for booking than Russo.

Russo is absolute garbage. This is definately a great move by Carter and TNA.

Zrinkill is more qualified as a wrestling booker than Vince Russo is.

[zrinkill]

Zrinkill is more qualified as a wrestling booker than Vince Russo is.

To bad I cannot say the same about 18 year old know-nothings.

[zrinkill]

No matter that he played that character on TV he's still far better for booking than Russo.

Russo is absolute garbage. This is definitely a great move by Carter and TNA.


I agree with this ..... though I do not think he is good enough to save that hot mess.

[Yakuza Rich]

Prichard has been around the creative process in pro wrestling for a long time. He actually understands basic booking concepts that have stood the test of time and draw money. I personally think TNA needs a fresher face as head of creative. But Prichard is far better than Russo.

I'm paraphrasing Jackson Pollock, but he once said that in order to break all of the rules and be revolutionary in your work, you first must master playing by the rules so you can understand the boundaries and know how to work outside of them.

I think that's advice Russo could've used. He just thought he could 'break all of the rules' when it came to writing pro wrestling because the traditional booking 'rules' were dumb and outdated. He never understood that there's a reason why many traditional booking 'rules' have been around so long...they've worked.






YR

[BraveHeartFan]

I agree with this ..... though I do not think he is good enough to save that hot mess.

It depends heavily on a handful of things.

Will he take Sting out of that stupid Joker role? If so then that's a huge first step.

Is he going to get AJ and Samoa Joe back into the main event and going after the belt? That's two huge helps right there.

How far is he going to push this Roode deal? Is he going to give him a much deserved, and overdue, run as the man? If so then he's on the right track.

Will he start phasing Hogan out of the product from a weekly basis standpoint? There is simply no good reason to have Hogan, or Bish, on TV every single week. Neither should be involved in any sort of stable or serious storyline. If he starts doing that then he's once again moving in a positive direction.


If he makes the right moves, and decisions, on just those topics right there he can improve TNA's show by a TON.

[zrinkill]

It depends heavily on a handful of things.

Will he take Sting out of that stupid Joker role? If so then that's a huge first step.

Is he going to get AJ and Samoa Joe back into the main event and going after the belt? That's two huge helps right there.

How far is he going to push this Roode deal? Is he going to give him a much deserved, and overdue, run as the man? If so then he's on the right track.

Will he start phasing Hogan out of the product from a weekly basis standpoint? There is simply no good reason to have Hogan, or Bish, on TV every single week. Neither should be involved in any sort of stable or serious storyline. If he starts doing that then he's once again moving in a positive direction.


If he makes the right moves, and decisions, on just those topics right there he can improve TNA's show by a TON.


I agree with all this as well.

The problem with TNA is they are owned by Panda Energy International and controlled by an administrative board of Panda Energy executives.

This board will push to keep Hogan in the spotlight because he is the most famous wrestler on the roster.

They are very similar to WCW without the huge payroll ...... they are a wrestling company run by people who do not understand or even like pro wrestling.

[Yeagermeister]

Getting rid of Hogan, Flair and Bischoff should be #1. TNA was started to be a younger more exciting brand of wrestling. Going back to their roots should be the first priority.

[DallasGirl50]

They need to make some changes...Sting needs to be Sting again. Say bye-bye to Jeff Hardy permanently...the business is obviously not suited to him. Get rid of Hogan too & let him play with his midgets. Z would not want to work for them. He would probably have to take a paycut! :-)

[BraveHeartFan]

I agree with all this as well.

The problem with TNA is they are owned by Panda Energy International and controlled by an administrative board of Panda Energy executives.

This board will push to keep Hogan in the spotlight because he is the most famous wrestler on the roster.

They are very similar to WCW without the huge payroll ...... they are a wrestling company run by people who do not understand or even like pro wrestling.

Getting rid of Hogan, Flair and Bischoff should be #1. TNA was started to be a younger more exciting brand of wrestling. Going back to their roots should be the first priority.

They need to make some changes...Sting needs to be Sting again. Say bye-bye to Jeff Hardy permanently...the business is obviously not suited to him. Get rid of Hogan too & let him play with his midgets. Z would not want to work for them. He would probably have to take a paycut! :-)


All of these are excellent points and I definately agree with them.

[DallasGirl50]

I would hope that Ric would be able to stay in wrestling somehow...just not wrestling. I bet Vince would give him a job. How about get rid of Vicki & let Ric have a stable of guys he could manage. Fans love the guy..he's infinitely more entertaining than Hulk & Eric.

[Romo 2 Austin]

They need to make some changes...Sting needs to be Sting again. Say bye-bye to Jeff Hardy permanently...the business is obviously not suited to him. Get rid of Hogan too & let him play with his midgets. Z would not want to work for them. He would probably have to take a paycut! :-)

I'd keep Hardy. When he's on he's one of the most entertaining in the industry.

[Yakuza Rich]

I'd keep Hardy. When he's on he's one of the most entertaining in the industry.

Problem is he's completely unreliable. And he's the type of guy that would be on top of a 'wrestling death pool' list. If, god forbid, that did happen...the criticism TNA would get isn't worth having him on the roster.






YR

[Romo 2 Austin]

Problem is he's completely unreliable. And he's the type of guy that would be on top of a 'wrestling death pool' list. If, god forbid, that did happen...the criticism TNA would get isn't worth having him on the roster.






YR

Can't really argue that. However it also can be said, he can captivate an audience in the ring like Punk can on the mic.

[DallasGirl50]

I'd keep Hardy. When he's on he's one of the most entertaining in the industry.

He's no longer worth the baggage...he is good & fun to watch but so are alot of others. Move on. He has already messed up there just as he did in WWE. Actually even a bigger screwup because that was a PPV & fans pay alot of money to watch. He is not suited for the business any longer. He is not dependable. He can go work for the tattoo industry..write a book..

[Romo 2 Austin]

He's no longer worth the baggage...he is good & fun to watch but so are alot of others. Move on. He has already messed up there just as he did in WWE. Actually even a bigger screwup because that was a PPV & fans pay alot of money to watch. He is not suited for the business any longer. He is not dependable. He can go work for the tattoo industry..write a book..

They gave him another chance. I hope he proves doubters wrong, but I dont know if he can.

[DallasGirl50]

WWE gave Jeff multiple opportunities...sent him to rehab...never helped. At some point you have to say enough. As long as he has a cushy job waiting will he behave? He never has.

[Romo 2 Austin]

WWE gave Jeff multiple opportunities...sent him to rehab...never helped. At some point you have to say enough. As long as he has a cushy job waiting will he behave? He never has.

Can't argue it.. Jeff's a wreck, however TNA is not too cushy anymore. They are running alot more dates than they used too. I don't know Jeff's contract, but if he has to work house shows it's not cushy at all anymore.

[DallasGirl50]

I'm sure he is working for a nice piece of change...the point I was making is that he obviously had a job waiting for him. This after he is busted for drugs (not the first time)...he showed up for a show high...he has to spend a few days in jail...and he STILL has a job. When is enough really enough with Jeff? I like the guy. I hope he is ok. I'm never shocked anymore when he screws up. That is so Jeff Hardy.

[BraveHeartFan]

Jeff isn't all that entertaining, IMO. I know that there are probably loads that love him, mainly teenage girls, but I never understood the draw.

He's a spot monkey in the ring, which for the most part simply isn't very entertaining to me (There are a few exceptions), and he's boring as hell on the mic.

I know that's all opinion, as anything in wrestling is, but I really don't get the draw. He's certainly no where near as entertaining in the ring as Punk is on the mic from what I've seen of his career.


But even if he was heres the deal of Jeff. He hasn't just been given numerous chances by the TNA management. He was given chance after chance after chance by the WWE as well. Jeff is clearly one of those guys who will not learn, will not change, and will not be reliable.

He's always going to screw up at some point because he makes so much money that he can afford to screw up. Until these companies realise he's not worth the risk, and stop giving him chances, he'll continue to slide right back into his old lifestyle.

I have zero faith that Jeff, or Matt for that matter, will ever clean their acts up. They'll be a couple more of the long list of names we'll eventually be reading about dying at a young age from the wrestling business and their demons.


TNA would be doing itself a great deal of favor by simply cutting ties with Jeff and moving on without him. They don't need him, never have, and wasting anymore time and build on a guy whose ultimately going to screw it up anyway is simply bad for business.

[DallasGirl50]

BH...you're right about Jeff's appeal. Girls..teenagers love him. Actually the few times I saw him live he was impressive. Fun to watch. To me he's real athletic & I've always liked him. I wouldn't employ him but obviously TNA feels differently. I hope hope hope he straightens his life out finally.

[Yakuza Rich]

I think it's the problem with TNA. Yes, Jeff Hardy is over. Very over with teenage girls.

But, why not work to get another, younger wrestler over with the teenage girls and get a guy who is reliable?

That's what a *promotion* is supposed to do...promote wrestlers to the public. Just acquiring a guy that the WWE doesn't want is a proven business loser. You have to constantly be developing new superstars.





YR

[MichaelWinicki]

I think it's the problem with TNA. Yes, Jeff Hardy is over. Very over with teenage girls.

But, why not work to get another, younger wrestler over with the teenage girls and get a guy who is reliable?

That's what a *promotion* is supposed to do...promote wrestlers to the public. Just acquiring a guy that the WWE doesn't want is a proven business loser. You have to constantly be developing new superstars.

YR

That's the problem right there.

And it's the fly in the ointment for the WWE also.

New talent could be developed out in other regions and then brought in when the time is right. And many times the fans already heard the "rep" about this new wrestler which makes creating heat that much easier.

[DallasGirl50]

I would think TNA is constantly looking for new talent...I know WWE does. Speaking of..what happened to the guy that won the contract on Tough Enough? I figured he'd be on TV by now.

[MichaelWinicki]

I would think TNA is constantly looking for new talent...I know WWE does. Speaking of..what happened to the guy that won the contract on Tough Enough? I figured he'd be on TV by now.

That's the problem.

They can't simply review other area's of the country and Canada to see who's generating heat with the fans, and who may not be in line to hold any of that area's titles. Those are the guys who would jump for an opportunity for something greater.

[DallasGirl50]

That's the problem.

They can't simply review other area's of the country and Canada to see who's generating heat with the fans, and who may not be in line to hold any of that area's titles. Those are the guys who would jump for an opportunity for something greater.

I hate to admit it...maybe it's just a senior moment or working too hard...but I don't quite understand what you are saying.

[Romo 2 Austin]

That's the problem.

They can't simply review other area's of the country and Canada to see who's generating heat with the fans, and who may not be in line to hold any of that area's titles. Those are the guys who would jump for an opportunity for something greater.

They got alot of talent from England recently.

[MichaelWinicki]

I hate to admit it...maybe it's just a senior moment or working too hard...but I don't quite understand what you are saying.

Promoters would look at other regions like Mid-South or Florida or Stampede Wrestling ran by Stu Hart to see what young guys in those regions were showing potential inside the ring and also had the ability to connect with the audience. And if these young prospects didn't see much advancement coming their way in their present regions they could be lured to a new region or new wrestling alliance or federation.

[MichaelWinicki]

They got alot of talent from England recently.

The trouble is those guys aren't well known by fans in the US. It's not like when Roddy Piper was a young guy and went from the Pacific Northwest to the Mid-Atlantic area and then to Georgia. By the time he hit the WWF, fans knew who the guy was and he already had a lot of heat built up.

[DallasGirl50]

Promoters would look at other regions like Mid-South or Florida or Stampede Wrestling ran by Stu Hart to see what young guys in those regions were showing potential inside the ring and also had the ability to connect with the audience. And if these young prospects didn't see much advancement coming their way in their present regions they could be lured to a new region or new wrestling alliance or federation.

Got it..thanks for explaining.

[BraveHeartFan]

No offense man but what you're talking about hasn't been done in like 20 years. They've made TONS of stars, many times over, in multiple companies, since the days of big scale regional territory stuff.

It didn't kill the wrestling world back in the 80's and not having territories won't kill it now either.


Now, don't get me wrong, I think that system was a far better system for young guys to learn the business of pro wrestling and to learn to improve on their craft but it's not necassary to build stars and hasn't been for quite some time.

The much larger problem is the two companies holding onto stars who need to be moved along sooner than they are.

For example I am a big Sting fan (not in the current Joker form however)but come on. It's time that Sting move away from main events (and at least at this point he's not in the hunt for the World title) and stops being such a big focus on the shows.

It's 2011 not 1995.

Then of course you've got non-wrestlers like Hogan and Bishoff that are too much a part of the shows and shouldn't be. They need to move beyond that as well.

Now at least with Crimson they're making a move to get something new and fresh in there and they did attempt it with Matt Morgan as well.

The addition of Roode is a great move.


One area that WWE is doing a decent job is getting some people newer, younger, to their product into the bigger picture and such.

Part of that is due to retirements and injuries, as any wrestling company has to deal with, so they had no choice but to move people but they've done a decent job of getting Punk (although that was long overdue and not some brilliant move by the WWE), The Miz, and Del Rio into the picture to go with main stays like Cena and Orton.

Sprinkling in some veterans with experience like Christian, Henry, and Show isn't a bad idea either and then you'll also, at some point, get a dash of Taker back and probably Kane as well.

They also do a nice job of when they bring in past stars, for a match or something, its generally someone like The Rock who can still actually do something other than...well...the nothing Hogan brings.

Which, don't get me wrong, WWE makes those mistakes as well.


And really I don't want this to be a pro WWE or Anti-TNA post because I'm not overly thrilled with either. I'm just more WWE now because they have Punk, Orton, and HHH who are head and shoulders, far and away, my favorites in wrestling (also sprinkle in some Miz who I find very entertaining and Sheamus who I'm starting to like) and I'd rather watch 2 hour shows of nothing but them then the entire TNA roster...right now. That can always change.

[cowboys#1]

they need to do something never seen before

thats what wcw did to challenge wwf/e

[Duane]

The trouble is those guys aren't well known by fans in the US. It's not like when Roddy Piper was a young guy and went from the Pacific Northwest to the Mid-Atlantic area and then to Georgia. By the time he hit the WWF, fans knew who the guy was and he already had a lot of heat built up.

Wow, that's a lot of knowledge there Michael. I never realized you were an old school wrestling fan.

[Romo 2 Austin]

From what i've read, WWE has been atrocious the past month or so, they had a walk out angle or something.. I have not watched since Joke is champion I refuse.

TNA has been gold since Russo has been replaced. TNA also hired Dave Lagana a few days ago, he was a Heyman Protege. The weakest point of the show every single week is Hogans segments, and he is excellent on the mic, that's not arguable.

[Yakuza Rich]

There are no territories today. Today it's about the independents. The problem is that for the most part, the independents revolve around in-ring abilities and athleticism. The territories had wrestlers who would develop their character and could take it to another promotion. Or they would come to the WWF and start a new character created by Vince. These days WWE and TNA have to recruit guys who have never wrestled before and develop them. And if you take indy guys, you're going to have to probably create a character for them.

Back in the days of territories, guys would often leave because the money was better elsewhere at that moment. But, sometimes they would basically exchange talent between the territories...then bring that wrestler back to help keep his character fresh.

The problem with TNA is that when it comes down to it...they will always promote a Sting (who I still like), Angle (who I still like), Nash, Hogan, etc....over an AJ Styles, Samoa Joe or Robert Roode.

This is why WCW failed. They did the same thing, too. Think about WCW for a second. They had, before the WWE ever had them:

- Steve Austin
- Mick Foley
- Edge
- HHH
- Undertaker

But, they were too busy on promotion Flair, Luger, Hogan, Dusty, etc while these guys foiled around...went to the WWE and eventually became legends.

Promotions always need to look for and work to promote young guys to become superstars because even if they kinda bust on 5 prospects, that 1 prospect that turns out to be a legend is well worth it.






YR

[Yakuza Rich]

Piper wasn't well known by WWF fans when he first came there.

You have to remember...

- no internet
- no cable

A good friend of mine grew up in Texas and was a diehard World Class fan. He said he had no idea who Hulk Hogan was until '84 when he was on MTV.

Piper came to WWF because of money and the WWF took a guy like him because they saw he was talented and could be a good fit. It had nothing to do with him bringing fans over because quite frankly...he didn't bring any over.





YR