New creative lead at TNA?
theflammablemanimal - 10-6-2011 at 10:20 PM

According to JBL, Bruce Pritchard is taking over TNA creative.

Good?

TommyD420 - 10-6-2011 at 10:52 PM

It can't be any worse.

Chris Is Good517 - 10-6-2011 at 10:53 PM

Does this mean Hogan and Bischoff are on the way out?

Gobshite - 10-7-2011 at 12:16 AM

I Think/Hope Hogan definitely is, and Bischoff should go with him. Even more so than those two though, it's Russo that needs to go. Lance Storm's recent assessment of Russo seems spot on these days:

quote:
Only spoke to Russo on 2 occasions. The first time was when I met with Russo and Bischoff to talk about joining WCW. At that meeting Russo pitched his first creative idea for me, which was making me Eric's illegitimate son. He said it was because I had the same arrogant look on my face that Eric always had. I though the idea was horrible and thankfully Eric did as well and got it killed. The second time we spoke it was to discuss the name of my group in WCW. Russo wanted to call us the Canadian World Organization because he thought it would be funny if I was trying to do the CWO (Canadian World Order) but got the name wrong. I told him my group wasn't a comedy act so I didn't understand why we were supposed to be funny and asked him how dumb we would have to be to work in WCW and not know the name of the biggest and most well known group in the company's history? I pitched the Team Canada name instead and after a short debate he gave in. My honest opinion is that Vince Russo understand as much about the pro-wrestling industry and what draws money in it, as I know about Quantum Mechanics.

DevilSoprano - 10-7-2011 at 12:57 AM

Lance Storm has way too much of an ego for me to ever take his opinions seriously. He's as bad as Jim Cornette when it comes to ragging on Russo. Neither side is right but at least Russo keeps his opinions about these guys to himself now. Cornette and Storm think it makes them cool to continue to mock Russo. It doesn't.

JB KING - 10-7-2011 at 01:08 AM

Thats because theres nothing cool about stating facts. History lessons are never cool from school til now. yup.

MrJustinB - 10-7-2011 at 03:16 AM

I really want to be optimistic about this. But, Pritchard hasn't ever been a really successful booker, and he's spent a while under Russo, who is still part of the team.

Those of you who are tna fans, where are we with the tapings? When would the first possible Pritchards show air?

BTW, Hogan just renewed his contract, so he isn't going anywhere.

cardscott5 - 10-7-2011 at 04:35 AM

The PPV is next week, so I assume he would take control at, or after, that and the new shows start the week after. Who knows how swift the change is since Russo is still hanging around. Hanging around, hanging around, he's got alligator blood.

Thom - 10-7-2011 at 01:19 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Gobshite
I Think/Hope Hogan definitely is, and Bischoff should go with him. Even more so than those two though, it's Russo that needs to go. Lance Storm's recent assessment of Russo seems spot on these days:



I, as a TNA fan, definitely want Hogan and Russo gone. Bischoff, on the other hand, I don't mind - provided his creative input is filtered/limited. I actually like him as the "Authority Figure" for TNA. If nothing else, he plays smarmy well - and it's easy to want to see him get his comeuppance.

As far as Pritchard goes, I really don't know what he's done or been responsible for. So, who knows?

ThePunisher - 10-7-2011 at 06:09 PM

Hogan and Bischoff have both signed extensions with TNA.

Hogan Link

Bischoff Link

Gobshite - 10-7-2011 at 07:07 PM

I dunno, wrestlezone is one of the worst offenders for making stuff up, having a dozen pop ups pers page, and 'REPORTEDLY' covering their own asses with stupid words. Nobody important has confirmed it, so I'll wait and see. I'm sure if TNA had resigned him they wouldnt keep their mouths shut about it.

Paddlefoot - 10-7-2011 at 09:38 PM

Hopefully it's true. I'm actually enjoying keeping my Thursday nights free of television.

Chris Is Good517 - 10-8-2011 at 03:44 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Paddlefoot
Hopefully it's true. I'm actually enjoying keeping my Thursday nights free of television.


Ninja please. Why are you NOT watching Community?

MrJustinB - 10-8-2011 at 09:02 PM

Parks and Recreation, FTW.

cloak and dagger - 10-10-2011 at 01:00 AM

Since what they're doing isn't working, I fail to understand why they don't give Paul Heyman a shot. You couldn't have a better authority figure / booker to cart out in front of the masses than that.

TNA is generally seen as a bush league promotion with a lot of money backing it. I would embrace that instead of trying to be seen as viable competition with WWE, and play up some of the indie aspects. I think they were doing their best work in '05-'06, playing up the X Division with those Styles / Daniels / Joe 3 ways. Instead, they're a cross between WWE-lite and WCW-lite, pulling the worst out of both companies.

Chris Is Good517 - 10-10-2011 at 01:38 AM

quote:
Originally posted by cloak and dagger
Since what they're doing isn't working, I fail to understand why they don't give Paul Heyman a shot. You couldn't have a better authority figure / booker to cart out in front of the masses than that.


My understanding is that there was some mutual interest a few years back but Heyman made a lot of demands that TNA wasn't willing to/couldn't meet.

C.MontgomeryPunk - 10-10-2011 at 03:23 AM

Heyman wanted 10% and complete control over the roster and wanted to fire all veterans except Kurt Angle. I don't think it would have mattered as I think professional wrestling is dying as an industry. MMA is killing it.

Real fighting with real uncertainty vs fake wrestling with predictability.

Back in the day even if folks knew prowrestling was scripted, the wrestlers were still seen as tough guys. Now the tough guys are in mma and the wrestlers are seen as guys who just play tough guys in a television show.

Paddlefoot - 10-10-2011 at 03:26 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Chris Is Good517
quote:
Originally posted by Paddlefoot
Hopefully it's true. I'm actually enjoying keeping my Thursday nights free of television.


Ninja please. Why are you NOT watching Community?


Can't stand Chevy Chase. Never could actually.

Chris Is Good517 - 10-10-2011 at 03:36 PM

quote:
Originally posted by C.MontgomeryPunk
I don't think it would have mattered as I think professional wrestling is dying as an industry. MMA is killing it.


Well, they aren't doing much to help themselves, either.

quote:
Paddlefoot
Can't stand Chevy Chase. Never could actually.


I was never a big Chase fan either, but seriously, don't let him stop you from giving it a chance.

Flash - 10-10-2011 at 03:58 PM

If you can't stand Chevy Chase, its still very watchable because they go out of their way to make him as unlikeable as possible as some elderly racist cult worshipping sexist rich guy... hell, most of the characters the on show can't stand him.

Pritchard is kind of an old hand in the business guy, who's been around for ever and has usually been the second to someone else's vision, so him being at the top of the commitee doesn't inspire confidence IMO. Not a bad move, expecially if he can be served as a filter for some of Russo's all of the map and lack of continuity ideas, and not relied on to step of the product himself.

I don't know that Heyman would touch TNA as I think the writing is on the wall about them to a certain extent (Spike decides to pull the plug and they're done), and he seems to be making big enough inroads into the MMA stuff, as well as doing pretty decently with his own website.

Just out of curiosity what's Tommy Dreamer doing these days? Dreamer has a tonne of experience booking TNA and was said to have doen a great job with his time in OVW and other WWE developmental. His ECW time has probably made him accustomed to working with smaller budgets to get the maximum results as well. Dreamer couild maybe be more effective as the head booker than Pritchard.

sszanto - 10-11-2011 at 02:02 AM

Dreamer is part of the Production Team for the Wrestling Revolution Project, along with Lance Storm. Their first set of tapings are supposed to be this week.

cloak and dagger - 10-12-2011 at 09:47 AM

quote:
Originally posted by C.MontgomeryPunk
Heyman wanted 10% and complete control over the roster and wanted to fire all veterans except Kurt Angle. I don't think it would have mattered as I think professional wrestling is dying as an industry. MMA is killing it.

Real fighting with real uncertainty vs fake wrestling with predictability.

Back in the day even if folks knew prowrestling was scripted, the wrestlers were still seen as tough guys. Now the tough guys are in mma and the wrestlers are seen as guys who just play tough guys in a television show.


I disagree. Not just to be the devil's advocate mind you, but because I think a lot of wrestling's appeal is the fact that you know you're going to get a show. I love MMA, and I'm a big UFC fan. I don't keep up with K1 or Dream, but I enjoyed Pride in its prime. Regardless, I know that wrestling delivers a solid 3 hour show every time. That offsets the "but it's fake!!" factor. When MMA cats start hitting Shooting Star Presses? Wrestling will be out of a market.

You know what? Let me clarify here, because I agree with a sizable portion of your post. A lot of WWE's market share has been cannibalized by MMA, no doubt. THAT'S where your casual fan has gone. The guys who liked violence for its own sake can find it with Dana White --- who does a damn good job of promoting his machine like he needs to. Dana White is the Vince MacMahon of the new millenium.

Wrestling still has a niche though, and it's not as sizable as it could be only because the stories and product don't deliver like they could. With Paul Heyman behind the wheel of someone's company, I think they could blur the lines enough that the casual fan would come back to wrestling. All the action and drama without the short / boring fights, or extended periods of humping each other on the ground? SOLD. MMA's only equivalent of a wrestling-style talker is Chael Sonnen. MMA's only guaranteed action guy is Anderson Silva. Heyman would milk his talent and give you the best wrestling has to offer.

Remember this is the man who resigned because CM Punk didn't choke the Big Show out at December to Dismember '06. He understands the business. When your current model isn't working? Give the new kid a shot.

Flash - 10-14-2011 at 04:53 AM

While creatively I can see a lot of benefits to Paul Heyman being given creative control of the business, I also can't help but wonder if perhaps the legend of Heyman hasn't grown a bit bigger than the man himself.

ECW was revolutionary and a lot of that owes to Paul E. knowing how to work with what he had and either hide its faults or showcase its strengths (ex 911), but he also had some very good lieutenants in their own rights who have gone on to receive a good amount of praise of their own over their careers. I can't say if they helped to contribute to Heyman making a name for himself or if he gave them an opportunity and they learned at his feet, but either way I don't entirely know that he accomplished what he did in a complete vaccuum either.

I think in talking about Paul Heyman you also have to take his considerable failures into account. While he may not necessarily be responsible for the financials running TNA, which has long been others biggest complaint about him, his storylines and attempts at ratings are still going to ultimately have to lead to a profit at some point. Lance Storm also recently commented about some negative rumours that made the rounds about him just before he joined WCW and that he knew that they had come directly from Heyman in an effort to sabotage his efforts to jump ship... this isn't the first time Heyman's been linked to some less than reputable stories. You could also point to his consistently placing himself in on-screen roles as something that could eventually work against him... remember, Vince being onscreen as himself the boss was pretty innovative and fresh at one point too, now we collectively grown when we hear his music strike.... not saying its the same thing, just that he always finds a way onto TV and that not having a boss so to speak might make him intollerable in his own right one day.

Anyway, not saying Heyman couldn't be great running TNA as I have been impressed with a lot of what he has said in interviews (even if it is fairly common sense stuff), but at the same time I do think there's enough reasons out there to question the idea of him as a savior of TNA, as honestly the only thing I think he has a chance of being able to deliver more than the next guy could be Brock Lesnar, and even then it would be less their frienship and more Spike being in bed Dana White and UFC, and eager to tie TNA to its heavy investment in UFC programming that would really cause them to pony up the bucks for Lesnar (who could then still be on good terms w/ UFC as he'd be helping one of their parnter networks).

CreativeInternetAliass - 10-14-2011 at 10:38 AM

Come November, Spike will no longer be "in bed" with UFC. All Ufc programming is leaving the show. If the rumors of Spike trying to rebrand itself as not being the "guy network" are true, TNA may be in for some hard times.

cloak and dagger - 10-14-2011 at 05:00 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Flash
While creatively I can see a lot of benefits to Paul Heyman being given creative control of the business, I also can't help but wonder if perhaps the legend of Heyman hasn't grown a bit bigger than the man himself.

ECW was revolutionary and a lot of that owes to Paul E. knowing how to work with what he had and either hide its faults or showcase its strengths (ex 911), but he also had some very good lieutenants in their own rights who have gone on to receive a good amount of praise of their own over their careers. I can't say if they helped to contribute to Heyman making a name for himself or if he gave them an opportunity and they learned at his feet, but either way I don't entirely know that he accomplished what he did in a complete vaccuum either.

I think in talking about Paul Heyman you also have to take his considerable failures into account. While he may not necessarily be responsible for the financials running TNA, which has long been others biggest complaint about him, his storylines and attempts at ratings are still going to ultimately have to lead to a profit at some point. Lance Storm also recently commented about some negative rumours that made the rounds about him just before he joined WCW and that he knew that they had come directly from Heyman in an effort to sabotage his efforts to jump ship... this isn't the first time Heyman's been linked to some less than reputable stories. You could also point to his consistently placing himself in on-screen roles as something that could eventually work against him... remember, Vince being onscreen as himself the boss was pretty innovative and fresh at one point too, now we collectively grown when we hear his music strike.... not saying its the same thing, just that he always finds a way onto TV and that not having a boss so to speak might make him intollerable in his own right one day.

Anyway, not saying Heyman couldn't be great running TNA as I have been impressed with a lot of what he has said in interviews (even if it is fairly common sense stuff), but at the same time I do think there's enough reasons out there to question the idea of him as a savior of TNA, as honestly the only thing I think he has a chance of being able to deliver more than the next guy could be Brock Lesnar, and even then it would be less their frienship and more Spike being in bed Dana White and UFC, and eager to tie TNA to its heavy investment in UFC programming that would really cause them to pony up the bucks for Lesnar (who could then still be on good terms w/ UFC as he'd be helping one of their parnter networks).


Heyman's booking success extends past ECW. He produced some of the stars of WWE's new era that came out of FCW when he was booking there, and shot Smackdown past Raw when he was booking there. He fantasy booked one of TNA's PPVs (can't remember which, but it was when the Motor City Machine Guns won the tag titles), and did it in such a way that I would've been infinitely more impressed even though he basically just rearranged the matches. His legend is big, but with good reason. He has the eye for the business, and all of his talent (despite what he's done to them) speak up for that fact.

With the exposure they have, Paul Heyman would shut down the majority of TNA's upper roster and bring in indy folks. I think he could've done great with Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, Pac, and the like. I'd certainly watch them over Sting vs the corpse of Ric Flair.

EDA: spelling error, did ECW instead of FCW.

[Edited on 10-14-2011 by cloak and dagger]

diablo_dor - 10-14-2011 at 09:07 PM

With Heyman I think having someone who is willing to book to the strengths of his employees is a huge strength, especially when you consider how WWE won't be willing to play "one and done" so often with the new starts.

chewey - 10-15-2011 at 08:53 AM

Changing the subject a little bit, but Dave Lagana just announced on his website, iwantwrestling.com, that he has been hired by TNA.

Now I know that Rick has sort of bagged on this guy through the website, but from his podcasts, he seems like a pretty likable guy. He admits that he does the podcast partly to try to rehabilitate the image that most people have of WWE Creative, but he has been doing it long enough that I do not think it is purely an act. Anyone else care to comment with information I am leaving out?

EDIT: To tie it back to the Heyman conversation, Lagana does consider himself a "Heyman" guy, having worked with Heyman on both Smackdown and ECW, and took over ECW briefly after Heyman left the company.

[Edited on 10-15-2011 by chewey]

Gobshite - 10-15-2011 at 11:17 AM

The only problem short term is that his job is going to be focusing entirely on NEW shows, and will have NOTHING to do with the current product....

C.MontgomeryPunk - 10-15-2011 at 07:52 PM

Lagana is going to book TNA's separate India promotion which will be separate from TNA: United States.

Wwe should let Kampoor go work for that promotion - the garbage with Khali and Mahal over Khali's sisters dowry might have got over like gangbusters over there.