BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
For the past few months I’ve wanted to approach this hypothetical discussion but I didn’t know exactly what forum I wanted to discuss it on. For a while I had this topic in my head as a great panel discussion for a potential web series I was considering. It’s been simmering in my brain too long so I’m just going to let loose. What lasts longer? Vince McMahon or TNA Wrestling?
Seriously, will TNA as a professional wrestling company last longer than the soon-to-be 68 year old owner of WWE? Besides the jarring reality of the mortality of the greatest mind in professional wrestling history, it’s an interesting thing to ponder.
Say what you want about Vince McMahon, but professional wrestling is his world. We only tune in. We can love it, live it, and be obsessive fan boys all day, but at the end of it all its Vince McMahon pulling strings or watching the strings he’s pulled move forward in progression. He sets the dominos up and no matter how they fall they’re still HIS dominos. The concept of what most of us know as wrestling is a direct result of him pushing the carny sideshow into a billion dollar entertainment juggernaut. Some business efforts go unsuccessful, but McMahon is not one that is shy on balls. He has no hesitation in putting himself and the WWE out there in the pursuit of evolving the empire and in effect the art of modern wrestling.
TNA is the “number two” in wrestling. It’s almost a joke to call them that. While they are technically the second biggest wrestling promotion in the country, they’re not competition with the WWE at all. In fact, they have about half a dozen really solid independent promotions that could overturn them in a second with financing and a TV slot. The Dragon Gates, the ROHs, the PWGs, the Evolves, the CZWs, are the Resistance Pros are all out there with strong talent rosters and always improving productions. The second these guys get a network spot comparable to TNA the REAL “war” will begin for TNA.
That’s the biggest problem. How can anyone EVER expect TNA to compete with anyone if they’re consistently beating themselves? Anyone can make mistakes or see their plans not come to fruition, but TNA just seems sloppy and redundant at this point. Despite having some great wrestlers, the show is just a drag to sit through. The product just drags and has no collective vibe. The best part of the show is the matches by guys who aren’t from the WWE, but they don’t get the time to really shine before they switch them out with a “trusty vet”. There is no real identiy to TNA. It feels like WCW at times, but a lower rent version. It reminds me of a below average episode of “WCW Saturday Night” during the El Dandy years. TNA has shot themselves in the foot so much that they’re looking to the Von Erich’s for boot tips.
So for this discussion to be effective, let’s remember the fact that it’s said that the average lifespan of a healthy American man is around 76 or so. That number changes all the time, Vince McMahon seems healthier than the “average guy”, and I’m pretty sure Vince can live forever if he wants to. He just needs to drink down some more blood and avoid sunlight. The point is that, in a fair and hopefully guess, I’d think Vince McMahon should be around for AT LEAST another ten years.
I WANT there to be more wrestling. I get tired of the WWE just like everyone else does. I’d love to be able to turn on the TV and have a valid option to watch MORE wrestling. It’s just not TNA. At least it’s not TNA these days. They have a GREAT chance to do something special. They need to get out of the box and do something HUGE to stand out. Something that people will want to tune in to because it’s fresh and must see NOT something people would casually pass on their way to another channel and say “Wow! Sting is STILL wrestling? Remember him? Anyways, I think there’s an Office rerun on….”
The WWE is a well-oiled machine. Even if they hit hard times, it’s not going to end the company. The WWE is going to outlast TNA wrestling. THAT is not even up for debate. I don’t care if TNA rebounds and has a few “WCW Nitro” type of glory years, at the end of the day the WWE empire will keep moving forward. So we have to be realistic and break it down to Vince McMahon , the man. I already established that I think he’s got AT LEAST ten more years in him. Does TNA? Shit no. They’ve officially “jumped the shark” and unless they completely revamp their idea of what wrestling is they’re not going to survive. The people they’ve surrounded themselves with are cast offs from the WWE. The office is made up of former WWE employees that either got released or were just too hard to work with. So, basically it’s left overs. A lot of the talent is the same. Its guys WWE didn’t want to sign, got their worth out of and didn’t want back, and guys that the WWE wouldn’t know from the dude in the third row at any random house show. TNA has a good roster, a TV slot, and enough money to put on live shows. They are squandering the opportunity in a big disgusting and rather depressing way.
So yes, I DO think Vince McMahon will outlive Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, Impact Wrestling, TNA Impact, NWA/TNA, or whatever they want to brand themselves as this week. I give it five or so years before we’re seeing WWE produced Bluray collections of Kurt Angle’s “dark ages”.
I’m still hoping the vampire theory is true and Vince eventually buys UFC. THAT is what I'm waiting for!
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