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| Too many segments, not enough rasslin' Photo Credit: ImpactWrestling.com |
1: The number of matches that TNA had in the first hour of programming. It's hard to even count it when it's a Knockouts match featuring Velvet Sky and Brooke Tessmacher, but we'll give them half a point for Gail Kim interference.
2: The number of minutes that the first men's match lasted, which was a squash match for Ethan Carter III. It should also be noted that this match did not occur until minute 78 of the 120 minute broadcast. Two matches in two-thirds of the way through the show.
4: The number of total matches on the card.
4: The number of segments devoted JUST to the Kurt Angle and Bobby Roode feud.
28: The number of total minutes of in-ring action for the entire 120 minute show. The knockouts got ten minutes, Carter got 2, Eric Young and Joseph Park vs. Bad Influence received 5, and the main event went 11.
33: The number of minutes before the first bell rang.
This seems absolutely asinine to me. For all the grief that WWE receives for not being able to fill three hours, even they haven't failed this badly at filling a show. At least WWE's recaps before every segment allow people to catch up in case they might have missed an episode or two. For all of the segments that TNA put forth (and it was A LOT), the only real stories that were progressed were Angle and Roode as well as Bully Ray and Ken Anderson. The World Heavyweight Title tournament wasn't even given the proper build that it should being such a pivotal time for the company.
For this to be the first half of a two-show live event, you would have expected more in-ring action so that if they required more filler for the sequential show that they could have done some pre-records to help fill up the two-hour slot. Instead, we barely get any wrestling, and the first round tournament match barely gets ten minutes.
TNA feels like they phone in a lot of stuff, oftentimes barely making any sense or even trying to find a bit of consistency with their storylines. However, tonight's show just makes me feel like they don't even care anymore. It's been widely reported that the company is up for sale, and the ever-depleting roster could certainly make for some tough booking situations, but this is inexcusable to me.
But this is probably just the way of saying that they're not worried what happens, because they won't be around to have to put it all back together. They're just here to get the TV revenue and spend as little as possible while they're doing it. I can't keep watching stuff like this. This isn't wrestling to me, and it makes me lose interest VERY quickly. As a guy that considers himself a TNA fan, I can't help but hope that the company sells quickly.
I'm all for a Bobby Roode-Kurt Angle feud, and I don't mind seeing Anderson and Bully Ray. Yet, when it takes up nearly half of the show simply with segments, I lose interest. I need more Bad Influence. I need more AJ Styles. I need more Austin Aries. I'd even take a little more Jeff Hardy.
The craziest thing about it is that all of those guys but Styles were clearly in the building last night. Kaz and Daniels are only in the ring for five minutes and get a 30 second spot with Park and Young while Anderson and Bully Ray get three segments and one of them goes 20 minutes? Let's prioritize here guys.
Dixie, if you really are reading The Wrestling Blog, please get the ball rolling on this sale. Let's get somebody in here who knows about wrestling or someone with enough money and desire to succeed that they bring in someone besides Eric Bischoff to take this thing in the right direction. I want to watch TNA, and I will to continue informing the readers of The Wrestling Blog, but it wouldn't hurt for me to like it while I'm doing so.