How to rival the WWE

As a wrestling fan I have always loved the idea of a what if involving WCW and even attempted to do a timeline but failed as I had no time and I know there are those out there with very good stories based on the "what if WCW survived" premise.

Now this is similar but I am asking what would it take for the company of Ring of Honor and also TNA to reach the heights of even the last days of WCW?
 
Neither of those companies can do it.

The company I thought that would be in the best position to become a rival is AAA in Mexico if they expanded to America and used a Southern strategy.

Then again, AAA and TNA work together. I'm not sure how much money AAA has, and if they could get a TV contract. A true merger and a switch to a lucha-southern style hybrid would be a real alternative.
 
Neither of those companies can do it.

The company I thought that would be in the best position to become a rival is AAA in Mexico if they expanded to America and used a Southern strategy.

Then again, AAA and TNA work together. I'm not sure how much money AAA has, and if they could get a TV contract. A true merger and a switch to a lucha-southern style hybrid would be a real alternative.

I think the problem why AAA wouldn't be able to succeed is the fact it's a foreign promotion and because of the lucha libre style. The majority of mainstream american fans etc like to see it but as more of an attraction or a niche that's why the mian three promotions (wwe,tna & roh) only have a number of lucha libre/masked wrestlers whilst they have other high flyers who have some similar athleticism.

A lucha-wrasslin' hybrid would be pretty good to see but unsure if it would sell to the mainstream. It's a shame, I'd love ROH to get bigger attention but they seem to be falling behind now following their constant iPPV shows messing up.
 
Power Slam recently did a really good article along the theme of a suggestion box for TNA on how to make it more successful. The main points were:

  • Story lines that make more sense
  • Better and more consistent treatment of on-screen characters
  • Better booking that protects the existing stars and helps promote new ones.
  • Less ex-WWE talent being thrown straight into the title picture.
  • More opportunities for the home grown stars.

With WWE's recent PG rating policy, TNA can capitalise on the gap in the market and go for a more adult audience with more hard hitting matches. They have a good mix of talent who can do real wrestling - much like WCW. Many WWE fans are sick of the stale title picture there and are hungry for newer action. If TNA can do all of the above, they might just be able to poach enough of WWE's fans to make a real go of it.

Competition in Wrestling is a good thing as it leads to a better product for the fans to enjoy. WWE needs more competition and TNA could provide it, but they're still a long way off at the moment.
 
Honestly, it was possible to rival WWE. Prior to the merger with AOL, Ted Turner had the influence on the board of directors to keep his baby WCW afloat. Fast forward a decade and the scene has changed dramatically. People often forget the Monday Night Wars led to Raw and Nitro actually beating Monday Night Football in the ratings. Boxing was in decline and UFC had yet to truly gain mainstream respect back in those days. It was the perfect environment in which to capture old fans and casual new fans.

Nowadays, the NFL is extremely popular thanks in part to very marketable stars. Then people are interested in seeing the real fighting because UFC has risen to the occasion with interesting cards and marketable stars. It's not really surprising that we're seeing a decline in major interest in professional wrestling. The days when you could get a band like Kiss or Megadeth to appear on a regular professional wrestling program are over.
 
TNA's problem is that they feel like a low-brow version of WWE at times. That said, they're just not going to be able to compete, IMO. It would take such a huge shift for that to happen, I can't even imagine how it would. WCW signed Hogan and it gave them a chance. I honestly can't even see TNA somehow landing John Cena as being enough to put them on the map.

The best chance for a rival to WWE to come along is for someone with the financial backing, industry connections, and a good vision for the product to come along and start a brand new company. One that sets out from day one to be a major player.

I'm a fan of more realistic storylines and characters and a more realistic in-ring style. This is what TNA often lacks and WWE as well. I'm not saying it has to be "attitude" but you can do realistic wrestling without cursing every other word and saying "suck it." WCW had this during the nWo years; they weren't doing attitude, but it was realistic and believable.

In that sense, RoH has a better shot at challenging WWE than TNA does. With MMA being so big these days, the RoH style is one that has a chance of attracting an older, more mature audience. But again, they lack the star power to get off the ground. That's the trick here.

Any start-up would need enough 'name' guys to attract decent ratings and to cut into the current WWE audience. There aren't many non-WWE guys who could serve as decent draws available. Hogan didn't help TNA, nor has Sting, Kurt Angle, Ric Flair, etc.

What I'd like to see done is for WWE to compete with itself. I'm talking about really splitting the two brands apart in a big way. They've always basically been the same style of show. I'd make Raw the standard WWE "sports entertainment" show and turn SmackDown into the show for an older, more mature, wrestling-oriented audience.

Change the set, change the colors, change the style of everything and make it feel more like WCW in the 90's - a pure pro wrestling show with realistic storylines and characters. Have a "committee" instead of a GM. Have guys who can work in the ring like Punk, Dean Ambrose, Ziggler, Bryan, etc. And do NOT have crossovers except in the very rare instances, for example WrestleMania, which would be sort of the "Super Bowl" of wrestling where the two brands both appear and often face-off.

Do, however, allow for trades every now and then. And kick the whole thing off with another NFL-style draft where each show picks from the roster, similar to the first draft with Flair/McMahon.

Essentially, treat the two brands as if they're two different companies. Maybe even MAKE SmackDown it's own separate company with it's own executives and decision makers, though of course Vince/HHH would be in charge ultimately. Give fans some variety.
 
This is coming from someone who was a fan of wrestling as a young teenager and hasn't being following regularly since 2007.

I always thought that the high water mark of TNA was late-2006. New stars like Samoa Joe were being built up, Jarrett's dominance ended with his defeat to Sting at Bound for Glory, the X-Division was really exciting and marked TNA out from WWE, the Tag Teams were excellent (AMW, Styles and Daniels, LAX). Angle was announced as joining, which created a huge sense of expectation that TNA was going to be able to compete with WWE. But then of course, at exactly at the same time, Russo came in and started booking TNA like WWE-lite: ridiculous gimmick matches, Joe and Angle both lost momentum, good teams were spilt up, the X-Division was made to look like a joke. TNA lost a golden opportunity to be an alternative and has been tainted ever since.

To compete, TNA had to present a viable alternative: push fresh new talent, really promote the X-Division and Tag Teams like the early years, focus on in-ring action rather than wacky storylines, stop anti-WWE gimmicks and focus on the product. Then get publicity so that potential viewers aren't turned off by seeing an awful product.

I feel curiously young again.
 
TNA use to be better, but I haven't watched it (not counting the time I watched it live) for years, so I can't really say. I have to agree with the 2006 high mark.
 
I think TNA has actually come on leaps and bounds the past calendar year, making an active effort to push their own homegrown stars compared to the next wwe guy. Granted certain things aren't fantastic but oh well.

The Aces & 8's storyline is not too bad. We've seen the invading faction time and time again but they're taking it slow whilst giving them enough presence, Luke Gallows has signed a TNA deal so it's obvious he is one. Other wrestlers like Garrett Bischoff have been rumoured to be part of it. As long as Immortal 2.0 doesn't happen or the MEM-Frontline is rehashed then I'm all for it.

But as far as rating goes it doesn't matter if it's PG, yes perhaps raising the level after a certain time is what they need to do. WWE hires hollywood and tv writers whilst TNA copies everything they do in that respect as well they are the number one promotion. TNA lacks a true identity despite being 10 years old. They went through that rebranding as Impact wrestling and then everyone wasn't sure if it was still TNA or Impact and TNA has always seemed unsure what it wants to be.
 
There was a really good book a few years ago called "The Death of the WCW" that discussed the horrible moves of Bischoff and the WCW in the mid to late 90s. But in my opinion the WCW could have stuck around as a serious rival to the WWE if they did a few things differently:

1. With the nWo they overtook the WWF in the raitings and then blew it. For three years it was nWo hitting Roddy Piper or Macho Man with a chair and spray painting "nWo" on their backs. There was no balance, no real WCW star other than Sting (and how they blew that angle was a different story all together) who seemed to be a challange to Hogan and the nWo. It just started to feel like a Harlem Globetrotters-Washington Generals match every week.

2. Bret Hart. The biggest waste of a great potential storyline in wrestling history. He explodes in the WCW as a legitimate superstar and then turns into a nWo lackey with no rivalries, no lines, and no angle. He basically became a Canadian Virgil.

3. That Karl Malone-Dennis Rodman-DDP-Hogan was the last time I ever paid for a wrestling event. I think there must be at least a few thousand other people who joined me.

4. Buy the ECW. Instead of creating Thursday Thunder will all the same wrestlers and angles, buy out the ECW and create a seperate show featuring the ECW on Thursday. Use it like a farm team, where you can give some of the lesser known younger wrestlers a chance to develop a following. Send Buff Bagwell there to occasionally cause some nWo drama, and see which wrestlers the fans end up going for. Then bring them up to Monday Night and give them a major push. The WCW would have had a fresh angle for Thursday nights and probably been able to "discover" guys like Chris Jericho, rather than waste them on mindless undercards every week where they would wrestler Scott Norton or Jim Powers every week.

Just a few ideas.
 
To keep WCW alive:

1. Sting doesn't join Wolfpack or NWO Hollywood. It was kinda odd him joining the Pack and within weeks becomes a Christian (which I would use in a storyline later on) What should've happened is Sting and a group of wrestlers (DDP, a rookie Angle, Rey Mysterio, Kidman, Christopher Daniels, AJ Styles and Konnan)
This also cancels out the fingerprint of doom.

2. Don't push Jeff Jarrett to the moon. He's more suited in a behind the scenes capacity.

3. No merger thus Turner can fund them stronger.

4. Transition the cruiser weight division into how TNA handled the X-Division at its height.

5. More work with international groups (IWGP, CMLL, AAA)

6. A bi annual tourneament with each companies champions
 
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The real POD needs to come when the Crockett family was still a power back in the 1980's because why Billionaire Ted and his money did change the game he never really had the proper people in place like the Crocketts did. Lets say the Crocketts handle prosperity better and dont go broke, also it would help if perhaps Dusty didn't put himself over like he did, but that is auxilary.


A huge POD would be how things are handled in regards to 1987. This is where Vince told cable providers that if they chose to offer Starcade over Survivor Series then they would not get Wrestlemania. This coupled with the decision to hold it in Chicago (which alienated the southern fan base) put the Crocketts on the road to ruin. The following spring the NWA did respond with the first Clash of the Champions at the Greensboro Coliseum as a free offering to go against Wrestlemania IV. What if they had offered Starcade? And what if instead of going to Chicago for 'Chitown Heat" the event had been at a more traditional venue like Greensboro or Atlanta?
 
Well, how about if Gene LeBell and Barry Owen had decided to team up in 1983, and combined Hollywood Wrestling and NWA Pacific Northwest into a new promotion that effectively carried the whole West Coast, plus Nevada and Arizona, with national ambitions much like McMahon and Crockett? Between LeBell's martial arts cred and grappler training record and Owen's connections I think they could have given the WWF a real run for its money.

The only question is, who would carry their show? NWA/WCW had TBS, WWF had syndication partially through NBC plus USA, and AWA had ESPN. Fox wouldn't start broadcasting until 1986, which is a lot of ground to make up for, and Rupert Murdoch would be a rather tough sell.
 
To take some steam away from WWE: maybe Brock Lesnar decides to try his pro-wrestling career in TNA instead of WWE?
 
How about then:

Brock Lesnar goes to TNA a few months ago instead of coming back to WWE a few months ago.
 
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