#3. "TNA Morale Is High"
I hate stories that claim the entire locker room morale of a company is either high or low and then goes on to state the reason(s) why. Why does it bother me so much? Well, there's the obvious point of it being a bogus story to begin with, because to come to that conclusion, you would need that opinion being given to you from at least the majority of the roster. I doubt that was the case. It was likely hearsay information provided by a couple of people, possibly less.
Secondly, looking at the report in context, why would TNA morale be so high right now? Because they're booking six months in advance? Because storylines have been so consistent? Or is it even related to the product? Maybe talent is happy right now because it's the holiday season and Christmas tends to put more smiles on more faces every year.
I'm not trying to bash TNA and the high collective spirits they reportedly have backstage, but it amounts to nothing in the end if Dixie can't pull from it and grow the company further. Their rating bounced back after a six-year low and that's great. Airing on Thanksgiving will always suck. However, it's what they consistently bounce back to that concerns me.
For years now, TNA has not been able to escape the 1.0 average. One could speak of it positively in that it hasn't dropped significantly in that same time period, but I can't look at it that way. To me, it's a major disappointment. There are only two major wrestling companies on TV today and one of those is TNA. The fact that they haven't been able to tap into WWE's fanbase more than they have, in the amount of time they've had to do it, should cause for constant frustration in everyone involved, from top to bottom.
In a way, TNA is absolutely competing with WWE. And dare I say they even have the resources and tools necessary to compete on a much higher level, similar to the way WCW did in the 90's. They even have the one man given credit for taking WCW and growing it to such a point (Bischoff, not Hogan). Furthermore, they don't have any restrictions such as a PG rating to deal with either. Yet, ratings don't budge.
Maybe morale is high, but I can't see how it's related to the product and overall success of the company. Could be because the guys know Velvet Sky and her ass are returning sometime next year. That's something to be happy about.
Funny though – if it weren't for the ongoing lawsuit between WWE and TNA, Velvet would likely be on her way to WWE by now. At least, that would be her first choice if given the chance.
