TNA Can't Help but Fail if They Follow the Old WCW Game Plan

To start things off, I'm going to lay all my cards out on the table.

I'm a WWE homer.  Always have been and more than likely, always will be.  With that said, it doesn't mean I shun other organizations.

For instance, the greatest storyline in the history of the business was the initial nWo storyline.

WCW had everyone believe that Hall and Nash weren't a part of WCW and were quite literally sent over by Vince.  Brilliance!

Also, TNA started out strong.  They had a roster full of talented youngsters who were hungry and the product they put out, though not as polished as RAW, was something extraordinary to watch.

That said, TNA has fallen into the habit that killed WCW.  They're just buying up old (and when I say old, I mean retirement home) WWE and WCW talent.

Where this worked out for Ted Turner (for a while anyways), it will spell failure for TNA.  Flair, Hogan, Hall, Nash, and Sting are all the way past their prime, and none of them can really move in the ring any more.

Sure nostalgia is great, I mean there is a reason why I own Transformers and G.I. Joe on Blu-Ray and it isn't because they're good movies, but the nostalgia TNA is bringing forth isn't as rosy as they would like us, the viewer, to believe.

Sure when Hall, Nash, and X-Pac (Six-Pac, 1-2-3 Kid, Sean Waltman, whatever) came out there was a pop in the crowd.  People were like, wow, the nWo! 

However, that nostalgia of a decade ago wears off when you realize, Nash moves about as quick as your grandmother after hip surgery, Hall is fat, and no one (in the history of the world) has ever cared for Waltman, not even his own mother.

Then out of the blue, Flair shows up.  The man is ancient and just can't get it done anymore.  We remember his retirement match against Shawn Michaels.  No disrespect (I love me some Flair) but the match was basically Flair standing around and Shawn flying all over the damn place. 

It created such an illusion that we were all fooled into thinking it was a Match of the Year candidate.

Then we have Hogan's good buddies, the Nasty Boys.  They're not really nostalgia since in my 27 years on this earth, I've never met a Nasty Boys fan.  So we'll just move on.

Say what you will about the WWE, but Vince does and will push young talent when he feels the time is right.  Though Orton and Cena have been around for a few years, they both are still pretty young and are homegrown WWE talent.

Sure A.J. Styles is the champ now in TNA, but for the last year or two most of the singles belts have been held by old WWE and WCW retreads. 

TNA has a roster full of young talent that they push aside to appease the egos of the veterans they bring in.

This past Monday night Hogan talked about everyone getting in line, including Double J Jeff Jarrett (I know he doesn't go by Double J anymore, I just like saying it), and that the young guys are going to get their shot.

Can we really believe that?  WCW made that claim almost two decades ago when they signed Hogan and Savage, but what happened?

Hogan had the ear of everyone in charge and only he and those he deemed fit seem to accomplish anything in WCW.  Because of that, promising young talent like Steve Austin, Triple H, Jericho, Benoit, Saturn, Dean Malenko and others jumped ship to  WWE.

Sure, some of those guys had some success in WCW, but not nearly as much as they should have had given the fact that they were better than a lot of the older veterans.

So even though Hogan claims it will be different in TNA, from what I saw this past Monday is that it's going to be more of the same and where it might not be a quick fall, if TNA follows the WCW game plan, the fall will be mighty and will generate a loud THUD.