Thursday IMPACT: How TNA Shows Its Weakness with Its 3/3/11 Promo

Greetings there Bleachers!

It's been a while since I've written and its good to be back, if only briefly. 

The topic that brings me to the keyboard is the TNA Impact that just finished a few minutes ago, an IMPACT that, as a fan, has me angry.

If you, dear reader, have read some of my previous articles, you might remember I wrote about the rivalry between TNA and WWE. I don't know if Dixie Carter or Hogan or Bischoff ever read Bleacher Report, or if they read any of what is said on the IWC, but it seems to me they didn't come across my article.

I say this because of the promo that aired as IMPACT went off the air tonight. It obviously signaled that we've been all wrong about the Icon migrating to the house that Vince built, and that Sting is coming home to TNA. This is something I read about earlier this evening and is big news for TNA.  

How do they decide to capitalize on this bit of one-upmanship on WWE?

They run a promo nearly identical to the WWE Undertaker promo that lit up the Bleacher boards for weeks, right down to the fiery date at the end.

WHY?

TNA needs to stop trying to be WWE, and start being itself—whatever that is anymore. They've stolen WWE storylines and hired half of WWE's old line up. Now they have even blatanly stolen the massively populary promo for the Undertaker's return.

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flatery, but this wasn't even cleverly done. 

In fact, it was pathetic.  

Rather than celebrate the return of a massively popular wrestler and give him the return he deserves, they are showing their outright weakness in staining Sting's return by demonstrating to the wrestling community that they are so bereft of creative ability that they have to steal a promo from WWE. 

Unfair. Unfair to us the wrestling fans. Unfair to Sting.  

Even unfair to the Undertaker by having his promo swiped. 

All the talk of taking on Vince. All the talk of topping the WWE. All the talk of how different and better TNA is supposed to be. All of it is a pile of bovine syllogism.

They confirmed their weakness and made my point for me—instead of being themselves and putting out something creative and individual, they blatantly swipe a genuinely successful promo from the folks from Titan Tower.

I'm a fan of TNA, or at least the TNA they promised to be. But this was cheap. It made me angry as a fan. 

Unfair.

TNA, you can do better. And if you want to succeed, you'd better start.

How do you see it, Bleecher fans?