TNA News: TNA's New PPV Build-Up Formula? Have All the Big Stars Lose

Impact Wrestling's go-home show for Slammiversary IX was ripe with TNA's trademark befuddlement creatively, as a detrimental trend took form for the length of the show. 

Forget the fact that seasonal comedic mess Eric Young was featured in the main event as part of a hard-sell strategy I'm still trying to figure out, TNA took it upon themselves to convince its focus-group level of pay-per-view consumers to buy their upcoming spectacular—by having most of the principle competitors lose. 

The night started with a tag-team teaser match that featured Angelina Love and Mickie James, who are to compete at Slammiversary, teaming up with Winter and Tara, respectively. 

One problem.  The tag team teaser match ended with James being pinned by Love.  The match was designed to put over Angelina Love as a threat to James' title, and I had no problem with the finish until it became a theme—a confounding, buyrate-killing theme. 

Following Mickie James' loss, Bully Ray, who will be taking on A.J. Styles, James Storm and Alex Shelly, who will face the British Invasion, and TNA Heavyweight Champion Sting, who is to defend TNA's richest prize against Mr. Anderson in the main event of Slammiversary, all went on to take losses.

The latest batch of inept booking by TNA saw the brand fracture one of their more prestigious pay-per-view events, and the piss-poor rating was likely an exodus of fans who will not be resurfacing with their wallets come Sunday. 

TNA's booking pattern in preparation for a pay-per-view is near the equivalent of both Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao losing their upcoming bouts prior to what looks to be an inevitably lucrative showdown between the two pound-for-pound kings that will break box office records should the two fighters continue their winning ways. 

TNA, perhaps frustrated with routinely low buyrates already facilitated by self-inflicted wounds, decided to out think themselves and have all their chief stars lose prior to a pay-per-view—thus unnecessarily hurting some of their stronger characters in exhibition before they head into more profile matches. 

Sure, wrestling is a work and, at face value, wins and losses do not matter.  But the fact that wrestling is work means that the promoters and bookers have the luxury of being able to manipulate outcomes to build towards main event matches that are supposed to be perceived as a big deal. 

If boxing had that type of luxury, promoters wouldn't be sweating out every round of what is supposed to be a prize fighter's warm-up bout. 

This week's episode of TNA Impact Wrestling was just another exhibit in the bible-sized collection of exhibits that point to the promotion desperately needing change beyond its new name and color scheme.  

Go-home shows should serve as the most critical free TV show of the month for any successful wrestling promotion. For TNA to drop the ball on such an important broadcast speaks to ineptitude that has followed the company for years.  

Big Nasty is a contributor to FightLife Magazine. Follow him on Twitter   @ThisIsNasty.