Professional wrestling legend and WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff who was the first ever General Manager of Monday Night RAW recently talked about how TNA Wrestling used to rely on big names only rather than creating their own wrestlers.
TNA Wrestling was founded back in 2002 and from the very first day of its creation it had been a big competitor of The Mighty WWE. There was a time when it seem the like that the promotion might surpass the glory of WWE. It was getting really popular among the professional wrestling fans. It had its own charm, and the six cornered ring gave it a special dynamic.
Eric Bischoff Reflects On How TNA Relied On Big Names Only
But they made a big mistake. They relied more on big names that are already established rather than creating their own wrestlers. They signed some of the biggest names of professional wrestling during their prime time, including the likes of Kurt Angle and Sting.
The bigger names mostly remained on the title pictures. It is not that they did not promote their own wrestlers, there were definitely some big names like AJ Styles and Samoa Joe but they tried to promote big names They brought from other promotions as their biggest attractions.
Throughout their lifespan, they tried to be the substitute of WCW, and that was the biggest mistake they have ever committed. When WWE kept on building their own stars, TNA just tried to cash on the wrestlers that were already established in WWE or in WCW. But of course TNA was extremely entertaining during their prime time, still it could never managed to be on the same level of WWE.
Eric Bischoff who was the first ever General Manager of Monday Night RAW recently spoke on his 83 Weeks Podcast talked about how TNA Wrestling used to rely on big names only rather than creating their own wrestlers. He said;
“TNA they brought in Scott Hall, what, in 2007? Before I ever showed up. Sting was there when I got there. Mick Foley was there when I got there. There were a lot of big names that had been in and out of TNA before Hulk and I showed up. Hulk was a very big proponent for bringing in Jeff Hardy, Ric Flair and a couple of others. As well as a few others not as high on the Q chart so to speak. Their issue wasn’t talent. They had a lot of talent. What they didn’t do was what they needed to do to grow the business. That was to get out of a sound stage.
“My point always was and still is they could have brought in John Cena, the Undertaker, they could have brought in anybody they wanted to. As long as that show continued to be produced inside a sound stage it would never have credibility with the audience regardless of who you brought in.
“They could have brought the Undertaker in during the peak o his career and drop him from a helicopter right in the sound stage and it would have been the hottest thing and the ratings would have gone through the roof for period of three or four weeks and they would have flatlined back to where they were because the product had no credibility. It didn’t resonate with the audience because it didn’t have that big arena feel.
“It had a game show feel regardless of what talent was on the show. Jeff Jarrett probably has a different opinion and I respect it. Jeff Jarrett has been around longer than I have, but you can’t just bring in talent and not have a strategy to grow your business. It always came down to that for me. That was my frustration. You can bring in whoever you want. It won’t matter if you don’t have a bigger strategy.”
H/T to 411 Mania for the transcription