I want to take a moment and emphasize that I am a long time fan of the TNA wrestling promotion. I've been watching TNA since before Impact aired on Fox Sports Net and I regularly watched their $15 PPVs. I've always been impressed with the athletes in TNA and the pure spectacle of great in-ring wrestling has kept me a fan. In no uncertain terms I am a fan of TNA. That said, I am entertained by both TNA and WWE and I always try to maintain the frame of reference that the products are separate and distinct entities. As such, I normally try to avoid comparisons between TNA and WWE because such comparisons are largely irrelevant.
That said, this article will be drawing comparisons between TNA and WWE. I feel justified in doing so because, in this instance, TNA has practically demanded the comparison. Let's set the stage: There was a short period over the last few months where Sting's TNA status was unknown. As soon as the dark and mysterious 2-21-11 promos began to run on WWE television, internet rumors began speculating that the Stinger was finally going to join the WWE. This past Monday night on RAW the anticipation surrounding the 2-21-11 vignettes came to a head. At the 10:00PM hour the final countdown began. The lights went dark -who would be standing there when the lights came back on? As we know now, the 2-21-11 promos ended by announcing the return of the Undertaker to the active WWE roster.
The following morning I woke up to discover that TNA was suddenly hyping a segment for the upcoming Impact which they described as "the most shocking surprise of the year." I tuned in on Thursday as I always do and the announcers hyped a shocking reveal to happen during the final moments of Impact. Finally 11:00PM rolled around and the "most shocking surprise of the year" began to unfold in front of me. It was a dark, rainy and mysterious vignette, clearly advertising the return of Sting despite never saying so directly, and it ended by displaying a date: 3-3-11.
In and of itself, the return of Sting to TNA ought to be about as exciting as the return of the Undertaker to the WWE. After all these years and despite never having spent time in the WWE, Sting has managed to maintain the air of importance about him that originated back in WCW. One might even argue that Sting still seems so important because he never went to the WWE, but that's a discussion for another day. Sting returning to TNA is a big deal, but it is not unexpected nor is it "the most shocking surprise of the year." This is a contract renewal, nothing more and nothing less.
I'm being somewhat unfair, of course. Just days prior the internet was positively buzzing about the idea that Sting was going to the WWE. If WWE had finally convinced Sting to join their company that would have been a huge deal, so why is Sting staying in TNA not? The sad reality of it is just timing and production values. The 3-3-11 vignette that TNA is clearly modeled after the 2-21-11 promos. The imagery is the same, the music is similar, even the font used to the show the date is highly reminiscent. Not only does TNA look like a copy cat trying to ride the coat tails of the recent hype, but the overall quality of the promos appear cheap when directly compared to those made by the WWE.
I understand that the similarities between the promos are intentional and are probably meant as a sort of sly wink to the audience as if to say, "Remember that big deal about Sting? Well, guess what? Sting is ours!" Unfortunately, it just doesn't work for me that way. The timing of the announcement is probably what ruins it the most for me. If TNA had been able to announce the return of Sting before 2-21-11 that might have made more of an impact with the audience. That would have been a coup, shattering the anticipation that WWE had spent weeks building up. As it is, we've already seen the conclusion of the 2-21-11 promos. We already know that Sting isn't going to the WWE. There's no suspense here, no anticipation.
At the end of the day, TNA just made themselves look like amateur hour. The 3-3-11 promos are rushed promotional segments meant to steal hype by simply parodying the competition. This is a cheap grab for relevance akin to shouting "ME TOO!" at the audience. TNA has failed to build any sort of mystery, speculation, or excitement for themselves and the return of Sting will be lackluster because of it. Unlike the 2-21-11 promos, there's nothing for the audience to invest themselves into here. Fact: Sting will return to TNA on March 3rd. Fiction: This is the most shocking surprise of the year.
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