ABOUT TIME!!! VINCE RUSSO OUT AS TNA HEAD WRITER!

[Bigpapa42]

So what I could find:

In regard to rumors that began making their way around the Internet today, here is the deal: Dave Lagana is not replacing Vince Russo on the TNA Creative Team. Lagana is at tonight's Against All Odds PPV and is "helping out", according to one top placed source in the company. Lagana was hired by the company last year specifically to work on Ring Ka King and other potential new series, not the Impact brand. He is at the PPV helping to produce backstage segments.


Vince Russo is not at the PPV and while there are some in the company that believe he is gone, nothing has been announced to the TNA roster or staff. Sources I spoke to either declined to comment or weren't aware of what Russo's situation was. "Nothing has been said officially to anyone," according to one person who was in today's production meetings.


As of late, the creative team of Russo and Matt Conway had been writing scripts for Impact. The scripts then went to Bruce Prichard for tinkering and then Eric Bischoff would put his own feedback in during production meetings at the Impact Wrestling tapings and PPVs.


So, ignoring rumors, that is where everything stands.

pwinsider

By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

-The latest information is that Eric Bischoff would have been part of the decision to shift Vince Russo out of a position of power within the TNA Creative Structure. Our sources are guessing he's out, but details are being worked out. Nothing is confirmed, but the latest feeling is that he won't be retained in any capacity with TNA and details are being worked out.

-A Russo exit would mean more power and influence from Eric Bischoff, who has had an up and down relationship with Russo over the years, but consistently disagreed with him philosophically on how to approach booking and storytelling.

-Bruce Prichard remains the head of creative, with an official title as Senior V.P. of Programming and Talent Relations. Whereever Dave Lagana lands within the structure, he'd be working under Prichard and answering to Prichard and Bischoff.

-As of now, Lagana's role doesn't appear to be taking over the scope of duties that Russo had, and he is at this point only doing pre-tapes. He may end up helping write the actual Impact scripts, but creative direction would still be decided by Bischoff and Prichard.

-Nothing official is being said regarding Russo. If Russo were in good standing, by now someone in the know would have stepped up to quell rumors.

-Dave Lagana is downplaying his role, indicating he has not been promoted to Russo's old position. Another source says firmly that Lagana is helping with pre-tapes and may be in line for promotions, but along with Matt Conway, he is simply part of the creative structure and not in a position of power like Russo had (although diminished lately compared to recent years

[EmpireWF]

Isn't it funny how these same guys were fucking each other over to some degree under Time Warner about 11-12 years ago?

Dixie Carter isn't the brightest bulb...

[Warner2BruceTD]

Isn't it funny how these same guys were fucking each other over to some degree under Time Warner about 11-12 years ago?

Dixie Carter isn't the brightest bulb...

Hogan & Bischoff are very charasmatic and convincing people. Plus Carter is a mark for the big stars.

Spike pulls the plug, they cease to exist. If Spike is happy with the same 1.2 every week for eternity, then good for them and good for TNA.

[BigBiss]

Hogan & Bischoff are very charasmatic and convincing people. Plus Carter is a RAT for the big stars.

Spike pulls the plug, they cease to exist. If Spike is happy with the same 1.2 every week for eternity, then good for them and good for TNA.

fixed your typo

[s@ppisgod]

I was under the impression that Russo has been below Bruce Pritchard for the past few months at least...? Its easy to hang a lot of TNA's woes on Russo. But the last time he was reportedly in charge of creative without anyone directly interfering was late 2009, which was easily the best period that I've watched of their product.

Honestly, TNA management is a fuck-mess and that translates directly into creative being an even-worse fuck mess. They have too many cooks the kitchen. The problems that I have with the product right now are pretty much the same ones that I've had since i first started watching in mid-08. Changing the writers changes nothing.

The problem is that all the cooks were hired by the state and the boss had a lobotomy. There's no one really in TNA that has good ideas. Bischoff is the closest thing to that, and he's not the young, ambitious Bischoff anymore. I've got no big problem with Prichard, but I doubt he has the ideas to push TNA over any semblance of a hump be it small or large.

The old TNA was great, IMO. D'Amore would run a great show, across the board. Then Jarrett would make a power play and have some awful finish where he retained and everybody left feeling like it was a waste of time. And the production would suck. Now, the production is great, and the product is awful.

Dixie is a moron, and she's not self-aware enough to now that she's a moron. She's going to guide that ship right to the bottom of the ocean. Bischoff was a good hire as it pertains to someone with experience trying to run a promotion that competes with the top dog. He had the Hervey production team come in and make the shows look like they're actually run in a building and not a dimly-lit refrigerator box, like the FSN days. They run the camera shots less like an ecstasy addict at a rave. Still spastic jumps sometimes, but not as bad. But Hulk Hogan is heavily involved, and he only knows how to get pre-50 year old Hulk Hogan over. Anything else in his wrestling input is like asking a 4-year old how to drive. Dixie is going to keep bringing in guys like Russo and Hogan and Flair and nail the doors shut there the old fashioned way; just one person getting their hands dirty and doing it right.

[Bigpapa42]

The problem is that all the cooks were hired by the state and the boss had a lobotomy. There's no one really in TNA that has good ideas. Bischoff is the closest thing to that, and he's not the young, ambitious Bischoff anymore. I've got no big problem with Prichard, but I doubt he has the ideas to push TNA over any semblance of a hump be it small or large.

Personally, I don't think TNA need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to wrestling. They don't need someone who is going to revolutionize the business. Because most who try that are gonna fail. Someone who can book sound, straight-ahead, fundamental stories and manage to use talent well would do wonders. But whoever that person is, they are going to have to deal with the shit-pile of self-serving opinions that seem to make a mess of everything in that company. And that seems to trip up anyone.

Nothing really changes with TNA, no matter who is "in charge". I've heard a few good things about TNA of late so I've checked out a bit of Impact lately. Sure, you've got good stuff like Aries and Bully Ray. But you also have typical retread shit like five segments in one episode on the same storyline, which lead to a big reveal... and Hogan being the reveal surprises absolutely no one, since he had already been advertised as returning on that Impact. Fucking retarded. Its not Abyss running around with a ring of power or Knockouts becoming zombies, but its still bad television writing.

My preference would be for TNA to actually adhere to that false advertising tagline and actually "make wrestling matter". Simplify, streamline, and focus on the wrestling. I won't claim that would make any difference in the ratings. But they've tried emulating the WWE without any real growth except in foreign markets for about the last 3 years. At some point, something needs to change.

And fuck Bischoff for pushing his kid at us.

[Warner2BruceTD]

TNA should book TNA just like TNA books Ring Ka King...straight forward and easy to digest.

When I watched some of Ring Ka King last week, all I kept thinking was, 'this is what TNA should be'.

[Guest]

I have to LOL at the comment about Bischoff and Russo disagreeing over story lines. I've never watched TNA before, but what did they expect to happen when putting those two in the same room together after competing against each other for so many years? Doomed that from the start if you ask me.

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

This is TNA in a nutshell...



I'll let ya'll digest this one.

[Warner2BruceTD]

At least Hogan & Sting aren't on that poster.

Although the omission of The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived is glaring.

[shag773]

Other than Jeff Hardy I have no idea who these guys are. As a casual wrestling fan that's probably not good for TNA.

[FirstTimer]

This is TNA in a nutshell...



I'll let ya'll digest this one.

From Left to Right:

, Partial shocker..at least I know who it is, Looks like Ryan Dunn, looks like a Hardy,..but prolly isn't,

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

Velvet Sky
Jeff Hardy
James Storm
Bobby Roode (the champ...why is he not in the middle?)
Gail Kim

[EmpireWF]

Isn't it funny how these same guys were fucking each other over to some degree under Time Warner about 11-12 years ago?

Dixie Carter isn't the brightest bulb...

Doesn't matter how many times you neg it Derr. It's true.

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

Joe is a fat sloppy piece of shit right now that gives not one iota of a fuck...BUT, it pains me to see CM Punk and Bryan Danielson as the champs of the WWE and looking like champs heading into the company's hottest period of the year (WRESTLEMANIA) only to see Samoa Joe moping along with an unconventional tag team partner.

I mean, Joe was their peer on the Indy level, and took off faster than Punk or Danielson into their mainstream careers...now, his fault + that of TNA booking crew, he's kind of a scrub with little entertainment value, and that sucks, considering I should be watching beasts like a prime Joe and aging but still spectacular Kurt Angle battle it out for "best wrestler in the world"...meanwhile, the WWE of all places, is giving Indy Geeks around the world what they want with a potential CM Punk-Chris fuckin Jericho match for the God damned top title at WRESTLEMANIA (if that's not an Geek's dream, you are no Geek) and you have The American fuckin Dragon as the world heavyweight champion and "#2" player in the company...Geeks should be fapping...and then TNA should be hitting you with Joe v. Angle or some other uber Indy Geek shit (they have a roster full of Indy-Internet darlings and use'em all like shit or in programs that make no damn sense).

But alas...no...WWE of all places gives Punk-Danielson a legit 15 minutes on RAW for free, with a Jericho run in, and give us Punk-Jericho for title of Best in the World at their biggest show.

Somewhere, TNA needs to step the fuck up when the E is giving the Indy Geeks exactly what they want and TNA is giving the world moar Hulk Hogan.