If Anything Can Save Slammiversary, It's the Hardy Contract Signing "Director's Cut"
TNA Slammiversary happens this Sunday (June 5, 2016 at 5 p.m. PDT), and conventional wisdom is that the show will do tepid business. TNA hasn't been touring and their weekly Impact Wrestling show on Pop TV has been beset by a string of bad luck. The number of wrestling fans buying one-time pay-per-views has dwindled. The main event is Lashley vs. Drew Galloway. And there are ongoing questions whether it is worth wrestling fans' time to emotionally invest in a promotion that has seen numerous departures and a decline in ancillary spending (production, promotion, marketing, etc).
It is all quite bleak.
Until, that is, a brief Twitter perusal results in a viewing of this:
It is TNA's 'Contract Signing' video promo for the Matt Hardy vs. Matt Hardy "Full Metal Mayhem" match at Slammiversary.
The video is an acquired taste, to be sure. It has nearly as many Dislikes as Likes on YouTube. The acting is campy and it hardly fits with the more grounded product that many online wrestling fans enjoy.
To this blog's eyes, however, the video is a thing of beauty.
Part of it is of subjectivity, to be sure. Campy art is a personal taste, and this example worked.
Then there are the real, tangible accomplishments. Creating a big look on a small budget is tough, and they did it. The video is a story, even if it clocks in at just 5:23. It has a goal-driven protagonist, antagonism, suspense, beats and a climax. All are present and accounted for.
Pro wrestling is a tough business in 2016, in part because so many fans are aware of The Work. Wrestling draws big when there are true stakes and true suspense. It is hard to generate those things when the audience is aware that the so-called combatants are working with each other.
One way to spike business is to run angles that play off fans' awareness of The Work. TNA does not have that luxury. Their promotion has been so damaged and their audience has shrunk to such a degree that they cannot take advantage of fans' awareness. For example, Ryback's winning streak popped a buyrate for WWE because fans knew that Ryback "shouldn't" lose. Too few fans pay attention to TNA's week-to-week product for fans to be aware of any shoulds or shouldn'ts.
Matt Hardy and TNA may have Waze'd an alternate route. They created a character -- "Broken Matt Hardy" -- that is unique and so ridiculous that it might be an oasis of drama in TNA's desert of low viewership. Matt's character might create suspense using an old timey wrestling trope: fans want the character to go away.
'Go away heat' is often derided, and rightfully so. Annoyed fans may fast-forward through angles, skip full shows or even give up on the promotion.
Sometimes, however, 'go away heat' can draw money. If the irritation is driven by an honest, interesting heel, fans will pay money to witness that heel's demise. If anything can make that happen for Slammiversary, it's the ridiculous, campy, wonderful 'Contract Signing' video and Broken Matt Hardy.
It is all quite bleak.
Until, that is, a brief Twitter perusal results in a viewing of this:
It is TNA's 'Contract Signing' video promo for the Matt Hardy vs. Matt Hardy "Full Metal Mayhem" match at Slammiversary.
The video is an acquired taste, to be sure. It has nearly as many Dislikes as Likes on YouTube. The acting is campy and it hardly fits with the more grounded product that many online wrestling fans enjoy.
To this blog's eyes, however, the video is a thing of beauty.
Part of it is of subjectivity, to be sure. Campy art is a personal taste, and this example worked.
Then there are the real, tangible accomplishments. Creating a big look on a small budget is tough, and they did it. The video is a story, even if it clocks in at just 5:23. It has a goal-driven protagonist, antagonism, suspense, beats and a climax. All are present and accounted for.
Pro wrestling is a tough business in 2016, in part because so many fans are aware of The Work. Wrestling draws big when there are true stakes and true suspense. It is hard to generate those things when the audience is aware that the so-called combatants are working with each other.
One way to spike business is to run angles that play off fans' awareness of The Work. TNA does not have that luxury. Their promotion has been so damaged and their audience has shrunk to such a degree that they cannot take advantage of fans' awareness. For example, Ryback's winning streak popped a buyrate for WWE because fans knew that Ryback "shouldn't" lose. Too few fans pay attention to TNA's week-to-week product for fans to be aware of any shoulds or shouldn'ts.
Matt Hardy and TNA may have Waze'd an alternate route. They created a character -- "Broken Matt Hardy" -- that is unique and so ridiculous that it might be an oasis of drama in TNA's desert of low viewership. Matt's character might create suspense using an old timey wrestling trope: fans want the character to go away.
'Go away heat' is often derided, and rightfully so. Annoyed fans may fast-forward through angles, skip full shows or even give up on the promotion.
Sometimes, however, 'go away heat' can draw money. If the irritation is driven by an honest, interesting heel, fans will pay money to witness that heel's demise. If anything can make that happen for Slammiversary, it's the ridiculous, campy, wonderful 'Contract Signing' video and Broken Matt Hardy.
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