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TNA 2009: Prelude To The Heyman Era...


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The Scenario

In October 2009, TNA announced the signing of wrestling legend and pop culture icon Hulk Hogan, confirming his first appearance with the company to take place on January 4th 2010. This would see Impact go head to head with WWE's Monday Night Raw, in a three hour special episode of the show. Vince McMahon soon responded, with Bret Hart being announced to return to Raw for the first time in over 12 years, on the competing January 4th broadcast.

 

TNA and Spike TV spent November and December of 2009 heavily promoting the arrival of Hulk Hogan, with storylines and segments built around the huge acquisition. While what followed divides opinion, many within the business agree that with Hulk's departure from the company several years later, TNA was left in a worse position than he found it in.

 

In an alternative timeline scenario for TEW 2020, I will look to book TNA from January 2010, based on the idea that Hulk Hogan never signed with the company, and TNA and Spike instead partnered with Paul Heyman. During 2010, rumours suggested that Paul was close to a deal to join the company, with Heyman later addressing what "his vision" for TNA would have been, in a number of interviews.

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Like in reality, Spike TV and TNA would have heavily promoted a "new regime" coming from the beginning of 2010, but with two months left of 2009, and a few weeks until the release of TEW 2020, I've decided to use a converted TEW 2013 mod in TEW 2016 to play out those two months. While the shows will be booked under the guise of the previous booking team still putting the episodes together, there will also be "pointers" and "guidelines" which will serve to shape the company and ensure all the pieces are in the right place for Paul Heyman's arrival. These two months will serve as the prelude to the Heyman era, beginning fairly similar to the shows booked during this time in real life, but - I expected - looking significantly different by the end of the end of the year. Rather than huge storylines and big surprises, I will look to book these shows with an analytical eye, commenting on the booking and the changes I've decided to make, as well as indicating where I see particular members of the roster fitting in with the new booking philosophy... and where others will not.

 

January 2010 will mark the beginning of the Heyman Era, but before then, this 10 part series will recap and refresh the memory of the landscape of TNA at the time. November and December 2009 will see me look to lay the foundations to ensure the young, hungry roster can flourish, during this rewritten chapter of TNA's history...

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Episode #1: Heyman Is Coming...

 

Episode #1:

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Looks very cool! Excited to watch the first episode, and see what direction you take the X-Division in man. Good luck! :)

Thanks, I hope you enjoy. The first show is fairly similar to the real life November 5th 2009 show they did, as we're not far off Turning Point, but after then it changes quite a bit, particularly given my booking decision on that PPV.

Very interesting. Will definitely be following. If you need any historical context on TNA around this time let me know. I have rebooked January 4th and the subsequent shows in my mind so many times lol.

Thanks, I've been reading lots of show reports from the time and watching stuff on youtube, but I'll let you know. Would be interested in hearing about your version of the Jan 4th show though, it's something I've put a lot of thought into for when I get to that point.

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Loved the first episode! Excited to see where you go with this.

 

Where can I find this mod and pic pack? Loved TNA at this time and think this would be a fun last TEW16 game before moving on at the end of the month.

It's this 2013 mod: http://www.mediafire.com/file/uwzcgwp798puzka/TEW2013_-_Kopya.mdb/file

 

Straight converted, so playable but not perfect. Couldn't find a picture pack so I've just done images for my roster. I did read a 2006 picture pack is the best fit, but I didn't know which one.

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I'm so keen for this 20LEgend... this era of TNA was the first bit of wrestling I was exposed too so this hitting right in the nostaliga. Hope you still give Bubba a run as the Bully character that was one of the saving graces from the Hogan run.
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Just caught up now, great first two eps!

Thank you, glad you enjoyed them

Yes! I am absolutely down for this. Along with the move to Spike, this is a moment where TNA Wrestling could have risen to the occasion and turned a profit as an alternative - not competitor, but alternative - to the Fed during peak Super Cena years. Instead, Dixie had to be the damn wrestling Robespierre and chop the head off anybody who didn't like her giving Hogan and Bischoff the pencil and the pocketbook. Stupid!

 

Well, from what I've seen, Impact is in a better spot now than they were after Hulkamania finished running wild. But it's going to be a much tougher climb back up to widespread relevance to the average wrestling fan after how they broke everybody's trust the first time around.

You'll be glad to hear that there will be no Nasty Boys in this, and Sean Morley won't be beating Christopher Daniels clean on pay-per-view :)

This is incredibly awesome! :)

Thank you :)

How in God's name are the Lashley/Steiner segments grading so high?!?!?!?

I don't know whether it's to do with the conversion between games or just high skills/overness, but pretty much everybody is getting ratings in excess of what I'd expect. When I set up the 2010 game on TEW 2020, I'll look to curb that and hopefully get something a bit more "realistic" in terms of ratings.

Can't wait to see what Paul Heyman does with the Knockouts :D

There's no way I'll live up to your booking of the Knockouts, and if this was 2010 and I was taking over TNA, I think you'd be up there with my first signings as "Head of Knockouts' Creative" :D

I'm so keen for this 20LEgend... this era of TNA was the first bit of wrestling I was exposed too so this hitting right in the nostaliga. Hope you still give Bubba a run as the Bully character that was one of the saving graces from the Hogan run.

Despite the obvious flaws, I watched every week from the start of 2010 for pretty much the whole Hogan run in TNA and enjoyed plenty of stuff. Bad Influence, Beer Money vs. Motor City Machine Guns and Austin Aries' rise to the main event all stick out, how much of that was because of Hogan/Bischoff and how much was in spite of them, we don't know. But it wasn't all bad, and I'll be looking to emulate some of that.

 

Team 3D are one of a couple of "acts" who I'm unsure about. They don't fit in with the new style neccessarily, and part of me thinks being ruthless and cutting them loose is the right call, but the evolution of Brother Ray to Bully Ray was another of the good points from the Hogan Era, like you said. If we're talking young and hungry, what Ray did at that time, getting into shape does fit nicely in with the mentality we're looking to get over. So it could be the perfect storyline of him feeling pushed to the side and coming back, getting in shape and proving he's just as hungry as the youngsters. I've not decided 100%, might be one to put to a poll at some point.

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TNA Turning Point 2009 Card

 

Turning-Point.jpg

 

TNA World Heavyweight Championship

AJ Styles © vs. Daniels vs. Samoa Joe

 

TNA World Tag Team Championships

British Invasion (Brutus Magnus & Doug Williams) © vs. Beer Money vs. Motor City Machine Guns

 

TNA X Division Championship

Amazing Red © vs. Homicide

 

TNA Knockouts & TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championships

ODB ©, Sarita & Taylor Wilde © vs. The Beautiful People (Lacey Von Erich, Madison Rayne & Velvet Sky)

 

Desmond Wolfe vs. Kurt Angle

 

Fall Count Anywhere

Bobby Lashley vs. Scott Steiner

 

Six Sides of Steel

Awesome Kong vs. Tara

 

D'Angelo Dinero, Hernandez & Matt Morgan vs. Team 3D & Rhino

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TNA World Heavyweight Championship

AJ Styles © vs. Daniels vs. Samoa Joe

 

TNA World Tag Team Championships

British Invasion (Brutus Magnus & Doug Williams) © vs. Beer Money vs. Motor City Machine Guns

 

TNA X Division Championship

Amazing Red © vs. Homicide

 

TNA Knockouts & TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championships

ODB ©, Sarita & Taylor Wilde © vs. The Beautiful People (Lacey Von Erich, Madison Rayne & Velvet Sky)

 

Desmond Wolfe vs. Kurt Angle

 

Fall Count Anywhere

Bobby Lashley vs. Scott Steiner

 

Six Sides of Steel

Awesome Kong vs. Tara

 

D'Angelo Dinero, Hernandez & Matt Morgan vs. Team 3D & Rhino

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TNA World Heavyweight Championship

AJ Styles © vs. Daniels vs. Samoa Joe

 

TNA World Tag Team Championships

British Invasion (Brutus Magnus & Doug Williams) © vs. Beer Money vs. Motor City Machine Guns

 

TNA X Division Championship

Amazing Red © vs. Homicide

 

TNA Knockouts & TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championships

ODB ©, Sarita & Taylor Wilde © vs. The Beautiful People (Lacey Von Erich, Madison Rayne & Velvet Sky)

 

Desmond Wolfe vs. Kurt Angle

 

Fall Count Anywhere

Bobby Lashley vs. Scott Steiner

 

Six Sides of Steel

Awesome Kong vs. Tara

 

D'Angelo Dinero, Hernandez & Matt Morgan vs. Team 3D & Rhino

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TNA World Heavyweight Championship

AJ Styles © vs. Daniels vs. Samoa Joe

 

TNA World Tag Team Championships

British Invasion (Brutus Magnus & Doug Williams) © vs. Beer Money vs. Motor City Machine Guns

 

TNA X Division Championship

Amazing Red © vs. Homicide

 

TNA Knockouts & TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championships

ODB ©, Sarita & Taylor Wilde © vs. The Beautiful People (Lacey Von Erich, Madison Rayne & Velvet Sky)

 

Desmond Wolfe vs. Kurt Angle

 

Fall Count Anywhere

Bobby Lashley vs. Scott Steiner

 

Six Sides of Steel

Awesome Kong vs. Tara

 

D'Angelo Dinero, Hernandez & Matt Morgan vs. Team 3D & Rhino

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<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="James The Animator" data-cite="James The Animator" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="47441" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><em>TNA World Heavyweight Championship</em><p> <strong>AJ Styles ©</strong> vs. Daniels vs. Samoa Joe <em>(The one guy I can safely rule out here is Daniels. He is talented, but not a world champion for a semi-mainstream promotion like TNA was at this time. From there, it's a toss-up between AJ and Joe. I think Paul Heyman would see a lot of Taz in Samoa Joe, and a lengthy World Heavyweight Championship reign by the dominant and agile heavyweight could really set the tone for a paradigm shift in TNA. In the end, though, I think AJ retains the title. He's a great wrestler, he looks great, his face character is Surfer Sting levels of wholesome. He's a good choice for the public face and main champion of Heyman's TNA.)</em></p><p> </p><p> <em>TNA World Tag Team Championships</em></p><p> British Invasion (Brutus Magnus & Doug Williams) © vs. Beer Money vs. <strong>Motor City Machine Guns</strong> <em>(The British Invasion is not at the level of these two elite tag teams, in my opinion. Magnus doesn't do it for me. So between the remaining choices, I'm picking the Machine Guns winning the tag belts for the first time. It's a nice story for the exciting young guys, spares us from Morgan & Hernandez, and it leads right into Beer Money vs. Machine Guns for the titles.)</em></p><p> </p><p> <em>TNA X Division Championship</em></p><p> <strong>Amazing Red</strong> © vs. Homicide <em>(Weird as it sounds, I have a hard time getting invested in this one. By this time, the X Division title had lost a lot of prestige from the frequent title changes and ex-WWE guys ignoring it. I think Red takes this one because he's not only a fairly new champion, but he does a good job representing what the X Division is all about, stylistically. Something tells me you have more interesting plans for Homicide anyway...)</em></p><p> </p><p> <em>TNA Knockouts & TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championships</em></p><p> ODB ©, Sarita & Taylor Wilde © vs. <strong>The Beautiful People</strong> (Lacey Von Erich, Madison Rayne & Velvet Sky) <em>(The Beautiful People are simply a more cohesive unit than their opponents. I don't think Heyman will do the normal TNA thing and have the actual teams lose decisively to random rivals working together.)</em></p><p> </p><p> Desmond Wolfe vs. <strong>Kurt Angle</strong> <em>(Something tells me Wolfe is not over enough in the game to win this one clean. So I'm going to predict Angle wins by disqualification when Wolfe lays him out with a weapon, continuing this feud.)</em></p><p> </p><p> <em>Fall Count Anywhere</em></p><p> <strong>Bobby Lashley</strong> vs. Scott Steiner <em>(Scott Steiner is not long for this company. You've said as much in these first few videos. Therefore, the younger man wins.)</em></p><p> </p><p> <em>Six Sides of Steel</em></p><p> <strong>Awesome Kong</strong> vs. Tara <em>(I have a hard time seeing Tara as a real threat to Awesome Kong. Kong is a larger opponent and very agile. I really don't think Tara has a prayer of doing Kong in here.)</em></p><p> </p><p> D'Angelo Dinero, Hernandez & Matt Morgan vs. <strong>Team 3D & Rhino</strong> <em>(Team 3D and Rhino may be the aging veterans in this match-up. However, I struggle to see where Heyman would fit Hernandez & Morgan in this TNA product. Those two guys would become beyond stale during the Hogan era, and I can truthfully see them both gone from the company within a year. Sure, Dinero has potential, but one good partner does not a winning team make.)</em></p><p> </p><p> Some suggestions: Don't hire Gunner. Don't hire the lower-midcard WWE castaways like Shannon Moore and Orlando Jordan. Jeff Hardy is probably more trouble than he's worth. I'll leave it up to you whether or not to bring in Mr. Anderson, but if you do, I suggest you make him a heel and don't turn him for a while. Please don't give anybody an extended undefeated streak; TNA has gone to that well too many times at this point.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Gunner's the man</p>
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<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="James The Animator" data-cite="James The Animator" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="47441" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Some suggestions: Don't hire Gunner. Don't hire the lower-midcard WWE castaways like Shannon Moore and Orlando Jordan. Jeff Hardy is probably more trouble than he's worth. I'll leave it up to you whether or not to bring in Mr. Anderson, but if you do, I suggest you make him a heel and don't turn him for a while. Please don't give anybody an extended undefeated streak; TNA has gone to that well too many times at this point.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Disagree on that Shannon Moore point inherently. <img alt=":mad:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/mad.png.69834f23b9a8bf290d98375f56f1c794.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Dave_Scott" data-cite="Dave_Scott" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="47441" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Gunner's the man</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Hey Dave <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> TNA World Heavyweight Championship</p><p> <strong>AJ Styles ©</strong> vs. Daniels vs. Samoa Joe</p><p> My favorite match of all-time (Unbreakable 05)</p><p> </p><p> TNA World Tag Team Championships</p><p> British Invasion (Brutus Magnus & Doug Williams) © vs. Beer Money vs. <strong>Motor City Machine Guns</strong></p><p> My favorite team of all time, they did not get enough title runs.</p><p> </p><p> TNA X Division Championship</p><p> <strong>Amazing Red ©</strong> vs. Homicide</p><p> All day, every day. I like Homicide though</p><p> </p><p> TNA Knockouts & TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championships</p><p> ODB ©, Sarita & Taylor Wilde © vs. <strong>The Beautiful People (Lacey Von Erich, Madison Rayne & Velvet Sky)</strong></p><p> </p><p> Desmond Wolfe vs. <strong>Kurt Angle</strong></p><p> </p><p> Fall Count Anywhere</p><p> <strong>Bobby Lashley</strong> vs. Scott Steiner</p><p> </p><p> Six Sides of Steel</p><p> <strong>Awesome Kong</strong> vs. Tara</p><p> </p><p> D'Angelo Dinero, Hernandez & Matt Morgan vs. <strong>Team 3D & Rhino</strong></p><p> ECDub. Morgan is awesome though.</p>
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