NWA: TNA "We Were Russo" but now "We Are Wrestling"

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Figures. Last week there wasn't any TNA dynasties and now I see two already in progress. Well, just because I'm not starting it off doesn't mean I'm not going to do it. This dynasty is a fictional story based off the game Total Extreme Wrestling 2007. Any copyrighted names, logos, or phrases herein are being used without monetary or personal gain. All material not owned or copyrighted by another person, corporation, or organization is the intellectual property of Justin Heins. ------------------------------ [B] From the Corporate Headquarters of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...[/B] It was probably a normal Tuesday for everyone. The iMPACT taping had ended and everyone was meeting to discuss the recent taping and Destination X. [B]Vince Russo[/B] sat at one end of the table, [B]Dixie Carter[/B] at the other. I remember walking in and looking at the giant mosaic on the wall in the reception area. It read "Total Nonstop Action... The Alternative... We Are Wrestling". I remember having to supress my laughter. A show with an hour timeslot that barely averages 9 1/2 minutes of wrestling using lines like that. "We Are Wrestling" my ass. I looked in from the glass obeservation window, watching her words come out of her mouth. I couldn't really hear what she was saying, but I could tell by her face that she was not very happy. I could see [B]Kurt Angle[/B] and [B]Jeff Jarrett[/B] sitting in suits at the table as well... I guess the big names get invited to these meetings. Both were scowling, ocassionally Jarrett would pass a glare over to Russo. Heh. Pretty bad when your former friends are even turning against you. Finally, I saw the motion. Dixie waved at the window, and I stepped out from the small room. "...and this may just be the man to do it. He was a part of the booking team for the NWA in many of their smaller promotions for the last ten years all across the eastern part of the US. He will now be our head booker, Mr. [B]Justin Heins[/B]." There was nods of what appeared to be approval from a few of the nameless suits in charge of merchandising and advertising, and Angle and Jarrett looked like they were just relieved of a huge burden. Vince Russo look like he would get up and storm out at any moment. "Mr. Heins, the floor is yours." I cleared my throat. "Ladies and gentleman, for the past four years, Total Nonstop Action has climbed from a small, barely noticable promotion to the undisputed #2 in the industry. What does this mean for you? This means that you have begun work on the great task of creating competetion in the realm of Sports Entertainment once again. Everyone remembers that during the Monday Night Wars wrestling TV ratings reached unbelievable heights, peaking at just over an 8 on the Neilsons during an episode of WWF RAW is WAR. If any company can take down the corporate giant and wrestling champion that is World Wrestling Entertainment, it is TNA. There are two reasons I am here. One, is that Ms. Carter has decided not to split from the National Wrestling Alliance. The fees we were lacking have been payed off, and we have waived the lack of information regarding title changes. I am here to ensure that the NWA is fairly represented. The second reason, is seated at that end of the table." I gestured directly to Russo, who looked very offended. He stood right up. He glared at me. "Just what do I have to do with the NWA sending someone to take over my success and claim it as their own." The room grew deathly silent, with the exception of Jarrett, who looked to be supressing laughter. I too had a small smile on my face. "Your... success?" I asked him. He nodded slowly. Now, it was my turn. "Vince, your 'success' as you put it, has resulted in some of the angriest fans since the days when you used to write for the WWF during the afformentioned Monday Night Wars. As well as when you took over in WCW, where fans literally chanted against you even when you weren't on the show! Vince, your problem is you treat this far too much like a television program and not enough like a wrestling buisness. You think that in order for a promotion to succeed they must do crazy spots and have insane gimmicks in order to draw in people, when that is far from the truth. In this buisness, you have to work to attract one group of people: wrestling fans. Not the masses that watch 'Law and Order' or 'Family Guy'. Those people like big happenings on TV, but that doesn't mean because you do them every week on iMPACT that they are going to magically become wrestling fans. Vince Russo, as a wrestling fan, as a TNA fan, and as a representative of the National Wrestling Alliance, as well as your new boss, I am going to tell you what every fan has always wanted to say... Vince Russo, get the hell out of my building, because you are terminated." With that, there was scattered applause as Vince looked like he'd just been punched across the face. He quickly tried to gather what little dignity he had left as he left the conference room. Now, for one last shake up. "Now, the taping we did for iMPACT last night will be the last pre-taping we schedule, as from now on, iMPACT will be live. Also, we will be paying for transportaion and hotel expenses for the wrestlers once again. Now, I would like to announce my booking team. The five members of the team will be, [B]Terry Taylor[/B], [B]Glenn Gilberti[/B], [B]Jim Cornette[/B], [B]Kevin Nash[/B], and for the first time in TNA employment, a personal friend of mine, [B]Paul Heyman[/B]. We will meet tomorrow and every Wednesday before iMPACT, as well as every Friday afterwards to discuss our plans. But our first goal is to get a two-hour timeslot. UFC is thinking of changing timeslots on Spike to Wednesdays. If they do, then we may fulfill that goal. Everyone, welcome to a new era of Total Nonstop Action." And so, the meeting adjourned. Kurt Angle, Jeff Jarrett, and a number of the nameless, faceless suits all shook my hand, congratulating me on my new position. They all left until it was just me and Ms. Carter. No, nothing lewd intended. She told me one important goal we must fulfill, and that is we must reach International status within a year. That's a big goal, but I felt confident that we could do it. But first, I need to clean up Russo's mess, which means working around some of the oddest booking I've ever had the misfortune to witness. Booking that retarded monkeys refuse to throw feces at, because even they know it's too easy a target. It's time for a new beginning, and it's time to restate the motto that fans of TNA know by heart. "We Are Wrestling"

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That Wednesday afternoon... [CENTER][IMG]http://www.411mania.com/images/logo_main.gif[/IMG][/CENTER] [QUOTE][SIZE="2"][COLOR="RoyalBlue"]TNA Wednesday News: Russo's reign ends, Heyman, new head booker, Monday tapings scrapped, and more...[/COLOR][/SIZE] Posted by: JB A number of huge items from the folks at TNA! Much to many fans relief, Vince Russo was released from his contract today. TNA, oddly enough, said nothing about wishing him the best in his future endeavors. Paul Heyman is one of the newest TNA hirings, having been brought onto the booking team along with other recent additions Glenn Gilberti, Terry Taylor, Kevin Nash, and Jim Cornette. The complete overhaul and firing of Vince Russo appears to have stemmed from the hiring of former [B]NWA: Midwest[/B] and [B]NWA: East Coast[/B] head booker, Justin Heins as the new head booker of TNA. Another huge change, the iMPACT tapings from this Monday have been scrapped, and Dixie Carter has announced that this week's (and possibly all future iMPACTs) iMPACT will be taped live on Thursday night! This is something Heins is famous for, as he always ran live shows in the past to prevent any spoilers on the internet from damaging his TV ratings. The following was posted on TNAWrestling.com earlier today: This Thursday on a special LIVE iMPACT, there will be hell to pay as the "Instant Classic" Christian Cage was able to cheat his way to a successful NWA World Heavyweight title defense against the "Samoan Submission Machine" Samoa Joe. What reprucussions will there be for Cage's underhanded tactics come this Thursday? And has the Christian Coalition abandoned the champion so soon after their formation? Tune in this Thursday night at 9p E only on SpikeTV![/QUOTE]

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From the Corporate Headquarters of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling... Wednesday, the day before the show. The day before a new beginning. A good start was the big thing on my mind. I had already begun talks with SpikeTV about the 2 hour timeslot. They seemed very positive about the idea, and with UFC's move to Wednesdays confirmed starting this week, they have given me permission to run a two hour live special... which if all goes according to plan, will be a permanent change. But now I have to book a two hour TNA special, and I need the other people in the room to do it. I looked around at my new crew. Glenn Gilberti and Terry Taylor are masters of the backstage environment, both having worked behind the scenes in a number of different promotions, they can give me insight on individual wrestlers as to how they feel about their character and direction, as well as how they are performing in the ring. Although many blame "Big Kev" (amongst others) for the downfall of WCW, I personally feel that it was going down for reasons that Nash couldn't be held fully accountable for. Kevin Nash has a very creative mind, and with my hopes being very high for the Paparazzi, I needed his input. Plus, despite being such a big guy who was mostly a brawler in the ring, Nash is very knowledgeable on the psychology of high-flying wreslting, making him an ideal X-Division advisor. Jim Cornette is quite possibly one of the most famous bookers of all time. As much as I love Cornette's on-screen character, he has so much knowledge to offer and so much to bring to the table that I cannot in good conscience not have him on the team. His knowledge of wrestling and being a booker goes back farther than anyone else in the room, and his insight on building storylines, building characters, and putting on big matches will be invaluable in the coming months. And if anyone knows how to do a slow build, it's Jim Cornette. He's had matches he plants seeds for two years before they happen, then he comes by and waters them periodically, until they bloom into a huge buyrate. And finally, you have Paul Heyman. If anyone can find the most positive aspect of a person and capitalize on it, it's Heyman. Heyman is famous for his involvement with ECW before the WWE bismirched its name, and although he was never a very good buisnessman, he is a fantastic booker. I plan on using him to the fullest extent of his motto when it comes to TNA's talent roster, "Accentuate the positives, hide the negetives." So my team was there, and now it was on to business. The next Pay-Per-View is Lockdown, the entire event being held inside of the "Six Sides of Steel" cage, and unfortunately falling in the same month as Wrestlemania. I know that most people spend the money on Wrestlemania and don't get around to Lockdown, as it is often one of the lower buyrate Pay-Per-Views. Hopefully the fact that I'm pushing it to the end of April while Wrestlemania will be held at the beginning will help the ratings. We have some rather large shoes to fill when comparing this Pay-Per-View with previous year's offerings, as last year we had the Lethal Lockdown match, which despite having kind of a clusterf--- feel to it, managed to come off pretty good, and the Christian Cage/Abyss NWA title feud with the sick Unprettier onto a huge pile of thumbtacks. A couple of very solid main events that will be hard to follow. Unfortunately, the World X Cup was cancelled this year, due to financial troubles in AAA, and the lack of availability of NJPW. That normally helps boost the ratings during this time, so another plan will need to be formed. I knew we needed a big main event for this show, and I had a perfect one in mind. Since Russo took over, main event title feuds have been practically nonexistant. Sure you have some long running feuds like AJ/Rhino, Sting/Abyss, and Sabin/Lynn... but when it comes to the NWA title, every month it's a new match. Not this time. Samoa Joe and Christian Cage tore the house down at Destination X, and I want to capitalize on that magic. Now, it was time to build to it...

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Thursday iMPACT preview from TNAWrestling.com [QUOTE]Huge matches announced for iMPACT! After Christian Cage managed to steal the win from beneath Samoa Joe at Destination X, Samoa Joe has been infurated. TNA Director of Authority, Jim Cornette, has decided that his anger is well justified, and as a result, has booked Samoa Joe and a partner of his choosing against Christian Cage and a partner of his choosing. But with the Christian Coalition falling apart at the seams, will Cage be able to find anyone he can trust? Jerry Lynn might have come up short at Destination X in his X-Division Championship match, but it was no fault of his, and he has promised to deliver a message to the Fallen Angel about his interference that cost him the title against Chris Sabin. Team 3D has completely rebanded, and a six-man tag team match has been scheduled as they will take on LAX's Hernandez, Homicide, and Konnan. Finally, Jim Cornette promises to make a big announcement about the next TNA Pay-Per-View event... Lockdown! All this and more tonight on iMPACT at 9pm E only on SpikeTV![/QUOTE]

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Sorry about this one going away. I'm waiting on a real work data release, because by the time I found out 1RC was released the first time, by the time I was able to download it, there it went. This dynasty isn't dead, it's just on stand-by until I get some data I can use. Sorry. Also, I just realized I normally would have a continuity error here, as Konnan should be out of action... I'm sure that will be discussed when iMPACT airs... ;) Predictions anyone? [LIST] [*]"The Instant Classic" Christian Cage & ??? v. "The Samoan Submission Machine" Samoa Joe & ??? [*]Team 3D (Brothers Ray, Devon & Runt) v. LAX (Homicide, Hernandez, & Konnan) [*]Jerry Lynn v. Kaz w/Serotonin Members Havoc & Martyr [*]Alex Shelley & The Austin Starr v. Sonjay Dutt & Senshi[/LIST]

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It was around 8 in the morning... the iMPACT tapings were going on that night. It was going to be a busy day. It was quite odd to me, though, that Dixie Carter wanted to meet with me for lunch to discuss a few things. I had a pad of notes when I went to the meeting, ready to go. I certainly didn't want to appear unprepared, especially this still being my first week on the job. We met at a seafood resteraunt in Tampa, Swordfish Diner. Sure it was a bit out of the way, but Dixie said it was one of her favorite places to eat. It was a very cordial greeting, then we ordered our food and set about business. I had the first question though. "So, Dixie..." I began, hoping that I wouldn't offend her "why did you originally want to leave the NWA?" She thought about it for a moment, then replied, "WCW was nothing until they split from the NWA and begun to transform into a company that revolved around Sports Entertainment... they had to lose the old school atmosphere in order to move on. ECW split from the NWA in such a way that it actually tranformed the entire wrestling scene. If TNA were to do the same, we figured we would be able to make our own legacy, without the aid of the National Wrestling Alliance." I pondered that for a while, then explained myself, "The NWA that ECW and WCW split off of in the 90s is nowhere near the same NWA that sent me here to help you out of the creative hole that Vince Russo was digging you into." She seemed intrigued, at least. "After ECW and WCW split, WCW became the #1 wrestling company, followed by Vince's WWF, then by Gordon and Heyman's ECW. The NWA became a non-factor, after years of being the main source of great wrestling. We knew that something had to change." I took a drink of coffee, then continued. "I still think that Shane Douglas is the man responsible for reshaping the face of wrestling, above all other people. If he didn't have the fortitude to do what he did with the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, the NWA would have simply killed itself off. Instead, we slowly began to re-invent ourselves. We took higher risks with our booking, we started signing more up-and-coming indie wrestlers... and gave them huge pushes. Most importantly, we began to phase out many of the 'legends' that were slowly bleeding the NWA dry, much like the 'legends' that were largely responsible for the death of WCW." I looked to Dixie for her reply. She thought about her response, but before she could answer, the food came. The meal was actually quite good, despite how little I care for seafood. Being from the Midwest I was big on actual meat. But again, it was better than I expected. After the meal, we picked right up where we left off. She again pondered my statements before responding, in agreement. "That's exactly why we changed our minds. We know that if we split from the NWA, we lose the legacy that is associated with it. If another big up-and-coming company decides to pick up that legacy, likely Ring of Honor or Full Impact Pro... then they could ride it right up to us and beyond, considering the talent they possess. We know we can still enhance that legacy, but we need your help to do it. You've been with the NWA for a long time now... so you know better than anyone what works with NWA fans. I like the plans you've presented so far, but know this, they have to get over with the fans, not just the booking team." That seemed kind of like a threat, and sure enough, it was. "Make no mistake, I will fire you just like I fired Russo if this relationship doesn't work out. We need to take TNA to the next level, not mire ourselves futher into a #2 spot." The bill came at this time, and Dixie picked it up before I got the chance to. Fair enough, I still hadn't even gotten my sign-on bonus, so I really couldn't have afforded a seafood meal. I then provided my answer to her unasked question, before getting up to head off to the comforts of the TNA studios. I said, "TNA will be the #1 promotion, within two years... that, I can promise you."

[Dubya]

[LIST] [*][B]"The Instant Classic" Christian Cage & ???[/B] v. "The Samoan Submission Machine" Samoa Joe & ??? [*]Team 3D (Brothers Ray, Devon & Runt) v. [B]LAX (Homicide, Hernandez, & Konnan)[/B] [*]Jerry Lynn v. [B]Kaz w/Serotonin Members Havoc & Martyr[/B] [*][B]Alex Shelley & The Austin Starr [/B]v. Sonjay Dutt & Senshi[/LIST] This one sounds good, I'll be reading.