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LOOKING AT TNA'S SIGNING OF PACMAN JONES AND WHY THIS WAS THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME TO MAKE THIS MOVE

I've been asked a number of times my thoughts on the Pacman Jones signing and I waited until the announcement was made officially public today before commenting.  So, what do I think?  My initial gut reaction is that this is a terrible idea, primarily because of the timing.  

The wrestling business has a terrible stench on it from the fallout of the Chris Benoit family tragedy and the negative publicity that explosively came to light as part of the ripple effect of that story.  Now, you can try and play semantics and say, "Well, that's not a TNA issue" but the reality is, the situation surrounding that tragedy - drugs, burnout, steroids, is an industry issue, especially when you have so many former WWE talents signed (or being signed) by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.  

I don't blame the industry for Chris Benoit but as long as it is shamed by his sins, the duty of the power brokers in the business is to make sure that nothing similar is ever, ever repeated.  In my opinion, this should be a time period where the wrestling business takes stock of it's many problems and while attempting to fix them, also maximizes whatever it can in order to bring some modicum of class and respect back to wrestling, not for the general public or the media (who will always look at this pseudo-sport with scorn) but to the fans that continue to feel let down and betrayed and abandoned because their hobby is permeated with so many sad tales and sadder endings.  

We are at a point in time where the business has been ripped apart by the mainstream media, in many cases rightfully so, and while it's calmed down, the scrutiny will only continue as the shadow of a Congressional investigation looms ever more likely.  

All the press release hype of giving Adam Jones a chance to show "the real him" as opposed to the one portrayed by the media aside, TNA signed him for one reason.  They want to raise the brand awareness of the company.  I get that.  That's obvious and in many cases, important.  They've gotten more media attention today than they ever have in their five year history, but the important questions TNA should be asking itself are, "What will this attention translate into?"  and "Is this attention, ever fleeting, more important than the long-term health of the business?"

Yes, the media will be here today and perhaps at the next PPV, because they love a good sideshow. TNA's goal was accomplished for today but today only.  Let's look down the line, however.  What happens once someone like Michael Vick or Lindsey Lohan pulls their next disgusting/stupid step towards self-destruction and the media could care less about Pacman Jones?  The media attention that TNA craves will be gone tomorrow, yet TNA will still be left with presenting Jones as someone as important (if not more) than the top TNA performers, feeding Jones to a fan base that's faith in wrestling has already been emotionally bruised and battered and beaten in recent months. 

Is signing Jones going to raise ratings, buyrates and revenues in a way that signing wrestling stars like Sting, Kurt Angle and Christian Cage hasn't?  Is Jones going to carry the company to a new level in a way that self-created stars like Abyss, Samoa Joe, and AJ Styles, who have "sorta, kinda, but not really" been given the ball to run with?  If the answers to those questions are no, then I don't see this as a healthy investment for TNA. 

I will freely admit I'm hardly an NFL aficionado.  However, I don't see scores of football fans missing Pacman Jones and tuning into TNA to see him there instead and suddenly becoming TNA fans for life.  He's not a star on the level of Lawrence Taylor (who headlined one of the worst grossing Wrestlemania events in 1995) .  Jones may be talented, but in terms of star power, he's not Kevin Green.  Hell, he's not even Mongo McMichael.  

According to Sports Illustrated today, "Jones has been arrested six times since being drafted by the Titans in April 2005, including June 22 when he turned himself in on two felony counts of coercion in a Las Vegas strip club fight that left a man paralyzed."  SI.com doesn't mention, not even in today's article about Jones signing with TNA, that the man paralyzed was a former professional wrestler.

Pacman Jones is not famous, he's infamous.  There's a distinct difference.  Famous means fans want to idolize you for your exploits.  Infamous means they log onto TMZ.com to see what the latest car crash surrounding your personal life is.  Given the current political climate of wrestling, is Jones' reputation really what TNA should be wanting to hang their hat on during such a tumultuous time period for wrestling?  

Perhaps I'm wrong and this will evolve into the TNA equivalent of Mike Tyson (a far bigger name among the general population than Jones, mind you, and at the time of his wrestling adventure, a convicted rapist who's WWF appearance was treated as worse than the conviction by the media) appearing at Wrestlemania 14, but what if it isn't?  I don't see TNA's business shooting through the roof in any fashion similar to WWF's in the wake of the Tyson appearance, where he helped make Steve Austin a superstar to the mass media.  If the Pacman investment doesn't pan out, then TNA is left holding the bag for trying to work with (by choice, mind you) a "problemed" (at best) athlete during a time period where the last thing professional wrestling needed was another reason for its fans to be ashamed for being wrestling fans.

If TNA fails to increase their revenue and make far more than they are investing in Jones, then what was the point of all this?  To give Pacman Jones something to do while he's not allowed to compete in his chosen profession because of his own antics?  This industry has got enough out of work pro wrestlers with families to feed.  The industry also has enough problems of its own that it doesn't seem to be focusing on.  

TNA has been running for five plus years (at times, admittedly, also running in circles), fighting to build their company.  We've watched them go from a poorly viewed weekly PPV series to a low rated series airing on Fox Network affiliates that were bounced around across the country.  We saw them pull off the impossible by getting a deal with SpikeTV when everyone expected Spike would wash their hands of wrestling after dumping WWE programming.  We watched TNA slowly build its way to prime-time programming and the ratings aren't blowing the memories of the Monday Night Wars away, but they are building brick by brick as the company tries to open and strengthen additional revenue sources.  

TNA has made some strides and have built a brand before an audience that is aggressively critical and rarely overly positive.  They deserve credit for that.  At the same time, they have made some dumb mistakes at times and deserve to be ripped for that.  Through it all, no one can deny that the company has given some talents national exposure they would never have received elsewhere.  You have to take the good with the bad and the fans that follow TNA have done that.

Currently, TNA is in the midst of finally getting that last great "golden carrot" they have been chasing in  the form of a potential two hour deal.  They have a crew of performers who everyone inside and out of that company knows could be used with much better if they were given the proper chance to go all out. Perhaps (not absolutely 100%, but perhaps) that time period will give those performers, who's morale has seen far better days, a chance to truly go out and do what they all want and dream to do - blow away everyone with their work on a weekly basis.

At the same time, the shadow of a hammer looming over the business due to its past and current sins has never been more present.  It's quite obvious that it could come down in the form of Congressional hearings at any points.  In many ways, the business is looking into the face of all the karma it's put out into the world.  I don't look forward to that with any great joy or anticipation, but I can see it on the horizon, inching slowly now, but picking up steam as it raises itself up to come crashing down.

The wrestling business needs to accentuate its positives right now and instill some class in its product.  It needs to be fun and awe-inspiring and brilliant and, in the case of companies like TNA, completely different from what World Wrestling Entertainment presents in order to stand out.  This is hardly news to anyone reading this, yet it's constantly and always ignored by those in positions of power.

Instead of looking for ways to accentuate their own positives with an increased focus on athletics and the X-Division, TNA instead has their World Champion browbeating his family (and I don't even need to tell anyone what that harkens memories of) while picking up one the most controversial athletes in recent NFL history. The decision making of late really makes you wonder about the mindset of the company and why they would approve such moves given the current climate surrounding the business.

TNA isn't the place for Pacman Jones to find and rehabilitate his image, especially during a period where this business needs to change it's own image.  With all apologies to Pacman Jones, the wrestlers who will still be working for TNA after he runs back to the NFL with open arms hardly deserve to inherit the cloud that has followed him everywhere since 2002, they don't deserve to lose TV time to him, and they certainly don't deserve to see money they've earned for the company be invested in Jones for a short-term attention grab as opposed to a long-term improvement.

“Pacman wants to change his life, so we will do everything in our power to surround him with a positive work environment and people who will help him achieve his goal." - Dixie Carter

In the wake of that comment from TNA President Dixie Carter, I ask three questions:

*If Samoa Joe, considered to be the most talented "in-house" performer TNA has ever developed, came with the baggage Pacman Jones now carries, would TNA have ever hired him? 

*Why is TNA spending time and resources helping Pacman "change his life" when the entire lives of those working in the industry need to be changed and are far more important than a much higher paid NFL player who won't be part of the company in the years to come?

*Is this short-term attention grab worth it for TNA and why?

Perhaps I'm completely wrong and jaded and I certainly hope TNA will prove me wrong.  If they do, I'll be the first to man up and say it in print.  I just hope TNA is willing to man up as well, not just about Jones, but about the reflection his signing gives the wrestling business as its struggling to regain its own composure in the wake of all of its past sins and the karma those sins may still bring forth.

Mike Johnson can be reached at Mike@PWInsider.com.

 

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