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AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AND REVIEW OF TNA'S LATEST DVD DOCUMENTARY 'TNA: YEAR ONE'

THE BEST LAID PLANS....

You are about to launch your company, one that has millions of dollars in potential revenue and the incomes of dozens of families on your shoulders.  You are minutes away from going live on television via PPV.  The centerpiece of your entire show, indeed, the one asset you can't replace, the actual wrestling ring your wrestlers will ply their trade in for the next several hours has broken apart during a dark match.  Seconds are ticking away, thousands are in the building and Lord knows how many will be ordering the PPV.  The weight of everything is on you, so what do you do?

That chaos and insanity was the reality facing TNA management in the minutes before their first television broadcast in June 2002, which is captured in full detail in the opening moments of the new documentary "TNA: Year One" DVD during an audio from a conversation between Don West and Mike Tenay just minutes before the first weekly PPV went on the air, as TNA staff struggled to fix a ring that broke during a dark match....meaning they were about to launch on national TV with a ring that couldn't be used.  With that crisis past them by the grace of God and a lot of luck, TNA, good and bad, was off to the races.

With five years under their belt as an organization, Total Nonstop Action has grown from a promotion featured on weekly PPV broadcasts with no television penetration to a group with a two hour weekly series on primetime television.  It's presented some classic matches and some moments that have made wrestling fans groan, but the reality is that it's the only nationally televised wrestling alternative to World Wrestling Entertainment on weekly television today.

The company's product; it's creative regimes; it's booking are all subject to debate and how much you enjoy the product likely revolves around your own views on professional wrestling and whether you are enjoying how certain talents are used.   Still, whether TNA is your favorite company or one that you scratch your head at wondering why they make certain moves, it's impossible to deny that the company has come a long way from their first year in business.  It's impossible to deny that they have provided a national forum for a number of talented performers to make a name for themselves.  It's also impossible to deny that the company is extremely fortunate to even be alive today, something that "Year One" acknowledges.  

The documentary style look at the promotion, similar in the vein to "The Rise and Fall of ECW" or "Forever Hardcore" clocks in at just under two hours, featuring comments from Dixie Carter, Jeff Jarrett, Mike Tenay, AJ Styles, James Storm, Bob Ryder, Chris Harris, Don West, Christopher Daniels, Elix Skipper, BG James, Raven and referees Rudy Charles and Andrew Thomas, among others. 

While not perfect (what is?), I did find it to be an interesting look into the company's first year from the point of view of those who were actually in the trenches performing and manning the ship, with both groups likely often wondering just how long until the bubble was going to burst.

Although the move was controversial (and ended up causing the end of Bill Banks' run as DVD producer), TNA didn't shy away from airing comments from performers who admit that they didn't think the company was going to last for long.  Elix Skipper goes as far as to admit he looked at the promotion as "an expensive indy show" and that he knew to save the paychecks, because they wouldn't last long.  Mike Tenay and AJ Styles, among others, echo similar comments.  Chris Harris even pointed out that when you are hearing people working within the company admit that they don't expect it to last, it's hard not to assume it's just a matter of time.

The launch of the company and the chaos in the moments leading into the first PPV make up a big part of the first thirty minutes of the documentary.   Jeff Jarrett discussed the end of WCW and stated that while he was trying to decide what to do with himself during a period where the company had shut down but he was still getting paid, he was offered the chance to do some overseas tours (Andrew McManus' WWAS, which is never named) and decided to form a company.  

On the DVD, Jarrett goes into a lot of the logistical problems with forming a new company, particularly within the professional wrestling genre, having to try and raise investors without any footage or promotional tapes, just concepts and ideas.  Jarrett noted that there were lots of small fires to put out that fans might never even think about - raising investors, opening offices, finding a staff, etc. The documentary adds a nice touch by showing a series of the original roster photos from the company, allowing newer fans a chance to see which names were there from the start.

Even though WCW had been dead for well over a year by the time TNA launched, TNA was still under the dark shroud of it's death - no one wanted a wrestling product on television.  Bob Ryder stated on the documentary that since TBS and TNT had canceled their highest rated shows in 2001, the feeling among television networks that there must have been something wrong with professional wrestling.  The decision was made to go with a weekly Wednesday night PPV, so the company could have some form of weekly TV and as Jarrett said, an episodic "Shakespeare for the masses" feel.  It was a backwards way of getting on national television, with Mike Tenay pointing out that at the time, he wasn't crazy about it, but it got them to where they needed to be in the end.

The chaos of the broken ring was treated as a trial by fire for the company in the documentary as everyone who was there recalled the insanity leading up to the actual moment they went live on PPV.  Cheex (Remember him? Sheesh, TNA had some bad ideas even out of the gate) had broken the cables of the ring while hitting the ropes, and there appeared to be no way to fix it without taking apart and reconstructing the ring, an option that wasn't available when you have a live PPV to run.  The Harris Bros fixed it as they swapped segments, putting legends first.  The documentary shows photos and footage of the staff feverishly trying to save not just the show, but the company and their own jobs, because they were about to watch everything go up in smoke if they didn't.   

In the documentary, Jarrett said that he gave himself, his "old man" (one of the few references at all to TNA founder Jerry Jarrett) and director Keith Mitchell credit because they here smart and fortunate enough to hire a staff that didn't only have years of experience but were smart enough to improvise and realize that everything was under their job description as opposed to passing the buck for someone else.  In the end,. someone who wasn't even part of the ring crew came up with the idea of using cables usually used for the lighting rigs to hold the ring in place and it worked.

On that PPV, Ken Shamrock went on to win the NWA title, which is shown in the documentary.  It would have been nice to see the company incorporate some names that were involved in the early era of the company, such as Shamrock, who are no longer part of TNA, to get their impressions on that early era.  Jerry Lynn would have been a great choice for this since he lives in Nashville and was a major part of establishing the X-Division.

I also would have liked to have seen TNA go into the decision to use the National Wrestling Alliance name to help give TNA some identity and title lineage, even if it was just explained that they used it to help give the fans a sense of familiarity as they discovered the company.  Jerry Jarrett would have been a no-brainer to comment on these topics, but given his estrangement from TNA, that wasn't going to happen.

OUT OF THE FRYING PAN, INTO THE FIRE

It would be easy to say that they fixed the ring, all was well with the world and TNA went on to conquer professional wrestling, but of course that wasn't the case.  The documentary goes into a lot of details on the matter, but the bottom line was that TNA had lost their initial investor, Healthsouth, had incorrect information on how well the company was actually doing on PPV and promises that were made to them regarding how fully PPV providers would partner with them to promote  the company turned out to be well wishes and good intentions as opposed to marketing muscle.

Enter Dixie Carter and Panda Energy.  Carter, working for the company as their Public Relations agent (who at one point, actually lived next door to Jeff Jarrett in one of those "only in wrestling stories") learned from Jarrett about how dire the situation was.  Noting she was "impressed by the quality of people working behind the scenes" in the company and admitting that she wasn't really a fan of the business, Carter went to her father's company, Panda Energy.  Carter noted that her father knew how huge wrestling was and was intrigued by all the potential revenue streams.  Pointing out that there was only one prime competitor in the wrestling marketplace, that meant room for someone else to step in and compete to make the genre better.  "It's the reason you see Lowe's on the same corner as Home Depot, competition, " said Carter.  Comments from Bob Carter himself would have been a nice touch here.

Even with the Panda Energy bankbook behind the company, Carter explained, it was still a really lean time for the promotion.  At one point, TNA was so strapped financially during that period that she and her husband went to Home Depot to buy carpeting and paint to help the visual look of the Asylum in an attempt to make the show look better on television, with Carter admitting the company "had a third rate set:" at the time.  As she and her husband sat there painting the bleachers black, to the point her hands were stained, Carter admitted she had moments of doubt and wondered what she she had bought into.  In many ways, I thought that was an interesting moment on the DVD, because Carter always comes across as such a huge positive booster for the company and here she is admitting that even she was wondering whether she had made the right move in investing.

Carter also discussed changes that needed to be made within the company including getting out of the weekly PPV concept, commenting that she felt it was hard to get people to invest into the PPVs because it was a concept that had never been done before and there was nothing to assist the PPV aspect of the company.  For those wondering, the creative aspects of the booking and different regimes are never discussed, but you can't be surprised by that in a production created by the company themselves.   Still, it would have been funny for TNA to admit some of their miscues and poke fun at things like the Johnsons or the Dupp Cupp.

BARELY MAKING IT

TNA continued to just crawl over the finish line of goals Carter set for the company, as they would just make the "realistic goals" that were set, but weren't getting to where they needed to be.  Carter praised the work ethic of those in the ring because they continued to go above and beyond the call of duty even as everyone outside (and some inside) of the company assumed it was going to die at any point.  She praised the talent for providing a viable alternative professional wrestling product.

The cornerstone of that alternative was (and is) The X-Division.  Elix Skipper described the X-Division as a continuation of what fans didn't get to see evolve in WCW because that company went under.  Bob Ryder noted that the name came from the X-Games craze of that time period while AJ Styles, the first champion, said that the belt and division will always be his baby, whether he's part of it or not.  Don West and others praised the work of those in the fledgling days of the division, particularly Styles, Jerry Lynn and Low Ki (Senshi) during the triple ladder match on one of the early PPVs.  That match is one of several included on the DVD.  Styles said that the fact the X-Division were being given the chance to main event as X-Division stars while other groups may not have cared about the quality of the bout because they were just "midcard performers" helped make a major difference.  I'd love for the current booking regime to be forced to watch this portion of the documentary about 1,000 times before scripting the next episode of Impact.

The creation and evolution of TNA's first in-house tag team stars, America's Most Wanted are discussed under the guise of looking at the tag team scene of the first year.  The reality was that AMW was that tag scene.  James Storm and Chris Harris each tell a story about working for Bert Prentice at the Nashville Fairgrounds when TNA scouts were there and ended up being hired.  To their collective surprise, they learned at the first PPV taping that they were now a tag team.  Although each were let down, wanting to be singles stars, they also realized that in a new company featuring a ton of names vying to claim their spots, it would be easier to become a cornerstone in the tag division and the rest was history.  The documentary discusses their feud with the New Church and XXX, and in the case of the New Church, could have benefited for some comments from someone like Jim Mitchell (who managed them) or even Brian Lee, who is no longer in the company.

The documentary also talked about the move to the Asylum (Nashville Fairgrounds), which Carter admitted was a step backwards but said that it was a smart move because it allowed the company to stay in one place and create some word of mouth locally by running in a building with a lot of history behind it.   Rudy Charles talked about Jill Jarrett taking charge to clean up the place and make it presentable for PPV.  Styles noted that the Asylum became like other famous venues that ended up with the reputation of being a huge venue when it wasn't.  James Storm compared it to the ECW Arena crowd, saying it was smaller but crazier and louder, which comes across better on television than a bigger venue with a more sedate crowd.  BG James said that everyone works smaller venues in the start of their career and that's where you learn to ply your trade, so he likes them.  

Raven's entrance into TNA is treated as an important moment and as being the first time a major WWE name left that company to come to TNA.  In reality, that description fits Christian Cage far better, but he wasn't around the first year.  Styles noted that Raven coming in showed how important TNA was because he chose to come somewhere where he could make a difference.  Storm said that every fan at that point wanted Extreme Championship Wrestling back (the company was dead about two years by that point), so Raven was able to play off that.  Don West talked about the shock of the size of the line to get into the building the night Raven finally challenged Jeff Jarrett for the NWA title and the documentary showed footage of the line gong down the street.  Raven said that Jarrett was established as a performer in TNA, but needed the ying to his yang at that point, making the comparison between himself and Tommy Dreamer.   The match was treated as one of the all-time great TNA confrontations.  Raven said that he didn't think anyone was let down by the match, except the fans because they all wanted him to win.  He wasn't kidding.  I remember watching the crowd deflate when Jarrett won the match.  Watching this DVD and the crowd reaction for Raven, it's crazy to see how little he's meant to the company since that initial run in Nashville.

They close the documentary talking about the legacy of the first year.  Andrew Thomas noted that there were a lot of problems but those in charge were able to keep it together.  Bob Ryder told a story about Jeff Jarrett, who keeps his emotions in check a lot of the time, being the happiest, most emotional person at the the first anniversary party.  Daniels noted that without the first year and the hard work that went into the roller coaster ride, there never would have been Impact or SpikeTV or Fox Sports Network and everyone owes all the success to all that.  Carter even noted that those who come into the company today don't really understand the lean times and the fight that they came through and what it was like building the company from day one.  Borash said that it was daily trial and error and emotional breakdowns and he wouldn't want to go through it again, but is happy they survived it and everything has gotten easier since that first year.   

Carter noted that she had let other public relations clients go because she became more and more hands on with the company and while she misses aspects of her old job, she has never been more professionally fulfilled by anything beyond TNA.  Carter said that only a small audience was watching the talent, but the performers wrestled as if they were main eventing Madison Square Garden.

Jarrett said a lot of people wrote them off or left the company but the ones who stayed have the satisfaction that they took the gamble, even those who stayed because they didn't have another choice.  He said he's proud to look back and remember those who questioned him to his face asking him why he was doing this and knowing that the company survived to this day.  "It's easy to quit.  Everyone quits at some point.  It's the easiest thing to do.  None of us quit."

As I wrote above, not a perfect look at the company, but it's seemingly impossible to have an outside of the box critical look at your own company.  Still, it's well worth checking out and there's a lot more to the DVD, including several matches from the Nashville era, which is worth exploring.  A really well done DVD release, which you can order from our friends at www.highspots.com.

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

 

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