Wishlist for 2012 for Wrestling Fans

Dear Wrestling Fans,


This is Gene The Grappler. I decided to write this as a way to hope that this could be a great year for wrestling. I am going to make some valid points about both TNA and WWE. This is my opinion of what I think TNA and WWE should do for 2012. I am going on my opinion and what I see in the cards for various wrestlers. So here's my top ten things that can help and change TNA to be more competitive:

10.) Upgrade the X Division: I think it is good that the X Division is getting back to its roots. I think there needs to be more matches with the X division. Also since WWE is more so looking to older guys, get the kids they reject. Go after Morrison, get Haas and even Shelton Benjamin. Anybody that was stuck in mid card hell with the WWE can help boost the X Division.

9.) Revamp The Womens Division: Please don't do like WWE and get models to wrestle! You got pros like Tara, Jackie, and Mickie James. ODB is a good wrestler also. Even bringing back Gail Kim is a stroke of genius. However, it's time for Madison Rayne, Velvet Sky and others like them to move on. I watch wrestling not america's next top model. If you do keep those models, do something else with it or be consistent with their storylines.

8.) Revamp The Tag Team Division: This applies to both women's and men's. If you have a women's tag title, use it more. Don't waste is by giving it to the women's champion. There needs to be separation with the titles. The men's tag team titles need to be on guys that can wrestle. So why are they on Morgan and Crimson? Please use someone else to get those belts off them and also to make a name for the division.

7.) Retire the old wrestlers: Guys like Sting, Hogan, and Flair needs to not wrestle or be on TV. TNA was built with guys like Styles, Joe, Roode, and Storm. Let Sting retire. Tell Hogan and Flair to go away. Even let go of guys like RVD and the Hardys. TNA needs to use their homegrown talents not use other guys from the past. Learn from WCW and don't use the past.

6.) More events away from the south: I live in Detroit, MI. I use to see WWE, WCW, ECW and even ICP wrestling events. I have never been to a TNA event. They don't come to Detroit. I think they avoid the midwest because they can't book the arenas. There are small venues in Michigan to come to. There are small venues in Ohio, Minnesota, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Come to the midwest in the summer. Never in the winter.

5.) Using family to move a storyline: Please stop that right now! I am tired of seeing Devon's kids, Bischoff's son, or anyone else that's related to current talent. What makes you think this will work? We have seen that it does not work. I like wrestling to be more real with storylines but never use family.

4.) Upper Management: Jeff Jarrette and Dixie Carter needs to stay off TV. Dixie Carter cannot act and Jeff Jarrette needs to let go of the spotlight. Like I said above with family, these two needs to not be on tv and use their real life spouses.

3.) More live shows and less taped: I know most people would think this is a crazy ideal but I would love to see more live tv shows. Why is TNA trying to be like old school WCW or ECW. Live is better and at least once a month do something different.Live is how WWE got to be more popular and TNA needs to go live. However, never on Mondays because we know TNA cannot compete with WWE yet.

2.) Move from Thursday to Tuesday. Why? Well if you watch football, you know thart Monday Night Football gets more ratings than most local games on Sunday or even Sunday Night Football. Going with the above suggestion, if you go live on Tuesday and  repeat on Thursday, you give more to Spike TV and also give them something to fill for a crappy show.

1.) The Name: Is this TNA or Impact Wrestling? The name is your product. Example is how WWF changed to WWE. WWF is the World Wildlife Foundation not the World Wrestling Federation. WWE is World Wrestling Entertainment. Stuck with the name that gets people's attention.

I know most will think I have gone crazy but I am hopeful these can and will make help TNA become better in the long run. Also I feel that if these were done, we can stop thinking TNA is another WCW. We don't want another ECW or WCW. We want TNA. Now here's where I get harsher. Here's what I think WWE can do to help their product. This is more to make it bearable to watch. My top ten suggestions to WWE for 2012:

10.) IC and US Title: I am a big fan of Zack Ryder. I am happy that he has a singles title. However, I am not happy that there is not more emphasis on the young talent in the mid card. I don't like Cody Rhodes but I like they brought back the old IC belt. My big pet peeve is that there are a lot of guys in what I call Mid Card hell but not used as much. So get some of these guys out of mid card hell and boost these titles. Here's a great suggestion - more titles matches on Raw and Smackdown and put the title on the line.

9.) Diva's Title: First and foremost - change the name back to Women's Championship. I hate that there are not a lot of womens wrestlers in the WWE. Vince McMahon needs to stop getting models and get actual womens wrestlers. Don't call Trish, Lita and others back. There are a lot of womens wrestlers out there in the indy promotions. Stop getting women that cannot wrestler. Alicia Fox is going to kill herself or someone in the ring. Use more of Beth, Natalya, and even Snuka's daughter.

8.) Tag Teams: We need more guys to be tag teams. Do what TNA just did at their ppv - throw guys that aren't being used for the IC and US titles. You got all those guys from NXT and even FCW. Use them! Air Boom is getting stale. The Usos are being wasted. Primo and Epico are also being wasted. What's sad is that in the last few years of tag teams in WWE, I remember only the guys that were thrown together like ShowMiz, Awesome Truth, even JeriShow. Please get some tag teams together soon.

7.) Stop using past wrestlers to boost ratings: I love nostalgia but not as much as WWE. The Rock, Roddy Piper, Lita, Trish, Booker T., Kevin Nash, and others. In the last few years, there have been more old guys coming back than new talent. Even with people like Mick Foley and Chris Jerricho coming back, where are the new talent? I want the old WWE back but not the watered down version. The Rock is showcasing Wrestlemania 28. Why? Chris Jerricho is going to be a main event player also at WM28. The Undertaker, I hope, is going to retire this year. Let him go 20-0 and leave. Please don't drag him back yearly just to make cash. I want to see guys like Ryder, Barrett, Ziggler, Rhodes, and all those young guys headline WM not Rock, Cena, or even Taker.

6.) Young Talent = Young Champs: I said earlier to get some guys out of mid card hell. Well let's see some young champs. I mean guys like CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Zack Ryder, and other as champs. Not talking about US or IC but WWE and WHC. It is time for the young generation to get into the spotlight. We saw that in a sense when CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and Zack Ryder started Raw after they all won from the last PPV. I don't care about ratings because now a days, people watch WWE but not during the normal days. Young Talent = Young Champs.

5.) Stop using real mangement: I had to Google who the hell was the vice president of talent relations at WWE. I cannot spell his last name but I know him as Johnny Ace so he's Johnny Ace. We have seen in the past Vince, Shane, Steph, and even Jim Ross. So please stop using real management people in storylines. Go back to getting actors or even get some of the old guys like Foley or even Booker T. to become GMs and more. I miss the days of Jack Tunney and Gorilla Monsoon being the figureheads.

4.) More shoot interviews: CM Punk is my idol for 2011 because he caused something to change in a sense for WWE. What he said made great TV. He caused the changes that made it easier for me to watch WWE. I love watching him speak and also ruffle the feathers of Vince and others. He's the reason why Johnny Ace is on TV. So we need more guys to be fed up. I know guys like Rhodes are going to be next. Rhodes is the next one to shoot about his brother and his father. Then I want Miz to get really fed up about being a heel. He's a great heel and needs to be more heelish. Also R-Truth needs to be more honest with fans. I like little Jimmy. He needs to be both a heel with good tendencies. More shoot makes TV easier to watch.

3.) John Cena: In order to write this, I need to make clear....I like Cena of the past. Super Cena sucks. He needs to change his gimmick quick. Cena follows a long line of guys that Vince wants to be his golden goose. Starting from Hogan in 1983 and to Cena now, these guys are great as faces but eventually they have to be a heel. Cena needs to be a heel. With him facing the Rock, we need a heel Cena. Shawn Michaels did it with Hogan and Taker. Cena is great with kids and women but men want to kick his ass. I rather watch Orton or even the young guys because Cena is the new Hogan. Don't believe me? Go on YouTube and try to find the five moves of death. Hogan had three moves.

2.) Annoucing Teams: Bring back Jim Ross! Fire Michael Cole! Stop losing guys to ESPN. I am laughing that guys like The Coach and now Josh Matthews are doing real reporting on ESPN. Michael Cole needs to be a commentator not a wrestler. Same with Jim Ross. Lawler is the king, period. New talent is needed to interview the talent. Here's a thought: Get Alicia Fox or The Bellas to do an interview with the guys. Use them for something other than wrestling.

1.) Slowly get out of the PG Era: This is last for one reason.....this is the most obivious suggestion. Don't tell me they can't because once Kmart/Sears lose money they will be doing more adult themes. We all know they don't have real competition but MMA is more realistic and geared to men. Kids watch WWE but they watch old WWE. They watch old DX and other past things. PG in wrestling is funny because you got more botches. I laugh because PG is not clear to me. WWE is on cable TV. We all know Cable tv is more for grown ups. You can watch shows like Burn Notice, In Plain Sight, and The Closer and those are PG or higher. Wrestling is not PG. I know the WWE want to appeal to all but you have to pick who. Stop alienating those who love what you use to do not what parents groups want you to do. If you don't like WWE I got three words for you.....turn it off!


As a fan, I know some of these changes or suggestions will not come right away but I know for 2012, try to do some of them. I guarantee that some of these will work instantely and others will take time. So I hope this is a good thing for me to say these things and for all of you to comment on it. Thanks for reading.





Gene The Grappler