The number of fans clamoring for something, anything, to revitalize the programs, either WWE or TNA, they watch in a given week seems to keep growing by the day. However, contrary to what many of those fans may think, simply introducing new talent or coming up with a hot angle isn't enough to provoke any lasting effects on the quality of these shows. Something that has been frequently overlooked is the need for some new faces behind the scenes as well as on camera. Obviously, the booking and creative teams are essential to the perceived success of a particular broadcast, but again, their efforts can only accomplish so much. Rather, the heads that need to roll are those occupying the Director and Producer positions at WWE and TNA. It's logical for blame to be placed on the shoulder of one or all of the McMahon family, as well as men like John Laurnanitis or Brian Gerwitz for the decline of WWE’s product, but why hasn't anyone discussed the faults of the Dick Cheney to Vince's George W. -- Executive V.P of TV Production Kevin Dunn? Indicative of just how polarizing his philosophy for producing wrestling is, consider this: Jim Cornette and Paul Heyman actually agree for perhaps the first and only time in the history of forever that Dunn is in Cornette's words "the biggest enemy of wrestling fans anywhere." Having been with the company since 1984, Dunn has served as Line Producer for every live broadcast since 1988. Think of the myriad of ways wrestling has fundamentally changed over the past twenty years, yet the only significant updates the WWE product has seen in that time came when their style had become so lame and cheesy that it nearly put the company out of business. This was of course the "Attitude" era, but many of those changes were largely superficial ones like the "scratch" logo. Furthermore, it has been firmly established that nearly all of the concepts WWE so often brags about integrating into their program during that period were shamelessly pilfered lock, stock and barrel from ECW.
The list of heinous acts perpetrated on the audience in Dunn’s misguided quest to turn wrestling into “Sports Entertainment” are far too numerous to mention. While everyone considers the backstage skit and the 3-minute match to be the handiwork of Vince Russo, it is Dunn who perpetuates the use of these devices week after week, year after year. If that’s not enough, then all that is left to say are the names Al Wilson and Katie Vick, both of which he is personally responsible for. Above and beyond those instances is the overwhelming predictability of Raw for the past several years. Has there ever been a reasonable explanation for why nearly every WWE show in the past decade begins with a 15 min. soliloquy, or an equally tedious squabble between two or more random wrestlers? When was the last time someone took a bump to the floor in the middle of a match and the show didn’t cut to commercial? Those are only the most obvious redundancies in the format of Raw but there are scores of others. What made Raw so captivating in its heyday was the sense of spontaneity it created, but sadly those times have long since faded into the history books.
The men in the truck for TNA are tenured veterans of the Monday Night Wars as well. Keith Mitchell was the producer of that bastion of professionalism and cinematic excellence known as WCW Monday Nitro, and now serves in the same capacity for TNA. Director Michael Vettor supervised ECW’s PPV’s and David Sahadi, the trendsetter of those flashy video packages TNA loves so much, began his career doing the same thing for WWE before quitting over his frustration with working for the aforementioned Mr. Dunn. While Sahadi’s work is well respected (and deservedly so), no one orders a PPV to see good editing. Despite being on Spike TV for nearly three years, Impact still looks like a slightly improved version of WCW Worldwide. If Raw is broken, then TNA is like poorly assembled modular furniture; all of the pieces are there, just not put together the right way. Even Ring of Honor is guilty of these same transgressions to some degree. There are a variety of aesthetic and financial reasons behind ROH’s “style of no style” but their shows are essentially an old-school RF Video ECW Fan-Cam tape with a hard camera.
The point is that it has been over a decade since an attempt has been made to re-imagine or alter the way wrestling is presented on North American television. Innovation is crucial to the longevity of any form or genre of entertainment, yet WWE seems content to simply plug new performers into an outdated formula. TNA keeps saying they are different, but haven’t been doing anything to back up those claims. It’s time for someone else to have an opportunity to develop a new vision for broadcasting wrestling, and if one of the major companies isn’t willing to provide it, eventually another promotion will.