Is Mark Madden the Fran Tarkenton of Pro Wrestling?

[only1soe]

Let me first mention I am not a Mark Madden hater. I enjoy his honest commentary and he deserves to say his peace.

My question to WZ readers is simple: Is Mark Madden the Fran Tarkenton of Pro Wrestling?

Tark was critical of Farve at the beginning of the season just like Madden has been overly critical of TNA.

Farve came in and nearly lead his team to the Super Bowl. TNA ratings have steadily been very good and the product is much better now than it was this time last year.

Had Tavares Jackson lead the Vikings, they may not of even made the playoffs. Had Jarrett and the old crowd still kept running TNA like they had before the ratings would not be where they are at now. The product and new talent wouldn't be where it is at now either.

Now TNA is not exactly close to knocking on the door of being a rival to WWE just yet. Madden isn't a hall of famer like Tarkenton either.

My opinion is that TNA just like Farve with Viking fans have given us something to watch that we may not expected to see a few years ago.

Madden will never admit it but do readers here on WZ think he has his foot in his mouth now?

Last question. Why does Madden hate TNA so much?

 

[Pedro08]

No, because there is nothing that has happen in TNA that would make him change his mind. Madden was ripping on TNA for awhile, not just when Hogan and Bischoff came in. He's not a fan of Russo and thinks that Dixie is just a money mark.

Yes, TNA's ratings have improved and the Jan. 4th show was a big boost, but it's too soon to definitely say whether Madden is right or wrong.

 

[DirtyJosé]

My take on Madden is that he has a tendency to come across as a smarmy dick, that he is at best hostile towards most anyone in the industry, and that he is never positive about any aspect of the industry. That being said, I will admit that:

1: The guy has talent, and can produce things (articles and radio programs) that can get people interested and talking. A source no less than Jim Ross has praised various aspects of his skills.

2: He was at Ground Zero in WCW, and as such does have an insight that can't be explained through various "how WCW died" books and articles. He may seem overly bitter at a handful of the people he was around, but if you've ever worked in an environment that shitty you'd understand why he'd still be wary.

3: He is a critic, and a radio host; both professions in which stirring up shit is rewarded with ratings/pageviews and better contracts. It's his job to be this way.

In regards to TNA, see point 2 above. He was there when Bischoff and Hogan and Jarrett and Russo last fused into the superentity known as "Clusterfuck!". Not to say that he was right, but he had his (legitimate) reasons to be critical.

It's not the first time Madden might be wrong, and it certainly won't be the last. But who's perfect? (Besides Curt Henning)

 

[hewittor]

He just another media guy who writes a story to get a rise out of readers. You guys fell for it. I've read people say that this last show sucked or that "episode" sucked and they will never watch again while Russo is there. Same people that tune in every week and watch the show anyway, whether they like it or not.

Personally, as long as there is a little bit of good wrestling every week, I am down with TNA. It was time for a change, and damn it to quote Sam Cooke, A Change has Come.

Easy E is a genius. TNA will become the new face of wrestling, not entertainment like the WWE. I am not a WWE hater. I will never miss an episode of Raw or Smackdown. It's just hard to watch an entire episode live, without it being recorded on my DVR so that I can fast forward evertime Hornswaggle has a court case, or Evan Bourne is booked in a match that we know he won't win, because WWE is killing him.

Keep up the good work Madden. You hater...lol

 

[Mitch Henessey]

First of all, Fran Tarkenton is full of shit for criticizing Favre. Towards the end of his career, Tarkenton did the same exact thing that Favre has done with the Packers,Jets,and Vikings, as far being indecisive about retirement goes.

Anyway, you all have to remember that Madden is one of those guys who just likes to spark some controversy. He probably gets a kick out of pissing people off. I don't think Madden hates TNA. He's just probably trying to get some attention, and have people read his articles, and listen to his radio show, that's all.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

My question to WZ readers is simple: Is Mark Madden the Fran Tarkenton of Pro Wrestling?

(Disclaimer: if that quote hasn't worked right it's my first time trying)

I wouldn't say he criticizes Pro Wrestling constantly, just TNA. As someone who was involved in the business, however much I may disagree with him over a lot of stuff, he does have more expertise than a lot of people on these boards will ever have, myself included.

What I have a problem with is that every week or so there's yet another rant on how TNA is so poor and that they're doing the same thing all the time without much insight as to how things can be improved. What annoys me is when people, Madden or users of these forums, just blast an idea with such hate but then offer little to nothing in the way of constructive ideas.

 

[justinept]

I'm not sure I understand the question here ...

You're saying that Madden criticized TNA ... TNA made some changes ... and now TNA is better? If that's what you're saying, then how does that compare him to Fran Tarkenton?

One thing about this entire post that people need to understand is that TNA has NOT turned the corner. They haven't come close to hitting any kind of stride yet.

Has the product improved? I think it has.
Have the ratings improved? Without question.

But a 1.5 rating each week is not good enough to say it has turned any kind of corner. People rag on the WWE, yet their fourth show (Superstars) draws a similar rating to Impact!. Their flagship show, Raw, draws a 3.5 rating every week.

Hate to break it you TNA fans - but the 3.5 rating is the measuring stick right now. If TNA comes closer to hitting that - say a 3.0 rating - then you can say it has turned the corner in terms of being a viable option for wrestling fans.

But it hasn't done that yet. The wrestling might be better than Raw. The talent might be younger. The storylines might be fresher. But until people actually watch Impact! - and continue to watch it - then you can't compare them to an NFL team that lost a conference championship game...

 

[jrob1113]

Comparing Mark Madden to Frank Tarkenton is a major insult to Mr. Tarkenton. As a columnist/commentator/radio host, Madden's the equivalent of a wrestling jobber..he's an overgrown baby who is too stubborn to listen to reason and has an agenda that contradicts everything that makes sense in wrestling. He does not have the ability to be objective, and therefore what he says really shouldn't mean anything to anyone. He has nothing positive to say about people he holds a grudge against and whatever promotion they are a part of. Where does he get off thinking he knows anything about wrestling? He was only briefly for a few months a boring ass WCW commentator at the worst and most boring period of time in WCW and he got kicked off the air for being a boring douche bag during some extremely boring programming. Then the guy goes and listens to Denis Leary's "No Cure For Cancer" and repeats Leary's line on his radio show as if it's his own to trash prominent political figure Sen Ted Kennedy. How original. He is like the smark King, he knows there's many negative marks here on WZ and he caters to them with his moronic rants that he tries to pass off as original. He trashes Hulk Hogan, one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, Eric Bischoff, the guy who hired him and gave this untalented fat ass a chance, and continuously rips on the legendary Bruno Sammartino. Mark Madden you should thank your lucky stars you even had a job in the wrestling business, let alone in life, your hard to look at and twice as hard to listen to. The guy is nothing but a negative cry baby with a moronic bone to pick with people who don't need to pay attention to him. He doesn't know what he's talking about, if anybody he could be compared to the Rush Limbaugh of all morons.

 

[Tastycles]

While I think Mark Madden often talks out of his arse, most of his criticisms of TNA have been pretty valid. The things that TNA have implemented are not long term reasons to watch. People are tuning in to see who will debut this week, but you can't do that forever. The novelty will wear off soon enough, and then you are left with guys like the Nasty Boys behind. There's obviously no problem in adding people like Hogan to the product, people will watch as a result in some way, the problem comes in sacrificing people who you had stock in for the future of the company like Consequences Creed to shoehorn two people that nobody has ever bought a ticket to see in the Nasty Boys. Hogan isn't the problem, his posse is, and as someone who has seen nepotism ruin a company in WCW, I'm sure Madden's points are valid.

 

[Holmesy]

one thing i hate about Madden is his telling us things like its fact, how does he know what dixie is like? as far as i know he hasnt got contacts in TNA, i get the feeling he wants TNA to fail so he can turn around and say i told you so, he repeatedly ripped apart hogan sayin he will go there and put himself over the younger talent, and as of yet he hasnt wrestled anyone, so far the changes has been positive, linear story lines, everyone on tv has a purpose, a long way from being what madden had predicted, i hardly ever read him trash WWE,

so the question is what does he have against TNA?

ps i have stopped reading his colomns as i know its just gonna be another TNA bitchfest,

 

[Supersayin]

Mark Madden? oh yes, Michael Hayes long lost brother. I think he is misreble that Vince Mcmahon never hired him, if you read his blogs, he will never admit that WWE sucks even when it does. He seems like a kiss ass.

 

[only1soe]

I have read in Maddens articles and he says makes more money in Radio than he would in wrestling. I did some research and he is on FM in Pittsburgh. Barely even drive time. Being born not too far from Pittsburgh myself I can see why he is always miserable. That place sucks. Knowing people who have worked at Clear Channel I can guesstimate his salary and its for sure not as much as Matt Striker is making.

Living in LA I think I could reach more people yelling out my window than he does with his station.

Like TNA or not its nice to have a choice and extra wrestling on every week. If a segment sucks and you tivoed it you can just skip through.

TNA is not that bad and I agree with the poster comparing him to Tarkenton is disrespecting Tark. It is just nice to see Madden have to eat his words a bit like Tark.