New York, NY – April 5, 2012 – Spike TV and TNA Entertainment have agreed upon a multi-year extension on their strategic partnership, maintaining Spike TV as the exclusive U.S. television home of the emerging sports-entertainment property.
The deal was announced today jointly by Kevin Kay, Spike TV President and Dixie Carter, TNA Entertainment President. TNA wrestling debuted on Spike TV in July, 2005. Over the last seven years, the ratings for TNA’s “IMPACT Wrestling” have grown from an average of 700,000 viewers at launch to nearly two million today.
“Dixie Carter and her team at TNA have done a phenomenal job in developing stars for an exciting, high-action brand that resonates with Spike’s audience,” said Kay. “We are excited to further our partnership and will continue to build and invigorate the franchise together.”
“We are thrilled that Spike TV will be IMPACT Wrestling's home for years to come,” said Carter. “The dedication that Kevin Kay and the network have shown us in building our brand is what makes this announcement even more meaningful for me. And look for some exciting things to happen on IMPACT in the near future."
TNA’s flagship series, “IMPACT Wrestling,” airs weekly on Spike TV and is one of the network’s top-rated series. The show has evolved into must-see-tv on Thursdays with young men and currently ranks among the top shows on cable in its timeslot with Men 18-34.
The roster features many of the biggest names in wrestling including Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Jeff Hardy, Kurt Angle, Booby Roode, Sting, James Storm, Rob Van Dam the lovely and lethal Knockouts.
Has Rob Van Dam even been on the show in the past few months?
Really, it was the best move for both parties, as TNA wouldn’t stand a chance trying to find another network, and the ratings are better for Spike than anything else they’ve got now that UFC is gone. Hell, I’d say they should go a step further and try to buy ROH away from Sinclair so they can really hit the pro wrestling demographic. That way TNA and ROH can do talent sharing and help each other to not die a horrible death like ROH appears to be headed towards.
SpikeTV's still a channel?
ReplyDeleteRight on.
What? Is ROH in trouble? Nooooooooooo!
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Scott. I was at the Saturday ROH show, and it was not pretty. Bad production, mostly bad matches other than the phenomenal main event. Dragon Gate blew ROH out of the water this past weekend.
ReplyDeleteAs for Spike/TNA, Impact actually outdrew most UFC programming on the channel. Only the live fight nights regularly got better ratings than Impact.
I've been highly critical of the overall direction and lack of interesting characters in ROH lately but are they really that close to potentially dying?
ReplyDeleteThe Sinclair deal was basically a hail mary play to save the company. You can't draw a couple of hundred people per show and stay in existence without some significant revenue streams (like TNA has).
ReplyDeleteThey had to offer refunds for Friday night's IPPV, and if not for the main event, a ton of the live attendance would've asked for a refund Saturday, since they kept stopping the show due to streaming issues. They even interrupted the Cole/O'Reilly match due to an issue, making both guys look stupid and turning the crowd against them and the entire show. Steen/Edwards had a rushed finish audibled from the ref, making Edwards look like a moron. Bush league stuff, even moreso than a lot of TNA's bad stuff.
ReplyDeleteROH still has one really hot feud/angle in Steen vs. Richards so they'd be smart to start that ball rolling ASAP. Not saying it will save them but at least it involves the main event.
ReplyDeleteI think they need to go towards a double-turn with Richards and Steen as Steen is getting way too many positive crowd reactions and Richard's character is boring. Steen is already established as anti-authority and Richards is already seen a pro-authority so turn Corny heel too and ROH might have something better to work with.
ReplyDeleteNeither TNA nor ROH was ever better than when talent could work both shows. It was incredibly myopic of TNA to not let their guys work ROH, since it just increased those guys' profile and made them seem like a bigger deal amongst fans. Plus, from what it seems like, most of the talent that jumped back and forth seemed to enjoy working ROH shows more, and since they've become TNA-only (for money reasons, I'd assume) most of them seem to be apathetic and taking lots of time off for injuries or letting their ring work and/or physiques go to shit.
ReplyDeletePlus, if they crossed over again, they could have a Kurt Angle vs. Davey Richards match and we could all take bets on how many angry rants Phrederic would go on about it. ;)
TNA would've been crazy not to pull their talent after the Feinstein scandal.
DeleteUnfortunately, I wasn't hip to ROH during their great years, but I watch the weekly show now, and can tell that things are not going well for them. They have no money drawing guys on the singles scene, and the biggest draw they do seem to have (The Briscoes) have only one team that they could potentially make money with (WGTT) and that feud has already cooled down. TNA has signed away all of the ROH talent that had any kind of personality or star power, and what you're left with is a roster full of Dean Malenko types - very good technical wrestlers with the charisma of a tree stump. Hell, Dean had more personality than Richards & Edwards combined. And when the inevitable Steen title reign begins, who is there for him to feud with?
ReplyDeleteBut... what does this have to do with Brock Lesnar? Or Daniel Bryan?
ReplyDeleteSo if ROH goes belly up, what indy fed becomes number 1? DGUSA? Chikara?
ReplyDeleteFinally CZW's chance to shine!
ReplyDeleteDGUSA. Phenomenal shows, phenomenal young roster loaded with charisma.
ReplyDeleteThe Briscoes are the best thing about ROH, by a mile.
ReplyDeleteI like Davey (Richards-Elgin was amazing and saved Saturday's show), but he's definitely not exactly loaded with charisma. He reminds me of Benoit in many ways.
ReplyDeleteAJ loves TNA and wants it to succeed, but they keep dicking him around. I assume, though, you were referring to Joe. As I've mentioned before, Joe's response to his bad booking has been as bad as the booking itself. Styles is the one I feel the worst for.
ReplyDeleteYeah I have no sympathy for Joe. He got lazy, let himself go (um... moreso), and clearly doesn't give a shit. Contrast that with AJ who's a consumate pro.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I'm aware that Joe's booking the last few years has been worse than AJ, but AJ HAS had to put up with a lot of shit.
All of this. They dressed AJ up in a feathered robe that made him look like a giant blue chicken and forced him to mimic Flair's talking and wrestling styles. Just the worst.
ReplyDeleteThis is an official press release...but they write...
ReplyDelete"The roster features many of the biggest names in wrestling including Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Jeff Hardy, Kurt Angle, Booby Roode,"
Booby Roode?
Would love to know what his finisher is.
Speaking of TNA, Ric Flair is sucking the ass of WWE again. Apparently his last match was against Shawn Michaels. And The Rock's great. And Vince McMahon is great. Why does TNA bother with him? He adds nothing to the show, he just strolls into Orlando to drink his face off and get paid to wander to the ring and cut something that resembles a promo. Sometimes roll around and bleed. He does nothing to promote the company, goes to the Hall of Fame with TNA's blessing and says he wants to go back to WWE. I know he's too well respected by too many people for it to happen, but I'd love for the wrestling business as a whole to tell him he's a phony selfish asshole and let him find other ways to pay his bills. Or maybe TNA might have the balls to punish him? Or at the very least not look like fools by employing him and talking him up while he ignores they exist and begs WWE to take him back?
ReplyDeleteAs for TNA as a whole, this is obviously good news for them. I've given them a lot of changes. I really want to like TNA and find people have been negative towards them when they didn't deserve it - but I find it a chore to watch now, so I don't. It's just comes off as so bush-league. It's every bad wrestling cliche on one show - dueling authority figures, pushing a bookers kid, who runs the show being put on the line and changing every month. It's too bad because they have, and had, a lot of guys who I love watching in the ring, it'd be great if they gave them the time and character development that they're still giving to Hogan, Sting, Bishoff, Bishoff's kid, etc.
Yeah, but who could stay motivated with the way they've done Joe? At least AJ got to stay in high profile angles. Joe was given complete dog crap.
ReplyDeleteNot really.
ReplyDeleteAgreed on everything regarding Flair. Such a scumbag.
ReplyDeleteWell I can understand him praising WWE constantly because they've treated him so well in the past but he just needs to realize they don't want him wrestling anymore. The only role I'd like to see Flair in if he goes back to WWE is managing a new Horseman stable.
ReplyDeleteOh please. AJ's been fed just as much crap, and he's never dogged it. Chris Daniels didn't dog it when he got squashed out of the company and given every dumb character swerve under the sun. There's no reason for them to ever GIVE him a chance again if he doesn't work hard.
ReplyDeleteI'm just saying that even though AJ was looking ridiculous at times, he was still holding gold or near the top of the card. Joe was being jobbed out at every turn, being taken off of TV for weeks at a time in dumb abduction angles, etc. I think he should have left TNA when he had the chance, because if they weren't going to let him be the top dog when he was the hottest thing in wrestling during his undefeated killing machine phase, they were never going to use him correctly.
ReplyDeleteIf Flair wants to continue to wrestle occasionally, TNA is where he needs to be. Vince is not going to let him back into the ring.
ReplyDeleteIt boggles my mind why TNA isn't snaping up all the best Indy talent left out there. I would never have thought WWE of all places would scoop up the likes of Hero, Black, Ambrose and others.
ReplyDeleteThey're too busy paying high salaries to old dudes who aren't drawing money like Hogan, Flair, Sting, Angle, Van Dam, etc. If they got rid of those guys and used the money to sign talented young guys, they might be able to build something that is profitable.
ReplyDeleteAngle? Angle has been very valuable to TNA. He's put over everyone they've asked him to and has consistently put on good to great matches.
ReplyDeleteMan, AJ hasn't been consistently near the top of the card since early 2010.
ReplyDeleteI think they can make money off of Steen. Hell, the only reason I check out their IPPV's are because of him.
ReplyDeleteAngle is another Benoit waiting to happen, otherwise I wouldn't mind them keeping him. If I was in charge of TNA, first thing I do is hire the Briscoes and the American Wolves to give some life to the tag team division and the mid-card.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, Kurt's been good for TNA and has somehow continued to wrestle his ass off despite his body breaking down over the years. But when you're bleeding money like TNA is, ratings aren't moving, PPV buys aren't strong, etc., I think you have to take a long hard look at the salaries of the highest paid guys on the roster and ask yourself if they're worth the money. Out of the guys I listed, I would keep Angle because he'd make your next young star. I was really looking forward to what he was going to do with Desmond Wolfe, but then Wolfe had to quit wrestling.
ReplyDeleteApparently they're interested in him mainly for the WWE Network. I don't know what they think he'll add to that - his opinion depends on who's paying him, he dismisses everyone he doesn't like (like the nWo), and all he wants to talk about is how great the Horsemen were. I'd watch for the entertainment value of how ridiculous his opinions are though.
ReplyDeleteNow a reality show about Ric Flair's life? That I'd watch, although I assume I'd be similar to intervention.
This is what Paul Heyman said he wanted to do if he came to TNA. He wanted to get rid of all the old guy except one, and use him to accentuate the young talent. According to Heyman Spike TV was behind that idea but Dixie Carter didn't want to get rid of all of the older guys.
ReplyDeleteThe only time TNA was remotely interesting to me was when they were snapping up Indy talent left and right. Guys like Petey Williams, Chris Sabin, Low-Ki among many others were fresh and exciting to watch.
ReplyDeleteThen they started signing every WWE/WCW re-tread they could find and have sucked ever since.
I'd like Kurt more if he wasn't surrounded by the Hogan's, Flair's, Sting's, Etc. Kurt as the great veteran who can still beat the young guys would make him stand out and make being him mean something. It helps that he can still go in the ring and make victories over him, or his victories, seem hard fought. I guess it's the same idea as what Heyman wanted to do - ditch all the old guys except for one.
ReplyDeleteIf they ever decide to give Ziggler a serious push I could see him as the Flair of a new stable. Swagger wouldn't be too bad either if they tweaked his character a bit. Who else would make good Horsemen?
ReplyDeleteThe problem is they try to cater to the WWE audience. That is never going to work because they don't have John Cena. They need to go in the complete opposite direction and cater to the hardcore wrestling fan. It won't have them selling out stadiums, but they will do a lot better than they're doing now.
ReplyDeleteWasn't Booby Roode one of the Nitro Girls near the end of WCW?
ReplyDeleteThis x1000. I wanted to like them so bad. But it just seems like over the last 4-5 years they've really shattered expectations in regards to how bad a wrestling promotion can be.
ReplyDeleteRight? How much could it cost to hire a full-time driver for one of your biggest stars?
ReplyDeleteThe guy has been careening toward a DUI/vehicular homicide for years already.
Briscoes vs. MCMG in TNA would be really cool.
ReplyDeleteHis twitter account is a very scary place to be.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of ROH, finally checked out Richards/Elgin. Don't get where all the 5* love is coming from. Match was terrible until the top rope dragon suplex spot, but the finish was sloppy as hell. And how can Cornette rant and rave about ECW ruining wrestling when he has his guys throwing a million head kicks? Head kicks have become the new chair shots.
ReplyDeleteAnd can someone please sit Davey Richards down and explain to him that wrestling is a work?
What do you mean? He works too stiff? Or his personality?
ReplyDeleteGFL is gonna be the death of ROH. There were a lot of fans who refuse to do business with them now because of it.
ReplyDeleteBoth.
ReplyDeleteI was there live, and I couldn't disagree more. The finish is what MADE the match. It built and built and built, and totally sucked in a crowd that was angry at ROH, bored by both guys as characters and just ready to get the show over. By the end of the match, we were begging for it to keep going.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have had a problem if the first head kick was the finish. Elgin kicking out and Davey hitting another was overkill. And also, Elgin no selling and spitting in Davey's face would have been a lot more effective if he hadn't been doing it all match long.
ReplyDeleteI wish part of the deal involved getting Xplosion on TV. If any show could benefit from a brand split it's TNA.
ReplyDeleteThere really isn't enough TV time. That is why I said I wish they'd do more with Xplosion.
ReplyDeleteYeah Davey's pretty much booked as someone who would want to be in MMA except for the fact that he wants to be booked to win all the time and do lots of complicated submissions. I get the feeling that's how he feels in real life too.
ReplyDeleteI don't however agree that he has no charisma; I think that's a lot of the same argument that Bryan and others have gotten. Somehow certain talented mat wrestlers that are smaller get stereotyped as having no charisma because of Benoit and Malenko. Now Eddie Edwards, Roderick Strong, and Michael Elgin on the other hand....
I don't see that with Davey. He is always "RAWR HEAD KICK SERIOUS WRESTLER THROAT SLASH!!!" With those other guys, you would see the lighter side from time to time.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if kids today look at Flair like I use to look at Larry Zbyszko (i.e. some old man who was apparently once a good wrestler).
ReplyDeleteI think catering to the hardcore fan would benefit their bottom line (less expenses with less expensive talent) and certainly make them more of a critical success, but I am not confident it would have a positive impact on their ratings and such.
ReplyDeleteI guess it sort of depends on the situation -- if the two million viewers (or whatever the number is) that they pull in each week for impact is the base audience that would pretty much watch no matter what who is featured, then they have nothing to lose and everything to gain by getting rid of the older talent that costs a ton of money and replacing them with younger guys.
Does TNA ever do surveys of the audience ala the WWE ones? I'd be very curious to hear what the average TNA fan represents in terms of demographics and the things they enjoy about the product.
Not so much Elgin, except for the point on their TV last week when Truth Martini rode to the ring on his shoulders. Davey just has a kind of natural flow to his promos, he doesn't sound lost or nervous the way the other guys do. He usually just says basic go get 'em type stuff, which is part of what drags his character down. But he sounds natural on the mic, so he gets points over Benoit & Malenko & Lance Storm and the like for that.
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree. I think the one counter to the WWE would be to sign the best Indy talent and have the best matches and win over the people. If I knew every TNA show included a handful of strong matches and guys busting their ass to get over I'd be inclined to watch or at least DVR it and watch later.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I guess it just depends what fans are watching TNA.
ReplyDeleteI guess I sort of figure that "the typical TNA fan" at this point consists of someone who is in their late 20s and early 30s, misses the "Attitude" era and are willing to settle for an imitation of it, hoping they'll get it together at some point.
CHIKARA has a stronger infrastructure, don't they? They run more shows, draw crowds as large/larger than DGUSA, have a stronger online presence, and generally get more press for their bigger events. In fact, I'd argue they're the number 1 indy now. ROH is in that in-between phase between indy and national since they run through all of the northeast and southeast in addition to parts of the midwest.
ReplyDeleteTNA has this weird idea that they can "be like WWE," which includes developing their own stars instead of signing top-tier indy guys. So we end up with Cody Deaner, Rob Terry, Robbie E, Anarquia, Magnus, and so on. Their only success story has been Magnus, but I think that's mainly because he had the opportunity to work with some really talented people and seems dedicated. This is also why TNA worked the deal with OVW where OVW is now TNA's developmental territory.
ReplyDeleteFunny thing is, hasn't Aries been their biggest success story over the last year? Dude made himself into one of their top babyfaces through sheer presence. So yeah, it would make sense to go after marketable indy guys like the Briscoes, Steen, Willie Mack, or Kenny King. But they're already "known," so in some warped way TNA wouldn't be developing their own talent.
Which is exactly why I won't watch. It's why I subscribe to Classics on Demand, I can relieve the real thing.
ReplyDeleteAnd Desmond Wolfe too, until he quit or whatever happened to him. Every "known" indy guy they've brought in has generally worked out for them. It's the guys you mentioned that drag down the mid-card.
ReplyDeleteThey are trying to copy the Nitro style of have the name guys on top, while using the cruisers and Benoit, Booker types to keep you going. The problem is, instead of having guys like Mysterio, Guerrero, and Jericho, they have too many guys like Disco, Wright, and Glacier.
They could sign Steen and get rid of Ken Anderson. Steen is better at the obnoxious loudmouth role and is a better wrestler.
ReplyDeletePay-dirt. Wait that was Shelton Benjamin... Pay-Day? Pay something. Bridging Fisherman's suplex. Or maybe he finishes with the spinebuster....
ReplyDeleteHell I watch TNA on occasion and enjoy Bobby Roode and I DON'T even know his damn finisher....
HA! you forget the time AJ lost the Turkey Bowl match and actually had to dress in a giant turkey costume! Comedic gold
ReplyDeleteThey need an Arn for Swagger to tag with. I'd say they need an already existing tag team, but I don't think they have those.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't the word "emerging" mean an upswing in momentum? If Jesus Christ's second coming happened on TNA, it'd still only pop a 1.1.
ReplyDeleteDavey could be such a good wrestler, he's clearly athletic, and while I mock him for the INTENSITY shit, he is a guy that does have a natural ferocity and badassness to him. He may be the size of Evan Bourne but he doesn't seem like he is. It's a shame that nobody in RoH has the balls to tell him that he needs to slow the fuck down and build his matches..
ReplyDeleteHe's got all the tools, but not the attitude.
There's a lot of young hungry heels out there that are quite good.
ReplyDeleteBarrett? Though throwing his ass back in a stable would not be good for him. He'd be a good Anderson though, imposing, good on the mic, and much better in tag matches.
Rhodes would be nice, even if its just to add to the whole family disgrace thing they got. The only problem is that I don't see Rhodes playing second-fiddle, and the Horsemen were buddies, really don't see Rhodes befriending anyone. He might work as the Flair with Ziggler as the Luger.
I really can't think of a good Blanchard. Swagger just doesn't have any menace. I'd say ADR, but again, too much baggage.
Kevin Steen begs to disagree.
ReplyDeleteThough I do love Dem Boys.
Oh, and El Generico is massively underrated.
I would actually pay for that match just to see that train-wreck live. Seriously, even odds on it turning into a shoot as neither guy sells shit, the chance to see Angle's neck explode on camera (not like I want to see him hurt, but it'd be an interesting sight to say the least) and more high spots than a stoned cheetah.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely.
ReplyDelete"Now, my job is based on bringing in the highest rating to the company. That type of wrestling was not the type of wrestling that the internet community was into. The internet community wants to see wrestling and I understood that. I knew that. But I also knew that I was getting paid to draw the highest number. That's my job.I had this conversation with someone the other day. If an A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels 20 minute match drew a high rating, wouldn't Vince put it on every show? If the casual fan -- and I mean the masses -- really loved the wrestling aspect of the show -- 20-30 minute matches -- and that's what they were watching for, do you know how easy that would have made my job? To just book matches on the show? My job would have been a piece of cake.But, the reality is that the difference between that 1.9 and that 7.0 -- they're not technical, wrestling-on-the-mat fans. They're casual fans that like the entertainment aspect. So, my job was to feed those fans and not cater to that internet crowd that really liked those 30 minute, 5 star matches. The frustrating thing is that I'm a wrestling fan. As a wrestling fan, at the end of the day, I want as many people as possible to watch the product. Because the more people that watch it, the more that everybody related to the business thrives. That's all I tried to do."
ReplyDelete-Vince Russo on PWTorch Live Cast-
I know I am gonna get destroyed for this but, Russo does make a good point.
I
Is that Balls Mahoney who runs that promotion?
ReplyDeletePayoff.
ReplyDeleteHaven't watched since BFG, and I still remember Roode's finisher. Trying to figure out what that says about me. And TNA, for that matter.
I'd take the Briscoes any day over Steen. Better promos, better physiques. No knock on Steen, but the Briscoes have been the world's best tag team for years (maybe with a brief respite from the MCMG in '10).
ReplyDeleteI still think there's potential in Vickie's stable; Ziggler and Swagger are a great start, and I definitely see McIntyre as being a perfect fit alongside the other two egotistical jocks. And then, just out of personal bias, I'd like to see Tyson Kidd as the fourth member - he's talented as hell in the ring, he just needs a mouthpiece or something to cover for his flaws in mic-skills/charisma.
ReplyDeleteEither that, or do ZIggler, Swagger, and a tag-team, so that the four of them could go for the three major titles. Maybe add Layla in there, too, as she has history with Vickie, and is at least somewhat decent in the ring. That'd be a hell of a stable for "Smackdown", actually, I'd like to see that come the next draft.
I like the Briscoes, but they've been regularly awesome since forever. Steen is new and more awesome right now.
ReplyDelete