TNA iMPACT! is officially coming to Spike TV this fall.
The Saturday Night War is soon to begin, fans. Whose ratings will be lower - iMPACT! or Velocity?
(Yes, I'm well aware with the move to USA, Velocity probably won't exist in the fall.)
My feeling on TNA is I'm glad they're getting national TV. The few times I've seen TNA, I didn't like it very much but I'll likely pay attention to iMPACT! If I like it, great. If I don't, even better. The last thing I need is to watch more wrestling when I'm happily scaled down to 4 hours of RAW and Smackdown vs. the 12+ hours of wrestling a week I used to watch when WWF, WCW, ECW and even WOW were on TV.
One thing the company has to do, IMO, is change the way they book television. Sorry, but Impact was never really that exciting of a show. They need to revamp their TV booking, because nobody's gonna' tune in to see Monty Brown v. David Young or Bill E. Gunn v. Mikey Batts.
Best of luck to the company.
The answer to WWE's financial problems...
Never 'Wiener of the Day', and is actually quite bitter about it.
Good for them ... I really hope that this turns into something bigger.
But I have a feeling that they will put the title back on Jarrett because he feels he's the "big name" that they need to get viewers.
I'd hope that TNA will look to hire more female wrestlers (Gail Kim, Jazz, Nidia) because it appears that Trinity has left the company & that basically leaves only Traci Brooks.
Wow. A mid-market wrestling promotion finally makes its way to the big time on TNN Spike during a night nobody watches TV. SURELY this will give them the boost they need to become the greatest thing since Iron Kids Bread. No way this will inch them closer to bankruptcy.
But if it gets good ratings in it's Saturday night slot, then why not give them a "Clash of the Champions"-esque show on Monday nights just to test the waters. I mean, what could it hurt?
Originally posted by Super Shane SpearWow. A mid-market wrestling promotion finally makes its way to the big time on TNN Spike during a night nobody watches TV. SURELY this will give them the boost they need to become the greatest thing since Iron Kids Bread. No way this will inch them closer to bankruptcy.
(edited by Super Shane Spear on 21.7.05 1209)
How can you question the money-making tension between the New Age Outlaws?
"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
It all depends on what kind of advertising they get...and whether they can afford to keep their "up & coming" talent while balancing the lists with more "known" quantites.
...and I'm not talking about Road Dogg as a "known" quantity...
I'd be happy if it even amounted to a mid-70's NWA like promotion...back in the early days of 'TBS...but I think even that is a lot to hope for out of a late night weekend slot.
Originally posted by Super Shane SpearWow. A mid-market wrestling promotion finally makes its way to the big time on TNN Spike during a night nobody watches TV. SURELY this will give them the boost they need to become the greatest thing since Iron Kids Bread. No way this will inch them closer to bankruptcy.
(edited by Super Shane Spear on 21.7.05 1209)
People have been saying things like this about TNA wrestling for 3 years, and its lasted and endured for 3 years longer than most people thought and said it would. So whatever. Some had similar thoughts and doom and gloom about them just being online, where they've gotten tons of downloads for IMPACT.
I have my doubts about TNA going to Spike TV. I hope Spike understands that they are a vastly different product than WWE, more athletic/wrestling based over storylines. I wonder if they feel they already have that with UFC.
I also see that TNA didn't take a TV deal out of desperation like Paul Heyman did with ECW and TNN. TNA could've taken a deal with WGN which they did not feel benefitted them very much, and the people that run the company felt they were getting a better deal with Spike. They left FSN on good terms, so there is always the possibility they could go back there as well.
I personally feel that having a choice in watching more wrestling on television like TNA is a good thing, and I hope this deal works out.
One thing the company has to do, IMO, is change the way they book television. Sorry, but Impact was never really that exciting of a show. They need to revamp their TV booking, because nobody's gonna' tune in to see Monty Brown v. David Young or Bill E. Gunn v. Mikey Batts.
Maybe not, but some of this is because they tape all their shows for a month in one night. However, I'd say they have a pretty stacked roster right now, and I hear they are interested in getting Austin Aries. And if they pick up some GOOD acquisitions of former WWE wrestlers like they did with Rhino and hopefully Charlie Haas, Shannon Moore, and The Dudleyz I think that can help the company.
(edited by The Vile1 on 21.7.05 1227)
"Don't compare my arm...to your cheap arm!" -Edward Elric
Evidently, during a company conference call, Dixie Carter said 'primetime' a few times. If they got a spot between 7pm and 11pm Saturdays, then this is pretty much the best move they've made since starting up thre years ago.
Jeff Jarrett, actually, IS thier most recognizable star at the moment, and I feel it would be smart of them to get the belt back on him before the first SpikeTV airings. This way, they'd be able to bring in other talent to go against him for the belt, like someone recently let go from WWE that the casual viewer will recognize and then want to stick around to watch every week.
With 90% of the talent they have now, the average viewer wouldn't recognize. Of the ones they have, I can only seem to name Jeff Jarrett, Raven, Jeff Hardy (Matt's brother), Brian James (Road Dogg), Monty Sopp (Mr. Ass), Sean Waltman (Sixxpac), and Rhino. Then you have Konan who some of them might remember from WCW, but will the average viewer remember that far back? I don't think so.
I think they're gonna have to bring back Nash and Hall for a few months also, to help them hit the ground running with this.
Originally posted by The Vile1 People have been saying things like this about TNA wrestling for 3 years, and its lasted and endured for 3 years longer than most people thought and said it would.
Well, the reason that TNA has survived for three years is because they were lucky enough to find a money mark who is willing to flush tons of money down the toilet, not because they've done anything to show that they're a company following a certain business plan while working towards becoming profitable on there own.
Regardless of the TV deal, they're still paying a network money to air at a crappy time, and they still have low buyrates for PPV and run all of their shows in one studio. I hope TNA does make it, but as far as turning a profit goes, they're only in a marginally better position than they were three years ago.
I also see that TNA didn't take a TV deal out of desperation like Paul Heyman did with ECW and TNN. TNA could've taken a deal with WGN which they did not feel benefitted them very much, and the people that run the company felt they were getting a better deal with Spike. They left FSN on good terms, so there is always the possibility they could go back there as well.
Didn't WGN pull the deal? If not, I can't imagine that they'd prefer a one hour, late Saturday night timeslot to a two hour slot on Monday nights.
Originally posted by CerebusJeff Jarrett, actually, IS thier most recognizable star at the moment, and I feel it would be smart of them to get the belt back on him before the first SpikeTV airings
In theory, that's the way to go. But you have to remember that the "casual" fan will recognize Jeff Jarrett not as a main eventer, but as a mid-carder who lost to a woman before leaving the WWF never to be heard from again (Yes, I know he's been in WCW and TNA, but will others know that? I doubt it).
Jeff Jarrett has had three years on top to prove that he's any kind of draw, and there's no evidence that he is one. If TNA wants to be the "wrestling alternative" that they like to claim that they are, they need to forge their own identity rather than being the dog at the table waiting for whatever scraps and leftovers WWE throws to the floor.
(edited by BigSteve on 21.7.05 1642) SportsBlog (baltimorenine.blogspot.com)
I hope they up their production values just a smidge. I love the wrestling on their PPVs, but except for Billy Gunn, Xpac, Shark Boy, Hardy, and Jarrett, all the other workers' music all sound the same.
For some reason, I don't know why, but I vaguely remember that Jimmy Hart composed music, right? Maybe he could lend a hand.
"You want to tempt the wrath of the whatever from high atop the thing?" --Toby, West Wing
Originally posted by ZeruelFor some reason, I don't know why, but I vaguely remember that Jimmy Hart composed music, right? Maybe he could lend a hand.
You are correct. He's actually one of the composers of the Shawn Michaels theme & a ton of music from the 1980's WWF.
And if I'm not mistaken, he's one of the writers to Hogan's WCW "American Made" theme.
Originally posted by BigSteveDidn't WGN pull the deal? If not, I can't imagine that they'd prefer a one hour, late Saturday night timeslot to a two hour slot on Monday nights.
No. TNA walked away from it because as per the deal if the show got good ratings they'd have to keep paying for it to be on the air. They were looking for a deal where the network would eventually start paying them to air the show if they brought in the viewers.
And we don't even know what the official timeslot will be.
"Don't compare my arm...to your cheap arm!" -Edward Elric
So TNA is more about atheletes wrestling instead of storylines? Well I will say this, It's about time one of them was!!!! I guess I can show my age here when I tell you I remember watching Lawler and Dundee and them in memphis way before a 2 hour "wrstling show" was nothing more than a commercial, soap opera and oh yea 3 matches. I tune in to watch wrestling, not listen to the storylines for 3/4 's of the show.
I hope TNA does get the slot as I will be watching it instead of WWE probably. I will admit though that what I have seen of TNA they do need to work on the skills some and making i look more realistic. I saw a lot of pulled punches and stuff but at least they were in the ring wrestling and not running their mouths all the time.
Well, even though Saturday night's not a particularly good night to have a wrestling show (since I'm told that a goodly number of people have social engagements on that day), the fact that they're getting a regular time slot on a cable station that most people have can't help but be good for TNA.
I mean, honestly, how many casual WWE fans do you think even recognize the existence of TNA? They'll see the commercials, go "Oooh, finally a WWE alternative, let's give it a shot!" and tune in to Impact, hopefully.
But then it's up to TNA to make Impact must-see TV. It can't be the same boring shit that was on FSN. Might be good enough for FSN, but it won't be good enough if you're going mainstream.
In any event, this is fantastic news for TNA. Now they need to come up with a long-term booking plan to fully capitalize on this. If they can, TNA might finally be seen as a reasonable alternative to WWE. If they can't, it'll be thought of in a few years as "a promotion that tried hard, but couldn't get over the hump".
The addition of a few of those recently-released WWE guys would be helpful, I think. Casual fans aren't going to tune in thinking, "Oooh, I've gotta see Charlie Haas and Matt Morgan!", but give those guys a few good matches with the right opponents and they could get over big.
“Great. He spends skill points on Perform (Kazoo), and now I have to make a Knowledge (Limits of My Own Sanity) skill check." --Roy Greenhilt, The Order of the Stick
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It's about time! I was starting to give up on if a cable channel was going to bring them back to TV. Hmm...this may be interesting to see especially depending on when the 2 WWE late night specials will be scheduled. Two almost endless late nights of wrestling in a calendar year! WOOT!
Fear Prophet.
J.J. Dillon: "I'd rather flip burgers at McDonald's than work for Vince McMahon again." July 3, 2004 New Era Of Wrestling
So TNA will be paying for the time they appear on Spike? I thought they may have finally struck a deal where it was the other way around.
Still, this may be beneficial for them. The best thing for them is to get cozy somewhere so that people know where to conveniently find them (and 3 in the afternoon on Fridays just really wasn't that convenient; there were several times I would think about the show on Fridays ... while I was at work and had no way to watch it or run home to set up the recorder to tape it). In a worst-case situation, if Spike was paying they may start sweating if ratings were the same or even worse than WWE's programming. If TNA is footing the bill, they will have a better chance to stay with the timeslot (especially if ratings are as good as the WWE programming for that day of the week).
I doubt this will last for long either way - Spike seems too fickled about wrestling these days to treat it as anything to be proud. Still, it's a stepping-stone that may lead to bigger things for them. Can't knock that.
If it's up against OVW, however, I'll stick with my show though. :-)
The ring has EIGHT FRIGGIN' SIDES. I can't get over it. I'm sorry, I just....I just can't. This isnt lucha libre that I watch sporatically; if TNA doesnt use a normal ring, I see a lot of people getting turned off by it.
This has been coming for a while; I remember Meltzer talking about this at least a year ago, and of course OVW has been working this into their storylines.