Impact Wrestling

[Ewa PGH Fan]

I haven't followed wrestling for a bit. is TNA still around???

No. TNA was sold to Anthem Media who owns the Fight Network in Canada. Anthem renamed the company Impact Wrestling. The TNA name is no longer in use and Dixie Carter is no longer the majority owner. She has a 5 or 10% minority ownership but makes no decisions for the company creatively or business wise.

 

[OregonDucks]

No. TNA was sold to Anthem Media who owns the Fight Network in Canada. Anthem renamed the company Impact Wrestling. The TNA name is no longer in use and Dixie Carter is no longer the majority owner. She has a 5 or 10% minority ownership but makes no decisions for the company creatively or business wise.

So is it better now?

 

[Ewa PGH Fan]

So is it better now?

Not so far but they just started airing shows under the new management, so only time will tell.

 

[Hitman Hart]

Tough to judge the new product, since they probably still don't have the pieces they want for their roster.

Behind the scenes, Impact has clearly improved. Not even close. Dixie Carter was Jim Herd on steroids. That is scary to even think about.

 

[futballiscool]

I was hoping Corgan would get the company. In part because I was an angst-ridden teen in the 90s who loved his music. But the guy's also legitimately eccentric and would have pushed for more outside of the box storylines like the Broken Matt angle. I'll eventually give the new regime a chance but they need to get buzz with a storyline first.

 

[OregonDucks]

I was hoping Corgan would get the company. In part because I was an angst-ridden teen in the 90s who loved his music. But the guy's also legitimately eccentric and would have pushed for more outside of the box storylines like the Broken Matt angle. I'll eventually give the new regime a chance but they need to get buzz with a storyline first.

Do they have any "big" names anymore on their roster to even create some sort of buzz?

 

[wildturkey]

Do they have any "big" names anymore on their roster to even create some sort of buzz?

Do you consider Alberto Del Rio (now Alberto El Patron) a big name? If so, then yes.

 

[OregonDucks]

Do you consider Alberto Del Rio (now Alberto El Patron) a big name? If so, then yes.

Alberto Del Rio, Crimson, MGK, and that Mankind wannabe think his name was Abyss....Epic Roster.

 

[Hitman Hart]

I didn't have much hope for Corgan. His old promotion, Resistance Pro, had a bit of a weird reputation. The BROKEN gimmick didn't improve the ratings, aside from the "FINAL DELETION" show in July.

The Hardys contract were up when Anthem took over and Anthem thought the Hardys getting creative control was bullshit and decided to not re-sign them. They were also getting paid more than they were worth at the present time. However, they could have been a nice ace in the hole to have when they start to shop around Impact to other TV networks. Anthem deciding to drop the Hardys will always be a mixed bag to him. There are pros it and there are cons to it.

 

[Hitman Hart]

Do they have any "big" names anymore on their roster to even create some sort of buzz?

They're on POP. They aren't going to create any "big buzz". People thought they were creating big buzz this past summer with the Hardys, but look at their ratings. Final Deletion in July had 410,000 viewers. That just tells you what type of spot Dixie Carter put TNA in.

 

[futballiscool]

I didn't have much hope for Corgan. His old promotion, Resistance Pro, had a bit of a weird reputation. The BROKEN gimmick didn't improve the ratings, aside from the "FINAL DELETION" show in July.

The Hardys contract were up when Anthem took over and Anthem thought the Hardys getting creative control was bullshit and decided to not re-sign them. They were also getting paid more than they were worth at the present time. However, they could have been a nice ace in the hole to have when they start to shop around Impact to other TV networks. Anthem deciding to drop the Hardys will always be a mixed bag to him. There are pros it and there are cons to it.

The Broken Matt angle was (imo) the best thing to come out of TNA in years. Wether it's reflected in the ratings or in any metric it obviously gave them a ton of PR when they needed it.
With Corgan I'm not saying it would have been better but it would have been something different. A company at TNAs size need to develop its own niche. I liked the Broken angle, Decay etc as a different vision of pro wrestling on TV.
This is probably more because of Dave Lagana than anyone else but the shows were pretty well written during that time period.
I'm not against the new regime but they need to do something to get my attention.

 

[Hitman Hart]

The Broken Matt angle was (imo) the best thing to come out of TNA in years. Wether it's reflected in the ratings or in any metric it obviously gave them a ton of PR when they needed it.
With Corgan I'm not saying it would have been better but it would have been something different. A company at TNAs size need to develop its own niche. I liked the Broken angle, Decay etc as a different vision of pro wrestling on TV.
This is probably more because of Dave Lagana than anyone else but the shows were pretty well written during that time period.
I'm not against the new regime but they need to do something to get my attention.

It didn't help business at all nor did it increase their ratings, which at this point for them, is the only thing that matters.

 

[Hitman Hart]

I'm also sure the Broken stuff appealed to a lot of people, but there were also a lot of people out there that thought it sucked.

Personally, I thought the broken stuff was good out of the box thinking. The point is that there was a lot of good with it, but there was also bad with it as well. It just didn't move the needle enough to where Anthem could justify agreeing to the Hardys' contract.

I will also take my chances with Scott D'Amore and Dutch Mantel over Billy Corgan any day of the week when it comes to professional wrestling.

 

[futballiscool]

It didn't help business at all nor did it increase their ratings, which at this point for them, is the only thing that matters.

You acknowledged in your first post it gave them a ratings bump for the show in question. Also ratings aren't the sole indicator anymore for any wrestling brand. This is an opinion but I think it was more marketable as a gimmick and a revenue generator long-term. People buying Hardy merchandise etc.
That regime never really got a chance so it's impossible to declare it a failure.

 

[futballiscool]

I'm also sure the Broken stuff appealed to a lot of people, but there were also a lot of people out there that thought it sucked.

Personally, I thought the broken stuff was good out of the box thinking. The point is that there was a lot of good with it, but there was also bad with it as well. It just didn't move the needle enough to where Anthem could justify agreeing to the Hardys' contract.

I will also take my chances with Scott D'Amore and Dutch Mantel over Billy Corgan any day of the week when it comes to professional wrestling.

I would go with Corgan/Lagana/Raven ( who was going to be brought in for creative and booking direction over Dutch personally but I want to see the new team do well. I'll give it a chance soon.

 

[Hitman Hart]

You acknowledged in your first post it gave them a ratings bump for the show in question. Also ratings aren't the sole indicator anymore for any wrestling brand. This is an opinion but I think it was more marketable as a gimmick and a revenue generator long-term. People buying Hardy merchandise etc.

That regime never really got a chance so it's impossible to declare it a failure.

That was in July and I also acknowledged that it was still only 410,000. Not. Good. Enough.

Also, Total Nonstop Deletion in December was very much viewed as a ratings flop, so you could argue that the shine was starting to fade.

Ratings are very important for Impact right now, because they aren't running any PPV's anymore, unless you count the ONO's that don't draw anything.

Also, would love to see a source on the merchandise. Dixie Carter is out of power right now for a reason. She ran out of money.

Its all about money. If you aren't making money, then who cares? Impact has made it very well known they want to be a viable #2, not just a glorified independent promotion.

 

[Hitman Hart]

I would go with Corgan/Lagana/Raven ( who was going to be brought in for creative and booking direction over Dutch personally but I want to see the new team do well. I'll give it a chance soon.

I disagree with Corgan over Mantel, but to each their own.

Mantel has a very good reputation inside the business as a great wrestling mind, while Corgan's claim to fame is Resistance Pro and being one of the people responsible for the Broken Hardy gimmick.

 

[futballiscool]

I disagree with Corgan over Mantel, but to each their own.

Mantel has a very good reputation inside the business as a great wrestling mind, while Corgan's claim to fame is Resistance Pro and being one of the people responsible for the Broken Hardy gimmick.

It's not necessarily Corgan vs Mantel. As I mentioned earlier it's Corgan, Raven, Lagana etc against a new TNA that has ties to Memphis and earlier TNA regimes. I might be biased but I grew up with ECW so I like the second team more.

From your last post, I agree with the Hardy's storyline bringing diminishing returns but Corgan and Lagana left at the start of November and were probably on their way out a bit before that actual date. It's not fair to pin the stalled momentum on them.
It's more of a subjective opinion on what version of wrestling you think has more potential. We never really got to see the other version because Gaburik (sp) and Dixie still had final say but I thought there were flashes of potential at about this time last year.

 

[Hitman Hart]

It's not necessarily Corgan vs Mantel. As I mentioned earlier it's Corgan, Raven, Lagana etc against a new TNA that has ties to Memphis and earlier TNA regimes. I might be biased but I grew up with ECW so I like the second team more.

From your last post, I agree with the Hardy's storyline bringing diminishing returns but Corgan and Lagana left at the start of November and were probably on their way out a bit before that actual date. It's not fair to pin the stalled momentum on them.
It's more of a subjective opinion on what version of wrestling you think has more potential. We never really got to see the other version because Gaburik (sp) and Dixie still had final say but I thought there were flashes of potential at about this time last year.

ECW was heavily influenced by Memphis to begin with, so that comment is pretty weird.

I also think its more than fair (to criticize Corgan and Lagana for the ratings drop) considering the ratings fell back to pre-Broken like levels while they were still there.

Also, Corgan and Lagana were still there when Eddie Edwards won the World Title, which was an awful decision. I just don't agree that they're geniuses. Lagana has been associated with a lot of bad stuff during his TNA run and Corgan's run was too brief to call.

I agree it is subjective that what style of wrestling has more potential and it appears that we'll probably never agree on this. While the Broken gimmick was very original, I just don't think it was ever going to appeal to a wide audience. It was always going to have its own niche audience. I think it would have worked if it was toned down a little bit.

 

[futballiscool]

ECW was heavily influenced by Memphis to begin with, so that comment is pretty weird.

I also think its more than fair (to criticize Corgan and Lagana for the ratings drop) considering the ratings fell back to pre-Broken like levels while they were still there.

Also, Corgan and Lagana were still there when Eddie Edwards won the World Title, which was an awful decision. I just don't agree that they're geniuses. Lagana has been associated with a lot of bad stuff during his TNA run and Corgan's run was too brief to call.

I agree it is subjective that what style of wrestling has more potential and it appears that we'll probably never agree on this. While the Broken gimmick was very original, I just don't think it was ever going to appeal to a wide audience. It was always going to have its own niche audience. I think it would have worked if it was toned down a little bit.

As far as ECW being influenced by Memphis that's too vague of a point to really argue. ECW let the wrestlers do a lot of their own promos and storylines so there probably a ton of different influences but in totality it was completely unique. In general I'm not disputing how important Memphis was as a territory. But in 2017 I like an ECW/Heyman influenced group running a company as long as it has its own vision that's not a retread or about nosalgia pops.

Since you keep mentioning ratings went back to pre-Final Deletion levels, I researched it and found some facts. They had a 6 show stretch in February and March that did sub 300 k viewers. They had one show over the entire stretch between the Final Deletion and Corgan leaving the company that did a number that poor. 13 of their 14 highest rated episodes in 2016 were in the the 4 month span between FD and Corgan exiting the company. It wasn't the NWO historical gamechanger but it gave Impact a modest ratings bump when they desperately needed it.

As far as Edwards winning the title being a mistake I completely agree. They had done a great job building up Lashley as a monster heel and that wasn't the right guy to beat him.


I've brought up Ted Turner in other posts recently. But a billionaire is the only way a wrestling company other than WWE will ever be mainstream again. For companies like TNA, ROH it's about finding their own niche in the marketplace. ROH has done a much better job of establishing that identity. With the Broken Matt angle I think it worked because of the absurdity and bombast. Even if 9 out of 10 fans ( outside of the internet wrestling cult) would hate that angle the 1 in 10 who did liked it would become a fan.

This is all a moot point. Corgan didn't get the company. I'm just explaining why I was more interested in TNA 6 months ago than now.