Can you guess what this weeks article is about?
While Drew Galloway was cutting a promo for ICW about getting TV deals for the company, across the pond, the news broke that Spike may very well be going in the opposite direction with TNA, and all those people who wanted Dixie off TV may be getting their wish.
Now some of you may have laughed when you heard this, some may have thought it is what the company deserve. Some may be sad about the news, and some may just not care.But the bottom line is that this in not what’s best for business.
We have theories as to why,
- Spike may just be looking to pay less, and released this news in an attempt to scare Dixie into signing for less,Dixie says negotiations continue.
- Dwindling viewing figures
- Russo
- Vinny Mac
The first theory certainly looks good. WWE recently got similar treatment when they renewed their TV deal, apparently nobody wants to pay money to advertise during RAW,therefore we can assume the same is true of Impact. TV companies pass on that loss to the company producing the show.
The problem with that is we are talking about two different scenarios. During an ad break on Raw, everybody in the world is apparently on the app, watching exclusive content they wont see anywhere else, for at least 5 minutes till they show it on Raw after the break. TNA has no such app, and really should be able to time the show to ensure nobody tunes out during breaks.
Viewing figures for Impact have gone down, but realistically, they went down a while ago, and recently, they have sat pretty constant until a recent upturn of almost 40%. If Spike are playing hardball, TNA would need to keep that increased number, and possibly increase it further if they want any position to negotiate from.
The most popular theory is of course, Russo. Now I have had a go at little Vince more than once in the past, his writing is awful, and his reputation is just as bad. TNA have been denying his involvement for quite a while, until a leaked email told us what we already knew.
Russo loves stipulations in matches, TNA suddenly has a lot of these matches. One show recently, and I think it was a PPV, had every match on the card with a stip. If it walks like a duck…
But Dixie was in real trouble. Hogan had left her company in a pretty bad state. Viewers were down, the company had very little credibility, and money was running out fast. Panda energy were reportedly hawking TNA to anyone with any cash as Dixie did an impression of Gill from the Simpsons.
‘Oh please don’t sack me, I promise I will be better, I just need one more chance to turn things round’
Like Custer, Dixie circled the wagons and prepared for the fight of her life, unfortunately, the ammunition didn’t fit the guns. Russo was a desperate move to try and fix the problems created by the first mistake, Hogan,and all it did was make things worse. Russo was so bad they tried to keep his involvement secret, which suggests they already knew how bad it could get.
Now we move on to Vinny. Realistically, this theory looks a bit wild. Vince leaned on Spike, or offered them one of his shows to replace Impact, or paid them money, or did something else unethical to get Impact off air.
This theory might work if Impact was a competitor to WWE, but it isn’t, it is not even close. McMahon has nothing to fear from TNA, and therefore no motive to try and scupper any deal. WWE probably has very little influence anyway, at least with TV companies,after spending the last six months telling people their network is better than TV.
The thing is, TNA have been on a downward spiral for about 4 or 5 years. Hogan came in, brought his mates along for the ride, and pretty much raped the company. As the money dried up, with no increase in ratings to match the increase in expenditure, Hogan rode off into the sunset, pockets bulging, leaving Dixie to face the music.
Since the initial boost from Hogan arriving, the numbers have gone downhill, and with top names leaving, the numbers keep dropping. The 40% increase in the last few weeks sounds impressive, but numbers were that low to begin with, it is not hard to get that level of increase. And they are only tuned in for the New York ECW nostalgia shows, unless TNA can find a way to keep them. Which I doubt.
Spike TV have not really helped. As far as I can tell, they gave up on TNA a long time ago. I am not American, I don’t watch American TV, but it seems Spike have done little to advertise the programme, so it may be that they carry some of the blame for the low audiences.
But the bottom line here is Dixie Carter looks out of her depth, she looks like someone who was given a company, and had no idea what to do. So she hired people who talked the talk, but could not walk the walk. She has always had either Russo or Hogan by her side, telling her how great they are. Jarrett left the company, and she was left with nobody who really gave any impression that they cared about wrestling.
Whether or not TNA remain on TV is a massive deal for wrestling. Without TNA, the only show on TV is WWE, and after that Battleground PPV, that has to be a scary thought. Dixie has not just her company to save, but the future of wrestling for anyone who is not over 6 foot tall, and fits the generic model for a wrestler Vince uses.
Look at some of the talent in TNA. Aries, Joe, Roode, Storm, Hardy, Spud, EC3,Bully…. They should all be on TV, and if TNA cant get a deal from somewhere, they wont be. And wrestling would be worse for their absence, all have something to give the sport, and TNA is the only place they are likely to get that chance.
And if they are not on TV, why would they work for TNA?
Without a TV deal, TNA are a busted flush, at least in the States. A few people have suggested TNA relocate to the UK, and work here and in Europe, with TV deals here, and bigger attendances at shows. Borash recently said it would be the one thing he would change about the company. Does Dixie have the bottle to do it? I doubt it.
Moving to the UK would be a short term fix though, unless they were prepared to tour Europe. And that increases the workload on a very small roster, so unless local talent is used, the wrestlers will all end up injured. And local talent used on a one off basis wont work either, because we don’t really care about them.
I said a few months ago that Dixie should bring in new talent on short term contracts, give them a chance to prove themselves. This might work if they relocate, it may even work if they get a new TV deal stateside. Dixie has had a fair few wake up calls, and this time, she cant ignore what is going on. Her company is on the ropes, a knockout punch is on its way, and Dixie needs to either come out fighting, or throw in the towel.
We can only hope she can fight.
Now, on a more serious note, why don’t you check out all the other articles right here on SLTD, along with SLTD radio and the mfx podcast? They are all well worth checking out, with articles ranging from show reviews to in depth looks at wrestlers.
And Twitter, again the numbers have closed in the war with my girlfriend, @GrantCookDFC is the place to be. No time, gotta go. See you next week(unless you are TNA, then I might see you next week…)
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