The Official TNA / Impact / GFW Discussion Thread

[LoganRodzen]

I loved when Brother Ray said Christy's playboy issue was a failure. She's a fairly good actress because she had real tears ready to roll.

[cappyboy]

I loved when Brother Ray said Christy's playboy issue was a failure. She's a fairly good actress because she had real tears ready to roll.

 

And you know the thing that makes that even better is that while I don't follow what Playboy does, it sounds believable. Christy had so much more chance of being successful with Playboy when she was still playing Whiskey Girl to Toby Keith. TNA is a bit of a hole in the wall by Playboy standards.

[Self]

Just got done watching the PPV. First TNA I've seen in months (I think) first wrestling I've seen in weeks (WWE holds little interest right now). I liked it. I'm not exactly eager to watch more of the stuff, but it was a fine way to spend a couple of hours.

 

- Son of the biscuit do the Beautiful People look alike. During the opening video package I couldn't tell the four of them apart. Differentiation, TNA. Get some.

- My guess is that the motorcycle chick (would it have killed the director to get more full body shots?) is Mickie James. Probably wasn't her tonight, but when the 90 days are up, that's my guess. As little sense as Heel Mickie would make.

- Despite how angry I apparently was at the Kaz/AJ mystery opponents, I liked their match. I like the dynamic between Kaz & AJ (especially the celebration). Joe is all kinds of great. Rob Terry did nothing bad. Good shine. Good heat. Good finish.

- Other than the pointlessness of the ECW guys, I dug the Team 3D thing. I think I know where it's going, but rock on. Always thought highly of their promo work.

- Fast-Forwarded through Hernandez/Morgan. No interest. Even after the video package.

- Very happy to see MCMG finally do it. Good solid match. Alex Shelley annoyed me a bit in this match. Beer Money got the heat on him, kicking his ass for quite some time, but every time Shelley would then do a big move, he'd play to the fans with barely a care in the world. Sabin's selling was so much better.

- Boring Main Event. Anderson's entrance is great. Jeff looks ridiculous. I can't take Abyss seriously. Rob Van Dam has the worst music I've ever heard. It seems to suck the energy out of the room. Bleh match. At least the right guy won.

 

I had fun. Depending on the card I might watch the next TNA PPV.

 

EDIT: How could I forget Ric Flair's ass??? Awesome moment.

[angeldelayette]

Rob Van Dam has the worst music I've ever heard.

 

I gotta say it, obviously you've never heard the American Males theme song in WCW or 'The Man Called Sting.' Definitely worse entrance music than that.

 

Oh and the old Paul Orndorff music back in WCW. 'Wonderful, they call him Mr. Wonderful because he is so wonderful and they know it's true.' Absolutely dreadful.

[Unregistered]

I gotta say it, obviously you've never heard the American Males theme song in WCW

 

I'm sorry sir, but you must be mistaken, as that was the greatest theme song of all time

[smurphy1014]

I'm sorry sir, but you must be mistaken, as that was the greatest theme song of all time

 

Enjoy!

[Self]

7 kinds of awesome! I'd pop for anyone coming to the ring to that.

[cappyboy]

7 kinds of awesome! I'd pop for anyone coming to the ring to that.

 

I don't know, Self. Seems like it would have been better if they wouldn't have sledgehammered the team's name so much in between verses. Use it a time or two in the song sure. But THAT much?

 

But still I know what you mean. I'm always a sad panda whenever someone mocks Mark Jindrak's "Reflection of Perfection" gimmick. I loved that shtick.

[Self]

I don't know, Self. Seems like it would have been better if they wouldn't have sledgehammered the team's name so much in between verses. Use it a time or two in the song sure. But THAT much?

 

But still I know what you mean. I'm always a sad panda whenever someone mocks Mark Jindrak's "Reflection of Perfection" gimmick. I loved that shtick.

 

I have no idea who the American Males were supposed to be, but I'm picturing a cross-between Too Much and Zack Ryder. The dorky voice saying 'American Males' over and over screams delusion. I love it.

[GDE71]

Is TNA actually making progress in the ratings?

 

Can they do it 2 weeks in a row?

 

 

This from 411wrestling who got it from PWInsider

 

- The July 8th edition of TNA Impact scored a 1.14 rating with 1,450,000 viewers.

[TheEdgeOfReason]

I love RVD theme music. Unless he changes it in the last couple weeks? Good singalong theme.

[Hyde Hill]

Is TNA actually making progress in the ratings?

 

Can they do it 2 weeks in a row?

 

 

This from 411wrestling who got it from PWInsider

 

- The July 8th edition of TNA Impact scored a 1.14 rating with 1,450,000 viewers.

 

Yeah really hoping this is the first step in organic growth via word of mouth due to good programming. And that with the Lebron announcement as a competitor. Still watching the ppv will give thoughts later maybe.

[lazorbeak]

- Boring Main Event. Anderson's entrance is great. Jeff looks ridiculous. I can't take Abyss seriously. Rob Van Dam has the worst music I've ever heard. It seems to suck the energy out of the room. Bleh match. At least the right guy won.

 

Personally I didn't even think RVD's music was the worst in that match; Jeff's is pretty awful, too. And it was kind of a mediocre main event but it was a solid show overall. I'm not sure that RVD is really the "right guy" except in the sense that he's a talented worker. From what I just watched, both Kennedy and Hardy are more over with the home crowd, Pope is both excellent on the mic and not doing a re-tread of a gimmick he did in that other company 5 years ago. Joe, AJ, and Nigel (not even on the card), have the advantage of being "home grown." I just don't see what RVD as champ does for TNA long-term. I understand giving him the belt for a month or two so you can say that he's a main eventer and former champion, but he can't cut a promo, isn't all that over and was doing the exact same bit 5 years ago when he was getting the revived ECW off the ground.

[Linsolv]

Rob Van Dam's theme is my favorite in TNA right now. Bar none that I can think of right now.

 

Jeff Hardy's is probably my least favorite. It's SO generic, and it has lyics that are hissed rather than sung such that I can't hear them.

[MasterJ]

I just read the spiolers for Impact this week and they look awesome I'm watching it for sure

[Slagaholic]

Everything I've heard about it says it's "must watch TV."

 

Also read that TNA's PPVs are getting horrifyingly low buy rates. Which is no shock at all.

[haloed]

Everything I've heard about it says it's "must watch TV."

 

Also read that TNA's PPVs are getting horrifyingly low buy rates. Which is no shock at all.

 

No it isn't a surprise. Maybe they should drop the price back down to where it was. Or perhaps the rumor of doing TV specials instead would be a good course of action. Although I'd like to see them drop the price of their PPVs first and see if that helps.

[Hyde Hill]

Well their buyrates have never been that high, the question is if they are up in comparison to the last two years and are they high enough for ppv to be the most profitable option in comparison to tv specials. Any info I have had from non Meltzer sources say they are.

[Slagaholic]

The last two PPVs have been especially awful apparently.

[ampulator]

Of all things that scream, "that's so 90's!" are Pay-Per-Views. From buyable or rental CD's, DVD's, or even online distribution, PPV has been made obsolete, unless it's a LIVE performance... but even then, someone can choose to live feed their PPV viewing.

 

This has less to do with the quality of TNA's PPV's (because WWE's PPV's are just as bad, or worse), and has more to do with PPV's are getting less popular.

[justtxyank]

Of all things that scream, "that's so 90's!" are Pay-Per-Views. From buyable or rental CD's, DVD's, or even online distribution, PPV has been made obsolete, unless it's a LIVE performance... but even then, someone can choose to live feed their PPV viewing.

 

This has less to do with the quality of TNA's PPV's (because WWE's PPV's are just as bad, or worse), and has more to do with PPV's are getting less popular.

 

Signed,

 

The ever increasing UFC ppv buyrates

[MasterJ]

Signed,

 

The ever increasing UFC ppv buyrates

 

Thats a company that only has shows with top guys on PPV which diffrent from pro wrestling, and UFC and MMA is the fad now so they will drop soon

[Hyde Hill]

The last two PPVs have been especially awful apparently.

 

Well they did lose a lot of momentum coming out of the failed Jan 4th till return to Thursday experiments so that is not surprising. Tellingly the Thursday ratings are not what they used to be on a consistent basis yet so even with the low conversion rate TNA has the total number should be lower if all this is true. I just hope they, or if he comes in Heyman, don't panic and go for major change again as lately they have been very good and the latest rating is hopefully an indicator of organic growth. We do not know the real ppv buy figures anyway so hard to speculate on them.

 

And yeah in time I expect UFC buy rates to get around boxing numbers, depends on a lot of factors though as boxing does a lot more on free tv and there is lot more competition within boxing.

[PeterHilton]

Thats a company that only has shows with top guys on PPV which diffrent from pro wrestling, and UFC and MMA is the fad now so they will drop soon

 

 

that's the same broken assumption everyone in wrestling makes. The UFC will eventually level off..but i don't see why they would drop. EDIT: I also don't see how it is "different from wrestling" when wrestling PPVs are sepcifically designed so that ALL the top guys show up for the most part, whereas in UFC/MMA you are more often than nnot going to see *maybe* one top name depending on their fight schedule.

 

Brock Lesnar probably won't be on a PPV for another 4-5 months and yet the UFC shows in between now and then will STILL do better than TNA, the WWE, and most boxing shows.

 

TNA has fortunately enough structured themselves so that they don't depend heavily on PPV buys. So they aren't suffering as much as the WWE would with their awful buy rates.

 

Hopefully, once the ratings get up a little, they can go to more of a "Clash of the Champions model" and hold PPVs every other month or something.

[justtxyank]

Thats a company that only has shows with top guys on PPV which diffrent from pro wrestling, and UFC and MMA is the fad now so they will drop soon

 

Nothing you said is relevant to the idea that ppv itself is outdated. TNA isn't doing poorly on ppv because ppv is a dying 90's medium, they do poorly on ppv because too few people are interested in paying to watch them as evidenced by other ppv events doing quite well.