The Official TNA / Impact / GFW Discussion Thread

[Stennick]

They target demo males 18-34 right? As males 18-34 how many of you are home on a Saturday night?

 

I work in television and I can tell you that you can't put a show that is targeted at that demographic on Saturday night. Are you home on Saturday night? Most males 18-34 are not. Are they going to watch it? Sure their going to DVR it.

 

Again working in advertising for a television company I can tell you that it doesn't matter if you have people watching it via DVR, when you present DVR numbers to the advertising companies you're going to get pennies on the dollar of what you're getting for those watching it live.

 

So sure you can put it on Saturday night and fans are still going to DVR it but Spike is going to get zero money in return for placing one of their highest rated shows on a Saturday night.

 

Its about making money and Monday thru Thursday and then Sunday are your money making days. Again I work in television and I can tell you that the reason shows are on the days they are on is completely to due with advertising revenue and nothing to do with "varsity" or "big time" or "wars".

 

Spike wanted to chip away at USA's strangehold on all of cable and they wanted to start with wrestling. USA and FX are the beasts of television right now with countless good shows drawing big numbers. Spike wanted to take the easy route rather than producing grade A original programming to compete with Psych, Burn Notice, White Collar, Sons of Anarchy, Its Always Sunny, Rescue Me, etc.

[Hyde Hill]

BTW being a non American native what is the difference between network and cable? Or are they interchangeable? Also when I see prime time averages they are quite low when top shows are actually tend to get much higher ratings how come? Also is stuff like HBO etc counted in?

 

I get kinda confused, maybe me reading too much into it or the sites reporting on stuff like that confusing me.

[TDubRaiders]

No Hyde Smackdown is starting Oct 1st which is a Friday. There are reports that NXT will finish up by then and possibly become an online show. I wish Smackdown was on Tuesday though so I could actually catch it but anyway yeah I'm getting pretty tired of Dixie saying TNA is going to change forever. She failed miserably to get Paul Heyman so now she's trying to do whatever she can to make up another surprise.

 

I don't know if anyone agrees with me but I was really enjoying TNA before Hogan and Eric came on board. I'm in no way blaming Hogan or Eric for anything but I was really enjoying the few months before Eric and Hogan came along.

[Stennick]

Network is television that you get for "Free" here it entails ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, and The CW. My T.V was involved for a while but their mostly syndicated television which means their a station that has no original programming of their own they just show others re runs.

 

These are stations that anyone with an antenna or now days a coverter box can get for free.

 

Cable is television you pay for. Depending on what you pay for you get different channels. Your basic cable channels are just that. Their basically the same channels every cable television provider or Sattelite company is going to give you. Its their lowest price and gives you Spike T.V, USA, ESPN, TBS, TNT, etc. As you move up in packages you'll get things like the Women's Channel, several different sports and movie packages. etc.

 

Between 70-80 percent of people with television sets have some form of cable television.

 

However ratings are based on viewers versus available viewers. With cable television being available to less homes their ratings can never match what actual network television ratings are (most of the time) due to network televisions reaching an extra 30 percent of homes.

 

Its kind of complicated since to the best of my understanding their are roughly a dozen British channels. Maybe I'm wrong but we have access to easily 500+ channels here. Now granted some of that is Fox Sports Midwest and Fox Sports East but I think you get the idea.

[Stennick]

No Hyde Smackdown is starting Oct 1st which is a Friday. There are reports that NXT will finish up by then and possibly become an online show. I wish Smackdown was on Tuesday though so I could actually catch it but anyway yeah I'm getting pretty tired of Dixie saying TNA is going to change forever. She failed miserably to get Paul Heyman so now she's trying to do whatever she can to make up another surprise.

 

I don't know if anyone agrees with me but I was really enjoying TNA before Hogan and Eric came on board. I'm in no way blaming Hogan or Eric for anything but I was really enjoying the few months before Eric and Hogan came along.

 

I was not enjoying it. AJ Styles as a face is a boring boring champion. He's more boring than Rob Van Dam as the World Champion. He's bland, colorless and cannot sell a pay per view. Christopher Daniels is really good on the mic but the problem is they have changed his gimmick COUNTLESS times over the years in TNA. From XXX, to being weird and wearing the face paint, to just being a c0cky S.O.B, to whatever else. Joe is the same way. He's just not that entertaining on the mic. So putting two guys that aren't that entertaining on the mic into a feud with a guy that gets way limited mic time compared to others just wasn't doing it for me in the main event.

 

I loved the Angle/Wolfe storyline and that was about it.

 

TNA for me hit a peak from the month before Lockdown so the start of March through RIGHT before ECW came back to TNA. They had a solid four month run where they were better than the WWE week in and week out.

[Slagaholic]

As bad as EV2.0 has been, I expected much much worse. Right now I'm just looking towards Bound For Glory. I really hope they put Pope over Angle.

[TDubRaiders]

I get what your saying Stennick. Looking back now I actually agree with you. I've been enjoying TNA for awhile and well I was a huge ECW fan I just wish people would let it die. Im a huge Joe and Daniels fan so maybe thats why I enjoyed it last year.

 

I do agree though that TNA had been putting on some damn good shows before the whole EV2 trash started. I like the direction there going now with certain programs except for the EV2 thing. I loved the Beer Money and MMG feud and can't wait to see MMG vs London Calling. I was always hoping Desmond would team with Magnus but didn't expect Desmond to be in a team after he got off to such a hot start.

 

There are obvious things in TNA I don't like, one being EV2 and the second being the whole JJ, Nash and Sting storyline. The only other gripe with TNA is the lack of an X-division but other than that I'm pretty happy with TNA overall.

 

Also Stennick I agree with you AJ was semi boring as TNA champ because they booked him pretty poorely. I also hate RVD so maybe I'm biased but I think AJ has become a damn good heel and I actually look forward to his promos now when before...not so much..haha

[Hyde Hill]

No Hyde Smackdown is starting Oct 1st which is a Friday. There are reports that NXT will finish up by then and possibly become an online show. I wish Smackdown was on Tuesday though so I could actually catch it but anyway yeah I'm getting pretty tired of Dixie saying TNA is going to change forever. She failed miserably to get Paul Heyman so now she's trying to do whatever she can to make up another surprise.

 

I don't know if anyone agrees with me but I was really enjoying TNA before Hogan and Eric came on board. I'm in no way blaming Hogan or Eric for anything but I was really enjoying the few months before Eric and Hogan came along.

 

Ehm maybe the change was not Heyman? Maybe they just wanted him for the ECW stuff and as a part of creative? You are stating rumours as solid facts here.

 

And yeah I liked TNA pre Bisch and Hogan. Disliked big parts but liked other changes till they moved back to Thursday. After that loved it till EV2. Now its decent/good but not great.

[TDubRaiders]

Very true Hyde theres no truth to the whole Heyman rumors...sadly I want him in TNA bad.

 

I just hope for the sake of TNA that they continue to grow and become a very solid #2 promotion. It's just plain good for wrestling fans and I think it will help wrestling to grow if there are two very good products out there.

 

I've always enjoyed TNA since prob around 2004. I stopped watching wrestling right after the terrible invasion storyline IMO obviously and didn't watch wrestling until I caught a TNA show on PPV one time when I read something about them online. I tend to disagree with a lot of stuff they do but I just can't stop watching for some weird reason. haha.

[Stennick]

Well Heyman himself confirmed he had atleast two different talks with Dixie herself about coming into the company but they wouldn't meet his demands so I wouldn't say thats rumor unless I'm mis understanding.

[Hyde Hill]

No he had the talks but its just rumour that him coming in is the change she was talking about. Plus I do not think Spike would have to be on board with that. And given heyman's self stated demands 10 percent of the company and full creative, roster and marketing control I would not see her not signing him a failure on her part. If TNA has run out of other options and is in deep red ink then yeah otherwise too steep a price imo.

[Stennick]

I agree that Heyman isn't worth his demands. Heyman's track record for me isn't secure enough to give him full creative control of anything. He has not proven he can book a national promotion in the way it needs to be booked. Smackdwon was a fun run but it lasted less than a year and I think the last time I looked it up Smackdown had no large increase in their ratings from the previous regime.

[Bigpapa42]

I don't think Heyman is worth what he is asking. I also don't think he's likely to be the "savior" of TNA. He could do some good things, but I doubt he would take them to where they want to get to.... because I don't think they are realistic about their long-term goals.

 

At the same time, I have no issue with Heyman asking for what he's stated he did. I don't think of it as a money grab (though it may have been) but as him protecting himself. What is the point of going into a situation to be the "savior" and allowing yourself to get saddled with unreasonable demands and expectations? Getting the power to make major changes - and to ensure he keeps that power - only makes sense.

[The Final Countdown]

"You built this house, and this is a house full of people who think you really suck!"

 

Bravo, Tommy. This EV2 stuff is irritating me more and more by the week.

[TDubRaiders]

"You built this house, and this is a house full of people who think you really suck!"

 

Bravo, Tommy. This EV2 stuff is irritating me more and more by the week.

 

Haha man you beat me to it. I'm so tired of Tommy Dreamer. He's incredibly annoying and he's making the EV2 stuff an absolute joke. Every promo he does comes off so cheesy and corny and it just doesn't work anymore. AJ was very good on the mic. It's sad but I absolutely enjoy when Flair just destroys EV2 in his promo's because he truly does hate what the old ECW was. I'm also kind of intrigued by what "Them" is at BFG. Hopefully it's good

[Hyde Hill]

I nailed Janice sign. Lolz.

[ampulator]

A lot of you misunderstand what Paul Heyman is doing. He's intentionally pricing himself out of a job. He only wants it if it meets HIS requirements.

 

That way, he can take almost all the blame if it fails. But if he succeeds, he takes almost all the credit. It's zero-sum game, as he sees it.

[Hyde Hill]

BTW is it me or did they lower the volume of entrances etc and up the volume from the crowd?

[Stennick]

I don't think Heyman is worth what he is asking. I also don't think he's likely to be the "savior" of TNA. He could do some good things, but I doubt he would take them to where they want to get to.... because I don't think they are realistic about their long-term goals.

 

At the same time, I have no issue with Heyman asking for what he's stated he did. I don't think of it as a money grab (though it may have been) but as him protecting himself. What is the point of going into a situation to be the "savior" and allowing yourself to get saddled with unreasonable demands and expectations? Getting the power to make major changes - and to ensure he keeps that power - only makes sense.

 

I liken it to Mike Shannahan taking over as the Skins Head Coach/GM you have this franchise that wants to become the best in their field so you bring in a guy that has proven he can do that (not really in Heyman's case) you give him everything he asks for, you sit back and you let him do his job and hope you made the right choice and it doesn't set the program back.

 

Thats essentially what they would have been doing but unfortuntley in pro wrestling if you look at head bookers as head coaches none of them have shown they have sustained success in turning a franchise around in the 21st century. The only guy out there that can say he's brought two companies to the top of the mountain from the bottom is Vince McMahon (80's, and again in the late ninties). Just like in sports some of that is skill and some of that is right place right time.

 

Head Bookers need that once in a lifetime talent to truly change the way business is done and head coaches need that once in a life time talent as well.

 

I guess I'm saying I have no problem with what Heyman asked for given that all of the responsibility of pass or fail was falling on his shoulders but I also don't blame TNA for declining the offer.

[ampulator]

Who blames TNA for declining the offer? Heyman's track record isn't one of sustained success. He's shown he can BUILD something, but he's unable to keep it afloat.

 

Besides, what does Heyman have to offer new creatively today? It's not Hardcore, because he's had said that's in the past. Modern-style wrestling? He will be in a long line of promoters following the Modern style, hardly an innovator. MMA-style wrestling? Would that even work?

 

As it stands Heyman isn't interested enough.

[TDubRaiders]

BTW is it me or did they lower the volume of entrances etc and up the volume from the crowd?

 

Yeah it def seems like that's what they did. I was wondering if it was just my TV because I was having a hard time hearing the entrances.

[Jaysin]

So I got my order from ShopTNA today. The shipping was pretty fast considering it was free.

 

These shirts are way higher quality then they look online. Especially the Pope shirt. Their shirt quality as really gone up since I bought a Sting shirt a few years ago.

[Hyde Hill]

Also what was with all the stuff from previous and this weeks reaction? One of the reason's I hate the E is all their repeats from other content. If I wan't to see ReAction I will watch that plus they should have made it clearer it was from ReAction if the intent was to promote that show. Still Neal sounded real in that interview, too bad I don't care about him.

[Bigpapa42]

A lot of you misunderstand what Paul Heyman is doing. He's intentionally pricing himself out of a job. He only wants it if it meets HIS requirements.

 

That way, he can take almost all the blame if it fails. But if he succeeds, he takes almost all the credit. It's zero-sum game, as he sees it.

 

That's pretty much exactly what I think he's doing. He doesn't seem to have much interest in returning to wrestling, at least based on the 90-minute MMA Hour interview he recently did. So he's making it worth his while. But I also think he's making the demands to protect himself in case he does get it - it ensures he has a chance to succeed.

[Jaysin]

I'm confused. They said RVD is talking on next week's Impact, but I thought there was no Impact next week?