Impact Going Live

Fozzy

It was reported in the Wrestling Observer last week that TNA are planning to change their tv tapings from Mondays and Tuesdays to Thursdays and Fridays, with every second week being live. I just read that AJ has been pulled from a 1PW show in the UK because TNA told them that they need him for a Friday night taping in April. TNA also told 1PW that they start the new taping schedule next month, so it looks like it's happening

Impact has so much editing in the space of two hours that the production team will really have to be on their toes to keep up with everything. I don't think it'll help them much in the way of ratings though, but it could make the show more entertaining to watch, for the wrong reasons

Machismo Fan

I think it will help with the ratings because I believe a lot of people just read the spoilers and then decide whether or not to watch the show based on that. Personally I am on a crusade to avoid all spoilers and I am enjoying wrestling more because of it.

It will help with the element of surprise. TNA would normally have to leave most debuts until PPV to keep the surprise so it may make their TV more exciting.

krudler

lol this will be fun to watch, i wonder will they be rewriting shows with a half hour to air time ala WCW

Bubs101

I think this could be good for Impact. They might be forced to stop some of the stupid thing (e.g. anything with Young and Santa) because of it being too impractical on a live show. Other than that I see no real benefit and it could actually have negative effects. The amount of sick bumps that happen might have to be reduced as the threat of getting an injury in the middle of the live show is a big one

Fozzy

Oh yeah, another thing to consider is that a lot of TNA guys would usually work indy shows on Fridays. I doubt TNA are going to pay their wrestlers more so it could mean a drop in income for some guys

Minto

I suppose we'll get a laugh out of it, if nothing else. The train-wreck that is iMPACT minus the ability to edit it before it's aired should make it must-see-tv.

Though, if they're serious about going live, they should do it properly and tape do it every week.

Fozzy

Minto wrote: »

Though, if they're serious about going live, they should do it properly and tape do it every week.

That would double the cost of flying everyone in

Minto

Fozzy wrote: »

That would double the cost of flying everyone in

To quote Chief Wiggam: "Ya gotta spend money to make money, Lou".

If TNA really wanna play with the big boys, even though it's more like big boy, they have to show 100% commitment. Doing one show live and one taped doesn't seem like much commitment to me. To me, it's all or nothing.

Vince135792003

Minto wrote: »

If TNA really wanna play with the big boys, even though it's more like big boy, they have to show 100% commitment. Doing one show live and one taped doesn't seem like much commitment to me. To me, it's all or nothing.

WWE used to do the same in the mid 1990's. Live one week, tape the next.

Apparently, going live is much more expensive than doing a taped show so I can see why they are going half and half. If going live makes that much of a difference to the point it's worth the added expense of doing it every week, they can always go ahead with it then.

Minto

Vince135792003 wrote: »

WWE used to do the same in the mid 1990's. Live one week, tape the next.

Wasn't it during the mid 1990's that WCW was kicking WWE's ass?

callaway92

Minto wrote: »

Wasn't it during the mid 1990's that WCW was kicking WWE's ass?

Wasnt that the main reason WWE went live because their results were given away on Nitro..or did that just happen once.:o

Vince135792003

Minto wrote: »

Wasn't it during the mid 1990's that WCW was kicking WWE's ass?

Well I think it was like that for a long time. So for some of the time the WWE was winning and then yeah WCW took the lead.

I'm not sure if being live makes a big difference to TNA but I guess there is something to be said for being live.

Minto

callaway92 wrote: »

Wasnt that the main reason WWE went live because their results were given away on Nitro..or did that just happen once.:o

I'm fairly sure it happened more than that.

kyp_durron

Minto wrote: »

To quote Chief Wiggam: "Ya gotta spend money to make money, Lou".

If TNA really wanna play with the big boys, even though it's more like big boy, they have to show 100% commitment. Doing one show live and one taped doesn't seem like much commitment to me. To me, it's all or nothing.

Quoted and down.

Fozzy

TNA have said that they're going live with the Impact before Wrestlemania. Should be interesting. They're also taping on the Friday and again on Saturday afternoon. All in the Impact Zone. You'd think they could've found somewhere that they could charge in, as there'd be plenty of wrestling fans in town. I think I've got to drill it into my head that TNA's goal is not to make money

Minto

If they are going live on Thursday and doing a show on Fri and Sat, does it mean TNA will only be live every 3 weeks or are they just houseshows?

Fozzy

The three nights are tv tapings, I don't think anything more has been said yet. Maybe they're just testing going live and then giving themselves enough time to consider if it was a good or bad idea and whether to do it again

Minto

Makes sense I suppose. Pity that can't be said for TNA's on-screen product.

rossie1977

impact will go out live on thursday 27 at 9pm from universal orlando

not sure how this will affect the proposed taping on monday 24 and tuesday 25 March, i suspect they will now be moved forward to the friday and saturday

flahavaj

Machismo Fan wrote: »

Personally I am on a crusade to avoid all spoilers and I am enjoying wrestling more because of it.

Spoiler alert:Angles losing the title to Black Reign on Imapct this week in a retarded fanboy on a pole match. Sorry mate.

oneofakind32

flahavaj wrote: »

Spoiler alert:Angles losing the title to Black Reign on Imapct this week in a retarded fanboy on a pole match. Sorry mate.

Mods Hello, my posts have been removed for less!

oneofakind32

As for TNA going live, I'd love love to see Impact live V Smackdown taped, It would be good for both products. And changing the script 1/2 an hour before air, TNA get compared to WCW quite a bit but I really don't think they are that bad.

the flananator

flahavaj wrote: »

Spoiler alert:Angles losing the title to Black Reign on Imapct this week in a retarded fanboy on a pole match. Sorry mate.

How unnecessary.

Anyone know how many tickets have been sold for Destination X yet?

oneofakind32

Story By: Richard Gray (prowrestling.com)

- While ticket sales originally started out good for TNA Wrestling’s upcoming pay-per-view Destination X in Norfolk, Virginia, according to reports, they have slowed down considerably. While a lot of ringside seats have sold for the event, the venue has had to alter the floor plan to reassure that the event looks filled on camera. Destination X will take place at the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia on Sunday, March 9, 2008.

- The Global Impact DVD is now on sale on ShopTNA.com.

- The official TNA website is touting that Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, The Motor City Machineguns, will be on an upcoming episode of “Made” on MTV. In an episode scheduled to debut at Noon EST on Saturday, March 8th, Shelley and Sabin will be featured as the coaches of a high school student named Chris Hendricks who wants to be made into a “larger-than-life pro wrestler.” Hendricks, who is a homosexual, is tired of being stereotyped as weak because he is gay. According to TNA’s official website, several TNA wrestlers will appear on the episode.

Just thought Id put that other story in as well, should be an interesting show.

Machismo Fan

TNAs website crashed around 3 or 4 times tonight. Anybody that reads this do not vote first blood at TNAwrestling.com. Vote for the other two.

flahavaj

Machismo Fan wrote: »

TNAs website crashed around 3 or 4 times tonight. Anybody that reads this do not vote first blood at TNAwrestling.com. Vote for the other two.

The fact that the majority of people neither know, nor are even interested in what this even means cracks me up.:)

Fozzy

Fozzy wrote: »

I don't think it'll help them much in the way of ratings

Machismo Fan wrote: »

I think it will help with the ratings

Not to gloat, but...I told ya so

Impact had their joint lowest rating in four months, a 1.0. Wasn't that bad a show compared to their usual stuff as they mainly focused on the wrestling. Still, some strange booking

Also, TNA wrestlers are mad at the management for showing Robbie McAllister on camera and identifying him as a WWE wrestler, as he's been sent home from Orlando and his job could be in jeopardy

Machismo Fan

I saw that coming the second I saw it was a 1.0. Its odd, they do their highest ratings when they are putting out worse product. Impact this week was very exciting, especially the main event. It was good stuff.

the flananator

The low rating could be for any number of reasons; firstly I don't think it was plugged very well, I certainly didn't know that it was going live this week and I watched Impact last week. I imagine Wrestlemania week-end was a factor aslo; with 80,000 fans pottering about in Orlando this week, I doubt many took the time to sit down and watch TV! Even that doesn't explain this strangely low rating though.

The heat at management is unjustified, in my opinion. McAllister is a big boy, he knew what he was doing.

As for the show itself, Im looking forward to watching it on Bravo tomorrow night.

Fozzy

the flananator wrote: »

The low rating could be for any number of reasons; firstly I don't think it was plugged very well

Therein lies the problem. TNA are so bad at promoting almost everything that they do

the flananator wrote: »

The heat at management is unjustified, in my opinion. McAllister is a big boy, he knew what he was doing.

He probably shouldn't have gone, but some TNA guys are friends of his and they just saw him possibly lose his means of feeding his family over TNA's silly attempt to get one over on WWE. How many people would even recognise him?

oneofakind32

Have to feel sorry for the poor guy! Has to be said though one of the impacts in a long time (bar a few technical glitches). Pity about the poor rating!

Machismo Fan

It is a pity. Impact is normally quite good. I think its a bit harshly criticized. Next weeks Impact looks good (The one taped last night).

rossie1977

Machismo Fan wrote: »

It is a pity. Impact is normally quite good. I think its a bit harshly criticized. Next weeks Impact looks good (The one taped last night).

tis half decent alrite,

james storm will go head first through our irish flag in his match with sting

Minto

Machismo Fan wrote: »

Impact is normally quite good.

Dude, what are you smoking? I get a headache just reading iMPACT spoilers. The show is a total complete clutterf*ck! Have ya ever listened to The Bryan and Vinny show on figure4wrestling? Linky. These guys have the right idea on watching iMPACT...watch something else, like a show on Bigfoot or something!

the flananator

Fozzy wrote: »

Therein lies the problem. TNA are so bad at promoting almost everything that they do



He probably shouldn't have gone, but some TNA guys are friends of his and they just saw him possibly lose his means of feeding his family over TNA's silly attempt to get one over on WWE. How many people would even recognise him?

Well, he's been on WWE television for the last two years, and I think the point TNA were trying to make is that even with all the Wrestlemania hullabuloo in Orlando that week-end, TNA is still "THE CENTRE OF THE WRESTLING UNIVERSE~!" or something gay like that. At the end of the day, they're absolutley right to put over their product by any means they can. It was only an 11 second clip anyway.

And yeah, he's buddies with Johnny Devine, I'm pretty sure thats why he was at the taping. Was it classless of TNA to put him on TV? Maybe. But like I've said, McAllister or whatever his name is must have known what the consequences of his actions would be, especially since he and other WWE talent were WARNED by management prior to the event not to mix with TNA talent at all during the week-end.

ShawnRaven

Minto wrote: »

Dude, what are you smoking? I get a headache just reading iMPACT spoilers. The show is a total complete clutterf*ck! Have ya ever listened to The Bryan and Vinny show on figure4wrestling? Linky. These guys have the right idea on watching iMPACT...watch something else, like a show on Bigfoot or something!

Bryan Alvarez, the original Mexicant and Meltzer wannabe of the internet. He never really understood the concept that people have a right to make up their own minds.

Unfortunately, his disciples who listen to his mindless musings are no better off.
Personally i'd much rather TNA than the watered down garbage WWE are trying to force feed us, but that's strictly my opinion.
VR!

Fozzy

validreasoning! wrote: »

Bryan Alvarez, the original Mexicant and Meltzer wannabe of the internet. He never really understood the concept that people have a right to make up their own minds.

Unfortunately, his disciples who listen to his mindless musings are no better off.
Personally i'd much rather TNA than the watered down garbage WWE are trying to force feed us, but that's strictly my opinion.
VR!

I don't always agree with Alvarez, but it's hard to fault most of what he says about TNA. They constantly ruin any sense of anticipation that I have for a match or a show, like this week

when they just gave away Sting's first match back. And then they had a PPV match take place (minus the cage) and the faces won! What incentive is there for someone to pay to see the rematch?

And it's true that people have a right to make up their own minds, and 2,275,000 out of 2,300,000 people do it every month when they decide that what they saw on Impact isn't enough to convince them to buy a PPV

ShawnRaven

Fozzy wrote: »

I don't always agree with Alvarez, but it's hard to fault most of what he says about TNA. They constantly ruin any sense of anticipation that I have for a match or a show,

I just love how he singles out TNA every opportunity he gets, when that sh*t is nothing that neither WWE or WCW haven't done (more than once) in the past.

And it's true that people have a right to make up their own minds, and 2,275,000 out of 2,300,000 people do it every month when they decide that what they saw on Impact isn't enough to convince them to buy a PPV

Well you've got me there Foz, for me it's just down to personal taste. I quite watching WWE in January once Cena returned mainly because, to me, it's been diluted back to the kids programming it has been before up til the mid 90s. For me, what got over in 1995 isn't going to get over in 2008 primarily because i'm 13 years older.

TNA, despite it's wacky booking and bad management, still doesn't stop the likes of Sabin, Shelley, and Lethal putting on great matches. Hell i'm even enjoying Curry Man and even Shark Boy. Mainly because it does something WWE hasn't done in a long time. It makes me laugh.

Wrestling fans, we're a fickle bunch really.
VR!

Machismo Fan

There are numerous reasons why people don't buy TNA PPVs besides the television show. But before that Impact is not that bad. They are giving out about TNA showing PPV matches on TV when Lethal Lockdown is extremely different to an eight man tag match, firstly the cage, the fact that it is in a war games style and the Lethal Lockdown track record (the other two Lethal Lockdown matches were superb, not including the first without a roof, and AJ Styles was the star of both and he is in this one too).Impact and TNA bashing has become a sport in itself among the wrestling media and TNA does not deserve that type of criticism, it is not that bad. Plus, its not like they just threw Stings return onto any old Impact, it was their first live Impact. Plus, its not like it did anything for them, it drew a very bad rating.

Onto why TNA PPVs don't draw and its not due to poor cards because No Surrender last year was one of TNA's best PPVs and it apparently it only got 17000 paying customers. The first reason is the competition, a lot of people can only afford one PPV a month and they are going to go with the good old WWE. Americans pay upwards of 40-50 dollars for PPV. We get off relatively cheaply with 21.99 off Sky.

I also think the house show circuit is very important to PPV buys and TNA are doing a lot to try and get more exposure throughout the USA with the house shows. As WWE put it there is like experiencing INSERT WRESTLING COMPANY HERE live, and its true. Anyone who has been to a live event will tell you its an awesome experience(even if the wrestling isn't that great). People will begin to become more aware of the quality of wrestling on the TNA PPVs and they do put on PPV quality house shows.

the flananator

Well, just watched Impact on Bravo, and thought is was pretty bitching. I haven't been that engrossed in a wrestling show in years. I usually flick to other channels during the ****e bits, but watched the whole thing right through this week and was never tempted to channel surf. Some thoughts;

* The Jay Lethal/SoCal Val dating thing is getting a little bit old, but the eventual pay-off match between Jay and Sonjay Dutt for the title should be rewarding. Oh, and Val is absolutely smoking. She makes these segments worthwhile.

* Its amazing to think that Bobby Roode/Booker T started feuding about 5 months ago, and it remains entertaining. I would kinda prefer a straight one-on-one match between the two at Lockdown, but I suppose Sharmell has been central to the heat the feud has been getting, so her involvement in the match is at least logical.

* I don't care how fat they are, Team 3D are great heels.

* Devine vs. Shelly was a nice little match.

* LAX looked great against Steiner/Williams. Salina and Shaka Khan looked great in other ways...

* The build for Joe/Angle wasn't as good this week, but I still care more about this match more than anything on the Wrestlemania card this year.

* The main event was a really good match.

* The only problem with the show in my eyes, and its a big 'un, is that while this was a great wrestling show in itself thanks to the generous helpings of wrestling action on offer, it didn't sell the Lockdown PPV to me as effectively as it should have. More vignettes/heated promos/talking head segments/Rough Cuts would have achieved this much better; hopefully theres more of that next week.

Machismo Fan

Minto wrote: »

I get a headache just reading iMPACT spoilers.

Do you actually watch Impact?

rizzla

the flananator wrote: »

* The only problem with the show in my eyes, and its a big 'un, is that while this was a great wrestling show in itself thanks to the generous helpings of wrestling action on offer, it didn't sell the Lockdown PPV to me as effectively as it should have. More vignettes/heated promos/talking head segments/Rough Cuts would have achieved this much better; hopefully theres more of that next week.

If they do increase segments and promos, it would reduce the wrestling action and they'll end up just like the WWE. I think they should have at least ran down the lockdown card at some point, though.

Nearly every backstage segment/interview mentioned the Lockdown PPV. So it's not subtle publicity but maybe the fans don't pay much attention to it because it's not getting mentioned every minute of showtime like WWE programming.

I think their promotion of the main event is excellent. Glad there hasn't been the typical pull apart brawl.

the flananator

rizzla wrote: »

If they do increase segments and promos, it would reduce the wrestling action and they'll end up just like the WWE.

Em, you say that like its a bad thing!

Far more time should have been spent building Lockdown, in my opinion. I mean, buy rates were terrible for TNA last year. Remember pre-Raw WWE? Their weekly one-hour TV shows consisted of its main stars squashing jobbers and then cutting promos on their opponent for the upcoming PPV; after destroying his televised opponent for the evening and looking like a star and a genuine threat, the wrestler would then explain, via a promo, why their upcoming match with so-and-so was so important, why he wanted to beat so-and-so up, etc. The upcoming PPV was the centre of the universe. TNA should be more like this (obviously not exactly like this, times have changed, but the formula should be similar). UFC use the same concept very effectivly on its one-hour build-up shows, but instead of a squash match its a training video of the MMA fighter, who then tells the camera why his upcoming fight is so important, why he's such a badass, why we should pay to see the fight, basically. WWE no longer need to do this (their brand is established and sells PPVs itself). UFC do. TNA do. In my opinion at least!


This year's Lockdown is TNA's chance to turn its PPV business around;with the great build-up for Joe/Angle and the star-studded Lethal Lockdown, if TNA don't sell PPV's with this, they never will.

oneofakind32

The problem with that idea is no one is going to tune in to see squash matches every week. It's not 1995 anymore. People watch TNA because they rarely have squash matches and for there "PPV quality" matches. How can you sell PPVs if you ratings are low?

rizzla

the flananator wrote: »

Em, you say that like its a bad thing!

It is a bad thing. The reason I like TNA is because their different.

To be fair buy rates mean nothing to a fan, I'll watch it if the buy rate sucks and I'll watch it if it's high. People talk about buy rates like it's a representation of the quality the company produces, it's not.

I think TNA Live is the way forward and they can only build upon it.

the flananator

oneofakind32 wrote: »

The problem with that idea is no one is going to tune in to see squash matches every week. It's not 1995 anymore. People watch TNA because they rarely have squash matches and for there "PPV quality" matches. How can you sell PPVs if you ratings are low?

Like I said;

TNA should be more like this (obviously not exactly like this, times have changed, but the formula should be similar)

Besides, how can you sell PPVs if you're giving away PPV quality matches for free? Like a few weeks ago, they gave away Angle and Booker T's first TNA in ring bout away for free on Impact. That could have been a big draw on PPV. In the following weeks, they gave away Kevin Nash and Angle's FIRST EVER match against each other away for free. Damn, that bout could have been huge. Remember when Nash gave Angle the jack-knife last year when they were having difficulties? Man, I marked out for that, and so did the crowd in the Impact zone. I presumed the reason they didn't build Genesis around Angle/Nash was because Nash couldn't go in the ring anymore. But then their match on Impact was perfectly satisfactory, probably of PPV quality. Then at Destination X, they book a crappy six-man main event, while on the Impact prior to the PPV they book a far more interesting series of matches with Cage/Angle in the cage, Joe vs. Tomko, Nash vs AJ Styles, FOR FREE. While Impact may have been enjoyable, I'll bet Destination X did terrible business.

Then take last weeks Impact. Its best point? Angle cuts a killer promo back stage plugging his match with Samoa Joe at the upcoming PPV. Joe's trainers are interviewed, putting over what a threat Joe is to Angle's title. Lastly, Angle squashes a bunch of MMA jobber boys in an awesome angle. At the end of this show, I would have handed over cash to see Angle/Joe in a cage then and there; no potentially huge match was given away for free, instead we got a promo, a training vignette and a squash match, and it was brilliant.

This week, for all the great wrestling we got, the shows focus was more the evening's FREE main event than the Lockdown main event. Just saying!

It is a bad thing. The reason I like TNA is because their different.

To be fair buy rates mean nothing to a fan, I'll watch it if the buy rate sucks and I'll watch it if it's high. People talk about buy rates like it's a representation of the quality the company produces, it's not.

I'll agree with you, TNA is different. I'll choose its style of wrestling over WWE's product any day of the week. And yes, as fans we probably should focus a little bit more on our own enjoyment of the product, and focus a little less on the company's finances. Good point!

Minto

Machismo Fan wrote: »

Do you actually watch Impact?

I'm proud to say I don't! The spoilers turn me off it completley! WWE may not be doing anything spectacular lately (except maybe the last 2 weeks of the Flair angle), but at least if I miss something, it'll either be explained or shown the next week or on wwe.com. When I go to TNA's website to watch something I may have been interested in seeing, it not there, or at least not anywhere obvious! Even if I decide to throw away a perfectly good Saturday night and watch iMPACT the following week, they have moved on with the angle more in that one week than WWE would in a 3 week period. Its a clustterf*ck!

Machismo Fan

How the hell do know if its a mess if you don't actually watch the program. Thats what really turned me off spoilers and reports of all kind, they say the show was horrible and they concentrate on the bad and very rarely the good. Its ignorant to criticize something you don't even watch and its unfair to do so. If I criticize WWE its based on what I've seen and not what I've heard. They could be telling you that Black Reign is the best wrestler in the world and you wouldn't know any different (though Black Reign isn't a bad wrestler, he is just too stale and fat). Stop taking these damn reports and spoilers as gospel. Impact do a previously on Impact part of near every show at the start of Impact. They also post up YouTube clips of what happened on TNAwrestling.com every week for more than the last 12 months, with the exception of this week but I can understand that as things have most likely been hectic this week with the Live show and all those tapings.

Fozzy

TNA have been getting better at recapping certain things recently. I've noticed a few replays!

Machismo Fan

And in regards to recapping, Spike.com have recaps of Impact going right back to August 30th in their TNA Impact section.

the flananator

Minto wrote: »

I'm proud to say I don't!

Then sir, I'm afraid you're in no postition to criticise it!

The spoilers turn me off it completley!

The spoilers aren't a true representation of the show, they mostly just include what the live crowd are shown in the ring, the don't show the backstage stuff that strings everything together.

WWE may not be doing anything spectacular lately (except maybe the last 2 weeks of the Flair angle), but at least if I miss something, it'll either be explained or shown the next week or on wwe.com. When I go to TNA's website to watch something I may have been interested in seeing, it not there, or at least not anywhere obvious!

Hmmm, I can't speak for your experiences obviously, but for me whenever I miss an iMPACT, TNA Today does a pretty good job of filling me in.