The offical TNA thread - News, Spoilers and the rest...

Penn

jaykhunter wrote: »

Christ is this going ahead? They've only spent a handful of dates going on Monday; surely an experiment must least at least a year. Ridiculous! Now that we've passed WrestleMania season TNA have a better chance to hook new viewers. It's a real shame.

Exactly. They picked the wrong time to move to Monday nights. If they'd started this week or next, and straight away started an hour earlier than Raw, I think we would have seen different results

Vince135792003

I think they gave it enough time. If they left it too late they might have drove off their audience altogether. At least now they can hopefully get back to where they were initially.

They started off with a bang in January and by May between 1/2 to 1/3 of what they got on January 4th was what was left.

geeky

Vince135792003 wrote: »

I think they gave it enough time. If they left it too late they might have drove off their audience altogether. At least now they can hopefully get back to where they were initially.

They started off with a bang in January and by May between 1/2 to 1/3 of what they got on January 4th was what was left.

January 4 was a one-off. The first weekly Monday broadcast was March 8.

If they honestly thought ratings would rocket within two months, while they kept changing their schedule and going up against the WWE in Wrestlemania mode, the powers that be at TNA or Spike are total muppets. It was unwise to go in when they did, but they should at the very least have planned to stick with it for a good two months. The lack of commitment to the change seems to indicate that the move to Monday night wasn't part of a well-thought-through plan, which doesn't bode well for the company at all.

jaykhunter

geeky wrote: »

January 4 was a one-off. The first weekly Monday broadcast was March 8.

If they honestly thought ratings would rocket within two months, while they kept changing their schedule and going up against the WWE in Wrestlemania mode, the powers that be at TNA or Spike are total muppets. It was unwise to go in when they did, but they should at the very least have planned to stick with it for a good two months. The lack of commitment to the change seems to indicate that the move to Monday night wasn't part of a well-thought-through plan, which doesn't bode well for the company at all.

Couldn't agree more. Why they'd move to Monday Nights on the run up to WrestleMania is beyond me. I might as well mention that a 3.1 for the draft was a poor rating by WWE standards too. I don't understand the thinking by all of these rash decisions. I guess they haven't seen the SmackDown ratings continually taking hits by moving days and channels.

Success is all about timing, and putting on a consistently great product. And TNA have botched both. That's not to say they haven't done great things. Just like their booking, they're making too many changes too fast, and too rashly. Two months is nothing. It's like there are sirens going off every day in TNA...Constantly changing your product and business deals... it looks really pathetic.

They weren't doing well enough on Thursdays; hence the move to Mondays, which involves taking a ratings hit, but also gaining uniquely new viewers. Advertising your product during your competition and having a relatively similar timeslot is the best way to get noticed (beyond changing stations and having an amazing product)....I have no idea what was wrong with doing Mondays 8-10 and keeping your Thursday repeat time slot. Maybe the numbers weren't high enough for Spike to have a new show air on Mondays...

Vince135792003

geeky wrote: »

January 4 was a one-off. .

It sure was. Alot of people watched TNA and less than half came back.

jaykhunter

Ratings =/= Quality of show.

Vince135792003

jaykhunter wrote: »

Ratings =Quality of show.

In this instance yes. Due to the inconsistency of quality each show, they got what they deserved.

Machismo Fan

At least iMPACT! is returning to it's rightful home of Thursday nights.

waltersobchak

Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Though the stars of TNA Wrestling are famous and appear on a national television show viewed by millions per week, it does not necessarily translate into huge pay checks for a good portion of the roster. This fact especially rings true with the company's Knockouts as multiple sources have indicated that majority of its female performers earn between $200 and $400 per appearance. It's been said that Daffney, SoCal Val and reigning Women's Knockout Champion Madison Rayne garner slightly more than $200 per appearance.

However, they are not the lowest paid members on the roster as that dubious distinction reportedly belongs to Generation Me — Max and Jeremy both of whom earn $200 per appearance.

barura

waltersobchak wrote: »

Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Though the stars of TNA Wrestling are famous and appear on a national television show viewed by millions per week, it does not necessarily translate into huge pay checks for a good portion of the roster. This fact especially rings true with the company's Knockouts as multiple sources have indicated that majority of its female performers earn between $200 and $400 per appearance. It's been said that Daffney, SoCal Val and reigning Women's Knockout Champion Madison Rayne garner slightly more than $200 per appearance.

However, they are not the lowest paid members on the roster as that dubious distinction reportedly belongs to Generation Me — Max and Jeremy both of whom earn $200 per appearance.

Jesus, how much is Hogan and Flair getting so? I'm guessing they're gettig the big piece of the pie yeah?

geeky

waltersobchak wrote: »

Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Though the stars of TNA Wrestling are famous and appear on a national television show viewed by millions per week, it does not necessarily translate into huge pay checks for a good portion of the roster. This fact especially rings true with the company's Knockouts as multiple sources have indicated that majority of its female performers earn between $200 and $400 per appearance. It's been said that Daffney, SoCal Val and reigning Women's Knockout Champion Madison Rayne garner slightly more than $200 per appearance.

However, they are not the lowest paid members on the roster as that dubious distinction reportedly belongs to Generation Me — Max and Jeremy both of whom earn $200 per appearance.

I know the company is losing a lot of money but :eek:. Wonder how much the Hulkster and Flair are on.

waltersobchak

I read recently that Scott Hall is on $3,000 per appearance.. So god knows what Flair, Hogan, Hardy etc are on:eek:

geeky

waltersobchak wrote: »

I read recently that Scott Hall is on $3,000 per appearance.. So god knows what Flair, Hogan, Hardy etc are on:eek:

That right there is a shocking indictment of TNA today. Scott Hall*, on his last last last chance in the wrestling biz, barely able to work, earning 10 times as much per appearance as a good chunk of the Knockouts (who, if I'm not mistaken, still produce the highest rated segments on the show.)

Never in a million years did I think I'd agree with Bubba The Love Sponge on anything, but I will on this: those people are idiots.


* No disrespect to Hall - he's seemed much more together than he has in years these last few months, and more power to him for taking it.

EdK

waltersobchak wrote: »

Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Though the stars of TNA Wrestling are famous and appear on a national television show viewed by millions per week, it does not necessarily translate into huge pay checks for a good portion of the roster. This fact especially rings true with the company's Knockouts as multiple sources have indicated that majority of its female performers earn between $200 and $400 per appearance. It's been said that Daffney, SoCal Val and reigning Women's Knockout Champion Madison Rayne garner slightly more than $200 per appearance.

However, they are not the lowest paid members on the roster as that dubious distinction reportedly belongs to Generation Me — Max and Jeremy both of whom earn $200 per appearance.

Generation Me addressed that report yesterday and claim they are not paid $200 per appearance

D2D

This week's webmatch: Kazarian vs. Max of Generation Me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EawgriTLAbc

Jay Lethal on his Ric Flair impression:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSwr82WG6ec

D2D

Some of Eric Bischoff's interview on the Monday Night Mayhem radio show:

His thoughts on the move of TNA iMPACT back to Thursday nights, TNA never intending to compete with the WWE, & the experience of gaining more exposure for the TNA brand as a result of going head-to-head with World Wrestling Entertainment: "First, I don't recall fans en mass telling us not to go to Monday nights. On the contrary, I remember quite a bit of enthusiasm & energy, just because it was a chance to create competition & provide an alternative. There were a lot of fans that spoke out and said it was the wrong decision, but there was a lot of fans that felt the other way. What happened after the move (as we did some research, along with Spike TV), it was determined that while there were fans who enjoyed the competition, there was also a lot of fans that weren't able to check out both. It was a problem for them having to switch back & forth. Unlike the WWE, TNA does not have a lot of other programming, so there's only one TNA vehicle out there, and putting it head-to-head made it difficult for some fans of TNA. As far as WWE being too big to compete with, they're a monster. We never intended to compete with WWE, we intended to position ourselves on Monday night, because that's where the traditional wrestling fan audience is, and we thought that would be a great way to gain exposure for the TNA brand. That's why we went to Monday nights, not to compete."
Rob Van Dam capturing the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, the signing of RVD/what if means to the company now & for its future: "RVD, in my opinion, is one of the better things that has happened to us in a while. He's just got a different vibe, a different energy, and he appeals to a different audience again. Hoping that change (the TNA World Title change) is something that resonates with people who might not have otherwise tuned into TNA previously. One of the reasons RVD is here is to expand our audience, and he is clearly a guy that is worthy of being the TNA World Heavyweight Champion."

Those Who Feel "The Blueprint" Matt Morgan is getting lost in the shuffle of TNA's tag team division & the chances of seeing him return to the singles spotlight: "I'm not the head of creative, and I don't pretend to be. I'm a big supporter of Matt, and his future will be determined in the weeks & months to come. One of things I'm not going to do is talk about storylines & internal creative decisions, because A) there's enough spoilers out there; I don't need to do any it, and it's not fair to a lot of other people involved. Matt Morgan is a great talent; I think he's got a bright future, and those of you who are Matt Morgan fans should just sit back, watch, & enjoy."

The confidence he has in TNA going to improve in the months ahead & his reaction to certain fans complaining about particular aspects of TNA, including those who are harsh to criticize the older wrestlers/talents in the company: "Is TNA going to improve? Absolutely. Anyone who is objective who's been watching it for the last couple of months, would be hard-pressed to deny that this product is evolving...and in a good way. In terms of older wrestlers, I heard exactly the opposite. I heard a lot of people say, who are fans of both WWE & TNA, they like seeing brands, names, & faces they recognize and that they have a history with. That's not to say they want to see them dominate the show, and we don't need research to tell us that. I'll be careful to say that 'all fans want to see one thing,' because that's not true."

The likelihood of seeing either Jim Ross and/or Paul Heyman in TNA soon: "I don't know. I don't know what Jim is thinking & his point of view. I like Jim, and he & I have a pretty good relationship, and we stay in touch from time-to-time. I don't have this kind of conversation with him, and quite frankly, it's been a few months since I spoke to him. Heyman...no idea. But who knows, time will tell. Never say never right?

D2D

RVD interview with Slam wrestling in Canada:

Calling yourself "The Whole F'n Show" brings a certain amount of pressure. Rob Van Dam relishes it.

So when Van Dam laces up the boots to defend his TNA World Heavyweight Championship against A.J. Styles on Sunday at Sacrifice, he hopes they have the time to "show that we can definitely be the best wrestling match on the card."

"AJ's good," Van Dam told SLAM! Wrestling on Wednesday. "I'm used to having everybody's best match my whole career. I take everybody's move's the best anybody's ever taken them, I make everybody look better than they've ever looked before. AJ's got a lot to work with. I expect, and there's a really good chance, that this is going to be the best match of his career and hopefully a match that has everybody taking about TNA."

Van Dam is known by many monikers. Whether it be "Mr. Monday Night" or "Mr. Thursday Night" or "The Whole F'n Show," all place Van Dam in a situation where he has to perform. And there's no place he'd rather be, either.

"I need the pressure. That's what makes me tick," he said. "On my own time, on my own personal time, I have to overload my schedule with projects. I thrive on the pressure. ... I have to challenge myself in order to appreciate what I'm doing in order to feel alive and enjoy the moment. I love the fact that I've been calling myself 'The Whole F'n Show' for almost 15 years now. And the crowd just confirms it every time I look at them and point my thumbs to myself."


RVD returned to televised wrestling March 8, quickly beating Sting. A little more than a month later on a live edition of Impact, Van Dam beat Jeff Hardy for the chance to wrestle Styles for the championship in the main event. When Van Dam pinned Styles with the Five-Star Frog Splash, it set off a celebration that saw confetti rain down from the ceiling and the locker room empty to celebrate Van Dam's victory, which ended the second-longest world title reign in TNA history.

"It meant a lot to me to beat AJ Styles for the belt because a lot of people had always wanted to see AJ and I wrestle," Van Dam said. "Fans acted like that was a dream match. I always felt like that when the match did happen that I'd come out on the winning end of the stick, outclassing, outshining, looking more like The Whole F'n Show. The way the match went down, I feel like [Eric] Bischoff, [Hulk] Hogan and Dixie [Carter], the decision makers feel like I weigh out in the same way."

To Van Dam, winning the title set off a "new era" in TNA, and he's still hearing congratulations nearly a month later and is feeling "happy vibes" from everybody.

"The way it went down, winning both matches, getting crowned, if somebody was to write a storyline for their own participation in the show, they couldn't expect it to come out any grander," he said.

Holding the TNA World Heavyweight Championship ranks right up there with his near two-year run as ECW Television Champion (which he feels is the one that made him a superstar in the business) because he feels his efforts are "really helping the company," and him being in the top spot makes more sense than him being in a random spot on the card.


RVD ON BEING PATIENT
Prior to returning to TNA in March, Rob Van Dam had mostly been off American television. Outside of a few cameo appearances in WWE, Van Dam was absent. Still, the fans he saw would tell him how much the wrestling world needed him.

"The fans have always told me, 'Go back Rob, we need you back! We need you to go back.' I used to hear it so much, it was as if the fans thought I could save wrestling," Van Dam said. "They would tell me how lame the storylines have been, how bad the product is with wrestling in general. Everyone would say, 'Rob, we need you back,' and I would say, 'Look, I'm not going to be able to save it, it's just going to suck for me, too, if I go back.'"

His long layoff was in part due to the fact that he was looking for the best deal. He found that with TNA, calling it the right deal with the right timing.

"Everything was perfect, so while I'm there of course, I'm hoping to be utilized right," he said.

Van Dam believes he's helped add believability to TNA because of his choice.

"I added more credibility to TNA even though their wrestlers want to be there now because they figure I wouldn't be there unless everything was good because of my decision to turn offered work away for the last three years during a recession just to stay home," he said. "That gave credibility to the fans and wrestlers alike."
"In WWE, a lot of times friends would come to the show and say, 'Wow, you get the loudest reaction out of all the wrestlers here, how come you're not in the main event and how come they don't have any RVD T-shirts?' and that's what I always dealt with before," Van Dam said. "Now, I feel like I'm in a great position as champ. I have no doubt I'm going to do my part to show the best matches anybody has seen in TNA, so it's pretty exciting."

Van Dam has held many titles throughout his career, including the WWE and ECW championships concurrently in WWE after defeating John Cena at One Night Stand 2006, and many of them were nothing more than a nuisance.

"In the past, a lot of times I'd win the belt and I'd almost be upset because it's something else I had to carry with me when I travel, which is a pain in the ass anyway," he said. "I pack super-tight, I don't like to check bags, I like to carry them on and with a belt, that would really f--- my system up."

Starting today, Van Dam will go back to being "Mr. Thursday Night" as TNA's flagship program "Impact" moves back to its long-time home on Thursday nights on SpikeTV. The move was announced at the beginning of the May 3 live Impact broadcast.

Van Dam said the move is going to be a positive because the company no longer will split its audience not only between Impact and WWE Raw on Monday, but between the first-run show Monday and the company's own Thursday replay.

"It's going to allow us to shine and grow," Van Dam said. "And from what I can see, most of the other boys seem to feel the same way. Dixie told us that this was from listening to polls from the fans and I think probably SpikeTV also wanted it and it really seems like it will be a good thing now. WWE, they own Monday night and that's not going to change."

Van Dam, who made his TNA debut on the company's first two-hour Monday Impact, said the company had to try to the move. He said it the move helped put the company on the map and that Carter did not do it with vanity.

"Dixie never said, 'Hey, we're going to beat the hell out of them on Monday nights, we're going to take over and own it,'" Van Dam said. "She always said, 'We know we're going up against a much bigger company, we're doing this slowly, we're going to try to win battle-by-battle.' She always seemed to have everything in perspective. As long as it didn't put too big of a hole in them financially, I think it was a great move."

Even though Van Dam will only be making his sixth trip to Orlando for Sunday's Sacifice pay-per-view, he has been impressed with what he's seen from Carter, calling her not only a sweet person, but a real one, as well.

"So far, I love Dixie Carter," he said. "You actually have a genuine relationship with her. I text her, and she'll text me right back. And from what I understand from the other guys, she does that, too. ... She's not the wrestling expert, she's the one who owns it and would like to make her money back and she's got to trust certain people and listen to the advice of certain people and know who to listen to and that all seems very upfront and right there for everybody to understand."

Not only is Van Dam finding success professionally -- he has a comic book coming out soon and has found success with RVD Radio and RVDTV -- he also is personally. Van Dam's wife Sonya has now been cancer-free for two years.

"This was a major milestone we just passed, having been two years cancer-free," Van Dam said. "Once you do the operation, the chemo and you get cleared, you're still in constant fear of it returning with the odds of that lowering as time goes on."

It's been an "uplifting" experience to watch Sonya, he said.

"As you can imagine, it's not a fun thing to go through," Van Dam said. "For me, personally, I do everything to try to spoil her and just make her happy and its' been that way our whole life. That's my goal is to do everything to keep her energy up because that's what keeps my energy up."

savemejebus

RVD wrote: »

I'm used to having everybody's best match my whole career. I take everybody's move's the best anybody's ever taken them, I make everybody look better than they've ever looked before.

Yeah, i guess that's why he couldn't be arsed to give AJ a bit of respect by hooking his leg when he won the title. I wonder does RVD actually believe the shít he spouts.

jaykhunter

i hope since RVD is champion he can have the best match he can; i.e. something along the lines of his Jerry Lynn matches in Dub. They're just so awesome. Himself and AJ are able to have match-of-the-year 25 minute stunner, we can only hope.

grames_bond

savemejebus wrote: »

Yeah, i guess that's why he couldn't be arsed to give AJ a bit of respect by hooking his leg when he won the title. I wonder does RVD actually believe the shít he spouts.

+1 that interview he came off as a total arrogant f*ck! The belt was a nuisance!? he gives everyone their greatest matchs!? here gimme a break, with an attitude like that im glad he's not back in WWE, they have too many ego's over there as is!

D2D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH1xm2fOXD4

This week's Webmatch: Ink Inc vs. Homicide & Okada

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i20qH1XWNtM

D2D

LZ5by5 in the News thread wrote: »

Morale in TNA was said to be quite deflated after the announcement that Impact was being moved back to Thursday. Many of the roster members who dont follow the history of the business had been convinced by talk a couple of months back that the move to Monday nights was going to turn the company around. Some are fearful that the Thursday ratings will not return to what they were in February, with the Monday experiment perhaps having run off a sizeable portion of the fanbase. In the past, the consensus has been that although the money in TNA was not as good as in WWE this was offset by a far more enjoyable atmosphere at work. Now, the general feeling is that TNA is still a less stressful environment than WWE but nowhere near as much fun as it was a few months ago. Some feel that this is attributable to Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan coming in without any knowledge of the product, storylines or characters and yet changing the dynamic regardless. Others go back farther and attribute it to Jim Cornette being let go in favour of Ed Ferrara. Cornette had been the one who took scenarios that seemed foolish on paper and performed major damage control on them, while Ferrara lacked such instincts.

This was said to demonstrate just how little Dixie Carter knew about the business and how easy she could be manipulated. At the moment, it is becoming clear to many that Bischoff has no fresh ideas about how to turn business around. The upcoming schedule should be quite revealing about the creative team. The Sacrifice PPV on 16 May will be followed by TV tapings for four straight weeks of Impact on the 17th, 18th and 19th, right up until the next PPV. This has been done in the past as a cost-saving measure, yet it led to segments being taped out of order on different days and numerous internal logic holes, such as some people being in different outfits for no reason on the same show. When such tapings were being written by Vince Russo the major plot points and directions of the script would be left intact. Under the new regime, there are far more last-minute alterations to major aspects of storylines. Kevin Nash & Scott Hall winning the TNA Tag Team Championships was a last-minute decision after somebody brought up that Nash still had a Feast or Fired briefcase to use for a tag title shot. Bischoff knew nothing about the concept, while Russo had long since forgotten about it. When the subject was brought up they decided to go ahead and use it for a title change. This screwed with the original Sacrifice line-up, where Matt Morgan and a partner were to face Ink Inc, while Hall & Nash would have been in a #1 contenders four-way with Beer Money, Team 3D and Motor City Machine Guns. Now they are having Hall & Nash defend the titles against Ink Inc, with the other tree teams perhaps having a three-way match instead. Morgan has nothing in particular planned, although a match with Samoa Joe is on the cards since Joe cost him the tag titles.

The original plan for Morgan was that Hernandez would return as a mystery partner for Homicide, who would have won a tag title shot, yet the entire LAX reunion idea has been forgotten about since the original Hernandez injury angle. Meanwhile, Homicide was confronted about his recent interview comments about his lack of faith in TNA, their current direction and Hulk Hogans involvement with the company. He claimed to have been misquoted and so Terry Taylor has asked for a copy of the interview tape.

Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/201...sacrifice-ppv/

They really haven't a clue, do they?? Forgetting about Nash's Feat of fired 'case is just laughable.

jaykhunter

i'm surprised they brought it back up - i thought for sure that they should either forget it, or have Hall/Pac lose their match, but then steal/get the briefcase for a tag match and use it and win the belts and contracts.

or you could do the smart thing and dump them.....i dunno poor TNA; i wonder how it's so difficult to write a simple storyline with so much talent....maybe it's not having a working power structure and delineation of who does what....the corporate end of TNA.

waltersobchak

Source: The Wrestling Observer

According to a backstage source, TNA will be making a lot of budget cutbacks this week. "It's the moment of truth," said one source.

It was alluded that budget cuts would be made to the company's bloated talent roster, which boasts approximately 70 performers.

D2D

waltersobchak wrote: »

Source: The Wrestling Observer

According to a backstage source, TNA will be making a lot of budget cutbacks this week. "It's the moment of truth," said one source.

It was alluded that budget cuts would be made to the company's bloated talent roster, which boasts approximately 70 performers.

I didn't realise they have 70 performers on their roster. Wow, why the hell do they have that many?? (esp for a 2 hour show every week)

Furious-Red

waltersobchak wrote: »

Source: The Wrestling Observer

According to a backstage source, TNA will be making a lot of budget cutbacks this week. "It's the moment of truth," said one source.

It was alluded that budget cuts would be made to the company's bloated talent roster, which boasts approximately 70 performers.

After looking through the Roster i could see the following go:
Amazing Red
Kendrick
Stevie Richards
Generation Me
Hamada
Homicide
Kiyoshi
Magnus
ODB
Rhino
Tomko

waltersobchak

Furious-Red wrote: »

After looking through the Roster i could see the following go:
Amazing Red
Kendrick
Stevie Richards
Generation Me
Hamada
Homicide
Kiyoshi
Magnus
ODB
Rhino
Tomko

Thats some serious talent to let go, surely the likes of Hogan,Hall, Bischoff and co would be more logical given their huge cost, and lack of impact.. But then again it is TNA:rolleyes:

D2D

TNA is interested in Rayna Von Tosh. For those who do not know her she is the first grad of the SHIMMER school. She's 21.

Source: Wrestling Observer

Anyone know anything about her??

waltersobchak

Dare_2_defy wrote: »

Anyone know anything about her??

All i know about her is shes a pretty attractive young lady:pac:

D2D

waltersobchak wrote: »

All i know about her is shes a pretty attractive young lady:pac:

Nice.....................................baseball bat;):pac::pac: