Impact on the road

[ad2bad]

after watching impact this week, the crowd really reacted all night which really made the show for me. it made tna feel big time as they were in a different environment. would it make much difference in terms of cost if TNA went around the country recording impact and every now and then head back to the impact zone? maybe they could leave impact on the road and film xplosion at universal much like wcw saturday night?

 

is this something that TNA are seriously looking into?

 

its definately added to the product for me, getting out of the impact zone!

[IANdrewDiceClay]

would it make much difference in terms of cost if TNA went around the country recording impact and every now and then head back to the impact zone? maybe they could leave impact on the road and film xplosion at universal much like wcw saturday night?

Xplosion is a bunch of dark matches taped during the Impact tapings, so where ever Impact is taped, Xplosion is taped. TNA doesn't pay rent at the Impact Zone and doesn't need any local promotion and since a lot of the staff and workers live in the area, they dont need to fly them in and the one's they fly in only work once a fortnight anyway, because they can tape all day at Universal. It costs a shitload to not only tour, but produce and advertise and promote a live televised event. Also, they set a plan in 2007 to have all their PPV's outside the Impact Zone by 2010. That died on its arse. It would be great if they could, but they arent looking to take Impact on the road again for another few months now. For the size of TNA, the Impact Zone is the safest and most realistic option for them at the minute.

[ad2bad]

Thanks for the reply. Its a shame they arent going on the road more often, really enjoyed the show this week. Didnt realise they got universal for free though!

[PowerButchi]

Yeah, cause Universal can sell it as another park attraction to get folks in.

[Loki]

Dixie had this to say in a recent podcast:

 

We know that it would be important to take Impact out and tour, but when I talk about running this company like a business, I don't put my head on the pillow every night without thinking about staying in business and turning a profit and giving these great wrestlers and fans a company 10, 15, 20 years from now. And we have to make good business decisions.

 

Touring is extremely expensive. It's extremely expensive to take a production like we have on the road for television. We have to be smart about it. Yes, we know it's critical. Yes, we know it's absolutely the next step in the evolution of TNA... For us to grow, we need to take Impact on the road.

 

And I imagine she's spot on with that. These occasional on-tour Impacts are a way for them to work out the most economical way to do this. Add to that their ever-increasing house show circuit, which has turned the corner and is now pretty successful from what I can see. They are building live audiences around the country and testing the water. Dixie's business motto seems to be "slow and steady progress" which I can respect.

 

People are free to critique TNA's product as much as they want, and there's plenty to talk about there, but as far as the business side goes, Dixie Carter seems to be one of the best promoters there's been for years. Her company has been going as long as ECW did, and has managed to attract larger stars and build a better international audience. I don't know about ratings, or PPV buys, but they look to be going on for a fair few more years yet.

[Richie Freebird]

Yeah, cause Universal can sell it as another park attraction to get folks in.

 

Plus I thought there was some kind of law against charging entrance fee to a TV studio for television tapings that obviously doesn

[Super Cena]

I'm not discrediting the fact that taking Impact on the road is a necessary step in the progression of TNA in order to expand, but I think that there's other aspects of the company that need sorting out first.

 

I will say however that from the photos I have seen, the shows certainly do look a whole lot better and 'big time' when they perform in venues outside the Impact Zone. I've seen indy events that look better than a lot of the tapings you see at the IZ.

[Loki]

The only real problem with the Impact Zone is that it's too small. The old TNA Asylum was much cooler, but I think it's been demolished now.

[PowerButchi]

It's been saved through 2012.

 

The Nashville Fairgrounds, which was the former TNA Asylum, is set to be kept open through 2012. It looked as if next week's "Tribute to the Fairgrounds" from Southern All-Star Wrestling was going to be the last show but the Nashville City Council voted last Tuesday to keep the grounds open before proceeding with redevelopment.

 

As it stands, the building will be host to Showtime All-Star Wrestling's May 7th "Fairgrounds Wrestling Revival" show.

 

Credit: PWInsider

[Richie Freebird]

Southern All-Star and Showtime All-Star running the same venue?

 

If that

[tiger_rick]

People are free to critique TNA's product as much as they want, and there's plenty to talk about there, but as far as the business side goes, Dixie Carter seems to be one of the best promoters there's been for years. Her company has been going as long as ECW did, and has managed to attract larger stars and build a better international audience. I don't know about ratings, or PPV buys, but they look to be going on for a fair few more years yet.

I think if you are talking about the business model as a promotion and as a TV product, you are spot on, she's doing a very good job.

 

In terms of the wrestling business side, I don't think she's done a good job of managing the amount they must be spending in wages. Otherwise, I think they'd have had a decent year last year. She seems a bit frivilous with the talent acquisitions. She seems like a football club chairman who's got the commercial side absolutely right, markets the club, brings in revenue and then spunks it away on players he's no need to buy.

 

I think over the last 5 years, you'd come up with a pretty decent size list of people who gave nothing to TNA but took home a wage. I can't think of any reason for them being hired other than that they had a "name" at some point long ago in history.

 

Even now if you look at the TNA roster, you can pick out people who offer absolutely nothing from a business perspective. Some people will have to take the blinkers off to accept this point and realise that I'm not talking about what you personally find enjoyable. Scott Steiner for instance is a someone I'd call a waste of money. Tommy Dreamer most definitely is. Karen Angle, if she gets paid. Samoa Joe, Doug Williams, Matt Morgan, Hernandez, Brian Kendrick, Abyss and Orlando Jordan would also be on my list. All people who don't offer value for money and take up spots that I think TNA could fill with cheaper, fresher talent. Matt Hardy and RVD are bordering on this territory too at the moment.

 

Obviously you have to have some "name" talent but I think they need to focus on a much bigger portion of fresher names. For all the money they've spent on acquisitions, some of their best talent is still guys that you'd associate most with TNA, Jarrett, Styles, Beer Money and MCMG. I'd like them to focus more on developing talent and be even more selective in the acquisitions they make.

[Loki]

I'd agree on some of those names. However, you do need people for your stars to beat. Getting rid of guys like Kendrick or Doug Williams, Orlando and so on would leave you light of jobbers.

 

Scott Steiner is another I'd dispute. Scott's a classic veteran JTTS. He's a name and beating him carries weight, but all he's ever done for TNA is put people over. Plus, he's incredibly entertaining, and Impact is an entertainment show at heart.

 

A big old clean out is definitely in order though.

 

Tommy "Atztec" Dreamer

Eric Young

Jay Lethal

Kiyoshi

Magnus

 

Would be my 5.

[tiger_rick]

Scott Steiner is another I'd dispute. Scott's a classic veteran JTTS. He's a name and beating him carries weight, but all he's ever done for TNA is put people over. Plus, he's incredibly entertaining, and Impact is an entertainment show at heart.

Is he going to wrestle though? If so, I might agree with you. If he's going to do what he's done so far, then I don't think he's worth the price tag. Obviously seems to be heading for a match with Big Rob somewhere down the line but i think they've had too many Hogan, Foley, Flair, Nash, Steiner, Sting types in the past couple of years who don't wrestle enough. I agree it's about entertainment but that's got to be 50/50 with wrestling and they've had "names" who haven't wrestled their 50%.

[Oliver]

Thoughts on the 3/3/11 show.

 

<-- click on 'spoiler' to show/hide the spoiler

 

 

Impact did indeed look like a class above what it usually is.

 

The opening with Dixie Carter was rather tedious and could have easily been done faster.

 

And then the pace of the show completely changed and got totally frenetic. We stormed through the tag title match, which was rather by the book. It was actually a lot of fun though seeing Storm and Roode go through their routine quickly and make short work of the generic big guys.

 

Ink Inc's challenge after the match was also incredibly by the book and generic. Didn't Ink Inc lose to Gunner and Murphy last week? Whatever.

 

Sarita vs Velvet Sky was another rush job. On one hand that's good because I wasn't exactly interested, but on the other hand, why build up a big stipulation match (Velvet's career was on the line) and not execute it properly? The match might as well not have happened. And instead of building on the story with Winter vying for Angelina Love's affection and trying to get Velvet out of the way, they put the characters involved in said story line in a whole new program with some Z list celebrities. Talk about convolution.

 

Why was the wedding vows segment cut in to 2? I felt it was all wrong anyway. Jeff and Karen Jarrett should have maliciously stated their words with Kurt Angle seething and trying to contain himself with a final diss at the end pushing him over the edge. Then he could have put Karen's face in the cake as the ending. The way he smiled through the segment and then trashed the set with an axe afterward was more unorthodox than my proposed idea, but I feel the formula that my proposal, while repetitive, is effective. This is overall a segment that WWE would have executed brilliantly. TNA have to watch and learn. They copy WWE enough, but its the fine details of WWE's production that they need to clock on to to produce better segments.

 

I feel bad for Rob Terry. He comes out looking like a beast but then gets put away with relative ease by Scott Steiner. With a physique like his, Terry should be given certain privileges like being able to escape the Steiner Recliner and heave Steiner on to his back. This battle pf the behemoths could have been much more than a brief throwaway match on TV, but oh well.

 

I must say I far prefer Matt Morgan as a face and Hermandez as a heel compared to when these 2 were last feuding. Not much to say about this particular match, it was a brief and one sided affair for Morgan until he got sliced at the end.

 

What can I say about Sting's World Title win? Its like when RVD beat AJ Styles for the belt last year with only a show's worth of build up. Sting could have been unveiled as the challenger at Victory Road and this epic big time match of Jeff Hardy vs Sting could have received the build up and promos it deserves before culminating at the PPV. Instead this big time first ever match was pissed away as a mediocre and forgettable match which just came out of the blue.

 

[close spoiler]

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[IANdrewDiceClay]

Steiner is so fucking great on this weeks Impact. He must come alive infront of a crowd who isn't there while the kids play on the Back to the Future ride next door. Steiner might have been the most over wrestler not named Hogan, Flair, Hardy or Robert Roode. The crowd didn't just look great, they were great. No bullshit chants or anything like that. I remember X-Pac (ill-advised to be fair) cutting a promo on Eric Young and he said "this Sunday, we arent in Universal Studios, we'll see who's really over, boy". And as much of a burial as that promo was, you can see what he means. AJ Styles and Beer Money were so over in that building. I dont think TNA can ever create stars in the Impact Zone, because its only when you see them outside Orlando how shit the product looks in a small building.