TNA… Cross the Line again

[garynysmon]

1 hour ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

So the cats out the bag, this new TNA agreement with WWE is strategic combat against AEW. The PCO/GCW angle from their Hammerstein Ballroom show has had to pivot to Mance Warner coming in. We’ve got ex WWE talent being re-signed as well as current NXT wrestlers appearing. And it appears one of the reasons NJPW was dropped from AXS in the states was because of this agreement. It now appears TNA is being shipped to markets where WWE has gone to Netflix to scupper AEW replacing them.

It’s like Vince never left.

The idea that a collaboration between TNA and WWE’s developmental brand is a massive threat to a billionaire family with enough contacts to get a new startup a prime time slot on one of America’s biggest cable networks and even ITV is a little silly.

Mustafa Ali was wrestling for TNA last year and spent a few months looking for a job with WWE or AEW most probably (was spotted backstage at AEW more than once). Didn’t get picked up and here he is. Ideal, nice one.

It was widely reported that New Japan decided to leave AXS as its a fucking terrible network and wanted to look for a better deal (and who would blame them, its shite).

A good word from a company you’re on friendly terms with to networks looking for wrestling to a company desperate for better tv deals would be the least I’d expect tbh.

TNA’s budget is a fraction of AEW’s and are probably approaching networks asking for substantially less money then AEW, thus likely undercutting them.

i.e “We’ll get you 70% of AEW’s audience at half the cost”. And the recent production upgrades are clearly an attempt to shop around for TV deals.

I’m sorry if that ‘scuppers’ AEW, but on the flipside the idea that AEW’s conception and immediate 0-100 growth due to strong financial backing didn’t tread on the toes of existing companies is incredibly fanciful.

Maybe worth asking where AEW’s entire original production crew came from, for instance.

Edited January 24, 2025 by garynysmon

[Hannibal Scorch]

37 minutes ago, garynysmon said:

 

I’m sorry if that ‘scuppers’ AEW, but on the flipside the idea that AEW’s conception and immediate 0-100 growth due to strong financial backing didn’t tread on the toes of existing companies is incredibly fanciful.

Maybe worth asking where AEW’s entire original production crew came from, for instance.

The one thing that’s undisputed as to why AEW was a great thing for the wrestling business was it enabled wrestlers to actually get fairly compensated when, outside of the top top guys, this wasn’t often the case.
 

TNA’s women’s world champ had to work in a sunglasses hut and Christopher Daniel’s at Universal Studios as a Denis Hopper stunt actor for the Waterworld show. Don’t be salty some producers decided to take a regular pay check.

I’d be more concerned as a TNA fan that it’s just becoming WWE Heat. For TNA to have managed to survive past the Bischoff and rough years leading up to the pandemic to just become a WWE feeder show should be having you bothered. I’ll give it 18 months before they get bought out.  

[garynysmon]

34 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

I’ll give it 18 months before they get bought out.  

And for what? To fulfill programming for a network WWE doesn't operate? Netflix won't even have WCW on it. WWE isn't gagging to run TNA as a standalone company are they.

Anthem is a sports content company, its all about cultivating content and libraries. Anthem has no reason to sell and WWE has no reason to buy.

We live in incredibly tribal times. WWE "permitting its audience" to follow TNA (it feels silly typing that but its true) will open doors to a much bigger casual audience. Its no coincidence that TNA attendance has shot up since the collab started and NXT TV ratings have been pretty healthy too. 

It ensures that NXT Wrestlers get more reps on another televised show (sending to a different 'territory' if you will), and more "forbidden door" stuff that wrestling fans lap up.

And yes, "first dibs" on TNA wrestlers. That's what WWE get out of it.

TNA gets the "WWE rub".

TNA's top talent will probably end up in WWE if the E want them. But how is that different to how its always been when TNA top talents usually ending up with WWE or AEW anyway?

Either way, I'd rather that TNA talents were wrestling in front of 2,000 fans rather than 500 while they're there. 

There's a direct pipline from New Japan's main event scene to AEW, but I've yet so see anyone suggesting Tony Khan has bought them too.

Edited January 24, 2025 by garynysmon

[Hannibal Scorch]

Oh people have definitely accused Tony of using that relationship to his advantage with people like Jay White and Okada, which is probably why he’s let Takeshita sign with them as well as AEW, but they were also haemorrhaging money since Covid and needed AEW to help with WK night 2 this year which is troubling for them.

REGARDLESS, don’t take my comment that I want TNA to fail in anyway. I don’t. Like AEW, TNA was there at the times WWE killed my interest. I went to a taping during my first trip to Orlando with a pretty disgruntled Mrs Scorch to be in tow. And I helped work on the London dates when they did their tours. I just don’t want them to become a footnote in history after managing to survive all those troubles and tribulations by being used just as a way of putting someone else out of business.

The more places a wrestler can earn a decent living should be something we all want. No one wants to see a monopoly again, unless they forget how bad things were pre 2019. 

[TheScarlettChad]

TNA won't go anywhere, and lets not act like they were any good before the rebrand back to TNA. 

AND lets not act like AEW helped TNA in any way either. 

[The Gaffer]

Anyway. 

Watched the most recent Impact highlights and had a full on Jim Cornette immune system response to Joe Hendry. It's that kind of thing where I can't objectively fault the rationale of a company TNA's size going with him when he's proper internet hot, but having an out-and-out comedy character (as opposed to a big time player type character who also happens to be able to do comedy) with the top belt doesn't do it for me. 

Again it still makes total sense here, I guess it's more a reflection on other potential ceilings. I can't imagine the journey would continue along the top of the card in AEW or WWE and maybe nobody expects it to.

Most of all though, as someone who is partial to a lot of dumb comedy in wrestling: Guitars are fecking shite and always will be. Rock Concerts are some of the worst segment ever. Elias bored me on arrival when a contingent were already seeing a main event push in him. Okay...I'm running out of other examples. But when there's a stool in the ring and the lights go down, it's one of those odd "Really? This?" things that just takes me right out of it. Only Jeff Jarrett should be allowed wield a guitar. 

I don't believe, I'm afraid. 

Still, it's great to catch a glimpse of TNA looking and feeling so much more upbeat than it has probably since they took that dismal retreat off the road and back into the Impact Zone after the Bischoff/Hogan years went bust. 

 

Edited February 12, 2025 by The Gaffer

[HarmonicGenerator]

1 hour ago, The Gaffer said:

 

Most of all though, as someone who is partial to a lot of dumb comedy in wrestling: Guitars are fecking shite and always will be. Rock Concerts are some of the worst segment ever. Elias bored me on arrival when a contingent were already seeing a main event push in him. Okay...I'm running out of other examples. But when there's a stool in the ring and the lights go down, it's one of those odd "Really? This?" things that just takes me right out of it. Only Jeff Jarrett should be allowed wield a guitar. 

 

How. Dare. You. Feel the wrath!

The Rock Concerts in 2003 were also good. And that time Elias and Owens got an actual reaction out of a mid-10s WWE crowd.

[DavidB6937]

2 hours ago, The Gaffer said:

Guitars are fecking shite and always will be.

 

What did they ever do to you?!

[TheScarlettChad]

1 hour ago, DavidB6937 said:

What did they ever do to you?!

Maybe he can't play one 

[Olly1984]

2 hours ago, HarmonicGenerator said:

How. Dare. You. Feel the wrath!

The Rock Concerts in 2003 were also good. And that time Elias and Owens got an actual reaction out of a mid-10s WWE crowd.

Also the time in the Rumble when he sang his way to the ring and called himself " The sacrificial lamb, is heading to the ring" when Lesnar was waiting to slaughter him, also when Lesnar smashed that guitar over his head and it didn't break! 

[westlondonmist]

4 hours ago, The Gaffer said:

Guitars are fecking shite and always will be. Rock Concerts are some of the worst segment ever. 

 

Love guitars, there's only one thing I hate cos it's a bunch of crap

[I Bent My Wookie]

Chris Bey posted today (I struggle to embed posts and would rather not embed X but if someone else can that's great) essentially what a lot of us guessed at the time of his injury and the silence after, that he suffered total paralysis and underwent surgery to fuse some of his spinal cord after the injury and woke up unable to move with a 10 to 15% chance of walking again.

It was with a video showing him able to sit up and walk unaided something he's been working on and able to do the last few weeks.

Inevitably this does sound like there's no coming back ring wise but I'm just so happy he's as healthy as he can be right now and that he's still able to go on with his life, and recover as much as he can. It sounds like TNA did everything they could in the moment and after to ensure his safety, financial stability and that he was looked after in every way too.

[garynysmon]

On 2/12/2025 at 9:21 AM, The Gaffer said:

Guitars are fecking shite and always will be.

Sorry mate.

 

[DavidB6937]

Nice to see Oba turning up. TNA's Youtube channel are going to get mileage out of that for years if he becomes a big success on the main roster in WWE.

[TheScarlettChad]

Did they tease Tessa showing up in NXT? Oh boy if so.