If ROH had TNA's TV deal ...

[saintpat]

... would it be able to compete with WWE, at least on more even ground than TNA does?

Keep in mind that having TNA's TV deal isn't the same thing as having TNA's bottomless (so far) Panda Energy budget, so just because ROH would be on cable instead of internet doesn't mean ROH could sign the bigger-name talent that TNA has or even that ROH would have TNA's production values.

The question I'm asking is if this indy promotion had the TV platform, would it do significantly better than TNA?

[Bald Bull]

Nope. They would be lucky to get TNA's ratings that we make fun of TNA for.

[lockedontarget]

I think if they had the financial backing of someone like Panda AND the TV deal, they could at least do the same as what TNA does. But I don't think they'd have any more success than TNA in becoming a real threat to the WWE.

[vajayajayava]

production values would always be a problem. unless someone like zuffa backed them or spike the network. hell, if somehow they got in the impact zone, or in nyc in their usual arena with at least a Spike TV tron it would look good

put them on head to head like TNA attempted with the WWE, and you really have two comparatively different products. and with good word of mouth fans might change the channel from Santino dancing or a bad Divas match over to ROH to see Davey Richards or Eddie Edwards, etc. giving their all in matches that don't get shown on t.v.

still the wwe would have better ratings

[celticjobber]

I think they would get equal or maybe even somewhat better ratings than TNA.

While TNA Impact is an all out "sports entertainment" fest, ROH is a real alternative and would attract more oldschool fans that haven't really watched since WCW died.

[Jam]

ROH's horribly outdated style wouldn't work. 25 years ago, sure.

[________ has left the building]

It would be like ECW. Not big enough to be a threat but would help shape the wrestling landscape.

[________ has left the building]

Apr 15, 2011 5:08:19 GMT -5 Jam said:

ROH's horribly outdated style wouldn't work. 25 years ago, sure.

Horribly outdated? So rehashing the Monday Night Wars playbook is fresh?

[Tiger Maskooo]

at one time,they had a shot.

At one time,I dont know if it's the same now but I remember reading reports of how they were sometimes outdrawing tna and it seems like this was pre them having hdnet or even neccessarly ppvs.


People sometimes forget that the conception of roh and the conception of tna weren't that different,they basically both originally were about bringing together all of the independant talent. They're sort of two sides of the same coin in alot of ways. They've used alot of the same talent but have different approaches. They're sort of parallels.

At one time roh was pretty much on fire. They had a roster of really fresh talent doing things that you weren't seeing really anywhere else and fresh well done angles. They'd bring in guys as varied as raven,terry funk,mick foley,ricky steamboat and even bruno sammartino for anything from angles to even sometimes matches.

Hell at one time,it used to be a question as to whether released guys from wwe would go to roh or tna as opposed to now where it's pretty much assumed it'll be tna. Matt hardy who at the time was the talk of the wrestling world chose to go to roh and it wasnt seen as out of place for him to do so or a step down. James gibson,jimmy wang yang and others chose roh. Hell,when christian was released people seriously debated over whether he'd go to tna or roh. The same christian who just months before had a wwe title match with john cena and chris jericho.

They kinda had it all and were constantly evolving and improving. They seemed to be on the fast track to being the big thing. Then 2007 happened and even though I enjoy alot of that year,gabe started feeling obvious burnout and as things went on and on fans started tuning out and from there into 2010 they pretty much lost most of their core guys. It all kinda went from constantly improving and growing to such a degree that you could even notice the production getting better and better to them just surviving.

With that said,their product has been getting better lately and they have alot of good talent that could be ranked as all time roh greats and they have a truly alternative product. So they have a shot still but i dont think it'd be the same as if they'd had a tv deal earlier on.

If they had,I think they would of been a pretty big company. Never wwe big but I think they could of done some really innovative cool things.

[The Dark Order Inferno]

Nope, they'd deal with the same issues that TNA have, having to hire older WWE and WCW names to please the network and would have people from Panda behind the scenes who don't really understand wrestling having the final say. It would quickly evolve into a similar topheavy mess that big sections of the IWC hate only without Vince Russo to blame it all on.

[Crappler El 0 M]

I hate to sound like a pessimist, but I don't think it would do much better if it did do better. It's kind of a shame because I would love to see some of the ROH guys like Kings of Wrestling, Davey Richards, and the Briscoes getting more national exposure.

[Jimmy]

Apr 15, 2011 4:39:46 GMT -5 @vajayajayava said:

production values would always be a problem. unless someone like zuffa backed them or spike the network. hell, if somehow they got in the impact zone, or in nyc in their usual arena with at least a Spike TV tron it would look good

The product looked GREAT on HDNet. They do need a network or bigger company to provide it to them though.

[Citizen Zero]

While I don't see them competing with WWE directly any time soon I do think they'll provide a healthy alternative (a healthier one than TNA at least).

[YAKMAN is ICHIBAN]

Apr 15, 2011 5:08:19 GMT -5 Jam said:

ROH's horribly outdated style wouldn't work. 25 years ago, sure.

Are you serious? Nothing about ROH's style is outdated. If anything,
WWE's wrestling feels more like the old school stuff than ROH does.


All of ROH's best talent is already elsewhere.

[Monty Dawson]

They seriously lack the star power. As much as we make fun of TNA, I think a lot of their "fans" are fans of Kurt Angle, Jarrett, Hardy, Sting, etc

[Blindkarevik]

I doubt it, as much as I like ROH and as rabid as their fanbase is. Bottom line is this... WWE caters to people who would like to become wrestling fans, and ROH caters to people who were or are fans and want something more. It takes quite a few years for a person to get jaded enough with the WWE product and look elsewhere, and for a group to form en masse large enough to rival WWE's audience... we're talking decades at least.

[Mayonnaise]

I honestly think they could pull down .5 - .8. I mean TNA was doing that late Saturdays before getting guys like Angle, Sting, Nash and so on, so I see no reason ROH couldn't do that if Spike got behind them like they have TNA.

[Can you afford to pay me, Gah]

I don't see why they couldn't get the same ratings. If they have a better product then TNA does fans will watch it. TNA proven big stars doesn't always mean ratings. If ROH had the deal and Spike got behind them. Sure they could. They have a good fan base and as far as I know No matter where the show is they draw well.

Now there TV tappings where in a smaller then Impact zone size but he looked ok. But can easily be if someone backed them just tape there shows at the normal events location. Without PPVs right now. They could do that. But with Spike they could end up with a better PPV deal.

[corndog]

I wouldn't expect ROH to do the numbers TNA does now at first. Also right now their roster is kind of depleted with some of their bigger stars leaving. But I am betting they could get some of them back with a national tv show and even bring in new stars.

I do agree that ROH would be the right show to bring in the right audience. After WCW and ECW went under the fans of those programs were left behind, but some still follow wrestling. A great example was the fans in Atlanta for Raw and Wrestlemania. People were saying how "smarky" the audience was because they booed Cena and even started small Daniel Bryan chants. But it wasn't the audience being "smarky" as much as this being old WCW territory and appreciating good wrestling. Alot of the south, especially the mid-Atlantic area just likes straight forward wrestling, not sports entertainment. Unfortunately neither the WWE and especially TNA really provides this for them. So I think if a company like ROH tried to go mainstream it might not be an overnight success, but I bet over time it would gain a fairly strong and loyal following. Nothing that will even come close to over taking the WWE, but certainly a company that can do what TNA does and probably better.

[hollywood]

Would they be a real competitor to WWE? No.

Would they be a solid promotion that turns a profit? Very likely.