Gus Richlen: Ruffian
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Post by Gus Richlen: Ruffian on Jul 7, 2010 12:20:45 GMT -5
i have never been a fan of tna, but if these reports are true, and i would not be surprised if they are, the person i would feel most sorry for will be jeff jarrett. to have to more or less build his own company from scratch and take it to where he did, only to have to watch dixie carter, hulk hogan, vince russo, kevin nash, and ric flair drag it to the point of near-extinction has to be sickening for him.
i also feel sorry for all those who genuinely felt that tna was their second chance at success, like team 3d, rhyno, angle, sting, rvd, hardy, tara, daffney, matt morgan, and mr. anderson, as well as those who were the company's prime mainstays, like samoa joe, kazarian, many of the knockouts, abyss, red, doug williams, eric young, beer money, MCMG, and LAX. if wwe were to buy out tna, i would hope all those i just listed would be willing to sign with the wwe. granted, vince mcmahon may not be too kind to them at first, but i think all will attain success sooner or later if they join wwe.
i also must add that i feel sorry for the diehard fans of tna. having to watch as hogan and company drag the company down so swiftly must hurt for them as much as i think it does for jeff jarrett.
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AriadosMan
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Post by AriadosMan on Jul 7, 2010 12:23:09 GMT -5
I should have clairfied, I meant when Hogan and Bischoff came into the picture. I think its funny how people always defend TNA's low ratings with the "We'll never have another boom!" excuse. Hell, the fact that TNA continues to exist (and block the expansion of other wrestling leagues that might get over better in its slot) is one of the BIGGEST reasons why we haven't had a boom. Who wants to be part of a fanbase that accepts mediocrity as a way of life for a product? That seems to be what TNA fans defend. Wrestling had two HUGE boom periods as a national pastime. But people always take it for granted that wrestling would remain a national pastime even without a boom. UFC has done the wrestling industry as a whole massive damage and it hasn't even reached its max size yet. Having a #2 with innovative ideas (as opposed to a #2 that runs off of 90s fumes) might do more to stem the tide. Because as it is, TNA's stance seems to believe stagnation is a virtue.
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Post by Madman Szalinski on Jul 7, 2010 12:34:03 GMT -5
If Hogan hadn't got divorced, right? Then he wouldn't need the checks for alimony. Linda Hogan should be the one concerned. She ain't gonna get those monthly installments if TNA goes belly up, is she?
As much as I would love to see if the theory that real wrestling might bring the ratings back works...I don't think anyone's gonna be willing to give it a chance. As scary as it sounds, I think that if TNA doesn't change course, they might not be able to beat the WWE at its own game and shall face the music...and then nobody will know or remember pro wrestling anymore, it will only be sports entertainment. It might not be in 2010, or 2011 for that matter, but either you do what your competition does better than they do or you do something different that the market will appreciate more than your competition...and we've all learned sadly that the former is not going to happen anytime soon.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2010 12:36:51 GMT -5
If TNA dropped to .6 ratings again then I'd guess this would be the case, but I guarantee that Spike TV would drop their big money contracts and TNA would do the same before it went under.
Spike would drop TNA if they started doing .6's on a regular basis - when they were dropping the ball on Mondays - Spike moved them to Thursdays. If they still did .5's and .6's, then Spike would drop them.
But for my sake, I hope they do take a serious dip in the ratings again so they'll drop the "big names" and feature more wrestlers I actually used to watch TNA for.
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Post by joeiscool on Jul 7, 2010 12:47:45 GMT -5
Doesn't WWE already keep tabs on all of TNA's matches just so they have records in advance and don't have to spend countless hours on it? Pretty sure I've heard about this. Even if not, though, I'd say WWE would want their hands on that. TNA's more popular than ECW ever was so it wouldn't be too hard to down the line make some money off a memorial DVD, plus stuff like Angle / Sting could have a place on plenty of DVD sets due to the big names involved. Every single one of ECW's PPVs did over 80,000 buys. Angle-Joe didnt even reach that. ECW also handled 100 percent of it's production costs, wrestler contracts, and burned it's bridges with the only network willing to give them a normal time slot.
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Post by ________ has left the building on Jul 7, 2010 12:47:51 GMT -5
Spike might decide one day to rebrand itself again. Spike always want to be considered a major cable tv player like FOXNEWS, USA, MTV, ESPN, Disney Channel, and Nickelodeon. How long before Viacom decide the network for men approach needs to be fine tuned? Or hires a new network head who wants to make the station like TNT or family friendly. Remember they change the network a couple of times trying to find a demographic.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2010 12:53:45 GMT -5
Spike might decide one day to rebrand itself again. Spike always want to be considered a major cable tv player like FOXNEWS, USA, MTV, ESPN, Disney Channel, and Nickelodeon. How long before Viacom decide the network for men approach needs to be fine tuned? Or hires a new network head who wants to make the station like TNT or family friendly. Remember they change the network a couple of times trying to find a demographic. That's true, but didn't they always have wrestling during that time? What was it before - The Nashville Network or something? That's when they had RAW right? Anyway - that could happen to any wrestling show on network TV, but I don't see SpikeTV rebranding any time soon, unless UFC totally drops off the map. Right now SpikeTV and UFC are pretty much unanimous like Lifetime and Valerie Bertinelli.
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AriadosMan
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Post by AriadosMan on Jul 7, 2010 12:57:11 GMT -5
Spike might decide one day to rebrand itself again. Spike always want to be considered a major cable tv player like FOXNEWS, USA, MTV, ESPN, Disney Channel, and Nickelodeon. How long before Viacom decide the network for men approach needs to be fine tuned? Or hires a new network head who wants to make the station like TNT or family friendly. Remember they change the network a couple of times trying to find a demographic. That's true, but didn't they always have wrestling during that time? What was it before - The Nashville Network or something? That's when they had RAW right? Anyway - that could happen to any wrestling show on network TV, but I don't see SpikeTV rebranding any time soon, unless UFC totally drops off the map. Right now SpikeTV and UFC are pretty much unanimous like Lifetime and Valerie Bertinelli. When Spike was "the NEW TNN" they were desperately trying to rebrand, hence ECW and other non country music programming in the first place. The more likely scenario than a rebranding is simply Spike deciding it doesn't want to pay the big star contracts since they clearly don't draw what they're supposed to. Spike would then just use TNA as filler for when they're not showing UFC and give up on making TNA "a big promotion".
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Post by The Dark Order Inferno on Jul 7, 2010 13:21:59 GMT -5
I think its funny how people always defend TNA's low ratings with the "We'll never have another boom!" excuse. Hell, the fact that TNA continues to exist (and block the expansion of other wrestling leagues that might get over better in its slot) is one of the BIGGEST reasons why we haven't had a boom. Who wants to be part of a fanbase that accepts mediocrity as a way of life for a product? That seems to be what TNA fans defend. Wrestling had two HUGE boom periods as a national pastime. But people always take it for granted that wrestling would remain a national pastime even without a boom. UFC has done the wrestling industry as a whole massive damage and it hasn't even reached its max size yet. Having a #2 with innovative ideas (as opposed to a #2 that runs off of 90s fumes) might do more to stem the tide. Because as it is, TNA's stance seems to believe stagnation is a virtue. I find that attitude baffling. How is TNA existing preventing other companies from expanding? ROH has existed as long as TNA and has done very little in that time, there has been next to no expansion despite their comparatively innovative style and you can't blame TNA for that, the blame for that lies squarely at the feet of those running ROH. If there was some magic, innovative new formula for making a massively successful wrestling company, it would have been hit upon by the countless new promotions who've risen and fallen in the past 8 years and they'd be the ones on Spike now. I do not believe in a million years that were TNA to magically fold overnight, Spike would go to ROH or Chikara and offer them a TV deal, it's more likely to make them give up on wrestling altogether. TNA is not stagnating, it just isn't expanding it's domestic ratings as fast as some people unrealistically believe it should (Not people who matter at Spike TV, mind you), which is difficult to do, for proof all you need do is look at the ratings for the new, non Raw/Smackdown shows that the 'E have introduced. Not even the WWE or ECW branding can cause them to get 2-3 in the ratings. TNA has gone from weekly PPVs, to a slot on a minor sports channel to a channel that used to carry WWE programming, has had a videogame, action figures and is selling their programming internationally and doing overseas tours that are pretty successful. Looking at all the wrestling landscape, it's as successful as a wrestling company with its resources should be. It might be owned by an energy company, but there is no bottomless well of money to draw from like WCW.
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Post by wcw on Jul 7, 2010 13:57:49 GMT -5
As mentioned in this thread before I would have to say that TNA's nightmare scenario would be Spike TV gets re-branded to another format which wrestling doesn't fit. BUT Spike doesn't look to be going anywhere anytime soon.
But even if that happened TNA is still a pretty attractive TV property 2 hours of 1.0 TV isn't too shabby. Now they would have to cut costs big time in order to intake the lesser revenue they would have to take in order to get back on TV.
All in all TNA is more then likely far from bankruptcy and farther from leaving Spike. They have too many dump-able assets they could shed if things were getting dire all in all until we see a fire sale of big salaries TNA is doing just fine or at least is staying afloat.
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Post by machomuta on Jul 7, 2010 15:03:37 GMT -5
The sadder thing is will be how many people of the IWC would be happy that it goes out of business. That's a fallacy. Most people WANT TNA to succeed and become a legit promotion and a legit threat to the big dog (WWE) They have a strange way of showing it. Most of the IWC loves to bash TNA.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2010 17:43:40 GMT -5
That's a fallacy. Most people WANT TNA to succeed and become a legit promotion and a legit threat to the big dog (WWE) They have a strange way of showing it. Most of the IWC loves to bash TNA. Because most of the time, TNA deserves it. When TNA's good, it's great. It's just usually not any good.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2010 17:53:26 GMT -5
That's a fallacy. Most people WANT TNA to succeed and become a legit promotion and a legit threat to the big dog (WWE) They have a strange way of showing it. Most of the IWC loves to bash TNA. So we should always praise a show we want to see get better? That hardly seems to make sense. If you like something and want it to improve/suceed, then you have to point out its downfalls. If all you do is mention what is RIGHT with TNA, then there's no dissent and dissent is what makes things better. Dissent is what made America great. Are you anti-American!?!?!?!
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Post by golding on Jul 7, 2010 18:02:06 GMT -5
I should have clairfied, I meant when Hogan and Bischoff came into the picture. Still reminds me of when people dumped on TNA that they weren't going to last from the real Day 1. If TNA is indeed still kicking 8 years from now, I'll be sure to send you a remark. :]
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Post by GaTechGrad on Jul 7, 2010 18:38:02 GMT -5
As mentioned in this thread before I would have to say that TNA's nightmare scenario would be Spike TV gets re-branded to another format which wrestling doesn't fit. BUT Spike doesn't look to be going anywhere anytime soon. Agreed. I'm probably starting to sound like a broken record, but the real death nail in WCW was the loss of the television slots. Bischoff and company were ready to buy WCW, until they found out that AOL/Time Warner weren't going to let them keep the time slots on TNT and TBS. The fact that Spike is now giving TNA four hours of programming makes me believe that TNA is in healthy shape.
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Post by Spankymac is sick of the swiss on Jul 7, 2010 18:39:48 GMT -5
As mentioned in this thread before I would have to say that TNA's nightmare scenario would be Spike TV gets re-branded to another format which wrestling doesn't fit. BUT Spike doesn't look to be going anywhere anytime soon. Agreed. I'm probably starting to sound like a broken record, but the real death nail in WCW was the loss of the television slots. Bischoff and company were ready to buy WCW, until they found out that AOL/Time Warner weren't going to let them keep the time slots on TNT and TBS. The fact that Spike is now giving TNA four hours of programming makes me believe that TNA is in healthy shape. And they lost those television slots due to horrible performance due to bad decisions from WITHIN WCW. If WCW had been a healthy, profitable company, those timeslots would have been there. WCW killed WCW, AOL/Time Warner just did was was best for business and buried the corpse.
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Post by Bauertainments on Jul 7, 2010 18:41:07 GMT -5
I like Dave and Bryan, and I don't doubt TNA is in deep (poopie). But, let's not forget that just a few weeks ago, these guys reported that the Bryan Danielson firing was just a work, than a shoot that Saturday, then they were CERTAIN that it was a work on Sunday, until it was proven to be a shoot on Monday ( before they could post another update saying it was a shoot) (sorry if that point was brought up already. )
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Post by FailedGimmick on Jul 7, 2010 20:35:21 GMT -5
I can't help but wonder if it does go under, if WWE will try to keep it going as its own entity on Spike. Like they had wanted to do with WCW.
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Post by wcw on Jul 7, 2010 20:49:08 GMT -5
I like Dave and Bryan, and I don't doubt TNA is in deep (poopie). But, let's not forget that just a few weeks ago, these guys reported that the Bryan Danielson firing was just a work, than a shoot that Saturday, then they were CERTAIN that it was a work on Sunday, until it was proven to be a shoot on Monday ( before they could post another update saying it was a shoot) (sorry if that point was brought up already. ) Depends how you define deep crap. They are more then likely loosing money if not their profits have to be razor thin. But are they in jeopardy of going under far from it. They have yet to go on a fire sale in terms of dumping salaries and expenses. Which is a sign that they aren't going under. Spike has given them more TV time which means the network hasn't lost confidence in them. All in all it just seems like TNA will likely be around for a bit longer.
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SAJ Forth
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Post by SAJ Forth on Jul 7, 2010 21:12:23 GMT -5
I don't think TNA is in bad shape, but I do feel like they should've stayed more on the course of being different than trying to out-WWE WWE. They might not've been doing super well, but I think it would've been a better idea.
P.S. If(If) TNA were to close up. I get the feeling WWE would make some sort of offer so they have another kill to paint on their fighter plane.
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