Welcome to Dixieland: An SI.com Article

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SI.com

A rather long article on Dixie Carter, her family, how they got into wrestling and more. Pretty interesting read, IMO.



I did find this funny though:

(TNA ratings have become so steady and reliable on Spike over its eight years, that executives like to joke that they can set their watches to them.)

[Deleted]

I'm....
I'm sorry, I just can't get past the title, dude.

[Deleted]

I'll tolerate her on Impact, no way in hell am I taking the time to read a story about her though.

[El Cokehead del Knife Fight]

The boos get louder each time Dixie Carter steps out onto the stage, but in pro wrestling, that's never a bad thing. After a decade of running Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), the No. 2 pro wrestling company in the world, Carter has learned that any reaction is a good reaction.

As far as I got before closing the page. They just keep on turning up the heat machine.


Also my arse is TNA the no. 2 company in the world. New Japan is far and away the superior promotion both booking wise and match wise.

[CrazySting]

I laughed when she described Dixie as being like a mom to the wrestlers.

[Welfare Willis]

Nov 21, 2013 19:14:43 GMT -5 @akeem said:

I'll tolerate her on Impact, no way in hell am I taking the time to read a story about her though.

No prob. Akeem, I skimmed it looking for some juice:

In recent weeks, Carter's purging of talent led to the rumor that her family was looking to sell the company. Dixie's mother, Janice, who recently became TNA's Chairwoman of the Board and works closely with her daughter, circulated an internal memo on Oct. 31 stating the family was anything but interested in dumping its 12-year investment.

"This type of reporting is totally unsubstantiated. The truth is this is not the first time [it's been reported]." said Dixie. "This is about the tenth, eleventh or twelfth time over 11 or 12 years that this has been said or that we're going out of business. I've been hearing this rumor since we were four weeks into this company. It's disappointing when a person makes a sweeping statement as fact.

"In addition, some have viewed the Hulk Hogan acquisition, seen as a strategic coup in 2009, as something that drained TNA's coffers and led to the cutting of other talent this past year. Due to contractual and moral obligations, Carter won't discuss what Hogan made with TNA (his contract expired in October), though she suspects critics' guesstimates might be overblown dramatically.

"Yes, I think Hulk has been worth it," she said of the deal. "He's opened a lot of doors for us. When you're about to lose a deal in an international territory and one phone call from Hulk Hogan makes a man who doesn't even speak your language melt and you get your deal back, that carries a lot of weight. There's not another guy out there who could do that."

She admits that if there was one thing she could have done differently with Hogan, it would have been the frequency in which TNA used him.

"If we did anything wrong with him, we used him too much on television," Carter said. "If he stayed with us, you'd probably see less of him."

Carter is in renegotiations with Hogan and another TNA star, A.J. Styles, who has become the focal point of "bad" Dixie's attentions on TNA of late. The "angle" or storyline between them is that TNA world champion Styles' (real name Allen Jones) contract has expired and the two can't come to terms on a new deal. At least one part of that storyline is true.

"If we're gonna have contract issues, let's play it out on TV," said Carter. "That's drama. Is he going to sign? Is he not going to? That's drama and it's real. I don't have a contract with AJ and I don't have one with Hulk and others are coming up."

Changing the roster has been a thorn in fans' sides, but it's not the only decision they've second-guessed. In 2013, TNA made the bold decision to leave its comfortable studio nest at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla., and take the weekly show on the road. Carter said the show fared fantastically overseas, where TNA demand is much greater and the promotion has multiple TV vehicles, but the thinner U.S. attendance numbers caused massive speculation among the pro wrestling press that the promotion wouldn't last after such a disastrous misstep. It's another instance, Carter said, where misinformation leads to unnecessary pessicism.

"We went on the road thinking if we could sell 1,500-2,000 tickets, we'd be good," said Carter. "We went in with a very conservative budget. We didn't come out here thinking we'd sell out arenas. The truth is we exceeded those budget numbers. We hit our revenue numbers, but we overspent when it came to loading out of the Universal studio. There was a two-month overlap that cost us."

Though Carter said that TNA could still afford to tour nationally if it wanted (and it will do so internationally again in 2014), the move didn't get the results she'd hoped for.

"We have to try different things," she said. "Going on the road to see if this is the thing that changes the whole feel and vibe of the show, if it works, you stick with it. I think we've learned a lot from this. We learned that the show has to be shaken up, not the venue."

[JoDaNa1281]

Nov 21, 2013 19:38:22 GMT -5 El Cokehead del Knife Fight said:

The boos get louder each time Dixie Carter steps out onto the stage, but in pro wrestling, that's never a bad thing. After a decade of running Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), the No. 2 pro wrestling company in the world, Carter has learned that any reaction is a good reaction.

As far as I got before closing the page. They just keep on turning up the heat machine.


Also my arse is TNA the no. 2 company in the world. New Japan is far and away the superior promotion both booking wise and match wise.

If we go by that criteria, then NJPW is #1, imo.

[ICBM]

I'm sure she is hiding things or embellishing others, but she gave insight. That I appreciate. However, the fact that she does this, the twitter thing and puts seemingly so much stock in the replies her staff allows her to ad f,rom online, make her a mark in my eyes. I'm one too, but I don't pretend to know how to run a wrestling company. If she had backed the company and let wrestling people run it...I hate to say it but jarret in charge. She would have a more successful company. But again she debases herself by doing all these spots. Vince only does interviews that will enhance his and WWE's position. He does them so infrequently that it means something when he speaks directly. Dixie could learn a thing or two from that. It's ok to be transparent, I appreciate it in the doses they give us, but instead of it being her, use a pitchman. Jeremy Borash was that guy on the small scale. If you sent him and Jeff Jarret or a promoted Kurt Angle instead of Dixie doing the pr, I think it sells her position as being heavier. It's little things like that that make them minor league. HHH and Stephanie are all over these days because they have a lot of new things happening and they are still in the midst of the turnover between Vince and them. They have to establish themselves as the voices. HHH more so because he can relate it far better having been a worker turned suit.

[Sir Woodrow]

Nov 21, 2013 19:38:50 GMT -5 CrazySting said:

I laughed when she described Dixie as being like a mom to the wrestlers.

More like Faye Dunaway in Mommie Dearest maybe

[Drillbit Taylor]

Look away, Look away

[saintpat]

Interesting that she said the sale thing was "unsubstantiated." That's far from saying it's not true. She's saying it hasn't been proven or verified.

Attaway to put out that fire, Dixie.

[Hawk Hart]

I think I'm the only person that noticed/is bothered by "pessicism".

[Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!!]

#2 in the world? they're not even #2 in america right now. smaller company but I bet Ring of Honor's more profitable.

[ICBM]

Nov 22, 2013 9:41:30 GMT -5 Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!! said:

#2 in the world? they're not even #2 in america right now. smaller company but I bet Ring of Honor's more profitable.

Im gonna go ahead and disagree with you there, although we have noway prove either. Ijust see tna's national cable platform and that I do not see ROH anywhere except online. TNA's tv is worth millions. They are hurt right now, but it does not appear to be a mortal wound. I just see more longterm money in TNA vs ROH. Though ROH has a power base to fall back into if things go south. TNA does not

[________ has left the building]

I would rather this been a Grantland piece because all of Dixie's talking points would been fact checked and they would got a much interesting story.

[________ has left the building]

Nov 22, 2013 9:53:02 GMT -5 ICBM said:

Nov 22, 2013 9:41:30 GMT -5 Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!! said:

#2 in the world? they're not even #2 in america right now. smaller company but I bet Ring of Honor's more profitable.

Im gonna go ahead and disagree with you there, although we have noway prove either. Ijust see tna's national cable platform and that I do not see ROH anywhere except online. TNA's tv is worth millions. They are hurt right now, but it does not appear to be a mortal wound. I just see more longterm money in TNA vs ROH. Though ROH has a power base to fall back into if things go south. TNA does not

Sinclair Media isn't putting big money in ROH. All they are doing is making sure they can make payroll and record shows for their network of tv stations. Just like TNA, if their parent company deems them a lost and cut ties; they are finished.

[ICBM]

Nov 22, 2013 9:57:23 GMT -5 ________ has left the building said:

Nov 22, 2013 9:53:02 GMT -5 ICBM said:

Im gonna go ahead and disagree with you there, although we have noway prove either. Ijust see tna's national cable platform and that I do not see ROH anywhere except online. TNA's tv is worth millions. They are hurt right now, but it does not appear to be a mortal wound. I just see more longterm money in TNA vs ROH. Though ROH has a power base to fall back into if things go south. TNA does not

Sinclair Media isn't putting big money in ROH. All they are doing is making sure they can make payroll and record shows for their network of tv stations. Just like TNA, if their parent company deems them a lost and cut ties; they are finished.

As mentioned by Dixie Carter in the SI.com story. TNA is not operating with panda funds. So unless it is debunked, we only have her statement as proof. If true that TNA is funding itself, than they are not reliant upon a parent company. I do not know if ROH is reliant on Sinclair or if it just has a deal for tv and some licences

[________ has left the building]

Nov 22, 2013 10:01:24 GMT -5 ICBM said:

Nov 22, 2013 9:57:23 GMT -5 ________ has left the building said:

Sinclair Media isn't putting big money in ROH. All they are doing is making sure they can make payroll and record shows for their network of tv stations. Just like TNA, if their parent company deems them a lost and cut ties; they are finished.

As mentioned by Dixie Carter in the SI.com story. TNA is not operating with panda funds. So unless it is debunked, we only have her statement as proof. If true that TNA is funding itself, than they are not reliant upon a parent company. I do not know if ROH is reliant on Sinclair or if it just has a deal for tv and some licences

This article reminds of the SI piece were Lance Armstrong denied using sports enhancement drugs when fellow bikers on his team said he did. We won't know if they are not taking anymore money from Panda or profitable because they don't release their financial info like WWE. All you got is her word. And her word is not bond.

[Deleted]

Nov 22, 2013 10:01:24 GMT -5 ICBM said:

Nov 22, 2013 9:57:23 GMT -5 ________ has left the building said:

Sinclair Media isn't putting big money in ROH. All they are doing is making sure they can make payroll and record shows for their network of tv stations. Just like TNA, if their parent company deems them a lost and cut ties; they are finished.

As mentioned by Dixie Carter in the SI.com story. TNA is not operating with panda funds. So unless it is debunked, we only have her statement as proof. If true that TNA is funding itself, than they are not reliant upon a parent company. I do not know if ROH is reliant on Sinclair or if it just has a deal for tv and some licences

I don't know for sure but if Panda wasn't involved I doubt that Janice would have a position in TNA or be sending out memos about whether TNA is for sale or not.

[ICBM]

Nov 22, 2013 10:19:32 GMT -5 @akeem said:

Nov 22, 2013 10:01:24 GMT -5 ICBM said:

As mentioned by Dixie Carter in the SI.com story. TNA is not operating with panda funds. So unless it is debunked, we only have her statement as proof. If true that TNA is funding itself, than they are not reliant upon a parent company. I do not know if ROH is reliant on Sinclair or if it just has a deal for tv and some licences

I don't know for sure but if Panda wasn't involved I doubt that Janice would have a position in TNA or be sending out memos about whether TNA is for sale or not.

You can hold an interest in a venture but not be responsible fiscally for O&M. As a majority stock holder, she is entitled to see to the strategic direction and major changes that effect operations. Ergo, yes she can circulate a memo or policy letter