By Dillon Avery
How does a wrestling show that features 9 minutes of action in a 2 hour show continue to maintain it’s ratings climb? Actually, I have no answer to that. And I apologize if it sounds anti-TNA. I assure you it isn’t meant to be. I’m one of the many fans who want the company to soar ever higher yet often get frustrated at certain decisions they make. We all have a viewpoint on what we’d do if we ran the company, from who we would fire to who we would push, what titles we would showcase or drop, if we’d keep the traditional ring or go back to 6-sides, ect. Part of me understands why sometimes iMPACT! is a talk-heavy show as it helps the company accomplish many of it’s goals that might not be apparent at first. It helps character development. It keeps the risk of injury down. It makes the matches that do happen seem more important. For some of the pay-per-appearance stars, it keeps costs down. Some stars with contracts have a certain number if dates they can wrestle and thus TNA uses them sparingly. Some stars like Hulk Hogan can no longer wrestle, but he’s a huge name they’re paying big bucks to, so they better put him on TV throughout the night. I get it. Sometimes Total Nonstop Action can’t be just that. Many iMPACT! reviews from other reporters are equally dismal regardless if the show is all action or all talk. If it’s all talk then then chastise it for being a snore & wasting unused talent. It it’s action from start to finish then we hear “they threw everything at us at once with no time to digest it or let things simmer!” Sorry, during a balls to the wall pure wrestling iMPACT!, the times to turn off your brain and let things simmer are called commercials & Rob Terry matches.
But still….
Your name is Total Nonstop Action Wrestling but you give up barely 10 minutes of wrestling on a show that follows up a 90-second PPV main event that has even your most loyal viewers panning you? Not the best time to air a talker. In a bit of a plug, I listen to the PWR Show podcast and one of their latest podcasts was devoted entirely to the Victory Road incident. Admittedly the hosts seem like bigger WWE marks who give that “I only want TNA around to push WWE to get better” vibe, but they were pretty fair in their assessment of the situation, and took numerous calls from fans claiming to be TNA die-hards. And it wasn’t good. Fan after fan claimed that they would no longer spend their $35 on TNA PPV’s after the Victory Road main event. This is bad news for TNA considering that is a big chunk of how they make their money.
Exactly how badly that single main event has damaged the product has been answered slightly, as the first iMPACT! afterwards showed that ratings stayed on par with what they usually get. But we’ll see how it effected their PPV buys in a little less than a month when the next one rolls around.
I don’t know why everyone bothers counting exactly how many minutes/seconds of wrestling there is just to pull off a bit of criticism. I respect your opinion, but in my opinion, it really does enhance the characters of said promotion. The Joe and Pope angle was funny as heck! Pope showed a lot of great mic skill in that ring. I agree with the name “TNA” not living up to its self proclaimed title, but then again, I don’t think they had any plans of becoming as big as they have done. If they did, a name such as “iWF” would have been a great name (iMPACT Wrestling Federation). I wish this was their name, but its too late to turn back now.
Lastly, I’d just like to point out:
Quote: “We all have a viewpoint on what we’d do if we ran the company, from who we would fire to who we would push, what titles we would showcase or drop, if we’d keep the traditional ring or go back to 6-sides, ect.”
If any of us on the internet (especially the smarks who think they could take TNA to the top) was to run TNA, it would be under overnight. Non of us have the experience to run frickin’ CZW. Let alone TNA.
They’ve been maintaining their viewership audience at around roughly the 1.3 mark. The past month or so since its sustainability, I haven’t really noticed any change in terms of the amount of wrestling showcased. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe thats just me. But I just think that with their ratings staying steady, TNA must be doing something right. No matter how many minutes of wrestling is shown. Half the time, personally, I never even notice there being any lack of wrestling, and when it does, it doesn’t really bother me. The casual’s who watch TNA every week out there probably don’t realize it, either.
Radiitz – one of the reasons why you probably don’t notice the lack of real-time, in-ring action is the same reason that I don’t notice it – because these “minute counts” that are posted around the interwebs never take into account video clips of prior matches, backstage/parking lot brawls, etc. I don’t bother reading the minute counts of each show because, like you, I don’t notice the lack of real-time, in-ring action.
Dillon – Good to see you back with a column! I also wonder how, in the long-run, the 90 second “main event” at Victory Road will impact (no pun intended) future pay-per-view buys. The conspirator in me wants to suggest that forcing the short main event was Bischoff’s way of arguing for less pay-per-views. The realist in me, however, believes that we’re still going to see a new pay-per-view show each month.
I didn’t mean to come off as anti-TNA at all, and thankfully the lack of in-ring action isn’t a habit of theirs. On the contrary, TNA has been criticized by many as giving away too many PPV-quality matches on free TV. I simply thought that the show that followed up their PPV where the main event ultimately featured little wrestling also featured little wrestling. I see guys on their roster that I haven’t seen featured in ages & think “instead of this 4th backstage segment in a row, how about we toss Kiyoshi, Orlando Jordan, Amazing Red, or Jay Lethal out there for a match?” But I also understand that backstage segments build character development & awareness.
@Dillion
I’m not complaining about free PPV quality matches, lol. Seriously though, I do agree that they should save a lot of great matches for PPV, obvious reasons being it gives viewers a reason to purchase one. But even on PPV a lot of great matches can happen (that recent Ultimate X match was great). I get what you mean by including the other talent that we barely see, but lets face it. The casual fan is going to be more interested in a 3rd promo by Hogan, rather than watching something like Jay Lethal vs. Orlando Jordan. ESPECIALLY Orland Jordan! =)
I personally think it depends on the show and the content of the talking that is done. Last week, I didn’t notice that there was a lack of wrestling until after the fact, and I did enjoy the show that was presented. I found that interesting, because usually I feel like I’m the first one complaining about the Total Nonstop Chatter being done on episodes of Impact.
The Pope vs. Joe feud… I dunno… I feel like a gimmick feud isn’t Joe’s cup of tea, and it’s like week after week, they present a new build in this feud, and I grow more and more upset with it. I don’t Joe should have been the guy Pope feuds with in this type of feud, but hey, just my opinion.