TNA’s prospects lately haven’t been that bright, it seems. Ratings have been steadily dropping all year, pay per view buyrates have been down, lots of people have been released and to top it all off, if the rumors are right, some people haven’t even been paid for the last few weeks. People are quick to jump to say that TNA is doomed and they only have a few months to live. But let’s look at this critically: TNA’s always done at least a 1.0 in the ratings and probably will until the end of time. Just like how WWE hovers around a 3.0 every week, one million people will at least tune into Impact Wrestling to see what’s going on. Even on the 4th of July TNA’s ratings didn’t fall that badly like many were expecting. Somehow, people still found time in between attempting to blow up their house to watch IMPACT WRESTLING. Yes.
It’s not looking that rosy for TNA, but they’ll be fine in terms of staying afloat. The one thing they have almost any other major promotion is the two hour time slot they have on Spike. That network and their money will keep them afloat for many years to come- hell, that’s why they didn’t go under in 2005 when the deal with Fox Sports ended- somehow they managed to get a Saturday night time slot on Spike and were able to get good enough ratings to get moved to Thursday. As long as Spike has the interest to keep them going (and they do- not only do they like Hulk Hogan but getting a 1.0 is above the average Spike rating), TNA isn’t going to die in a blaze of apathy like everyone wants it to.
I don’t really want to see TNA die, anyway. Lots of people would be without jobs. Some could go to independents, and maybe a few could even end up going to WWE or go overseas. But many would still be unemployed, and who really wishes that on anyone? A lot of jaded wrestling fans want to wish death upon TNA because TNA has represented years of terrible booking, matches, wrestlers, missed oppertunities and so much more. Yes, TNA deserves a whole lot of the blame for their own ineptitude. But even if TNA cleaned up its act and presented wrestling for hardcore fans, it’s not like the ratings would go up that much. TNA’s improved dramatically since Russo left last year but it hasn’t seemed like there’s any difference in the ratings- in fact, they’ve gone down, as I mentioned before. Perhaps, in 2013, people just aren’t interested in pro wrestling. Ratings have been down in WWE too. Maybe it’s not that TNA’s is on it’s deathbead or whatever, but rather we’re just seeing the end result of a cold product putting out cold content to the few that still watch pro wrestling on a weekly basis.
And that’s the best way to describe TNA’s weekly content- cold, uninspiring even. Impact Wrestling on most weeks is fine. Nothing really good, nothing completely terrible, and maybe sometimes one or two things that are either stupid or don’t make any sense in the least bit. But in the end, the television show doesn’t make you any interested in their PPVs. Bound for Glory’s two biggest stars are going to be Sting and Hulk Hogan, both who are over 50 and don’t move as well as they used to, especially Hulk Hogan who will probably be in a wheelchair ten years from now. I’m guessing TNA still feels that, despite everything in the whole entire universe telling them otherwise, by having Sting and Hulk Hogan, who were both aging stars back in 1997 when they headlined one of the biggest Starrcades of all time as your top stars and the focus of your shows, you can’t go wrong. A bigger problem is the lack of new main event acts. People like Bobby Roode, Austin Aries and James Storm, who are all in their 30s, have had the big push, then had their push set back for whatever reason. People like AJ Styles and Samoa Joe, who used to be stars of the promotion, have had their gimmicks changed so many time I really don’t think people care too much anymore. This year they’ve been trying to push Magnus as the next big thing. But when you look at Magnus, do you really see him as this big star that’s going to pull TNA out of the doldrums? It seems pretty doubtful on my end.
So no, TNA’s not going to die. They have money issues, but with the recent talent releases I think they’ll be fine. They’ll stay afloat just like they’ve always have for the last eleven years. It’s astonishing a promotion with so many mistakes and ineptitude managed to stay afloat for this long, but that’s the power of a national television time slot for you- if you have one you’ll be fine, if not you’re in trouble. Just don’t expect any growth anytime soon, especially with this underwhelming product. Bound for Glory is supposed to be TNA’s answer to Wrestlemania. Name me one match in the entire history of Bound for Glory that, just once, felt like an actual Wrestlemania match.
Really well written, Ray. You brought up that the issue could be an overall lack of interest in the wrestling business in 2013, instead just a TNA issue, which I think is interesting. My interest in wrestling is definitely the lowest it’s been in over 5 years right now. I don’t keep up with ratings for Raw and Smackdown, but I know that individual ppv revenue has seemed to be in decline for the past few years. I wonder if there’s a correlation between WWE’s success and TNA’s success? I mean that in a way that when there’s a lot of interest in WWE, is there more interest in wrestling in general? Do TNA’s ratings dip when WWE’s do and vise versa? It’s just a thought, but I’m interested in how much TNA rely’s on wrestling interest generated by WWE.
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It was written by Bryan Rose, I just published it for him. I will let him know you left a comment and he will get back to you soon.
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Thanks for the feedback! I don’t know if there’s a correlation between WWE and TNA’s successes because I’m not sure TNA has really had any success with anything as of late, so probably not. In WWE, there’s not a whole lot of interest but house show numbers are fine, PPV numbers are fine and ratings have fallen a bit, but a 2.9 is still kind of decent. TNA’s house show and PPV numbers are minuscule and ratings have steadied but aren’t that much to talk about. So to answer your question, probably not.
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The third hour is an extra hour of programming so WWE are making more money now compared to the 2 hour format. That means it’s an extra 15 minutes or so with a decent rating for the network commanding a higher advertising rate. The higher rated the show…the more adverts cost. Simple economics. As far as I know, Raw is one of USA networks highest rated shows. Both party’s benefit with the extra hour…both generate more revenue.
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oh yeah, they’re making money off the third hour. that’s why it’s still there. that’s also why they added the ion show and saturday morning slam, because the more hours of tv they get the more profit they gain. and since they only do two taping a week, adding those extra hours of programming generate a lot of revenue. good move on their part financially. while ratings have fallen a bit since they went to three hours they’re still getting money for the third hour anyway, so i don’t see them getting rid of it anytime soon.
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I know I have complained about TNA on Twitter and that but realistically, I know they’re not ”doomed”. For the size of the company it doesn’t seem they are running it properly which might be a major downfall for them in the near future. I wrote in a column a few months back that TNA will not grow when they are on Spike because there is no pressure on them there and I think it’s actually Spike’s highest rated show. They are not forced to get better. Any wrestling ”fan” who wants TNA to die is an idiot.
I’m pretty sure WWE’s ratings aren’t down but you may have a point about the wrestling business in general struggling in 2013. However, it is 2013 and there are so many ways to watch wrestling like on YouTube, streaming, DVR etc..
Great column, Bryan!
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I don’t think there’s any pressure from Spike because their ratings are still above Spike’s average- which is something they like. I’m pretty sure they’re not liking the idea of them hemorrhaging money, though. Maybe you’re right about the ratings, in terms of DVR and youtube and all that, but I’m sure WWE isn’t all too happy they used to never be in the 2’s for the longest time and now it’s what they usually get every week. Also I think the move to 3 hours wasn’t good for the rating either- the first hour’s almost usually the lowest rated so that brings it down a bit too.
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There mustn’t be pressure on them to improve their rating.
I watch Raw on Sky + planner…that’s just the DVR. I watch TNA on an online ”video on demand” website so if I was living in USA…I am not counted as part of the ratings. You get me?
WWE are making more money now compared to 15 years ago…they are more global and ratings are not as significant as they used to be. So a lower rating compared to 15 years ago won’t bother them too much IMO. But the 3 hour move is brilliant as it’s an extra hour of programming.
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This is a very thought-provoking piece and one of the best articles I’ve seen addressing the issues in TNA. There was a period when TNA was genuinely considered as a hot alternative to WWE. Remember 2005? Jarrett was champion, the X-division was cutting edge and Samoa Joe was a monster killing everyone in sight.
Today, they are looked upon as a low-rent version of WCW or the home of WWE castoffs. Until they find their own identity and stop relying on stars of the past, then they will always be percieved as a minor league company.
There are several things I like about the company, but I think too much damage has been done for them to be considered a serious threat to WWE.
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“There was a period when TNA was genuinely considered as a hot alternative to WWE.”
I was really excited about TNA in 2010 when they hired Hogan and then went live on Monday nights head-to-head with WWE. My interest in TNA lasted less than a year. I’m surprised at how bad TNA performs. They got a good roster, they are TV-14 and it seems they have more actual wrestling than WWE. They should be a good alternative to WWE and they aren’t.
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I’m quite sure a while back Hulk Hogan stated that he had some ideas for TNA, and if those ideas didn’t work he’d leave the company… Yet he is still there?
The trouble is TNA’s focus is almost mirror to WWE. TNA build up their older guys, whereas WWE build up the younger, upcoming talent. They are not perfect at it, but they still do it.
I ask you this; when did you last see a vignette in TNA for one of their younger talents from their developmental system? Thats right, you haven’t…
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Soike is happy with TNA’s ratings, but that is not their big issue. Their big issue is that they don’t have the funds currently to properly run their organization and are paying their wrestlers late. Spike can be happy, but Spike doesn’t own TNA and pay all their bills. Panda Energy does.
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I think something that has hurt TNA from the time it started to this day is the “cheap” stigma attached to it. It started off as very second rate and has had to fight for any real respect. While it’s true that they use a lot of former WWE talent, TNA’s talent level is quite good. With today’s society being so cynical, once something has a stigma to it, it’s very hard for people to give it a chance. Perhaps if it does go out of business and Vince buys it, WWE’s tremendous Adam The Video Guy can give TNA that special something to make it stand out better?
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I don’t wish death for TNA. I wish the opposite. Professional wrestling doesn’t need a monopoly. It’s good for business when there are several good wrestling promotions. The best era in professional wrestling was when there was 3 major promotions (WWF, WCW and ECW).
Competition makes better shows and I think WWE would like to see their future talent developing their skills on national TV in front of thousands of people instead of at non-taped events with a few hundred fans. Indy guys like Daniel Bryan and Dean Ambrose have said that there’s a huge difference between wrestling in the indies vs. wrestling in WWE. Would guys like Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero make it to WWE if WCW didn’t exist?
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