TNA cancelled by Spike

by Adam D Mon Jul 28, 2014 9:52 am

TMZ reports that Spike TV has let TNA officials know that they will not be renewing their TV contract in October. No word yet on when Impact will stop airing.
Multiple sources with knowledge of the deal told TMZ that Spike TV executives contacted Dixie Carter this week to break the news. Dixie told members of her inner circle the following day.

TMZ reports there's no bad blood and Spike gave TNA such advance notice so it would have time to shop for a new TV deal. Spike and TNA did not return TMZ's request for comment.

Read more at http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2014/0727/579426/tmz-reports-spike-tv-will-not-be-renewing-tna-impact-wrestling/#EvgLSp0Fh0SJDRSE.99

by Uryu Ishida Mon Jul 28, 2014 9:56 am

wasn't rumor mill saying that Spike wouldn't renew if Russo was there?

by **Crimey** Mon Jul 28, 2014 9:59 am

Unless they seriously downsize and become a similar size to Ring of Honour I think TNA will be gone within a year.

by DP Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:03 am

Here's hoping!!

by Fernando Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:29 am

I wonder if WWE will try buy their library to see Sting & Kurt Angle tapes once they go out of business. Could just purchase the company as a whole like WCW Laugh

by Uryu Ishida Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:31 am

start bidding.

1 cent!

by Adam D Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:32 am

Just for the record, TNA going out of business is a bad thing for wrestling altogether, just like Rangers going bust was bad for Scottish football.

And just because Spike have passed, it doesn't mean that another deal can't be secured. They got 1.4m for last weeks show and regularly get around 1m which would be good for a lot of other channels.

I don't understand why people would want them to go out of business. If you don't like TNA, fine. But to say that you hope they do when people most probably don't even watch it, is quite frankly idiotic.

by DP Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:35 am

Idiotic is wide of the mark.

I gave it a chance and quite frankly found it a pile of dross. Yes, there are some talented wrestlers in the company. But it's just a terrible, terrible programme.

by liverbnz Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:37 am

I'm sure TNA will pick up a TV deal somewhere, but I'm not sure how them going out of business will have an effect on wrestling at all other than to those who will lose their jobs. They are just far too insignificant. They do not compete with WWE on any level whatsoever and never will until they actually go head to head on TV and in their current state that would be curtains for them.

by Adam D Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:43 am

liverbnz wrote:I'm sure TNA will pick up a TV deal somewhere, but I'm not sure how them going out of business will have an effect on wrestling at all other than to those who will lose their jobs. They are just far too insignificant. They do not compete with WWE on any level whatsoever and never will until they actually go head to head on TV and in their current state that would be curtains for them.

I would agree that it would have no impact on WWE, as you quite rightly comment they are nowhere near the same level.

However, a lot of die hard wrestling fans turned off by WWE will simply stop watching wrestling altogether if its not on TV.

This will have an impact on the smaller promotions trying to make ends meet as opposed to the other way. It takes wrestling programming off mainstream TV.

by Uryu Ishida Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:45 am

ok, my actual opinion on TNA:

Lions led by donkeys is the best statement to sum it up. They have some great working talent but some dumb ass storylines and ideas and badly managed stuff behind the scenes. They just needed to draw attention and for a time they did but they couldn't build on it even with Hogan brought in! Recently their storylines have been good. then they had to hire Russo....again. Consultant role or not that was a bad move.

by **Crimey** Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:50 am

WWE couldn't get a big increase on their Tv deal and failed to find TV deals for some of their secondary shows so TNA will definitely struggle.

by Fernando Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:50 am

Most of that roster will head to ROH/GFW if TNA don't pick up a TV deal since ROH has one admittedly it's half of America but mainly places Wrestling is popular & GFW are rumored to have one lined up sooner rather then later

by Uryu Ishida Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:54 am

roh to spike?

GFW cant do it as its part of their agreement.

by liverbnz Mon Jul 28, 2014 11:03 am

Adam D wrote:
liverbnz wrote:I'm sure TNA will pick up a TV deal somewhere, but I'm not sure how them going out of business will have an effect on wrestling at all other than to those who will lose their jobs. They are just far too insignificant. They do not compete with WWE on any level whatsoever and never will until they actually go head to head on TV and in their current state that would be curtains for them.

I would agree that it would have no impact on WWE, as you quite rightly comment they are nowhere near the same level.

However, a lot of die hard wrestling fans turned off by WWE will simply stop watching wrestling altogether if its not on TV.

This will have an impact on the smaller promotions trying to make ends meet as opposed to the other way. It takes wrestling programming off mainstream TV.

But if they are 'die-hard' wrestling fans they will find ways to watch other promotions - that's generally what die-hard fans do. And what do we mean by 'a lot'? I'd hazard a guess that most of TNA's viewership are just fans that love watching any kind of wrestling, so watch both TNA and WWE as well as whatever else they can get their eyeballs latched onto. I don't have any evidence to back this up - but then the same could be said of your 2nd sentence - it just seems logical to me.

by The_Enigma Mon Jul 28, 2014 11:08 am

TNA always knew that this was a realistic possibility, didn't they recently employee a company who are very well known for shopping around and getting good television contract deals?

On the whole, it would have a negative impact on the wrestling industry but personally I can't see them calling time yet. They've got time to find and negotiate deals between now and October. WWE's programming as suffered from similar problems in the past, especially when trying to get a new deal for Smackdown!

by XR Mon Jul 28, 2014 12:46 pm

Adam D wrote:Just for the record, TNA going out of business is a bad thing for wrestling altogether, just like Rangers going bust was bad for Scottish football.

Not really, it's only a 'bad thing for wrestling' because there will be only one mainstream wrestling organisation. But that can be a good thing, it'll put a bigger focus on the indy companies in america and maybe in japan. If you don't like WWE, you can look for Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling Guerilla, CHIKARA or others. It means guys like Samoa Joe et al will not be tied to an organisation that is well known for pulling the plug on appearances in other companies or outright barring them from doing so even though they pay them peanuts. It will revive the dwindling indy scene and maybe allow another company to have a crack at becoming 'number 2'.

Adam D wrote:I don't understand why people would want them to go out of business. If you don't like TNA, fine. But to say that you hope they do when people most probably don't even watch it, is quite frankly idiotic.

TNA will never be successful until they be themselves, they're doing that by bringing back the six sided ring which is their main gimmick, that's what makes them instantly different to anything else. But the damage has been done, not reputable TV station is going to want to touch it because of the sheer money drain it has become and the poor ratings it gets. 1 Million viewers for wrestling may be good, but not good for a company that has had National TV Exposure for how long now? 10 Years?

They got some good wrestlers down here but the whole package is just a shambles. Take MVP's promo where he completely stuffs his lines. They have put the segment up on youtube and they've left it in there! Why not just edit it out? Makes him look an idiot, how can you take the guy in charge, who is a heel by the way, seriously when you can laugh at him not being able to cut a promo? Its just a shambles.

by **Dolphin Ziggler** Mon Jul 28, 2014 1:05 pm

I don't think TNA are to blame for Samoa Joe

I'm also not sure some of the smaller indy companies would remain the ones people love if they were to open up to mainstream. The ratings chase eventually makes you try things. I like ROH, but if it were to hit national TV today I don't know many new viewers would watch it.

by XR Mon Jul 28, 2014 2:06 pm

ROH is a strange one, it's been around for about as long as TNA but had stuck to it's Indy routes in a way. The move towards holding their PPV shows is a positive one after the iPPV nonsense but unless someone with a lot of money takes them over and is willing to back them, they'll never have a shot realistically. They have a tv deal (don't think it's national) and hold PPV's, they just need to build slowly.

You see in WWE shows that fans still appreciate good wrestling, it's just the average WWE fan may not know that there is better wrestling with less 'showbiz' elsewhere. If TNA closed and, say, you have the Hardy's & Joe back in ROH then the casual wwe fan who was aware of TNA and may have watched it sparingly, may now want to catch a show from a company where Jeff Hardy is wrestling just to see how he's getting on.

TNA probably won't die, but there will be a ton of budget cuts because they're not going to get a good tv deal anywhere. If they went out of business it would be bad for the wrestlers as it would mean that there's only one show in town (although you could argue that's the case already) and some may never make it. But for the wrestling fan, from a british perspective, if TNA does go then you'll have the opportunity to see those guys over here way more than before and that is exciting. Especially with the UK Wrestling scene starting to come back.

by Samo Mon Jul 28, 2014 3:06 pm

Instead of trying to compete with WWE, TNA should have been focusing on being the biggest Indy promotion. Trying to do things that WWE do on such a smaller scale was always going to be detrimental to them. That and the fact that TNA has no identity. Constant rebrands and nostalgia acts were never going to work. Whats one of the top stories in TNA right now? ANOTHER ECW reunion. It flopped the first time, its not going to work 3 years later.

The running of TNA has been a shambles for years now, which has led to dwindling ratings. I dont blame Spike for getting out, try to find other programming thats less cost effective and appeals to a wider audience. Business 101.

by **Dolphin Ziggler** Mon Jul 28, 2014 3:43 pm

But where do they go as the "biggest indy"? I didn't even watch old TNA but surely thats an area they were thriving in? Then they tried to break the mainstream as their figures were not justifying their position, or at least not fulfilling their ambition?

by Samo Mon Jul 28, 2014 4:15 pm

Dolphin Ziggler wrote:But where do they go as the "biggest indy"? I didn't even watch old TNA but surely thats an area they were thriving in? Then they tried to break the mainstream as their figures were not justifying their position, or at least not fulfilling their ambition?

If you cant compete with WWE theres no where else to go. Stick in that position for a good few years to get a solid business model, identity and direction set up and take it from there. They seemed to have that when they started but got too ambitious too quickly.

by Dr Gregory House MD Mon Jul 28, 2014 4:25 pm

Bizzare that Spike have dropped TNA, they were one of the highest rated shows and were reasonably cheap to produce, I get the feeling that the Russo leak was the straw that broke the camels back as Spike did not want to do business with him.

Sadly if Spike aren't going to renew I don't see TNA having much joy in finding a new home, at least on a comparable level to where they are now, you only have to look at the way WWE's recent TV exploits went to show that interest in wrestling is not high among US TV channels.

I think anyone who is happy TNA is going out of business is a little misguided, even if it's not your thing it's still a livelihood to a lot of people and it's an alternative place to work for guys with TV visability.

by BD21 Mon Jul 28, 2014 4:41 pm

Why would Spike get rid of a show because of one man?

Serious question.

by Samo Mon Jul 28, 2014 5:14 pm

Russo is poison. He had some great ideas in the WWF, but he also had Vinny Mac to rein him in. When he was in WCW he had (almost) full control that lead to some of the worst bookings in the world. Like David Arquette winning the World Title.

by Uryu Ishida Mon Jul 28, 2014 6:00 pm

lagana wants back to ROH, http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/497095-tna-writer-dave-lagana-to-ring-of-honor

by XR Tue Jul 29, 2014 8:43 am

BD21 wrote:Why would Spike get rid of a show because of one man?

Serious question.

Spike don't like him but Dixie lying to them about it is much worse, there's no trust now.

I doubt it's all down to Russo himself, Spike have given TNA a lot of chances to improve in the past. Given them the Monday slot, going live, changing time slots etc but the fact that Dixie and TNA have continuously lied to them for so long about his status with the company is probably the last straw.

How him being revealed as part of TNA came about is so funny, mind.

by Kay Fabe Tue Jul 29, 2014 9:59 am

DP wrote:Idiotic is wide of the mark.

I gave it a chance and quite frankly found it a pile of dross. Yes, there are some talented wrestlers in the company. But it's just a terrible, terrible programme.

Far from being wide of the mark, idiotic is the most logical explanation for such an attitude, if someone doesn't like TNA the they simply don't have to watch it, its hardly anshow thats pushed down your throat, if you or anyone else finds it a pile of dross then thats fair enough, to wish it gone though is stupid, why bother wastong your energy on something that is basically an irrelevance to you? What good will it do you as a Wrestling fan if it goes out of business?

I just don't understand this attitude, its simply pointless

by Kay Fabe Tue Jul 29, 2014 10:01 am

DP wrote:Idiotic is wide of the mark.

I gave it a chance and quite frankly found it a pile of dross. Yes, there are some talented wrestlers in the company. But it's just a terrible, terrible programme.

Far from being wide of the mark, idiotic is the most logical explanation for such an attitude, if someone doesn't like TNA then they simply don't have to watch it, its hardly ashow thats pushed down your throat, if you or anyone else finds it a pile of dross then thats fair enough, to wish it gone though is stupid, why bother wasting your energy on something that is basically an irrelevance to you? What good will it do you as a Wrestling fan if it goes out of business?

I just don't understand this attitude, its simply pointless

by DrDeath Tue Jul 29, 2014 10:30 am

Kay Fabe wrote:
DP wrote:Idiotic is wide of the mark.

I gave it a chance and quite frankly found it a pile of dross. Yes, there are some talented wrestlers in the company. But it's just a terrible, terrible programme.

Far from being wide of the mark, idiotic is the most logical explanation for such an attitude, if someone doesn't like TNA the they simply don't have to watch it, its hardly anshow thats pushed down your throat, if you or anyone else finds it a pile of dross then thats fair enough, to wish it gone though is stupid, why bother wastong your energy on something that is basically an irrelevance to you? What good will it do you as a Wrestling fan if it goes out of business?

I just don't understand this attitude, its simply pointless

this

by Uryu Ishida Wed Jul 30, 2014 7:28 pm

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/497685-vince-russo-leaves-tna

nananana nananana hey hey hey...ABOUT TIME!

by Marky Fri Aug 01, 2014 1:16 pm

Uryu Ishida wrote:http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/497685-vince-russo-leaves-tna

nananana nananana hey hey hey...ABOUT TIME!

Russo was influential in TNA's X Division becoming so popular before Hogan/Bischoff rolled in... Just saying.

by westisbest Wed Aug 06, 2014 8:34 am

Dont watch much wrestling these days, but when I do its TNA.

Really hoping they dont go out of business.

by Adam D Wed Aug 06, 2014 8:56 am

Having now watched Raw, there is no doubt that TNA put on a better show this week than WWE.

That's 6 quality shows in a row for TNA.

And next weeks show will be their highest rated in years.

by talkingpoint Thu Aug 07, 2014 12:49 pm

I'm back in the UK on holiday and thought I'd check into the boards only to learn TNA could be in dire straights very soon! Well here's my view:

I think it would be a great loss if TNA went under if they cannot renew their Spike TV contract or find a new channel. There are several reasons why I think TNA is good for the wrestling industry:

1. It gives wrestlers like Samoa Joe, Austin Aries, Magnus, Kenny King, DJ Zema Ion, Storm, Roode & the Wolves etc. a TV platform and national TV exposure that they deserve. The above mentioned wrestlers may not be WWE material or signed to the WWE should TNA go bust but they deserve a higher status than just "Indie" wrestler. TNA is the perfect place for them - the second largest wrestling promotion in America. It doesn't really matter if TNA are a long way second to the WWE - they are still the second largest promotion (with a growing international fanbase) and provide that middle ground between WWE stardom and Indie darling. I'd much rather see them wrestle for TNA than go to ROH or NJPW etc. They won't get the exposure should they wrestle for another promotion.

2. TNA have created some genuinely innovative contributions to professional wrestling such as the X-Division/Ultimate X-Match; 6-Sided ring, BFG Series, Gut Check, British Bootcamp etc. TNA may not always get it right and they may have a history of failures with certain experiments but you cannot take away from TNA the fact that they continue to try and innovate and create a fresh product.

3. TNA respect their international fanbase - TNA are expanding internationally and they have made a lot of effort to give back to their international fanbase (in particular the UK and now Japan).

4. TNA are growing internationally and could see major breakthroughs in Asia if they are successful in Japan. TNA's partnership with Wrestle 1 in Japan is a smart move to break into the Japanese market - the Japanese tend to support things in which Japanese competitors feature.

5. The TNA Hall of Fame is gaining credibility with each passing year as the company has more history to draw upon and their three inductees are all worthy of Hall of Fame status and are a huge boon for TNA - Sting, Kurt Angle and Team 3D. These wrestlers are some of the greatest of the '90s and '00s and thus give credibility to TNA and to its Hall of Fame.

I think it would be a real shame for TNA to go out of business as the company has spent so long building its foundation and credibility as a wrestling promotion and has established itself as the second largest promotion in America. I want TNA to continue being a part of the established wrestling landscape and industry in North America and the world. I personally don't want the fates of WCW and ECW to become the trend of all new wrestling promotions that aspire to be more than just indie promotions.

by dyrewolfe Thu Aug 07, 2014 5:25 pm

Well said talkingpoint. Couldn't agree more with everything you said.

True, I've had more than a few WTF? moments with some of the things they've done, but you can't fault them for at least trying to be innovative and differentiating themselves from their competition - such as it is (way below WWE but also way more visible than the other Indie promotions).

Should TNA fold there is no guarantee the wrestlers will automatically walk into other promotions...same with the other staff who help make the shows happen. As has been said before, you don't just need talent, you have to "fit" the company image. Thats at least 1 good reason to hope the show continues.

On a personal level, I like a lot of what they've done in the past and what they're doing now. That said, I do think they badly need some fresh input/direction. Maybe someone from outside to review all the ideas they've tried in the past, revive some of the better ones and consign the naff stuff to the creative waste bin.

They've got the talent, no question. They just need to give them better material to work with. I think it wouldn't hurt to stick with / bring back some of the better competition formats and stick with them a while to try and build up some sense of tradition/continuity.

I like that they've stuck with the Option C gimmick for the X Division champion. I would also like to see at least 1 Ultimate X match a year. I also quite liked the Bound For Glory series...even if the whole points table thing was a total sham. At least it was an effort to make it seem like a real sport.

If they could come up with something similar for the tag team division and maybe the Knockouts, it would create some real landmark matches to build their shows around.

At the moment, so much of it seems very fluid and spur-of-the-moment, though the crappy (non-existant?) storylines are partly to blame for that.

Despite all its problems though, TNA do put on some cracking wrestling matches, whicih has been one of the few constants. If they could just put some decent context to those matches to make them seem more important, they could go on to big things.

by XR Tue Aug 12, 2014 12:26 pm

Adam D wrote:And next weeks show will be their highest rated in years.

"last Thursday's episode of TNA Impact Wrestling with the much-hyped Dixie Carter table spot drew a 1.09 rating with 1.41 million viewers."

"The main event segment, featuring Dixie going through the table, drew a 1.15 quarter-hour rating...the July 24th main event segment with Team 3D and Tommy Dreamer vs. Team Dixie dew a 1.17 quarter-hour rating."

So much for the big angle Laugh

by Fernando Thu Aug 14, 2014 11:27 pm

by dyrewolfe Fri Aug 15, 2014 1:22 pm

Ah, so not cancelled, just rescheduled. Very Happy

by **Hero** Fri Aug 15, 2014 1:25 pm

No not entirely...
There still isn't a deal on the table at present, the move to Wednesday's is seen as a drop as Thursdays is a more sought after night for ratings and Spike have not agreed to a new deal as of yet. It is thought though that there are talks now taking place which is a step in the right direction for TNA.

by Adam D Fri Aug 15, 2014 1:48 pm

2 factors that will benefit Tna for a permanent t move is that smackers is moving to Thursday as well and nfl is starting up soon and the Thursday night game is being aired on cbs instead of the nfl network.

by GSC Fri Aug 15, 2014 1:56 pm

For the first half of the NFL season.

by talkingpoint Fri Aug 15, 2014 5:27 pm

Hero wrote:No not entirely...
There still isn't a deal on the table at present, the move to Wednesday's is seen as a drop as Thursdays is a more sought after night for ratings and Spike have not agreed to a new deal as of yet. It is thought though that there are talks now taking place which is a step in the right direction for TNA.

Admittedly this looks like a positive sign: one would think if Spike really were going to axe TNA from their programming at the end of their contract then they wouldn't bother moving the show for the sake of two months. But on the other hand this doesn't prove Spike are still interested in negotiating a new TV deal with TNA either! I certainly hope for TNA's sake that this is a move in the right direction both for TV ratings and TV contract. Fingers Crossed

by Nakatomi Plaza Wed Aug 20, 2014 10:17 pm

Dixie Carter's given out a statement saying Impact will be on Spike until the end of the year.

by **Crimey** Fri Aug 22, 2014 3:06 am

Impact got a 0.65 on its new night, that is pretty awful. It's actually quite sad seeing it die such a horribly slow death.

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