Is Dixie Carter good or bad for TNA/Wrestling?

TNA fill a strange sort of space in the world of pro wrestling. It was created to fill the void left by WCW & ECW and yet has never truly been able to replace them. While TNA can boast being in business longer than both of the aforementioned companies, it hasn't found it easy and at times can be seen as surviving as opposed to thriving. To TNA's credit, it has managed to bring in some of the biggest names in the wrestling industry, but even so there seems to be a glass ceiling TNA have never been able to break through. So here in 2015 only 6 months into a new TV deal with Destination America and the dirt-sheets and fans are already reading TNA its last rites. As a TNA fan, I have been wondering what is at the root cause of TNA's failure to fulfill its potential. And I do want to stress that as a fan of the company I do believe it has a huge amount of potential! Yet, it is obvious that something in the company is not right.

This brings me to Dixie Carter. Last year, Dixie's gender was discussed as a factor of her leadership. It was said as a woman she had a maternal kind of instinct to protect TNA and would do whatever necessary to keep the company from sinking. This was seen as a virtue. As a woman she brought a different dynamic to the wrestling industry, which arguably wrestling was lacking. I saw a lot of merit in that argument. But, as TNA have never really been able to get out of third gear and with a heavy onscreen presence in 2013-14, which at times hurt the product, I am beginning to wonder whether Dixie is actually the best person to lead TNA? Regardless of her gender, do you think she has the business acumen to be the president of America's second largest wrestling promotion? Does she have the leadership qualities to inspire and motivate her locker room? Does she have the inter-personal and managerial skills necessary to work with TV executives? Is she a strong enough president to make the hard choices that are necessary in a business or is she too soft?

I am beginning to doubt that TNA under Dixie's guidance will ever achieve its potential, which as a fan I desperately want to see. But, I could be wrong. Maybe it has nothing to do with Dixie? If so what is the real heart of the problem at TNA?

I don't think Dixie has made the right choices over the years about who she surrounds herself with, there was a period before Hogan and Easy E arrived when i thought TNA had a really good product and had a sustanable future but since she listened to them it has been a steady decline for TNA. The slide has been unabled to be halted even after they left

I think the problem is that Dixie Carter is an idiot

She's not great but her brothers son is quality

No Dixie, no Panda Energy money, no TNA before now.

The sign of a great leader is being able to spot at a distance the signs that the Poopie is about to hit the fan and to take action. IMO Dixie has really failed at that. TNA lost 1M viewers on its move from Spike. All we heard was spin of a step back to take a step forwards. I think TNA believed Dixie's own PR, and not seeing the company was in crisis is terrible management. Not a single ticket sold in the US this year, nothing done to recover the tailspin.

We know that running a wrestling organization is not easy. How many have multiple years of success? Heyman is probably the best promoter and booker, but he didn't have the business smarts to lead ECW to long term stability. RoH has changed hands, what, 3 times? It's not easy, but Dixie hasn't done it very well.

I do feel that Dixie is the worst of her kind because she has had real backing continuously. Heyman with the kind of money Dixie has been allowed to use and lose would not have been such a debacle. Honestly, Bischoff ran WCW to some bad places but in the landscape on offer to TNA I think he'd have done a better job. Although both have been seduced by Hogan and pals.

I wonder why Hulk continues to take in owners of wrestling company bosses when he comes along and says i can help you compete with WWE

I would say Good, if she stayed out of stories, TV and so forth, If Dixie just supplied the money to bank roll TNA, otherwise bad

Prometheus wrote:No Dixie, no Panda Energy money, no TNA before now.

Not a single ticket sold in the US this year, nothing done to recover the tailspin.  

I think this is the biggest crime. Moving away from a PPV model to a TV model is fine (at least I've come to terms with it), but you still need to sell tickets. Even if TNA couldn't afford to take impact on the road, they still needed to find a way of making gate sales for its impact tapings. Having a base of operations to film impact out of is all well and good, but you need to make a profit.

She is the President for a company that is struggling to earn any money and can't afford to pay it's staff - essentially the most important assets a wrestling company has. For as long as TNA is kept on life-support she will be an unmitigated disaster for wrestling.

Ted Turner with jubblies. Saw that wrestling is an avenue that can make big bank so bought into a promotion with lofty ambitions, but didnt have a clue how to run a wrestling business and surrounded herself with the wrong types of folks. Didnt have anyone to tell her no and tell her how something should be, and then got involved with Hogan and Bischoff which was always going to be bad news.

I think as TP said TNA has long struggled with its identity and to offer a unique and genuinely entertaining alternative to WWE.

They started off on the right route with the X Divsion, which should have been developed into its crown jewel...but they failed to invest enough time and energy and its long since taken a back seat to the heavyweight division, which is in no way extraordinary or better / different to what other promotions have.

The wrestling talent has never been the problem IMO. The lack of quality and entertainment value has largely been down to the failure to develop their talent into genuine stars, with solid characters and well-booked matches.

I can probably count the number of really good, genuinely engaging storylines, over the past 5-6 years, on one hand. Belts change hands way too often, which both lessens their value and the surprise / "wow factor" when they change hands. They also relied far too heavily on the interference gimmick.

They have essentially relied on whatever star power their wrestlers have had in their own right and their in-ring ability...which only goes so far. Its okay if you're just a fan of good wrestling, but that on its own will never draw the kind of audiences WWE get.

All these failures have to ultimately be put at the door of the management and creative team, for not giving their talent the right characters, booking and stories to build them into the kind of stars WWE fans might want to see (well maybe just casual wrestling fans, as I wouldn't want to see them go PG).

I can understand why TNA moved to being more centred around their world heavyweight title, if they were going to look like a genuine competitor to WWE then they needed a strong world title to be their 'crown jewel' and to make it seem as important as the WWE title. To become a TNA world champ and hold a belt that the likes of Kurt Angle, Sting and Jeff Hardy have held is a very prestigious thing. The problem was/is is that TNA didn't have the platform or the fan base to do its own title justice. It's the same with the Hall of Fame. To be inducted into a Hall of Fame alongside Sting, Angle and Team 3D would ordinarily be an honour. But, because TNA have such a low-profile in America casual wrestling fans probably don't even realize there is such a Hall of Fame.

The thing that made ECW the cult hit it was amongst wrestling fans was its distain for tradition. It was purposefully anti-establishment. When Shane Douglas trashed the NWA world title in the name of ECW it was shocking, because at that time the NWA title was still a prestigious thing. Shane Douglas was spitting on the heritage of the NWA. It worked. Immediately ECW created its niche and secured the loyalty of its fan base.

TNA though, has always tried to conduct itself as if it were the equal of WWE. It has always tried to come across as the rightful successor to WCW and a legitimate alternative/rival to the WWE. TNA desperately wants to be taken seriously as a mainstream, major-player in the wrestling industry. It wants its world title and hall of fame to be spoken of in the same sentence as WWE's. It wants its place in wrestling history. However, Dixie just does not have the experience or the know-how to run TNA at that level.  

I really hope TNA survives and continues. But, I don't want it to be run by Dixie. TNA as a brand and as a company can be successful in the right hands. They already have a great look and a talented roster. They have a heavyweight, x-division, tag-team and knockouts titles. They have a hall of fame. They have a history. If only the right person who is invested in TNA could come along and do it right.

talkingpoint wrote:
TNA though, has always tried to conduct itself as if it were the equal of WWE. It has always tried to come across as the rightful successor to WCW and a legitimate alternative/rival to the WWE. TNA desperately wants to be taken seriously as a mainstream, major-player in the wrestling industry.

NXT is the brand TNA always wanted to be.

You might think this is a spoiler, if so, I apologise. But, I don't believe it is because it was on Dixie's Twitter.

She's back tomorrow. Is that good to see the TNA President back in the ring? What will she bring to the product / viewing numbers? Is this to get her re-established on screen before Jarrett invades?

I think it makes sense as her "nephew" has just won the championship. I think she will be a face and he will be a heel to get him away from that storyline relationship

Hmmm. It could actually be an interesting angle if the win and wearing the belt totally went to his head. Have Angle say he demands his rematch and then have EC3 come out with a neck brace or something and say that his own personal doctor has not cleared him and he's the champ now, the best in the world, and no one can force him to wrestle until he's 100%. Then have Dixie come in, burst his balloon and set a re-match for next week.

And having just written all of that, isn't Angle injured.