TNA president Dixie Carter has been busy with her Twitter account as of late with rumors of big changes coming to the promotion. Her first post on the topic stated that she couldn’t sleep and that TNA’s about to change forever. She followed that up less than 12 hours later saying that Spike president Kevin Kay also agrees that TNA is going to change on every level.
Since these tweets started, rumors and speculation has been running around as to what the huge change(s) are going to be. Plenty of ideas have been floating around, but it seems that only a few people may know exactly what is happening as Carter did state that she cannot wait to share the news with the talent, staff and fans.
A few of the rumors that I have heard about have been good ones, while some have been absurd. I am going to take a time to address the ones that I have seen floating around and give my thoughts on all of them.
Rumor 1: Paul Heyman is joining TNA
This is probably the best rumor that I have heard out of all of them. It has been reported on ProWrestling.net that Carter has been in talks with Paul Heyman and Vince Russo has stated that he would be willing to step aside from the creative team if Heyman were to jump on board. Carter stated in an email to Jason Powell, though, that while she would love to work with him, the surprise doesn’t have anything to do with Heyman.
Heyman has been very critical of TNA’s product in the past but has one of the best minds in the business. I wouldn’t say that this would automatically make them the best wrestling promotion in the United States, but it could help the creative process as long as Heyman has total control and isn’t just another cook in the kitchen. And, yes, this would be a huge change for TNA.
Rumor #2: TNA is adding more Spike TV specials and cutting down on monthly PPVs
It is hard to remember a time that monthly wrestling pay-per-views didn’t exist, but that’s how the wrestling landscape was like just a little over a decade ago. I have long thought that TNA should go this route, especially considering how little TV time they have to promote a full fledge pay-per-view event. I wouldn’t like to see them cut out all PPV events, but maybe down to four or six good ones each year.
If Spike is on board with producing live specials from time-to-time, these could be a more viable option for TNA instead of the pay-per-view route. Treat these specials as secondary pay-per-view events (something like the Sacrifice card) and use them to build up to the larger pay-per-view events (such as Bound for Glory or Slammiversary). WCW had some success in a plan such as this with their Night of the Champions specials on TBS.
I cannot speak for every fan out there, but I’d be willing to shell out more money for a stacked quarterly pay-per-view event than less money for a lackluster monthly pay-per-view event. This would be a huge change for the company, but may not be worth the hype that Carter is giving it.
Rumor #3: Impact is moving out of the Impact Zone
This would be a huge change for TNA and could possibly be a way for the company to pull in more of a profit. Aside from some pay-per-view events and a single television taping, TNA has held most of their televised shows within the walls of Soundstage 21 at Universal Studios. The setup has worked for them, however, they are losing out on any gate receipts as fans are able to get in to the events for free.
It is true that TNA will have some added cost for taking their show on the road but that money could be recouped by charging fans for admission. Merchandise sales would probably be greater on top of that as they would be bringing in a stream of new fans instead of the same people that show up for their tapings in Orlando. You know who they are there, too. I know I have been able to recognize many of them in the live audience over the years.
Rumor #4: TNA is moving to 3D
This is probably the oddest rumor I have seen out there. I suspect filming a show in 3D would cost a lot of money – more money than TNA should be willing to spend – to reach a small target audience who could fully enjoy the experience. Yes, this would be groundbreaking, but I don’t see it as a huge change. I would see it as a huge waste of money, though, if this ends up being the surprise.
Whatever the rumor may be, I hope for the benefit of Dixie Carter and for TNA that it lives up to the hype. TNA tosses around these “historic changes” all too often and most of the time they are letdowns. This one, though, seems different. Probably due to the fact that no concrete evidence has been brought to light as to what it may possibly be. Her last Twitter post on the subject told the fans that we will find out in the coming weeks.
Please Dixie and TNA, don’t let the fans down with this change.
Hey Starman! The site looks awesome! Thanks for all your work in providing fans with all things TNA related!
Personally, it pissed me off to the n-th degree to have spent my entire weekend waiting for a “big surprise” to be revealed in TNA, only to find out AFTER the Slammiversary pay per view that this “surprise” would unfold over the next few weeks.
I’ve grown weary of TNA promising big changes, only to deliever some lackluster topical cream approach to the cancer that is—in my opinion—eating away at a great company that could and should be offering so much more than they currently are.
I think Dixie Carter’s tweeting last week caused quite the uproar for the Slammiversary ppv, but it was a huge let down for me to find out afterwards that the only surprise planned for the show was an appearance by Tommy Dreamer. To me, this is all sad because the PPV was good by itself. But the fact that the company had to tease a huge surprise just to get people to watch the program speaks volumes of how things stand for TNA. Use any incentive you need to get viewers to tune in, but you’ve got to deliver on that incentive. The product really should speak for itself, and I’m just weary of hearing about the surprises in store for TNA fans, only to be introduced to an Orlando Jordan like angle.
Thanks for your comments on the site Ashley. If I’m not mistaken, I think you have emailed me a few times before and voiced your opinions that way as well.
I thought that Slammiversary was a decent show with the highlights being Angle/Kazarian and Styles/Lethal. I was concerned about Dixie Carter’s tweets during the weekend, because although she was talking about two different surprises, it really was coming off a one big huge surprise that was going to happen at Slammiversary. She tried to clarify later on, but it may have been too late for some fans who didn’t see her last message about it.
I have to give her credit, though, for engaging with the fans via Twitter as using it as a way to keep fans in the loop on things like this. I would never expect someone like Vince McMahon to do something of that sort, unless it was a secretary or someone else writing the tweets for him. Hell, WWE basically gave fans control of a show recently yet guided them through the voting process as to which option to choose.
Anyway, as you can tell by my thoughts in this post, I am also leery of what the big surprise may be. Like I said, TNA hypes these company changing surprises all too often and they are usually huge letdowns. It is said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, but for once I am hoping this time is different. I guess I also may be insane.
And, yes, you are completely right in saying a roster of their caliber should be offering so much more than they are delivering. I would put TNA’s roster head-to-head with WWE’s roster any day, but it is the creative side and often times logic that seems to keep TNA from growing and getting anywhere outside of the fan base that already follows their product.
Thanks again for commenting.
No problem, Starman! And yes, I’m the infidel that clogs your inbox from time to time! I do enjoy reading your perspective on TNA’s product, as you tend to remain optimistic AND realistic about the company’s direction when fans such as myself will usually rant and rave for eons about how terrible things are. Life, in part, is about balance; your reviews tend to be the Heaven to TNA’s Hell.
I won’t knock Dixie for the methods in which she connects with the fans, but as you’ve stated, it’s completely insane to continue to bait and switch fans just to entice them to watch the product. From time to time, such methods would be very refreshing. However, I feel her tweets were done deliberately to get us to watch the ppv in hopes that fans would somehow say, “Hey, despite the surprise, this show was worth watching!” Speaking personally, that didn’t happen; I was severely upset at the lack of a “big surprise,” during the show. Call me a dumb fan, but I didn’t catch her last tweets about the surprise until Monday morning.
But, I believe that the product should speak for itself and the creative direction and action in said product should be great enough to cause viewers to turn in. If the company continues down this path, then one can’t help but to wonder whether or not it will take big surprises just to keep us tuned in.
It’s like getting a child to eat their vegetables by promising them loads of ice cream once they finish. Sooner or later if the trend continues long enough, the child will expect loads of ice cream once they finish their vegatables, which could lead to tons of other problems down the line. As traumatizing as it may be, sometimes we all have to learn how to eat the green stuff just because, you know?
TNA is the same way; they shouldn’t rely on coaxing fans to watch the product only to turn around and let them down. The product will eventually have to be able to stand on its own without relying on the promise of something major. Judging by Sunday’s ppv, I feel like they’re headed in that direction.
The real question my friend is whether or not the fans have grown use to having broccoli with vanilla ice cream looming on the horizon. Sad to say, I think we have. We’re just waiting for the next “shocking” moment to happen so we can wax poetically about it for two weeks and then wait for the next controversial moment like an addict scrounging up money for the next fix.
Case and point, as soon as most realized that Bryan Danielson’s release seemed more legit than not, a good number of fans called for him to jump to TNA where his talent would be “recognized” and “appropriately utilized.”
Most of these fans seemingly forgot the 90-day no compete clause the WWE has in place, as well as the fact that Nigel McGuinness made that jump as well and currently spends most of his time starting at the ceiling lights under the massive frame of Abyss.
Now if that’s not insane, Starman….
Thanks again for the comment and I completely understand what you are saying and agree with you about TNA resorting to surprises to gain fan interest.
I remember when Hulk Hogan made his debut on the live Impact in January and that show featured tons of surprises, some of which were good (Ric Flair, Jeff Hardy), and some of which were horrible (the Nasty Boys, Orlando Jordan, Sean Morley). On that particular night, I couldn’t believe what all was taking place and it really brought me back to the days of the original Monday Night Wars. Wrestling was exciting to me for the first time in a long time. Once Impact moved to Monday nights, though, it always seemed that TNA was hyping some sort of surprise for each of their live broadcasts.
The problem with hyping surprises, aside from the obvious drawback of not living up to the hype, is that is ruins the surprise no matter what it happens to be. By definition, a surprise is a completely unexpected occurrence. Think back to any M. Night Shyamalan movie you have seen. The twist in The Sixth Sense worked because it was unexpected. Every other movie he made after that used these sorts of twists and it became expected, thus ruining the movie. Because of this, I have vowed never to watch another one of his movies ever again.
A recent example of a surprise that works is the NXT invasion angle. That was unexpected and created a strong starting point for a huge angle. Not once did WWE promise a huge surprise or felt they needed to coax anyone to tune in. In fact, it was the one shining moment in an otherwise boring as hell 3-hour Raw. Once it happened, though, it had fans talking about for the rest of the week.
Are wrestling fans too accustomed to eating broccoli with the promise of ice cream? That could very well be. It’s unfortunate, too, because just like you said, the product should be able to stand on its own. TNA has enough great talent that I would rather hear people talk about the Angle/Styles match at Hard Justice in 2008 than hear people talk about the surprise arrival of the Nasty Boys in 2010. Surprises, though, is what gets people talking and tuning in time and time again, while really great matches are hard to come by.
As for Bryan Danielson, one of the first thoughts that popped in my mind after hearing about his release was that thought of him joining TNA. The more I thought about it, though, the less I wanted to see that move happen. I hated the fact that WWE released him but I think I would become even more frustrated if he was in TNA being misused as most of the talent is. I feel his best option would actually be to go back to ROH until WWE offers him another contract.
Thanks again for your comments.