TNA's New Destination

Come January 2015 TNA will have a new televisual home in the US: Destination America. It’s a channel I’d never heard of until about a week before their deal with TNA was officially announced. That’s mostly because I don’t live in America but it’s also due to the channel being distinctly niche. It’s available in just over half the television owning homes in the United States. That’s nowhere near as many as previous TNA home Spike TV. As such TNA is going to be continuing the downsizing that they started last year.

Linked to this obvious need for continued cost cutting has been talk of a company-wide reboot. TNA producer Bryan Edwards has confirmed via Twitter (yes Twitter, that oracle of the modern age) that the wrestling company will be getting a new logos and graphics and a fresh start. This is actually a great idea for TNA. It’s a chance for them to freshen up their look and begin targeting a new market. Personally I think they should go for young adults (under the age of 25) who aren’t necessarily wrestling fans. But that’s just me. They could pick any market they like, what’s important is that they come up with a strategy to attract fresh eyes.

It’s also an opportunity for the company to make some roster cuts. They’ve done a bit of this over the last couple of years but they haven’t really taken the right approach. What TNA has done up until now is negotiate with wrestlers and cut them if a financial agreement can’t be reached. No thought has been given as to whether wrestlers are worth keeping around.

If it had been then Abyss would have been cut long ago. No matter how little he’s willing to work for he’s simply not someone worth keeping around. His character is stale, he’s faced everyone, he doesn’t have good matches, and it’s inconceivable that he is going to convince anyone hopping around channels to stick with Impact Wrestling. The money paid to him is better spent on new names that may stand a chance of helping TNA increase its audience.

This isn’t just an attack on Abyss. The same principle applies to Mr Anderson, Rob ‘The Freak’ Terry, Bram, Gunner, and Shark Boy. They’ve all been affiliated with TNA, on-and-off, for years. There’s nothing worthwhile for any of them to do, no matter what storylines they’re thrust into or how they’re repackaged. What TNA needs is a young vibrant roster that isn’t so synonymous with mediocrity. And now’s the time to go about getting that.

TNA has a month before they debut on Destination America. That’s enough time to get some new names for the roster, get a solid head start on TV scripts and a long term plan for the top names, and think of ways to introduce their roster to a new audience. The latter should definitely be a priority. Although the potential audience is smaller there will still be new people made aware of TNA’s existence by the move. Some will give Impact a try, and those are the people TNA need to be catering for.

I’d like to see TNA put together some introduction videos for their top names and perform some minor tweaks to a few characters. The videos wouldn’t need to be anything long or elaborate. Thirty second to a minute of a performer explaining their character’s history within the company and their motivations for getting in the ring each week, interspersed with footage of particularly memorable moments or impressive moves, would be enough. Putting them on the TNA website and running them before the first Destination America match of each performer would be enough. Maybe they could be edited down and used as adverts on the channel.

Tweaks to characters don’t need to be anything major. It could as simple as a costuming change. That’s actually something that could be done to Bobby Roode. He’d suit a white pair of boots instead of black. He’s probably the company’s top face right now (good guys wear white, y’know) and it would help him stand out from the black boot clad roster. It’s nothing major and would be a minimal cost, but it’s an lateration that would separate one of their top guys from his peers and the competition.

Meanwhile Austin Aries could do with some more substantial work. His in-ring work is great but his character has been let down by too many face-heel switches over the last year. Now’s the time for TNA to decide what role they want ‘A Double’ to fill and what sort of persona would be most beneficial for that. The stuff he was doing at the end of his ROH run in 2010 (being a player-manager, being a spokesman for less experienced wrestlers, and using a smoking pipe as his signature foreign object) has potential in TNA. It would certainly be a better idea than the wishy-washy approach that’s been taken with him over the last year.

It’s also a chance for TNA to decide on an identity. Being WWE Lite is what’s got them into this undesirable situation. It’s time for them to admit to themselves that hasn’t worked. In an ideal world they’d go with longer term storylines modelled as much as is realistically possible on the sort of thing people get from popular shows like Game of Thrones, True Detective, and Breaking Bad. Because that’s what’s popular now. In the ring concentrating on the Knockouts and tag team divisions wouldn’t be the worst idea because WWE, their chief rival, doesn’t do much of either. As far as tag wrestling goes nobody really makes it a major part of their product. That’s TNA’s gap.

I want TNA to succeed. I hope this Destination America move works out for them, because I don’t think they’ll stick around if it doesn’t. TNA’s success is what’s best for the wrestling industry in general. If TNA do well then the wrestlers have more places to work and fans have more choice in how to spend their time and money. Most importantly it makes every other promotion work that bit harder, which can only be a good thing.

The Concept of TNA

We all know that Impact Wrestling may cease to be on our screens at the end of the year. Even if it does stick around it’s unlikely to remain on Spike TV in its current form. If TNA exists in 2015 it will become something radically different to what it is at present. It will almost certainly be smaller, and cheaper, and very probably see its roster further thinned out.

The problem TNA faces here is the same one it’s always faced. It needs to find itself an identity.

It’s possible Spike is happy for TNA to be a very low budget imitation of WWE, getting the low viewing figures you’d expect such an uninspiring mission statement to generate. It’s possible that a new TV home would feel this way, happy to have a relatively cheap pseudo-sporting programme to attract a sliver of a specified demographic.

This attitude would explain a great deal but it’s not really much of an identity for TNA. And it’s not one that’s going to lead to a strong business model. If the last few years are any indication it’s not even enough to be a workable business model.

There are a variety of directions TNA could take to hook some fresh regular viewers. The first is getting rid of the bulk of their roster, hiring a bunch of young lucha-influenced guys and presenting themselves as the home of daredevil wrestlers who will thrill and excite with their planchas and rotation splashes. Then they could frame the introduction of new wrestlers with realistic, relatable characters and gimmicks with video packages in which the newcomers explain their character’s motivations and goals, keeping things clear and simple. The in-ring style is what the group flirted with in its early years with the X Division, although it ultimately took the route of building around ex-WWE and –WCW names instead.

A picture of Low Ki. Because why not, eh?

They could embrace their rep as a WWE tribute promotion and attempt to emulate the style of what is arguably WWE’s most successful period: the Attitude Era. On the surface that would mean more chair shots, swerve turns, blood, swearing and a greater emphasis on gimmicks. At a deeper level it would see the group understand the need to elevate new stars and have everyone on the roster doing something. Enough people argue for a return of the Attitude Era that it has to be a feasible option for TNA. It wouldn’t allow them to grow a great deal, but it might attract fresh eyes and allow them to increase their audience as their work out a direction in which to develop, taking their existing and new fans with them. Just as importantly, it’s an approach that WWE are definitely not going to go back to.

The direction I personally think they should take is emulating the early years of Ring of Honor. There the matches were what was important, rather than gimmicks and storylines. That more simplistic approach would allow TNA and its writers to strip away the fripperies that currently clutter up Impact. It could also allow them to trim a name or two from their writing unit. That’s probably desirable to a company looking at shrinking (again). And it would fit their current roster nicely.

Emulating old ROH they could make offers to guys like Paul London and Brian Kendrick to work alongside their existing crop of former Honor talents Low Ki, The Wolves, TJ Perkins, and, of course, Samoa Joe. That roster coupled with TNA’s underrated production values and backstage approach could allow them to look fresh and new. It wouldn’t alienate their existing fans (certainly not in any concerning number) and would stand a chance of attracting new eyes. The style such a roster would work is also one wholly compatible with the standard indy style, meaning that new hires could be slotted in with a minimum of concern and fuss.

None of these ideas are long term solutions for TNA. But they would provide a more coherent, recognisable identity than what the promotion currently offers. That would allow them to stick around long enough to come up with something original with a wide (preferably wider) appeal.

RIP TNA

I woke up this morning to news I'd been expecting for a while. Spike TV have opted not to renew their contract with TNA. Impact Wrestling, the promotion's flagship show, will not air on Spike after the current contract expires in October. Without that weekly slot, and with no house show or merchandise business to speak of, TNA's chances of survival are massively slim.

There are a multitude of factors for Spike's decision not to renew. The one that acted as the metaphorical final straw was, apparently, Vince Russo. Spike TV have a long-standing grudge against Russo dating back to his previous stints being involvement with TNA. His failure to produce the levels of success he promises is the cause of this. Spike discovered Russo had been involved in the booking of TNA since some time earlier this year or late last year and made the decision to cut ties.

Maybe she'll be the last champ?

Which is understandable. They'd made it clear to TNA top boss Dixie Carter that they were not willing to help fund a promotion that was taking creative input from Russo. Instead of doing the intelligent thing and simply not using Russo, Dixie seemingly defied Spike and discreetly hired him, thinking she could keep it quiet (Spike discovered he was working for TNA when Russo accidentally sent an email to a Spike employee (note that there are already conspiracy theories that say Russo’s actions were deliberate)). Spike TV were not technically in charge of TNA but they had been funding the league for quite some time, making Dixie’s decision a dumb one. By hiring Russo, Dixie practically guaranteed the contract with Spike would not be renewed.

There are other reasons Spike would have been less than keen to continue its relationship with TNA. Their inability to keep hold of AJ Styles and Sting, the latter of whom Spike helped to cover the costs of because they felt he was a significant name worth having around, really wouldn't have helped. The viewing figures, which generally lay somewhere around the million mark, would have been a disappointment too. In and of itself that rating was fine and it had seen small improvements over the last few months, but TNA had been in its Thursday slot for years (ill-conceived and brief 2010 switch to Mondays aside) and should have been able to increase their average number by now.

The company's general lack of direction and overall image were likely big problems too. TNA had been drifting for years, aimlessly stumbling from one vague concept (usually focusing themselves around a new signing) to the next. There was no long term goal or focus, no image that helped to differentiate it from WWE or Ring of Honor. It fact, it felt as though TNA were happy to simply be a number two promotion that aped the approach of the number one promotion. Being an alternative to the market leader with an approach that was clearly their own would not have guaranteed greater ratings, or anything else for that matter, but it would have made TNA a more attractive prospect for Spike (and indeed for other prospective TV partners). Why be happy as number two in sports entertainment when you can be number one with your own approach?

It looks grim for the Total Nonstop crew. Without a television presence the company’s as good as dead. Their list of options are to find a new channel that's interested in airing Impact, getting some impressive and lucrative sponsorship sorted out and streaming shows online (or perhaps returning to the weekly pay-per-view model they first used in 2002) or relocating to Britain and mining their popularity on Challenge for all it's worth, while still desperately trying to find a new US network. The relocation seems massively unlikely. Spike would have probably covered costs of primarily taping in the UK (read about that here) had the partnership continued but TNA can't handle a full scale redeployment itself. It's simply not practical, and Challenge is unlikely to be interested in helping with the finances. Technically I suppose it could as it's run by Sky (Britain's biggest cable provider for non-Brit readers) but it's just not how things work over here. And even if it were I don't think TNA is that valuable to Challenge. It may be their highest rated show but the numbers aren't astronomical.

I don't know enough about the setup of US TV stations to rattle off a list of prospective new homes for Impact. I'm sure there are some and I'm sure one or two could even end up being better for TNA than Spike was. I can't imagine why any network that doesn't already have a vested interest would want to affiliate itself with the promotion. But I’m not in TV and I’m looking at the situation from the perspective of TNA having been completely missable for practically its entire existence. A show that stands a good chance of attracting a million viewers each, and has the potential to expand and attract more, is probably quite desirable to many TV people.

Streaming online is probably not going to happen, but it’s not impossible. TNA parent company Panda Energy has been willing to throw dosh Dixie's way in the past. Setting up a streaming service feels like the sort of thing all involved would convince themselves would work. I could see TNA going with streaming until the money stops coming, which likely wouldn't be for three or four months at least. Who knows, maybe streaming could work out well for them. I doubt it though. Weekly PPVs are even less likely. That wasn't a sustainable approach for the company ten years ago, so it certainly won't be now.

It’s possible Spike will buy TNA themselves. They know they’ll get a certain rating from it and could theoretically expand the live event schedule and sort out the woeful merchandise situation to get some money rolling in. They’d need an entirely new management team but considering the way TNA’s been run into the ground by the Carters I think that’s something Spike would be keen on anyway. If the view in that company is that TNA is a decent investment that could be turned around (and I think that with the right approach it could be) then a Spike purchase is just about plausible.

I fear the worst for TNA finding a new TV home and surviving this debacle. The TNA-Spike deal lasts until October. It's unknown when the last episode of Impact will air on the channel but October would seem a sensible assumption. If something new can't be sorted out then there's a strong chance Bound For Glory could be the promotion's last hurrah.

This won't be the last time I write about TNA in the next few months. As much as I find their product totally unengaging I'd like them to survive because it creates jobs for wrestlers and wrestling people and the possibility’s there to turn things around. But right now that happening looks highly unlikely.