Impact spoilers

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

Damn this was my first chance to really see Christopher Daniels in action and the match got cut short.

[Guest Donners]

Hang on, let's get this straight.

 

- When TNA's bigger names like Raven and Jarrett don't wrestle on Impact, people whinge.

 

- When they do wrestle and squash indi wrestlers, people whinge.

 

- Yet if they shared a significant part of the offence with a mostly unknown wrestler, they would "lose credibility". People whinge.

 

- And if TNA puts regulars against regulars, they're giving away PPV matches for free. People may not whinge, but it's not smart business.

 

 

So as far as I can tell, they're in a no-win situation.

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

What the hell is "whinge"????

 

Do you mean "whine"?

 

People are whining because the show isn't much more than what Velocity was. Plus no one was asking for jobber squashes. How about what they did the first couple of shows with actual talent going against each other? It would be one thing if this was a secondary free TV show, but it's all they got on free TV so new fans aren't going to care about jobber squashes involving wrestlers they've either never seen or never cared about.

[Guest Donners]

But it is a secondary TV show - their money comes from weekly PPVs. Why pay for what you can get for free? There is a very fine line between enticing people to get interested in buying the show and yet not giving enough away for free to satisfy them.

 

 

 

Oh, and with thanks to dictionary.com:

 

whinge ( P ) Pronunciation Key (hwnj, wnj)

intr.v. Chiefly British whinged, whing·ing, whing·es

To complain or protest, especially in an annoying or persistent manner.

 

 

That's about as perfect a word as I can find for what I'm seeing here.

[Vyce 0]

Hang on, let's get this straight.

 

- When TNA's bigger names like Raven and Jarrett don't wrestle on Impact, people whinge..

I would be perfectly happy with them using their non-main event talent - provided that they book them well, and by that I mean book them in decent matches. Matches that aren't squashes.

 

- When they do wrestle and squash indi wrestlers, people whinge.

 

Because there's no need for them. Absolutely none.

 

There's no need to have something like 6 matches per show, and have (essentially) all of them be 2 or 3 minute squashes - there's NO point to it. In THEORY it's to get the TNA guys over, but really, outside of aberrations like Goldberg, wrestlers get more over (ESPECIALLY on the indy scene - which at this point, TNA is STILL a part of) by engaging in entertaining, competitive matches, rather than 3 minute matches against jobbers.

 

Here's my simple formula for Impact, which would no doubt work absolutely well for them:

• No more than five matches per show. Preferably, only 4 matches per show.

• Of those matches, at least three CANNOT be squashes. This leaves, at most, only one to two squashes per show.

• One match - the main event, if you will - should be established TNA star vs. established TNA star. Doesn't have to be the main event workers, but it has to be established stars. Give this match a minimum of 6 minutes.

• The other matches can include TNA stars against indy workers - but the matches must be COMPETITIVE, which means that at least a portion of the match includes the indy worker / jobber gets in some offense. This would necessitate longer matches also. The WWE does this on Heat & Velocity often, and does it fairly well. This would produce better matches, help the TNA workers get over, AND probably make the indy guys more well known to the TNA crowds, possibly even making them stars out of the process. If you're going to have Jerrelle Clark v. AJ Styles, there's no reason you can't give them 6 or 7 minutes to work their match as opposed to 3.

• You'd still have time left over for you interview segments, PPV plugging, etc.

Something as simple as that would make Impact VASTLY better than it is now.

 

- Yet if they shared a significant part of the offence with a mostly unknown wrestler, they would "lose credibility". People whinge.

 

I would disagree. Certain guys - like Abyss - can get away with squashing people, because that's part of their gimmick.

 

But as I said before, if you're going to put AJ Styles, or Christopher Daniels, or Chris Sabin in the ring with an indy worker who can go, there's no reason to make that match 3 minutes long when you can give them at least 6 or 7 minutes and let the match be competitive. Fans are smart enough to realize that, inevitably, the TNA guy is going to win, but there's no reason not to make the match as exciting as possible. This would not damage the credibility of the TNA wrestlers, and could possibly even build up some of the indy workers they've been using (who I guess are from NWA Florida? There's rumors they want to give these guys contracts anyway).

 

- And if TNA puts regulars against regulars, they're giving away PPV matches for free. People may not whinge, but it's not smart business.

 

 

So as far as I can tell, they're in a no-win situation

 

There's no excuse for not having at least one PPV quality match on Impact every week. At least one - EVERY WEEK. The PPVs are supposed to be sold primarily on their storylines - so there's still plenty of room for them to book matches between guys that have no current storyline against each other. If Raven is involved in a storyline with Sabu, then there's no reason he can't face, say, Irish Pat Kenney on Impact.

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

But it is a secondary TV show - their money comes from weekly PPVs. Why pay for what you can get for free? There is a very fine line between enticing people to get interested in buying the show and yet not giving enough away for free to satisfy them.

 

 

 

Oh, and with thanks to dictionary.com:

 

whinge    ( P )  Pronunciation Key  (hwnj, wnj)

intr.v. Chiefly British whinged, whing·ing, whing·es

To complain or protest, especially in an annoying or persistent manner.

 

 

That's about as perfect a word as I can find for what I'm seeing here.

Yeah, but notice it's British. Here we say "Whine" without the annoying "G".

[Guest MikeSC]

Hang on, let's get this straight.

 

- When TNA's bigger names like Raven and Jarrett don't wrestle on Impact, people whinge.

The lack of JJ was actually one of the good things for Impact early on.

- When they do wrestle and squash indi wrestlers, people whinge.

Well, squash matches on TV went out of style about 8 years ago. I guess they could argue that it's a part of their old-school style, but it probably wouldn't sell.

- Yet if they shared a significant part of the offence with a mostly unknown wrestler, they would "lose credibility". People whinge.

The curse of, you know, SQUASH matches.

- And if TNA puts regulars against regulars, they're giving away PPV matches for free. People may not whinge, but it's not smart business.

Seeing as how their PPV buys aren't going up --- nor are their ratings (you don't see TNA bragging, do you?), it's obvious that their current plan is doing a bang-up job of failing miserably.

 

The definition of insanity is to do the exact same thing over and over and expect a different result.

So as far as I can tell, they're in a no-win situation.

TNA put themselves there.

But it is a secondary TV show - their money comes from weekly PPVs.

Then why spend money on a glorified SECOND Xplosion show? This show isn't, ya know, cheap. And they have a better shot at turning profits on the TV show (since they can sell the ad time and keep the money) then on the PPV.

 

Besides, TNA is not nearly strong enough in terms of quality to have a secondary TV show.

-=Mike

[TheBigSwigg 0]

I would have to say my problem isn't necessarily the booking in general, as Xplosion is all squash matches, and I tape that. It's the fact that they are PAYING GOOD MONEY to put a second Xplosion on the air and acting like it's the shiznit. Impact should be the Smackdown to the PPV's RAW. Good matches that develop feuds, etc. NOT jobber matches, squash matches and the like. The first few weeks were great, and now it's dwindled to pish posh.

 

This is why I am giving into the dark side....

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

When impact first started I was happy that Id get to see TNA and possibly start ordering the PPVs if I liked the show. But then Comcast shoved it in the midnight saturday slot and Directv dropped the PPVs and now I really cant sit through a 1 hour show of 2 minute squash matches that is nothing but hype for the weekly PPV I cant even order.

[iggymcfly 0]

I watched Impact for only the second time today, and god was it awful. NOTHING entertained me. People are right that they really can't afford to put on shows this bad, when it's the only exposure most people have to the product.

 

I obviously don't know as much about the product as a whole as most of the people on here, but as a new viewer I think I can say what they really need to change if they want to hook people with Impact.

 

1. Don't let any non-TNA talent wrestle. Ever. If you really want to have a squash, just use existing TNA lower-card wrestlers. The idea is to get people familiar with the wrestlers, so even if somebody continually loses, at least people will know who they are. All these new indy wrestlers coming in every week does nothing but make everyone on the show feel interchangeable, to the point that the show becomes incredibly repetitive and dull.

 

2. Do more non-wrestling segments. Again, you're trying to make the audience care about the wrestlers, so please, just do something to let us see what their character is. Raven's supposed to be good on the mic. Let him talk for a while. Or do a basic angle where he or Sabu puts the other one through a table or something. The only way the Impact audience learns anything about the characters right now is through the announcers' commentary or their "six points of impact" which shows one character for 30 seconds each show.

 

3. Try to show at least one segment that people really want to see. Again, the placement on the card of the people they show isn't all that important. But give at least one hot main event match, or one good angle where the result is treated as moderately important, and the action is entertaining. You have to give the people a reason to tune in next week before you'll ever get them to tune in to a PPV.

[Twisted Intestine 0]

Did I mention that HJD is the most talented member of team Canada?

 

Stop under-using him!

[Exslade ZX 0]

1. Don't let any non-TNA talent wrestle. Ever.

:o ....but seriously, that's where some of their best matches come from, the non TNA talent. For instance...I don't remember, if on this board necassarily but at a lot of boards..two of the highest rated matches were the Batts/Kash and the Team Canada/Jarelle Clark, other guy. I know I for one...the last few weeks, have been entertained by Clark, and Batts a hell of a lot more then say..if they were to book D-Ray, or Sharkboy on Impact again. I like the indy talent they use...as long as it's a talented indy worker though. And the two matches I mentioned..weren't completely squash matches even though they had 'jobbers' in the match. So I see no problem with the nonTNA talent. Maybe cut down on them? Yes, ,because I really dont want to see a Jarett match, squash or not..and I'd much rahter see...the POOOOUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNCCCCCCCEEEEEEEEEE~! on someone important. But still some of their indy wrestlers are great..which was the point I was making.

 

And another problem with things like this..I think I've said before..is the fact that all their talent isn't available. It's not like they can just ship all of their roster from Tenn. to Orlando every few days...They only take a few, (which can be seen by the backstage pics at nwatna.com) and they really wouldn't be able to 'showcase' as much I guess you could say, without the indy wrestlers.

[Guest Donners]

I would be perfectly happy with them using their non-main event talent - provided that they book them well, and by that I mean book them in decent matches. Matches that aren't squashes.

I think it's important they carry the major feuds onto Impact to give a sense of their importance. It's also probably best for casual fans to have a few people they can recognise, and I think the majority would remember Jarrett, Raven adn co. Since Impact's very basis is more action and less talk, they may as well have those guys actually wrestle.

 

 

- When they do wrestle and squash indi wrestlers, people whinge.

 

Because there's no need for them. Absolutely none.

 

There's no need to have something like 6 matches per show, and have (essentially) all of them be 2 or 3 minute squashes - there's NO point to it. In THEORY it's to get the TNA guys over, but really, outside of aberrations like Goldberg, wrestlers get more over (ESPECIALLY on the indy scene - which at this point, TNA is STILL a part of) by engaging in entertaining, competitive matches, rather than 3 minute matches against jobbers.

 

- Yet if they shared a significant part of the offence with a mostly unknown wrestler, they would "lose credibility". People whinge.

 

I would disagree.  Certain guys - like Abyss - can get away with squashing people, because that's part of their gimmick.

 

But as I said before, if you're going to put AJ Styles, or Christopher Daniels, or Chris Sabin in the ring with an indy worker who can go, there's no reason to make that match 3 minutes long when you can give them at least 6 or 7 minutes and let the match be competitive.  Fans are smart enough to realize that, inevitably, the TNA guy is going to win, but there's no reason not to make the match as exciting as possible.  This would not damage the credibility of the TNA wrestlers, and could possibly even build up some of the indy workers they've been using (who I guess are from NWA Florida?  There's rumors they want to give these guys contracts anyway).

 

Indeed, but I think there is a concern that they want to be seen as above the indi scene, and make their wrestlers out to be stars. When WWE has even regular jobbers mostly squashing indi guys, there may be a negative perception associated with TNA midcarders giving them equal offence. If they do plan to offer them contracts...well, that's a different matter. A storyline where somebody goes in as underdog, puts in a great performance and is signed on-air to a contract is simple and could work. Still, I've yet to see anything much from the jobbers - and this is from somebody who became a big fan of Lance Storm when he got about two offensive moves a match and no promo time, without having seen his excellent matches from years earlier.

 

 

 

- And if TNA puts regulars against regulars, they're giving away PPV matches for free. People may not whinge, but it's not smart business.

 

 

So as far as I can tell, they're in a no-win situation

 

There's no excuse for not having at least one PPV quality match on Impact every week.  At least one - EVERY WEEK.  The PPVs are supposed to be sold primarily on their storylines - so there's still plenty of room for them to book matches between guys that have no current storyline against each other.  If Raven is involved in a storyline with Sabu, then there's no reason he can't face, say, Irish Pat Kenney on Impact.

 

Realistically though, aside from perhaps Raven/Sabu, how many TNA storylines are enough to get people to buy a PPV? I'd struggle to think of any from recent times. I watch for the wrestling, so that's not a major concern for me, but as a distinction between PPVs and Impact, I'm not sure how effective it is.

 

To be fair, Impact did have AJ Styles main eventing against regulars several times - and as I recall several people complained here that it was making the shows formulaic!

[Guest Donners]

As a mostly random, but possibly helpful point, these are the numbers of Impact matches people have wrestled:

 

 

Seven

 

Frankie Kazarian

Petey Williams

 

Six

 

AJ Styles

Elix Skipper

Chris Sabin

Michael Shane

Bobby Rude

 

Five

 

Eric Young

The Amazing Red

Abyss

Monty Brown

 

Four

 

Chris Harris

James Storm

Ron Killings

Miyamoto

Alex Shelley

Jerrelle Clark

 

Three

 

Kid Kash

Chris Daniels

BG James

Shark Boy

Konnan

Sonjay Dutt

Chase Stevens

Abismo Negro

Mr. Aguila

Andy Douglas

Nosawa

Mikey Batts

 

Two

 

Jeff Jarrett

David Young

D'Lo Brown

Hector Garza

Sabu

Dallas

D-Ray 3000

Kid Romeo

Lex Lovett

 

One

 

Rod Strong

Sonny Siaki

Raven

Simon Diamond/Pat Kenney

Heavy Metal

Johnny Devine

Chad Collyer

Hotstuff Hernandez

Onyx

Jeff Hardy

Alistair Ralphs

Antonio Banks

Mark Laurnoff

[Guest whitemilesdavis]

The first few weeks of Impact were great. Why did they throw away that formula? Let's say I actually enjoy watching Jarelle Clark. How does that make me want to buy the PPV, when he isn't gonna be on it? This is NOT their secondary show, this is their only show. A PPV is something you must entice people to actively seek out and buy, at which point you are still only gonna get a small portion of your regular audience. This show has to be great, in order to draw more viewers, so that the small portion that order the PPV will end up being a larger number. This show is not great. It doesn't encourage me to watch it, much less cough up $40 a month for PPV.

[eirejmcmahon 0]

Any word on ratings over the last few weeks ?

[Guest Donners]

According to the Observer, "TNA's "Impact" on 7/16 did a 0.34 rating".

[Placebo Effect 0]

According to the Observer, "TNA's "Impact" on 7/16 did a 0.34 rating".

I'm shocked they're still doing well.

[TNABaddboi 0]

According to the Observer, "TNA's "Impact" on 7/16 did a 0.34 rating". 

 

 

I'm shocked they're still doing well.

 

Me too. Even though I don't like the current direction of the show (the new and improved Xplosion), you have to give TNA credit for maintaining their audience from week 1 and 2.

[Guest whitemilesdavis]

The show is still young. Pick up the quality or you will lose viewers.

[haVoc 0]

They're going to lose more viewers now Time Warner dropped Fox Sports here in NY.