Guest Heppyhack Report post Posted September 11, 2004 Honestly, Cole and Tazz are a bit better.Matthews and Tazz are better. Don West has gone from amusing to grating in short order. And, I'll say it --- Josh Matthews owns Tenay at this point. Have to take your word for that, Mike, since I've not seen Smackdown for months, and last time I saw it they were dire together (which was disappointing since during the Smackdown six era they were on fire). Matthews I can agree with, but they never seem to pair him with anyone decent on Velocity - hence the commentary team rather than individual commentators. Statement: TNA may be better off aiming at building an international audience and selling their TV shows overseas than trying to build the US market any further. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MikeSC Report post Posted September 11, 2004 Rebuttal: I see nothing in their product that indicates success internationally on a consistent basis. -=Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Heppyhack Report post Posted September 11, 2004 Rebuttal: I see nothing in their product that indicates success internationally on a consistent basis. X-Division is a good selling point. There's some fairly well known wrestlers on the shows. It's got WWE-esque production values. Now that the weekly PPVs are stopping it should, hopefully, have a weekly TV product with decent quality matches and some well-known stars. It's consistently been one of the top draws on The Wrestling Channel here in the UK. With WWE getting arsey about the amount they want for their programmes overseas, dictating terms on PPVs etc, I could see Impact being an cheaper alternative for some international broadcasters. Hell, even WCW Worldwide was a semi-reasonable evening ratings puller on Channel 5 here before the axe fell Stateside. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Corey_Lazarus 0 Report post Posted September 11, 2004 X-Division is a good selling point. There's some fairly well known wrestlers on the shows. The X-Division has gone from an amazing display of athleticism and interesting spots with a basis on solid wrestling to two guys doing nothing but meaningless spots every other minute because the bookers don't like spotfests and refuse to let them tell a story in the ring. As for the well-known wrestlers? The most money-making wrestler in the company is Raven, as he was on top during ECW's most successful years in business and actually DREW money for his company (unlike JJ, who was on top of WCW and pushed fans away), and Raven isn't worth watching anymore, at least not in TNA. It's got WWE-esque production values. Eh...not really. More like a step above the local indy feds. Now that the weekly PPVs are stopping it should, hopefully, have a weekly TV product with decent quality matches and some well-known stars. It's consistently been one of the top draws on The Wrestling Channel here in the UK. Because you guys get the old, good shows, am I correct? I do remember my friend Tom over there telling me he was watching the four-team X-Division tag match from April '03 (my favorite TNA match to date; XXX vs. Lynn/Red vs. Cross/Sharky vs. Jonny Storm/Sabin) for the first time a few weeks ago. With WWE getting arsey about the amount they want for their programmes overseas, dictating terms on PPVs etc, I could see Impact being an cheaper alternative for some international broadcasters. True, but that doesn't mean TNA should focus on overseas fans, since they still haven't found out how to make their HOMETOWN FANS happy. Hell, even WCW Worldwide was a semi-reasonable evening ratings puller on Channel 5 here before the axe fell Stateside. This is because you guys over there don't have the abundance of wrestling we do in the States. We could, literally, drive to one of the larger towns in our area and probably find a flyer for an indy wrestling show. We could channel surf and find two indy promotions on TV. So having a ratings success in the UK doesn't really mean much, wrestling-wise, in the States. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MikeSC Report post Posted September 11, 2004 Man, when he gets to TNA preparing for their rumored 3-hour PPV --- he's going to REALLY hate that company. -=Mike ...Did JJ's win over AJ finish off the job of JJ's win over Raven? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Heppyhack Report post Posted September 11, 2004 More like a step above the local indy feds. But in, say, Europe, that's still lightyears ahead of the rest of the competition. And with Impact being shot in a studio, it's a damn sight better than filming on camcorders in a sports centre. Because you guys get the old, good shows, am I correct? I do remember my friend Tom over there telling me he was watching the four-team X-Division tag match from April '03 (my favorite TNA match to date; XXX vs. Lynn/Red vs. Cross/Sharky vs. Jonny Storm/Sabin) for the first time a few weeks ago. Pretty much, I suppose (and the match you reference is a blinder - and has a European factor in it.) We're six months behind the US which means we've got the Team Uk X-Cup match in a couple of weeks, which even UK fans are disowning. It's the alternative being offered that's the important thing here. When the only choice for wrestling is the WWE on Sky Sports, then anything is a welcome alternative. True, but that doesn't mean TNA should focus on overseas fans, since they still haven't found out how to make their HOMETOWN FANS happy. WWE are. They can't sell out a houseshow in the US, ratings are stable but low and not improving. There's a huge paucity of other high profile wrestling on this side of the Atlantic at the moment. Anything with some relatively big name stars will draw here. Genuinely. They could probably fill a 3000 seater venue with paying customers in the UK if they wanted to aggressively market themselves over here. Could they do that in the US? This is because you guys over there don't have the abundance of wrestling we do in the States. We could, literally, drive to one of the larger towns in our area and probably find a flyer for an indy wrestling show. We could channel surf and find two indy promotions on TV. So having a ratings success in the UK doesn't really mean much, wrestling-wise, in the States. My point exactly. We don't have the abundance of wrestling here, and what we do either tends to be kids, veterans or tribute acts. Across Europe it's very similar, AFAIK. Untapped market - something they don't have in the US. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Staravenger Report post Posted September 12, 2004 No wrestling production crew can top the WWE, but TNA's isn't TOO bad. It just seems half-assed because WWE strives for the best possible. They can make a stupid angle like Lita/Kane/Hardy good with a well produced video. TNA can't do that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
