Super Duper Major Announcement at No Surrender

[Guest Connzilla]

Lance Hoytt is Returning.......................................................................

.uh.................................wait that was annouced on the podcast...........................................boy do i have egg on my face

[Guest Hotbutter Spoontoaster]

Brian Cantor can confirm that the announcement TNA has planned for this Sunday's No Surrender pay per view is that Spike TV has granted TNA a two hour Monday night slot in the same timeslot as WWE Raw on USA.

[Bruce Blank 0]

So now TNA & WWE go head to head over the ever dwindling group of core viewers? hmmmmmm

 

Although if it makes Vince try harder it may actually have an upside to it

[The Amazing Rando 0]

They'd better be airing live every week or they are screwed.

[gWIL 0]

Brian Cantor can confirm that the announcement TNA has planned for this Sunday's No Surrender pay per view is that Spike TV has granted TNA a two hour Monday night slot in the same timeslot as WWE Raw on USA.

 

If this is true, then wow. I for one will watch TNA, but this will be very interesting.

[RedJed 0]

Holy shit - big news there --- I wonder WHEN this will go into effect.

 

Now is the time for TNA to get their act completely together - theyre doing ok right now but the roster and booking is not cohesive enough to compete with Raw right now, but I think it could be in 2-3 months time. A new transition needs to be taken place with Joe as world champ dominating by this time, that much is for sure. Jarrett needs to be in the mid to upper card but away from the belt ASAP. Leading into a head to head battle w/ Raw with Jarrett on top will shoot them in the foot from the get-go, that much is clear.

 

Something tells me this will open the door to Goldberg coming in, also. I actually thought the ppv announcement was going to be that he was coming in and taking on Joe at Bound for Glory, but apparently not.

 

I'm sure I will have more thoughts on this later when I am able to process the potential of this more.

[RedJed 0]

So now TNA & WWE go head to head over the ever dwindling group of core viewers? hmmmmmm

 

Although if it makes Vince try harder it may actually have an upside to it

 

It will DEFINATELY have an upside. Wrestling viewership was shitty as all hell back in 95 when Nitro came on board. Competition will help here ALOT for both sides.

[hyperchord24 0]

So now TNA & WWE go head to head over the ever dwindling group of core viewers? hmmmmmm

 

Although if it makes Vince try harder it may actually have an upside to it

 

It will DEFINATELY have an upside. Wrestling viewership was shitty as all hell back in 95 when Nitro came on board. Competition will help here ALOT for both sides.

Wow. This is big. I've always said that competition is the only thing that's going to jump start this business. Look at it this way, DX has someone(thing) else to feud with. Oh and they have to be live. They would be stupid not to.

 

They're going to get destroyed in the ratings, but hopefully they'll be around long enough to make the WWE watchable again.

 

EDIT: Who is Brian Cantor anyway?

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Assuming this is true, they either need to get the World Title off Jeff Jarrett, or have him lose it on the very first Monday Night TNA (or whatever they decide to call it).

 

They better get their booking together ASAP as well. They've really lost me lately, as someone who was looking for an alternative to RAW and Smackdown. I think I enjoy ECW more than TNA right now, and that says a lot.

[Twisted Intestine 0]

Can someone explain to me how going head to head with RAW can be anything but good for TNA?

 

If they have their roster tied down to contracts, and are currently scoring an average of (.7?) ratings.. what can going head to head with RAW do to destroy them? Ratings will surely pick up for Impact!, or at worse stay the same.

 

I guess what I'm asking is.. If RAW slaughters them in ratings, but TNA has the same number they have now, or more likely higher, how's it any worse for TNA than being on Thursday nights and getting that rating?

 

I wasn't really a fan during the Monday night wars, so I guess I don't fully understand how it works.

[AlaskanHero 0]

I'm wondering who the hell is Brian Cantor? Why should I believe what he says?

 

Anyways, if this is true, then this is big, a turning point for the company and in a few years we'll look back and either say that this was TNA's greatest victory or their biggest mistake. This is a sink or swim situation for TNA and they have a lot of things they need to do. Going head to head with RAW is basically a declaration of war, so they have to do everything they can to keep their roster from being raided. They gotta advertise, do the bold thing and buy some advertising time during RAW. I dunno, this just seems like a bad idea, but it is a bit of a feel good story, TNA going from a weekly PPV promotion that no one thought would survive the first three months to one about to go head to head with WWE.

 

Still, I find this kind of hard to believe. Has Meltzer said something about this?

[Guest]

I'm going to watch TNA out of principle.

[hyperchord24 0]

Can someone explain to me how going head to head with RAW can be anything but good for TNA?

Yes, the ratings should increase, if only b/c of the earlier timeslot. However, it's the expectations that may kill TNA. If people expect another ratings war, TNA has to run the home run angle, much in the way NWO was for WCW. If the execs expect huge RAW-esque numbers, TNA will be cancelled, and that blow could do the company in, that is if Vince doesn't buy it -- you know it'll be on his mind if this truly becomes a ratings war and TNA garners more attention.

 

Initially, yes, this is good for TNA.

[Guest NateW]

from the Observer website

 

The big surprise that will supposedly change the entire history and face of the industry that TNA is promoting for Sunday's PPV is the return of Vince Russo.

 

In a panic move driven by the decline in ratings (which has been across the board for every pro wrestling and MMA TV show and not specific to TNA), the company has hired Russo to join the booking committee. Russo will work with Dutch Mantel and Jeff Jarrett. Mike Tenay and Scott D'Amore have been taken off the committee. It's unclear where Jeremy Borash stands.

 

The company has given Russo guidelines that there can be no sleaze on its wrestling shows, whatever that is supposed to mean. The announcement will be made to the wrestlers over the weekend.

 

At this point it is unclear what this will mean as far as personnel, but there will likely be a shake-up there as well. At this point we have no indication that any major players will be quitting immediately over this, although some will likely not renew their deals. The announcement does kill dead the Bill Goldberg negotiations

[Enigma 0]

Yes, Meltzer said the big surprise is the return of Vince Russo.

[spman 0]

Vince Russo? What a fucking joke. This company is going down the tubes faster then WCW, and it's a real shame too.

[chaosrage 0]

I know I'm probably going to be the only one to say this, but after listening to hours of Russo shoots over the past month, this news actually makes me excited. I think he has a better mind for wrestling than most fans give him credit for. Honestly, I'd rather watch the title get put on David Arquette for a week than watch Jeff Jarrett or John Cena have the title for a year. At least his shows won't bore us to death.

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

So it's Vince Russo and not the timeslot or is it both? One without the other doesn't really do anything for me, but together I think they live up to the hype Dixie Carter was selling.

 

Of course this means that TNA is going to try and out-wwe the wwe, which is a collossal mistake. Vince Russo actually hates actual wrestling from want I can remember, so expect the storylines and characters to be pushed, with the in-ring work becoming secondary.

 

I think going head-to-head with Raw is a solid, if gutsy, move. But if you truely believe in your product it is perfect because Monday Nights is the wrestling night, Raw will have it's regular audience of wrestling fans that might flip over to TNA in the programming lulls or commercials, and if TNA is offering the better program they might be able to keep some of that viewing audience. There is a risk of course that most of TNA's 0.7 viewing audience consists of WWE fans as well, meaning they could actually lose by making the move as VKM and the wwe will no doubt stack Raw to completely bury TNA. TNA's production value from the music, the arena and audience size, the music, when contrasted to the WWE's, will make TNA look like the minor leagues.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

Well...Truth should be happy. The only time he gets pushed is when Russo is writing.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

I'm more disappointed than anything. This is the biggest step back that TNA could possibly make. Russo has never been able to work well as part of a group, and his ideas were out of place when he was last part of TNA, which was three years ago. Couple that with his inability to write any other style but a Crash TV style that lacks logic and cohesion and any semblance of credibility and you can point to this being the beginning of the end. It wouldn't be so bad if when Russo flops, which he will, they get rid of him, but his best friend runs the show so that isn't going to happen.

[tominator89 0]

It's interesting watching people's reactions from excitement over the new timeslot to disgust with a Russo return.

[Just John 0]

Didn't TNA already make this mistake once? This company is retarded beyond belief.

[BUTT 0]

I'm sure Jim Cornette is thrilled over this.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

I'm sure Jim Cornette is thrilled over this.

I would love to see Cornette shoot on Russo on Impact. That would be priceless.

[geniusMoment 0]

I would love to see Russo shoot back, considering Russo booked more money in one year than Cornette did in his whole fucking life.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

And which man did more long term damage to the business?

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

Maybes they're just using Russo to help them guide them book a longer TV show? I mean he was with them when they did 90mins, he does have the experience from WWF and WCW. I'm not saying its great he's joined them, I'm just hoping theirs more to it then ... well, it just being him.

[Pegasus Kid 0]

Someone let me know when Russo is once again fired and the show isn't ass.

[Downhome 0]

From PWInsider:

 

UPDATE ON TNA'S 'SURPRISE', MY THOUGHTS, AND THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION EVERY TNA FAN HAS ASKED

by Mike Johnson @ 4:10:00 PM on 9/21/2006

 

PWInsider.com has confirmed Vince Russo will be returning on a creative level to TNA. Where that leaves the rest of the creative team at this point is undetermined. A number of TNA personalities were informed this morning about the decision. I believe an official announcement to the crew will take place prior to the No Surrender PPV. There is already frustration among several in the company fearing morale is going to crash with Russo's re-emergence as his track record has always been to put everything else before wrestling creatively and the company's calling card in it's best days has been it's in-ring performances.

 

It's been well documented in recent weeks that the company has needed to do something, but given the past track record of those involved here, I don't know that this was the move to make. Still, it's unfair to judge anything until they get through the first PPV and TV taping this week. They are already going to be running uphill since (unless there's a second announcement and this is all a major swerve on TNA's part, which would be genius, but I doubt it), the hope and hype for the announcement built to a major letdown, which to many long-time fans, constitutes something Russo has always done in the past.

 

Nearly every email I've gotten in the past two hours circles around the status of Jim Cornette in TNA. At this point, he's still with the company, who want to make sure he remains as his segments do well on television.

 

When Russo and Cornette cross paths, I'm sure everyone will be waiting to see what transpires. There's a long history of dislike on Cornette's end for what Russo booked in WCW to mock Jim Ross, including Cornette once challenging and spitting on Russo's old writing partner Ed Ferrara. Cornette has made it publicly clear in just about every interview he's done in recent years that he felt Russo was a big part of the disintegration of the business in general and the two were political enemies when both worked for WWE. The feeling right now is that the two have to be kept far apart from each other or Cornette's run could quickly become a short one.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

TNA were at their best when they focused on a strong in-ring product, because not only did they regularly put out better PPV's than WWE, but because it was the complete opposite of what WWE is doing. Russo is just going to try and out-Vince Vince, again, and it'll flop miserably, again.