F4W/WON TNA Notes

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

See the WWE folder for the deal on this.

 

F4W~! - September 2, 2008:

 

A note from a Canadian about the upcoming PPV: "Just letting you know that I am attending the next TNA PPV in Oshawa, Ontario. It is clearly not Toronto, in fact you are lucky if you arrive their after a one to one-and-a-half hour drive on the highway. The marketing has been horrible, tickets are only available at the official Oshawa Arena website and no one has any clue they are coming."

 

[Personal note: As an Ontarian, the build-up of this PPV as being "in Toronto" (even when they SAY Oshawa) has annoyed me a great deal, so good to see someone else complaining about it]

 

TNA Video Game: See the Video Game folder for details, though Bryan thinks it may be a good sign that a poster was up at a game store and it was suggested they should pre-order this. He acknowledges this could be a work, though [and I imagine a few people will e-mail him to confirm this aspect of working in a gaming store].

 

Raven Lawsuit: So how would TNA manage to do all the expensive changes that would be required if Raven et all eventually wins their suit? TNA would likely have to run an Indy business model meaning all the TNA guys would work elsewhere if they wanted.

 

Tomko: He's not back (yet), just needed a payday since WWE didn't seem to want him and Inoki cancelled some of his Japan dates.

 

Konnan Lawsuit: Goes to court October 26, 2009. If both sides hold out that long.

[luke-o 0]

IIRC, hasn't Konnan got nothing to go on in his case?

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

He's got a lot of things that he feels are legit grievences...but the contract he signed should prevent him from raising them in court. ...and they pretty much all sound like crap anyway.

 

 

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

This is sort of "double dipping" but it was relevant to both TNA and WWE. Anyhow, as mentioned in the WWE folder's version of this thread, a premium news update today indicates Foley will be making an announcement tomorrow confirming his deal with TNA (currently believed to only be short term, though what this encompasses is expected to be expanded on tomorrow). He can start imminently.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

WON - September 3rd (8th):

 

Mick Foley: Foley's deal is a combination deal between TNA and Spike TV. Foley will likely have a television project with Spike. Some in TNA want Foley to debut immediately while others are wanting to wait until Bound for Glory.

 

Christian / Kevin Nash: It's 50/50 whether or not they re-sign with TNA or heads back to WWE, mostly dependent on how interested WWE is in them. Nash, of course, is telling TNA that WWE wants him and there is the possibility he could be a bodyguard for Lance Cade or work some tags with Shawn, but in his current condition one would question whether he could take on (or want) the WWE schedule. With Christian, any heat he had for his 2005 departure is water under the bridge. Now that emphasis on a muscular physique is at an all time low (due to drug testing), Christian seems to have nothing holding him back from a prime WWE position.

 

PPVs: In what Dave considers a surprising move, the November and December PPVs will be held in Orlando. He feels it was clear they "outgrew the place" when the last held a PPV there, but since out of Orlando PPVs aren't drawing large crowds, this is seen as a cost cutting measure.

 

Contracts: A big round of contracts are coming due in March. It will be interesting to see who WWE is interested in.

 

Miscellaneous:

* TNA is hoping to draw a 1.2 rating with Foley and the Sting/Jarrett angle.

* Moody Jack has been offered a deal to return.

* Bruno Sammartino taped a deal talking about Kurt Angle.

* TNA is giving everyone who attends the Manhattan Center show that Ticketmaster royally F'd up a free DVD.

 

 

 

[Steviekick 0]

I don't blame them for going back to Orlando for PPVs. I was at Hard Justice, and it was fairly empty.

[Scroby 0]

I think Christian going back to the WWE would be a mistake on his career.

 

The only place I could see him is maybe on the Raw title scene, but that's so overbooked right now with everyone and their momma wanting a title shot Christian would just get lost in the mess the title scene already is. If he got put on Smackdown, WWE would just keep him in Edge's shadow, and ECW wouldn't be a good place for Christian's return to the WWE.

 

I think it's smart of Christian to just stay in TNA.

[muzz 0]

I'd only be curious to see the reaction he'd get from the WWE fans on his return.

[geniusMoment 0]

Now that it looks like Gail Kim may come back after all TNA may actually be able to build. They have a strong womens division built around Kim, and hopefully Foley makes a difference. I'm not sure he will, but I really want competition.

[LuckyLopez 0]

I'm not sure the PPV thing is any kind of back track in business plan based on money or attendance. If I remember correctly the plan was for TNA to hold 8 PPVs outside Orlando in 2008. Against All Odds (SC), Destination X (Virginia), Lockdown ("Boston"), Slammiversary ("Memphis"), Victory Road (Houston), Hard Justice (NJ), No Surrender (Ontario), and BFG (Chicago) makes 8. TNA announced a fairly specific plan for 2008 as far as number of house shows and road PPVs.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Nonstop..._note-Marvez-14

In August 2007, live events coordinator Craig Jenkins stated that TNA intended to stage eight pay-per-views and 96 house shows outside Orlando, Florida in 2008.[15]

 

Running the last 2 PPVs of the year in Orlando seems less like a "surprise" and more like TNA following the business plan they laid out over a year ago. I'd expect that come 2009 they'll do 8 or more shows again, I would think they'd go for more what with the profitable strides they've made this past year and the acquisition of Foley, although the iffy PPV sales could slow them down.

 

 

They've done the "Live from Toronto" thing a bunch of times. Lockdown wasn't in Boston. Slammiversary wasn't even in Tennessee, let alone Mississippi. And BFG is apparently not in Chicago according to Wiki. Its a habit that has amused me for awhile and I was half expecting Hard Justice to come "Live from New York City!" or "Philadelphia!"

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

Now that it looks like Gail Kim may come back after all TNA may actually be able to build. They have a strong womens division built around Kim, and hopefully Foley makes a difference. I'm not sure he will, but I really want competition.

 

What's this?

 

Edit: I see, The Torch says Kim asked Dixie to come back.

[dubq 0]

A note from a Canadian about the upcoming PPV: "Just letting you know that I am attending the next TNA PPV in Oshawa, Ontario. It is clearly not Toronto, in fact you are lucky if you arrive their after a one to one-and-a-half hour drive on the highway. The marketing has been horrible, tickets are only available at the official Oshawa Arena website and no one has any clue they are coming."

 

[Personal note: As an Ontarian, the build-up of this PPV as being "in Toronto" (even when they SAY Oshawa) has annoyed me a great deal, so good to see someone else complaining about it]

 

Oshawa? OSHAWA?? Seriously.. could they have picked a worse and more obscure location? I mean, shit.. why not have it down on the Cahulawassee River while some inbred rednecks play banjo in the background?

[haws bah gawd 0]

The only reason I would like to see Christian back in WWE is so they can bring his badass "Just Close Your Eyes" theme out of the mothballs. If he went back, he would get lost in the shuffle with any brand except ECW which I really don't see him fitting in with. As much as I wouldn't mind seeing him back, TNA is where he belongs.

[cabbageboy 0]

TNA needs to come to Louisville for a PPV in 2009. They could at least run the Gardens, which is actually IN town unlike these other goofy locations. Knowing TNA they would book a HS gym in Southern IN and promote it like these other PPVs.

 

Speaking of this, why does TNA run these bizarre places that aren't quite in a major metro, but then market it as such? I can see why they have trouble selling tickets. If I could drive 10-15 mins. for their show, I would do so. But 90 mins or so? Eh.

[RedJed 0]

TNA needs to come to Louisville for a PPV in 2009. They could at least run the Gardens, which is actually IN town unlike these other goofy locations. Knowing TNA they would book a HS gym in Southern IN and promote it like these other PPVs.

 

Speaking of this, why does TNA run these bizarre places that aren't quite in a major metro, but then market it as such? I can see why they have trouble selling tickets. If I could drive 10-15 mins. for their show, I would do so. But 90 mins or so? Eh.

 

I'm sure it has to do with rent of the facility, and the fact that, in the arenas they have run out of, its a ton cheaper than the major market spots. TNA probably shouldn't run those huge markets quite yet anyway, until they can reach a goal of consistent solid house show business on a semi-profitable level with them.

[Timmy8271 0]

Now that it looks like Gail Kim may come back after all TNA may actually be able to build. They have a strong womens division built around Kim, and hopefully Foley makes a difference. I'm not sure he will, but I really want competition.

 

Wait a minute, I thought the women's divison was bulit around the Beautiful People/Kong vs Taylor/ODB?

[JRE 0]

I personally feel like Christian has accomplished everything he can in TNA. What else is there for him? I think it's a good time for him to move.

[The Truthiness 0]

I personally feel like Christian has accomplished everything he can in TNA. What else is there for him? I think it's a good time for him to move.

 

I feel the same way, he has feuded with everybody in the company it seems.

[RedJed 0]

To add to the notion that he's done all he can do in TNA (which I pretty much agree with) the fact that Edge is working the injury off TV would make a perfect opportunity to have Edge return, only with Christian by his side.

 

And although they never ever will do it, how cool would it be to see the return akin to something similar to when they were in The Brood? Consider that Edge apparently "got sent to hell" and it almost half ass even makes sense for them to rise back up from the proverbial flames, like their old Brood entrance.

[Zack Malibu 0]

The thing with Christian is that there's not much freshness on the WWE side of things. He's fought Cena, Jericho, Batista, Big Show, Undertaker, Triple H, Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, Shelton Benjamin, Edge, some of them in prolonged feuds. That's a vast majority of your uppercard scene right there. The argument could be made for Jericho, but when he came back he was plugged in with Randy Orton (whom he never feuded with) and JBL (whom he had barely even had any matches against IIRC in his earlier run). Personally, I think Christian is just as well off in TNA as if he returned to WWE. He might get a good return pop, but I don't think they'd push him as anything more than an uppercard at best type.

[JRE 0]

I think Christian could have good feuds with any of the people you named. The scene is entirely different. Plus... he never really had serious one on one feuds with most of those named. Besides Edge and Jericho. And the feud with Edge was surprisingly short (and part of the Alliance angle).. long before Edge was a headliner too. His feud with Cena never properly finished.

 

The thing is, he went to TNA and within a couple months was the Heavyweight Champion (IIRC, I haven't closely followed TNA). That's it, he did it, the top prize in the company. Since then he's done the heel thing, the face thing, the tag team thing, the stable thing, the Jarrett thing, the Sting thing, the Angle thing....and so on. He was Heavyweight Champion in a couple of months...in the WWE he spent all of his time in the midcard. He has more to accomplish in the WWE.

[Enigma 0]

The whole Oshawa/Toronto thing reminds me of when WWE goes to Duluth, GA but says they are in Atlanta. Duluth is not Atlanta.

[TigerDriver91 0]

I went to the 12/30 TNA house show in Oshawa and it was bitch to get to without driving. I also attended Bound For Glory 2006 and they said it was in Detroit when it was in Plymouth.

 

 

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

I probably would have gone to BFG 06 if it was actually in Detroit, AND been excited to do it. It makes me weep a little inside to know no such emotion to attend a TNA PPV will be occurring anytime soon.