The offical TNA thread - News, Spoilers and the rest...

Machismo Fan

Steiner vs. Brooke Hogan = buys.

Machismo Fan

This week is the much anticipated ODB/Eric Young weeding - inside a Steel Cage.

jaykhunter

I can only see TNA Creative patting themselves on the back for their insightful metaphor of a wedding in a cage!

Looking forward to seeing the Guns in action against the Joenas Brothers and I'm sure Roode & Storm will work their asses off to make sure they main event again.

CMpunked

Kurts officially out of the olympics:

Kurt Angle pulls out of Olympic Trials

Kurt Angle has survived steel chairs, low blows and dastardly double-crosses in the choreographed world of pro wrestling.
But Angle couldn't continue on the amateur circuit when his own body betrayed him with a series of injuries that ended his improbable run at making the U.S. team for the London Olympics.
On Thursday, the former Olympic gold medalist and TNA Wrestling star backed out of next week's U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Iowa. The 43-year-old Angle was planning on competing for a spot on the U.S. freestyle team headed to the London Games this summer.
Angle partially tore the MCL in his right knee during training on Monday to finish off the longshot bid. He also tore his right hamstring during a training session last month.
''I feel like it was a waste of time,'' Angle said by phone Thursday. ''Here I am, at the 11:30 hour, and I get the worst injury I've gotten in the last year. I've had four or five injuries, but I've worked around them. This one, I can't work around.
''There's no way around it.''
Angle understood his bid at making the Olympics was viewed with wide-eyed skepticism.
He never cared.
Traveling around the globe for TNA Wrestling, Angle found the closest mat around to the professional ring and pushed himself during training.
The 1996 220-pound freestyle wrestling gold medal winner in the Atlanta Games had scaled back his professional commitments for TNA and dedicated the last year to his Olympic dream.
US Olympic Team coach Zeke Jones advised Angle to withdraw from the U.S trials set for April 21-22 at the University of Iowa.
''We have such incredible, awesome competition, that with my MCL injury, they would have torn me apart,'' Angle said.
Angle said he will perform for TNA and wrestle Jeff Hardy at its Lockdown pay-per-view event on Sunday.
''In amateur wrestling, I have no control over what's going to happen to me,'' he said. ''My No. 1 priority is TNA Wrestling. With TNA, I can work around my injuries and still have a five-star match.''
He's the second high-profile wrestler this month to depart the trials. Cael Sanderson, the 32-year-old Penn State wrestling coach who won gold at the Athens Games eight years ago, said this week that he is also dropping plans to win a spot on the U.S. team.
Angle said he planned to wrestle in Iowa with the hamstring injury, but the MCL was too much overcome. He does not need surgery because the MCL was not completely torn.
''My foot slipped on the mat and my knee turned inward,'' he said. ''I knew right then I was done. I quit practice.''
Angle had to get back to the amateur basics, the style that made him a worldwide force in the 1990s that culminated with him on his knees as tears poured down his face when the referee awarded him an overtime decision over Iranian Abbas Jadidi in the 1996 gold-medal match.
Angle had been smarter this time around, training fewer hours and days, and feeling less pressure than in '96 when it was gold medal or bust.
Angle went from the amateur ranks to the WWE and became an instant star for the promotion. Angle was granted his release from his WWE contract in 2006 and signed later that year with TNA.
His injuries ended his shot at making Olympic history. The oldest Olympic wrestler to medal was Chris Campbell, who won bronze at 37 at the 1992 Barcelona Games. Angle turned 43 on Dec. 9.
''I really thought that I had a legitimate shot of at least making the team, or being an Olympic alternate,'' Angle said. ''At 43, no one's ever done it. I had that opportunity.
''I had that shot.''

I genuinely feel gutted for the man.

Machismo Fan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3VURTBKDhY

the groutch

Another TNA PPV with no title changes

:rolleyes:

Charisteas

I'm calling it now - Hulk Hogan vs Ric Flair at Bound for Glory in October.

GTR63

Charisteas wrote: »

I'm calling it now - Hulk Hogan vs Ric Flair at Bound for Glory in October.

If that happens I will vomit.

Charisteas

GTR63 wrote: »

If that happens I will vomit.

Wouldn't recommend anyone watching that match if they're queasy at the sight of blood.

rovert

Roode FINALLY got the 80s mop chopped:

jaykhunter

Canadians and their haircuts Wasn't a fan of his greasy perm in 2012 anyway!

Machismo Fan

Slightly better pic:

http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/quicknews/article_60496.shtml

During Tuesday's Impact Wrestling taping for Thursday's episode, TNA's "big announcement" and TV changes spoken through Hulk Hogan include the following three items:

(1) Once a month, Impact will be called "Open Fight Night." A talent from outside TNA will have a match to earn a slot on the roster. Three judges, and ultimately Hogan, will decide whether the talent receives a TNA contract.

(2) On "Open Fight Night," anyone on the current TNA roster can challenge anyone else, and the person must be ready to fight. This includes champions being ready to defend his or her title.

(3) TNA's TV Title, which is currently held by Devon, will be defended every week on Impact Wrestling.

I like the first one. If TNA actually use their extended network they could potentially have some really great matches.

jaykhunter

I'm down with that. Now kill off 3/4 of your PPVs and we're set! Anything that gets fresh talent onto TNA programs is good for me. And maybe Low Ki again. Dammit i want him in TNA.

CMpunked

Machismo Fan wrote: »

Slightly better pic:
roodes crop top chop

Good call, he resemblance to HHH isnt as obvious now.

GTR63

Only slightly related but I think Tna should do more tapings & a ppv over in the UK. That depends on themselves financially though.

jaykhunter

Unfortunately they'd rather piss away money on monthly PPVs, Hogan, Bischoff, Anderson etc than doing something obviously majorly profitable.

Anyway Mitch is right, Ireland's potential audience is too small for a RAW taping; you'll need to go to England for that.

gnfnrhead

GTR63 wrote: »

Only slightly related but I think Tna should do more tapings & a ppv over in the UK. That depends on themselves financially though.

Can't see them being dumb enough to try doing a PPV. If it goes out live, they won't start until after midnight, if it doesn't go out live i reckon the butyrate would be even lower than usual.

TV tapings they should definitely do. Maybe three or four times a year come over, record at least two weeks and then go back. They get bigger crowds in Europe than they do in the States.

gnfnrhead

The second one is a bit iffy for me. Why wouldn't everyone just go for Roode? The only reason not to would be if you are in a blood feud with someone else. Anyone else, it doesn't make sense not to go after the champion.

The other two sound great though. It's been a slow and painful process, but they appear to finally be moving in the right direction instead of the old two steps forward, one step back routine.

jaykhunter

If you're getting 7,000 US buys then it doesn't exactly matter! They're hardcore TNA fans, I bet most of them would still buy it.

Also they could get ~6000 paying customers in attendance in the UK, not free-entry Orlando. If UK PPVs start at 8pm (to 11pm) then in the US it'd be 3pm live. It's not the worst. Showing it on 5-hour tape delay isn't the most insidious thing ever either! Europe is where TNA's money lies. There's making nothing staying in Orlando with a dead crowd. Impact is never live so taping shows isn't the worst

gnfnrhead

jaykhunter wrote: »

If you're getting 7,000 US buys then it doesn't exactly matter! They're hardcore TNA fans, I bet most of them would still buy it.

Also they could get ~6000 paying customers in attendance in the UK, not free-entry Orlando. If UK PPVs start at 8pm (to 11pm) then in the US it'd be 3pm live. It's not the worst. Showing it on 5-hour tape delay isn't the most insidious thing ever either!

I know TNA usually get crap buy rates anyway, but I seem to recall hearing that all of WWE's UK PPV's bombed? TNA can't really afford to have a PPV bomb as they are probably only breaking even every month as it is, and even thats not a sure thing. If WWE couldn't get good buy rates, TNA definitely won't get enough to justify the expense IMO.

jaykhunter

I dunno how Insurrextion etc did but i thought WWE just figured they could make much more cash doing 1 RAW and 1 SD tour in Europe every year instead! If u find out figures lemme know.

TNA need about 20,000 buys per PPV to break even, they're currently circling the drain around 7,000 buys for the average PPV. Like I really think the US PPV-buying & TV-watching crowd would remain the same if they set up in Europe and just toured & taped a few days per month.

GTR63

I bought EVERY cruddy no Title change WWE UK ppv's then(think Crash beat Regal at one for the European belt at a Insurrextion or R3bellion) cause I was a good little "how much, no problem" fan then. I fondly remember my Brother being gutted that Val Venis vs Bradshaw never happened at Capital Carnage(but we did get to see Jaqueline's tits though). Can anything make Tna's buyrates drop lower though, a good event in front of a good crowd could help if they persist with doing a monthly ppv's.

GTR63

Devon wrestling EVERY week on impact, i'm getting tired just reading that. The 1st one might be cool if its Sonjay Dutt, Senshi or Okada coming in to have matches if its the Nasty Boyz, Kevin Nash or Orlando Jordan then it gets a big F**K off tna.
Two matches set for Sacrifice are TNA champion Bobby Roode vs No Job Bob Van Dam and AJ Styles vs Kurt Angle.

rovert

Id lol'd if Desmond Wolf shows up the 1st Fight Night only to get jobbed.

jaykhunter

Moved to the TNA Thread GTR i bought all of those PPVs back then as well :P the only one i didn't buy live was Global Warning.

That's definitely the problem, they shouldn't be offering monthly PPVs like, they're not as in-demand as WWE. Sure WWE started with just WrestleMania, then WM 2, then WM 3 & Series, and then in 1988 got the 4 PPVs. I think it was in 95 when they started in your houses. TNA came out with PPVs 12/year; horrible idea.

starviewadams

Haha I remember I was a massive babyface Edge fan,and when they announced him vs Lesnar for the title on some UK PPV I bought it without even thinking,because Edge was finally going to win the big one.Their 1v1 match was turned into Edge vs Lesnar and Heyman in a handicap match which had a DQ finish,I was absolutely gutted!

Riddle101

starviewadams wrote: »

Haha I remember I was a massive babyface Edge fan,and when they announced him vs Lesnar for the title on some UK PPV I bought it without even thinking,because Edge was finally going to win the big one.Their 1v1 match was turned into Edge vs Lesnar and Heyman in a handicap match which had a DQ finish,I was absolutely gutted!

I enjoyed that match, Edge looked really good and came out looking strong in the end, when he speared Paul Haymen. He actually looked like he could've won the WWE Championship that night.

Charisteas

Booo hiss to Kazarian and Roode getting their hair cuts - don't they know how cool ponytails are? :cool:

gnfnrhead

jaykhunter wrote: »

Moved to the TNA Thread GTR i bought all of those PPVs back then as well :P the only one i didn't buy live was Global Warning.

That's definitely the problem, they shouldn't be offering monthly PPVs like, they're not as in-demand as WWE. Sure WWE started with just WrestleMania, then WM 2, then WM 3 & Series, and then in 1988 got the 4 PPVs. I think it was in 95 when they started in your houses. TNA came out with PPVs 12/year; horrible idea.

I thought they would have copped on to that a few years ago too. They dont need 12 PPV's and look how well they can build Lockdown and Bound for Glory compared to the other shows. Thats because they start the build earlier and dont just throw it together. Six would even be enough imo.

But, I supposed once a month looks better than one a week like they used to do.

RE: RVD, what has he done in recent months to warrent a spot on the card, let alone a title match? I didnt even know he was still active!

jaykhunter

If I was advising TNA i'd tell them to do a PPV and a 3-hour 'super' impact alternating every 6 weeks. (i.e. 4 PPVs & 4 SNME-type shows each year).

Alternatively if spike would allow it, a three-hour impact once a month (except when there's a PPV, which'd be every three months). Either is better than losing money once a month with unnecessary PPVs.

gnfnrhead wrote: »

RE: RVD, what has he done in recent months to warrent a spot on the card, let alone a title match? I didnt even know he was still active!

His paycheque! This dude couldn't give two shíts, and why should he really. It's amazing how unmotivated he is - but TNA should shoulder at least half the blame.