Me Vs. Vince Russo: TNA Leaving Spike TV, The Return Of The Six Sided Ring & More
Vince Russo can be called a lot of things and he has an idea that makes you think Ok, he knows what he is talking about and some things that make you shake your head. Russo wrote what could be said as an interesting column on his website ‘PyroAndBallywho.com‘ where he talked about the six sided ring, Spike TV and more.
He gives his takes, and then I will give mine, ready, set, go!
The possibility that TNA will leave Spike TV: “I am fairly confident that after nearly a 9 year run on Spike where they’ve been the networks biggest draw, they will either re-sign with the network, or, hop aboard with a new partner who can see the potential if the proper monies and resources were committed to the product.”
TNA is the highest rated show on Spike TV other than Cops and Bar Rescue. They pull a million viewers per week for that cable company. If they drop TNA, then I would be amazed. If they do get dropped, the countdown is on as far as TNA closing their doors.
The return of the 6-sided ring: “The concept from the get-go involving the 6-sides was that it would have separated TNA from WWE early on. That was one of the first conversations that Jeff Jarrett and myself had. If a viewer at home is flipping through the channels on a Thursday night and stumble upon a “new” wrestling show sporting a ring to the likes that they had never seen before, they just may stop and “check it out”. And, that’s all we were looking for in those early days of TNA—for people to just give us a look-see. When Eric came into TNA, the first thing he wanted was for the ring to go away—so the ring went away. I’m not too sure if anybody else who was there at the inception of TNA—agreed with his order, but nonetheless, it was here today and gone tomorrow. . And yes, there was no discussion—it was an order.”
Time will tell how fans react to it once they see it on a weekly bases. The idea is good and the direction from TNA about going in an opposite direction than WWE is welcomed. However, TNA can give us what we want for a bit, but can they keep it up, is the real question.
TNA is taping outside of the Impact Zone: Over the next 10 weeks, you are going to see some rabid—not only wrestling, but also TNA fans—on your television screen. Yes—things really DO matter when you have a paying customer who cares. My insiders are telling me that the NYC shows were INCREDIBLE—OFF THE CHAIN. If they’re as good as people are saying, this is going to give TNA a wave of momentum that they’ve never gotten before in the history of their business.
YES, it’s welcomed. Whenever you are live it makes a difference, whenever you are not in front of the same crowd over and over makes a difference. While they taped several and I mean several shows in NYC, which is a good thing, I just hope that the crowd does not get burnt out on the product and it turns into another Impact Zone. Yes, there will be only wrestling fans there, but seeing them over and over can burn a crowd out.