Many of you have probably already heard the news, but TMZ Sports reported that Spike TV has told TNA Entertainment that they will not be renewing the deal for Impact Wrestling when it comes up in October. Though I don't personally like giving TMZ credit for anything, seeing as they broke the story it's only fair I link the information here.
The video above is my personal, rambling thoughts on the situation, but I wanted to use this text space to talk about why I am saddened by the news and hope that the company finds some way to continue, even in a smaller capacity.
I actually stumbled upon TNA Impact in early 2006, shortly after it got onto Spike TV. I had been back into wrestling for about half a year (I had initially left the wrestling fandom when Wg
CW started to tank), and came across the program while flipping through channels.
It was a unique week to watch the show, as it was Christian Cage's first week as NWA World Heavyweight Champion. Considering I had seen Christian on SmackDown just a few months before, I was intrigued, and when I saw Sting and Jeff Jarrett were continuing a feud, I started watching consistently.
I still remember the day the first Kurt Angle to TNA promo aired on Spike. (I hadn't watched the most recent PPV where he'd appeared via satellite.) It was one of the real moments where I marked out simply because of the quick turnaround from his leaving WWE.
Over the years, I watched the product pretty consistently and bought quite a few of their more notable events. They felt like a less expensive alternative to the WWE product, and I was really happy with that, especially around 2008-09 when Raw began to stagnate in my view and TNA was producing better TV consistently.
Unfortunately, the product started to feel very directionless about four months into the Hulk Hogan era and 2010 proved to be a bad year for wrestling. Eventually, WWE found its mojo again with the CM Punk 'Pipe Bomb' promo in 2011.
TNA... really never got it going again.
For a period of time in 2013, it seemed like they had it again. I was interested in the Aces & Eights stuff (well, most of it), the Knockouts were having top-level matches again and it felt like they were finding a balance between in-ring stuff and storylines.
I'm glad to say I attended the Las Vegas tapings that summer because about a month later, the bank broke for the company and people were being sent out in droves. Storylines very clearly were being altered and the show lost all its forward momentum.
Since 2014 started, I have gone back to only reading reviews, but at no point have I given up on the company's ability to get back to their old level. While I thought it was wise to reduce their number of PPV events and even have advocated that they drop to one PPV a year or even none at all, I have certainly hoped the product would improve and that it could be a big deal for Spike TV.
Unfortunately, the big increase in viewers never came.
I really do hope TNA finds a way to continue without the Spike deal because they are good as an alternative company that can provide a real wage outside the WWE spectrum.
And it's not like they don't have options (though they are limited). The Fox Sports networks need something to pop their ratings. WGN has a history with WWE programming and might be willing to get in the game. Various premium channels probably need to fill space. And online broadcasts through Netflix may be an option.
I don't know how plausible any of those are, and striking some kind of 11th-hour deal with Spike may be the most likely shot, but I wouldn't give up the fight just yet.
Though no one likes the prospect, there is always the chance that the Carters could unload the company to another group, which could allow TNA to move to another country or scale back down to independent level for a time. Their name would still be out there, and it could buy them a year or two until they can strike another deal.
If, in fact, TNA is finished, I hope the Carters can sell to Sinclair so that maybe Ring of Honor can get a push out of the situation. Maybe Spike won't give up wrestling entirely and we might see ROH, Jeff Jarrett's GFW or even NJPW on the network.
Either way, some company needs to step up, be it TNA on another network or one of the others, or this whole situation will be a huge blow for wrestling.
TNA may not be perfect (heck, I'd argue much of the time they aren't even watchable), but they've always at least been an alternative and have tried to do right by most of their talent. I've been an off-and-on fan for years and hope the next few weeks aren't the last of the company. I also hope the product is solid enough that I can watch the last few weeks.
Regardless of how this mess turns out, I thank TNA for the years I did enjoy the product and wish all involved the best of luck in the coming months.
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