TNA Brand Extension?

[Mr. Dejan]

I was thinking recently with the Jeff Jarret Dixie Carter situation. Could TNA undergo a brand division?

Simply what this would entitle is that TNA creates Two different brands (For example Raw & Smackdown!)

As of Today December 22 2009
TNA has 58 Superstars On their roster.
Meanwhile WWE has 33 Superstars exclusive to RAW
37 Exclusive to Smackdown!
22 Exclusive to ECW

The question In my mind is Could TNA Undergo a brand Extension
I personally think they could but the only problem could be the number of superstars they have. If they added another 10 or so then i think it could be possible and now that Huk Hogan has signed on he could be eager to sign New Talent

Thoughts?

 

[HBK-aholic]

Not yet. First of all, it'd cost them a lot of money to pay for the making of another show - are they financially stable enough to do that? Secondly, I don't think dividing your talent is the best idea when you're not that well known or strong in terms of talent. They clearly have some great workers, but to carry 2 brands would be more difficult and depending when it was shown, the second show may not get as many viewers. They should stick with this formula for a few years to make sure the growth is not a fluke, and after signing new talent, look into separating then.

 

[Pedro08]

I do believe that TNA would benefit from a second show, but not a 'brand extension' where wrestlers are assigned to different shows. The second show should be like WCW Thunder or WCW Satuurdey Night, where it's just a second show where anyone can wrestle.

This would give TNA the oppourtunity to carry over story lines from one show to the next and more importantly, it gives TNA the chance to lengthen out matches instead of the 3-5 minutes we're getting now and to give underused wrestlers tv time.

 

[wolvdog316]

A second show? What the fuck is wrong with some of you. This company can't even draw mid 1's and you want them to have a second show. TNA needs to at LEAST be beating WWE's 4th show easily before we EVER start talking about a 2nd show.

Besides, if everything everybody is saying is true about Hall, Hogan, Nash, Bischoff then TNA won't be around another year. They will bury that company, and what do either of those men care, they did NOTHING to build it.

 

[Pedro08]

A second show? What the fuck is wrong with some of you. This company can't even draw mid 1's and you want them to have a second show. TNA needs to at LEAST be beating WWE's 4th show easily before we EVER start talking about a 2nd show.

Besides, if everything everybody is saying is true about Hall, Hogan, Nash, Bischoff then TNA won't be around another year. They will bury that company, and what do either of those men care, they did NOTHING to build it.

I guess you don't follow TNA. If you did, then you would know that a second show is coming. It's currently going to be the TNA Epics show that is shown in the UK. So I don't see what's wrong with people talking about a second show for TNA.

 

[NSL]

I do believe that TNA would benefit from a second show, but not a 'brand extension' where wrestlers are assigned to different shows. The second show should be like WCW Thunder or WCW Satuurdey Night, where it's just a second show where anyone can wrestle.

This would give TNA the oppourtunity to carry over story lines from one show to the next and more importantly, it gives TNA the chance to lengthen out matches instead of the 3-5 minutes we're getting now and to give underused wrestlers tv time.

This is the best idea for the show. Put it on Saturday evenings (7-8p?), and let it be a "B" show, without getting a separate roster. they can put tag title matches on there, a Knockout match or two, and let a mico-feud, like Suicide and Homicide, take place there. This gives Impact more time for the main event and X Division, and also lets them put less filler on the show.

For example, feuds of the past that could have been done on a "B" show include Cody Deaner/ODB, Suicide/Homicide (as mentioned), and Alissa/Hamada.

 

[johnbragg]

Put it on Saturday evenings (7-8p?), and let it be a "B" show, without getting a separate roster. they can put tag title matches on there, a Knockout match or two, and let a mico-feud, like Suicide and Homicide, take place there. This gives Impact more time for the main event and X Division, and also lets them put less filler on the show.

For example, feuds of the past that could have been done on a "B" show include Cody Deaner/ODB, Suicide/Homicide (as mentioned), and Alissa/Hamada.

Why not just cut the filler from Impact? Why is TNA always obsessed with getting more TV time instead of getting the most out of the TV time that they already have?

Why not limit talking segments to a time limit? I'm pretty sure that you can make any point that a wrestler has ever had to make in two minutes or less. If there are two points being made (by two different wrestlers), make it five minutes.

How many times have you seen a talk segment--in TNA or WWE, or even WCW, and thought, gee, they really needed an extra minute or two for that segment.

When your two hour show is somewhat disorganized and unfocused, with ratings declining from the start of the show to the finish, why is the answer always to add a second hour or a second show or move the show to Mondays?

If you've got nothing in particular for the world champ this week, why not make the KO or tag title match you have scheduled the main event?

 

[JoeDubb]

In terms of the brand extention, there is really no need for one right now. If they cut the filler and lame skits, you could make room for more talent. In terms of the 2nd show, I for one was disappointed when I heard it was going to be TNA Epics. I was very much hoping for the proposed All Knockouts Show, but it is what it is.

 

[Fuel The Fire]

I was thinking recently with the Jeff Jarret Dixie Carter situation. Could TNA undergo a brand division?

Simply what this would entitle is that TNA creates Two different brands (For example Raw & Smackdown!)

As of Today December 22 2009
TNA has 58 Superstars On their roster.
Meanwhile WWE has 33 Superstars exclusive to RAW
37 Exclusive to Smackdown!
22 Exclusive to ECW

The question In my mind is Could TNA Undergo a brand Extension
I personally think they could but the only problem could be the number of superstars they have. If they added another 10 or so then i think it could be possible and now that Huk Hogan has signed on he could be eager to sign New Talent

Thoughts?

My thoughts? well I really dont think tna is ready for a second show at all. I want to see how they shake things up first after the 4th. If they can start bringing in more money then we can talk a second show. Honestly though what they should do is on saturday mornings for the kids is have a recap show for them. That may help with the merchandise sale. But a Brand extension would not work its to soon for that.

 

[ABMorales787]

A second show can do good. They need to showcase their talent in the ring and the fact that its just 2 hour show doesn't work to fit a big roster and big storylines at once. They can have a second show (What Happened to X-plosion?) to focus more on the Knockout, Tag Team and X Division. It give iMPACT! more free time to focus on the stories and give more length to their matches. Of course before they focus on stories they need to center show around the Wolrd Title and not what Hogans objectives are. But a brand extension? WWE can't pull that one right. How can TNA make it better? A development territory would be better though.

 

[johnbragg]

Actually TNA does beat their 4th AND their 3rd show every week. Superstars normally gets like a .8 and ECW normally gets a like .9.

According to gerweck.net, Impact and ECW have both averaged a 1.15 this year, while Superstars averages an 0.86. The mean average looks like a pretty good reflection of performance week to week--there aren't a whole lot of weeks outside the 1.0-1.25 range. ECW and Impact were both doing better in the spring than they are now.

So TNA isn't beating WWE's third show regularly. The ratings are very comparable, to the point where I'd say it's splitting hairs to call one better than the other.

You can at least look stuff up b4 u post incorrect stuff

What you said.

 

[DexVendetta88]

I feel that a brand extension in TNA is far too soon. If they can barely make a 1.5 Nielsen rating each week on Impact, then what would be the point to add another show if the ratings aren't that great on their flagship show? What they should do is take Impact on the road, and use the ImpactZone for a weekend show of sort where anyone can wrestle, feature new talent, and push midcarders (especially those in the X Division) a little further (kinda like the old WCW Saturday Night). Plus they would also need a much bigger roster to do a brand split, roughly a minimum of 70 stars altogether, but that means spending more money to do it which they obviously don't have at the moment.

 

[kcordloh]

TNA COULD pull it off with their talent, but not with their booking.
The only way it could possibly work is:
1) Extremely well written and followed rules (no showing up on the other brand, only allowed in the same building on PPV's, cross matches have to be approved by the GM's (whatever's)). Changing talent from brand to brand would have to be done carefully. I would use a "contract" rule where everyone has a contract for various lengths, and loopholes to get out of one. Imagine if mid-2003 Brock Lesnar had popped up on RAW and said he was the new #1 contender for the World Title, he had used a buyout clause in his contract and paid $700,000 to be able to move to RAW. It would have been a "WHOA, that World Title means ALOT" and added alot to the value of the World Title and how much it means to be champion.

2) A real booking focus for the future.

I mean they could successfully use it to create some dream matches. They could put Joe & Wolfe on opposite shows, let them both dominate them for the most part, building to a match everyone wants to see. However, the way WWE uses theirs, ugh. It needs to be booked backwards from where they want to be 1 year, 6 months, 3 months, and 1 month from today.

TNA could pull it off. I would trust Heyman and Gabe and Cornette to book it effectively. But I don't trust their current writing staff. I might even trust Hulk with it, if he has a decent mind for booking. He has to remember that the reason Savage/Hogan was such a dream match was it was built to for a year.

 

[posterboyforperfection]

Are you kidding? a brand extension? this could be the worst possible idea. I hate the brand extension in WWE. having 2 world champions in 1 company makes the title more meaningless, the brand extension in WWE was ok at first having the Undisputed Champion competing on both shows like they are doing with the tag team championship now. 1 champion shows that they are the best in the company they are the top of the food chain.

 

[Big Ol' Buckta AIDS]

first they need to start competing with RAW. im not talking head to head but numbers wise. Impact and ECW get the same amount of viewers, and ECW is an hour, on some no name channel, and their biggest names are christian and goldust. if they start another show without even matching RAW, it will be a huge mistake

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'm not sure that TNA has the finances for it at this time or it would have done it. Several months ago, it was announced that TNA was going to launch a second show and, at that time, it was said to be a show devoted to the Knockouts.

However, that idea has clearly been nixed and the only other show on the books at the moment is TNA Epics due to hit the air sometime next year. The format of that show will revolve around showing older TNA matches and nothing more as far as I know. TNA either isn't all that confident that it'll have the finances necessary to carry a second show or TNA management is wasting an opportunity and airtime when it comes to TNA Epics. After all, if one wants to watch old TNA matches, you can join the TNA Vault for about four bucks a month unless TNA plans to put an end to that. I've heard nothing about that at all, so I think its safe to assume that the Vault will be sticking around.

Now, while I haven't been all that wild about TNA's leadership overall, I don't think Dixie Carter is quite dense enough to not put on an actual second TNA show if the company had the financial resources and stability to do so.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Simply what this would entitle is that TNA creates Two different brands (For example Raw & Smackdown!)

As of Today December 22 2009
TNA has 58 Superstars On their roster.
Meanwhile WWE has 33 Superstars exclusive to RAW
37 Exclusive to Smackdown!
22 Exclusive to ECW

The question In my mind is Could TNA Undergo a brand Extension
Thoughts?

While I do agree that 58 wrestlers and only one show is too much for one show alone, I don't think TNA has the money to launch a second brand yet. If they do, then I definitely think they could do a Raw/Smackdown type of setup which would split the roster in half and we get a second show in the process. I'd like to see that happen at some point, but they might not be ready for it right now. Maybe if they have a lot of success after January and get more money then it'd be more likely to happen than now because it would be more beneficial to just have one large roster for now.

 

[Judgeman03]

I actually think TNA could benefit from a brand extension. Their biggest problem talent-wise is that they have too many guys and nothing to do for most of them, which is why you get guys like Sheik Bashir leaving, and situations where they put guys together only because they want to have as many people on Impact as possible (World Elite, Prince Justice Brotherhood). I think a second show would spread the creativity of TNA even further.

In fact, I think TNA is in the best situation to split the brands now that they have ever been. With all of the new talent coming into TNA, and Impact moving to Mondays (allegedly), what better way to use that empty slot on Thursdays than to put it towards a new show for some of the guys who will most likely lose their spot on the main show. In fact, you could use that to ite up this power struggle storyline ala Flair/Vince in '02. Put Foley and Jarret in charge while Hogan and Dixie stay on Impact.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I detest the idea of "brands" as standalone subsidiaries of a larger company who's employees are forbidden from performing on the other program. That's McMahonism at it's best.

If TNA is to "brand" anything, branch out with EPICS or Xplosion, and use the time to simply showcase more of your lower-ranked programming like the X-Division and Knockouts by giving them TV-time they otherwise wouldn't get a shot at had they fallen out of the picture on the A-show. An A-show and a B-show a la Nitro and Thunder is A-OK with me. An A-Show and a B-Show a la Raw and Smackdown is not.

 

[maar130]

I think TNA is ready for a seond show, but not for a brand extension, maybe the way Raw and Smackdown were at the beginning.

Now everyone says that it will cost TNA a lot, wel that is not completely true unless you all are planning for them to have it on a different location, if not they can use instead of 2 set of tappings maybe 3 sets per month, if Spike is willing to give them their slot like is rumored, the only thing they need to do is to may change something to make it look as adifferent show. That is why ECW is tapped before Smackdown and Superstars is tapped before Raw and ECW. I know is not only involves the time and the facility, also edition and production, but if the same team is working already they can cut the material (I know there will be extra hours for the employees but the way Impact is edited, this will help them get better throught constant work).

Spike is giving them the opportunity, they should at least run along with it even if they fail, but not a brand extension because that would be a bad copy of the WWE one, they need to distant themselves from that.

 

[gd]

I could see them doing this eventually, but not right now. If they're going to go head to head with the WWE, they need their full resources. Splitting people up wouldn't be a very good move at the moment.

They do have too many people for a 2 hour show though. As mentioned above, a separate show that is only an hour could be a positive. They certainly have enough depth and talent to make it happen. The only problem is, I'm not sure people would care that much. It'd kind of just be like WWE Superstars, which is the most pointless show ever. Nothing happens on it and you can't really have anything happen on it because very few people watch it. That's what the new TNA show would be like.

I'd like to see a brand extension in the future as it'd certainly be interesting and there are a ton of possiblities as far as how it'd play out, but now isn't the right time.

 

[ivo150]

They do not need another show, it is better to have one really good show going than have multiple shows which are mediocre!
TNA have a good thing going so they better keep it going and not jump the gun on things such as brand extensions because it will most likely bankrupt them!

 

[Kanye South]

I don't think they need a brand extension, just another show to showcase some of the people that might not get their shine on iMPACT. Kind of like Smackdown before the brand split. I think that TNA needs this with the influx of older guys coming in. Guys like Matt Morgan and Hernandez, who were recieving major pushes before Hogan, could get lost in the shuffle. But if this new show came to fruition, then they could be the main focus and remain over with the fans. This new show could feature guys like the Motor City Machine Guns and Jay Lethal. iMPACT can become a place where they feature the main guys like RVD, Hulk Hogan, AJ Styles, Eric Young, Samoa Joe, Desmond Wolfe, Kurt Angle, etc. but this new show can be for guys who are important but don't get enough focus on iMPACT, like D'Angelo Dinero, Matt Morgan, Suicide, Hernandez, Team 3D, Dr. Stevie, Raven, etc. If handled right, this could be gold for TNA.

 

[El Gato]

People should really get out of the habit of referring to all things pro-wrestling by their WWE name. "Brand Extention" is a WWE thing, just like "WWE Universe" and referring to their wrestlers as "Superstars." Once the fans start doing it too, it's like just subliminally admitting that everyone else is trying to be WWE. That's not what I want from my professional wrestling, I don't know about you.

 

[The English Poster]

I think this could be a good idea if done right. Id keep all the x division wrestlers together and maybe have one show focus on fast paced wrestling with an X division Tag Championship. I cant see this happening but think it could be done.