TNA Sold Too Many Tickets in Wembly!

[Chrome]

- TNA officials decided to use a stripped down version of their Impact stage in London last week because they had sold too many tickets before deciding to make the show a TV taping. Instead of turning fans away, they went with the stripped down stage.

http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/tna...th_British_Legend_TNA_Lockdown_News_More.html

This is a great sign, but why is TNA so popular overseas and not in the states? Seems like people across the world love what TNA is and if they sold that many tickets in London then its going to look great on TV and hopefully gets them on the road more often.

However the question remains.. the SAME product being delivered in the states and across seas on TV has such a difference in opinion. Why are they so popular over seas? and not in the states in the same light?

 

[pkrebel]

I think maybe (and i'm only guessing) it's because it's a once off TV Broadcast of TNA overseas, So many fans in the UK don't get to go to an actual Broadcast show of Impact so this once in a blue moon of TNA actually broadcasting from England is a novelty to Impact fans in England and a must see.

 

[OneTooManyPunts]

It's the same reason WWE does massive gates when they tour Mexico, Europe, or Japan..it's a rarity. Non Northern American WWE/TNA fans may only get to see the product live once a year if that depending on the touring schedule. The big question is, despite the huge gate and attendance figures..does Impact sustain a good rating in the British television market? If it does, than it's a sign of growing success overseas, if not, it is just a one off attraction.

 

[jtolliver23]

I've heard that they have really good TV ratings in England and overseas in general. I just remember reading that somewhere awhile ago. Don't ask for a source please because it was months ago. But I do remember reading that they have good ratings there. I don't really have an answer as to why they do so well overseas as opposed to in the States. I would love for them to do better here, I think it would be good for wrestling in general if they did get better ratings. But also, the rating system here in the States is very bad. I remember a couple of months ago, one week TNA had more viewers than the previous week, but had a lower rating. Go figure.

 

[OneTooManyPunts]

Good point about stateside ratings and their overall accuracy. The one thing that ratings don't take in to account are the number of people DVR'ing, streaming, or just straight up downloading a a show after the fact.

TNA has to be doing better financially than just ratings would suggest. With the size of their roster, the monthly ppv schedule, and the sad fact that they give tickets away, you know TNA is eager to take every dollar possible from overseas gates. Also, while I have no real statistics to support this, I don't see their merchandise really selling too hot either.

Regardless, I am glad that they continue to stay in business, and while a bit off topic, I'm glad to see the product taking gradual steps towards improvement. TNA being a more successful promotion is definitely good for the wrestling business indeed.

 

[Mr.Wrestling]

TNA has grown a bit in the States, but I want to believe the UK should be there number 1 target spot. If TNA did more in the UK than they do in the States, they would make more money. Their income isn't knowledge I know, but the UK seems to love TNA a lot more than US fans.

 

[ECPirate37]

For TNA Ratings in England: Impact usually beats Raw by a pretty good percentage (sometimes almost doubling the audience). Then Xplosion beats Smackdown by about 50%.

I do not live there so I can't attribute reasons for it. But those are the numbers.

If I had to give an opinion, maybe it is because overseas there is not ingrained loyalty for either promotion, so they watch what they find to be the better program. As much as people complain about Impact, I find it more entertaining than WWE. However, I will not say that WWE is a bad product, I just like TNA better.

 

[rondiesel2005]

I think for whatever reason it seems like they always say it's expensive to go on the road. That is telling the fans that they are not making enough money to be able to go on the road more often. They always do good overseas in the UK and i think in the States, they just not getting a lot of the newer fans attention.

I think part of the problem is that there are not a lot of wrestlers that fans can connect with in order to continue to watch the product. They don't have that Larger Than Life Character. We can say Sting, Hogan and Flair, but those guys aren't bringing new fans to watch the product. They were trying to push this Crimson character so hard that fans just can't connect with him at all.

Somebody mention merchandise. You would here this all the time, if you go to Toys R' Us and u look for TNA action figures, there is not a lot of them or you won't find anything for TNA. The only action figures i saw was AJ Styles, Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash, Abyss, Jay Lethal and Desmond Wolfe and now i don't see them at all because they just not making any money. I don't know what how they doing on the merchandise, so let's assume they not making enough money. Maybe Jeff Hardy is the one that is making the most money.

I want to see them be successful, but I am not sure if they are making enough money for the entire year of 2011 because they reported before that they are not going to be going on the road any time soon

 

[dcarson108]

The reason why Impact beats Raw in the ratings is due to the channels they air on. Impact airs on basic cable channel while people have to pay for the channel Raw airs on. It's bascially if Raw aired on HBO instead of U.S.A.

 

[T2KFreeker]

The reason why Impact beats Raw in the ratings is due to the channels they air on. Impact airs on basic cable channel while people have to pay for the channel Raw airs on. It's bascially if Raw aired on HBO instead of U.S.A.

Okay, but that still doesn't explain the huge number they pulled in at the gate. That has nothing to do with what channel the show airs on.

 

[rated-r-patelstar]

hey

well actually living in the uk, most of you are right tna or wwe we only get 2 tours per year and they sell out like the 1st day or so beacuse we dont get shows and that, another reason that i think that is because they are us star we dont see all the radio/ tv segment the wrestlers do or a raw its one twice a week with one live and one repate the same with smackdown ect and well tna comes on a FREE channel so we can watch this only once a week. with miminal chance to watch or get to see live we tend to watch it more and want to watch it rather than not. personally from what i have seen WWE is bigger than tna here but past 5 year tna has caught up in term of fans and viewership in the uk.

in 1992 i think wwe came to the uk to wembley in london and sold out 80,000ish+ the highest attendace of wwe ever with a questionable wrestlemainia 2 being bigger and it is this that slightly annoys me where people talk about the nfl coming to the uk and it wouldnt make money truthfully it would not but WWE a ppv in the new wembley could easily hold 100,000 sell out with hate him or love him cena main eventing with well british born barret(hes from preston and not manchester which really annoys me)

 

[GameOver]

you mean WrestleMania 3. 97000, WrestleMania 2 was at 3 arena's
and WrestleMania 6 at the Toronto Skydome was around 70000
and where they questionable? the arenas were huge, same with the Skydome in Toronto and Wembley Stadium and you could easily see on screen that they were effectively sold out

Wembley still holds the record for the largest outdoor attendance record with the Rolling Stones does it not?

but TNA selling out Wembley? lol, i think they mean they could only pay for 5000 seats to be erected and they sold 5001 tickets including the staff and talent. LOL

 

[Monkey_Mania]

I think it has something to do with Europeans also liking Ricky Gervais. I kid I kid. Economies being different is one reason, also the taste in pop culture over there is different then it is over here. Also, WWE does great business overseas too. Most continents dont get treated as well as North America does when it comes to WWE and TNA coming over for events, therefore making the paying customer in Europe more willing to shell out their cash to see a live show. Still though, this is a great sign for TNA and hopefully they continue this trend of success.

 

[Shotaro]

Over here in the UK TNAs ratings are much higher. Though a not insignificant factor of that is that it's on free TV here in the UK where as WWE is not even on a standard satellite package it costs a bare minimum of £30 a month to watch WWE programming in SD, £40 or so for HD. I'm not saying that to disparage TNAs product but more to highlight that WWE is only really the biggest wrestling promotion in The US/Canada.

 

[WolfNyte]

T2 actually it does since people watch it for free it means more people watch TNA in England over the Pay chanel Sky Sports that Raw is on.

Therefore more people watch TNA cause it is free.

Tho from the report I heard the top two sections were not open and it was basically only field seats to begin with. Wembley holds 10,500 Max people TNA sold 8,100 tickets so thats not too shabby if its true.

 

[ABMorales787]

Well, one wonders why Soccer isn't as popular in the U.S. as it is everywhere else. Yeah, it's a weird effect. But TNA is making big out of this, so why question the weirdness? Maybe it's like David Hasslehoff thing and how he's "popular in Germany". Maybe it's because he sang in Berlin all that time ago, but whatever. Ratings are high there, so it was natural that revenue would be high as well. The Maximum Impact Tour has been their biggest draw house show-wise, so it's likely that they knew they'd do well if they taped an Impact there.

 

[kor420]

The reason why Impact beats Raw in the ratings is due to the channels they air on. Impact airs on basic cable channel while people have to pay for the channel Raw airs on. It's bascially if Raw aired on HBO instead of U.S.A.

I Have to pay my cable provider extra for spike, because it's not in the Basic cable package. I Have to get the extended basic package to watch spike tv.

I Hope this makes TNA go on the road more. Even if the crowds are small, the next time they come to the area and if tna put on a good show than those people would want to bring friends next time. Not to mention, the people that buy tickets on the road are wrestling fans and not those dull, don't know whats going on type of fans in the impact zone.

 

[TheWWEGuy]

As I am from the UK there is more reason to why TNA is doing better over here.

1. It is on free TV and Raw is broadcast on Sky Sports which you have to pay a premium for.

2. It is broadcast at 9pm on Challenge on Sunday so more people tune into that rather then watching Raw at 1am on Tuesday morning.

3. And on the point of the gate they pulled in. British fans only get to see at the most about two shows of wrestling a year so we have to try and get the most out of it.

I hope that that answers your question.

 

[TheWWEGuy]

Well, one wonders why Soccer isn't as popular in the U.S. as it is everywhere else. Yeah, it's a weird effect. But TNA is making big out of this, so why question the weirdness? Maybe it's like David Hasslehoff thing and how he's "popular in Germany". Maybe it's because he sang in Berlin all that time ago, but whatever. Ratings are high there, so it was natural that revenue would be high as well. The Maximum Impact Tour has been their biggest draw house show-wise, so it's likely that they knew they'd do well if they taped an Impact there.

That and the fact that Hasslehoff is born in Germany. Hometown hero

 

[steve6314]

Apart from the obvious point that we in the UK get impact on free television I think its worth noting we also get the PPV's for free so people watch the impact as a build up to the free PPV.
I also think for us british '10 percenters' seeing Doug Williams - a star on the UK scene for well over a decade before they signed, Desmond Wolfe (shame about his illness) and the star of the addmitedly awful uk version of gladiators Magnus helped build up a loyal core of viewers pretty quickly.

 

[Chess]

As I am from the UK there is more reason to why TNA is doing better over here.

1. It is on free TV and Raw is broadcast on Sky Sports which you have to pay a premium for.

I don't think I know anyone who does not have Sky Sports as it is essential for most males seeing as they have all the football, golf, NFL, cricket, F1 so I think that concept is false. I also tyhink you are regurgitating the same shit that you have read somewhere.

2. It is broadcast at 9pm on Challenge on Sunday so more people tune into that rather then watching Raw at 1am on Tuesday morning.

Yes TNA has a better timeslot but WWE shows are repeated about 3 to 4 times a week. Also challenge is a channel that NO ONE apart from old ladies would normally watch as it if full of TV shows from the 80's. People have specifically looked for TNA and have decided to continue to watch it.

3. And on the point of the gate they pulled in. British fans only get to see at the most about two shows of wrestling a year so we have to try and get the most out of it.

WWE comes to the UK 3-4 times a year doing different tours for Raw and Smackdown, TNA come once a year so again I dispute this claim.

I have attended both WWE and TNA shows here in the UK and I will add my 2 cents as to why TNA drew such a large audience, and NO it was not becasue it was a TV taping as no one knew this when the tickets went on sale.

When comparing live WWE and TNA shows you really feel the difference in the effort that is put in. For WWE the UK market is a tiny piece of the global pie that they are targeting while for TNA the UK draws substantial numbers (around 150-200k per episode, or 10% of what they draw in the US). Due to this I feel that WWE simply come across the pond because they feel they have to, they put on very weak shows both in terms of wrestling and the visual spectacular that we are used to seeing on TV. TNA on the otherhand really cares for the UK market and brings their biggest stars and puts on PPV quality shows that can include great matches like the Ultimate X. Yes TNA also has shoddy production here in the UK but you expect that as their TV show is weak in that department. When you first see a WWE show you expect big fireworks, great lighting and music but what you get is a man walking out from behind a curtain and no farfare, you get disappointed.

Having said that people need to realise that when TNA first came across to the UK they were putting on 5-7 shows here. They have now reduced that to only 3 shows as they were not selling well at all their shows, this means that the arenas are easier to fill as there are less tickets going around for everyone.

Finally it is Wembley.

 

[Heavens Vibe]

I don't think I know anyone who does not have Sky Sports as it is essential for most males seeing as they have all the football, golf, NFL, cricket, F1 so I think that concept is false. I also tyhink you are regurgitating the same shit that you have read somewhere.



Yes TNA has a better timeslot but WWE shows are repeated about 3 to 4 times a week. Also challenge is a channel that NO ONE apart from old ladies would normally watch as it if full of TV shows from the 80's. People have specifically looked for TNA and have decided to continue to watch it.


WWE comes to the UK 3-4 times a year doing different tours for Raw and Smackdown, TNA come once a year so again I dispute this claim.

I have attended both WWE and TNA shows here in the UK and I will add my 2 cents as to why TNA drew such a large audience, and NO it was not becasue it was a TV taping as no one knew this when the tickets went on sale.

When comparing live WWE and TNA shows you really feel the difference in the effort that is put in. For WWE the UK market is a tiny piece of the global pie that they are targeting while for TNA the UK draws substantial numbers (around 150-200k per episode, or 10% of what they draw in the US). Due to this I feel that WWE simply come across the pond because they feel they have to, they put on very weak shows both in terms of wrestling and the visual spectacular that we are used to seeing on TV. TNA on the otherhand really cares for the UK market and brings their biggest stars and puts on PPV quality shows that can include great matches like the Ultimate X. Yes TNA also has shoddy production here in the UK but you expect that as their TV show is weak in that department. When you first see a WWE show you expect big fireworks, great lighting and music but what you get is a man walking out from behind a curtain and no farfare, you get disappointed.

Having said that people need to realise that when TNA first came across to the UK they were putting on 5-7 shows here. They have now reduced that to only 3 shows as they were not selling well at all their shows, this means that the arenas are easier to fill as there are less tickets going around for everyone.

Finally it is Wembley.

Ignorant wasteman...Those are all 100% reasons why TNA does better than WWE in the UK, you'd be suprised as to how many people actually have Sky Sports, and even more suprised as to how many stay up until 2am to watch it. Challenge is for old people? Its a free TV channel, loads of people watch it. and lastly it was a recording, 3-5x a year is still not enough for hardcore wrestling fans hence they always go, plus TNA is cheaper than WWE and who would miss out a chance to watch wrestling at Wembley arena...

 

[He's Phenomenal]

The Unspoke Truth speaks a lot of sense.

The Sky Sports vs. Freeview argument is the weakest one I hear for why TNA does better than WWE in the UK and it couldn't be further from the truth. There are certainly enough Sky Sports subscribers for WWE to out draw TNA. I guarentee the highest rated show on UK telly on Sunday will be Chelsea vs. Man United in the Premier League. It will out draw any show shown on 'free TV' and will certainly outdraw repeats of 1980's Family Fortunes. Sky Sports would actually help WWE if anything because more people certainly know they have that channel than they even know Challenge TV exists. I only found out it was a channel when TNA started airing on it, and to top that I only found out TNA was airing on Challenge TV because I follow wrestling online. The channel shows repeats of old game shows (with no TNA adverts) for Christs sake, while Sky Sports shows the most popular thing (football) in the country and WWE is advertised quite prominantly throughout their programming. Sky Sports is a huge bonus for WWE and TNA would swallow WWE if they switched channels. People just simply don't want to watch WWE, even wrestling fans! I watch wrestling, have Sky Sports, but don't watch WWE. I watched the Royal Rumble match the other night and the product/roster is even weaker now than when I stopped watching it.

One of the main reasons TNA succeeds in this country is due to the perception wrestling has and the product WWE puts out. Wrestling is seen as childish over here as it is and the WWE puts out a very childish product. TNA, on the other hand, put out a product that can be enjoyed by adults and you're not embarrassed to say you watch it. During the time I watched WWE, I wouldn't have admitted to my friends that I watched it. But i'll talk to my mates about what (used to) happens in TNA and even took one pal to a show at Wembley.

TNA also have something WWE don't currently have. Pro Wrestling Stars! It's no coincedence that TNA's ratings alomst doubled during 2010. iMPACT! was the most watched wrestling show in over a decade (so basically since the 90's, which had big pro wrestling stars). Some will most likely try and use the channel switch as some way of putting that achievement down, but again Bravo was a better (more known) channel than Challenge TV, so it doesn't really work.

It seems like Americans are loyal to their wrestling show, which I don't really understand TBH. It seems like wrestling is seen how we see our football teams. You follow your team, no matter how bad it gets, but why is it like that with wrestling in the US? It's just a TV show. TNA draws well in the UK because they put out the best show, with the biggest stars, in their genre.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

The WWE doesn't reach or try as hard in the UK. I don't have the demographic numbers, but I'd guess a large majority of UK wrestling fans became fans in the tude era. TNA is sort of like an Attitude Era nostalgia show. So that would make sense.

Which begs the question, if TNA does so well basically everywhere BUT the United States....why not just move somewhere else? I know the logistics, etc would be rough, but come on, you aren't doing that well in the US because the WWE dominates that market. The foreign market is something pretty untapped and something I think TNA could excel at.

Also, lol at the "WWE is childish, TNA puts out a product you can watch and not be embarrassed about" yea if you're white trash. TNA's product appeals to teens and people with a teenage mindset (adult white trash). Nobody is going to confuse TNA with Bones. In fact, TNA is closer to Jersey Shore, which YES, you should be ashamed to watch.

 

[He's Phenomenal]

Also, lol at the "WWE is childish, TNA puts out a product you can watch and not be embarrassed about" yea if you're white trash. TNA's product appeals to teens and people with a teenage mindset (adult white trash). Nobody is going to confuse TNA with Bones. In fact, TNA is closer to Jersey Shore, which YES, you should be ashamed to watch.

I'd hardly say I was white trash and no I don't watch Jersey Shore. What I meant by TNA not be embarrassing to watch is that the wrestlers on the show actually look like they're trying to hurt each other and genuinely don't like each other. Everyone know's wrestling is scripted/fake but the WWE seem to make a point of letting their audience know that. Where as TNA allow you to suspend belief for a couple of hours while you watch a TV show.