A Month in Advance ???

[ztwhite]

According to WZ & Bill Behrens, TNA is going to start taping a month worth of shows following each pay-per-view.

Even though it's going to save the company "hundreds of thousands of dollars on airfare and travel", I believe it's also going to sink the fledgling wrestling organization. Lets not forget that WCW didn't start to make a dent in WWE ratings until they went to a live Nitro taping, actually forcing Vince to make Raw a live event !!

Seriously, a month worth of shows on tape ??!! Impact is already struggling to put on quality entertainment, considering in their last two hour episode, there was only 21 minutes worth of in ring action. I'm not sure why it will even be necessary to tune in on Thursday nights and I actually don't mind the product, but I can certainly spend those two hours doing something else. Hell, even if I Tivo the show it only takes about 45 minutes to get through it.

If Vince and the "E" truly wanted to eliminate their competition before it even gets started, truthfully, it would be simple.

 

[Shocky]

This seems like a real bad move. Financially it's sound, but realistically, it can't be good. TNA doesn't do a whole lot of house shows, so the incredible amount of ring rust that could build up in four weeks time would become evident on pay per views. TNA isn't allowing their guys to take indy bookings anymore (correct me if I'm wrong) so what exactly are these guys going to do for 21 days or so in between work.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm a big believer in these guys not working the ridiculously stupid schedule that the WWE puts their guys through, but this is too relaxed.

 

[Leeds Guy]

It could also be potentially damaging if somebody gets released or injured, say two weeks after the taping. You then have them on TNA programing for another 2 weeks with no pay off. Yes it may save thousands of dollars but at the end of the day it leaves them no wiggle room. Like Shock says ring rust would be a huge problem due to them not wrestling for 20+ days. Overall I think this is a bad bad move.

 

[nickbwfc]

I assuming they will be filmed in chronological order. So I don't really see how it affects the TV show?

They have 3 house shows a week, so there won't be any ring rust. It will be easier on the wrestlers as they wont have to travel to tv tapings then across the country for a house show.

If there is an injury after the tapings, then the person is still on TV for the next 3-4 weeks which is a good thing. And if needs be they will just film an extra segment in the impact zone to write them off.

Good move by TNA. They will save loads of money in a time when money is tight. Wrestlers will be less battered and bruised so will be able to put on a better show.

 

[Pimpin]

Finacially this could be a good move as it saves them a shit load of money where saving money is a big big issue with the state of our economy today.

However, like most posters have said. I think ring action wise, it could be a terrible move. TNA doesn't let their stars take Indy Bookings anymore so ring rust is a definate concern here & the ring rust will be pretty much obvious on PPV. Also what exactly will those superstars be doing with 3 weeks off. I like the fact that TNA doesn't do the exausting WWE schedule, but with this proposed wrestling schedule, this is way relaxed & I can sense that this won't be good in the long run for them in-ring wise of course.

 

[klunderbunker]

This is a disaster waiting to happen, and it's happened before. WCW used to do this and it bombed badly for one simple reason.

In late 1993, the plan was to have Sid Vicious beat Vader at Starrcade 93 for the world title. There were about two months worth of films and matches made with Sid as the champion which would air beginning in early January. One problem: Sid never won the title because he was fired. Therefore, all those months of tapes had to either be thrown out or edited and ahve the commentary changed. It cost the company a ton of money and time.

My point is, you can't predict the future that long in advance in a business like wrestling. Things can change in the blink of an eye. Did people think Owen would hurt Austin's neck? Of course not. Another problem is you limit yourself with pushes. THink about it.

You tape a month of shows in advance. You have a PPV right before that, and let's say that Eric Young is the most popular guy on the show. His ratings are through the roof. Oh damn. We can't capitalize on this for three weeks because he wasn't filmed for those shows. By the time you can get him back on tv, the people have forgotten about him or it's too late.

It's a nice idea, but way too risky to do it this way for reasons such as those.

 

[SavageTaker]

I think that Financially it will help TNA a lot as they will be saving a lot of money.

But as already mentioned the Ring Rust of wrestlers will be very noticeable at Pay Per Views since they can't do many Indy bookings, I think that they are still allowed to them but not as much as before.

Another thing is that WCW did the same thing in order to save money and what happened was that It gave them a major headache.

In May 1993, WCW began the aforementioned Disney Tapings, a move which would grow into a major headache for them. In order to save money, the promotion rented out a studio located at the Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida, and proceeded to tape its syndicated television programming months before it was to air on television. Wrestlers were often forced to appear on-camera with belts they would not actually win for several more months, exposing future WCW storylines to those in attendance (most of whom were tourists who had been coached to cheer and boo on cue). Footage of Rude with the NWA title shot at these tapings had caused the controversy with the NWA discussed above. Moreover, the tapings also caused confusion in the tag team division, as they had revealed that Arn Anderson and Paul Roma were to win the WCW World tag team titles from the Hollywood Blonds (Steve Austin and Brian Pillman). The promotion had decided to swerve the fans at the live Beach Blast pay-per-view event in July and keep the titles on the Blonds, but the live Clash of the Champions XXIV show was to take place in August before the already-shot footage of Anderson and Roma as tag team champions was to begin circulating in September. However, before the Clash event, Pillman was injured and unable to wrestle, forcing Lord Steven Regal to replace him alongside Austin. Of course, Anderson and Roma won the titles, and the Blonds, an immensely popular tag team with fans, were inexplicably broken up permanently.

Well seeing as how another company tried it and it wasn't very successful for them, I don't think that it is going to be a very good move for TNA, other than it saving them money.

I think that they should stick to their Taping schedule because it is way to risky to try and do something that another company tried and failed at. And like already mentioned what happens if someone gets released or something like that, then they would have to either re-tape shows or they will have to edit them and it is going to cause them a major headache too.

 

[The Hiphopapotamus]

TNA isn't allowing their guys to take indy bookings anymore (correct me if I'm wrong) so what exactly are these guys going to do for 21 days or so in between work.

I think they can have some rare bookings.Jay lethal is the Jersey All Pro Wrestling champion as far as I know and the main site is reporting that AJ is scheduled for Echo Pro Wrestling in Minnesota on the 30th.Other than that I'm not sure.I'm also unsure how often wrestlers like Team 3d and the Motor City Machine Guns wrestle for New Japan,because they are the 2 tag champions and all.

Anyway,I think it's a good move potentially.The relaxed schedule attracts wrestlers like Angle.This can attract even more wrestlers to the relaxed schedule.It's also financially sound,savin hundreds of thousands of dollars.If this is used to get a few more good wrestlers for the same budget,all the better.Even though the roster is packed,a few per-appearance deals wouldn't hurt the new added budget.

However,aside from ring rust,a month full of tapings leads to a month full of what.Spoilers.Some fans aren't internet wrestlings fans,so that's okay.Some will not read the spoilers,like me unless I am really impatient that day.Some might read and still watch.But a few will ineviatably read the spoilers and not bother watching at all,which is something they don't need.

 

[y2empleh]

However,aside from ring rust,a month full of tapings leads to a month full of what.Spoilers.Some fans aren't internet wrestlings fans,so that's okay.Some will not read the spoilers,like me unless I am really impatient that day.Some might read and still watch.But a few will ineviatably read the spoilers and not bother watching at all,which is something they don't need.

Yea but spoilers exist for pretty much every TNA show now because they are already taped in advance, just not that far in advance.

My biggest concern with this issue is what are they looking to do with the extra money? Give Lashley enough money so he will sign with them? Personally I do not think Lashley will help TNA just like Angle didn't, Nash didn't, Sting didn't. What exactly did he accomplish in WWE? Winning the ECW title at the worst PPV in History? Being a big part of ONE Wrestlemania?

Ok this question isn't about Lashley. Another concern I have is the potential effect on writing/injuries. Going back to Hall's no-show a year or so ago. Going into the PPV under the new plan, TNA would likely have a month's worth of Impacts written, likely involving Hall in a large capacity. He no shows so now they have to rewrite those segments basically overnight for the whole month instead of only needing 2 weeks worth.

Injuries is another concern of mine. Not so much from a writing standpoint but an appearance standpoint. Let's say AJ Styles is seriously banged up after a PPV match and he will need 2 weeks to recover. Under the current format, he would simply be off for 2 weeks worth of TV. Under the new format he would basically be off until the next PPV. So that means essentially a month of interview segments to promote his next PPV match.

I applaud TNA for looking at ways to save money because that will enable them (hopefully) to stay around longer. I'm just concerned if this way will effect the already struggling quality of their tv programs.

 

[HHHDiedForOurSins]

Terrible idea, they might save some money but in the long run there will be bigger negatives.

What if Suicide loses the X Division title on the 3rd or 4th episode of the tapings, will they still have him wear the title belt on house shows for the next few weeks even though in this day and age everyone would know he lost the title. Things like this plus tons of other possible problems will arise with injuries, suspensions etc.

If TNA is as financially secure as they say they are now, I don't see why they can't start taping Impact live each week or at least every other week like Raw used to do, as long as they tape shows they're ratings will never significantly rise IMO, I know I normally read the TNA spoilers then never end up watching the shows because they don't sound particularly exciting, I'm sure there are plenty of other people who do the same, but if they were live, there's always the possibility of something big happening, that's why Raw will always be the top show even know Smackdown might have a better product.

 

[Scott Free]

According to WZ & Bill Behrens, TNA is going to start taping a month worth of shows following each pay-per-view.

Even though it's going to save the company "hundreds of thousands of dollars on airfare and travel", I believe it's also going to sink the fledgling wrestling organization. Lets not forget that WCW didn't start to make a dent in WWE ratings until they went to a live Nitro taping, actually forcing Vince to make Raw a live event !!

Seriously, a month worth of shows on tape ??!! Impact is already struggling to put on quality entertainment, considering in their last two hour episode, there was only 21 minutes worth of in ring action. I'm not sure why it will even be necessary to tune in on Thursday nights and I actually don't mind the product, but I can certainly spend those two hours doing something else. Hell, even if I Tivo the show it only takes about 45 minutes to get through it.

If Vince and the "E" truly wanted to eliminate their competition before it even gets started, truthfully, it would be simple.

Simple ? Like when Bischoff tried it with the WWE ? Yeah, that worked out fine. I personally don't see what the problem would be for taping 1 month in advance, I mean, what are they doing now ? This month they are doing 3 weeks in advance in 2 days, and they do 3 house shows per week, so the ring rust ain't going to be a major factor. Check this link for the info http://www.tnawrestlingnews.com/headlines/243454675.shtml
Plus, the way they shoot their shows, it's a lot of backstage clips, easily replaceable in case of need, the matches are also easy to replace if they shoot tons of additional filler matches, hell, I'd even throw in some ringers just to screw with the spoiler crowd, you know, have people show up with belts that they aren't going to win and stuff. Bottom line is when companies are releasing their workers, TNA will keep theirs at a low work schedule, maybe even bring in more people, and hopefully, when the economy picks up, they will start doing live TV.

Peace out.

 

[Big J]

They won't tape shows for a month with a ppv in the middle, they'll tape the shows after the ppv setting up the next ppv.

They could save the money and have more house shows.

 

[maar130]

It is a random shot actually, a lot can happen in a month that can screw them up. A lot of money will be save at the beginning but what if someone gets hurt while training like Christy Hemme? I mean it was under control because it happens right before the PPV, but what if for example A.J. is supposed to challenge for the Title and you have even the last week befroe the PPV about something and the night righ after the tappings he pulls a muscle or something or worse, something that requires surgery(hope never happens). All the work will had to be thrown out to find a new challenger just in time.

Twice a month is ok but only one big tapping per month does not sound right.