Foley on Twitter/TNA Attendance
- Thread starter Brian in Austin
- Start date
Macho_King
Dark Match Winner
What's the big deal with Micks comments. They are true. I attended a TNA house show a couple months ago....there were like maybe 500 to 800 people there and the 800 estimate is very high. They didnt even rent the big part of the arena they had the show in the bingo hall/theater. TNA doesn't draw..will they in the future maybe? Thats one reason they still operate in the 1980s and tape all their shows in the Impact Zone/Sound stage. Its because they can't draw crowds currently or afford to rent the big arenas the wwe does. The report out of the PPv they had in Cincinatti a while ago was DOn West was in the street giving tickets away for free to make the arena seem like it had more people in it. I'm not trying to compare TNA to the WWE but they run huge arenas even in their house shows. If they only sold 500 tickets the event would be canceled and the money refunded to ticket buyers. Mick was just speaking the truth for the most part.
I'm still waiting to see who's complaining or taking it seriously.
Brian in Austin
Getting Noticed By Management
Let me preface by saying that I watch TNA every week and I usually enjoy it. My larger point is that an employee, if he or she is trying to build their brand, shouldn't be out there making jokes about how poorly their product is performing. It's not funny and it doesn't help the business. I've worked now for 15 years for mostly big box retailers. While there are always going to be times of struggles, when speaking publicly about our company(ies) over the years, I've never once talked about how bad our company was. Why? Because it does nothing to build our brand with the public. I for one want my company(ies) to succeed, not fail. So it's in my best interest, regardless of the internal struggles, to continue to talk the company UP, not down.
In this case Foley, unwittingly, makes it appear like their company even now is unable to sell house show tickets. As a person in business, I have to then look at who and what they'd added or done to try to improve over the last year or 2. When I do that, I then have to wonder why their sales haven't improved given the talent they've acquired and the hype that surrounded those signings. Hogan, Bischoff, Angle, Sting, Foley, Anderson, Hardy, RVD, Steiner, Booker, Mickie James, Tara, and others have been unable to make an appreciable difference in the results, be they television ratings, PPV buyrates, or house show ticket sales.
It speaks to a larger, and darker issue of what to do next for them. Granted, none of us here knows what their financial situation is, but one also has to wonder if Spike TV will be happy with year over year flat ratings or will they decline a new contract when the time comes?
Big Nick Dudley
Nick
So, in short, you endorse lying.
Brian in Austin
Getting Noticed By Management
On the contrary. I endorse being an advocate for your company and sharing the positive values that your company provides or produces. Airing one's dirty laundry for all to see is neither beneficial, nor professional. (keeping in mind we're talking about reasonable issues, not illegal ones.)
What Foley did, while it might bring attention to TNA, brings only negative attention not positive attention. So no, I didn't expect him to lie, but rather avoid commenting altogether on that particular subject.
shattered dreams
Hexagonal Hedonist
Why does the first sentence of your OP say it is funny if now apparently it isn't?
Brian in Austin
Getting Noticed By Management
Funny in that a working employee of TNA would actually come out publicly with something like this, when what he SHOULD be doing is to be a positive advocate for his company, not a negative one.
Big Nick Dudley
Nick
I have no problem with it, seeing Foley was telling the truth. However, I suppose he didn't need to say anything about it, at all, seeing he wasn't even asked a question.
Brian in Austin
Getting Noticed By Management
What I see as a possibility is that over time, if their house show ticket sales, and PPV buyrates don't improve, they will again become a company that films out of one location, reduces the # of PPV's and focuses their core business on just that and not on trying to compete as a national product. Now, given the whole billboard thing, and this latest salvo of allegedly Bischoff and Bill Goldberg having a face to face, it seems they are making a play for his services and attempting to land another big fish in hopes of his being able to make a big difference in the # of viewers.
Problem is, Angle has already said he's likely to not participate in house shows moving forward as part of his new contract, and will reduce the # of days he works per month from his current 18 day schedule. Sting also is rumored to like the reduced schedule and with his age, isn't likely to increase his exposure. Hogan has his medical issues which have greatly reduced his role, and Flair, even though he's still competing, is a shell of his former self in some respects. Hardy is likely to either plead guilty to get a reduced sentence and may be able to avoid jail time. But if not, they will be without his services. If they don't sign Goldberg, does Anderson become the face of the company as we look 5 years down the road? Or would it be someone like Robert Roode, whom I like for a role like that in the future.
Point is, I believe TNA is at a crossroads and at the same time walking a very thin line. While they have lots of talent on the roster, some of that talent is aging rapidly and won't be around more than 5 years from now. Others will either move on, or be let go as the reduction in their participation won't allow them to pay their bills.
So, when Foley speaks out of turn like this, it does nothing to bolster the morale or attitudes of those currently working for TNA and if anything, discourages those who have worked so hard to get to where they are today.
vampireblade
Simply Amazing
Coming from a TNA "fanboy" here it was a joke i love TNA i know mick does too he made a joke a joke all it was nothing more he joked about his own company rock could have made the joke about wwe see here wwe empty arena match aka our house shows it was a joke just a joke quit blowing shit out of the water people
Brian in Austin
Getting Noticed By Management
With all due respect, I understand it was just intended as a joke, but the underlying message can't be ignored. Their house shows are underperforming and that's not good considering the investment in talent they've made over the last 2-4 years. It means those investments, when coupled with the lackluster tv ratings, have been poor investments. They haven't paid off in the way that those running TNA had hoped for and now they find themselves in the unenviable position of having to somehow make a positive out of a very big negative.
1. Flat or poor television ratings.
2. Very poor PPV buyrates.
3. Poor attendance at house shows.
I would certainly hope, were I an investor in TNA, that the goal was to actually improve, and significantly so, all of those metrics, thru investments in talent, production, and creativity of storylines.
Now, I get that this was just a twitter entry, but if you read past what was said, I believe it speaks to a much larger issue that needs to be dealt with beyond the fact that Foley said what he did publicly. Rather, that the company has yet to produce the kind of results for the kind of investment they've made in talent.
FitFinlay4Life
What's the craic?
That's the thing, why would the casual fan 'read past what was said'. If I'm a fan of the Rock and stopped watching wrestling about the time he left wrestling, then I have no idea who TNA is. I'm having a look of the Rock's twitter account because I'm interested in case he has a new film coming out / I've heard or seen that he is involved with WWe and I'm interested to find out more. Now, I see he's talking to Mick Foley, "cool, 'rock n sock'" thinks I, "Maybe so, but two days later, I trapped The Rock under a pallet of beer kegs to win the WWE strap in an Empty Arena match a/k/a TNA house show" posts Mick, what's 'TNA'? thinks I... Google, hmmm second entry 'TNA Wrestling "iMPACT!" airs every Thursday night at 9/8c on SpikeTV! TNA features wrestling superstars such as Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, AJ Styles, ...', click, "Hey, there's Kurt Angle, Sting and RVD as well", "Hmmm, they tour the UK and Australia - they must be pretty well known if they can do that" - maybe I'll have a look at Spike on Thursday night...
Here's a well known fact about Mick Foley, the man who did the most for his career and popularity was... Tony Schiavone who sarcastically commented on Foley winning the WWF World Title on the pre taped RAW is WAR during the live WCW Nitro as a move "That'll put a lot of butts in the seats." Fans immediately turned over from WCW to WWF to see Foley win the title.
If anyone knows how a seemingly 'bad' comment can actually create a positive result, I'd say Mick Foley could well be the man (sorry Ric).
To my knowledge TNA is one of, if not the most popular program on Spike. As long as they remain consistent, I'm sure they are more than happy. In fact, TNA must be doing well enough if they are even considering Bill Goldberg because there is an age old adage that 'you don't throw good money after bad' and one thing I definitely know about big Bill, you'll not even be talking to him unless you're talking big money.
Still think you're making a mountain out of the proverbial, Bri.
vampireblade
Simply Amazing
ok you have me there maybe foley is throwing out hints that issues like that need to be resolved and maybe he isnt and i agree with you they do and i see now where you are coming from and if i may here maybe both companies yes wwe included need to step back and look at their low ppv buy rates as well as poor house show attendance i recently went to a house show here in chattanooga tennessee well not so recent it was january but for the mckenzie arena which seats 11,218 only about 1400 people showed up it didnt look like there were that many there compared to when the mckenzie arena hosted the wwf in your house final four which had 6399 people now i know that was a pay per view event but still ive went to a few house shows for wwe when theyve come to chattanooga and there really havent been over 2000 people as of late where when i was younger going to house shows there were 6 or 7000 people that attended them so maybe both companies need to look at poor ppv buy rates and house show attendance to see what can be done as far as uping those numbers go
shattered dreams
Hexagonal Hedonist
What would be comical about that?
Brian in Austin
Getting Noticed By Management
Thanks for understanding what it is I'm trying to say here, even if I've not delivered it, at least initially, as clearly as I'd have liked to.
I just think that while TNA is certainly improving, (at least from where I sit as nothing more than a fan and novice wrestling fan at that), I also see room for them to improve their product. While I was a huge fan of Mick, Hogan, Sting, Flair (once met him in an airport in Atlanta and he could not have been nicer to me), Angle, etc., I also understand these guys are well past their collective primes and it's time for new names and faces to be seen on tv. Since I started watching TNA I can tell you that I have become a big fan of AJ, Joe, Daniels, Beer Money, MCMG, Morgan, Abyss, Kaz, and many others. I, for one, would like to see more of these guys and not less. Now I realize that these days we're finally getting that, but I'd also like to see the older guys I mentioned all find a graceful exit and move off camera. It's time for them to do so and I'd like to see TNA truly invest in their future.
Now maybe part of that investment is in trying to steal away talent from WWE, for instance, CM Punk, who would, in my estimation, by far be their best acquistion since Kurt Angle if it were to happen. But I'd also like to see them invest in truly new, and younger, talent. Let's see if they can build a brand like WWE did.
Brian in Austin
Getting Noticed By Management
Well well well. If you've read the spoilers for upcoming episodes of Impact and if you have read the public apology issued by Foley for his comments, it looks like I was right!!!
Thank You Mick Foley for proving I was right about the "impact" if you will, of your unfortunate comment.
Thank You Mick Foley for proving I was right about the "impact" if you will, of your unfortunate comment.
Well well well. Where does it read that his contract expired or he was officially released?
Brian in Austin
Getting Noticed By Management
Where did I say he was fired or released? Read the OP. Obviously if this weren't bad for TNA there would have been no apology made by Foley. Which was my original point here. That this was bad for TNA. And so it was!!!
FitFinlay4Life
What's the craic?
First off, to my understanding there is a no spoiler policy in these forums.
Second, Foley apologising doesn't automatically prove you right. It potentially just means that he has realised or has had it pointed out to him that people could misinterperate or make more out of what he said. As I said in an earlier part of this thread - "It makes more sense that a TNA employee would be trying to get some interest in his company rather than burying it, which would be how a TNA hater might read between the lines." Vince McMahon never came out and apologised for people having been mislead by the whole pre WM Undertaker segments eluding that Sting was coming, does this automatically mean that he couldn't see how people were mislead? As an astute business man and a man with lifelong experience, I'd be absolutely amazed if he never saw the potential confusion and loved the publicity.
Neither you, me or anyone else will ever know what Mick was thinking when he Tweeted and apology or no, that just hasn't changed.
Brian in Austin
Getting Noticed By Management
The fact remains that he said what he said, it was embarrassing to TNA, and now he's apologized for what turned out to be a foolish statement for him to make.
So yes, it proves that my initial statement, which was this was not good for TNA, was in fact, correct. If not, there'd have been no reason for an apology.
PS: I didn't post any spoilers.
So yes, it proves that my initial statement, which was this was not good for TNA, was in fact, correct. If not, there'd have been no reason for an apology.
PS: I didn't post any spoilers.
Why is it that not even the diehard fan's and critics didn't even give a damn about his comment?
Stormtrooper
Championship Contender
actually, it didn't prove it was BAD for Impact Wrestling. It proved that Mick Foley said something that could be interpreted as a shot at Impact Wrestling. But then you must realize that he was TALKING about Impact Wrestling, and spreading the word about it (and their house shows, which some people might not know they did). It falls into the "any publicity is good publicity" category.
Now lets get into the fact that this was part of a conversation with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (who had an meteoric rise on the Twitter when he signed up, amassing a huge amount of followers at a quick pace), who replied/retweeted. This means that The Rock advertised TNA (Impact Wrestling) House Shows to his over 700,000 followers, AND by virtue of mentioning poor attendance, he told them that there aren't many people there, so you can get a ticket pretty easily. That's BAD? I think that's good.