Is WWE Superstars a threat to TNA Impact?

[mayhem]

WWE this year launched "the forgotten show" Superstars on a Thursday and it has ratings which are now closely on par with TNA Impact. It is also before Impact and is scoring between a 0.8 to a 1.0.

Impact scores between a 0.9 to a 1.3 and if Superstars gets more popular seeing as it is on the same day do you think it is currently clamping down on TNAs ratings or if it gets more popular could it possibly put TNA in trouble if it gets higher ratings or goes to 2 hours?

 

[BigAdz]

A threat? Yes.

A viable threat that will keep it's longevity? No.

This is classic Vinnie Mac. He starts up a low budget D show to emphasise the point that he doesn't need to put in the effort to leave TNA in the dust. And right he is.

 

[Enigma]

WWE Superstars failed simply because it's only available to people with Satellite TV.

Why would you put on Thursdays anyways? Even if it is at 8pm. It would make more sense to try and get it on a national network like USA or MyNetworkTV on a Wednesday with no other wrestling programs.

Nobody cares about Superstars since they make it that way. TNA isn't a threat since it was doomed from the start and even ROH would kill it in ratings.

 

[Smooth Sexual Chocolate]

WWE Superstars failed simply because it's only available to people with Satellite TV.

Why would you put on Thursdays anyways? Even if it is at 8pm. It would make more sense to try and get it on a national network like USA or MyNetworkTV on a Wednesday with no other wrestling programs.

Nobody cares about Superstars since they make it that way. TNA isn't a threat since it was doomed from the start and even ROH would kill it in ratings.

Or anyone with Comcast, one of the leading cable television providers in the united states.

MyNetworkTV is not a "national network" like USA

ROH would have to air on cable T.V to be a threat to TNA, maybe then it would be a threat.

 

[ANGLE]

No I do not see it as a threat.

Superstars is one hour long on the same day as TNA yes, drawing the same ratings yes. But the big one being it is only one hour. If you were to want to watch both Superstars is only an hour and would leave time to switch to TNA.

Again, another point is the fact as said before, it is only on certain networks or companies. If people were to want to watch both, most of the companies that support Superstars would come with some kind of recording device. So in the end people being able to be at least able to watch an hour of both, if anything.

 

[BladeRunner]

Could WWE make superstars a threat? Oh yeah.

But do they even try to make an effort to make it a real show? No.

It's a match from each of the 3 shows, that's cool, but all it is is matches with no storylines. I want them to improve the show because I think it could be just as good as any of the others.

One of you said a half-assed wwe show is just as good as a tna show. Well, I almost never watch superstars, and I never miss TNA. I think the two are so different that theres no comparison. TNA is just like RAW or Smackdown, superstars is like "hey look here's some bonus matches".

So in summary I want superstars to improve. And right now it's not competing with TNA because it needs to be a full wrestling show with all the usual elements for it to do so. Not just random matches thrown together with no point to any of them.

 

[whitefox]

So in summary I want superstars to improve. And right now it's not competing with TNA because it needs to be a full wrestling show with all the usual elements for it to do so. Not just random matches thrown together with no point to any of them.

It doesn't need to improve. Superstars is what it is and doesn't need to be anything else. WWE already have 3 other shows which in my opinion water down the product at times. Adding a fourth of a similar nature would just be too much. I think its great that they have an hour show dedicated to just wrestling.

 

[BladeRunner]

It doesn't need to improve. Superstars is what it is and doesn't need to be anything else. WWE already have 3 other shows which in my opinion water down the product at times. Adding a fourth of a similar nature would just be too much. I think its great that they have an hour show dedicated to just wrestling.

The question was "is superstars a threat to TNA?", and I said no it wasn't, but then I mentioned how it could be made a threat if WWE wanted to. Now what's your opinion on the topic?

 

[Turd Ferguson]

Why is this even a discussion? Superstars is on at 8 p.m., and only a one hour show. Impact airs at 9 p.m., and is a two hour show. There's no real threat taking place here. The WWE is just throwing an extra show on WGN (which isn't just available to satellite customers), and letting guys get some extra in-ring time in on television. The shows get similar ratings anyway, even though Superstars has much less of a share than TNA does.

 

[trashboy]

no, i don't see Superstars as a threat to Impact... Impact is more entertaining anyway.. i keep forgetting about Superstars, but i do dv-r it, and i pretty much just fast forward through the whole show, it's basically just a new version of Sunday Night Heat, Shotgun Saturday or even World Wide.. it mainly features mid-carders to low card.. so even if they went head to head, i would rather watch guys like AJ Styles over some jobber that may be wrestling on Superstars

 

[Henry Hill]

For me its not. I'm sure there are some people who watch Superstars over Impact, but I'm not one of them. Even when there is an interesting match on Superstars, I still don't feel the need to watch it, and I'm sure there are others who feel the same. Its just too much WWE in one week. On Raw and Smackdown we get a recap of everything that happens incredibly frequently to the point that if you miss a show, its no big deal. Superstars is incredibly expendable and not even on at the same time as Impact, so no it is not now and probably will not ever be a legit threat, unless at the very least Superstars is put head to head with Impact.

 

[Jack Tunney's Ghost]

I don't think Superstars was ever meant to be a threat to TNA nor was it supposed to be anything other than what it is now -- a magazine show with an original match or two (mainly to appease WGN).

What I'm guessing to be the main reason to get Superstars on the air was for WWE to get it's proverbial foot in the door on WGN and secure a spot on the network.

When the concept of Superstars was first being thrown around, there were alot of rumbling's about MyNetwork TV's demise. It was about the time that MyNetwork first announced that it wouldn't be producing original programming and going more towards movies and reruns. The WB and UPN merged only a few years previous into order to have at least ONE network able to survive out of the two and then a few years later, there was talk of The CW on the brink of folding. Then there was the news that MyNetwork, a smaller network than The CW, was revamping it's line up to save money had many in the industry thinking MyNetwork's folding was inevitable.

So if MyNetwork folds, where would that put SmackDown?

I remember that WGN was actually looking to add some wrestling content to it schedule at the time, and it was the perfect opportunity for WWE to strike a deal with WGN.

I have the feeling that if MyNetwork went belly up, we would've seen SmackDown move to WGN in the Superstars slot. I doubt that WGN would have any objection to replacing WWE's "D" show with WWE's "B" show. Whether it'd expand into 2 hours is anyone's guess. But, at least it would give WWE somewhere to air SmackDown... even if it were only 1 hour. SmackDown would still be on the air somewhere and would give time to WWE to work out a better deal either with WGN or elsewhere without losing the "brand" on TV entirely.

Again, I don't know if that WAS the plan, but, it seemed like it would've been given the TV environment at the time.

The fact that Superstars could or would affect TNA's numbers was just an added bonus for WWE.

So, I don't see WWE doing anything drastic with Superstars anytime soon.

 

[Iamawesome]

The only way superstars will ever become a legit threat is if it becomes a new brand.....

I'm still waiting for WcW to become a brand.....
I thought for sure that Shane was going to do something like that.... but with his departure from wwe its not likely to see WcW again....

 

[Smackdown!]

Yes indeed wwe superstars is a threat to Impact hell TNA can only draw 1.0 ratngs when superstars is right around at about 0.8 shoot if they add a top face on superstars every week like john cena superstars would probably draw a rating like 1.0. If all it takes is one superstar to shoot the ratings then pretty soon TNA wil R.I.P. Besides I fond hornswoggle more entertainint then TNA. I guess what I'm trying to say is that TNA is just a total joke.

 

[maar130]

Well, Superstars is not a treath at all to Impact! and to be honest WWE does not want it to be.

I agree with what Jack Tunney's Ghost say above about Smackdown and MyNetworkTV.

That is also why I thing that WWE is not putting that much effort on it, I mean they use it as a testing ground for matches and to see how much of an audience they can get with just random wrestlers. Now if Smackdown is to get that slot into the future, well the audience will increase and all thos matches can comeback to what most of them used to be, dark matches.

 

[dmacizdman]

Why is this even a discussion? Superstars is on at 8 p.m., and only a one hour show. Impact airs at 9 p.m., and is a two hour show. There's no real threat taking place here. The WWE is just throwing an extra show on WGN (which isn't just available to satellite customers), and letting guys get some extra in-ring time in on television. The shows get similar ratings anyway, even though Superstars has much less of a share than TNA does.

i was just wondering this myself. how can a show be a threat to another when they are on at different times?

 

[mayhem]

i was just wondering this myself. how can a show be a threat to another when they are on at different times?

Well if someone watches WWE Superstars and then says i've seen enough wrestling for tonight they won't watch TNA Impact. Ratings are also almost on par with each other. think about it.

 

[whitefox]

The question was "is superstars a threat to TNA?", and I said no it wasn't, but then I mentioned how it could be made a threat if WWE wanted to. Now what's your opinion on the topic?

Chill your boots flower... my opinion is that if WWE wanted to threaten Impact then they would not put Superstars up against it. As you said, the current format of Superstars isn't the kind that would draw viewers away from Impact due to storylines etc, so like you MY ANSWER TO THE QUESTION IS that its not a threat. But if they wanted to challenge Impact (which I still doubt is on the WWE's radar) they would put either Smackdown or ECW up against it, not create a fourth show with its own storylines and roster.

 

[GameOver]

Superstars is only a 1hr show with only 40 mins of that not ads for starters. that's was advertised as anyone could face anyone originally but now it's just another Heat, just a quick extension of two fueds or random midcard matches, people who aren't the main eventers just doing some in ring on screen training b4 RAW.

It mysteriously started appearing on Australian Foxtel a few months ago no advertising for it and it's shown b4 smackdown on Friday afternoons

Impact is show on late saturday nights here so that's no threat from our perspective

So no i don't think it's any threat.

 

[BladeRunner]

But if they wanted to challenge Impact (which I still doubt is on the WWE's radar) they would put either Smackdown or ECW up against it, not create a fourth show with its own storylines and roster.

Yeah I agree, that would be the best way to go about it. I guess I just expected more from superstars when I saw it coming on the horizon. But yeah, it's become a "Heat" show more or less. The tag line when it was about to come out was "expect everything" Guess I expected too much!

 

[Mat FTW]

the only way to make wwe superstars a threat is to make it another brand,(not gonna happen) or to make it really unpredictable. What I mean is before every match, roll a roulette and make it suprising

 

[whitefox]

Yeah I agree, that would be the best way to go about it. I guess I just expected more from superstars when I saw it coming on the horizon. But yeah, it's become a "Heat" show more or less. The tag line when it was about to come out was "expect everything" Guess I expected too much!

I quite like the fact that its a solid wrestling show with limited storylines but I guess it has become a "Heat" show in that the show is filled with lower to mid carders. I know the lower guys need to have a run out but with a tagline "expect everything" I guess its fair to have expected abit more (Though they couldn't really go with "WWE Superstars: Where the lower card guys get a chance") I'm not expecting it to be Cena V Undertaker in the main event but a little more star power wouldn't hurt, the odd upper mid-carder or the occasional IC, US or Tag title defence (Apologies if that has happened but it hasn't when I've watched the show). To be honest I think that alone would be enough to put some pressure on Impact.

 

[JBK2008]

Superstars is doing a great job of just showing the wrestling. Not any real promos, just matches and recaps from the 3 brands. It's been good so far and a occasional star power boost or something surely wouldn't hurt. I think TNA should be afraid just because Superstars has more match time than TNA does in it's entire 2 hour show. TNA could very well be in trouble some day.

 

[gd]

Superstars is more or less worthless. I don't have it and literally have no idea what has happened on it over the last 3 months. It really has no impact on the WWE at all, just a place where wrestlers who weren't good enough to get on Raw, ECW, or SD can be shown. It draws a decent amount of fans for being on an obscure network, which is just fine.

Obviously, it's no threat to TNA though. TNA has gotten better rating than it pretty much every week, at least I think so, and they aren't even on at the same time. I don't see what the question is. Even if they were on at the same time, I'm sure it would be the WWE that loses viewers, not TNA.

 

[Tastycles]

As I understand it, Superstars was asked for by WGN as opposed to being given to them by the WWE. As a result, I doubt anyone within WWE sees it as anything but a cash cow that gets lameos like Primo Colon TV time. Superstars won't ever go 2 hours, and if it does, then not only would I be suprised, I think it would be one of the most questionable decisions in WWE history. Superstars exists to make money from the network, moreso than probably any other wrestling TV show in history.