Returning To The Road The Right Way

[ABMorales787]

TNA will be holding tapings for Impact Wrestling in Bethlehem PA, and NYC following Slammiversary and seems to be the plan going forward now. While no other locations have been announced as of yet, it's worth noting what they're doing this time as opposed to last year's venture. Their venues are smaller.

Spoiler

We all know the capacities of the Grand Ballroom and above is a shot of the Sands Bethlehem Event Center which looks a bit larger. Maybe holding about 2500-ish. Probably less. Point is, these are places TNA can guarantee a full house. As well as the fresh and tight atmosphere that they're used to and has worked wonders for ROH and NXT. And over time these are far better choices in my eyes to hold tapings than bigger arenas that they don't come close to sell out even if they reach 3000 people.

No one gives a damn about a big screen anyway and it's utterly pointless and a total waste of electricity and transportation if they just show a static screensaver and GIF every time a wrestler comes out. Not to mention everyone is on a floor level. So unless there's blind people in the audience, having one for extending the view is redundant. Oh, they need something to show promo's on? Then slap a 180 inch monitor on the top of the house show entrance set. Seriously, the huge ass monitor they've been using since 2012 is both disgusting in it's absolutely simplistic and tacky (yeah, I just used that word) design and pointless in smaller arenas. Like the Impact Zone. If cutting costs is such an issue and transportation was a big problem last year, then get rid of the unneeded. You're really gonna tell me that this:

Spoiler

And a 180 inch monitor don't fit in a single truck? Yeah, Velvet might take some space, but that's beside the point. If TNA wants money, if they want to go back on the road for their TV show, that's the way to do it. I'd much rather they be in smaller arenas with that set with a sellout crowd albeit small than be in a huge 7,500 seat arena with less than half filled and a huge ass expensive set just to highlight the emptiness and make it more noticeable. It's worked for ROH for years to keep it small and simple. It's worked for AAA for 2 decades. Why the hell would it not work for TNA?

 

[It's Damn Real!]

So the goal is to set up shop in somewhat smaller-ish venues to produce multiple TV tapings out of? It's not live (per week), but if the choice is between that and the Lunesta-sponsored crowd in Orlando, then there's no choice to be made at all. There is only one correct answer, and that's to do exactly what you're talking about.

I'll be at at least one of the New York tapings, and I plan on bringin' the mother fuckin' ruckus, and if the last UK tour is anything to measure by, it's obvious that there are in fact hot bed areas of the world that adore TNA in a way Orlando clearly does not. Their crowd can often kill the product, in fact.

 

[klunderbunker]

This is a method that actually seems like it could work. At the end of the day, going live every other week in different locations is simply off the table. If reports are true, it was costing them WAY too much money and the benefits weren't strong enough to balance that out. By having this system instead, a system which has worked for WWE and WCW in the past, it allows them to meet in the middle of the two ideas. They're out of Orlando but not pouring money down the drain by doing it live.

The set doesn't have to be much either. A bad show is going to be bad in front of any kind of set.

 

[RicSpade]

You know what is stupid is that if TNA would've implemented a smarter system in the first damn place they would still have half their A+ players...

I think the problem TNA has is that ECW had such a small production but had a rabid fanbase, hell ROH doesn't do much and they pull decent numbers being syndicated for their I believe its Sinclair network who distributes them? If TNA went back to basics and produced the level of wrestling they had over dumb storylines with 90% lack of follow through TNA imo would be considered #2, I tape all the shows TNA, ROH, I catch Chikara via the net and of course WWE, but I am more apt to watch ROH based on its wrestling over TNA, hell even the Chikara Ant colony had more depth sometimes then the TNA storylines, But I digress TNA needs to do something but with Dixie making all the decisions the queen ant is going to let her colony die..

 

[Zeven_Zion]

I always thought the size of the arena is irrelevant as long as it's around the 1,000 mark. A thousand people can make a WHOLE lot of noise if they do it right. It's not the size of the crowd, it's the noise they make. See ECW. We've all seen a dead-ass WrestleMania with 70,000+ people in attendance. And we've all seen some pretty loud TNA shows with less than 2,000.

Also, as long as the actual show is good and the crowd does what it does best, the only people who will complain about the set and the size of the crowd are the usual vultures who tend to pick at everything TNA does because they didn't get the memo that time didn't freeze in 2006 and hating on TNA for the sake of hating on TNA is a little passe.

I don't care about a screen, I don't care about a flashy anything. For me, give me a ring, proper lighting so I can see what's happening and some fans who are having a ball and the setting is complete. That's one way TNA can be different from the WWE. Stop focusing on aesthetics as much (simple yet effective) and focus on things that make stuff noisy. Perception is reality. If a thousand people in the audience are losing their shit, some people at home might think something fun's going on. No fan has ever stuck around to look at the ramp. Focus on the quality of the show, it will cost you a lot less than a big screen and a giant set, and you might make some people happy along the way. Leave the flashy, lipstick on a pig bullshit to the WWE in order to reassure their fans that everything is tip top even when the shows are a hot mess. I love some good pyro, but I love wrestling more. Do that.

 

[three count bout]

Totally agree on the less is more approach. Doesn't ROH hit NY frequently? If so it kinda explains some of the booking decisions leading to the NY tapings. I won't be surprised if the ROH alums get positioned well going forward i.e Aries, King, Wolves.

The wolves need new blood and probably feel betrayed by MVP. I could see them taking on King and Lashley. And Aries is definitely the guy the company should be aggressively pushing so I can see him vs MVP for the belt being a good move.

Either way I just hope they draw a good crowd put out a good product and focus less on expensive aesthetics.

 

[whoopin' ass]

One thing I would like is a couple of main spots that they film at instead of just Orlando. Being there too much seems to mess them up. I would like it if they had a couple cities they could go to a few times a year and film, using different cities to fill the gaps. Maybe film in Orlando a couple times a year, Nashville, etc. and then throw in a new market. Gives them some stability yet keeps them on the move so they are getting fresh crowds each month.

I agree about the smaller venues. Unless you want to be as zoomed out as wwe likes to be, you don't need an overly large arena and TNA seems to do better in these smaller places. As for the extended tapings, I get why they do it but I don't think they should do more than a months worth at a time if possible. They sometimes try to squeeze that extra show into the tapings but I think once you start getting into that, you open yourself to potential problems. I think too that they need to make sure and do 1 actual live show during those tapings just to keep they audience in their toes. May cost them a bit but when you can go online and see their entire taping results before the first episode airs, how do they expect the ratings to improve? Or at the very least, make sure you film it just earlier on Thursday so there isn't time for the results to get out there kind of like that wwe does when they do Raw overseas.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Totally agree on the less is more approach. Doesn't ROH hit NY frequently?

It's ROH's backyard. Especially the Hammerstein/Manhattan Center. No other wrestling promotion runs it, and the rumor Mike Johnson heard is that's why TNA are doing the ballroom as opposed to the Hammerstein, because Manhattan Center officials don't want to annoy ROH because they're their best, most consistent promotion.

This is the model TNA has been needing to do for years. You need to stop trying to compete with WWE-like crowds and start in the small arenas and work your way up. When you get hot in a certain city or you have a card people will want to see, book a bigger arena - it sounds simplistic, because it is. The other aspect they now need to change is their advertising, which is shockingly horrible. They did have a street team outside the ROH/NJPW War of the Worlds show handing out flyers but apparently most of them got thrown away by fans they handed them to. None of the nights tapings are sold-out from what I've seen and they're just over a month away. Start promoting the shit better.

 

[ABMorales787]

This is an interesting look:

Spoiler

This is an episode of AAA that took place on a high school soccer field. Well, that doesn't look bad at all. It's probably around a 1000 in attendance. But this is a company that can shell out 14,000 in it's 5 annual PPV events. Simply put, TNA has taken a lot of concepts from AAA. But they're missing key stuff. And this is one worth following. AAA tapes all shows weeks in advance and does 2 tapings per show. TNA adopted it. But TNA missed the part about the smaller arenas. And presentation value. Big screens are an obstruction if you have a small crowd.

 

[TDFG]

^^^

I agree about the tron, if they aren't going to use entrance videos for the talent, that tron is one big waste of space. One or two smaller screens either side of the entrance are good enough & cheaper.

The 6 sided ring. I got use to it & then they changed it back. It's good for x division type matches, but a lot of guys have said you take a tougher bump on it than a traditional ring, so I'd be 50/50 on the return of the 6 sided ring.

A base of areas for fans is a must, TNA is popular in UK & does well in certain areas of North America, stick to where you are popular before you take gambles will help.

Agents, would be good if TNA could somehow get Storm or Raven to help out, D'Amore could also put a good match together.

Announcers, I agree, Tenay & Tazz sound as if they are there just to pick up there pay & bore me. Who they get to replace them, I don't no, but they both sound that bad I'd take Schiavone & Zybyszko in a heartbeat.