TNA Taking iMPACT! on the Road

[Joe's Gonna Kill You]

PWTorch has learned from TNA sources that TNA will be taking Impact on the road in mid-February.

Over the past year, TNA management has talked about wanting to film TV outside of Orlando, Fla. to "grow the brand" and gauge crowd reactions in locations besides the Impact Zone

This is Huge News for TNA,For TNA to grow they needed to leave the Impact Zone. I think that the Impact Zone Crowd really hurts the product because there is no excitement and to me this problem was really evident over the last 5 Impacts before Genesis the crowd was dead for the majority of the shows and it just makes Impact feel boring. I think with this News of taping in other locations hopefully they can draw good crowds that are excited to be there and react to what goes on during the show. I think that this will help TNA come across better on TV.

Discuss?

 

[Rayne]

Finally. Most of the world came to the conclusion that TNA needed to get out of Orlando to grow their fan base last January.

This can only be good for TNA. These are the kinds of costs they need to be taking on right now, the kind that invests in the business. Running a road show isn't cheap, but you just can't fake a hot crowd. Maybe people will even boo the heels now. OTOH, with all the back-and-forth noise about their employees holding out for more cash, there are going to be issues about an increased work load and more road time. It'll be interesting to see how this resolves itself.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet. It hasn't been said how many episodes of iMPACT! are going to be taped outside of Orlando or where these tapings are going to be held. This might ultimately wind up being just a one time thing like before.

Back in October 2008, TNA had tv tapings in Las Vegas, Nevada and it was the only time that a TNA television taping has taken place outside of Orlando.

If this is a one or two time deal, it's not all that much to get excited about.

 

[MoizH28]

I wouldnt mind TNa having a a show once a month on the road just to get started. I think it would be a good way to experiment the crowd reactions maybe even have the show on the road be live?

 

[Lee]

Let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet. It hasn't been said how many episodes of iMPACT! are going to be taped outside of Orlando or where these tapings are going to be held. This might ultimately wind up being just a one time thing like before.

Back in October 2008, TNA had tv tapings in Las Vegas, Nevada and it was the only time that a TNA television taping has taken place outside of Orlando.

If this is a one or two time deal, it's not all that much to get excited about.

PWI is reporting it will take place in North Carolina, whether this is Charlotte or Cameron it isn't noted. Either way being in Flair/Hardy country you'll probably have something to do with them.

I think it's good to get out and about, it gauges the fans and how they react in different places to different stars, different matches, different moves and how much better a crowd is when they PAY to get in.

 

[shattered dreams]

WOOOO. TNA has had a PPV in Charlotte before. Flair country isn't a bad idea for a place to start out. It would be nice if they came to Raleigh as well. I like the way IDR put it when we were talking about the traveling shows before, essentially it is a necessary risk. I have my doubts if this is going to pay off but I am excited to see them try it.

 

[Captain Jive]

They wont go to Cameron, it's a small town. They could do Fayetteville, which is just a few minutes away though. I wouldn't mind that, considering that's where I live.

But it's great news that they are getting out of Orlando. Whether it's once or every week, they need new crowds.

 

[Lee]

They wont go to Cameron, it's a small town. They could do Fayetteville, which is just a few minutes away though. I wouldn't mind that, considering that's where I live.

But it's great news that they are getting out of Orlando. Whether it's once or every week, they need new crowds.

That's the place I read, forgot the name of it and just guessed it was Cameron. So the places I read on pwinsider were Fayetteville and Charlotte. I hope that helps you in the rest of the discussion as I have no idea about North Carolina geography.

This is the report:

TNA Impact will be taped for the first time in North Carolina next month, PWInsider.com has confirmed.

Fayetteville, NC (which would be the hometown of Matt and Jeff Hardy) has been mentioned to me as the most likely location, although Charlotte was mentioned as a possibility as well.

There has been talk for some time about taking Impact out of Orlando for some time in order to test how the product would fare in front of different audiences. The Orlando audience has developed something of a reputation for being jaded after so many years of getting a number of free TV tapings and PPVs a month. I don't believe a PPV goes by without a TNA talent openly wondering to me how a match that had trouble getting over in Orlando might have fared in another market before fans that were paying for the product.

As mentioned earlier this would be great to test the waters as it were, if it goes down well you could try doing it every quarterly or even every month. Monthly would be good as you can get the PPV's rolling around the country with an Impact in the same place.

 

[JJYanks121]

Obviously we've all been pushing for Impact to get out of Orlando for a long time now so any step towards doing so would seem like a good idea.

That said, going to Flair/Hardy country when all 3 are heels may not be the best place to start. The last thing you want is for your top heel getting face pops the first time they leave the Impact Zone. It will be good to gage the rest of the talent perhaps, but I can hear the face pop now for Jeff and he's gonna have to work damn hard to change those cheers to boos. That could be a really good test as to whether Jeff is a good heel or not. Wade Barrett did it successfully in England, now it will be Jeff Hardy's turn. Batter up.

 

[shankit231]

I think its the only wa to get a fan base is to get out of Universal studios by promoting it as a chance to see a cable tv show live for free that will attract anyone considering majority of the people in the crowd are from orlando or just visiting the park.

They say that the main problem with it is they don't have the money to do that but they will increase the income by being able to charge people to see the show and acctually get true TNA fans so you won't have a boring crown ruining it for everyone. Like Hulk supposed to be a heel but Im sure to get people to see Impact in Orlando they will be like Come see Hulk Hogan live people be like i know him holy shit and walk on in.

The only problem TNA would have is dealing with the taleny bitching about having to be on the road and working rougher schedual knowing thats why they come to TNA in the first place, they work 3 days a month maybe a little extra for a house show or something that is what would hurt them the most. But there is people that will work for cheap that they could expose and start to get a little fame and build up there image. Im pretty sure thats what holds they company back from staying on the road.

 

[bigpawpa27]

Well if the talent is as serious as they have been in the past about growing TNA's product they'll just have to man up and deal with the extra work load.

 

[Rayne]

Well if the talent is as serious as they have been in the past about growing TNA's product they'll just have to man up and deal with the extra work load.

Newsflash. To every single person on the TNA roster, make no exceptions, money is more important then "growing TNA's product". No one is there working for $1 a year; "growing the product" is a catchphrase that every employee in America uses when they want to sound good if their boss might hear.

Let's take your job digging ditches. You take the job, understanding that the work load would involve digging a dozen ditches a day in one place. A couple months later, your boss says "by the way, we need you now to dig twenty ditches a day, and you're going to have to travel to somewhere different every week to do it." You're working harder for the same amount of money- should you just "man up and deal with it", or look for employers who are willing to compensate you fairly for your work?

TNA's midcard wrestlers are getting paid around what RoH top-tier wrestlers are- there's a reason these guys take independent bookings. They aren't wrestling for $500 a match; they're wrestling for exposure, and the hopes that either the WWE (which pays their performers) notices them, or they can evolve into a top dog at TNA (which is difficult right now if you've never been released by the WWE.) If the money isn't there, and a wrestler thinks they can make better money at the same exposure level (business exposure, not television exposure) working for RoH and indies, what's the obvious choice?

This all assumes that the Impact tapings outside of Orlando are not a one-off.

 

[DethMetal]

About time. This can only be good for TNA. Now if it's like a month or so, then all this hype was for nothing. One of TNA's biggest problems is that they stay in the Impact Zone. If this is a permanent thing, and TNA is on the road every week, this can only be a good thing(for business of course).

 

[D-Man]

Everyone really seems to think this is a fantastic idea for TNA but I'm a little worried. Granted, they need to get out of the Impact Zone. Their smarky crowd, stupid chants, and lame reactions are really hurting their product on television. And while the Impact Zone is packed every week you guys all need to remember; I think TNA still gives away their tickets for free.

Imagine that you're watching Impact coming straight to you from North Carolina except there's one problem... tickets didn't sell and the place is empty. Now what do you do? This is what I worry about with TNA. They're taken PPVs on the road and have their share of unsuccessful crowd attendance. Without giving away the tickets for free, can they really sell enough to fill up these arenas?

I really hope they can but I'm not too confident that they have the stroke with their audience yet. Only time will tell but I wish them all the best.

 

[Rayne]

Imagine that you're watching Impact coming straight to you from North Carolina except there's one problem... tickets didn't sell and the place is empty. Now what do you do? This is what I worry about with TNA. They're taken PPVs on the road and have their share of unsuccessful crowd attendance. Without giving away the tickets for free, can they really sell enough to fill up these arenas?

Even as negative as I am towards TNA's incarnation as The Hulk + Eric Show, I don't think they're going to be completely unable to sell seats.

First, a lot of research goes into where you're choosing to tour. You don't walk into a new market without warming it up on TV first; if you're moving your show to a new location(s), you pick ones that respond well to your product. Being in North Carolina, you can bet your bippy that they'll have Flair as a major part of that night's proceedings.

Second, it's not too hard to make a small arena look big on television; without experience, it's pretty tough to tell the difference between a thousand seat arena and a 3,000 seat arena on television. (Case in point- remember the final scenes of "The Wrestler"? Those were shot at the Asbury Park Convention Center, which holds 3,000 people. Looked like a closet in the movie.) You can paper outside of the event (even the WWE ends up papering most of their television shows), move people from higher seats to lower ones and tarp off the top seats, then keep your camera angles low.

I think they'll do alright for themselves on the road- they aren't trying to come to MSG yet. It's a necessary step in the evolution of the company; leave the soundstage shit for WCW Saturday Night.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

WOOOO. TNA has had a PPV in Charlotte before. Flair country isn't a bad idea for a place to start out. It would be nice if they came to Raleigh as well. I like the way IDR put it when we were talking about the traveling shows before, essentially it is a necessary risk. I have my doubts if this is going to pay off but I am excited to see them try it.

If Impact is going to happen somewhere other than Orlando, it's a great idea to start in Charlotte. As others have said, it's Flair country.

Another positive for TNA is they do not need to put 10,000-20,000 people in the seats. They would love to, but a small arena will do the trick. I am pretty sure the Impact Zone only holds around 1,300 people, so anything equal to that, or greater than, will work fine.

The main thing is getting out of Orlando. Eventually, they were going to have to travel, so why not take advantage of having guys like Flair, Hogan, Hardy, RVD, etc. I would love to see Impact go live, on the road, but that might be getting ahead of what is possible.

The Impact Zone is just terrible. Smarky fans, stupid chants, etc. It just doesn't look "big time." Will every other arena look big time? No, but getting away from that crowd is a start. Don't get me wrong, the Impact crowd is loyal. However, that doesn't mean TNA shouldn't travel around the surrounding states to tape Impact every now and again.

 

[Vendetta487]

Well its about fucking time! I hope they do take the show on the road permanently. I think they may need to do some kind of special promotion in order to get outside markets interested. One thing that might work is touring college campuses. A lot of mid-level college basketball stadiums only hold a few thousand people so I think those type of arenas would be ideal for TNA. Depending on the camera angles those places can look like packed houses even though there are only a few thousand people in attendance. Also they can work with the schools and do promotional things on campus. They can do something like have Jeff Hardy or someone else popular do a meet and greet like the day before to bring in some interest. Also flyers can easily be put of in cafeterias or dorm halls. It would be a way to instantly market to thousands of people. I think it would be an easier sell than to just show up in a big city with a lot of other stuff going on. They could possibly attract a considerable crowd if the ticket prices are reasonable. Depending on what kind of product TNA delivers to them they could potentially develop some new fans of the product. This will be good because it will force TNA to deliver a better product because if they put on a shitty show in front of a bunch of people who are buying tickets for the first time, those people are probably lost for good. I don't think TNA is gonna be selling out Madison Square Garden or The United Center any time soon but they should, depending on how effectively the market, be able to draw decent crowds if they decide to permanently go on the road. It will cost more but these are necessary costs.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

Please, before any of the TNA marks such as myself, or the TNA "haters" out there jump to conclusions, TNA is not taking iMPACT on the road permanently.

It's painfully obvious that this is just a test run. TNA management has all the right in the world to be worried about how iMPACT would go outside of Orlando. It's an uncharted territory for TNA, and it's good to see that they're not throwing themselves out there, brainlessly, like they did in January with the infamous "Monday Night War II". It ain't a war if you can't hurt anyone.

I think TNA will be able to draw enough audience. And by enough I mean at least iMPACT Zone capacity.

See, this is where all the big names that everyone bitches about come into play. If you live in Flair Country, and you've heard of TNA, and when you read the advertisement for iMPACT you see a bunch of people whose names you don't know, chances are that you won't go to see that thing. However, if you see the add, and you read "Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Jeff Hardy, Kurt Angle, Eric Bischoff, AJ Styles, Mr.Anderson" you might give this bitch a shot, if not for the company at least to see these guys live and feck it - you'll be on TV.

I'm glad to see that TNA finally found their balls and decided to take iMPACT on the road even for just one date. See how it goes, and then decide if you're going to make it a regular thing or come to the conclusion that TNA is not hot enough for touring and possibly do plan B : Going live every Thursday.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

It doesn't matter if it's one date a year or a new arena every week –*taking iMPACT! on the road has been a major concern for TNA for years now, and the fact it's finally being done is nothing short of a rousing success.

The iMPACT! Zone fans are spoiled smarks who rarely do the right thing by the program, instead cheering and booing whoever they feel like regardless of what it does to the program's televised broadcast, chanting inappropriately (like the "You Are Married" at AJ Styles), etc.

Getting away from them and expanding the product to new audiences (who will actually have to pay to see the show) can be nothing but good.

 

[Dizzy]

TNA's midcard wrestlers are getting paid around what RoH top-tier wrestlers are- there's a reason these guys take independent bookings. They aren't wrestling for $500 a match; they're wrestling for exposure, and the hopes that either the WWE (which pays their performers) notices them, or they can evolve into a top dog at TNA (which is difficult right now if you've never been released by the WWE.) If the money isn't there, and a wrestler thinks they can make better money at the same exposure level (business exposure, not television exposure) working for RoH and indies, what's the obvious choice?

What the hell?

Your telling me that Jay Lethal, Gen Me, Amazing Red are looking to get exposure by ROH or WWE? I find that funny since all of them signed extensions. They work Indie bookings since TNA has always allowed another talent to appear elsewhere. Wolfe was allowed to finish up his run with ROH.

I don't see where anyone has came out and mentioned how much a midcard worker gets paid besides Chuck Palumbo but the IWC is stupid enough to take his word for it and not believe actual midcarders like Sonjay, Kid Kash, Petey who never once complained about wages. Chuck Palumbo makes a statement with zero facts and if midcarders getting paid less money was a problem then I don't see why ROH wrestlers would be accepting tryouts to get into the company.

Logic goes over the heads of internet fans. Remember when TNA had no money to sign talent? Yet they sign Matt Hardy and Tommy Mercer.

 

[wrestlemaniac]

my take on it, it's freakin great. I remember back in 08 when they came for victory road, man they sold a ton of tickets. They went on sale way before the card was announced and I'm sure once the card was announced, more tickets were sold. I mean the hometown hero Booker T was on the card so of course more tickets were gonna be sold. They had a house show here last year in a smaller venue, no houston native on the card...not even hernandez....and that venue had a packed house. would love for them to have an Impact show here

 

[Rayne]

What the hell?

Your telling me that Jay Lethal, Gen Me, Amazing Red are looking to get exposure by ROH or WWE? I find that funny since all of them signed extensions. They work Indie bookings since TNA has always allowed another talent to appear elsewhere. Wolfe was allowed to finish up his run with ROH.

I don't see where anyone has came out and mentioned how much a midcard worker gets paid besides Chuck Palumbo but the IWC is stupid enough to take his word for it and not believe actual midcarders like Sonjay, Kid Kash, Petey who never once complained about wages. Chuck Palumbo makes a statement with zero facts and if midcarders getting paid less money was a problem then I don't see why ROH wrestlers would be accepting tryouts to get into the company.

Ugh. If you're going to respond to my posts, please, read the whole thing first instead of cherry-picking your favorite parts and responding to that exclusively.

First, a wrestler gauges where he can get the most money and exposure for his talent levels, and seeks employment accordingly, like everyone else in America. Like it or not, WWE is king. Their wrestlers make far more money. They are seen by far more people. Given the choice, wrestlers would choose to be a star in WWE before TNA. However, it's not "WWE or die"; if you can make more money for yourself being a star in TNA rather then a WWE mid-carder (hi, AJ Styles), then TNA is the better choice. The idea is that every wrestler is seeking to better his job position, and TNA is not the end-all, be-all of wrestling. Nowhere did I say "wrestlers only sign with TNA in order to get exposure with other companies"; spare us the reflexive TNA defense.

If you want to talk about logic flying over the heads of fans, here's a start. You know why I can have a good figure on what TNA pays its employees? Because they have no reason to pay anymore. All they need to do is offer a package better than that of the competitors they need to take talent from; whether that be in the form of pay (and you don't have to pay much to beat shlepping around the country for a couple of hundred a match), better working conditions, or whatever appeals to a particular individual. Why would TNA be paying a wrestler $2000 a match if they'd work for $500?

Logic goes over the heads of internet fans. Remember when TNA had no money to sign talent? Yet they sign Matt Hardy and Tommy Mercer.

If you're going to respond to my posts, please- argue my arguments. Don't do this reflexive "well, people who hate TNA say this, and I disagreed with what you said, so you hate TNA and believe this too" stuff that goes on so often here. I never said anything of the sort- they clearly have plenty of money to waste on signings like Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, and Jersey Shore cast members for gimmicks that peter out after two months. But on that note... seriously, how much do you think Tommy Mercer is making? Seriously? I have a hunch he wasn't a huge expense.

 

[GetsHeat]

It's an entirely double edged sword.

The Impact Zone is busche league, and the crowds are incredibly stupid. There is a reason that TNA does more backstage vignettes, they don't want to deal with that ******ed crowd.

That being said, TNA won't draw shit on the road, at least to start. I would doubt they could draw more then a couple of thousand (1-3k) for a Live Impact. Which means they'll need to book in little ballrooms or have an empty arena. They could give out free tickets but they'd be back to square one with a bunch of idiots unfamiliar with the product. To add into that, they'd probably be losing a shit load of money just to take it on the road.

But if TNA ever wants to reach a new level they can't do it in the Impact Zone, but to be brutally honest, the product isn't ready for that new level no matter where they are.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

A little update from PWInsider.

To follow up Mike Johnson's story from last night, TNA will do Impact on Thursday 2/24 in Fayetteville, NC at The Crown Center. It will be a live episode.

This is even better. Not only is it in another arena, but it's also Live. This should be interesting.

 

[WWEIsLife2]

While I am not the Biggest TNA fan I do watch them as well and Ive been saying for along time they need to get out of Orlando/Impact Zone if they ever want to turn a profit and be somewhat successful. It hurts their TV and PPVs performing in front of the same audience each week and month.

So good for them for trying to do more Shows on the Road,not sure if they will get the Crowds WWE does but im sure they could get at least 3-4,000 which isn't bad.