Thursday, March 28, 2024
EditorialA Look Ahead to TNA's Upcoming POP TV Debut!

A Look Ahead to TNA’s Upcoming POP TV Debut!

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Hey everyone. It’s been quite a while since I last wrote for the site. Quite honestly, it’s because there hasn’t been anything noteworthy to write about. WWE has lost me. ROH never grabbed me. TNA is what I’m hanging my hope on. That being said, let’s take a look at their upcoming POP TV debut, and speculate on things that could/should happen as they ring in the new year on a new network.

Recently, POP TV President, Brad Schwartz was interviewed by the Miami Herald. He sounds very optimistic about signing TNA to be the flagship show that leads the way for the network to expand into a broader demographic. He seems to understand that reaching the goals of 1 million viewers is not something that’s going to happen overnight. He seems to have a great attitude about this. And as long as he sticks with it and the two work together to achieve their goals, I don’t see any reason why they can’t get there. Now, I also used words here like “sounds” and “seems” because the network is going to have to legitimately show that patience. It’s important that he and the other network heads stick by his claim here and don’t panic too early. Don’t put TNA into a pressure situation where they start panicking. When that happens, tempers flare up, and then relationships end much sooner than they need to.

TNA has to do their part here as well. I’m very happy about the announcement of this deal but I must say, I’m a little disappointed that I haven’t come across a whole lot of advertising about this. I watch CBS networks including CBS College Sports and The CW, and I listen to 94 WIP and KYW on the radio in Philadelphia. I watch and listen a lot and I haven’t seen or heard one commercial spot about this upcoming debut. Oh, and by the way, Bethlehem PA is about an hour north of Philadelphia, so that’s where the fan base is coming from for this debut show. I should be seeing and hearing a lot more about this, but instead, I only see it on the Twitter feed and these websites. It’s good that EC3 was on The Rack podcast and all, but really, he, along with Bobby Roode, and Kurt Angle, should be all over this market right now. Preston and Steve, a very prominent morning show here in Philly, has WWE guys on all the time. They’re wrestling fans. I want to hear Bobby Roode on there in the upcoming weeks. And another by the way, The Taz Show podcast is streamed on the CBSPhilly local website. The fact that TNA is not all over this right now leaves me to ask, WHY?

I’ve been very optimistic about this deal and I will maintain that optimism for as long as I can. But if I start to see signs that they’re doing business as usual, I will go right back to criticizing them. And that criticism could start early. They have 5 nights of events scheduled here in Bethlehem starting January 5th. And we know they have the UK Tour coming up at the end of January. So far so good, but I don’t want to see these two sets of tv taping events to take us into the summer. In a recent discussion during our Wednesday viewing party, we talked about how TNA can’t go live every week, as that would just be unrealistic. But they need to go live once a month, and the taped episodes need to take place on different nights. It shows very poorly on TV because the crowd has nothing left. Plus, they get the added benefit of selling tickets to extra night taping.

One thing I cannot stress enough. TNA MUST stay out of the Impact Zone. Do your shows in Bethlehem, PA. Do them in NYC. Do them down in Texas. If you return to Florida, go to the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach. It’s an hour a way from Orlando, cheap enough to rent, and again, you can sell tickets to the event, especially if you go down for Spring Break. According to the Ocean Center’s calendar of events as of this writing, both the 2nd and 3rd weekends in March, aka, Spring Break season, are open and unbooked. It’s opportunities like these that seem to always pass them by. But they must avoid the Impact Zone like the plague, because that’s all that place has ever been for them, a plague. It seems that once they set up shop in the Impact Zone, they get lazy. The crowds there aren’t fans, but just vacationers looking for something free to do on a random night. Every once in a blue moon, you might get a hot crowd or a good reaction for certain wrestlers, but mostly, it’s lifeless. It’s like a graveyard in that place. Stay away.

Okay, I’ve preached my optimism as well as my concerns. I’m happy to say I’ll be at the Live Episode of their POP TV debut so I’m hoping for a big show from them. So let’s talk about that. What will make this a “big” show for them? I have some ideas and things that I feel need to happen, as well as some predictions that I think will happen.

First, every title needs to be on the line. Now whether TNA is planning on reshooting the semis and finals still remains to be seen. But this show needs to be PPV quality. Every title needs to be defended, and multiple feuds and storylines need to be introduced. I think whoever the world champ is, hopefully EC3, will defend against Kurt Angle since he’s wrapping things up. I think there should be a King Of The Mountain match for Bobby Roode’s title, involving 4 or 5 competitors. There should be an Ultimate X match with 3 or 4 competitors. Obviously, Gail needs to defend her Knockout’s Title and the next contender needs to be revealed here. I’m thinking The Queen B. And the Wolves should defend their tag team titles. I’d like to see a suprise tag team here, maybe one from the good ol days. Or the introduction to a new tag team.

There also needs to be some WOW moments and surprises. If rumors are true that AJ Styles is currently working without a contract, TNA would be smart to throw money at him. He may be jet-lagged from Wrestle Kingdom the night before though, unless his injury keeps him from competing. He is booked for an ROH show in February so I don’t know how that would work but, if it’s possible, TNA should do what it can to make it happen.

If James Storm is not under WWE contract, and only working on an appearance basis, then TNA should get him out of this potential NXT feud with Adam Rose. Storm’s better than an Adam Rose NXT feud. TNA should get him back and use him right.

I fully expect Austin Aries to be there, and most likely one of the participants in the KOTM match for Roode’s Title.

Finally, I think Goldberg planted the seed with his tweet. I think by the time that was put out there for the public to see, the deal was already signed. Hopefully, it’s just a very short program but I’m predicting we’ll be seeing Goldberg in Bethlehem on January 5th.

So there you have it folks. In a month’s time, TNA will be on a new network proving the doubters, who said they were going to die, wrong for the 5th straight year. I’m optimistic about it, though equally concerned that they aren’t doing enough to promote this.

I just want to say one more thing here. As I’ve been saying now for the past few weeks that we’ve been subjected to WWE’s terrible episodes of RAW, if you want WWE to get better, find POP TV and tune in to TNA on Tuesdays. If for no other reason than to try and light that fire under the ass of the WWE, tune in to TNA and show WWE that you’re willing to watch the alternative if they don’t start giving the fans what they want. If there’s enough buzz around TNA’s debut, then WWE will pull out all the stops to try and put on an epic first RAW of the New Year. You’ll be amazed at the result if WWE feels threatened. Everyone always says without the fans, there is no WWE. Well fans, how about we show WWE that we are the ones in control?

Thank you all for reading. Have a great weekend and be safe.

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