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[Guzim]

From PWInsider.com

Impact:

*Team 3D defeated Buck Quartermaine & Lex Lovett. Team 3D cut a promo about wanting to win the NWA Tag Team titles.

*Backstage, Shane Douglas interviewed Jeff Jarrett, Scott D'Amore and their entire stable about the Sting Tribute. D'Amore talked about the Jackie Gayda situation, saying he had an envelope from Jackie to give to Jarrett.

*Homicide & Apollo vs. The Naturals - Konnan attacked the referee and the Naturals. Kip and BG James hit the ring for the save. They didn't announce an official result.

*Shane Douglas was in Larry Zbyszko's office with Jackie Gayda. Alex Shelley & Roderick Strong & Austin Aries invaded the office complaining they haven't been getting opportunities and the X-Division was based around three people. Jerry Lynn came out and told them that if they won matches, they'd be getting marquee matches.

*Ron Killings pinned Bobby Rude with a rollup in about 5 seconds. Scott D'Amore challenged Killings to a rematch and he won again in about a minute. They did a second rematch, with Rude winning after the Northern Lariat.

*Shane Douglas interviewed X-Division champion Samoa Joe. Joe didn't talk at first but then cut a promo on AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels.

*Austin Aries & Alex Shelley & Roderick Strong defeated AJ Styles & Christopher Daniels & Chris Sabin when Shelley pinned Sabin in an "amazing match".

*NWA champion Jeff Jarrett came out and the heels held a Sting Tribute that was very entertaining. They did "Sting Through the Years." Eric Young was dressed as "Surfer Sting." Chris Harris was "the Crow Sting". James Storm came out in a chicken suit. Monty Brown came out as the "new" Sting in goth pushing a stroller to the ring. Christian Cage came out, followed by Team 3D, which led to a huge brawl. Abyss and Rhino hit the ring with everyone brawling as the show went off the air. A fun segment.

Impact:

*Abyss pinned Jay Lethal in a quick match with the Black Hole Slam.

*Mike Tenay announced AJ Styles won "Mr. TNA for 2005". They discussed his match with New Japan's Tanahashi at the PPV. Shannon Moore came out from the crowd, threw powder in Styles' eyes and stole the plaque. During the segment, the crowd was very, very vocal that Samoa Joe should have won.

*Backstage, Shane Douglas interviewed Kip and BG James about Konnan's crew.

*TNA X-Division champion Samoa Joe defeated Cassidy Riley with a Muscle Buster. As the match progressed, Styles chased Moore into the ring, leading to Joe and AJ going at it. After the match, Joe was going to give Cassidy a musclebuster on a chair, but Christopher Daniels (who was commentating) hit the ring and struck Joe with the chair.

*Shane Douglas interviewed Jackie Gayda. She said that she wouldn't talk about her issue with Jeff Jarrett as it was between them. Scott D'Amore arrived and tried to work something out with Gayda. Shannon Moore ran into the interview, where he was attacked by AJ Styles and they brawled, so nothing got resolved.

*A-1 & Petey Williams & Eric Young defeated Matt Bentley & Chris Sabin & Sonjay Dutt. Alex Shelley tripped Sabin, allowing Williams to hit the Canadian Destroyer.

*Christian Cage & Rhino defeated NWA Tag Team champions America's Most Wanted in a non-title match. 3D and Gail Kim all interfered. Abyss hit the ring after the match and gave Rhino a Black Holy Slam. Jeff Jarrett and Monty Brown hit the ring and gave Christian a Pounce followed by a guitar shot. The lights went out and Sting's voice was heard, saying he would take care of things at Final Resolution.

Xplosion:

*The Naturals defeated Bobby Rude & A-1.

*Ron Killings & Lance Hoyt & Matt Bentley defeated The Diamonds in the Rough. After the match, Konnan came out and shook hands with Ron Killings.

Note: Former NWA champion Dory Funk Jr. was in attendance watching the show from the crowd.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

Looks really, really good. Much better than the last month or so of shit. It looks like they're putting a good focus on the X Division guys as a whole rather than just the main three.

Other spoilers said the long Jarrett segment was impossible to hear over the "Boring" and "We Want Wrestling" chants, and a big "Joe got screwed" chant during AJ's segment made him visibly upset.

 

[Dr. Kitty Muffins]

When is Kanyon set to arrive?

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

When is Kanyon set to arrive?

He isn't. He did a match a month ago and that's all.

 

[jobber]

When is Kanyon set to arrive?

He has better things to do

 

[Dr. Kitty Muffins]

he has a myspace site? Someone link me!

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

he has a myspace site? Someone link me!

http://myspace.com/chriskanyon

Use your brains, plz.

 

[FightyF]

he has a myspace site? Someone link me!

There are a handful of wrestlers on the site actually.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

There are a handful of wrestlers on the site actually.

They're mostly fake. Samoa Joe, Petey Williams, Chris Sabin and a few others are real.

 

[Brian Fellows]

Looks like they are borrowing ROH's Generation Next storyline for Aries, Strong, and Shelley which is cool with me. Those 3 work so well together. Now all they need to do is bring in Matt Sydal and/or Jack Evans.

 

[Outcast2004]

Looks to be a pretty strong lead-in to a typically "better than WWE's shit" PPV.

Hopefully TNA stop dragging it's feet and get Samoa Joe signed for the long haul. They CAN NOT lose him to Vince and the Evil Empire. He would be a devestating loss to that roster.

But once again the question arises, WHEN ARE YOU GETTING TWO HOURS?

Roster, too big for one hour.

 

[Keyser Soze]

But once again the question arises, WHEN ARE YOU GETTING TWO HOURS?

Roster, too big for one hour.

Not enough people care yet....

I am starting to care more now as it looks like TWC is going to be showing up to date TNA instead of the month behind stuff they have been showing for the past year.

 

[DarienA]

I find myself watching whole TNA shows including the matches... I find myself fast forwarding through WWE shows mostly the matches...

 

[Outcast2004]

Not enough people care yet....

I am starting to care more now as it looks like TWC is going to be showing up to date TNA instead of the month behind stuff they have been showing for the past year.

You're speaking for the European audience obviously.....

TNA is doing great ratings considering WHEN it's timeslot is. It's exceeded even Spike TV expectations for the show.

It's pulled a .9 rating on Christmas Eve... CHRISTMAS EVE! That says alot. Even the replays at MIDNIGHT are pulling a decent number.

It's just a matter of time. Besides the rumor is already floating of Spike considering a prime time slot for them. Possibly Thursday nights... if the rating holds strong like it has been.

 

[Brian Fellows]

Thursday nights would be cool.....except when Survivor is on.

 

[Battlezone]

It's pulled a .9 rating on Christmas Eve... CHRISTMAS EVE! That says alot. Even the replays at MIDNIGHT are pulling a decent number.

Sigh. It's still at .9? No growth at all? That sucks, because even while this past month of shows had an eerie WCW 2.0 vibe about them, they were still far more entertaining than the past month of WWE television. Especially Samoa Joe-I love what they've been doing with him. And who's the guy that's been videotaping his matches? That could be a great gimmick if they flesh it out a bit.

Spike's never gonna give them two hours if they don't start showing they can pull in new viewers outside of the loyal batch of fans they've got now.

 

[Ulairi]

I think that's why they signed Sting, to help build up the numbers...

 

[Outcast2004]

Sigh. It's still at .9? No growth at all? That sucks, because even while this past month of shows had an eerie WCW 2.0 vibe about them, they were still far more entertaining than the past month of WWE television. Especially Samoa Joe-I love what they've been doing with him. And who's the guy that's been videotaping his matches? That could be a great gimmick if they flesh it out a bit.

Spike's never gonna give them two hours if they don't start showing they can pull in new viewers outside of the loyal batch of fans they've got now.

honestly... what more do you expect from an ELEVEN O CLOCK ON A SATURDAY show? It is something you kind of have to go out of your way to watch.

For it to pull that well on a Christmass eve showing with a pretty weak card should say alot. Give it a trial run on prime time and see how it fairs. The TNA style is really suited well to those channel surfing. Their quicker pace and more acrobatic is more apt to catch someone's eye.

But honestly, how much heigher do you think they can go on a cable late-night Saturday slot?

They've outdone just about EVERY episode of Velocity ratings-wise, that was the goal.

 

[Battlezone]

Fair enough. I guess it's a bit of a Catch-22, then. Can't get a better timeslot without more viewers, can't get more viewers without a better timeslot.

I almost wonder if a earlier Saturday night slot wouldn't be better in the meantime? Say, the old WCW Saturday night slot? 6:05 EST? If nothing else, it is/was an established timeslot for wrestling. And the winter-post Olympics-would be a good time to do it, because there's virtually no competition at that time.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Who beats Kanyon?

 

[Outcast2004]

The problem with the old WCW Saturday slot is pretty much self explanitory.

It was an established slot 7 years ago. Thats a long gap.

Wednesday or thrusday night at 8 would work for them really well. Besides, what else is Spike going to show? Old Bond movies or CSI reruns? Not like those would be a big loss and I'm sure TNA pulls in more ratings than those do.

Who beats Kanyon?

Raven did..at the last PPV. Kanyon looked terrible.

Before that they trotted out Justin Credible... who looked terrible.

 

[Battlezone]

The problem with the old WCW Saturday slot is pretty much self explanitory.

It was an established slot 7 years ago. Thats a long gap.

Wednesday or thrusday night at 8 would work for them really well. Besides, what else is Spike going to show? Old Bond movies or CSI reruns? Not like those would be a big loss and I'm sure TNA pulls in more ratings than those do.

Spike's best ratings right now come from UFC and CSI, (the latter runs weeknights at 8). As a matter of fact, according to this MediaWeek article from December 19, the network acknowledges as much:

Spike TV executive vp, general manager Kevin Kay dismisses talk of a ratings collapse, pointing to the twin successes of the net’s CSI reruns and its Ultimate Fighting Championship programming. “When we walked away from the WWE, we knew Monday nights were going to be tough,” Kay said. “But the strength of our other programming and the way we package our movies keeps us up the other six days.”

Not only that, but Spike paid nearly $2 million dollars per episode to bring CSI to Spike. In addition, the network also has several high-profile original projects in the works, which surely would nap the high-profile timeslots over TNA.

It sounds to me like you'd like Spike to hand over two hours of primetime to an unproven product. But this isn't 1998 anymore, wrestling isn't hot anymore. You kinda gotta take what you can get right now. Hell, NWA/WCW had that Saturday night timeslot for over 20 years on TBS before they got a chance in primetime, and that was only because Ted Turner had such a soft spot for wrestling, since it was so integral to TBS' growth early on.

And the fact that WCWSN *was* so long ago works in TNA's favor. It was a proven timeslot, yet they have a chance to build their own legacy there. Seems to work for me.

EDIT: Where in the hell can I find some reliable ratings numbers? Help, please?

 

[Outcast2004]

And the fact that WCWSN *was* so long ago works in TNA's favor. It was a proven timeslot, yet they have a chance to build their own legacy there. Seems to work for me.

You know I wanted to slap my own forehead about the CSI comment. That is their strongest thing right now. UFC doesn't exactly pull in the ratings though. It does well, but not great.

As for Saturday, that's a deathspot. NOTHING gets ratings on a Saturday. This isn't 7 years ago in the repsect that you don't HAVE TIME to build a legacy. We are a culture of short attention spans.

They can keep the 11 slot, but why not throw them a bone with a prime time slot? Let them run their CSI at 8 then use it as a lead-in to TNA at 9.

Face facts.... Spike has 3 things. UFC, TNA and CSI. They all need to help each other out.

You talk about Spike not wanting to give time to an "unproven" product, well this is the same station that will be doing just that with their "Blade" TV series. I have a feeling that will suck horribly, but yet it still garners a prime time slot on a network.

You can not use WCW as a comparison. It 's a way too different set of circumstances. WCW had Turners money and his TV stations. They were on prime-time because Turner wanted it that way.

TNA is going it alone and is growing as a brand quicker than even I had imagined. Let's not forget this company is 3 years old and has a national TV deal and monthly PPVs, a toyline, DVDs in every major retailer, a videogame in the works with Midway. That's a hell of a list of accomlishments for any start-up.

Why not take a chance and put them on a night where you have nothing but old movies and reruns? What's the worst that could happen? They pull a 1.0 on a regular basis? I'm sure that's better than whatever Star Trek rerun you're showing.

EDIT: Ratings wise they have pulled anywhere from .7 being their lowest, to a 1.2 at their highest.

 

[Battlezone]

You can not use WCW as a comparison. It 's a way too different set of circumstances. WCW had Turners money and his TV stations. They were on prime-time because Turner wanted it that way.

That was kinda my point. Even with Turner's money and TV stations, it wasn't until 1997 that he was willing to give WCW primetime.

But the Saturday night/primetime combo actually sounds like a good idea. I got the idea that you wanted two hours back to back, and I just couldn't see where that was feasible, looking at Spike's PT schedule.

Face facts.... Spike has 3 things. UFC, TNA and CSI. They all need to help each other out.

I don't think Spike sees TNA as a drawing card right now. That's not to say that they won't in the future, but if they DID see them as such, they'd already HAVE primetime by now. Hell, even in that MediaWeek article, when spinning how much Spike doesn't miss WWE, Kevin Kay doesn't even acknowledge that they HAVE an alternative wrestling program.

 

[Outcast2004]

Well it's 11:15...are you doing your part as a wrestling fan and watching?

Homicide certainly got little action.


But, they are doing a MUCH better job of builidng stories leading into PPVs.

Another week, another solid show.

 

[Archie]

I LOVE YOU SAMOA JOE

 

[evil ways]

AJ "Hickory" Styles and Curry Man teaming up to put on another wrestling clinic.

 

[jobber]

Well it's 11:15...are you doing your part as a wrestling fan and watching?

nah..was watching some old Raw tapes from 1999

 

[evil ways]

This shit is really bad. Surfer Sting was funny but from there on it stunk up the joint.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

That 6-man X-Division tag match was probably the best 5 minutes of free TV wrestling in years.

Samoa Joe's effective, confident promo only adds further evidence that this guy is going to be an absolutely huge star very soon.

 

[jobber]

am I the only one that rather watch the TNA PPVs and not the TV shows?

I'm so use to the weekly PPV thing and I saw TNA once on FSN. Eh.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

am I the only one that rather watch the TNA PPVs and not the TV shows?

I'm so use to the weekly PPV thing and I saw TNA once on FSN. Eh.

I only watched this week because I heard the 6-man match was fantastic, and it was. I'd watch every week if it was on at a good timeslot and I didn't have to remind myself to watch it. I generally skip it and just get the PPVs.

 

[Keyser Soze]

I watch most shows because I can record them on Sky+ and look at them when I want. There is a 4 hour special catch up coming on in a few weeks for to catch up with the US as the stuff on TWC is 5 weeks behind at the moment…

 

[Ulairi]

What time is the replay if they have one? I used to watch wrestling back in jr high with Sting and stuff and wouldn't mind seeing what's up.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

What time is the replay if they have one? I used to watch wrestling back in jr high with Sting and stuff and wouldn't mind seeing what's up.

Monday at midnight. Or, Tuesday morning at 12am, if that's how you think of it.

 

[jobber]

For TNA to get a big rating, they have to build up a big match for free TV and it has to be like a 1/2 hour long like a PPV match. Idea: like they turn Joe face and he has a face to face with Jarrett in the ring. Next week TNA makes a Joe/JJ match for the next TV (could be a special show if they get one), Joe and JJ fight a ok match and have some run ins at the end for a DQ. Next week, say it'll be a rematch for the next PPV. That's how Sting and WCW got over back when they had Clash Of The Champions. Doesn't have to be Joe, but he's by far the most popular guy they have.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

For TNA to get a big rating, they have to build up a big match for free TV and it has to be like a 1/2 hour long like a PPV match. Idea: like they turn Joe face and he has a face to face with Jarrett in the ring. Next week TNA makes a Joe/JJ match for the next TV (could be a special show if they get one), Joe and JJ fight a ok match and have some run ins at the end for a DQ. Next week, say it'll be a rematch for the next PPV. That's how Sting and WCW got over back when they had Clash Of The Champions. Doesn't have to be Joe, but he's by far the most popular guy they have.

I believe they've done this for their primetime specials. It just doesn't work because you're only promoting to the same 0.8 rating audience that was going to tune in anyway.

You don't just promote a big show to pop a big rating and grab those fans. The first WWE show on USA a few months ago popped a huge rating, but it's been back to the same old since then.

They just need to slowly build a following and continue being consistent like they have been.