TNA Financial Problems?

[Troy]

The ongoing TNA releases are due to budget cuts within the company, something that has been ongoing.

The talents released were being paid a monthly guarantee with an additional fee when they were booked for TNA events. The feeling was that with the talents not being used regularly by the promotion, there was no need to keep them held under contract.

There's been a lot of talk of cost-cutting of late in the company with the added expenses of producing Impact on the road, including the departures of different executives, including execs in the marketing and public relations end of the company.
There has also been increased grumbling among some wrestlers about pay coming late, with one talent claiming he has heard stories of talents being two months behind and others confirming they are behind but not wanting to confirm how far behind they are.

When TNA announced that they were now taking Impact on the road it was expected that they would need to be frugal with their money as it is much more expensive to take Impact on the road every second week rather than filming it at the Impact Zone all the time. However it is shocking to read that some talents are a couple of months behind in payment, surely as a business the first thing you do is ensure that your workers are paid. Granted this report should be taken with a grain of salt as we don't know how factua it is but it is surprising to read.

TNA cutting the wrestlers that were barely being used on television is smart but let's be honest the five that they released wouldn't have been making that much anyway so it is barely going to make a dent in total payments. If they really wanted to cut costs they need to cut some bigger names on inflated contracts that aren't worth it, they ended up getting rid of RVD which was the right move for them as he wasn't worth what he was getting. Someone in management, that isn't a mark, needs to make the tough calls and fire some big names.

TNA also made a good move in dropping 8 PPVs since they would have been losing a lot of money on them each year. It was a missed opportunity for TNA though as PPVs are where the big money is in entertainment as WWE and UFC have shown.

There were reports months ago about Dixie's mother taking control of the finances because they were getting out of control and whilst TNA is a handy tax break for Panda Energy they might be at the end of their tether with propping up the company.

Do you think that TNA are in any serious financial trouble or do you believe this to be a minor issue? If you were TNA how would you cut costs?

 

[The Cork]

Loyalty doesn't exist in wrestling, they need to cut deadwood like AJ, Joe and Sting.

I don't care if they are TNA originals or whatever, it's proven nobody cares about these guys anymore. Rose tinted glasses aside, AJ has been getting constant pushes every year since company founded and every time he has failed to connect with fans. Fantastic athlete, enjoyable enough to watch in the ring, but isn't going to be a star, it's took him a decade to get to where he is now......which is where he was in 2005, 2006, 2007, and go on from there.

You could put John Morrison in his spot to the same effect, might even be cheaper.

 

[Troy]

When I was looking at the TNA roster before I was intially taken aback by how few wrestlers they have for five divisions and then I was surprised at how many of those were originals. They have kept the same core of guys for years and it hasn't really allowed them to expand that greatly. They need some fresh faces in the mix and I agree that they should look long and hard at cutting some veterans.

Sting is the obvious one. He keeps getting one year deals but when his current one expires that should be it. Doesn't add anything to the product anymore. I am surprised that Samoa Joe was resigned when his last contract came up. TNA just haven't used him that well in recent years and he isn't a maineventer in their eyes. It wouldn't have been the worst idea to release him, let him work ROH again or wherever and then in the future they could always bring him back if he gets hot again. There are a few from Aces & Eights that add nothing and should be gone as well once that storyline ends.

If TNA were in financial difficulty then they could easilly cut back costs substantially by dropping the dead weight from the roster.

 

[Rated R Superstar]

Get rid of Dixie.

 

[Deezy]

Get rid of Dixie.

This is the better choice, she kept alot of deadweight on the payroll, simply because she was trying to convey some sort of mom and pop operation feel. Suckered in Angle and Christian, but both saw the writing on the wall. This isn't Dixie and how she sucks at wrestling and is a mark way above her head, this is about how they might lose their TV deal worth a shit because Spike has like 6 months left before it gets rebranded by Viacom, if it doesn't do some wicked numbers til then, TNA loses Spike, they are fucked and Panda loses atleast 60 million in assests. Mama Carter won't be too happy then.

 

[Dale]

Seems like a pretty flimsy report to be honest and could quite easily be one of those, TNA releases a handful of talent therefore must be in financial difficulty. Pretty similar to the reports we always get on the TNA lockeroom morale being either up or down depending on how the last PPV went.

 

[Deezy]

Seems like a pretty flimsy report to be honest and could quite easily be one of those, TNA releases a handful of talent therefore must be in financial difficulty. Pretty similar to the reports we always get on the TNA lockeroom morale being either up or down depending on how the last PPV went.

If morale was based on PPVs, TNA performers would be on suicide watch.

 

[CGS]

Anyone think this could even link in with some of the contract they had at the start of the year and was it the end of last year? When guys like Roode were basically being booked for shows despite having their contracts running out mere days before the shows.

All in all, part of me wouldn't be surprised if TNA is having a few financial issues. I don't think the problems are major but with guys like Sting, Angle, AJ, Joe, Kennedy and a couple others likely on huge contracts mixed with more travelling costs and so forth there was always a chance the companmy was trying to do way to much way to soon.

 

[Kiffy Lube]

This is news still? I mean one point everybody that hates TNA always make is that TNA is just a money pit. Like they don't know anything about running a company, if that were the case they would already be done. This report is loose as fuck anyways and just normal dirtsheet shit trying to create a story out of anything.

 

[Deezy]

This is news still? I mean one point everybody that hates TNA always make is that TNA is just a money pit. Like they don't know anything about running a company, if that were the case they would already be done. This report is loose as fuck anyways and just normal dirtsheet shit trying to create a story out of anything.

A comapny that hasn't turned a profit since comeing to Spike is a money pit, production costs exceeding PPV buys makes it a money pit. A company that doesn't fire talent unless it's Scott Steiner makes them a money pit. The only reason TNA is still around these days is solely because of SpikeTV, which itself is having problems. Viacom is a quarter loss away from rebranding the channel, which makes TNA useless and Panda Energy looking for something else to use as a tax write-off. The place is run by morons and booked by morons.

Name one sucessful thing TNA has ever done.

TNA apologists are living in some fantasy world.

 

[Tapout]

A comapny that hasn't turned a profit since comeing to Spike is a money pit, production costs exceeding PPV buys makes it a money pit. A company that doesn't fire talent unless it's Scott Steiner makes them a money pit. The only reason TNA is still around these days is solely because of SpikeTV, which itself is having problems. Viacom is a quarter loss away from rebranding the channel, which makes TNA useless and Panda Energy looking for something else to use as a tax write-off. The place is run by morons and booked by morons.

Name one sucessful thing TNA has ever done.

TNA apologists are living in some fantasy world.

The X-Division.

TNA has all the potential in the world. Its sad because they have some great talent but as Deezy said, the place is ran and booked like Morons. Seriously. They have gotten some big names over the years but they can't figure out how to book anything successfully. If you have Angle, Sting, Nash, Christian, Booker T, ect all in the same company and you STILL Fuck up? Yeah, thats on management.

 

[Weez]

The X-Division.

If it doesn't lead to a financial gain, as a business, it's not a success, regardless of how cool it is.

 

[Tapout]

If it doesn't lead to a financial gain, as a business, it's not a success, regardless of how cool it is.

I think currently its not pulling in anything but I think its arguable that the X-Division is part of the reason why TNA started to get notice in the early years. People starting to follow TNA cared more about what AJ and the X-Division was doing then the NWA title.

 

[ThatGuyFromNukemHigh]

I think currently its not pulling in anything but I think its arguable that the X-Division is part of the reason why TNA started to get notice in the early years. People starting to follow TNA cared more about what AJ and the X-Division was doing then the NWA title.

That's because nobody wanted to watch Jarrett take out the entire main event with a chair. Honestly happened on the fist weekly PPV I ever watched.

Also, cared more about Johnny Cross. Who I think had one more match with the company after I started watching.

 

[Weez]

I think currently its not pulling in anything but I think its arguable that the X-Division is part of the reason why TNA started to get notice in the early years. People starting to follow TNA cared more about what AJ and the X-Division was doing then the NWA title.

I'm not arguing that's what gave them notoriety, along with that godawful tiny 6 sided ring, but that hasn't translated into high PPV numbers or (pardon the pun) a SPIKE in TV ratings. That doesn't makes for a success.