**BREAKING** SpikeTV Cancels TNA Impact!
 

From the Front Page:

The following is from TMZ.com:

TNA Wrestling’s flagship show “Impact Wrestling” could soon be without a home — Spike TV quietly let the league know it’s not renewing their TV contract … TMZ has learned.

Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the deal … tell us Spike execs contacted TNA President Dixie Carter this week to break the news — and the following day Carter informed members of her inner circle.

TNA’s current deal with Spike reportedly runs through October. It’s unclear at this point when “Impact Wrestling” will stop airing on Spike.

Also read: ​Major Update: Big Meeting At TNA Headquarters Yesterday

We’re told there’s no bad blood, and Spike gave TNA such advance notice so it would have time to shop for a new TV deal.
TNA’s show debuted on Spike TV in October 2005 — and helped the league rise to #2 on the wrestling scene … behind the WWE.

We’ve called TNA and Spike for comment … so far, no word back.

welp stick a fork in TNA.

http://www.tmz.com/2014/07/27/impact...-spike-tv-tna/

TNA Wrestling's flagship show "Impact Wrestling" could soon be without a home -- Spike TV quietly let the league know it's not renewing their TV contract … TMZ has learned.

Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the deal ... tell us Spike execs contacted TNA President Dixie Carter late last week to break the news -- and the following day Carter informed members of her inner circle.

TNA's current deal with Spike reportedly runs through October. It's unclear at this point when "Impact Wrestling" will stop airing on Spike.

We're told there's no bad blood, and Spike gave TNA such advance notice so it would have time to shop for a new TV deal.

TNA's show debuted on Spike TV in October 2005 -- and helped the league rise to #2 on the wrestling scene … behind the WWE.

We've called TNA and Spike for comment ... so far, no word back.

Well shit... Knew this was coming though. As bad as TNA can be I still enjoyed watching it occasionally. Shame for the guys on the roster. Many of them have too much talent to be thrown back into the indies. :-\

at least Kurt Angle can come back to WWE sooner

Wow.

Everyone is just going to run under the supposition that nobody else is going to pick them up?

I understand it isn't likely, but it isn't exactly impossible.

The ratings, while they weren't near WWE level, weren't really ABYSMAL in the big picture were they? You'd think they should be able to get a new deal on a lesser network.

Still kinda sucks. Like Wishbone said, as awful as TNA can be they are also capable of occasionally putting on a show that, strictly from a booking standpoint, could blow the lazy nothingness of WWE booking out of the water. I'd like to see them somehow find new hope on a lesser network without the expectations and stay above water long enough to slowly build themselves up but for some reason I just don't think they have the people who can make that happen.

That's unfortunate. They'll probably find another network, but I'd imagine it would be a smaller TV deal, so it'd require budget cuts.

I honestly wish the best for the company.

I hope they are able to regroup and find a tv deal.

someone on Twitter said "if vince was sly he would get TNA to pay him top dollar to have a slot on the WWE Network weekly" thoughts?

Shame for TNA but not really surprised since it was hinted several times about Spike not really seeing the new deal as a big priority and the recent stuff with Russo probably didn't help either.


Think they average between 0.8 to 1.1 if I remember correctly. Should be good for a smaller network but TNA probably still would need to do a lot of serious rehauling. Doubt the potential new owner would splurge with the cash like Spike TV did until recently.

Could be a good grab for WGN or ION. I could see FOX Sports taking an interest as well, though TNA wouldn't be a cornerstone of their programming. Doesn't really fit FX.

I think that's the big one.

I look forward to seeing Kurt Angle at Wrestlemania 31 and good luck to TNA on the Weather Channel.

What about FXX???

They will definitely get another TV deal no problem. Just a matter of seeing what kind of changes will need to be made because of it.

There's plenty of shitty stations with hours to fill. I wouldn't bet on anything like FXX, FX, Fox Sports 1 though. I wouldn't say their chances are good but they have a shot.

They couldn't afford the price.

I think you are vastly overestimating their value that it'll be a shoe in. They've been nothing but a headache for Spike for awhile and hiring Vince Russo without Spike knowing about it will be a determinant to get a deal. Why do business with somebody who will lie and hire somebody you have a problem with?

Might be bad blood from them leaving Fox Sports Net in 2005. Also they spent alot of the Simpsons recently. Might not have the spare cash for a fixer upper like TNA. Spike had to put ALOT of their own cash to keep TNA afloat.

Don: Now we can get on a great station! We're not fucked!

<img class="irc_mi" style="margin-top: 168px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fZA7afCESGk/U811eZUNmUI/AAAAAAAABeQ/q2q-jdKK7H8/s1600/West_Tenay+YEAH.gif" width="300" height="225">

Couldn't TNA go the syndication route, much like ROH? Granted, they'd prob'ly get a shitty timeslot, but they'd still be on TV. And they wouldn't have to try and sell a potential network any magic beans about trying to compete with Vince McMahon in a year or two.

Meanwhile, for the Network formerly known as Nashville, I can see this kind of backfiring. I mean, axing one of the two things people even watch Spike for can't really set them up to improve any market share.

If iMPACT! Wrestling does end up having to fold up shop as an end result, it's sadder than that attendance they had out by Eastwood Mall, because having one less place to wrestle and get some exposure has already proven to be a bad thing. For as much "fun" as it would be to see Angle or The Dudley Boyz or even Jeff Hardy back in WWE, you cut the nuts off of guys like A Double, Ken Kennedy, or any of the "lesser" talent WWE wouldn't bother taking chances on or likely not rehire for whatever reason...



... but no matter what happens, I'm pretty sure Jeff Jarrett is watching what's going down very closely.

Who stickied this?

Tazz, I'm not in your sig. This offends me. The wedding is off.

Wow! This is sad news. A lot of people are going to lose their jobs if nobody else picks them up.

This blows. Hate the product, but it sucks for a lot of reasons.

Getting a crappy, lower-level channel to show the program isn't so much the issue as the money that came with the Spike deal. Without that, or a close equivalent, they're fucked, and because they got dropped, their leveraging power is absolutely zilch.

Saturday Morning Slam wasn't picked up by anyone when that deal expired. Ditto for Main Event. And that's WWE, the established market leader with a build-in fan base.

Jarrett doesn't have a TV deal at the moment, and that's telling.

Perhaps they can make a giant wrestling ring cake and do the show on the Food Network, since it's all about the ring.

Wrestling is a dying fad

Bellator killed TNA

mMa

Were taking over

Everyone keeps saying this but he was knocked back the last couple of times his contact was up, if there was any real interest he'd be there already. And the state his neck is in could he realistically even pass their physical?

Booker T - final WCW Champion
Ezekiel Jackson - final ECW 2.0 Champion
Bobby Lashley - final TNA Champion ?

hmm..

<font color=goldenrod>I have no idea how they recover from this. With WWE getting embarrassed shopping their product around various networks, I can't imagine any of them wanting to even look at TNA.

They're done.</font>

They're in too poor of a financial state for anywhere other than a big network to pick them up. Surely a small network would look at them and think there is too much risk that they'll go under to consider giving them any money to produce anything.

There is also a major risk to their ability to continue to do business until their TV deal runs out in October. Once people start to think that they will go under, no-one is going to do anything for them without cash up front, which I doubt they have, which will make the day to day running of the business extremely difficult.

Essentially, this is to very soon be a former wrestling promotion.

A sad day. Not just for the wrestlers, but also the many people they must employ behind the scenes as well.

loltna

I'm not awake enough to come up with something pliable or even witty. I will just say that I quit watching TNA ages ago because it started sucking...But I will miss it being available and an alternative. I hope they find a home somewhere..even if it is public access.


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I don't think they will get picked up.

Their ratings were around that of a re run of cops...while costing far more to put on the air.

Sure they could got the roh route but I don't think the income will be what that company needs.

Wcw couldn't find a new channel when cancelled. I doubt TNA does. This could be the end.

Maybe WWE can buy TNA for pennies on the dollar like WCW and ECW so they can add to their tape library/network.

Meltzer touched on this and its a good point - the fact that not many people tried to get WWE this year tells you all you need to know about the marketplace for TNA to get on board with a big station for a big contract right now. It's not impossible, but it isn't likely either.

Maybe they can get on the WWE Network. :shifty:

On a serious note, as a guy with a career in television, I do feel very much for the staff of TNA. It's not just the talented wrestlers losing their jobs, but camera people, technicians, producers, writers, etc. A lot of people may be out of work.

As a fan I still find their product to suck and wish something was finally done to do consistant good shows, but still hope that the workers of TNA are able to keep their jobs or find decent employment elsewhere. :/