10 People Most Responsible For TNA's Failure
There's more to TNA's demise than Dixie Carter.
The uncertainty surrounding TNA’s long-term future continues.
The Nashville-based promotion has been limping through a depressing existence for years, but while a Billy Corgan takeover seemed imminent last week, it has since been dismissed by the TNA hierarchy. A Corgan buyout with WWE acquiring the tape library still seems the likeliest conclusion, but there’s no guarantee of either deal, and the waters remain muddy.
If TNA does survive into 2017, the owner has an almighty task on their hands. The promotion’s leadership, perception, and credibility problems have been are deeply ingrained in the company’s identity. It’ll take years of graft to shake them off, and may necessitate an expensive rebranding: the initials “TNA” are poisonous, and if the company continues with them, they may never prosper again.
It’s easy to pin all blame for the company’s long, slow demise on Dixie Carter’s shoulders. Her family’s spell as TNA’s majority shareholders has been an outright disaster, and as President, Carter has directly overseen TNA’s fall from exciting WWE alternative to a shambolic WCW-esque mess.
Dixie has been an abject failure, and she has much to answer for, but she’s not the only culprit. TNA’s failure has been brought on by many architects, and it’s disingenuous to point the finger at Carter and leave it at that. She might be the figurehead, but TNA’s perpetrators are as numerous as their problems.
Here are the 10 people most responsible for TNA’s failure.
10. Spike TV
Spike TV’s cancellation of Impact sparked a big downturn in TNA’s fortunes. Ratings weren’t outstanding on Spike, but they were largely in line with the network’s other shows, and TNA’s last show with them drew an audience of 980,000.
Ratings took an immediate hit when TNA moved to Destination America (359,000 viewers on the first week), with figures typically ranging from 300-380k on Pop TV today.
Being cut from Spike has been disastrous for TNA, and the blame lies largely in the Carter family’s hands. Though there were concerns surrounding TNA’s growth potential, it’s largely believed that Spike pulled the plug because of their distrust towards TNA’s ownership. It was reported that Panda Energy went back on several promises they’d made to the network (including an agreement to never bring Vince Russo back), so Spike cancelled the show.
It’s impossible to blame the network for such a decision, but the move effectively slashed TNA’s audience to a third of what it used to be. TNA’s problems started long before 2014, but at least they still had an audience. Today, only the hardcore loyalists remain, and Impact has never recovered from Spike's cancellation.