The most recent episodes of Impact were taped in front of a crowd of about 250 people at a casino in Pennsylvania. They had to turn the lights down so it looked like the wrestlers were performing in some empty soundstage. For years, TNA taped shows at Universal Studios in Orlando in front of 800 fans that got into the venue for free. While the wrestlers didn't complain about the venue while they were there, once they started doing tapings elsewhere a lot of them seemed happy to be out of that building because those fans in Orlando had gotten really stale. If you only watch WWE Raw, Smackdown and PPV events then you would look at TNA as some low rent operation that isn't worth your time. It's a big reason some fans were turned off by the product. TNA deserves credit for trying to grow and changing things up by going to other venues outside of Orlando, but their inability to consistently draw crowds makes them look very small time to the average viewer. That's enough to turn some people off for good.
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.
