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TNA for Sale


EN090

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Think this will generate a lot of discussion in the coming months and deserved its own thread.

 

Dave Meltzer from the Wrestling Observer is reporting that the Carter family wants to throw the towel in on TNA and sell the company to the highest bidder. There are parties interested in purchasing it, but no word yet on who they might be. Obvious candidates are Eric Bischoff, Jeff Jarrett, Viacom, and the WWE.Dave Meltzer revealed the news on his radio show today that they've been wanting to get out of the wrestling business for several months now, after they've thrown everything at the company without any results.Meltzer is quoted as saying:“There’s a lot of moves being done behind the scenes. There are, no matter what anyone is gonna say right now, big things behind the scenes as far as the future ownership of the company and at that point God only knows where it goes…. There’s people looking at getting it and I think the Carters are looking to get out. They’ve lost enough money and all that and as far as what that means, who knows? But they’ve been looking to get out for awhile, now everyone is going to scream at me and all that, but that’s a 100%, but that’s the stuff they don’t want you to know…. They’ve been looking to get out when they stopped, you know, when it became incumbent, when they didn’t want to fund them anymore….”

Obviously, this is the only thing that might make a difference in terms of growth. Personally, I'd love to see Bischoff be able to purchase it and would probably be the best candidate.

 

One would hope Dixie could convince them not to sell to WWE given the consequences.

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Hope someone buys it and keeps it going. I know a lot of people don't like TNA and hope it goes out of business but the way I look at it, all that means is less jobs and less money for wrestlers. I don't see how less companies in today's climate would be good for business.

 

I could see Viacom buying that out and think it makes the most sense.

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I could see Viacom buying that out and think it makes the most sense.

 

Problem is, Viacom don't want to own a wrestling company. Considering what a mess TNA is, who can blame them? They'd have to start from scratch, find the right people,etc.

 

Also, I think if there was real interest from them, they'd have bought it already. Not like they don't have the money.

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Im going to go against the grain and say that Vince buying it would be the best thing for everyone. WWE contracts are not the death sentence for indy/opposition wrestlers anymore and at worst they would just work NXT tapings instead of TNA ones.

 

I cant ever see anyone becomeing a viable, legit number 2 in the mould of the Monday Night War era so keep the indies going but absorb the best of it all into the prime time.At least if Vince buys it everyone will get paid...

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I don't think legally Vince could buy TNA then air it as WWE's TNA on Spike, could they? Not sure, but it might be in WWE's no-compete clause.

 

Also, people at Spike REALLY soured on Vince after the TV negotiations in 2005, apparently. They're not itching to deal with him again.

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Im going to go against the grain and say that Vince buying it would be the best thing for everyone. WWE contracts are not the death sentence for indy/opposition wrestlers anymore and at worst they would just work NXT tapings instead of TNA ones.

 

I cant ever see anyone becomeing a viable, legit number 2 in the mould of the Monday Night War era so keep the indies going but absorb the best of it all into the prime time.At least if Vince buys it everyone will get paid...

I don't know how the contract situation in TNA works, but I'd imagine a lot of those contracts are pay-per-appearance and how many of those guys would really get signed by WWE?

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Im going to go against the grain and say that Vince buying it would be the best thing for everyone. WWE contracts are not the death sentence for indy/opposition wrestlers anymore and at worst they would just work NXT tapings instead of TNA ones.

 

I cant ever see anyone becomeing a viable, legit number 2 in the mould of the Monday Night War era so keep the indies going but absorb the best of it all into the prime time.At least if Vince buys it everyone will get paid...

I don't know how the contract situation in TNA works, but I'd imagine a lot of those contracts are pay-per-appearance and how many of those guys would really get signed by WWE?

 

 

Joe, Aries, Roode, Storm, and Magnus.

 

Not a ton, but I think they'd take shots on all 5.

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If Vince can get a sweetheart deal for the video library and only the talent he wants, like he did for WCW, he'll buy it in a heartbeat.

 

I can't imagine him absorbing all of the debt and contract commitments and such at a premium price, though.

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Personally I'd love to see Bischoff buy it. He's the only guy that can maybe make something out of it, given 100% control.

 

The ultimate irony would be if they sell to someone for a higher amount than what WCW was sold for to Vince.

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I just don't see the evidence that Bisch could possibly succeed.  I mean, the last 15 years haven't shown any reason to think Bischoff has anything left to give that actually helps a wrestling company.

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Of course, there haven't been any instances of him running a wrestling company with 100% control.

 

On the surfaces, it looks like he's had some failures with TNA (Monday nights, on the road) but he never had the control to put his own people in charge that he thinks could execute it.

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There's everything from mid-1998 into mid 99 WCW, for starters.  And by most accounts, he's been the top guy for TNA the last several months before the contract disputes kicked in...

 I don't know how relevant 98/99 WCW is, since that was in the middle of the entire AOL takeover among other factors.

 

In TNA, he's basically a liaison to Spike. He has no say in advertising, marketing, etc.  

 

I'm not saying he's a perfect choice or anything but given the options, I'd go with him. Just my two cents.

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Im going to go against the grain and say that Vince buying it would be the best thing for everyone. WWE contracts are not the death sentence for indy/opposition wrestlers anymore and at worst they would just work NXT tapings instead of TNA ones.

 

I cant ever see anyone becomeing a viable, legit number 2 in the mould of the Monday Night War era so keep the indies going but absorb the best of it all into the prime time.At least if Vince buys it everyone will get paid...

I don't know how the contract situation in TNA works, but I'd imagine a lot of those contracts are pay-per-appearance and how many of those guys would really get signed by WWE?

 

 

Joe, Aries, Roode, Storm, and Magnus.

 

Not a ton, but I think they'd take shots on all 5.

 

 

Joe is a lost cause, and we all know how WWE feels about guys looking the part, which Joe does not.

 

Aries, Storm, and Roode are all already 35-36, I don't see a lot of mileage out of them at all.

 

Magnus wouldn't pass any Wellness Tests.

 

I really can't see WWE being interested in buying them at all other then for their tape library.

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Serious question: It's obvious that TNA will not get any bigger in its current form. Can they grow under new ownership and what must be done to make it happen?

 

If there's any chance, they need to have a month or so long dark period and then come back as an entirely new company.

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No dark period,no resets. You can lose your audience like that. You don't need a reset to change the name,ownership,etc. A month is a long time in the tv world. 

 

Nobody has the answers but I would think great storytelling and making people care about the product is the only real growth. ECW did that in 95, WCW did that in 96, WWF did that in 97.

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