ROH Ready To Take The Reigns As Alternative To WWE?

Ring of Honor wrestling is on verge of becoming the new alternative to WWE in North America. This week will mark that last show taped by TNA that will appear on Spike-TV. It is expected TNA will be leaving Spike and return if they can find a television deal on a much smaller network. This would in effect make ROH the number two company in terms of reach in the number of households they currently reach. Ring of Honor also seems to be willing to expand and build on that through syndication deals with networks outside of Sinclair broadcasting that owns the company. That they recently did in the Atlanta market.

ROH has also started to get into pay-per-view with lack of the WWE on traditional pay-per-view. Their first venture into pay-per-view was a modest success exceeding internal expectations. They prepare to return to pay-per-view as TNA is scrambling to find their product a broadcast home. Final Battle will be live on pay- per-view on December 7th. We spoke with Kyle O’Reilly this past week one-half of the ROH Tag Team Champions speaking about a number of topics including Final Battle and ROH’s move to live pay-per-view. TNA if and when they come back will be minus one of the few stars they can claim to have created. Ethan Carter III is reported to have a torn bicep and be out of action for 6 months.

While hardcore wrestling fans have praised Lucha Underground as this great alternative wrestling program it has not translated to ratings. The El Rey network is also currently not in many homes or markets that will make it a struggle to build an audience to rival ROH or TNA depending on where they end up.

The other big player is Ring of Honor’s partners in the past New Japan Pro Wrestling. There involvement with Jeff Jarrett and Global Force Wrestling to debut on pay-per-view the following month made things a little complicated. It apparently has been worked out, as it appears ROH talent will in fact be allowed to work on this show. ReDRagon who also hold the IWGP Jr. Tag Team titles from the NJPW promotion. NJPW was able to land Jim Ross to call their pay-per-view that should be a help as Ross is loved by many wrestling fans and regarded as the best wrestling announcer alive today.

Being number two means something far different from what it did 15 years ago. Still Ring of Honor as many in the promotion reference it in terms of the little engine that could likely never was expected to be here. Looking at a future where they could be considered the second largest company in wrestling in North America and the main alternative to WWE.

As good, as 2014 has been for ROH they have had some bumps in the road. 2015 will be a much different year for them, as they will experience in a sense what it is like to be the hunted a little bit as the main alternative to WWE. The race for second place will be far more interesting than anyone delusional to think they can knock off the WWE.

ROH come 2015 will be the alternative program or in terms of political analogy the opposition party. It is a role that at least from their booking should provide a product that is not trying to be the WWE. This is what fans truly want and will see if ROH can make the most out of their newfound position to expand their fan base as disgruntled WWE fans looking for an alternative have been on the rise.

Regardless of if TNA survives or not, after over a decade of failing to be a true alternative to WWE they have failed and it is time for someone else to have that spotlight. Ring of Honor is a position to say why not us. Given the number of their talents that have went on to success in WWE they likely have a valid point based on the talent they develop.

TNA GONE....From Thursday Nights

You’re a company that has been told you are no longer welcome to be on a network and are praying you can find someone dumb enough to have you on the air who are you? If you said TNA, you are correct and the ostrich of the wrestling business is for around the millionth time saying they have big news to announce. Can we have a drum roll please?  No can’t afford it due to budget cuts…Oh well here is the alleged BIG NEWS!

BIG NEWS: make sure you watch #IMPACTonSPIKE tonight, because next week we move to WEDNESDAY! http://t.co/cciQyAm3wb pic.twitter.com/tXzE1hFmE2
— TNA WRESTLING (@IMPACTWRESTLING) August 14, 2014

Therefore, Impact that if you have not been living under a Rock is expected to be given the boot by Spike-TV in October is now getting an early boot to another night on Spike. No word as to why perhaps Bar Rescue needed to be shown on a different night and get the strong lead in of Cops.

If we did not know, TNA’s issues with Spike on might see this as a smart or reactionary move with Smackdown rumoured to be returning to Thursday nights. In addition, the NFL is almost a month away and is expanding its Thursday night games to CBS this season. Whatever the case TNA tries to present this as their choice but let’s be honest, they have about as much leverage with Spike-TV as the WWE has with stopping its fans from chanting CM Punk during an A.J Lee match. TNA also has missed the boat on now Ex-WWE Star Alberto Del Rio who is apparently going to join AAA wrestling the Mexican promotion that Konan is booking for and has its own plans to enter the U.S market sometime this year.

Therefore, TNA continues to fade away even if they are not willing to admit it. Not exactly, breaking news is it.  There has been an improvement in the product according to folks that still bother to watch it but it likely is a case of too little too late. I am sure the million or so loyal TNA watchers will figure out the show is on Wednesdays and not just gone. That said for the casual TNA viewer if there is such a thing they might assume it is gone.

Will have our thoughts on our Video Podcast coming up at 7:30 tonight. 

TNA Given a Death Sentence by Spike-TV

It would appear TNA has been given a death sentence as Spike-TV has decided to no renew their television contract with the wrestling company. This news started breaking around midnight on Sunday. TMZ came out with a report as TMZ Sports is developing a reputation for breaking news as they do in entertainment circles for wrestling.

The news that Vince Russo was connected with the company that came out last week might have been a final straw for Spike-TV to pull the plug. Russo is given a bulk of the blame for the death of WCW. Now another wrestling companies death will be placed on his hands by many. Still to say it was one thing as to why this happened would be foolish.

This was a company that while some say had finally bottomed out and was building itself back up in reality was still badly damaged they only drew 67 people to a baseball stadium somewhere in Kentucky. They struggled to sell seats for their NYC tapings that were held in the same location that Raw was taped back in the 90’s. Which is a smaller venue than where ROH runs in the same building at the Hammerstein Ballroom.

TNA short of a miracle will die come October if not sooner. First real sign will be if they follow through with their second set of tapings planned for beginning of August in same venue. If they do that will get their tapings done to their drop dead date on Spike-TV I believe. After that it is searching for a miracle.

When you consider the WWE did not find much interest to leverage against USA/NBC Universal was next to nothing. If WWE can’t get on Fox Sports 1 or 2 safe to say TNA has no chance. The idea has been floated that Jeff Jarrett and his Global Force Wrestling could jump in TNA’s spot has been speculated on. Jarrett apparently signed a deal when he left TNA that would complicate that process this is assuming Spike even has any interest. I would suggest they don’t and plan to use Glory Kick-Boxing  to replace TNA to some extent as the programming to partner with MMA Promotion that Viacom/Spike TV owns in Bellator, Not a weekly show obviously but something much closer to MMA. To put in perspective Glory it is rumoured did not even out draw Ring of Honor recently on PPV. So they are not a bigger draw than TNA but far less tainted. In fact something that hardcore fight fans think can grow.

Speaking of ROH what this means for them is obvious a shot at bringing in some more talent to an already talented roster. Being owned by Sinclair a television company it is not going to change their broadcasting all that much. It might encourage them to do more PPV depending on how they did on their first time out.

As for the WWE there is some debate on Twitter if WWE would go after any of the TNA talent. I claim they will not given recent cost cutting moves and having passed on A.J Styles and pretty much any top TNA talent that has left that has not had a prior history with the WWE.  WWE has made roster cuts and been in cost cutting mode so it would be somewhat hypocritical to all of the sudden be adding talent. Even past talent like Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy and Bubba Ray Dudley I honestly don’t see them being interested in.

Obviously a lot of this info is just coming out the fallout of all of this will go on perhaps for months depending on how TNA tries to handle this. In any case as much as I have had zero love for this company especially in the last year or so. I still am sad to see people in wrestling business with one less place to try and earn a living. From the wrestlers to all the people behind the scenes that we do not see.

I am happy for Ring of Honor though as they have a real chance to be the number two company in North America and continue to grow. Will see what all this means for them when all the smoke clears.

 

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