Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is an independent, American professional wrestling federation set up by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett, formerly run out of Nashville, Tennessee, and now running from Orlando, Florida. Until recently, TNA Wrestling was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was also known as NWA: TNA. However, TNA Wrestling has acquired the rights to use the NWA's World Heavyweight Championship and World Tag Team Championship belts until year 2014, and their champions will still be known as NWA champions.
Background
After the fall of World Championship Wrestling (WCW), there was still demand for southern-style pro wrestling, and cruiserweight wrestling, that Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) was not fulfilling; albeit it was a niche market. The federation began by recruiting many former WCW and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) stars who didn't sign on to WWE.
While several companies attempted to fill this void, like World Wrestling Allstars, TNA Wrestling has perhaps been the most successful. Some suspect its motivation was that Jeff Jarrett, the son of long-time wrestling promoter Jerry Jarrett, was unemployed after the collapse of WCW, and (because he defected from the WWF - now WWE - a year before WCW's collapse) was unable to find work with the McMahons.
Jerry Jarrett, along with Jerry Lawler, was an owner of the now-defunct United States Wrestling Association (USWA); a federation formed after the second attempt at Pro Wrestling USA and the resulting merger between the CWA (Continental Wrestling Association) (which he was also an owner of), and World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW).
From the beginning, however, TNA hemmorhaged money. On the verge of folding, Jerry Jarrett sold his controlling interest in the company to privately-held Panda Energy, whose owner, Dixie Carter (no relation to the same named actress) is a big wrestling fan.
TNA has continued to lose money since the takeover by Panda Energy.
X Division
The high-flying, high risk style of wrestling (derided by some as being 'spot-fests') had been one of the key reasons viewers turned in to WCW and ECW. Rather than emphasizing the fact that most wrestlers who perform this style are under 250 lb (115 kg) by calling it a "Cruiserweight division", TNA Wrestling decided to emphasize the high risk nature of the moves these wrestlers perform (there is no upper weight limit on the X Division title, though in practise most of the champions have been Cruiserweights). Thus a key attraction of TNA Wrestling is the "X Division".
Business model
The TNA Wrestling business model is different from that employed by the WWE and the former WCW in several key ways. By not touring like other major federations do, or have done, TNA Wrestling has been able to keep its costs down.
Its original system of programing was comprised of weekly pay-per-view cable television shows. While it's not unusual for a federation to air a monthly pay-per-view (ECW, WWF/E, and WCW used to all follow this practice, and WWE continues to do so today), not having a weekly network, syndicated, or cable show at the beginning was a radical departure from the usual practice of televised wrestling federations. The weekly TNA Wrestling PPVs was priced at $9.95 per week, much less than the monthly PPVs of its rivals. While this made it more difficult for TNA Wrestling to pick up casual fans, it developed a small, hardcore viewership which loyally watched its product. Initial estimates by TNA predicted that about 50,000 PPV "buys" would be needed each week to break even. Actual buys were, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, ranged from anywhere between 5,000-15,000 on a weekly basis. After 111 weeks, TNA Wrestling stopped the weekly PPV on September 8, 2004.
TNA Wrestling started TNA Wrestling iMPACT! in June of 2004 on FOX Sports Net. TNA Wrestling iMPACT!, taped on Tuesdays at Universal Studios in Orlando, is broadcast at 4:00pm on FOX Sports Net in most markets. TNA Wrestling purchases the one hour time slot from FOX Sports Net, with the monthly PPV earnings being their main source of income. Some say that TNA Wrestling hopes they will be able to sell their weekly show and make a profit from that, rather than paying for the time slot. There was also talks of the TNA Wrestling iMPACT! show appearing on TSN in Canada but those negotiations have since gone down. Rumors that TNA would eventually end up being broadcast on Spike TV once the WWE moves from that network to the USA Network have since been debunked by Spike, who say they have no interest in broadcasting anymore wrestling programs after WWE departs.
On Sunday November 7, 2004 TNA Wrestling held their first Sunday three hour PPV event, TNA Wrestling Victory Road from Universal Studios in Orlando. Featuring Jeff Jarrett and Jeff Hardy in the main event with appearances from Scott Hall, Roddy Piper and the debuts of Kevin Nash and Randy Savage, this was the first PPV since TNA Wrestling changed their business model mid 2004. Initial "buys" for the PPV were estimated to be in the low 10,000s while reports surfaced that most of the live crowd that attended the event were allowed in for free due to low ticket sales. Furthermore, Randy Savage abruptly quit the company less than a day after making his PPV debut due to alleged disputes with TNA management.
During the week after TNA Wrestling iMPACT!, TNA Wrestling partnered with Fox Sports Net's The Best Damn Sports Show Period to create The Best Damn Wrestling Event Period. The specials, filmed at Universal Studios, featured wrestling matches and promoted TNA Wrestling's next PPV, TNA Wrestling Turning Point. The specials were widely criticized by wrestling insiders and fans for treating pro wrestling as a joke and making a mockery of several TNA workers.
On Sunday December 5, 2004 TNA Wrestling Turning Point broadcast featuring footage filmed at Universal Studios Orlando between a few TNA Wrestling wrestlers invading a commercial shoot for WWE's upcoming Royal Rumble PPV. The event also featured a spoof of Vince McMahon and Triple H invading the PPV and demanding that the footage be handed over to them (WWE has demanded the footage be handed over to them rather than aired, or legal action will be taken.) TNA had hoped to provoke some sort of response from their larger rival with this skit, but the more mainstream WWE completely ignored the event in the end.
The event also featured an intense match between tag teams XXX and America's Most Wanted in a Six Sides of Steel Cage Match.
Since December, 2004, reports in various pro wrestling newsletters have circulated that Panda Energy is, or soon will, fold TNA due to continued financial losses. Despite assurances from management (including Dixie Carter), current reports indicate that the company will fold after the April "Lockdown" PPV. Reports have already surfaced that several workers have been shorted in pay. Rumours involving Time Warner have also circulated that once their no compete expires they will look towards TNA as the next big promotion. But can they last until may 2006, and are the huge losses left by WCW to large to forget.
Pay-Per Views (2005):
Current Total Nonstop Action Wrestling championships
Roster
Active wrestlers
TNA Girls
- Tracy Brooks (Tracy Brookshaw)
- Trinity (Stephanie Finochio)
Injured
Prospects
- A-1 (Allistar Ralph)
- Romeo
Factions/Tag Teams
- 3 Live Kru (B.G. James/Konnan/Ron Killings)
- America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris/James Storm)
- Disciples of Destruction (Don Harris/Ron Harris)
- Phi-Delta Slam (Big Tilly/Bruno Sassi)
- Planet Jarrett ("Alpha Male" Monty Brown/Andy Douglas/Chase Stevens/Chris Candido/Jeff Jarrett/The Outlaw)
- Team Canada (Bobby Roode/Eric Young/Johnny Devine/Petey Williams/Scott D'Amore)
- The Naturals (Andy Douglas/Chase Stevens)
- Buck Quartermain/Lex Lovett
- Jerrelle Clark/Mikey Batts
- Kid Kash/Lance Hoyt
Other On-Air Talent
- Mike Tenay (Play-by-Play Commentator)
- Don West (Color Commentator)
- Armando Quintero (Spanish commentator)
- Moody Jack Melendez (Spanish commentator)
- Shane Douglas (interviewer)
- Jeremy Borash (Ring Announcer)
- Jeff Hammond (Lead Analyst)
- Andrew Thomas (Referee)
- Mark "Slick" Johnson (Referee)
- Rudy Charles (Senior referee)
- Harley Race (Championship Committee)
- Larry Zybszko (Championship Committee)
- "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (Championship Committee)
- Jonny Fairplay
External links:
