October 24, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Pinpointing the day that lead to TNA’s current predicament, UFC layoffs, more

What has been the long-time inevitable but several times delayed financial implosion of TNA can really be traced back to one afternoon.

Largely based on a contract with Spike TV, TNA was taking in more revenue than any pro wrestling company in the world aside from WWE through 2014. If a company like ECW would have gotten that type of a deal, they would probably still be flourishing today. With the exception of WCW at the end, almost no wrestling company in history wouldn’t have been able to be profitable, and most would have been able to put out a killer product, with a two-hour prime time slot and that level of television revenue. Just five years ago, TNA’s total revenue, largely due to Spike, was multiples of New Japan Pro Wrestling. Since then, each company went in opposite directions, one based on creating stars and putting on great shows even with a major television handicap of a horrible time slot. The other squandered talent and did angles that nobody bought thinking it was the only way, and made no stars. New Japan is now multiple times ahead of TNA, and what can argue, even in the United States, where New Japan’s audience when you factor in the homes available is roughly identical to that of TNA even on a far worse television night and airing matches ten months old.

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