The Wrestling Thread II: WrestleMania 33 - 7 HOURS

Goldberg slipping doesn't exactly bode well for SS but at least he got Rusev up. He didn't always manage to hold everyone up in WCW every time.

Wish they'd bring back the amazing set for Halloween Havoc...

Have enzo and cas just topped Byron?

I like how nobody appears to have bothered with Halloween in the crowd.

Is this going to be one of those nights where everyone except Goldberg looks like a geek.

KK wrote:I like how nobody appears to have bothered with Halloween in the crowd.

But surprised by that considering how much of a big thing Halloween is in the states. Thought the front row would be full of people dressed up like at mania when they all go as hulk hogan.

What kind of shitty finish is that. Simply sliding into the ring has always broken the count.

Challenge have dropped TNA http://www.challenge.co.uk/tna-news/

I haven't watched in a while but wasn't Impact getting some of the highest ratings on Challenge?

So disappointed. I saw this coming a while ago though, when they dropped WrestleTalk and VideoGame Nation. The guy behind VGN said it wasn't due to ratings, but a focus back onto game shows for the channel. Such a shame, it's picked up dramatically from those days when it was haemorrhaging talent and Magnus was champion. Oh well, guess I'll just have to get it on the dodgy app on Fire TV, like I do Lucha Underground. :shifty:

It was part of my Sunday night ritual, a great lead into a WWE PPV. Very sad.

Having watched TNA recently, I don't know in any way you can say it was a good show.

I still maintain the majority of audience were there because a) it was free and b) to get out of the sun.

IAmTheSaladMan wrote:Challenge have dropped TNA http://www.challenge.co.uk/tna-news/

I haven't watched in a while but wasn't Impact getting some of the highest ratings on Challenge?

It was - over 3x more viewers than WWE RAW and SmackDown Live (which are now rating so low it's unbelievable; the latest for RAW was just 47,000).

Unless the company folds, I would expect somebody to pick up TNA Wrestling. But maybe that uncertainty would be off-putting to many.

It's another revenue stream down the toilet for TNA, even if they aired it on YouTube.

Last edited by Cumberdanes on Tue Nov 01, 2016 12:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Floex wrote:Having watched TNA recently, I don't know in any way you can say it was a good show.

I still maintain the majority of audience were there because a) it was free and b) to get out of the sun.

I used to watch TNA off and on in the weekly PPV days and then pretty regularly around the time Christian Cage debuted but began to lose interest when Main Event Mafia were around. I'll admit I only started watching it as we didn't have Sky Sports so I couldn't watch WWE anymore but I got really into it for a while.

I have no idea what their product is like these days but have read they'd been struggling for a while.

Isn't challenge now owned by sky as of a couple of years ago? also have they just dropped the show or chose not to renew their contract? If they haven't renewed the contract then I wonder if that's due to wwe's relationship with sky. If they've just chosen to drop it then I would have thought it would have just been moved to another channel due to its ratings.

Sky purchased Challenge along with a load of other channels (such as Bravo) back in 2010. They also own Pick, which is mainly a vehicle to air old Sky shows such as Hawaii Five O, Bones and Blue Bloods. Their contract with TNA runs until 31st December. They want Challenge to be a 100% gameshow station again, but they could have easily moved it to Pick (where it probably would have been better suited to a 10 or 11pm start time because the viewership average is currently higher for other shows).

When WWE comes up for renewal at the end of 2019 (though it'll be renegotiated much earlier) I wonder what Sky will do; WWE got the bargain of the century with their current package. Sky paid a fortune for 3 shows that now aren't worth a toss, lumbered with PPVs I presume only a handful of people are ordering on Sky Box Offiice, and got epically screwed over on Main Event which went from being a C show on the Network to total irrelevancy the moment it became exclusive to Sky and Hulu.

Legit question, do Tna have stars who aren't called hardy? Everyone from Tna I remember is in nxt now

Who is seriously watching RAW live though if you have a full time job? No way folk are staying up until 4am every Tuesday morning.

I like TNA when I watch it, good to have something different to WWE sometimes.

WWE Raw Live in Glasgow this Monday. My body is ready 8-)

If you look at what RAW used to do Live, at worst they have shed a monumental 72% of the audience since 2013.

25h January 2010: 114,000
24th January 2011: 112,000
23rd January 2012: 162,000
21st January 2013: 124,000
20th January 2014: 161,000
19th January 2015: 98,000

24th October 2011: 131,000
22nd October 2012: 134,000
21st October 2013: 169,000
13th October 2014: 127,000
19th October 2015: 123,000
17th October 2016: 47,000

Even if you factored in all the 1 and 2 hour replays currently on Sky Sports, it still wouldn't come to 169,000. Everything is down on Sky Sports this year though, not just WWE.

I blame that drop off on Punk leaving personally. It's a shame really as I think the product has massively improved since the roster split.

Edit: Itv would do well to snap it up for Saturday morning/afternoon viewing and perhaps invest in it a little. I imagine they could draw a good audience for the odd Saturday or Sunday evening UK PPV.

Shame about TNA. I only have freeview, so it is the only wrestling I get to follow.

TNA's response:

We are proud to have had such a great relationship with Challenge, and appreciate how the channel brought Impact Wrestling to our avid viewers through the years. In today's world, spoilers are inevitable. We've heard from the amazing fans in the UK and know you do not want to wait 3-5 days to watch the program after it airs in the US."

"Our goal is to broadcast Impact Wrestling in the UK as close to the US premiere as possible. We look forward to announcing that opportunity soon, so stay tuned. In the meantime, we hope you continue to watch Impact Wrestling on Challenge, Sunday nights at 9pm, as well as Xplosion and pay-per-views and follow us on social media. Thank you.

Only problem is IMPACT is taped weeks/months in advance of its US airing too. I suppose they had to spin it somehow...

The Wrestling Thread II: WrestleMania 33 - 7 HOURS

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