TNA Impact! Wrestling: What Does Expanding Its Live Shows Mean for the Company?

There are several things going for TNA Wrestling at the moment.

Its flagship show, Impact! Wrestling, has transformed into a very solid product over the past few months. In addition to improving the product, Impact! has enjoyed a string of success during its live summer series episodes. Despite weaker ratings in 2012, it is safe to say that Impact! has a product that is building to become very successful in the long run.

Impact! Wrestling is about to get another boost.

TNA President Dixie Carter announced that Impact! will remain live throughout September (via Twitter).

TNA has faced an unbalanced summer. Impact! was off the air for two weeks because of the Viacom and DirecTV situation. The show also had to face tough competition like the Summer Olympic coverage. It also switched to an earlier time slot.

Through all this, TNA has finally begun to see its viewership rise in recent episodes. With a product that has remained on course and telling good stories, wrestling fans have plenty to talk about with TNA.

Will Impact! go live permanently?

After watching Impact! closely throughout the summer, I think TNA Wrestling has finally turned the corner and should remain live. Yes, it is expensive to continue producing live episodes but the benefits outweigh the costs. I think September will be a decisive month for TNA. With getting an expansion into October, Impact! has the chance to show why it should continue to be live.

Putting trust back into TNA Wrestling

For the past two years of the Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff era, TNA had featured many surprises, but also endured plenty of failures. This includes the short lived Monday night experiment, and plenty of character twists and turns. People would never know whether Impact! would be a good or bad show.

In 2012, that has all changed. Suddenly, viewers expect a solid show. TNA has gone from an up and down show to a very consistent one. The Hogan and Bischoff era is finally soaking in and making Impact! a show for fans to enjoy.

I have finally put my trust back into TNA and its product. If they stay their course, going live on a permanent basis will help the company elevate to higher levels in the long run.