After speaking to a source within TNA who was present at the talent meeting today which was held in Orlando prior to the Impact taping, I can now provide more details behind the talent reaction coming out of the meeting.
Dixie Carter came in and told the talent that the company is spending too much money editing in-ring mistakes for TV, and that the talent needs to clean up its in-ring game so less needs to be edited for Impact. This was the last thing talent expected to hear when Dixie came into the meeting.
The general feeling amongst most of guys in the locker room is that they were prepared to hear Dixie Carter come into the meeting as the company leader, and discuss its future and the current state of TNA. Talent was expecting Carter to address certain topics like the ongoing Paul Heyman rumors, why Eric Bischoff was not present at the tapings and the PPV, and other items as they related to the future of TNA.
Eric Bischoff is a particularly interesting topic right now as I was told many in the TNA locker room felt he came off sounding like a fool when he recently made comments on a radio show claiming that MMA has no influence on the pro wrestling business. "Brock Lesnar is the biggest star WWE has made in 10 years," said the source. He went on to credit pro wrestling for making Lesnar a star who’s now the top MMA draw in the business, so it’s absurd that one would deny any relationship between wrestling and MMA.
So it appears as if the frustration in the TNA locker room has been mounting. I was told, "How can talent feel the company has nothing short of a lame duck administration when it’s openly and heavily courting someone else [Paul Heyman] to come in and ‘save’ it?"
Talent wants to know what’s happening in the company, plain and simple. They want to know where the company is headed, how they can become the next "Brock Lesnar," and most importantly, they want to be guided by their leader. Instead, they came into a meeting today and were told, metaphorically, to go to their rooms.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
