-e1416044240280.jpg "dixie carter")
Donald Wood, Mike Chiari and Brandon Galvin, of Ring Rust Radio, recently interviewed TNA President Dixie Carter.
During the interview, Carter talked about TNA’s move to Destination America, Kurt Angle re-signing with the company, the plans for future pay-per-views, Bully Ray and more. Below are some interview highlights:
Donald Wood: The biggest piece of news from TNA was the move from SpikeTV to Destination America, beginning with the first episode on Wednesday, January 7 and switching to Friday nights starting on January 16. Do you feel the transition is good for the long-term betterment of the company and what positives has the relationship between Destination America and TNA already spawned behind the scenes?
Well I think it is critical for the company. We were in a position where in negotiations I went to every network saying, ‘Look, we are not interested in just licensing our two hour show Impact for your network. I am interested in a partner, someone who will help build our brand, give us more exposure, provide new programming for us’, and that’s exactly what we have gotten and more with the support of Discovery and Destination America. We are very, very excited about all that they are giving us across all ten Discovery networks; support, print advertising, PR, radio, digital. It is everything we had hoped it would be.
Mike Chiari: Over the past week TNA has announced the re-signing of several stars, and perhaps the biggest among them is Kurt Angle. Kurt admitted that he was going to play the field a bit and considered going back to WWE, but what do you think TNA was able to offer that made Kurt decide it was the best fit for him? And also, how big is it for TNA to secure someone with Kurt’s track record?
Well I think Kurt was a game changer for us when we first signed him. I think it is important at such a new beginning for us to still have him as a corner stone for our company. Kurt looks at all the positive changes that are happening. Our signing with Destination America out in Los Angeles, the new network deal, the commitment from them, he sees the big picture and he gets it. He is a joy to work with and a real leader for us. We are thrilled to have him.
Brandon Galvin: It’s an exciting time for the company. What is the atmosphere like backstage at TNA and what are you most looking forward to with the new direction of the company?
Unfortunately, I’m not even going to see what the atmosphere is like Wednesday. I will be in Los Angeles while they are going live in New York. I am representing Discovery and Destination America at the Television and Critics Association. Again, that’s just part of what they are asking us to do. Ken Anderson, Chris Melendez and I will be there. We will be representing our show and network in front of hundreds of media representatives. Just the whole vibe from the locker room, everyone was so supportive. They realize that this is what we have all been wanting and hoping for. This is going to be a great fresh start for us.
Donald Wood: The move to a different channel has led to speculation that the company would be hitting the reset button on many of the top storylines. Do you view the move as a chance to reboot the product or is it more important to carry over the same angles and characters to ensure a familiar Impact Wrestling for hardcore fans?
I think it’s a little bit of both quite honestly. The momentum we had in New York for those shows this past year we want to continue that on and kick it up a notch. We got some surprises planned and we’ve got some changes planned. You won’t see it as much at the live shows but there’s only so much you can do with a live television production. The shows afterwards you are going to start to see a transformation of some new technologies that we are going to use. From new productions and some new and exciting ways in which we want to showcase the show. Things we have talked about for a long time, but quite honestly, technology wasn’t where we needed it to be to fit in to how we have to shoot a wrestling show. I am really, really excited for things to start taking shape in the coming weeks.
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.
