Nella conferenza stampa di oggi, come previsto, è stato dato l'annuncio del passaggio di Impact al Lunedì sera, dalle 9 pm alle 11 pm, in diretta concorrenza con Raw, anche se USA Network vorrebbe un Raw di 3 ore ogni Lunedì.
Questo il recap della conferenza:
TNA President Dixie Carter officially announced that TNA would be moving Impact to Mondays on 3/8 during a press conference that was broadcast online.
After being introduced by Mike Tenay and making the announcement, Carter commented that she and Hulk Hogan said in October 2009 that they were going to "turn wrestling upside down" and they have done that. Carter also commented that Hogan indeed brought the "rocket fuel" that TNA needed to go to the next level.
Carter introduced Hogan at this point. Hogan said that when he came to the company, he had no idea how quick "such amazing things would happen." Hogan said it was game time and it's game on. Hogan commented that he's never been around a company before with such positive people and work ethic. Hogan said that if he was told three or four years ago, that he'd be around such positive people "during the twilight of his career", he's have thought you were crazy.
Hogan said they were making history "and things are going to change like they have never changed before." He promised they were going somewhere that no "sports-entertainment company has gone before." Hogan said that he feels a spring in his step and is proud to be part of TNA.
Hogan said that the move wasn't a "Hulk Hogan thing" but more about the hard work and foundation of the last several years. Hogan said, "This place is real, there's no agendas here." Hogan said Dixie and Bob Carter gave him a chance to "have life after life."
At this point, they opened it up to questions from the media:
*They were asked about the length of the Monday move. Dixie Carter said they foresee it as "happening forever." She noted some episodes will be live and some will be taped but they are in it for the long haul.
*Dixie was asked about the 9 PM timeslot. Carter said they could have done 8-10 PM but the 9PM timeslot was the best decision to start with. Hogan said that from a wrestler's point of view, if you want to prove you are the best in the fight, you want the fans to choose who is the best by going head to head. Hogan said that for him, that was the only option. Hogan said their might be other reasons to switch the timeslot around from a network point of view, but the wrestlers like a good fight.
*Hogan was asked about the Monday Night Wars in the past. Hogan said that they started "across the street" at Disney in WCW and they took over in six months. Hogan said that today, it isn't a competition because TNA has a better product and better talent. He said that from being around for a few months, he knows that they have a better production. He said they aren't here to relive history, but to make new history. Dixie said that wars are waged over long periods of time and they are in it for the long run and want to increase their ratings over time.
*When asked about Impact expanding into a three hour show, Dixie said there were no plans or talks for that, but there were talks of additional programming on Spike.
*They were asked if they expected any response from Vince McMahon. Hogan laughed and said he'll give them the inside scoop. He said that Vince won't acknowledge it because he doesn't see anyone as competition, but the talent he's spoken to in WWE are hoping TNA does well. He said the talent want there to be leverage and they want there to be something more than a monopoly. Hogan said the office isn't happy TNA is doing this.
*Dixie was asked about the company's expectations over time. Carter said that if they can hold the ratings they had on Thursday and move them to Mondays, they will be happy and can grow from there. She said the fans are the real winners and that they are having fun at their jobs. She's hoping to give back some of the passion that wrestling fans have lost or to make new fans and to make everyone proud to be a wrestling fan. She said people aren't proud to be fans and she wants to give them a reason to make them proud to be fans again. Hogan said that he used to go wrestle in "another place" and it was the longest day of his life. Here, everyone loves being here and he wouldn't even set benchmarks because he's "afraid to predict anything" because TNA's talent are raising the bar so hard and fast. Hogan said he wouldn't even know where to begin in regard to expectations because things are happening so fast.
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