First, the big loss. The Hardys are gone. Last year, these guys had a big hand in TNA getting their best numbers for some weeks. It's not just that they were former WWE guys and very popular. Face it, Jeff Hardy has had his issues over the years and even Matt Hardy was going sour with the fans before his epic gimmick change. But that gimmick and all the crazy segments and matches that came out of it really caused some buzz. Something that easily could have been viewed as Wrestlecrap was actually a hit. And now it is gone.
The big gain? That would be Alberto El Patron. That would be WWE's Alberto Del Rio. He has held multiple titles in the WWE and has already found himself in the title picture in Impact Wrestling. A point I have brought up a few times over the years is, as far as positions go, anyone and everyone is replaceable. But in terms of how efficient and how productive someone can be in a given position, some people cannot be replaced that easily. You might even say there are elites out there that simply cannot be replaced. I am not saying The Hardys were elites, but Alberto El Patron is not going to replace them. I like the guy, but he never reached his potential in the WWE. And this is one instance where most of the blame cannot go on the WWE. They pushed him very well, especially during his first run. Things just could not come together for him. Impact Wrestling gains a guy with some credibility and notoriety, but it will only take them so far.
Of course, there was more to The Hardys' formula for success than just them being liked before TNA. As I said, they were pushed in a unique way. And that is something the company will need to do for El Patron. I think there is definitely potential for that. It may not work, but they can try various things. Don't just push him as a guy that wants a title reign and all that. It was mediocre when they did it with Mickie James in 2010/2011, and it will do El Patron no favors. Develop a good gimmick for him.
I have said before that one of TNA's main issues for years was their failure to retain talent. They just juggle everyone around. They needed to find things that work and stick with it. There are a lot of coaches in sports that will agonize to find a starting lineup that works. Once they have it, they don't just toss it in the trash and continue going all over the place for no good reason. They stick with it as much as is needed to be successful. Wrestling companies need to follow that same idea. Find what works and try to stick with it. Issues might pop up, like injuries, but that doesn't mean inconsistency should be your goal. The WWE's main issue over the years has been trying to force things to work. They don't look for what works. They force things to work. That's not how you give people a proper chance to succeed and earn things for themselves.
Losing The Hardys is another example of TNA failing to retain talent. You can also bring up certain other men, like Drew McIntyre, but I would say The Hardys going is a bigger deal. It just impacts the audience. If the audience was getting attached to something, it is terrible to start depushing it for the sake of something else that will also get depushed in time. And to completely lose it from your company is even worse.
I talked about the impact The Hardys had on the viewership numbers. I felt that 2017 was a year Impact Wrestling could do just as well as 2016, if not better. Let me talk about the company's viewership as it stands now. I get my numbers from here. The numbers do not currently include the viewership for last week's episode, but I calculated that in myself.
For the first 10 weeks of 2017, Impact Wrestling is averaging 292,000 viewers. In 2016, the show averaged 273,700 viewers through 10 weeks. Through the first few weeks of this year, Impact Wrestling is actually doing better than they did last year.
How is it that Impact Wrestling is doing better than last year and WWE Raw is doing worse? Are none of the cord-cutters TNA fans? Is TNA unaffected by that? TNA just has a high ceiling. Just a couple years ago, they were doing over a million viewers. Multiple factors have contributed to their collapse, but there is still room for them to regain their audience, even in this era of many people saying no one watches TV anymore.
Has Raw really reached its ceiling? Is that ceiling really getting lower? I don't believe that. Just 2 years ago, the Raw after Wrestlemania did over five million viewers. I am not talking about a Raw from a decade ago. I am talking about 2015. I am not saying they can do just as well every week, but it is ridiculous to think that the WWE is already in a position where they may never see four million viewers again for their main show.
Back to Impact Wrestling. Even though they are doing better to start 2017 than they did to start 2016, I am not as confident as I was that they can still do just as well as last year for the remainder of the year. Losing The Hardys is huge. What can TNA do? Push people in unique ways. That is what got them good numbers last year. Don't be afraid to look stupid. Something stupid might end up drawing. That doesn't mean they should make stupid business decisions. I am talking about "look stupid" in terms of creative ideas. Most importantly, don't do what the WWE is doing. They do not have a winning formula right now. They are just working off smarks and trying to make as much money off wrestling fans as they can. TNA should just worry about entertaining and being unique.
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