On January 4th TNA held a global media conference call in preparation for the Genesis PPV event with former TNA Champion ‘The Monster’ Abyss. We had the opportunity to ask him a few questions and here is the transcript for you -
[You will also be able to hear these comments on the January 9th edition of Dropkick Radio, live from 7pm UK/2pm EST at www.DropkickRadio.com]
Abyss on TNA staying with Challenge TV until 2013 "It's something that excites everybody in TNA obviously because it's major catalyst to our growth throughout Europe and the UK."
DKR – Hello Abyss. Good to speak to you.
Abyss – Hello, how are you.
DKR – I’m doing good thank you. I wanted to ask you, a few weeks ago there was the big news that TNA had reached an agreement with Challenge TV here in the UK to keep TNA programming on the station until 2013. Given that this time last year TNA seemingly had no home with the closure of Bravo what does this news of having a regular home until 2013 mean to everyone in the company?
Abyss – Well it’s huge. That goes without saying. I don’t know if there was a bigger thing that was more important to us in the UK market, as TV. TV is the catalyst man, it drives everything. It drives the tours, it drives the PPV [events], it drives the merchandise. So to have a home, a secured home in the UK through 2013 I think that’s huge. It’s something that excites everybody in TNA obviously because it’s major catalyst to our growth throughout Europe and in the UK. Personally I’m excited about it as well too because it’s an international market for us that we’re going to be seen on every single week overseas. It’s exciting to see the continuation of the expansion internationally.
DKR – You mentioned touring in your last answer. TNA will be coming over for their annual European tour. I know it’s not been confirmed if you’re on the lineup or not but given you have been at the forefront of TNA’s global expansion over the last few years from your time in 1PW and whatnot. Has it surprised you how much TNA has grown tremendously over the last few years in the UK?
Abyss – It’s not surprising to me, because I know how hard a lot of people worked behind the scenes from the top down for the expansion in the UK and so forth. I’m not surprised but I’m definitely awestruck by it. To see how much we’ve grown in the UK over the last five or six years, it’s almost scary to see how much we’ve grown and how fast we’re growing over there. Due to the fanfare, you know it’s a hungry fan base in the UK. Very much, quite frankly, very very different from a US crowd anymore. They are more hungry for the product and it shows with the way they support the product. Whether it’s TV or coming out to the tours, I know our ticket sales are doing really good for that tour, so it’s just another example of the fan base supporting us and us continuing to deliver that great product to them.
DKR – Focusing on the fan base for a second then. You mentioned earlier [in the conference call when questioned about the reactions of the Indian fans to what was being presented to them] how the Indian crowd was very different and how the UK crowd is quite different to the US crowd. How do crowds in the UK and India compare to each other then?
On the growth of TNA in the UK "it's almost scary to see how much we've grown and how fast we're growing over there."
Abyss – They are very much the same, I think I alluded to this earlier, they’re very much the same as far as their rabidness. They’re a loud bunch, they make a lot of noise and they really get behind what we’re doing in the stories that are being told and the matchups that they see they’re really into it. The difference between India and the UK is that the Indian market is just not as smart to professional wrestling as the UK market is. So perhaps they buy into (just a little bit more) what’s going on and quite honestly that’s a good thing, it’s a great thing when you perform in front of crowds that appreciate it like the UK and believe in what we’re doing like with what’s happening in India.
DKR – And finally, TNA has been going out on the road quite a bit with taping Impact outside of Orlando. Can you see or rather would you like to see TNA expand that on more of a global scale perhaps venturing over to parts of Europe or specifically the UK to record some television?
Abyss – Sure, absolutely. I think that’s definitely in the plans down the road I think. Taking the show on the road, taking Impact on the road has been very successful for us in several different ways. I think the eventual expansion to where we’ll eventually perhaps one day [be] doing a PPV in the UK, in London for example or doing television over there, it’s very much a reality. It’ll be something that will tell over time when it’s going to happen but I definitely think that’s in the future plans, to move internationally and do Impact [tapings] and TV on the road there.
DKR – Excellent. Thank you very much and happy new year to you.
Abyss – You to.
As mentioned TNA’s UK television home is Challenge TV. The weekly schedule is Impact Wrestling every Sunday night from 9pm, Xplosion every Wednesday night at 10pm and the monthly PPV events air the first Wednesday after they have take place in the USA, with the next being Genesis that will air in the UK on the 11th January.
