{"id":33853,"date":"2016-10-21T18:06:38","date_gmt":"2016-10-21T23:06:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=33853"},"modified":"2016-10-21T18:11:57","modified_gmt":"2016-10-21T23:11:57","slug":"mcmahons-take-words-warning-anthem-sports-ceo-leonard-asper-regarding-tna-impact-wrestling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2016\/10\/21\/mcmahons-take-words-warning-anthem-sports-ceo-leonard-asper-regarding-tna-impact-wrestling\/","title":{"rendered":"MCMAHON&#8217;S TAKE: Words of warning to Anthem Sports CEO Leonard Asper regarding TNA Impact Wrestling"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-2112922792\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p class=\"p1\">For years, I thought Vince Russo was the cockroach of the pro wrestling industry, somehow finding ways to convince people to pay him to have one more chance to\u00a0damage another pro wrestling company with his failed\u00a0booking practices.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I was wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Well, maybe I wasn\u2019t wrong. But Dixie Carter may have supplanted him atop the list.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I came to the realization this week that Dixie Carter will run TNA into the ground before letting someone else take it over. To most, she has already. But this isn\u2019t going to get better. Dixie doesn\u2019t really care about TNA; she doesn\u2019t really care about her roster or her employees. Instead, she cares primarily about herself, and more specifically, about keeping herself in a position of control at the expense of the fans and employees, if that&#8217;s what it takes. Maybe that\u2019s natural for human beings, but because of her ego, TNA will continue to take on water before it ultimately sinks, and she is to blame.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Just like the TNA name needs to go in order to give the brand\u00a0a fresh start, TNA needs a new leader to to turn around public perception. Wrestling fans, TNA\u2019s potential consumers, don\u2019t trust Dixie Carter anymore. Blame the ever-shrinking size\u00a0of their U.S. cable network all you want, but a show that once drew\u00a0more than 1 million viewers now\u00a0considers it a good week when it hits one-third that mark.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">If Dixie Carter didn\u2019t have her name on the door, she would have been fired years ago. She\u2019s lost two network deals, her audience is dwindling, she ran the company out of the house show business, and apparently she\u2019s funding the operation on an American Express card.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">By the way&#8230; the debt collectors are calling for that past-due balance, too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Earlier this week, Anthem Sports &amp; Entertainment, the parent company of Fight Network, announced that it recently made a working capital loan to TNA Impact Wrestling in order to fund its operations. It appears the\u00a0press release was issued as an answer to\u00a0Billy Corgan\u2019s lawsuit against the company he is still currently the president of.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3579262998\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">In other words, it seems Anthem Sports was the mystery investor that funded Bound for Glory and the next set of television tapings earlier this month and they wanted that known now, but not two weeks ago.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">It\u2019s yet another lifeline for Carter, keeping her in control of a company that, under her leadership, has crumbled slowly but steadily.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Leonard Asper is Anthem\u2019s CEO. Mr. Asper, some friendly advice. You get what you pay for and you\u2019ll get what you deserve when it comes to doing business with Carter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Carter has a long history of burning bridges with business associates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Jeff Jarrett.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Spike TV.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Destination America.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Eric Bischoff.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-256322731\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Billy Corgan.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Heck, even her own parents stopped funding her wrestling habit once they realized the millions of dollars they had already spent\u00a0wasn\u2019t going to ever see a return on the investment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">At some point, things will end badly between Anthem and Dixie if history is any indication.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So Mr. Asper,\u00a0be aware of it\u00a0happening to you, too. And you should know better. There\u2019s a clear track record here.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cTNA is a strong property for Fight Network and as a licensee and global distribution partner we have a keen interest in seeing the company not only survive but continue to grow and thrive, alongside our own growth,\u201d Asper said in a press release. \u201cWe are hopeful that the company can soon get back to doing what it does best, which is to produce great wrestling content.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The only real chance TNA had to jumpstart things was to sell to Billy Corgan. The roster was behind Corgan and fans were excited about a new direction and new leadership. But Dixie\u2019s ego won\u2019t allow for that. The last thing she wants is Billy being the \u201csavior\u201d of TNA while she sits on the sidelines.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">This is a woman who\u00a0has reportedly pitched for her own reality show. In Dixie\u2019s world, it\u2019s all about her. A year of TV was built around Dixie Carter getting powerbombed through a table by Bully Ray, and it meant nothing more than any other weekly TV show. All that time could have been invested in someone who, you know, actually wrestles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Anthem also offered to pay off the loans owed to Corgan. Essentially, Fight Network is willing to finance Billy Corgan\u2019s exit from TNA.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Dixie is all done with Billy. If she merely\u00a0used him to finance a couple of TV tapings because the AMEX was maxed out, and now she\u2019s on to the next money chump, the next money chump should be leery.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Remember, Leonard, I told you so.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Dixie \u201cwins\u201d again, ladies and gentlemen. The TNA wrestlers and employees, what&#8217;s left of them, will\u00a0continue to hope their check clear.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>Mike McMahon reviews TNA Impact Wrestling every week for PWTorch.com. Follow him on Twitter @MikeMcMahonPW.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-3272516751\"><div id=\"pwtor-681189531\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>For years, I thought Vince Russo was the cockroach of the pro wrestling industry, somehow finding ways to convince people to pay him to have one more chance to\u00a0damage another pro wrestling company with his <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2016\/10\/21\/mcmahons-take-words-warning-anthem-sports-ceo-leonard-asper-regarding-tna-impact-wrestling\/\" title=\"MCMAHON&#8217;S TAKE: Words of warning to Anthem Sports CEO Leonard Asper regarding TNA Impact Wrestling\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4011,53],"tags":[4056,581,547,204,1463],"class_list":["post-33853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mcmahons-take","category-opinion_stafftakes","tag-anthem","tag-billy-corgan","tag-dixie-carter","tag-tna-impact","tag-vince-russo"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Impact_3x21.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33853"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33853\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33855,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33853\/revisions\/33855"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}