![]() In November 2004, TNA held the first of these pay-per-views, TNA Victory Road 2004, beginning the pattern of pay-per-view shows that continued until 2013. With the switch to cable television, TNA discontinued their weekly pay-per-view shows in favor of a monthly 3-hour pay-per-view format as previously used by WCW and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and as currently used by WWE. The transition included the use of a six-sided wrestling ring, the implementation of the "Fox Box" displaying competitors and timekeeping for the match and a generally more sports-like style than the sports entertainment style exemplified by WWE. In May 2004, TNA introduced a television program, TNA Impact! (stylized as iMPACT!), produced at Soundstage 21 at Universal Studios Florida and broadcast on Fox Sports Net. The last weekly pay-per-view took place on September 8, 2004. TNA Xplosion launched on November 27, 2002, as TNA's first regular cable show and featured exclusive matches taped at the TNA Asylum as well as exclusive interviews with TNA wrestlers.Īfter 27 months and 111 pay-per-view events, TNA began producing a weekly television show and monthly three-hour pay-per-views. In October 2002, Panda Energy purchased a controlling interest (72%) of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. These shows took place mostly at the Tennessee State Fairground Sports Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, nicknamed the "TNA Asylum". Initially, TNA's weekly pay-per-view show operated as the company's main source of revenue, in place of monthly pay-per-view events used by other promotions. The ring crew fixed the rope with the help of Ron and Don Harris, and everyone went live hoping for the best. Backstage, the producers shuffled the schedule so that some non-wrestling segments went first to give the ring crew some more time, but they did not have many of them. The estimated repair time was 30–60 minutes, which they did not have because the schedule called for them to go live in a few minutes, whether the ring was ready or not. That night, however, in a dark match just before they went on the air, a 450 lb wrestler named Cheex hit the ropes with so much force that one of them broke. The Jarretts found the financial backing they needed and the company put on its first show on June 19, 2002. The original intention, as they were exclusive to pay-per-view, was to be viewed as an edgier product than WWE. Russo states that he coined the name " Total Nonstop Action", the initials of the company "TNA" being a play on "T&A". In July 2002, Vince Russo joined Jeff and Jerry Jarrett's NWA-TNA promotion as a creative writer and would assist in the writing and production of the shows. Ryder felt that this situation led many television stations to regard professional wrestling as bad for business, so he suggested a company not reliant on television, but rather one going straight to pay-per-view. Only one wrestling product remained on United States national television: the World Wrestling Federation. Bob Ryder, Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett went on a fishing trip and contemplated their futures in the professional wrestling business. The concept of TNA originated shortly after World Championship Wrestling (WCW) ended in 2001. Formation and early history (2002 - 2004)
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