Dixie Carter Talks Unscripted TNA Impact Wrestling & More

Dixie Carter TNA TNA Impact Wrestling president Dixie Carter met the press this week as part of a promotional campaign for Impact Wrestling’s time change. Carter spoke for two hours on a variety of topics on everything from Brooke Hogan to the new unscripted Impact.

I feel a bit guilty criticizing Dixie whenever I hear her speak. She comes across as a very nice woman, yet she continues to give bloggers and critics fodder with her typical TNA rhetoric. It is hard to grasp that this is the same woman that is making decisions for the number two pro wrestling group in the United States.

TNA isn’t shy about hiding Dixie’s media call. TNA have posted the entire two-hour call up on You Tube for your listening pleasure. I’ll let you listen to the whole call and judge for yourself, but here are some highlights from the Impact leader.

Carter was asked about the decision to bring in Brooke Hogan over Fit Finlay. Carter said the Knockouts Division is very important to her. She wants to set a standard that’s better than anyone else out there. She spoke about her relationship with Brooke and how she learned from her father. “She’s incredibly intelligent and a big star in her own right,” Carter said. She stressed that Brooke will not wrestle, and the goal is for Brooke to shine a light on the Knockouts Division.

This statement is getting a lot of heat but I won’t hammer Dixie too hard for this one. It is easy to ask Dixie why she won’t bring in Fit but does Fit want to go to TNA? Fit was just recently spotted at a WWE show and there is a good chance many believe that he will be hired back at some point. Do the Knockouts need work in the ring? Yes and Fit Finlay could do some great things for them. But comparing hiring Brooke to Fit is a little unfair when none of us know whether Fit would even be interested in signing.

Dixie said one of the key things they are trying to do with the new format is to let the talent cut loose. She said wrestling has always been formatted for certain minutes. Dixie talked extensively about doing unscripted segments on the show. She proudly boasted about how none of the four Fight Night finalists knew who would be wrestling Booby Roode, etc. Here is where I will bring out the hammer.

This may be the most ridiculous strategy I have ever read. TNA are known for having problems taping matches and segments and having to re-tape them later. Getting their cues and times perfect for a two hour live show on a weekly basis is not going to be easy. Going into this unscripted will only make matters worse. The idea of not telling wrestlers ahead of time who they are wrestling is also a mistake someone who doesn’t understand the workings of a match would make. TNA will get good matches out of the guys, but they won’t be as good as if the talent had all day to work out a match. How good can a match be if they only have a short time to work it out? This whole unscripted idea is just stupid. The only people that really know this is unscripted are the TNA talents. The people at home don’t know or care whether something is scripted. This is a disaster waiting to happen.

Dixie said the one person she would take from the WWE would be The Rock. First of all, I don’t know if it is smart to drop any names of guys under contract with the WWE you would want when you are in the middle of suing them for contract tampering. Also, the idea the one guy you would take is the guy who wrestles only once or twice a year is probably not a smart idea.

She had a few other nuggets in there as well. She said she was more interested in bringing in new talent when asked about John Morrison and Melina. She said the door is open for Alex Shelley to return but declined to comment on Ric Flair. She also disputed reports about TNA buyrates, yet declined to offer any hard numbers.

She certainly came off as a likable woman. I just don’t know if I would want her making decisions about my pro wrestling product.