source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter
— In light of Gail Kim’s departure from the organization, and Taylor Wilde’s huge title push a few months ago garnering a lukewarm reception from the audience, TNA is searching for a top woman babyface character to lead the Knockouts division. They have a clear-cut lead heel in Awesome Kong, but no clear-cut lead babyface. Kim’s departure from the company & Wilde’s lack of crowd response played into Christy Hemme finally getting a chance after largely sitting on the sidelines since the birth of the Knockouts division late last year. Additionally, TNA has started looking outside for their possible star attraction as some girls currently not affiliated with the company are being considered.
— Last week’s edition of Impact set the company’s all-time audience record on 12/4 with 1.8 million viewers, beating out in total viewers, both episodes of Ultimate Fighter as well as the 12/2 ECW, even though all three episodes drew a higher rating than Impact. Impact did a 1.18 cable rating with a 0.91 in Males 18-34 and 0.89 in Males 35-49. Its greatest audience gain over usual was in the Males 50+ demo as the show drew a 1.20. In segment-by-segment notes, the Samoa Joe vs. Booker T match lost a slate of viewers. The match lost 46,000 viewers. “ODB’s Angle” with Taylor Wilde & Roxxi, as well as backstage promos featuring Team 3-D with Joe and Beer Money trying to get Abyss drunk gained 76,000 viewers. The mixed tag match featuring Christy Hemme & AJ Styles vs. Awesome Kong & Scott Steiner gained 30,000 viewers. The X Division tag match featuring Eric Young, Consequences Creed & Jay Lethal vs. Sheik Abdul Bashir, Jimmy Rave & Sonjay Dutt gained 30,000 viewers. More backstage stuff including a “Sarah Palin” promo with The Beautiful People, “Rough Cut” with LAX, and another segment of Abyss getting drunk gained 46,000 viewers and did the show’s peak rating at 1.25. Following the backstage segments, the ratings sank. The big promo segment featuring Jeff Jarrett, Kurt Angle & Rhino lost 92,000 viewers. The Rhino vs. Sting main event match was the big loser of the night, losing a whopping 137,000 viewers to finish at a 1.10 rating.
— Al Snow, who was backstage at this week’s set of Impact tapings, was apparently not used at either show. He did not appear on last night’s show, and it doesn’t look like he’s appearing on next week’s show either unless he filmed a backstage segment. SLAM! Wrestling talked with Al Snow this past week and the interview will be running tomorrow. SLAM! Wrestling revealed a quote from Snow regarding TNA. “I hope it evolves into something more or I wouldn¹t waste my time by going there,” Snow said. “TNA is right on the cusp of making an impact.”
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