Backstage Update on TNA’s Current Deal with WWE – TNA Talent Concerns Over Recent Changes & TNA Disappointed Over Lack of Ratings Bump from Jordynne Grace NXT Appearance

As noted before, TNA Wrestling and WWE recently signed a working partnership deal for Jordynne Grace’s recent appearances for WWE’s NXT brand that is also expected to include more crossovers involving talent from both companies. Besides TNA’s deal with WWE, the company was also recently impacted by a round of staff layoffs this past May from their parent company Anthem Media Group.

Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that TNA talents currently have a lot of concern over the future of the company. Meltzer reported that the reason for this current feeling from talent is due to they have not been told much over the reasons for the layoffs and the combination of the company’s deal with WWE being kept mostly as a secret and key TNA people being laid off recently.

One person close to the situation spoken to reportedly stated that talent were very concerned over TNA Creative co-head RD Evans’ departure from the company. Meltzer reported that TNA’s creative team for a long while had been headed by Evans, Jimmy Jacobs, and Scott D’Amore but since the departures of all three, TNA’s current heads of creative are Tommy Dreamer, Hunter Johnson (also known as Delirious), and Jorge Barbosa. In regards to Barbosa, Meltzer reported that Barbosa is a very creative documentary maker but he has very little experience booking episodic television shows and pro wrestling.

In regards to TNA’s recent staff layoffs, Meltzer reported that following Anthem Sports’ VP of Marketing Lou D’Angeli and his assistant Lily Arenallo departures from the company, TNA currently only has one person, Greg Bagarozy, working in their department responsible for booking arenas and promoting their shows.

In regards to the backstage reaction over Grace’s surprise appearance at the May 28th WWE NXT show, Meltzer reported that TNA officials were greatly disappointment that Grace’s appearance did not lead to a ratings increase for their Impact! show on May 30th. Meltzer reported that while the ratings for that show is currently not known due to it not ranking in the Top 150 shows that night, it is believed to have drawn less than 19,000 key demographic viewers due to that being the what the #134 to #150 ranked shows drew with a 0.01 rating.