Terry Taylor joined Wrestling Weekly February 9 to talk about “iMPACT!” moving to Thursdays, TNA’s competition, and the early days in the business:::
Terry Taylor, the behind-the-scenes man at Total Non-Stop Action (TNA) and legendary wrestler, joined Wrestling Weekly co-hosts Doc Young and Les Thatcher Thursday, February 9 for an entire hour to talk about TNA’s move to Thursday nights, impressions of the competition and his days in the business as a wrestler, including his favorite time in Mid-South Wrestling. The evening also featured insight and commentary by Bruce Mitchell from the Pro Wrestling Torch.
Les opened the program by getting right to TNA’s move from Saturday to Thursday nights. “iMPACT!” is slated to move timeslots beginning April 13 to Thursdays at 9:00 pm on SpikeTV. Terry said, “We’re thrilled.” Realizing that their demographic of age 18-34 males were often “out and about” on Saturday nights, he’s hoping that TNA can take advantage of “a built-in audience” on Thursdays instead. Terry said he thinks this is a good transition and they may even catch some momentum from people still looking for SmackDown! on Thursdays.
Terry loves working for TNA and has been very clear about his feelings every time he visits the program. But he’s also a wrestling fan and is excited about TNA’s roster and the rise in popularity of TNA, especially now that SpikeTV has given them a television forum for their brand of wrestling. Terry believes that wrestling fans deserve a choice and when a company loses touch with the audience and start giving them what they want to see, the audience is lost. Terry used WWE as an example because he said, “It’s hard to watch them.” He says as a fan, he wants to watch and be entertained but he can’t watch what the program is offering. He said, “It’s sizzle with very little steak.”
Doc asked Terry to dispel rumors about getting dropped from the new MTV wrestling promotion, “Wrestling Society X.” The MTV produced promotion promises to feature former superstars Sean Waltman, New Jack, Vampiro, PJ Polaco (Justin Credible) and others. Terry bluntly said, “That’s nobody’s business.” He did continue by saying that he is loyal to TNA and would like to retire there and that it was better if he did not work with a competitor.
Les and Terry talked about the upcoming Elite Pro Wrestling Training (EPWT) seminar they are both conducting in Shelby, NC on February 17, 18 and 19. In conjunction with New Generation Wrestling and High Spots, EPWT will be training prospective wrestlers, referees and valets and/or managers over a three day period. Terry is excited about working with the young trainees and reminisced about his own early days in the wrestling business.
He told a story about how Bill Watts instructed him how to “sell in the corner” while taking punches from an opponent. The lesson learned was harsh but he said, “Bill Watts made me professional.” Terry talked about almost accidentally getting hanged by Nicoli Volkoff in the ring with a rope. He described a fan attempting to cut him loose but nearly missing his jugular saying, “That kind of help I didn’t need.” Terry and Les talked about how heels in the business used to fight their way through the crowds and how that fans truly believed the angles presented to them. He said it was unbelievable what wrestlers would do to entertain the fans. He said, “People have no idea.” He said there were sacrifice and commitment and a “close-knit community.” A prospective wrestler didn’t just pay to get into it, you had to have something to offer the business.
You can listen to the entire show at
http://www.wrestlingweekly.com
Doc and Les also run down the week's news and make their picks for the Against All Odds Pay Per View! Who will score the most points?
Next week on Thursday, February 16, Wrestling Weekly’s Doc and Les will be talking to TNA’s Eric Young. Wrestling Weekly featuring Doc Young and Les Thatcher can be heard every Thursday from 8:00-10:00 pm EST at
www.wrestlingweekly.com.
