With shows like “Breaking Bad” and “Walking Dead” on its lineup, AMC has established itself as a television channel that isn’t afraid to bring drama to the viewers. According to Matt Hardy, TNA could continue that trend when the wrestling promotion officially joins the AMC family later this week.
On “The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy,” Matt elaborated upon his previous statement about TNA’s move to AMC possibly resulting in an upward shift in its perception amongst wrestling fans. In the process, he also laid out his expectations for TNA’s TV presentation moving forward.
“I think TNA is going to look like a major player,” he said. “I think it is something where there would be some people to go like, ‘Hey, this is like a different kind of wrestling. It’s more of what I think the traditional pro wrestling is.’ Maybe have a little sports entertainment rolled in on it, rolled together with it. I think there’s going to be some people that say, ‘I don’t know, man. It seems like this is the next best thing following WWE.’ I think there’ll be some people that will have that mindset.”
When asked how content labeled as “traditional” could simultaneously be “different,” Matt pointed to a theatrical approach being taken in the design and production stages. “I know there’s already talk about doing stuff a lot more cinematic, some of the vignettes we do and character introductions,” he said. “We’re on AMC and they have all these great shows like Breaking Bad, Walking Dead. If we can have a cinematic feel to the show as well, I think that would be something we can start doing to carve out our own identity.”
Matt Hardy Would Book TNA’s AMC Premiere As A Variety Show
TNA’s relocation to AMC will kick off with “Thursday Night iMPACT” — which will now sit in the 9pm to 11pm ET timeslot every Thursday night for fans in the United States — on January 15. Among the special episode’s card is a TNA World Championship match pitting Mike Santana against the reigning champion Frankie Kazarian. Elsewhere, Matt and Jeff Hardy will team with Elijah to take on Order 4’s Mustafa Ali, Jason Hotch and John Skyler in a six-man tag match.
Honing in on TNA’s upcoming AMC premiere, Matt Hardy noted that viewers can expect to see a “great night of wrestling” as well as interesting character introductions. For Matt, two of the most standout wrestlers are Mike Santana and X-Division Champion Leon Slater, both of whom he hopes to see spotlighted with informative video packages. Slater will already be in action when he defends his title against Myron Reed on the premiere.
If given the creative pencil to book TNA’s entire AMC debut himself, Matt said he’d mold it as a variety show. “I would have some great matches on it. I’d try to have some badass vignettes. I would have something that had a little bit of a cinematic feel to it. I would like to make our vignettes and pre-tapes feel more like AMC, like a Breaking Bad, like a Walking Dead. Maybe even have the shot look a little different … I would like to keep it very entertaining. I would like to have a little bit of something for everyone.”
The first “Thursday Night iMPACT” will emanate from the Curtis Culwell Center in Dallas, Texas, with additional appearances coming from WWE star AJ Styles and TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions The IInspiration.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
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