Dixie Carter Interview: Challenging WWE, Losing Styles, Who She Would Sign, More

TNA Impact Wrestling President Dixie Carter recently spoke to WhatCulture.com.

If a WWE fan who has never seen TNA before is reading this, why should they start watching Impact Wrestling

There’s a difference in our product, specifically from the story telling, how we go about that and how we try to portray the stories and then take it into the ring. I feel that we have the best roster in the world, anywhere, today. We’re making some new changes to the [Impact Wrestling] show this year in particular, even broadening what we’ve done in the last year or two. We’re peeling the curtain back a little bit more: we’ve got cameras that are going to be placed all over the arenas where we shoot.

There’s a lot of exciting things that go on behind the scenes, and what with social media today, it seems like all the fans who follow their favourite stars on the television shows want to know as much about what happens that they don’t get to see on the television. So, we decided that, as we’re on a new network in America, it was the perfect time to make some changes to the show and I’m excited about that. We’re trying some new technology, some new production elements, some new camera techniques, as well as specifically having cameras to pull the curtain back as I said, which I think is really going to distinguish our product, not just from what we’ve done in the past, but from everybody.

Do you regret losing AJ Styles from the TNA roster?

Of course, I regret [it] and I miss a lot of people who are no longer a part of our roster, but I think that’s what so great about our company is that hopefully, at some point, he will be back, and so will others. I look at this past year with Matt Hardy returning and Low Ki returning, and Rhino and so many others.

I think it makes for great TV and when they came back, all the characters were so fresh, and besides, AJ was so synonymous with TNA, and to me, he’ll always be a part of our family.

Do you think that TNA will ever be in a position to challenge the WWE in the manner that WCW did in the 1990s?

Absolutely, I think we can be in that position or we wouldn’t be in business today. We’ve got some exciting things on the horizon and our television partners worldwide are really stepping up and are committed to growing our brand, and that’s a big part of it.

In the United States, we have one, two hour television show every week and we want to be developing the programming and doing some exciting new strategic things to grow our company in ways that we’ve never even had the opportunity to do in the past.

So 2015 and beyond looks very bright for us.

If you could go back in time and change one thing from your past in TNA, what would it be?

Oh wow, I’ve never been asked that question before! I think the thing I would change would be to realise that just because someone’s been in this business a long time, doesn’t mean that they have the magic silver bullet that’s going to change everything. People who’ve been doing this successfully in the past, and their experience, doesn’t necessarily mean that that will work today.

Times have changed, viewing habits have changed, social media has changed so much about the world we live in today, and how we experience life. I think I would have not put so much stock in that, and would have looked beyond for fresher outside ideas earlier.

If you could sign any wrestler from anywhere in the world today, who would that be?

I’d sign The Rock. I think he’s a tremendous talent, he’s a great actor, he can open a lot of doors for you. I’ve never met him but I’m a big fan, and I just think he’s a super, super talented guy.