Most Within TNA Understood IMPACT's Premiere On AMC 'Wasn't A Good Show'

TNA Wrestling held one of the biggest episodes of IMPACT since the promotion lost their Spike TV deal on January 15 as Thursday Night IMPACT premiered on AMC.

The promotion didn't begin their run on AMC with a widely praised episode, however, as the show was criticised by many on social media, and the January 15 episode currently has a 1.42 rating on Cagematch. The reaction to the AMC premiere wasn't overwhelmingly positive within TNA either. Sean Ross Sapp noted on a Fightful Select Answers Q&A that TNA talent were "very pessimistic and realistic" about how the AMC debut went and most within the company "understood it wasn't a good show." Some TNA staff made some understandable excuses about the episode, however, while others in the promotion didn't think the general audience understood the hurdles that TNA faced.

TNA seemingly pleased the network with the premiere, as AMC executives in attendance on January 15 were reportedly "very happy." Viewership for the premiere of Thursday Night IMPACT on AMC was 173,000 viewers with a 0.04 rating in the key 18-49 demographic, PWTorch reported.

IMPACT ended with Mike Santana defeating Frankie Kazarian to regain the TNA World Championship, and an angle took place after the show went off the air which set up a Texas Death Match rematch between Santana and Kazarian with Nic Nemeth as special guest referee for the main event of Genesis. Some questioned why the angle setting up the pay-per-view main event didn't air on TV, but PWInsider has reported the angle was always scheduled to happen after IMPACT went off the air so TNA could post it on social media as a push for pay-per-view buys.

One name who appeared on the AMC premiere was Bully Ray, who reunited with Dixie Carter and provided commentary on the show. Fightful Select has reported the WWE Hall of Famer was also involved backstage, helping produce segments with Frankie Kazarian, AJ Styles, and Mike Santana, and he gave a rah-rah speech to the TNA roster before the show began, which was reportedly well received. There have already been talks about Bully Ray and TNA continuing to work together.