Stevie Richards Comments On Timing Of TNA iMPACT’s AMC Premiere

Stevie Richards recently criticized the timing of TNA iMPACT’s debut on the AMC Network. The promotion’s Thursday Night Show premiered on the AMC Network on January 15, 2026, just two days before TNA presented its annual Genesis pay-per-view.

The debut episode, which was headlined by the TNA World Championship match between Frankie Kazarian and Mike Santana, garnered 173,000 viewers and scored a 0.04 rating in the 18-49 demographic. The landmark episode failed to live up to the hype, receiving negative reviews from a majority of fans and industry veterans.

In the latest edition of The Stevie Richards Show, Richards said that iMPACT should have premiered on the AMC Network after Genesis, arguing that people wouldn’t buy a PPV when they had already seen the main event [Mike Santana vs. Frankie Kazarian] for free.

“They were trying to sell a PPV and have a debut right before that. I would almost think that after Genesis, that’s when the new era should start. You want people to be emotionally invested and take it on the weekly episodic ride. Then you ask them, ‘Hey, this is worth paying a month for’ because of all these weeks. You can’t say, ‘Here’s the debut episode, and by the way, can you give us money three days from now?’ Then they’re like, ‘Well, I’m not watching episode two, and I’m definitely not buying the PPV. And why would I buy the PPV when you just gave me the match for free?’”

Check out Stevie Richards’ comments below:

After regaining the TNA World Title on Thursday night, Santana retained it against Kazarian in a Texas Deathmatch at Genesis.