Bruce Prichard Discusses Organizational Problems in TNA With Dixie Carter, His Frustrations With TNA Wanting to ‘Beat WWE’

– The latest edition of Something to Wrestle featured portions of Bruce Prichard discussing the difference in doing talent relations between TNA Wrestling and WWE. Below are some highlights.

Prichard on difference between talent relations in TNA to WWE: “Organization, and I think that the biggest difference was that when you looked at the top of the food chain. WWE, you had Vince McMahon. In TNA, you had Dixie Carter. Unfortunately, beyond Dixie Carter was Panda Energy, which was owned by her mom and dad, and they owned TNA. So you never really could get to the top of that food chain. You never really could get to the top of that ladder to get anything approved or truly get a firm decision. And you didn’t have the ability to make a lot of moves and to do anything without that. In the middle of that, you had accountants, you had CFOs and people that would block you at every step of the way. So, it was a lot more frustrating from a standpoint of people who did not understand the wrestling or entertainment industry at TNA. So that was a big frustration for me because you’re trying to run a wrestling company or whatever it was at the time versus on the other side at WWE, you’re running an entertainment company, and you have parameters. And you can operate within those parameters. There were no parameters at TNA.”

Prichard on what he wanted to change in TNA: “I wanted it to make money, and it had reached a point where the way that they made money — and I gotta tip the hat to Jeff Jarrett because Jeff Jarrett always looked at that company as how is he going to make money? And how is he going to make it profitable? And I think there came a time where it became how do we beat the WWE? Which was ludicrous to think of especially at that stage. Produce a product. Produce a good product that the people are gonna wanna watch. Give them an alternative to the WWE, and eventually, maybe you can eventually get to the point where you’re actually competing with them. Then you can talk about beating them. But when you are at the stage that they were at, survive and thrive within the arena that you’re good at.”

“We had some really, really good, young talent. However, they looked at the house shows as an opportunity to sell merchandise, and it was everything else that they worried about instead of let’s fill the arenas that we’re in. And that was almost a second thought. And there was not a promotion department, there wasn’t a marketing department that knew live events. That was what was missing to me, and I think that the way that they went about making money was, ‘If we can get $500 here,’ — I think that Eric Bischoff used to make the comment, ‘They’re stepping over dollars to pick up quarters.’ So, that was the philosophy with them, and it was just to me kind of ass backwards.”

If you use any of the quotes, please credit Something to Wrestle with an h/t to 411mania.com.