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TNA PR Czar Eric Barnes welcomed us to the call and noted that Corgan would be in town for this week's TNA tapings. He then opened the call for questions:
I was first on the call and asked Billy what he intended to bring to the company creatively and how he wanted to use that to bring TNA forward on Destination America. He said he's had a good pulse on building brands and how to work in the "weird space" between what is reality and the public space of symbolism. He said wrestling is still trying to get into get up to speed with everyone else when it comes to how they are presented publicly. He said the priority is carving out a singular identity in the marketplace and helping them as they try to build as an "in-ring first" product.
On touring with TNA, he was asked if he's bringing his experience as a touring veteran to the company and the younger wrestlers. Corgan said the company needs to buld talent and situations where they can prosper between TV tapings. He said they work independents in between but are they doing a "TNA style" and if you don't know what the TNA style, that's certainly one of the issues that TNA has.
Scott Fishman of The Miami Herald asked about the background of the deal with TNA and whether he pitched ideas to get into this position and what they were. Corgan said that they had discussions about TNA being part of his reality project that was going to go at AMC but Dixie didn't agree the project worked for TNA. He said that Dixie reached out to him and when he returned the call, they spoke and she asked him about coming on board. He said he was interested and went to Nashville for booking meetings the next week.
Corgan was asked what current TNA storylines he likes. Corgan praised Rockstar Spud's promos, saying he was one of the best promos in the business and the storyline of Drew Galloway and The Rising. He said that he grew up with the AWA where the ethnicity of the talents added to their storylines and he'd want to be able to deepen why fans from certain segments would care about these talents.
Corgan was asked about the PPV model in wrestling. Corgan said that from a fan perspective, he doesn't know how the model works for the business. There's obviously been a move in the industry to get away from the PPV model. He said he'd want to look for a new model that works better in the social media age but also gives the destination event that fans like.
Corgan was asked about his background as a wrestling fan. He grew up an AWA fan and got to see the Bob Luce promotion which saw AWA and Mid-West talents. He wants to update the principles that he loved in that era and bring them forward, as he's done with his own music.
Corgan was asked about hiring and firing. Corgan said he assumes he's going to be part of the decision-making but that's more Dixie's end. Corgan said that if he's going to run anything, it's creating a TNA developmental system and having stars who are wholly TNA-based. He said there's nothing wrong with talents from other rosters but the goal is to have everything TNA-centric.
Corgan was asked about the parallels between the behind the scenes of wrestling and music. Corgan said that certain talents get overlooked because of regime changes and larger decisions that are made. He said you see that in wrestling because there are people who don't believe they are getting their chance to shine. He said that he wants to create a talent relationship that takes into account of their concerns and abilities. You need proper scouting of where people are in their career and in their head and that's not different from a baseball team bringing in a different manager with a new outlook. He said there's nothing wrong with the current TNA culture but wants to give a new view and new outlook.
Corgan was asked about what he wants in a new TNA style. He said he's old school and there are some incredible X-Division talents but you have to build from size down. There's something about the law of the jungle that says the bigger guys should win and explains how a talent like Abyss can do a lot and help others get over in a way that smaller talents wouldn't be able to do.
<P>Corgan was asked about music in wrestling. He said that wrestling seems to have a certain way of presenting music that is all "jarhead metal" but he wants, like a soundtrack in a film, different styles of music that can add different sort of emotional reactions and talked of once seeing Fedor Emelianenko coming out in PRIDE to piano music as snow fell for the ring entrance and it bringing out a different emotional reaction then some metal would have.
The next question asked how he planned to change how TNA's television is presented. Corgan said that without knowing all the dynamics involved, we all want a zillion dollars to do a million things. He said he doesn't feel any promotion uses social media the best way possible to get over character and angles. He doesn't feel anyone has gotten it right because sometimes you see talents showing their real life when they are supposed to be villains. He doesn't know why the Internet isn't being used as an addendum to the TV show. Corgan said the smartest fans that know everything is a minority. You have to make a decision to go down the road harder with social media.
Jason Powell asked how much time he'll be putting into TNA weekly. Corgan said he's probably spending 60 hours a week with TNA and it's driving his friends in the music studio a little crazy because it's a full time vocation. He was asked if going on tour allows him to be on the out and giving a fresh viewpoint. Corgan said that he needs to be around enough so it doesn't feel like he's just coming in to nitpick and question. He said he needs to be enough in the "foundational culture" and things take a lot of time to develop properly.
Corgan asked about how his writing has progressed over time and how that will help his work with TNA Corgan said you have to write where you are today. TNA has to find the storylines that work today. He said that you have to update your thinking into a form that's working and used Paul Heyman planning to pull from MMA if he had come into TNA as an example. Corgan said that part of his job is to know Dixie's direction and vision. Part of his effort will be to get into the mindset of what Carter wants from a business-perspective.
Corgan was asked about the potential of bringing in trans-gender characters and issues into the storylines. Corgan used the Archie Bunker comparison saying he was a bigot but over time because of the storytelling we learned to become sympathethic to the fact he was an older man who was scared of the changing world. They need to create a bigger picture with longer, deeper storylines and it's time for wrestling to become a leader instead of a follower.
Corgan was asked about things he's brought to the table and getting them done politically. He said he's brought ideas to the table and the booking meetings were about whoever had the best idea wins and things he pitched were then added by others giving ideas. He said that he's dealt with wrestling politics on a smaller scale but realizes there has to be a balance between what is going on between talent and the front office.
The inevitable question about a televised role for himself. He said that he doesn't belong in the ring and everything is about getting the talents over. He didn't take the job to make it about him and he has plenty of control in his own world. He said that if there was an idea for him to do something or make an appearance, he would consider it but it's not why he's here.
Dan Murphy of Pro Wrestling Illustrated asked whether we should expect a big rebirth episode this weekend. Corgan said that he sees it more like The Chicago Cubs where they are starting to be rebuilt from the ground up. He said that even if he was handed the keys of the kingdom, he has to build the infrastructure. He likes the current TNA infrastructure but goes back to the fact that the company needs developmental and feels TNA can do another version of what WWE is doing with NXT right now so in 5-7 years, we have "The Beatles and the Stones." He said the days of trying to compete are over and the word is "so wide" that things can be supported and TNA can stand completely on their own so fans don't have to make a choice and there's more for everyone.
I returned to the call and asked Corgan about talents he'd want to bring into the company . He said he already has people he wanted to bring in coming for dark matches this weekend. He said there are people who can benefit the company immediately. He said there are things you can't pick up on TV and you can see where people are in their own heads and who is hungry and doesn't backstage. He doesn't have the power to make the call to decide who should be fired or have the credibility to even suggest that yet. He discussed the idea of say Jay Bradley as being a name that could be used that hasn't been tapped into yet on a national scene. There's motivation to get everything right from a TV standpoint. He said it's one thing to bring in your boys. It's another to build the company so it runs correctly and build the company. In Resistance Pro, he had talents who came in and didn't want to do his vision. He said there are 6-8 peoplewho could effect the TNA roster immediately. He said wrestling is ready for a whole new cast of characters and the next generation of outsiders like Jeff Hardy was in the Attitude era.
I asked Billy where things stand with the reality project now that he was involved with TNA. He said it was 'DOA"and that there was a pitch floating around after he left Resistance Pro with those owners removed but once he signed on with TNA, the project was DOA because he wanted to put all his energies into this. He noted that 3/4ths of the Resistance Pro roster left after he left without him "politicking them."
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