One Night Only: Revamped by Dustin T. Hull

Currently, the One Night Only PPVs are thought of as sporadic at best when it comes to storyline implications for the weekly TNA product. The reason I believe this is true was due to how far in advance TNA records these shows. But if Impact the TV show is in the same position, yet has a direct path then that excuse is not acceptable any longer. So the question is; how do we breathe life into this idea? I want to know if what I have envisioned is something others might see as potentially being successful.

               Here is a list of what we are currently working with as of what has aired/will air in 2014:

Jan – Hardcore Justice	May – Joker’s Wild	Sept – World Cup
Feb - #OldSchool	June – Slammiversary	Oct – Bound For Glory
March – LockDown	July – Global Impact	Nov – Knockout Knockdown
April – Sacrifice	Aug – Xtravaganza	Dec – Victory Road

Regular TNA PPV

TNA’s One Night Only presents

 Let’s first go away from Sacrifice as a PPV. With this reduced number of traditional PPVs, stacking 3 within 4 months is not wise. In 2013, they utilized Genesis in January which is most likely the hardest position to be in with the holidays. Since the choice is up to me here, I would push BFG to the last week in October or First week of November to open up Destination X returning in the second week of August. The hardest aspect of determining PPV placement is due to BFG and Slammiversary; it is hard to maneuver what’s built as TNA’s biggest event and it’s impossible to move the anniversary. But these subtle changes work for what I am planning.

Now that I’ve become frustrated with the spacing between Slammiversary to Bound for Glory to Lockdown, here is a list of current ONO Events that I think work due to a solid theme and assumption that storyline cohesion will factor in.

·        Joker’s Wild – If it gave us the Magnus and Joe tag team, it has potential

·        Knockout Knockdown – From what I’ve read, this has a solid following

·        World Cup – Rebrand it as TNA Cup and this team based PPV is a good idea

·        Hardcore Justice – If they tone down weekly gimmick matches, this could be special

So with a total of 4 major PPVs and these 4 current ONO Specials, I am adding an additional 2 ONO Themed PPVs for a total of 10 yearly Pay Per Views.

               One Night Only – Elite: This themed ONO is the same premise of the ONO: Tournament of Champions from 2013. It’s a one night tournament with 8 wrestlers working towards a future title shot. The difference for me is that you can feature different divisional titles every year. For example, you can feature the women of the Knockout Division competing for a future title shot at Slammiversary. Air the PPV in April and the month of May can be a dedicated build in that division based on a One Night Only PPV Tournament.

               My second suggestion is One Night Only: GutCheck. When it debuted, the Gut Check concept HAD potential. Set up 6 or 7 matches that feature talent on Impact’s radar taking on established Impact talent. Any winners of their matches move onto a main event match. The winner gains a “Developmental Contract” for Impact which could see TNA slowly integrate them on the roster by utilizing Xplosion matches and the UK tour dark matches. If they are happy with the talent’s performance, they can continue moving them towards a main show debut. This capitalizes on the potential of Gut Check without it becoming a Bruce Pritchard ego stroke of an Impact segment.

So that leaves us with a TNA PPV schedule that looks something like this:

Jan – ONO: Hardcore Justice	May – ONO: Joker’s Wild	Sept – Open
Feb – Open	June – Slammiversary	Oct – Bound For Glory
March – LockDown	July – ONO: TNA Cup	Nov – ONO: KO Knockdown
April – ONO: Elite	Aug – Destination X	Dec – ONO: GutCheck

               I feel confident that leaving February and September open allows creative time to focus on two of TNA’s primary Pay Per Views. The inclusion of Elite in April also builds a direction to follow into Slammiversary in June without the typical #1 Contender’s match on Impact. The importance of these is based on the inclusion of current Impact television show storylines. I feel that a few of these are easy to incorporate without major changes in the direction of the show itself, but that is just my opinion. What do you as a fan feel is most important in order to capitalize on the One Night Only concept, or is it a lost cause at this point?