Stevie Richards Calls Out TNA for Poor Planning Around AMC Relaunch

Stevie Richards isn’t holding back when it comes to TNA’s big relaunch on AMC — and he’s got serious questions about how the company timed its debut.

Appearing on The Stevie Richards Show, the former ECW and WWE veteran — also known as Dr. Stevie in TNA — ripped into the company’s decision to premiere Thursday Night iMPACT on January 15 and then immediately follow it with the Genesis pay-per-view on January 17.

“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.”

According to Richards, the back-to-back rollout gave fans no time to get emotionally hooked. Instead of building anticipation with episodic storytelling, TNA rushed viewers straight into a pay-per-view ask — something he says just doesn’t work in today’s wrestling market.

“You want people to be emotionally invested and take it on the weekly episodic ride. Then you ask them, hey, this is worth paying money for because of all these weeks.”

But with only a three-day gap between the AMC debut and the PPV, Richards believes fans had little incentive to shell out money — especially when the build-up lacked depth.

“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.”

His most damning critique? The idea that TNA may have already given away the payoff before asking fans to pay for it.

“Why would I buy the PPV when you just gave me the match for free?”

TNA’s debut on AMC drew just under 175,000 viewers, with the Genesis fallout episode still awaiting final numbers. Whether the company adjusts its strategy going forward remains to be seen.

Stevie Richards isn’t saying TNA can’t succeed — but he’s making it clear that good storytelling takes time. For a relaunch to truly work, the company needs to hook viewers emotionally before asking for their money. Right now, he thinks they’re putting the cart before the horse.