The worst reveal in TNA history? August 1 Warning | WON Flashback
For those of us that were watching TNA in 2013, August 1 will probably be remembered as of one the most underwhelming (if not the absolute worst) reveals of all time.
After about a week of teasing a massive name coming into the company, it was MMA star Tito Ortiz who would finally appear on the ramp during the August 1 show. Ortiz was a big star in the UFC, but the TNA fans had no idea who this guy was. This was all done to promote an upcoming Bellator MMA fight between Ortiz and Rampage Jackson, and to say it didn’t go over well with the live crowd, internet or MMA fans, would be an understatement…
The August 1 Warning
Here’s what our own Dave Meltzer had to say about the August 1 2013 episode of TNA Impact and the reveal of Tito Ortiz as the August 1 Warning:
“On TNA, they had promoted, starting on 7/26, that there would be a mystery August surprise who would debut on the 8/1 show. Why they chose to announce it on the Internet as opposed to on their own television show the night before is one of life’s great mysteries. As it turned out, the ratings for the taped show on 7/25 were slightly higher than for the live show, which hyped the surprise big for two hours but there was no real last quarter pop.
“During the show, Taz, who didn’t announce, was shown outside the arena, and opened up a door to the van to find out who was in it, and acted shocked when he opened it. But when the cameras went in, it was just a computer playing the video.
“At the end of the show, with the Main Event Mafia and Aces and 8s brawling, the lights went on. Suddenly, walking down the ramp was Ortiz. Unlike when Jackson debuted, which had been promoted, and there was a huge live reaction and it came across like he was a superstar, for Ortiz, arguably a bigger star in MMA, there was no reaction at all. Part of it was that with his shaved head instead of his trademarked dyed blond hair, most people likely had no idea who he was.
“The angle got an immediately and almost universal negative reaction. MMA people didn’t like the idea of a pro wrestling storyline-created MMA match, even though many MMA storylines are also created. Pro wrestling fans resented another MMA fighter with no pro wrestling background on the show. Whether TNA, which does have 1.0 to 1.5 million people watching weekly but hasn’t been able to convert all but a minuscule percentage to buy its own PPVs, will be able to create a storyline that will help an MMA show is questionable. The PPV crossover between MMA fans and TNA fans can be debated forever. The only thing this year has proven is that Bellator did 808,000 viewers from 10 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. on Thursday after Impact on average in the spring, then without a TNA lead-in, did 480,000 viewers on 6/19 for a normal show with King Mo (one of its signature stars) and 679,000 viewers for the most loaded up show in company history airing earlier in the evening.“
Jake is the Head of Audience at F4WOnline, having previously worked as a Combat Sports, Gaming and Pro Wrestling writer, successful Editor in Chief and Sports Coordinator. He has more than ten years of experience covering mixed martial arts, pro wrestling, football and gaming across a number of publications, starting at SEScoops in 2012.
He previously also worked for PROGRESS Wrestling as Head of Media as well as working on the social channels of the company.