Dixie Carter says other channels are interested in TNA; Spike TV exec at taping where company allegedly held a positive meeting with talent

Yesterday, TNA President Dixie Carter called into Ring Rust Radio to promote tonight's episode of Impact Wrestling, aka, the one where #ItHappens.  Regardless of how you feel about it, it does seem that Bully Ray putting Carter through a table in New York City has generated some buzz, and TNA is understandably trying to make the most of it.

Dixie was asked what to expect from tonight's show, and the decision to spoil it with a week of publicity.  She's careful to not dwell on the spot, instead focusing on the other things the angle and company is doing:

I think if you've been watching lately the show has been, in my opinion, some of the best programming that we've been putting out. I'm so excited about it. I'm just thrilled to see how many of these young talents that we've debuted in the last six, eight, nine months in such a prominent role.

And at the same time we're starting to have such amazing increases in ratings, so that makes me really proud. Tomorrow night is a big night for us. I would happen to call it must-see TV and if you haven't tuned in a while it would definitely be a show to catch.

Of course, the hosts took the opportunity to get the latest from Carter on the drama surrounding Spike TV and whether or not Impact would continue to be broadcast by the Viacom-owned company.  While she largely stuck to her usual narrative that negotiations were ongoing, she sounded a little exasperated and also hinted that reports of there being no 'plan B' were incorrect:

Every two years I go through this. This is just the first public negotiation I've ever had. I think social media has really changed this kind of thing. I'm used to every two years negotiating with Spike and negotiating with other networks. This time is absolutely not any different. We're still talking with them, but there are other people, thank God, that are interested in our product.

I want to grow this brand; I want to grow it domestically. I want us to be able to start having the kind of success domestically that we're having internationally. I'm not going to stop and none of us are going to stop until we get there. I'm real excited to see and I think we'll know sooner than later what's going to happen.

Meanwhile, Mike Johnson at PWInsider.com reports that - counter to rumors - TNA Management did meet with talent at last night's taping, thanking them for their hard work in the midst of so much negative publicity.  Johnson says that his sources reported that the roster was upbeat and positive following the meeting.

He also says that Spike TV executive Scott Fishman was present at the tapings.  The latest Vince Russo scuttlebutt makes it sound as if Fishman is the usual liason between the network and TNA, so his presence may not mean anything one way or the other for Impact's future on the network.

Finally, PWInsider says that the company has booked The Manhattan Center for another set of Impact tapings in September.  This would include episodes set to air either right around or even after the expiration of their existing deal with Spike, according to reports.  While they do have international contracts for episodes that they could fill with these shows regardless of their deal for United States television, the news of another slate of dates in the venue where they've had so much success lately probably contributed to the wrestlers good mood.

Stay tuned for more in this ongoing drama.  You can listen to the Dixie Carter interview with Ring Rust Radio here: