Dave Meltzer Takes Issue With TNA's Claim About Recent PPV Sellout
Never afraid to call out someone or something for its falsity, Dave Meltzer did not hold back when discussing TNA's most recent pay-per-view event Rebellion, and the company's claim that it was a sold-out show. In this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Meltzer clarified that reports of this alleged sellout were untrue.
On April 27, TNA hosted Rebellion – its annual springtime pay-per-view event – at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. As Meltzer noted, the venue holds about 10,000 seats. The day before the show, TNA announced that its show was a sellout, although other people said otherwise, as tickets were still available to purchase, including in the lower deck section. As Meltzer put it simply, "When calling a show a sellout, it tells people not to buy tickets in theory," giving the perception that the product is "on fire."
Additionally, he reported that the upper deck was almost completely empty other than the first few rows. Regarding the audience around or behind the hard camera, many sections behind the area were completely empty. As of this report, there is no clear number on how many tickets were sold. Had it been true that TNA sold out at the Galen Center, it would have drawn the largest crowd TNA had ever seen in America in its 23-year existence (according to Meltzer, TNA drew 8,000 either once or twice when performing at the Wembley Arena in London).
Overall, the show saw all but one of its top champions retain their championships, as The Hardys lost their TNA World Tag Team Titles to The Nemeth Brothers (Nic and Ryan Nemeth). TNA's next special event, Under Siege, will be held on Friday, May 23, at the CAA Centre in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, with three matches already announced for the show, including TNA World Champion Joe Hendry and Elijah (formerly known as WWE's Elias) teaming up against Trick Williams and Frankie Kazarian, Eddie Edwards going one-on-one against Cody Deaner, and Masha Slamovich putting her Knockouts World Championship on the line against Victoria Crawford (formerly known as WWE Divas Champion Alicia Fox).