Sports Illustrated Profiles Dixie Carter and TNA

Sports Illustrated has run a feature piece on TNA President Dixie Carter, her family and the company itself.

The column features Carter’s upbringings and how her family purchased TNA from the Jarrett family in order to save it financially. It details the growth and development of the company, and states that TNA still aims to be the No. 2 company in the world in regards to sports-entertainment.

It also chronicles TNA’s relationship with Spike TV, including a quote from Kevin Kay, president of the channel.

“Dixie’s a big reason why we made the deal with TNA, and her business acumen and tenacity makes her an exceptional leader,” he said. “We were immediately impressed by Dixie and her team. Their roster featured some of the best athletes in the wrestling business and here we had a woman in charge of a testosterone-charged staff full of men. To see her take charge — whether it’s in a production meeting or a client dinner — is incredibly impressive.”

Carter also talks about how the company released one-third of its roster earlier this year.

“Some people were let go,” said Carter, with pain in her voice. “They didn’t resonate. They didn’t move the needle or the contract they wanted wasn’t something that was good for this company. Sorry, but this company has to be in business 10, 20 years from now. I have to run a company and grow it. I’m to the point right now where things have to be a certain way for us.”

The article also confirms Carter is still in contract talks with Hulk Hogan, though she regrets giving him the amount of television time he got.

“If we did anything wrong with him, we used him too much on television,” Carter said. “If he stayed with us, you’d probably see less of him.”

Other highlights include Carter’s eight-year-old daughter pitching creative ideas to her mother and her thoughts on touring internationally once more.

The entire article can be found here.

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