TNA Impact Wrestling President Dixie Carter held a conference call earlier today to discuss tomorrow night’s live edition of TNA Impact Wrestling amongst other topics. Highlights of the conference call are available below.

The call opened up with TNA Wrestling’s public relations manager Chris Thomas who reminded people that Impact Wrestling changes to 8pm Eastern on Spike TV tomorrow night and that in a matter of weeks the company celebrates 10 years in existance with TNA Slammiversary X and then proceeded to comment on the company’s tour of the United Kingdom in 2013. TNA Wrestling President Dixie Carter then joined the call and immediately stated that she’s going to welcome calls. The first caller asked Dixie about the press release regarding the changes to the show, to which she referenced that the backstage segments from Hulk Hogan were part of that and that she’s more excited about doing that type of segment than anything else and it’s really time for the company to take themselves to another level and that they need to evolve to stay in a tough business, stating that it is something in her own opinion that is going to be a very much needed way to watch professional wrestling.

The next caller asked Dixie about her decision to bring in Brooke Hogan to be in charge of the Knockouts Division over names such as Fit Finlay or Goldust, to which she said that the Knockouts Division is very important to her and that she wants to set a standard in the wrestling world that its better than anything else out there and said she has a good relationship with Brooke Hogan, who learned so much about the wrestling business and business matters from her father and that she’s a big star in her own right, stating that while Brooke Hogan will be joining TNA Impact Wrestling, she will not be wrestling, but instead shining a light on the Knockouts Division. Dixie then went on to talk about how in a matter of weeks the company celebrates its 10th anniversary and said that people didn’t expect the company to last 10 weeks and there was a certain point that they almost did not, admitting that there have been times back in the day that she didn’t know if it was going to last and that over the years the company have made a ton of mistakes, but everything is a learning curve and doesn’t feel the company has ever produced the quality of programming that they are these days.

The next caller asked Dixie about the company’s plans for their 2013 PPV schedule and whether they will be doing anymore live specials to which Dixie responded that Spike TV asked them back around Thanksgiving last year to go 3 hours long, but they chose to produce quality wrestling over the quantity of it and said that they would like to do live specials and that she’s not a fan of the 12 pay-per-views per year schedule and that they are currently trying to negotiate their existing contracts to cut their pay-per-view events down next year. Dixie was then asked if TNA Wrestling have plans to go on the road more often to which she noted that she’d prefer to be live than go on the road, but ultimately the plan is to do both which she would like to see happen and that currently, in terms of Impact Wrestling being live, it’s run will be for 12 or 13 weeks and that she would love to see it being the normality for the company on a weekly basis.

Dixie was then asked about how the company is viewed by the WWE and whether they will tone down the product due to them airing at 8pm Eastern and said that for the WWE to not acknowledge competition is ridiculous as competition makes you work harder and said that in regards to the earlier time slot, they are trying to make things as real as possible on television and that some sexual innuendo and more will end up coming out, however they have to ability to censor on the spot anything that happens. Dixie was then asked if there is any interest in John Morrison, Melina and other free agents and said that the company is always looking at acquiring talent and loves how they find new talent in their Gut Check. She was then asked about whether research shows that going live leads to improved ratings and stated that is not the case, however going live helps them gain momentum faster in their new timeslot and become more socially interactive, stating that this Thursday’s show will be the most socially interactive show in professional wrestling history and that one of the key things with Impact Wrestling’s new format is to let the talent cut loose as wrestling has always been formatted for certain minutes and that last week the fans got to see Hulk Hogan behind the scenes and said that she’s a very defensive woman when people claim that he’s only in the company to pick up a paycheck putting over how passionate Hogan is during meeting and that he appears at times when he’s not even paid to attend, stating that she feels honored to be there in those meetings as the President of TNA Wrestling and that people need to see that side of Hulk Hogan that they don’t normally get to see.

Dixie was then asked whether the company have set a mark for ratings and viewership in their new timeslot and said that she hasn’t really thought about that but good ratings and good viewership is always the best answer. Dixie was then asked about the status of Ric Flair and the apparent release of Alex Shelley and stated that Shelley is a fantastic wrestler and that he can be aware that the door is always open for him to return, however declined to comment on the Ric Flair situation. Dixie then turned things to Impact Wrestling and said that tomorrow night she will appear on the show to introduce Brooke Hogan in her role with the Knockouts Division, however that may not be the only reason she’s on screen, as she could have another big announcement. Dixie said that tomorrow night’s show will not be an entirely different show, but it will evolve over time. Dixie was then asked what led to the changes and said that it is purely based on the way people watch television and that you don’t have to love wrestling to watch Impact and that they have great characters on show and that they need to do a better and more unique presentation to allow those people to cut loose.

Dixie was then asked about the company moving away from chairshots to the head and said that it’s a concerted effort on the company’s behalf as after all, it is her job to make sure that her roster is protected and that she takes offense to people saying wrestling is fake when she sees the guys come through the curtain with bumps and bruises on their bodies and said that the research regarding concussions in professional wrestling amongst other sports is so conclusive that they had to react. Dixie was then asked about her background in the wrestling business and said that she’s not afraid to admit that she didn’t know about pro wrestling, but has done her best to get up to speed over time and that she’s surrounded herself with good advisers and she knows business. Dixie was then asked about TNA Wrestling starting up a UK promotion similar to Ring Ka King and noted that the company are working on something, which they hope to announce soon. Dixie then returned to a point from earlier and said that they would love to go live from May 31st and that when she approached Spike TV President Kevin Kay regarding the company going live for a minimum of 12 weeks, he loved the idea and approved it. Dixie then noted that TNA Wrestling are a privately held company and don’t reveal their pay-per-view buyrates, however when she sees certain false information online, she feels that its not worth the time to publicly correct the matter each time.

Dixie was then asked whether the company intend to have more unscripted interviews, to which she responded that that is the goal and that there will be some of that on tomorrow’s show and that they will be making a change to the TNA Gut Check panel. Dixie was then asked about the release of Vince Russo and said that while she believes that Vince is a brilliant writer, sometimes a change is needed and that she’s very happy with Vince Russo’s contributions to TNA Wrestling over the years, stating that he’s a very nice man and she wishes him nothing but success wherever he ends up, however it was time to look at the TNA Wrestling product with some fresh eyes. She was then asked about how the live crowd isn’t always picked up properly and whether any production changes will happen to fix that problem and said that happened at their pay-per-view in Nashville. Dixie then went back to talking about tomorrow’s Impact Wrestling and said that Spike TV have a show live after Impact, so there won’t be that much overrun in the 8pm Eastern timeslot.

Dixie was then asked for her opinion on the person that has brought the most to the promotion over the last 10 years, briefly paused and said that from an iconic standpoint it has to be Sting, however from a wrestling standpoint, Kurt Angle is definitely that man, before going on to state that from a TNA Wrestling standpoint, its great to see that there are so many of the originals coming into their own. Dixie was then asked who would she take from the WWE if she had the opportunity tomorrow night and mentioned The Rock. The questions then returned to the PPV schedule and Dixie said that if they are able to renegotiate their contract, then 6 to 8 would be the ideal number of PPV’s a year, however she’d settle for 10 next year. Dixie said that people also need to realise that while she’d like to trim down the schedule, the pay-per-view events make money and the company would have to find other ways to replace the revenue from those events.

Dixie then took some brief questions, which seemed to indicate that she was wrapping things up soon. In regards to Don West, she said that he’s a member of the TNA Wrestling family and that it’s sad to see him go, but wishes him every ounce of success and happiness in his new career. She then stated that she’s open to doing additional conference calls in the future. Dixie then said that she hasn’t discussed anything with Spike TV in regards to extending the 12-week live run and that the company wants to focus on each show and doing their best. She then stated that there are no plans as of now for the show to be live outside of North America. Dixie then said that the company will be announcing details on the 2012 Bound For Glory pay-per-view shortly and that she believes the location will excite their fans. Dixie then praised Bully Ray and said that he’s a fantastic example of someone who has reinvented himself and became a star in the company. Dixie then said that opening offices in Los Angeles or New York is the next step for the company and that they would like to do that also in London and other locations. Dixie noted that there are no updates right now on Ring Ka King or All Wheels Wrestling, but that they hope to make an announcement on Ring Ka King down the line.

Dixie then wrapped up the call by talking about her excitement with tomorrow’s live Impact, the 10th anniversary of the promotion and what is happening with the company right now.