The summer season has not been so kind to TNA Wrestling. In what seemed to be a terrific chance to gain in the ratings department, TNA has yet to see the benefits of their solid television product with Impact! Wrestling.

Going live has indeed helped Impact! Wrestling grow into a solid foundation. It has helped elevate the product, story lines, and the roster. The main issue before going live was putting back trust with wrestling fans in TNA Wrestling.

So far, they have made an impression on many but it has not resulted in what the company was possibly looking for. That would be seeing viewership trends move higher.

Leading into its Hardcore Justice pay-per-view, the Thursday, Aug. 9 edition of Impact! Wrestling saw a steep drop in the ratings (via TV By the Numbers).

Impact! Wrestling had just 1.21 million viewers. The live Impact! was just able to make the Top 50 Cable TV charts for Thursday night with a 0.4 share in adults 18-49.

A tough Thursday night slot for TNA Wrestling

Despite having a quality product to watch and Impact! Wrestling being live, TNA has just been unable to find any sort of groove this summer. Thursday nights have been and will continue to be a tough time slot.

With the Olympics chewing up massive results, and along with the NFL preseason underway, TNA is stuck to drawing lower numbers. It will not get any easier for Impact! Wrestling, as it will have to deal with the new fall season lineup on television and NFL football on Thursday nights.

September will be an extremely important month for TNA Wrestling. After its live summer shows, TNA is set to go back to taping Impact! episodes. With a little time to buy, TNA has the chance to improve in the ratings department.

Unfortunately, a solid product in Impact! Wrestling has not resulted in what it deserves. Thursday nights may be getting even rougher in the next coming months.