Brass Balls or False Bravado?

[Jack-Hammer]

Very recently, Dixie Carter had a Q and A sit down with a reporter from the Baltimore Sun regarding some of the stuff going on with TNA, it's future, Jeff Jarret, etc. and this question popped up:

Q: Have you thought at all about moving Impact to either Monday or Friday night to go head-to-head with Raw or Smackdown?

A: I think that you’re going to see some different things with us and Spike. I think that’s our goal going into this. Do we know specifically what they’re going to be? No. Does Spike love us for Thursday night on their network? Absolutely, they do. Is that our preference? No. We would love to be up against Raw on Monday night.

What ultimately caught my eye about the article was this section. In a nutshell, Dixie Carter says that she'd love to go head to head with WWE Raw on Monday nights. Now, since Carter certainly isn't going to say anything negative about TNA or it's product in an interview such as this, I can't help but wonder if she really meant what she said about going up against Raw or if she's just blowing smoke?

This isn't intended as a TNA bash thread, but I have trouble believing Carter was sincere about wanting to go head to head with WWE Raw. For the past 10 weeks, Raw's been averaging a 3.8 and the show is looking to finish the year well above the pretty dismal year that it had in 2008. With Impact averaging a 1.2 on Thursdays, I think that going head to head with Raw right now could wind up being a real embarassment. As of right now, they just don't have the numbers.

So what does everyone think? Does Carter really think that Impact could be the little engine that could on Mondays against Raw or is this a little white lie?

 

[Viola Moonlight]

I hope for TNA's sake that Dixie Carter does not go head to head with RAW. The position of the company was the exact same as the WWE before hitting into their "Crisis Mode" where the older guys of the business are still headlining with the potential main eventers doing nothing more than being upper midcarders at best. Granted that TNA are finally pushing their younger talent before the MEM start to dissolve away & the older wrestlers start to think of retiring, but they are in no position talent wise to get there.

TNA has a great KO division that could certainly take over the Diva's division ratings & the X Division & Tag Team Division have a fighting chance against WWE's equivalent divisions... but the Main Event scene on TNA does not match anywhere near the WWE's in any shape or form. You have wrestlers in the ME scene of WWE that are synonomous with wrestling like John Cena, Undertaker & Shawn Michaels. Who does TNA have that people know of in the Main Event scene, Kurt Angle? Others like AJ Styles & Booker T that actually are great wrestlers in their own right wont be much of any value against those three mentioned representing the WWE.

 

[BernacK6]

TNA doesn't need to go head to head with WWE because they don't have a product that is designed to compete. They have a niche market, obviously shown by the 1.2 average rating. They would get destroyed on Mondays or Fridays. The roster of TNA doesn't have the star power or the drawing ability to switch people over. They should stay on Thursdays, enjoy their minimal ratings and their niche market, and work on their product there before they decide to compete.

 

[Excalibur]

Dixie said what she was expected to say. She wasn't going to come out and admit that they are nowhere near ready to take on the WWE on Monday's. Also, WCW had something TNA doesn't have in order to take on Vince. A very rich guy willing to throw massive amounts of money into the product. Panda won't do that.

In a lot of ways TNA reminds me of the old Jim Crockett NWA shows filmed in a TBS studio in front of a few fans. This isn't a bad thing, I like TNA for what it is. They found a niche and fill it very well. They simply are not on the same level as WWE.

 

[Freedumb]

I think it would be a smart idea to do so. TNA isn't going to lose any of its 1.2 million viewers to the WWE and it will gain interest to those who flip to it during the commercial breaks of RAW.

If TNA can come up with some juicier storylines and keep signing big talent people will gain interest and forget to change it back to RAW to watch Hornswoggle vs Chavo Vl.

 

[Henry Hill]

Why shouldn't TNA go up against Raw? Test it out, Do a couple Monday night specials a la "Clash of Champions" to test the water. If nothing else it'll motivate WWe to put on something a little better on that monday to make sure TNA doesn't change any of the "e's" viewer's minds. Maybe being up against the "e" on Monday night (the night of the week that in a lot of people's minds is WRESTLING NIGHT) will get the TNA Roster fired up enough to work even harder. And in no way should Dixie's comments be construed as false bravado or as brass balls. TNA is a wrestling promotion on a national level, not an indy (one step above, but still not an indy) if TNA is not trying to compete with WWE as a long or short term goal, then they will fail no matter what. It is realistic to think that it is possible for A smaller company to grow to the point where it can complete with a larger one. just because TNA is not where it could be, doesn't mean it won't get there. As long as Dixie doesn't start expecting to beat Raw immediately and remains patient, WWE may find itself in a Monday Night Scuffle that could easily become MNW II.

 

[My$terio_Fan]

While I don't think we will see this happening anytime soon, it would be interesting to say the least. Was Dixie being honest? Possibly. Like some of the posters above me said, it's worth a try. Test it out, see if going head to head with Raw effects the ratings, good or bad. I'm not sure how it would do, but it would be worth a try or two.

But really I think this just comes down to Dixie trying to paint TNA in the best light. By the sound of her interview she has 100% faith in TNA, and the product they represent. It's nice to see her being behind Impact, even if she know's in reality that they wouldn't be able to compete. To the media standpoint it makes it seem if TNA "could" compete and this is making TNA seem legit.