Has Reality Set In?

[Jack-Hammer]

When it was announced that Hulk Hogan was coming to TNA, the TNA section of the forums were practically lit up with excitement from TNA fans and Hulk Hogan loyalists. There was a similar reaction when it was announced that TNA iMPACT! would air a live show on January 4th, 2010 against Monday Night Raw. TNA fans were elated and excitement was so thick that it was almost tangible. On the 4th, TNA had the best night in its history ratings wise by drawing a 1.5 Nielsen Rating with an estimated 2.2 million viewers. Once again, excitement was through the roof for many a TNA fan and the move to Monday nights on a permanent basis, based on that rating, seemed assured.

Fast forward about 6 weeks and it's announced that iMPACT! will be moving to Mondays permanently on March 1st, which is later changed to March 8th. Now, I've noticed a drastic change in the level of excitement among fans on the net. Buzz for TNA's move has been only a small fraction of what it was for Hogan's debut with the company. There haven't been 5, 6 and 700 visitors and posters hanging out in the TNA section almost 'round the clock. In fact, last night and today are the first nights I've personally seen the numbers go above 100 in that section in a few weeks and still, the numbers have been much much lower than I figured they would be, particularly in light of the knowledge that Rob Van Dam has signed with TNA and will almost certainly make an appearance this Monday on iMPACT!. There haven't been nearly as many bragadocious posts regarding how TNA is going to perform against Raw. No claims as to how iMPACT! is going to just chip away at Raw until it topples like an old oak tree. The temperment regarding TNA and its product seems decidedly different overall from this same time a few months ago.

I'm not slamming TNA or hyping Raw or vice versa, but I've noticed a lot more criticism on the WZ forums about TNA since Hogan and Bischoff took over than I did prior to their arrival. Changes have been made, wrestlers are being pushed and the format of the TNA product has as been altered in ways that many TNA fans don't seem to be happy about. Ratings for iMPACT! have been declining steadily over the past month or so and criticism of their product has been on the rise.

So now, the moment is nearly upon us. WWE Raw vs. TNA iMPACT! head to head every Monday. There are some that are certainly excited for TNA, but not nearly as many seem to be as thrilled about this prospect as they were 3 months ago. What's changed? Has reality literally set in? Has the excitement been tempered by the hard reality of the climb that TNA has to make in order to wrest the #1 spot from the WWE?

 

[BladeRunner]

I would label this as "the problem of extremes".

People cannot be rational about TNA for some reason.

For instance, recently the ratings were down a bit. So you know what's going to happen? Some blabbermouth is going to make it out that "TNA is dying!". This happens over and over. They never look at the totality of the processes, it's just "this is it, it's over for TNA". Regardless of the fact that TNA had done less well in the past and yet still kept going.

And then you got the other side, that when it sees ratings go up, and TNA shit talking about WWE, it's suddenly "TNAs giving WWE a run for it's money!" and "It's only a matter of time before TNA beats WWE in the ratings!". That isn't being realistic either.

The worst of it though, is the "WWE obsessors". They're kinda like the runt that follows the big dog around and thinks that because they follow it around, they're equal to it. So they're always attacking TNA, insulting TNA, saying how terrible it is, how it's going to fail, all because they're allied with the "big dog" WWE, and are somehow "superior". It's just pathetic.

In other words, reality won't set in for any of these types any time soon, and it'll be the same old garbage coming out of their mouths ad nauseum.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Well, yes, reality is about to set in and we'll find out over time whether or not TNA has made a mistake in attempting this move in the first place. But why are they even trying? Why do they find it necessary to move to WWE's Monday night stronghold? Are they trying to take the big company down? If so, a strategy like that is equivalent to a high school band declaring war on the London Symphony Orchestra.

There are three possible outcomes here.... and only one is good: that TNA makes major inroads against WWE or perhaps even forces them out of business. Sure, that would be great for TNA, but unlikely.

Otherwise, TNA can lose ground.....or stay the same. But even if they keep the same ratings and merchandise sales as before, they're still coming out on the negative side because it cost TNA so much money to achieve it. Hiring guys like Hogan and Bischoff doesn't come cheaply, you know.

And if TNA winds up getting lower ratings than they did on Thursday night, we will wonder whether they were better off just staying where they were and carving out a niche as an alternative to TNA......which is the way they started out in the first place.

I honestly don't understand why TNA wants to move to Monday night. If Hogan and Bischoff know something the rest of us don't about the entertainment business, it will be fascinating to learn what it is.

 

[Tastycles]

Yes, I think reality has set in. Not the reality that TNA isn't up to it, but the reality that it isn't very exciting. When the real Monday Night Wars started, you had WWF in a similar position to WWE today, but WCW had a lot of money, established stars, and the hype came after the first show with the sensationalism of Luger's debut. Nitro debuted with a bang, and drew a bigger rating than Raw that night. If Impact out draws Raw, then it will be a giant killing of untold proportions.

The reality is setting in that rather than being clash of the titans, it's the little promotion that could squaring up against a juggernaught, and it isn't going to be exciting until a proper big name jumps ship. WCW had Luger on their first show, TNA is going to have guys that left the WWE 3 years ago. The discussion has lost its steam because it is becoming increasingly evident that this war is going to start with a cheap pop rather than a big bang.

 

[hatehabsforever]

As usual, JACK, another excellent post.

Of course reality is setting in, the reality that no one or nothing could have lived up to the hype and expectations of the IWC and the TNA smarks with the arrival of Hogan, Biscoff, and friends. On Jan 04, TNA threw out everything they had. Absolutely everything, and they still made virtually no inroads into the WWE dynasty.

As SALLY, said, TNA would have been smarter to try to establish a high quality alternative to WWE, rather than try to compete with it, especially head to head. Put out a brand that would have a devout fanbase, which may, over time, challenge the WWE. But instead, they've taken the attack to a new level. This would be like the CFL trying to put the NFL out of business, or as Sally said, a high school band trying to compete with the London Symphony Orchestra.

TNA is not WCW. Times are different. Contracts are structured differently. The internet does not allow for surprises. DVR's have rendered choices between companies as academic. WCW had a lot of existing stars to build upon (Benoit, Guerrero, Jericho, Wight, Malenko, etc.,), whereas TNA has Styles and... well that's about it in terms of homegrown talent.

WCW attracted away current WWF guys, such as Luger, Blayze, Hall, Nash, even Hogan who wasn't too far removed from his WWF days. All TNA have been attracting is WWE rejects, or guys who have been away from WWE for years for whatever reason.

WCW had financial backing, TNA does not appear to have the same luxury.

And even with all of this, WCW couldn't sustain the attack for long. Sure they took over for a while, but eventually WWE wore them down and resumed their position at the top.

Sure reality is setting in. All of this is becoming all too apparent to the TNA smarks who want TNA to compete and succeed so badly that they cannot even look at the situation objectively.

The reality is that once the battle is either unsuccessful, or is taking too long, people will start bailing out and either jumping back to the WWE (Angle, Hardy, Anderson) or will become disillusioned and just leave (Flair, Sting, Bischoff, Hogan). Or they may just retire as they approach their seventies.