Is it Boom Time?

[klunderbunker]

Look around lately: TNA has been going way up through the last few weeks and today we get the blockbuster of Hogan and Bischoff going there. Bragging Rights was solid and last night's Raw was very good. With the alleged end of Cena and Orton's feud there's room for some fresh feuds on Raw. Smackdown is currently great with all kinds of talent over there. Tuesday night is using very old school style that is just flat out working. The midcard is booming right now with Morrison, Miz, Swagger, Ziggler, Kofi, Christian and others. Throw in the recent signings of indy gods like Danielson and McGuinness and the big two look unstoppable right now.

My question is this: with everything going on right now, are we primed for the next wrestling boom? The stars seem to be alligning for a lot of changes in both companies that will improve them. Is this the time that wrestling gets back into being cool again? Or will this just pass by and nothing will come of it?

 

[Viola Moonlight]

As of right now KB, it can be said that we are being prepped for the new wrestling boom and we are really due for one. I mean, having the excitement of the Hogan signings, increase in match quality and seeing newcomers getting the chance to shine is a huge indicator.

I have been noticing both WWE and TNA for a while now slowly, but surely, get their younger midcarder type talent into the main event scene. At the start, both companies decided to let the older guys have their last runs as the top of the scene and feuding between each other. As time progressed, it started to switch with the older guys facing off against the younger talents. Take Bound For Glory 2009 this year... basically every single match was a Youth vs. Experience match.

- New Team SariTaylor defeated Experienced BP
- Young Star Eric Young won the Legends Title
- Youngish Female ODB beat veteran's Tara and Kong

I could keep going and show you, but I'm sure many watched that PPV. Over on the E company, they are building up a lot of young stars on the SmackDown and ECW brands heavily with the transition of Punk and Morrison on SD and Yoshi and Ryder on the Dub. Then, you have the huge midcard scene where are wrestlers are putting on great matches and are proving what they are worth. Holding the US title or being an uppermidcarder on RAW like Miz, Kofi, Legacy, Swagger and the Kool-Aid Krew really shows the potential that the future has. They are doing great jobs in building up these characters, especially with Kingston.

So, I am going to agree with you KB and say that we are soon going to see the boom of wrestling with new guys getting over and taking the business to a whole new level. Very soon we can see TNA competing with WWE if they play their cards right.

 

[Shocky]

Meh, I'm not sure if it's exactly boom period time. The WWE's new core audience they are going after aren't going to be the ones that get more interested in the product. The WWE is pushing too hard for the child audience, and at the same time has alienated it's older audience that has all but given up on it. Sure there is a smarky group out there that will think that signing Danielson is a good thing, but I also think those people are so jaded towards the WWE at this point that they simply dismiss this move as a bad move on Danielson's part. I personally have a hard time believing a guy like Danielson is going to get a "fair" shake in the WWE.

As far as Hogan and TNA goes, it's a big deal, to the Hogan fans out there. Word of mouth will spread, and there is going to be an initial rise in the ratings. The problem is, what can TNA do to mantain the new viewers it might gain. Being on a tape delay with the spoiler laden world of the internet is certainly not going to help. Why watch the show when the surprise factor is non existant?

I still say the wrestling world is missing the southern fans that drove the Monday Night Wars, and hell, the NWA/WWF war of the 1980's. Those crowds in Carolina and Atlanta were fiercely loyal to a fault to the Ric Flair's and WCW's of the world, and I still believe that that fan base is all but gone. TNA still needs to fire off another big bullet from it's gun. Signing a guy like Goldberg along with Hogan might be enough to push TNA over the edge. Goldberg is that one guy out there that can strike a chord with everyone. Couple that along with bringing in younger, discarded WWE talent (Kennedy, Umaga {not so much young, but RVD}), and you create an environement of excitment and unpredictability that people will almost force themselves to watch.

I still think a lot of things need to happen. I'm not exactly sure that Vince's Ego will allow him to believe that TNA might be legit competition right now. Hell, Vince is in the Entertainment business where as TNA is in the wrestilng, blah blah blah, we've heard it before. TNA needs to go live still, and take that traveling circus on the road for live TV.

Could a boom happen, possibly. A lot of things still need to happen.

 

[Super Crazy]

I believe a boom is a comin'. It's not here yet though. I say around December- January the boom will begin. Right now the seeds are planted for it to happen. I for one hope so. Both major promotions have been very good lately and I only see positive things happening from here on in. The young stars are on the rise in both companies and I cannot wait to see what the next couple of months bring. Hopefully it brings in a ton of good and gets rid of a lot of bad.

 

[Shadowmancer]

A Boom in Wrestling requires two key events happening in a short order, The Arnold Skaland Towel throw and Hogan Beating The Iron Sheik, that is where the boom started with the WWF in the 80's it didn't hit its stride until Hogan faced off against Piper and Orndorff at WrestleMania. The Attitude era, Hogan at Bash at the Beach and Austin at King of the Ring that started it but it didn't hit its stride until a couple of months later, I would say Tyson turning on HBK is where it started to hit its stride.

I have not seen anything of that kind of magnitude occuring. Sure Hogan going to TNA is a big deal, big whoop that isn't in ring product. It is a signing that may or may not come off.

I would hazard to say that there will not be one of those moments because everything seems overly scripted. Promos are recited not come up with on the spot. Heel turns and face turns are seen coming a mile away. Subtlety does not exist in the minds of the writers. Bad Comedy is shown on both major companies television shows. Talk to me again once two big events like that happen within a few months of each other then we can talk about the start of a boom period. until then business does seem to be picking up but nowhere near what I would consider to be a boom period.
We almost had one of those moments of importance but that was squashed with Punk losing to the Undertaker in Hell in a Cell.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

Booms don't just happen. They are created. And if anything will start a boom, it is signing both Hogan and Bischoff ... with them possibly moving Impact to Monday Nights to go head to head with Raw, as Meltzer is reporting is heavily being speculated.

WWE is a wounded animal at the moment. It has offered nothing new to fans in years. Same Main Event. Same matches. Same weekly show every single week in which nothing new happens. Commentators that make you fall asleep calling the action.

I think people are just looking for a reason to follow another organization and/or leave WWE and I am glad that TNA is going to give people a reason to finally do so.

 

[Proof]

Nah man.. The closest they were to a boom was in 2007 (business and basically John Cena were at an all time high, and the Vince limo explosion was just the icing on the cake), and then Benoit killed his family. I highly doubt Hogan will bring in any ratings. If TNA moved to Monday's, they would just get raped. A lot of things need to happen in order for the Industry to boom once again.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

Nah man.. The closest they were to a boom was in 2007 (business and basically John Cena were at an all time high, and the Vince limo explosion was just the icing on the cake), and then Benoit killed his family. I highly doubt Hogan will bring in any ratings. If TNA moved to Monday's, they would just get raped. A lot of things need to happen in order for the Industry to boom once again.

You think all of the Raw viewers are happy with Raw at the moment? I guarantee you that a Raw fan is going to be more likely to switch over and watch TNA as opposed to TNA fans switching over to watch Raw. TNA fans watch TNA for a reason. They know what Raw already offers, and they don't like it. That is why they watch TNA instead.

The momentum is on TNA's side at the moment. It's up to Vince now to up the ante. And there is going to be a lot of back and forth antes being upped between the two companies.

WWE has offered absolutely nothing new to its viewers in years. YEARS. YEARS of the same main event and same matches done over and over and over again.

As far as ratings, I am going to keep my expectations low, at first. There is nothing like over-shooting expectations only to have the members of the IWC Division of the Vince McMahon Kiss My Ass club come down and say "I told you so".

I am going to hope for a 1.4.

TNA usually does anywhere near a 1.0-1.3 on a regular basis. It's been more towards the 1.0's as of late. So I am going to go with a 1.4, and that way, if it does higher than that, I can be pleasantly surprised.

 

[jjgp1112]

Meethinks you're all getting your hopes up. Before a boom happens, WWE has to reach a point so low that they finally realize that they have to fix everything that they're doing. Right now, WWE's ratings are still in the mid 3.0 range. RAW would have to fall off into the low 2.0 range like in 1995 before we can even think about a boom.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Maybe we are on the edge of wrestling being hot again. But what you have to remeber is WWE will always have a greater fan following then TNA, because it's a bigger machine than TNA. WWE has the resources and money that TNA doesn't. While Hogan and Bischoff in TNA is a big deal (and maybe even Flair) I don't think it's going to give them the edge they need to beat WWE. It's possible they will come close, but I don't think they'll beat WWE. They might beat WWE in ratings the first time Hogan debuts on IMPACT! but where will they go from there? Just seeing Hogan in TNA isn't going to be enough for them to beat WWE.They're going to need more. And while most of the IWC can't stand the PG era, you have to remeber it appeals to a larger majority, while TNA mainly is geared toward die-hard wrestling fans.

 

[Paradox]

Everything is set in place for one, on TNA's side. You have young guys moving up the ladder and some of the old guys taking a back seat at the moment. You have a young world champion that is great in Aj Styles. You have a strong heel Champion backed by a faction in Eric Young. You look at the other guys in place, Wolfe who just made his debut made a huge impacted taking out Kurt. You have Smoma Joe becoming dominate again. The tag team division there is thriving. I don't care how old 3D is they can still put on a damn good match with these young guys. On top of that you have TNA's bread and butter the X division. Which is only going to be continue to get better. Then you add Hogan, and Bishoff to the mix. The viewers are now going to come. Die hard WWE fans are going to tune in to see Hogan. There's no doubt about that. TNA has the lure out with Hogan, can they catch the fans with their product? I believe they can. Time will tell

On the other hand we've had Smackdown giving us some great stuff over the last several months. The last couple of Raw's have been fantastic. Braggin rights was a good ppv. It looks as if WWE's creative team is starting to get back in gear and actually write. We have some good feuds coming, with the elevation of Kofi to the main event. His feud with Orton will do nothing but help him. This is something that is fresh that WWE needed. Then you have another feud that should be great, Miz vs Swagger. You have two of the best young guns in WWE going at over the US title. This should be excellent. This is only going to put them more in the spotlight and allow them to mature as performers and get better. Then we have this newly announced main event for SS. Triple h vs HBK vs Cena. This is will be an excellent match. We've seen what all three of these men can do one on one against one another. Now we have them in a triple threat. It should be good. Possibly leading to a feud between HBK and HHH. With the possibly HBK being heel this time, that would be amazing!

All the elements seem to be falling into place. We need something big that we weren't expecting to jump start everything. Once we get that I think it's going to be rolling. If we don't it won't happen. I think it will come. Here's a possibility that I just thought of. Instead of one member of DX turning on the other. Cena turns on both of them as a face to become heel. I doubt it, but that would kick start everything into motion.