Jan 4th- Monday Night Raw vs TNA iMPACT

[maar130]

I thing personally this is nota suicidal move on TNA, if Spike TV has that much faith on them then go for it, it won't be TNA's doom, if they fail they still would have their regular time slot on Thursday. I mean, come on guys, Someone said that some watch WWE out of habit, well most of them would still be watching that anyway.

The prime test would be how TNA handle itself on that kind of enviroment and how they are going to divide the roster for the two nights. Right now no wrestling show, including TNA has another show a like to compete with, even if superstars is on TV on the same night it is more like a trial ground if MyNetwork TV goes belly up and Smackdown has to move.

So, is TNA going to beat Raw? No, Take a good part of its Audience? No, Hold its own audience? Probably, maybe not a t the beginning but it will. Learn from this thing? Hell yeah, You learn more when you fail so even if they do fail, it will be a great learning experience. Is TNA existance at stake? No at all, Is TNA taking the biggest risk? Hell No, Spike TV is, why? TNA is only taking the shot given to them, if they fail, well they have another time slot to rely on, Spike TV is the one that is giving it the chance and putting the money on them, if they fail, Spike as a network will take the hit, but since I really thing none cares what is on that time slot, is not that much of a risk at al for the Network either.

 

[LegendKiller716]

As long as Bret Hart is on Raw people will tune in. TNA has already made 1 huge mistake. They are re-airing the show on Thursday. If they want to pull fans away from Raw on monday they cant have a re-air. someone like me who watches WWE and TNA are just gonna tune into RAW Monday and TNA thursday. I can almost guarentee TNA has better ratings on Thursday than monday.

 

[Deviltaker95]

I have to go with Hogan....As a fan of Bret Hart I always wanted to see him back in the WWE. The Montreal Screwjob was as real as it gets in wrestling...But now Vince is going to put a storyline albeit probably a bad one into the mix about the whole thing...Putting a fake stamp on something that was so real is just dumb in my opinion. This was 12 years ago..I mean I've been a wrestling fan for over 20 years but the current WWE product right now horrendous and caters to kids that weren't even born during Surivior Series of '97. The WWE writing staff has been horrible and this storyline will just come off bad..


Hogan on the other hand is another old man, but TNA has a lot more to prove to everyone at this point. I'm curious to see who is going to come in. Will RVD be there? Flair? Kennedy? Hell imagine at the stroke of 9pm Jeff Hardy comes walking out...Or hell even Shane Mcmahon? The point is TNA will put out all the stops...

But the real point is we all win as wrestling fans.. Competition is good for the business and I guarantee we wouldn't be having any of these discussions.. TNA has nothing to lose and everything to possibly gain,, As a wrestling fan I'm pulling for TNA...and so should you!

 

[Dagger Dias]

I'm wondering if there's anything TNA can do at all against Bret Hart's return to Raw. That's just too huge to flip the channel from. Numbers and NSL have some valid points in their posts. In my opinion.... TNA needs to give us the best possible matches they can. Pretend that this is Bound For Glory again. Give us the absolute best matches that they possibly can.

Championship matches work great. Put all the high flyers in an X Division title match. ALL of them. (Except Styles and Daniels)

Do something interesting with the Knockouts. At the risk of sounding controversial, maybe a promo by the Beautiful People in swimsuits or something. Also.... Tara and Sarita/Taylor need to put their belts on the line as well, give them the best possible opponent(s) and put on a great match there.

Promos. Lots of promos in between the matches to get the faces over and heat for the heels. Put over the matches, hype them to where the fans can't afford to switch over to Raw.

Finally, the last segment needs to include all the big names. Styles, Daniels, Joe, Wolfe, Angle, Jarret, Foley, Sting, and Hogan.... have all of them involved in some huge match/segment. Something as big as that would get my attention even if HBK and Hart were having a mic showdown on Raw at that same second. (Even though I'll be watching both shows anyhow)

Basically.... TNA does have a small chance, but the way I see it, they basically need to give us a show on par with Bound For Glory, on the January 4th Impact. Something that good would help them survive because they might be biting off more than they can chew.

None of us can predict the future 100% accurately though, so we'll have to wait and see. I for one cannot wait.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I think what a lot of us are over-looking here is that TNA's goal – first and foremost – here is to both "convert" WWE fans to TNA fans, as well as gain new fans from the MMA sector. The first 15-minutes of the show are going to be integral to keeping the attention span of anyone on the bubble here. Can they tease the shit out of the Hogan debut? Absolutely. But it's a tight-rope, and if you teeter too far, you go over. The company can't afford to take that kind of a fall, IMO. Something has to happen at the beginning of the show to really capture the awe and aspirations of the viewer in order to retain them from the get-go.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Very simply, which show will you be watching next Monday night. This is not blast the marks (me being one myself) just which show and WHY.

I'm considering watching both because I have two tv's at my apartment. I could have Raw on in my bedroom and Impact on in the den.... or vice versa....

However, I am leaning towards watching Raw live in the den, while my tv in my bedroom records Impact and I'll watch it later. Back in the attitude era I would watch WWF live and catch a recorded WCW later on, but I usually managed to get both shows watched every week, so I plan on carrying on that tradition. Raw should be my live show though and TNA will be my taped show because Raw on monday nights is such a tradition that mondays are incomplete without it. Don't get me wrong though, I will absolutely watch both even if one is taped.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I'm considering watching both because I have two tv's at my apartment. I could have Raw on in my bedroom and Impact on in the den.... or vice versa....

However, I am leaning towards watching Raw live in the den, while my tv in my bedroom records Impact and I'll watch it later. Back in the attitude era I would watch WWF live and catch a recorded WCW later on, but I usually managed to get both shows watched every week, so I plan on carrying on that tradition. Raw should be my live show though and TNA will be my taped show because Raw on monday nights is such a tradition that mondays are incomplete without it. Don't get me wrong though, I will absolutely watch both even if one is taped.

Then in lieu of supporting another go-around of the Monday Night wars, all logic points to switching your roles – even if it's temporarily – to watching TNA live (to give them the ratings boost), while taping RAW to watch later. Boosting TNA's ratings gives TNA a better shot at competing, which in turn creates more pressure, which in turn creates competition, which we all agree creates the best possible on-air product.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Then in lieu of supporting another go-around of the Monday Night wars, all logic points to switching your roles – even if it's temporarily – to watching TNA live (to give them the ratings boost), while taping RAW to watch later. Boosting TNA's ratings gives TNA a better shot at competing, which in turn creates more pressure, which in turn creates competition, which we all agree creates the best possible on-air product.

Very valid point. However If I watch Raw live in the den and record Impact in my bedroom (with the door shut) then the tv can be on in there, then both federations will get a ratings bump from me. That's most likely what I'll do since I insist on getting to see both shows because I am a fan of both federations.

 

[hatehabsforever]

It's not even close, I'll be watching WWE and I won't even be remotely tempted to switch over to TNA (except perhaps during commercial breaks). In my opinion, the return of Bret Hart trumps Hulk Hogan, or anything else TNA could throw our way, by a mile. If the choice was between Hogan and another Little People's Court segment, sure I'd give TNA a shot, but with the head-to-head as it's shaping up, it's not even debatable what I'll be watching.

Bret Hart's return offers so much potential, there's so many different things which could derive from it, there's so many different angles it could take. He could be heel or he could be face. He could get involved with McMahon, or HBK, or HHH, or the Hart Dynasty, or Melina (if he's lucky). They could close the book on the Screwjob, or they could produce a new one. In contrast, Hogan's return offers little, except for the same old same old, a re-hashed nWo, albeit by a different name.

And I don't buy the argument that even the WWE advocates should watch TNA that night to show Vince that he actually may have some competition. If you're a WWE fan, you have to watch RAW that night, you simply have to. You can still watch TNA on Thursday night if you're so inclined, but come Monday night, it has to be WWE all the way. I don't think Vince gives two shits about TNA and is not remotely threatened by them. If people watch TNA instead of RAW that night, it will show Vince one thing and one thing only, that TNA is capable of a short-term spike in ratings if TNA puts off the best that they have to offer. It will become apparent they cannot sustain it, no more than WCW could, so he has nothing to worry about. IF TNA were to challenge WWE for an extended period of time like WCW did, that may prompt Vince to worry and alter his product. But Jan 4 alone will do nothing to produce this response from WWE.

So sit back and watch WWE RAW on January 04, 2010. It's going to be classic. This week's build-up for it was perfect, hyping it just enough while keeping everyone guessing. If you tune out RAW that night to teach Vince a lesson, I guarantee you'll regret it.

 

[Mr. TM]

WWE.

I would probably watch WWE 5 times over TNA if it had been Hulk Hogan versus The Rock. I would probably have watched TNA for Hulk Hogan, but would be watching Raw when Hogan was not on.

But with Bret Hart on WWE, I would watch him and the WWE on January 4th in replacement for 10 years of TNA programming. WWE did the right thing in bringing in Hart, because he draws in so much more than Hogan, a man who exploited his family, is constantly trying to get over, over a man who has stayed away from the business, and although it might be viwed as holding a grudge, he seems to have come around over the last few years and beat his deamons.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'm going to have to go with the WWE. Both companies have put on very good and very horrible shows this year, but I've no interest in seeing Hulk Hogan or watching him become the centerpiece in yet another wrestling promotion.

I've seen Hogan, he's thrust himself into the spotlight one way or another and I'm just tired of the guy. I want TNA to be a success and I don't think that TNA necessarily needs Hulk Hogan and, in the end, I think it will wind up being a mistake to have brought him in.

As for Bret Hart, his wrestling legacy has remained in tact and unblemished. He's been away from wrestling for so long that people are legitimately excited to see him back in some sort of role. I'm pretty sure that Hart won't be made the ultimate focus of the WWE, there's very little chance of him wrestling in any matches, there's little worry about him injecting himself into the world title scene. Basically, I'm just excited about Bret Hart coming to the WWE and I'm just meh about Hogan coming to TNA.

I know competition can only make both of them better. I'm all for that, but I'm not going to pretend that TNA is really doing anything that's just capturing my attention. With the exception of AJ Styles winning the TNA title, there's been precious little in TNA to hold my attention for the past several months. There are rumors that the nWo will be reforming in TNA. They won't use that name, of course, as it's WWE owned but I've got no interest in seeing them, I've got no interest in an angle in which the Carter/Hogan coalition goes up against the Jarrett/Foley coalition for control over TNA.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Very valid point. However If I watch Raw live in the den and record Impact in my bedroom (with the door shut) then the tv can be on in there, then both federations will get a ratings bump from me. That's most likely what I'll do since I insist on getting to see both shows because I am a fan of both federations.

That also works, but only because you have the second television.

I'm 26 years old and still have a Bret Hart poster up on my wall in my bedroom behind my door. Trust me, I want to see Hart like no other, but the beauty of DVR in the new digital age allows me to while still allowing me to support TNA in a more prominent role, which in turn promotes a better wrestling product overall if the company gets enough of a push in the right direction. The fans are going to be a large portion of that direction. You can have the worlds largest truck with the worlds largest engine, but without gasoline, you're going nowhere fast.

Even if I hated what TNA was doing right now (and I'm not a mark for everything they're doing), I'd still give them the support they need right now to get this thing off the ground. Once it's up and flying, it's up to them to keep it afloat.

 

[ABMorales787]

TNA. WWE finally managed to have a good show last night, but it has after two atrocious episodes in a row. I'm all in for Bret returning, but it seems written on the wall that HBK will apologize and McMahon will inflate his blimp of a head further by somehow embarrassing Bret. I'm gonna watch TNA. Nobody has a single clue on what will happen. All we know is that Hulk is coming with a possible NWO reunion and Angelina Love may jump the border again. Other than that, nothing. Who will challenge AJ next? Why does Nash have a shot at the Tag titles? Why is Rob Terry still employed and on the X Division? Your answers arrive next Monday. As for Raw, other than Kingston and Sheamus' recent boost's nothing really catches my eye aside from Bret. If it where Smackdown or ECW instead of Raw, I would've had a harder time deciding. But then again it wouldn't be a Monday Night War.

 

[maar130]

For most people, it's obviously going to be Bret Hart, as he's been away much longer For me, as a Hogan mark, it'll be Impact. That said, most of you SHOULD be watching Impact over Raw, live. All I read on these baords are complaints about WWE's programming, and how they need to change, and blah blah blah, but when it comes time to put your money where your mouth is, you all back off like crazy. The WWE will only respond to lost money, lost ratings, and real competition. You can catch everything Hart does on replay.

That said, I'm going to go OT for a second, and I know that I've become one of the de facto HOgan defenders on this board, but here goes..

Also, it sickens me a little to hear, not just the "not a fan of Hogan" type comments, but the blatant disrespect for a true legend in our business. It's not just "I'm more excited to see Hart", because as I explained above, that's completely understandable (although anyone who thinks he's on Hogans level as a draw...well you're insane), it's outright insulting of Hogan that goes above and beyond. WIthout Hogan, there would be no Monday night wrestling. Wrestling wouldn't be NEARLY as big as it is now. Without Hogan, most of the wrestlers don't make near as much money as they do now. Without HOgan, most of you aren't even fans.

Before Hogan, it was a big taboo to like pro wrestling. It was seen as freakshow. Hogan made pro wrestling cool. He made it accessible to the masses. He crossed over in a way that nobody has come close to, not even the Rock, because HOgan did it all as Hulk Hogan, the wrestler, not Dwayne Johnson. Don't get me wrong, I don't begrudge the Rock his success, I'm just saying, he's definitely distanced himself from the sport.

For a man who did so much for the sport to be hated on, and disrespected...for what? Because he wants to CONTINUE participating in the sport? So what if he's old now? He gave his entire youth, and now he has to stop because you say so? He still sells, he still draws,and he still makes money, moreso then most of the guys "beloved" by the IWC. And that's what pisses off most people. "Why should Hogan get cheered? He can't do a 450 splash!"

In his last run in the WWE, he held the title for all of a month, and it made perfect sense in the story line. In WCW, he held the title most of the time, and guess what,they made more money that way. Same in the WWF days. Everyone says "so and so should have gotten a run with the title...welll, they tried, and business went down without Hogan at the top. If you want to get a run, then get over.

In TNA, is he going to hold the title? Probably at some point. But I doubt it'll be long, and unless he's squashing AJ Styles and Kurt Angle, it's not a problem.

Just to respond to this, you are right about Hogan being a legend and that he should be respected. I for one can say I am not a Hogan fan and never will be, but I thank the guy for open up opportunities for my favorite wrestlers that some to this day still wrestle.

Now with that being said, I want to watch Raw Because I do want to see one of my favorite wrestlers, being in the ring (even if he is not wrestling) again for as long as it last. I want to watch Impact, hoping that this Hogan, is really willing to help TNA to up their game, no go and make everything about himself like he has done in the past, because the way he talks is the way that actually drove him away from TNA so many years ago when he wanted the intro to read "Hulk Hogan presents: TNA".

Is not completely that everyone disrecpects Hogan just for the Hell of it, the fact is that he has shown no will to help anyone but himself in the past is what has damaged the image of the hero he once was or for someone like you (not insulting or anything, by that I mean someone who's favorite wrestler is a hero, for me is another wrestler who is not as popular, but for me is the greatest) still is.

 

[The Bearded One]

I'm going to start with TNA. I'm excited for this show, and have been for a while. But I'm scared that it'll just be Hogan-this, Hogan-that. If they start off with a good match, and then transition into the Hulkster a little ways in, I'll stick with it. But if they do nothing but mention Hulk Hogan the entire time, that will make me flip the channel to RAW.

But RAW will probably be the same way. It'll be mostly McMahon and Hart taking up most of the time. So for the time being, I'm more excited for TNA's show, but I think it also has more of a chance of being a disaster. So if TNA delivers, I'll watch them. But if they don't, I'll flip over to the WWE.

 

[Sean Valjean]

I decided that I'd be watching TNA that night a long time ago no matter what the WWE would offer, Bret Hart and all.

First off, I'm am NOT a TNA fanboy. I'm a big fan of both companies. Simply put, TNA getting great ratings that night or, dare I say, beating Raw would be great for both companies. It'd be the first step for TNA to become legit competition, and it would be a wake up call for Vince to step it up, because Raw has generally been shit for too long now while, for the most part, Impact has been consistently entertaining for months now.

Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic for Bret Hart's return and I can't wait to see what happens, but I'm just going to DVR Raw and either watch it later that night or the next day. The best thing that can happen for everyone is for Impact to somehow destroy Raw in ratings, and I can't pass up the chance to help make that happen.

Regardless, I expect to see some pretty damn good shows from both parties next Monday.

 

[Blue Chipper]

I'll be watching RAW primarily. I'll switch it on TNA and see what's going on when something boring inevitably happens on RAW. I think both promotions are going to put on the best shows they possibly can, in hopes of attaining high ratings and defeat the rival company, so I'll get the gist of both shows.

RAW is a show that I hardly ever miss, and I watch it habitually, so after I get the gist of what TNA is doing, I'm going to watch WWE RAW.

 

[Judgeman03]

I'm going with Impact, simply because WWE just hasn't set up Monday as anything more than another one-off (besides Bret). Two of the matches set up on Monday are re-matches from TLC, and I'll even go as far to say that if Cena was not gonna be at the Fiesta Bowl, that they would have left Sheamus/Cena for next week as well. WWE nothing about WWE's product right now has moved enough that it intrigues me to see anything else on Monday.

TNA on the other hand just has a bigger aura of shock than WWE does. With Hogan finally appearing at Impact, The Jarrett/Dixie situation, and the prospect that we could see anyone appear at the Impact Zone, there's just more to look forward to.

At best, I will DVR Raw.

 

[Platypus Palsy]

I'll be watching TNA. I'd rather watch AJ Styles over Bret Hart. Hogan doesn't really have an impact on me watching Impact, but it'll be cool to see him. What ever TNA pulls out that night should be better than Raw, unless they bring in more than just Bret Hart or book some incredible match. TNA knows they need to pull out everything they can from their bag of tricks and will. I'm still not convinced that WWE will try anything other than going, "Hey we got Bret Hart so watch." Cena won't be at the Raw and I have a feeling that WWE hasn't learned anything and might have Hornswoggle ruin the Bret/DX encounter.

 

[Panic Switch]

What no one seems to be even thinking of is: What if the whole Bret Hart angle on RAW turns out to be boring? What if Vince smothers it in PG? What if Bret no-shows? Why should we still care about the whole Bret Hart Screw job anymore? This would've made more sense a few years back and be more relevant. Whereas currently, it is just old news. Most of the young kids who are WWE's target audience weren't even born when the screw job happened. Why would they care? They don't want to see a storyline over a decade old revisited. They want to see current storylines and their favourite stars such as John Cena and DX (Cena won't even be there). Most of them would not have a clue who Bret Hart is. Put simply, why has no one addressed how this is potentially a dreadful move for WWE to make?

 

[HBK-aholic]

WWE, easily, it didn't even cross my mind to watch TNA. I'm in love with the WWE product, Raw is my favourite show, and we haven't seen Bret Hart in the ring for 12 years. Then you have TNA whose main attraction is apparently an old, injured, flabby man who gets around more than the ****e on the street corner. WWE has the better product and will kill TNA.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I'll probably watch TNA and tape Raw in another room.

I think it's funny that so many people trying to 'choose' a show are forgetting this option. You can do that as long as you have 2 televisions and a DVR. Either than or flip back and forth like it's 1998.

The problem with that "option" is that recording a show doesn't add to it's Neilson ratings. The Neilson ratings are still worked by someone having to fill out a booklet. Companies like TiVo and cable providers who provide DVR service do keep records of aggregate data about how many people are watching (and recording) a television show, but that data isn't integrated in any way with the Neilson ratings which are what drive the business.

By "recording" TNA to "watch it later", you're (not you, particularly) giving the WWE the ratings boost, and simply watching the other show at your own convenience, which will do nothing to help boost their ratings, which in turn will do nothing to help management and Panda Energy see a reason to continue deploying the show on Monday nights.

 

[Uncle Sam]

I watch TNA on an inconsistent basis and I catch up on the WWE through weekly highlight videos. What I'm saying is this; don't be surprised if I watch neither.

However, if I hypothetically were dedicated to stay up to God knows when and catch one of these shows - which would mean I'd have to live in America - then it would be TNA.

Am I excited for Hogan's debut? No. I'm moderately interested but the addition of Hulk Hogan to the TNA roster doesn't make me excited. I've been a "TNA fan" for three years. Despite my largely negative attitude toward the product, I'm strangely loyal to it. Hogan or no Hogan; makes no difference to me.

In recent months, the quality of the product has really gone up. AJ Styles is the world champion and has stolen the show at two back-to-back pay-per-views. His feud with Christopher Daniels is infinitely more entertaining than I originally gave it credit for. The Motor City Machine Guns are on the cusp of winning the tag team titles after several close calls. I care more than I should. The second best British wrestler of the last ten years is having a very respectable feud with Kurt Angle, resulting in very respectable matches, which seem to get more and more respectable with each one.

The only thing that would ever make me watch WWE again would be if CM Punk stopped feuding with R Truth - is he still doing that? - and did something of worth. He's about the only member of the WWE roster whose matches I currently have any interest in seeing.

I will, however, point out that I am severely fickle and so my allegiance could change within the hour.

 

[dogmanx23]

In order fro this to work for TNA they need something more then just Hogan on monday. WWE is coming back with Bret Hart but this is the reason i can't stand WWE. I can tell you right now this is how it goes down. DX will be screwed, lose the belts and Bret will be the one to cause it helping his fellow Canadian Jericho. Will people watch Bret Hart? Of course they will. Will TNA beat WWE in ratings? No way.

TNA needs this to expand, no one in their right mind can think they are beating the WWE right away. It took WCW 2-3 years before they took over monday night. This is what TNA needs to start off but Monday Night they can have the better show depending what surprises they have in store.

We know WWE has Bret Hart on that show and thats it. Everything else will be the same. With TNA all we know is Hogan will be there and the rest are pretty much rumors. NWO, RVD, Heyman, etc etc are all rumors but would be pretty cool if they end up happening and being used the right way.

Ill be watching both shows but dvring RAW and watching TNA. Ill switch at 9PM to see Hart open the show then switch it back and just watch the rest on dvr. If TNA can come out with some shocking surprises, it doesn't need to win the ratings. All it has to do is have people say DAMN TNA had a great show. That alone would make it a success.

 

[Uncle Sam]

Becca from Leeds writes:

"Sam, you stallion of a man, are you loyal to TNA more because you were TNA moderator?"

Well Becca, that's a very interesting question. It takes me back to my days as a young moderator. DJ Martyn had just been de-modded and there was a spot opening for TNA moderator. I poured my heart and soul into a reply, willing Jake to give me the job. There were no other applicants and Jake nonchalantly tossed me the position.

My point is this; I have to keep up with some type of wrestling if I can justify to myself being a moderator on a wrestling forum. I know Luther gave up on it a long time ago. So, despite not being completely overwhelmed by the quality of either side at the moment, I have - through sheer necessity - decided that the show I would rather watch is iMPACT!.

Thanks for writing.