Jan 4th- Monday Night Raw vs TNA iMPACT

[RicSpade]

Regardless what TNA draws this is truly going to be able to determine what is and isn't keeping peoples attention like the Monday Night Wars...Remember when Tony gave away Mick winning the wwe title? The fans tuned in to see it because it was huge. I expect the WWE will pack the card in defense and TNA will give the fans every big match possible expect to see an Ultimate X, A TNA title defense, all the big names wrestling and expect to see TNA buy time on an NBC network to promote surprise matches and what not.

Personally if I keep getting midgets and John Cena thrown down my throat I will be watching TNA that night, if they can show me WWE will be worth watching I may do the great channel flip of the 90's and watch the more entertaining sounding match.

TNA will draw attention if they advertise the hell out of it, if they don't it'll be a 1 maybe a 2 in the ratings.

 

[MrCharisma]

Alright, first off I watched TNA a few times and couldn't ever sit through a whole show, just not for me, but this 3 hour show that will go head to head with Raw is pretty stupid and here is why................

TNA is airing that same episode on their thursday timeslot on January 7th...so why would I miss Raw just to watch another wrestling program which will air in full on its regular timeslot? make sense to watch Raw on Monday and Impact on Thursday if you'd like to catch both. I know I won't be tuning in and I'm hoping for it to bomb, but we'll have to wait and see, I'm sure Raw will be just another regular show and as much as its not as good these days it will still blow TNA away, I'd be surprised any other way.

**Just wanted to say its not really monday night wars and I don't get why some people here are excited, it's one monday and the same episode is on the regular thursday after so whats so special about that? If your any type on wrestling fan it would make sense to watch both shows in full and best way to do that is by watching in on the thursday that same week....Monday Night Wars? one episode....re-aired 3 days later on regular slot...:| doesnt make sense to switch channels back and forth monday when you could just watch it THURSDAY, bad call on TNA's part, they show atleast air a best of 2009 show that Thursday forcing people to watch the live show on monday? am I wrong?

 

[Exist2Inspire51]

This is going to be a very interesting Monday when this happens. There are talks that The Rock will be hosting the Raw when TNA does their 3 hour show which will make this whole situation great. If The Rock is hosting Raw then the WWE should try to make it a 3 hour raw as well and crush TNA because in my opinion even though TNA has Hogan, a Raw hosted by The Rock will get huge ratings over TNA

 

[boozinjedi]

I got a feeling it will crash and burn....gloriously
TNA has nowhere near what WCW had when they went to war.
It might get their ratings up in the short run,BUT it will do little overall in the end.

 

[dansaint]

It is gonna be interesting because not only do RAW and Impact go head to head with one another...but they'll also be going head to head with the Fiesta Bowl and depending on the match up there (which will be decided tomorrow)...it'll be interesting on the ratings for both shows because that games rating will be huge

 

[JJYanks121]

Very risky here. Give the big competitor time to counter program, put the replay of your show on at your normal Thursday time, and base everything around a man almost 60. Not sure how anyone can buy this as the most exciting thing ever. While I would love to see competition, TNA is nowhere close to being so. And when I say competition, I dont' mean ratings either.

Keep in mind WWE does on average (not including Wrestlemania), 2-300,000 pay per view buys. This is where you make your money. TNA for their BIGGEST did like 40,000 I think (someone source me please!). The reason I haven't taken TNA seriously is because until you can sell PPV's, you are nothing. What I fear is that they will unleash their arsenal that night, WWE will as well, TNA will do lousy in the ratings and have used up some of their best wrestling, giving the new fan no reason to buy a ppv (a tactic WCW perfected). This whole strategy is akin to an army general putting together his best troops, but informing the other, stronger general where and when he will attack. It sounds nice when you are on the side of that army. You are excited to go full throttle and attack, but it sucks when you realize you are completely outmanned, outmuscled, and outdone. That is the position TNA is putting itself in. And I'm pretty sure putting Hogan on the front line is equivalent to putting John McCain on our front line. At some point, no one fears you when you get old.

The only way this can work for TNA is if they market the hell out of their product until then. I know they aren't rich, but get your name out there on major stations, on billboards, cosponsor with UFC, do what you have to do. Otherwise, you'll get a few viewers who normally watch Raw and then come on these forums to bitch about it to switch for the night, but very few outside of that. It's easy to forget, but WWE is pretty powerful. Everyone is talking about Rock hosting, and he might, but there could be other guests, returns, celebs, anything could happen because they have the name value and money to make it happen. Until TNA has that, they have very little chance to survive head to head. Better off keeping to yourself and trying to turn a profit by upping your PPV's without direct competition for now.

 

[fredstephenson]

i think this is brilliant news for tna and wwe. some people may argue that tna is not ready to compete with wwe but i disagree. i think this is the perfect time to wage war as a lot of older wwe fans are very critical of the wwe right now due to the pg thing and several other problems ect childish charecters repetetive storylines , blatent censorship . you get the idea anyway as tna is more adult themed with better wrestling in my opinion it could steal lots of disgruntled older wwe fans and corner the market. i also think this is brilliant news for wwe. as i am a wwe fan and i think that maybe some competion is what the wwe needs start pushing the boat out again and putting on the awsome show that i used to love.

 

[NSL]

I believe the proper phrase here is "Time to nut up, or shut up..."

This will make TNA either sink or swim, and I have a feeling it won't be long before we know which. I'm hoping it's successful, but at the same time, can't help but be worried about what is going to happen with Hogan. If he's a "behind the scenes" guy, then great. I just worry that he'll be wrestling, and putting himself over.

There's also the very likely possibility that everyone will put too much stock into the ratings for that one night, when in reality, it will take some time to see how it's working out. Should be interesting, to say the least.

 

[Kanye South]

This can be good or bad. They can do the logical thing and do everything in their power to create an amazing show. Or they can be ******ed mustardpenises and put a show like TNA Epics against the top show in wrestling today. TNA needs to make sure that their January 4th Monday night show is the best show they've ever done. Because the WWE can create a five star show at the snap of a finger, but I have yet to seen that from TNA. This Monday show needs to have Hogan, Styles, Angle, Flair, etc. Hell, get Bill fucking Cosby on the show if it means ratings. If TNA wants to compete with WWE, this show has to be the best they can possibly do. That would be thinking logically.

Then again, if TNA thought logically, they wouldn't have Awesome Kong wear anything less than a oversized black hoodie, long black pants, and a paper bag over her head.

 

[gtajoker01]

they aren't ready for this yet. How long did it take wcw to compete with wwe?, just because they got hogan it dont mean they got a chance. tna is a toddler compared to wwe. they got a lot to lose and lot to gain but if they go through with this it will be wwe vs wcw 2. it can be good thing for pro wrestling but its going hurt alot of people when 1 company goes out of business

 

[Dagger Dias]

This should be interesting. It makes me glad that I have access to more than one tv. I can tape the new show on my tv, while watching Raw on my roommate's tv in the den. Perhaps this can lead into a second Monday Night War, like so many of us are hoping for. I'm excited, because there is honestly no telling what will happen once this begins. This is great for fans of both WWE and TNA.

 

[NSL]

After reading some of the main page articles, it looks like this is just a 3 hour special for that night, not a long term thing...At least for now...

This is a smart move by TNA. They can test the waters with a live show, and see how they stack up to WWE. They'll need to pull out all the stops, and remember to stick with what they know will work.

That means no Lacey on live TV, no Ultimate X matches where a bump can go wrong, and no Abyss promos. TNA has a lot of guys that can make this show outstanding, and booking another 20 minute AJ v. Angle match would be a pretty good start.

I'm intrigued to see what happens for this show, and where TNA goes from there.

 

[Louie Music]

I am amazed at how optimistic many people here are about TNA's chances in a head to head with RAW.

Now the first question I have to ask: Is this a full time deal of Impact! on Monday nights or is it just a one time deal?

I can not even begin to imagine what posessed Dixie to even make this move.

Has she absent mindedly bought into hers and Vince Russo's own hype much in the WZ's own Mark Madden has suggesed in the past? Yes, I'll admit I often with what Mr. Madden says, and this time he maybe proven right yet once again on another of his TNA predictions.

Seriously, ask yourselves this: At the end of the day, do you really expect WWE fans and the casual wrestling fans to switch over from RAW to see Dixie and Russo once again parading (shoving down our throats) AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and Daniels?

My educated guess to this is simpley NO.

Now the rebuttle to that might be, with Hogan and Bischoff on board, we're going to see the vets in TNA treated with more respect and put back on the front line more often.

I know many of you may hate that, but hey, AJ Styles does not near the draw power that Dixie and Russo have told you.

At the end of the day, the casual wrestling fan (and there's more of them than the purists) want to be entertained. Scott Steiner, even woith his abuse of the english language, is more entertaining during an interview and even has more charisma than that of AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and Eric Young.

And especially let's not count out Sting.

It's like what I said in a previous thread, if you're going to push younger talent and put them over, make sure they're worth it, make sure they can be marketed outside of the company.

If TNA can score Mr. Kennedy, I'd say that would be a very good start.

But for now, I have to admit this looks to be a very bad move for TNA. I hope I'm wrong, I hope they have some aces up their sleeves we are not yet aware of.

Quick edit and add on here to my post. I just found this over at the TNA website, so it should answer the same question many of us have and set the record straight:

“TNA iMPACT!” will resume its normal timeslot on Thursday, January 7th at 9:00 PM ET/PT with an encore viewing of the live “iMPACT!” special.

 

[johnbragg]

I'm amazed that they're showing a replay of the Monday show on Thursday. They could easily do a lower rating on Monday than on Thursday, since people know they can catch Impact on Thursday and not miss whatever there is to miss.

WWE can absolutely roll out The Rock in Dayton or wherever and have him in every quarter hour of a three hour show. Rock and HHH, just like old times. Rock and HBK--legends who never really crossed paths. Rock and Cena, Rock and Orton--dream confrontations waiting to happen. Rock and the Miz, Rock and Kofi, Rock and Swagger, Rock and MVP--he can make a new guy look fabulous. Rock and Jericho--oooh, memories of Jericho's debut. Rock and the Big Show, not the best combo, but there's history.

That's more WWE talk than I should be doing in the TNA thread, but that's what TNA is up against here. I know that they wanted UFC's audience to know about the special, but you're giving WWE a month to plan.

Normally, I dismiss talk that a challenge from TNA will make WWE improve their product. Because it'll be easier for WWE to make other moves to cripple TNA and wait out Panda Energy and Spike TV's willingness to absorb losses. But for one night, and one night only, WWE can absolutely produce a program that will blow the doors off of anything Impact can put together.


By the way, did I miss the huge announcement when TNA resigned Kurt Angle to a long-term deal? Oh, no, there was no announcement?

Oh, so you mean Vince can drop a $1,000,000 50-show annual contract on Angle's desk and TNA has no recourse?

Because TNA declared war today/last night. And Vincent Kennedy McMahon has never fought a fair fight once in his life.

 

[Dagger Dias]

“TNA iMPACT!” will resume its normal timeslot on Thursday, January 7th at 9:00 PM ET/PT with an encore viewing of the live “iMPACT!” special.

Yeah.... if that's the case, then expect TNA to get barely any viewers on the monday show because they can all just watch Raw on monday then catch the Impact rerun on thursdays like usual. This would destroy TNA in the long run if they were to do this every week.... and this is coming from someone who actually WANTS to see TNA do well.

 

[Baximus]

While I've been a much bigger fan of TNA recently than the WWE, Vince doesn't have anything to worry about for two reasons:

1) This is a one-off deal. If TNA bombs, they're not going live heads up in the near future.

2) If there is a lot of hype for it then Vince just has to roll out The Rock. That's the biggest gun either side has and he knows it.

I'm a TNA mark but I will be watching the return of The Great One over Hogan live. I'll just DVR it and watch it right afterwards but still Rocky comes first.

 

[MisterRob]

Are people seriously living in an imaginary world? People actually think TNA is going to compete with the WWE.. and even beat them? What facts show any reasonable sign that this is possible? Maybe it's because TNA is STILL getting 1's on Spike, the same mediocre number they have been for YEARS; even with supposed "big star" acquisitions. WWE is consistently in the 3's.. do you realize the huge difference that is in actual people watching your product? Do you realize the giant difference there is in the fan base between the two companies? WWE's fan base isn't made up of disgruntled internet fan boys who talk on wrestling websites and are tired of everything WWE does because they all have the inside scoop. The majority of WWE's fanbase aren't internet wrestling smarks, or marks, they're people who don't pay attention to any of that and watch the product because they enjoy it. TNA isn't going to draw fans over or even compete at all, they're on a small time station and no one's paying attention to them. Claim Hulk Hogan's going to help them, but you're once again disillusioned. Hogan wasn't a big draw when he first came into WCW with Hulkamania.. it wasn't until the nWo started up and the attitude changed that people started to tune in. But Hogan's an old man who can do nothing now, the appeal of what drew people to watching Hogan during the nWo time is gone. Hogan's world tour was a flop, never even selling out half of what the arena's could've held (when he would've sold out every seat possible back in his prime). I find it mindboggling that people are so out of touch with reality that they think magically the two company's are going to be competing and the Monday Night wars are going to start up again.

It would take years for TNA on Monday Nights to even attempt to build upto anything close to competition with WWE. To build their fan base and grow their viewership on monday nights, it sure as hell isn't going to happen overnight. And TNA would have to change their whole product to get to that stage, because right now their product sucks. It's great news that TNA is attempting to go to Monday nights to get a feel for it, and it's great that TNA's been trying so much and making steps forward, but anyone who thinks the Monday night wars is happening, or WWE needs to be worried, is so greatly exaggerating the Impact here. I'd love to see TNA prosper and succeed, but I think they're more worried about competing with WWE (which they're out of their league right now in doing) instead of worrying about making their product something fans are going to buy into and start watching more of. They have their priorities out of place and it's going to make them flop right on their face.

 

[Midnight]

On the whole, competition brings out the best in product. The reason that WWE was so successful in the late 90's was because they had to be awesome or else the big promotion would likely have been WCW.

Now from what I gather this is a 1-time thing that could explode into a bigger thing. I don't know it could be good for both or WWE could completely suffocate TNA. I mean WWE has a much larger pool of talent and they've also got the advantage of history where as TNA lacks both of those. Sure TNA has talent, great talent even, but their pool is much smaller than WWE who has talent coming out the wazoo.

I think though that WWE will have to ditch some aspects of their show to bury TNA. First up, they have to find a way to repackage, or just let go, Hornswoggle. Turning him heel again and pairing him up with Sheamus is an option, but I really can't imagine Hornswoggle lasting too long if an all out war opens.

Believe it or not, PG could play out in WWE's favor. PG isn't the problem it's lazy writing. I certainly believe that. Looking back over the past couple years of WWE programming, the only difference I see is that one year swore pointlessly and the other one doesn't. That's it. The writing is bad because it's lazy. Do you know why bad segments from RR to WM are seldom? It's because they put so much effort into their writing.

If TNA is going to go head to head with WWE, they need to bring their A-game and I hope that they do. It can certainly bring out the best in either product.

 

[Leeds Guy]

I really don't think that this will be anything special. TNA may be able to increase their 1.0 to maybe a 2.0 but I don't think WWE or Vince will be too worried. On the chance that TNA does get on par with the ratings, then Vince will have to pull his finger out and make Raw entertaining which can only be a good thing. It's the right move though that needed to happen for both TNA and WWE.

I can see Vince getting The Rock to guest host on January 4th to steal the thunder away from TNA, which would probably work because lets face it The Rock > Anything TNA can offer. Maybe this will slap Vince in the face and send the message that TNA are now on par with the flagship company but still I think WWE will triumph. Hogan will get bored eventually and Vince has already beaten Bischoff/Russo once before.

So in closing this needed to happen, and it will be a good thing for both WWE and TNA.

Will I watch TNA? No.

Will I watch WWE? Maybe depending on if The Rock hosts.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

I just want to point out how surreal this is going to be... 11 years to the day of the fingerpoke of doom, Raw and TNA are going head to head. To be honest, I'm not sure how well TNA is going to fare here. Not only is Raw rumored to be going three hours for this show, but there are also major rumors that this is the date where The Rock is set to host Raw to promote his awful looking Tooth Fairy movie. I think TNA's going to have a real tough time competing with the WWE if this is the night The Rock is indeed going to make his return.

TNA and Spike better have very reasonable expectations for this show, and realize that with a three hour Raw and The Rock's likely return that the ratings aren't going to be a world beater.

What TNA needs to do between now and January 4th is to promote the hell out of this event and guarantee people a can't miss card. I really hope that even if the ratings aren't strong on the Monday night that the Thursday night replay will at least get people watching. Competition is good, and anything that makes not only the WWE a better product, but TNA as well is only a good thing.

In a perfect world, between now and January 4th, TNA scores Kennedy, Flair, and somehow manages to score Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam. They also need to cut ties with Jarrett once and for all, especially if Angle follows through on his promise to not renew with TNA if Jarrett stays. I've mentioned this before, but the WWE has commissioned a friend of someone I know who worked on Cena's album to cut an entrance theme for Kurt Angle. They also won't be taken seriously by most fans if they don't get rid of, or at the very least put a leash on Vince Russo. Russo doesn't have enough of a leash in TNA, and that allows some of his real bad ideas to get showcased.

Fact of the matter is that TNA has a major chance to seize some major buzz and they need to capitalize on that as much as they can. They need to curb expectations as far as the live show goes and hope they get some of the people who watched Raw to watch on Thursday.

 

[Super Crazy]

After reading some of the main page articles, it looks like this is just a 3 hour special for that night, not a long term thing...At least for now...

This is a smart move by TNA. They can test the waters with a live show, and see how they stack up to WWE. They'll need to pull out all the stops, and remember to stick with what they know will work.

That means no Lacey on live TV, no Ultimate X matches where a bump can go wrong, and no Abyss promos. TNA has a lot of guys that can make this show outstanding, and booking another 20 minute AJ v. Angle match would be a pretty good start.

I'm intrigued to see what happens for this show, and where TNA goes from there.

I'm anxiously anticipating this show either way, whether it be the beginning of a long term deal or just a one time thing. This is a great way to test the waters for them. I'm hoping for a great show and even it's not the best, they could still take viewers away from the WWE. Here's hoping for a great show and the start of some new real competition between the two companies. Another 20 minute Angle/Styles match would be epic. They need to definitely have Beer Money on the show too, obviously.

TNA will either crash and burn or ignite the flame for the fire. Only time will tell what will happen.

 

[Pedro08]

I'm all for TNA running a live Impact against Raw on January 4th as a trial balloon, but I don't think it's going to be the start of another Monday Night War. However, I think it's a HUGE Mistake to run a re-run of the show the following Thursday. If the idea is to try to lure viewers away from RAW and expose them to Impact, then why re-run the same show 3 days later?

TNA should either run a new episode of Impact on that Thursday, either taped, or preferably live also. Then they should hype the Thursday show on the live Monday show to draw in viewers to the current time slot. Otherwise, after the live Monday show, people would have to wait 10 days for a new Impact, thus losing any momentum they might have gained from the live Monday show.

As stated earlier, Spike TV and TNA should be hyping the hell of the live show starting now with TV, print, and internet ads.

Now comes the hard part, putting on the best live show as possible. It is a 3-hour show, so there is no need the rush any matches. You want to show off the best TNA has to offer, so there definitely should be an Ultimate X match and a Monster's Ball match (which counter-programs against WWE current no-blood policy), and a couple of Knockout matches. Every title should be defended on the show, even EY's Global title.

Obviously there have to be some surprise debuts besides Hogan. I expect Bischoff and Flair to obviously show and for Sting to make his return. Maybe Scott Hall, X-Pac, to get the band back together, Mr. Kennedy or Sid. Vicious. If they re-sign Angelina Love, they have her return on that show also.

January 4th is going to be a big day in history of TNA. It certainly won't make or break the company, but it will go a long way in shaping it's future.

 

[Kenny Powers]

I love how some people are plotting TNA's demise before they even have a chance. I mean is TNA going to become number one over night? of course not but what's wrong with TNA competing? It wont hurt the almighty WWE, it will only make it better. Why would WWE put together a three hour Raw at the last minute if they didn't care about TNA?

I mean the Monday night show is a one time deal. It may garner ratings, it may not. I'm just tired of all the loyalist blind hatred bullshit WWE fans. What made WWE great in the first place? competition did and it will continue to make WWE great along with the rest of the wrestling industry. If people want WWE to be the only wrestling company fine, but there is no way in hell WWE alone will ever be more popular then MMA or UFC. It's a change in the times.

I want to see competition between both companies so we get a better product, and wrestling can actually compete with UFC for a change. As far as The Rock hosting the show. That's highly unlikely due to his schedule. I'm sure WWE and The Rock would love to do something, but The Rock has more important things to do.

I bet good money that we will see some no talent celebrity like Aaron Carter or maybe a washed up Hall of Famer like Snuka host the show. Let's give TNA some credit at least before everyone digs their grave.

 

[johnbragg]

I mean is TNA going to become number one over night?

No they're not. We agree.

Now would someone please tell Dixie Carter before she puts Panda into bankruptcy?

of course not but what's wrong with TNA competing?

Because, over a long period of time, they've shown that they are more focused on WWE and how they can compete with them than they are on improving and developing their product and audience.

Why would WWE put together a three hour Raw at the last minute if they didn't care about TNA?

Because, remote as the chance may be, if they allow another Monday Night War to develop, they might not be the company that survives this time.

A preemptive strike is the best defense. Say there is a 2% chance that TNA buries WWE within 10 years if WWE allows them to grow. Isn't it worth it for a half-billion dollar company to go full out for one night to make that a 0% chance?

What made WWE great in the first place?

Running smaller wrestling companies out of business. Before Hulkamania, before Vince took over from Vince Sr., there were a dozen to fifteen regional promotions that were all basically major league, just like there are thirty or so teams in each real sport that has teams.

Vince McMahon took WWE national, got on national cable, bought up talent from the local promotions, bought some local promotions as they started to feel the pressure. Others were combined by Crockett into a national NWA, which became WCW.

Everyone was either wiped out or swallowed, except for Memphis. AWA in Minnesota, Georgia, Florida, St Louis, Kansas City, Toronto, Western Canada, Portland, World Class in Dallas, UWF in New Orleans. All wiped out.

What made the WWF great was destroying the competition. TNA just made themselves next.

 

[Mr-excitement]

RAw has been horrible, I mean Thunder horrible, so I will give TNA a chance that night and watch the product.

Maybe this will force McMahon to stop that lame guest host thing.