Now THAT is the way it's supposed to be.

[UseYourBrain]

I did it. For the first time in probably ten years, I watched wrestling for 2 hours without turning it off. When I got bored with one lame guy, I flipped over to a proven main eventer on the other show. It was pretty cool, even if the greats are all older.

Learn this: IWC doesn't matter. Learn it. Memorize it. Live it.

You think the HBK/Taker promo was boring and drawn out and that a few Shelton Benjamin aerial maneuvers would have made for better TV? You are INSANE. Period. I won't elaborate, but I'll just say that if you believe that and one day you were given creative control you would steer the ship toward the nearest iceberg. Thankfully, you're just a fan. Thank God.

There's an undeniable fact that for some reason, a bunch of geeks will still deny and that is that even at their worst, it is so much cooler to watch a bloated Scott Hall acting goofy (and incredibly COMFORTABLE) on the mic than it is to watch the Miz do his best Rock imitation. It is great to see the older guys because they just have a natural star presence. They made it to the top because they had "it". If the mic cut out, they wouldn't freeze up or worry. They'd just be calm and cool and they'd ad lib. The young guys today would freeze in their tracks.

Last night I saw Hulk Hogan (tied with Cena for being the lamest of the top guys), Flair, HBK, Undertaker, Hall, Nash, Pac, Angle, and HHH all in the same night. Star power has officially returned to pro wrestling.

Most of the young guys do nothing for me. Orton is talented but obviously a real life prick so he's hard to cheer (or boo because we all know it's fake and booing is what they want). DiBiase will be big someday. Desmonde Wolfe will be huge if done right. Pope has a good shot too if he switches gears before his routine gets old. Other than that, the old guard kicks the young guard's ass.

You know what I learned, though? (Other than the fact that Flair and Hogan are charismatic but still very sad to watch) I learned that guys like John Cena might be in deep sh*t. Why? Because I was able to do something I could never do before. I was able to change the channel when he was on TV... and still be watching wrestling. I did it whenever I even saw his mug, but I watched the end to see if Hart would come out. I even got a text from a friend who was trying to watch all the way through that said "I forgot how much I hated Cena." Haha, off topic, I also got a text from him that said "Hogan vs. Flair will be a yapapi strap match."

What am I saying here? I'm saying that if this lasts (I have my doubts it will, but I hope it does) then once again, the natural order of things will return. The young guys will once again have to fight, scratch, and claw their way to the top like the current old guys once did. Only the brightest will shine through. WWE can't pump out generic, well-rounded but not particularly good at anything performers anymore. WWE was able to hide Cena's weaknesses because you had nothing else to watch. If you weren't a female or a kid, you had to endure the high pitched squealing while the closest thing to a boy band member there ever was inside a wrestlng ring (he even beats 3 Count!) did his hand signs, catch phrases, and other sloppy routines. He doesn't have anything to worry about right away... but he should think about it. He is no Austin. He is no Rock. The competition is here. What if they suddenly had a blow-up performer in the Hogan/Austin/Rock range? It would shine the light of truth on Cena's inadequecies. If TNA is gonna be around for a long time, Cena'd better learn to step it up or a new top dog will topple him.

What do you guys think? It's just a start, but as much as I want to rip TNA apart and say they've got no chance... my gut and heart say they really do. A small one, but it's there. Six months ago, what we just saw last night was impossible.

PS... TiVo and DVR were so needed during the original Monday Night Wars, don't ya think?

 

[Schizophrenic]

I'm with ya man. Although I didn't change the channel from Impact it was still good and reassuring to know that I could change if I wanted to. It's a very good feeling. I don't buy into the TNA vs WWE bs. Last time I checked the wrestling fans were getting the best deal out of the whole situation.

 

[Tougie]

I watched both shows last night as they happened, i set two tv's side by side. Now i've been a wrestling fan all my life, and I never thought I would turn Raw off, but i did last night. It was pathetic, Raw got dominated last night.

TNA from start to finish actually made me want to watch the show. I guarentee Raw didnt have 30 minutes of in ring action. The skits with Criss Angel, I'm a fan of his, but since people already think his magic is fake, appearing on "fake" wrestling doesnt help him and it didnt help draw my attention.

TNA, started with Sting, Hogan, and Flair. And even better Sting turned heel. What was WWE doing. Boring, generic, hype duty with HBK and Taker. Im sorry but even a die hard Taker and HBK fan like myself couldnt keep interest with the almost same diologue as last year with just a few minor twists.

Every time TNA went to commercial I would look over and what was WWE doing. Talking.....talking.....and more talking. Meanwhile TNA is having a pretty damn good triple threat match, they finally gave the beautiful people the tag gold, and RVD returned.

And I'm shocked to say but Hogan didnt bore the hell out of me. Now thats saying something. Bottom line TNA kicked WWE's ass last night in terms of product. I've been trying to think of a logical arguement against what I have posted, and as far as I'm concerned there isnt any. WWE didnt do a damn thing to keep my attention, and they didnt. TNA won this monday.

 

[Ibi34DDT]

I agree, TNA dominated RAW last night. I met up with my friends like I do every Monday Night and in two hours we maybe watched 20 mins of RAW. TNA just kept our attention. The show was high energy. When TNA would go to a commercial, I'd flip back to RAW and it'd either be talking....somebody making an incredibly long entrance to the ring for a 2 min match.....or some Criss Angel sketch. Don't get me wrong, I'm a lifelong WWE fan but TNA whopped their ass last night.

Hell, I even found myself sitting through the whole women tag match IMPACT had last night. I can't remember the last time I watched a whole womens tag match on RAW or SMACKDOWN unless there was some kind of wardrobe malfunction.

RVD, Hardy, Pope, Kennedy, Angle, Sting, Nash, Hall, Hogan, Flair, Styles all in one company! Vince better start worrying. And SHANNAN MORE too! SHANNON MORE! That's the one that really scared Vince last night and made him take notice. He was ok with RVD, but when Shannon came out he really shit his pants backstage at RAW. hahaha.

 

[UseYourBrain]

I completely forgot about Edge and Jericho when naming the star power of today. It's all pretty damn exciting for the fans.

Im sorry but even a die hard Taker and HBK fan like myself couldnt keep interest with the almost same diologue as last year with just a few minor twists.
.

A fwe generic twists? It's completely different from last year!

Last year, HBK was cocky and bragging about how Undertaker couldn't beat him. This year, he's begging for a rematch and sacrificing everything.

Last year, it was HBK vs. the Streak. Now it's CAREER vs. The Streak! That alone makes it a completely different ball game. Also, it's no-DQ, unlike last year.

Last year, HBK dominated Taker leading up to their match and was superkicking Taker and one-upping him nonstop. This year, there's no physicality. It's all talk, threats, and stipulations. The tension is building.

I know you're not an idiot and I didn't mean to sound like i'm treating you like one. But seriously... how can you say it's "the same as last year with a few small differences"?

 

[Suneeboy]

After watching wrestling for 15 years, I stopped watching wrestling shortly after the WWF took over WCW. I missed 2002-2007. Why? Because I wasn’t entertained, and I had no alternative. One day I decided to watch wrestling again, just for nostalgia, and when nostalgia kicked in, the habit of watching wrestling on Monday’s resurfaced. It was like riding a bicycle for me. When I realized why I stopped watching wrestling back in 2002 in the first place it was a little too late for me to turn the television off. First it was because the habit of watching wrestling on Monday’s resurfaced. Second, it was because I thought that eventually it would get better. Third, I had tapped into the internet again and started communicating with other people like myself.

Monday March 8th, 2010 everything felt right again. For the record I do not like WWE programming. Not because I don’t like the WWE, I just don’t like what they put on television…nothing against the performers or management…It’s just not fun to watch. Now TNA isn’t perfect, but TNA reminds me why I love wrestling so much in the first place. TNA is trying its best to turn me back into a wrestling mark, while the WWE wants me to turn into a member of the WWE Universe, which means accept anything that is being thrown at me without objection. On March 8th I was able to do something I’ve wanted to do for years when watching RAW. Change the channel, but STILL watch wrestling. Wow, it was such a good feeling, because I love to watch wrestling. To only have one option is just criminal. Now I can complain about RAW all I want and not hear WWE marks bitch and moan saying, “Why do you still watch it?” I can easily say, “I don’t watch that shit.”

I honestly don’t care which promotion “wins”. I just want to watch a good fucking wrestling show on Monday. Thank God TNA is on Monday’s and they are doing just that. I hope this lasts for a long time. I love being able to change the channel.

 

[Ibi34DDT]

Suneeboy I must say that I agree with you 100 percent. One option for wrestling is indeed criminal. I've been a life-long fan since 1995. Like you, I also stopped watching between 2002-2007 because I wasn't entertained. With the exception of HHH vs. HBK at Summerslam, I couldn't name a single PPV or show I watched between that time. I came back to WWE in 2008 with the hopes of change. Now in 2010, we've finally got it. The world feels right again on Monday Nights.

 

[Mr. TM]

Bit of a hard to read post for you, you should stick to the topic at hand in an OP.

But as for your assessment that there are holes in programing that having two shows on at once fills, I think you are correct for the most part, although I did not do it the same way as you. To relate it, I can watch two games at once, and if neither are my favourite team, I switch back and forth by which game is more exciting.

Getting to do that with wrestling would make peoples day more fun, and step up programming from companies. However, I don't like it, and I prefer to watch the 4 hours in a sequence than parallel. I would hate to miss storyline.