TNA Impact to go head to head with Raw

[Southwind]

While I don't think they are ready to compete with Raw just yet I am damn happy about this news why the heck not give it a try ?

WWE marks will claim that I am being negative on the product and will tell others like me to stop watching well hopefully I get that chance soon.

Hulk Hogan love him or hate him WILL draw viewers away from the WWE that's a fact. Eric Bischoff is a great wrestling mind and is vindictive he hates the WWE and Vince I hope he gets his revenge.

What does TNA exactly have to lose here it's perennial second place finish to the WWE out of two competing industry's ?

This should happen I'm all for it the WWE has been awful for the last few years and I'm sick of it. Maybe if TNA gains some momentum Vince will have to scrap his lame PG era and make all the ten year old kiddies mourn.

 

[Joey B.]

Everyone who comments that the (purely speculative) TNA move to Monday night would compel Vince to drop the "PG" rating because business would dictate that he has to are all forgetting one thing: Linda McMahon is running for a US Senate seat in Connecticut, and Vince will probably have to keep the reins in regarding content on his shows simply to try to negate any negative wrestling-related attacks that her opponents will most certainly use.
So I don't see any kind of re-birth of the "Attitude" era in WWE should TNA decide to go head-to-head.

 

[DiscipleofWrestling]

This is a game changer. Plain and simple. TNA before today was alright. It had several up and coming wrestlers, several great athletes who should have been given shots in WWE (like Styles and MCMG), and several well known wrestling personalities. The problem with some of those personalities was the fact that they didn't want to give up their spot and put over new talent. Is Hogan going to change that? No. But what does he bring that all those other glory-hungry veterans didn't? Ratings and mainstream media. Hulk Hogan is the most prolific and well known wrestler to EVER exist (sorry, Flair fans. It's the truth, as much as I myself like Naitch.). He will give TNA that much more of an adrenaline boost. I dare say that his recent issues will probably make him even more of a ratings boost.

Now, can TNA compete with WWE right now? No, but today increased their chances of that future happening a thousand fold. I'm being honest here. On another thread/forum/whatever you call these discussions, I said there was no way Shane McMahon would buy TNA and compete against his dad. Well, Shane may or may not. But I think TNA just became that much more of a commodity that it wouldn't surprise me if some company or some one made a major investment in TNA. Congrats, TNA. You took one small step for your company, one giant leap for professional wrestling. Let's see if TNA will cross the line from obscurity to competition.

 

[klunderbunker]

If TNA moves to Mondays and goes head to head with Raw, they'll be lucky to still be in business in a year.

You guys are going WAY too far with this way too fast. Hogan is a big deal, yes. But slow down and think for a minute. WWE is already getting 3x the ratings that TNA gets. How many of those people do you think are going to watch Impact over Raw? I certainly wouldn't. The WWE fan base is huge compared to TNA's. Their wallets are also much deeper. Do you think for one second that if Vince was anything close to danger he wouldn't just buy up every contract that was expiring in TNA one by one? TNA puts on great shows and gets a 1.1. Raw puts on bad shows and gets a 3.5. People have been screaming about how awful Raw has been forever and last night in the LD I saw nothing but praise for the WWE for how great they were by a lot of the same people that are saying TNA should go for it. That's all it took: a snap of their fingers and the show was solid last night. You throw John Cena vs. Taker for the world title on Raw and how many people are going to watch? Would some people watch Impact over Raw? Yep. Would most of them? Not a chance in hell. TNA is WAY too small to go up against the machine known as the WWE at the moment. I see a lot of people talking about Kennedy and RVD and Umaga going to TNA to tip the balance. If Vince wanted them, he'd offer them more money than TNA spends on five guys and they would be on Raw in 6 days. Hogan is a huge deal but this is 2009, not 1994. It doesn't work that way anymore. If TNA tries this, they're idiots.

 

[X]

If TNA moves to Mondays, they'll be lucky to still be in business in a year.

Well that's just ridiculous. TNA has only grown as a business while consistently getting 1.0 ratings, it's not like moving to Mondays is going to give them 0.000001 ratings or something.

You guys are going WAY too far with this way too fast. Hogan is a big deal, yes. But slow down and think for a minute. WWE is already getting 3x the ratings that TNA gets. How many of those people do you think are going to watch Impact over Raw?

I don't think you're looking at this the right way. TNA fans are going to pick TNA over WWE 99 times out of 100 KB, that's why they began watching and continue to watch TNA in the first place; because they're dissatisfied with the WWE product right now. The majority of the TNA audience is the smark crowd, and the smark crowd is going to go with Impact over Raw almost every time.

I certainly wouldn't.

I definitely would.

The WWE fan base is huge compared to TNA's. Their wallets are also much deeper. Do you think for one second that if Vince was anything close to danger he wouldn't just buy up every contract that was expiring in TNA one by one?

There's no way in hell Vince could afford that right now, not in this economy, not when the WWE has had to release so many employees this year and try to cut costs desperately.

TNA puts on great shows and gets a 1.1. Raw puts on bad shows and gets a 3.5.

Raw also has the advantage of having been on for a decade longer and being a part of a company that's been in the public spotlight for nearly 30 years. Very unfair to compare the two like that.

People have been screaming about how awful Raw has been forever and last night in the LD I saw nothing but praise for the WWE for how great they were by a lot of the same people that are saying TNA should go for it. Would some people watch Impact over Raw? Yep. Would most of them? Not a chance in hell. TNA is WAY too small to go up against the machine known as the WWE at the moment. I see a lot of people talking about Kennedy and RVD and Umaga going to TNA to tip the balance. If Vince wanted them, he'd offer them more money than TNA spends on five guys and they would be on Raw in 6 days. Hogan is a huge deal but this is 2009, not 1994. It doesn't work that way anymore. If TNA tries this, they're idiots.

Again, I think you're really misjudging TNA's fanbase. Most of TNA's fanbase would choose TNA over WWE nine times out of ten KB, their fans are fanatical. If anything this would only help Impact, because it would give those viewers usually at home watching Raw on Mondays a chance to see something different on that night.

I really think you're overreacting here man. The worst I see is TNA dropping maybe .1 or .2 in the ratings, nothing drastic from competing with the WWE.

 

[klunderbunker]

X, you know I love you, but you're talking like a fan boy here.

Sure the smark crowd is going to pick TNA over WWE. What's the average number we usually guess the smarks to be in the wrestling audience? 10% or so? Yeah, WWE having 90% of the audience really would have them shaking in their boots. That's the problem for TNA: they're marketed to the smarks, not the mainstream. Would the mainstream like it? Yeah I'd think so. Would they be able to get a huge chunk of the mainstream to watch it? I doubt it. You want me to believe that a company that I've never seen a commercial for outside of one for BFG is going to suddenly figure out how to market themselves well enough to beat the WWE marketing machine which is one of the best in entertainment? I find that very hard to believe.

Oh I think you'd be surprised what Vince can afford. He gets huge audiences in huge arenas what, 5 nights a week? TNA's major show Bound For Glory just was in an arena that holds 5500 people. It's indeed unfair to compare the flagship to the flagship, so let's look at what is arguably WWE's smallest PPV: the Bash. That had 11,000 people, or double BFG. WWE's weakest is literally drawing double what TNA does on their best. Also factor in the WWE house shows, Raw, Smackdown/ECW and all the merchandise sales at those events. How is it possible for TNA to compete financially? Vince has a ton of money of his own also that I really don't think he would hesitate to throw out there to beat TNA. He went to the brink against WCW, who was a major power. If you want to imply that TNA is on the level that WCW was other than maybe in 2000, I'd love to see that argument.

Ok, let's say Vince can't sign them. Let's just look at the best case scenarios for both companies from a talent perspective:

TNA: AJ, Sting, Angle, Lashley, RVD, Kennedy, Umaga, Hogan, Foley (arguably their ten biggest names at the moment if everything goes right which is a big stretch)

WWE: John Cena, Chris Jericho, HHH, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, Punk, Edge, Christian (the smark god), Orton.

In other words, you have WWE midcard guys against WWE main event guys. Think about it: Hogan is a big deal, yes. AJ is a legit main event level talent. Lashley is MMA first and wrestling second and Carter has said she's not willing to put a lot of stock into him. Angle has hinted many times he wants to come back and with ihs contract coming up, he's very hittable for Vince as far as a steal. RVD: big name, nowhere near as big as Cena or Taker. Umaga: career midcard guy. Kennedy: came back to a pop loud enough on Raw that night that people forgot to cheer him. Sting: big deal, but he could very easily walk away at any time and never look back. FOley: I think for a big enough paycheck he would come back. He's there as a name and not a wrestler. He retired what, 9 years ago? He's just not a huge factor.

See what I mean? If TNA loses any of those guys, they're in real trouble. In essence, you're asking me to believe that if everything goes absolutely right for TNA and they get every break imaginable and WWE who has survived against more threats than any wrestling company in history doesn't do as it always has and pull in fans right and left that TNA will be able to pull even. That's what you're saying. We'll also overlook the fact that WWE's midcard has been growing. The young guys are almost there. TNA's midcard is light years behind WWE's at this point, period. It's just far too much to ask.

 

[Nev]

TNA going head-to-head with the WWE?

This could a very dangerous move. Contrary to the popular belief, TNA just isn't ready to compete with RAW head to head. Now that the Hulkster and Bischoff is on the move, MAYBE this gives them a shot.

But the move is still too damn risky. If it fails, TNA could very well find its self out of a time slot, out of a network, or even out of business.

To be honest, I don't like this whole scenario. I'm not a big fan of 'living in the past' and I have a bad feeling this won't be an instant success. In order for this head-to-head battle between TNA & WWE to work, TNA must be extremely impatient, even when all seems lost. My hunch tells me that isn't going to be the case and they are going to shit themselves, but I can only hope Bischoff and Co. approaches this smarter this time.

All in all, this is every wrestling's fan dream to come true. It brings excitement to a seemingly dead sport and many new storylines. I'm looking forward to how the next couple of months shape up.

 

[Steamboat Ricky]

While this is exciting, Vince won't let Dixie Carter beat him. Vince could go in so many different directions and has so much more to work with than TNA that it isn't even close to being funny. Dixie Carter doesn't have Billionaire Ted money...and that's the primary reason that WCW was able to compete with WWF.

 

[X]

Sure the smark crowd is going to pick TNA over WWE. What's the average number we usually guess the smarks to be in the wrestling audience? 10% or so?

For the WWE, sure, but for TNA? I'd say more like 99%. Seriously, your casual and average wrestling fan probably has zero idea of what TNA even is, let alone do they watch Impact every week. Almost the entire TNA fanbase is comprised of smarks, that's who they cater to, that's their gimmick. You're seriously misjudging the TNA audience.

YThat's the problem for TNA: they're marketed to the smarks, not the mainstream.

Wait...you agree with me? I guess you can forget about my last paragraph then.

Would the mainstream like it? Yeah I'd think so. Would they be able to get a huge chunk of the mainstream to watch it? I doubt it.

They wouldn't need to. Even if TNA were to get the same exact ratings as usual, or shit even if they fell .1, that would still be considered a success to most people.

You want me to believe that a company that I've never seen a commercial for outside of one for BFG is going to suddenly figure out how to market themselves well enough to beat the WWE marketing machine which is one of the best in entertainment? I find that very hard to believe.

I never claimed they were going to beat the WWE, absolutely not, no way. I'm just saying I don't think Impact would suffer greatly from a move to Monday. I'm thinking a .1, .2 drop at the absolute most.

Oh I think you'd be surprised what Vince can afford. He gets huge audiences in huge arenas what, 5 nights a week? TNA's major show Bound For Glory just was in an arena that holds 5500 people. It's indeed unfair to compare the flagship to the flagship, so let's look at what is arguably WWE's smallest PPV: the Bash. That had 11,000 people, or double BFG. WWE's weakest is literally drawing double what TNA does on their best. Also factor in the WWE house shows, Raw, Smackdown/ECW and all the merchandise sales at those events. How is it possible for TNA to compete financially? Vince has a ton of money of his own also that I really don't think he would hesitate to throw out there to beat TNA. He went to the brink against WCW, who was a major power. If you want to imply that TNA is on the level that WCW was other than maybe in 2000, I'd love to see that argument.

Ok, let's say Vince can't sign them. Let's just look at the best case scenarios for both companies from a talent perspective:

TNA: AJ, Sting, Angle, Lashley, RVD, Kennedy, Umaga, Hogan, Foley (arguably their ten biggest names at the moment if everything goes right which is a big stretch)

WWE: John Cena, Chris Jericho, HHH, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, Punk, Edge, Christian (the smark god), Orton.

In other words, you have WWE midcard guys against WWE main event guys. Think about it: Hogan is a big deal, yes. AJ is a legit main event level talent. Lashley is MMA first and wrestling second and Carter has said she's not willing to put a lot of stock into him. Angle has hinted many times he wants to come back and with ihs contract coming up, he's very hittable for Vince as far as a steal. RVD: big name, nowhere near as big as Cena or Taker. Umaga: career midcard guy. Kennedy: came back to a pop loud enough on Raw that night that people forgot to cheer him. Sting: big deal, but he could very easily walk away at any time and never look back. FOley: I think for a big enough paycheck he would come back. He's there as a name and not a wrestler. He retired what, 9 years ago? He's just not a huge factor.

See what I mean? If TNA loses any of those guys, they're in real trouble. In essence, you're asking me to believe that if everything goes absolutely right for TNA and they get every break imaginable and WWE who has survived against more threats than any wrestling company in history doesn't do as it always has and pull in fans right and left that TNA will be able to pull even. That's what you're saying. We'll also overlook the fact that WWE's midcard has been growing. The young guys are almost there. TNA's midcard is light years behind WWE's at this point, period. It's just far too much to ask.

I'm not arguing that Impact would beat Raw or even come close KB, I'm arguing that they wouldn't be nearly as hurt from the move as you claim. They most certainly would not be out of business, if TNA and Spike were willing to sit through ratings of .5s and .6s, I highly doubt a move to Monday would cripple them. Unless literally every single TNA fans shuts off Impact, I just don't see how this is going to spell the end of TNA, not with their rapid financial growth over the last year.

 

[Steamboat Ricky]

Another thing:

Hogan isn't the star that he was 10 years ago...heck...even 5 years ago. The general audience isn't going to stop watching Cena and DX to watch Hogan. It's just not going to happen.

Now, clearly, like an MSG audience is going to switch and watch Hogan, but I'm basing this mainly on the crowd I see at the blast area. Those people don't care about Hogan.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I have to agree with KB on this, people are just jumping the gun here because of Hogan signing with TNA. I think TNA going out of business might be a bit of a stretch, but I just don't see TNA performing well against Raw.

Hogan signing with them is a big deal, he's the biggest name in the history of the business. If TNA can't draw with him, they need to give it up as far as trying to bring in these well established big names cuz they don't get any bigger. If Hogan draws for TNA, you have to ask how long will it last and what kind of a role will Hogan have? Let's face it, Hogan completely blows right now when it comes to wrestling matches. I've read some stories saying that Hogan's body is so out of it that he won't even be doing his leg drop in matches anymore. Once fans get a look at how limited he is as a wrestler, I don't believe those numbers, if they do increase, will stay at those levels. At this point, Hogan seems to me to be someone that's good for special occassions rather than as a constant presence but I might be wrong. I just have no interest at all in watching him wrestle. Now, if Hogan is still of the mentality that he has been for much of his career, TNA will lose any credibility that it has with me. For instance, Hulk Hogan going over someone like Kurt Angle or AJ Styles at this point in his career would be a travesty. There are some seriously talented and athletic guys in TNA that Hogan doesn't have a prayer of working a competitive match against. But, I'll reserve final judgement until we see what TNA plans to do with him.

TNA has gone head to head with Raw once and got creamed and. Raw was moved to a Thursday night, for reasons I can't remember, and still managed to pull a 3 for the night. I know it was about two and a half years ago but Impact was doing similar numbers then that it's doing now, which is running on average in or around the low 1's. TNA did a .6 that night against Raw and I've yet to see any reason to believe TNA will do any better. If TNA plans to do this, then they'd better do it the night Hogan is supposed to make his debut on TNA television, because that's the only shot they have at getting good ratings head to head against Raw on its night. Now, never say never. I might be forced to eat my words. But I doubt it, I very seriously doubt it. I know people are excited and marking out over Hogan signing, with some legitimate reason I will admit, but it doesn't necessarily change the reality of the wrestling world as it is. If TNA can figure a way to use Hogan and his name to draw consistently bigger numbers, then I might call him the "savior" that TNA fans have been waiting for. But, if TNA management just collectively bends over and grabs their ankles for Hogan, giving him EVERYTHING he wants the way he wants it as WCW did, then this could turn in to a massive mistake for them.

People can debate which wrestling company is better, people can call TNA second rate, they can call WWE stale and all this and that but audience size can't be debated. I don't give a damn that the WWE has so many more years in business than TNA, it's a crutch that a LOT of fans are going to have to stop leaning on if Impact decides to go head to head with Raw and gets its ass beaten. Numbers don't lie, I don't care how many like TNA or WWE, the numbers are something that can't be debated.

 

[JBK2008]

WWE needs competition so it'll get off it's ass and get into gear. TNA has been on a rip all day and I think there should be a special Monday night Impact just to test the water and see how TNA does against Raw. Vince can finally shout like an idiot and people will actually know why!

 

[dansaint]

One thing that could hurt TNA...not being live and results being leaked out.

RAW gets the ratings it does, I believe, because it's live and you don't know the results yet.

If they truly want to compete with WWE...they HAVE to go LIVE on Monday's...at least a few times a month.

 

[Steamboat Ricky]

If you are looking at Hogan as a wrestling draw, I think you are looking at it from the wrong perspective.

The people that cared about Hogan wrestling in the 80s MIGHT tune in. But chances are...most of them have gotten lives and were part of the Hulkamania trend went it first ran wild.

Mostly, however, Hogan is going to attract the non-wrestling audience. This will bring in mostly reality TV viewers, and in order for TNA to keep these viewers, it's going to have to have a large non-wrestling offering. Otherwise, the ratings will be roughly the same.

 

[Slam Master]

Vince has to keep in PG, because his wife's Senate election is riding on a family-oriented product, rather than blood, sex, and sleaze. The reason he stopped the Iron Man Match was because he got all worked up and nervous when Cena bled, and wanted to make it look as unintentional as possible while taking care of the talent. If TNA pulled out all the stops while WWE stuck to the watered down stuff like they have been, it will get interesting. TNA doesn't have the finances, but they have two. possibly three new big names that could draw other interests from talent in the business.

 

[RikRaines]

As much as I want to see TNA go head to head with WWE, this is too soon. They are going to kill themselves here if they don't draw well. They are going to get McMahon riled up and well once McMahon is riled up he becomes a Creative Monster.

I want to see TNA succeed. I don't want to see them go the way of wCw, but this move has me kinda worried if it's true.

 

[Eric]

TNA needs to go balls out if they decide to be on mondays and they also need to cancel thursday show and just go full force on mondays.
One of the reasons why ratings are low is because the talent in WWE is spread out on multiple shows.
TNA needs to just keep one show a week, if its mondays then fine but it definately needs to be live and it needs to be their only show so that the best show possible will be on.

 

[the troop]

Holy Fuck! On the WZ homepage, Mark Madden says that TNA will create another show and go head to head with raw on Monday.

If this is indeed true, than this situation just got far more interesting.
As far as I am concerned, competition always brings out the best in everybody. TNA will definitely be firing on all cylinders to take down Raw. Or give them some stiff competition.
Whether you are a TNA mark or a WWE loyalist, wrestling(and Mondays) is about to become a hole lot of fun.

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

I think this isn't a bad thing for the WWE at all. Like the majority of people have stated, Hogan is WAYYYYYY past his prime, Flair is sooooo past his prime and while Bishoff may be a great wrestling mind, he is (a) no Paul Heyman, (b) he can't do anything he hasn't already done and (c) for that statement, Vince will probably plan ahead to counter the Monday night thing. I wouldn't even venture to call this the Monday Night War II due to the fact that TNA isn't viable yet. Not only will they have to compete against the WWE BUT ALSO Monday Night Football, something I just don't think they have either the star power nor the established presence to do at this moment.

Hogan will be like how he was when he 1st went to TNA, some flash in the pan who made a quick impact and that was it. So will Flair (if he joins). Everyone likes a comeback story, but no one likes it overdone and misused, plus there are so many talented YOUNG guys in TNA who are now on the verge of being pushed out the way for Hogan? Vince has to be loving this because while TNA focuses on Flair/Hogan #20,135, Vince can utiltize his younger stars to grab TNA fans attention. So no worries dear world. Let Hogan and Bishoff bury TNA once and for all.

 

[dvayne]

I think this could be just the thing to shake up wrestling. TNA has been playing it safe the last five years and now they have the talent to lay it all out. If everything goes as I see TNA could end up with

Hulk Hogan
Ric Flair
Eric Bischoff
Mr. Anderson
Mic Foley
Tazz
Desmond Wolfe
Sting
Kevin Nash
Samoa Joe
Kurt Angle
Eric Young
Matt Morgan
AJ Styles
Abyss

just to name a few

That's a strong line up of maineventers not to mention their amazing X-Division, Tag, and Womens. While I'ven always been a loyal fan I would definently switch back and forth on Mondays and probably switch to TNA for good. Raw has gotten so stale with their comedy bits and their PG era that the few Attitude era fans they haven't scared off yet could be lost to TNA.

I would rather see it go head to head with Raw than Smackdown. Smackdown is the only show i watch religiously right now because they focus on their wrestling like TNA does.

If everything goes well for TNA with this experiment they could make enough money to possibly get some underrated WWE stars to "Cross the Line"

This could lead Vince and creative to actually work to give the WWE fans a good show. I'm not recommending a Attitude Era again (as much as I would love it) but But Monday Night Wars was good for everyone involved

IF TNA does better promotion for their company which is very possible now with the acquisition of Hogan and Bischoff I could see them becoming a major threat by this time next year.

So I ask you how long before us the fans "Cross the LIne" to TNA!!!

 

[wolvdog316]

I don't understand this move by TNA. I understand TNA wants to compete with WWE, understandable. I also understand they feel Hogan and Bischoff can hurt Vince, I can understand that. But....BUT....wouldn't you at least WAIT and see if Bischoff and Hogan can draw in TNA before they piss Vince off? I love Hogan, and you bet your ass I will tune into TNA to see him debut.

But what then? Hogan vs AJ or Samoe or Abyss or Sting just doesn't excite me. So I don't understand why you go against the best when your not even in WWE's league right now. They can't even beat Smackdown.

Besides, if we are going to be SO critical of WWE, then the same needs to be for TNA. How is Bischoff going to fit into the picture? Where does that leave Russo? AJ styles is already bitching about being a weak champion, and Hernandez getting screwed over...well welcome to Hogan world. Do we really think he is going to go to TNA to elevate TNA? Or force Vince to rehire him back for a huge WM payday with Cena?

If TNA stays in the same shitty studio for Impact, that's no different then when WCW was taping in the studio barely drawing 1.8s with Hogan, Flair, Vader, Sting and such.

People are SO hung up on Hogan being a draw, but in reality, Hogan was a huge draw in the 80's and then a huge draw for a few months in his return to WWE. Hogan drawing in WCW was pathetic until nWo. And that had everybit to do with Nash and Hall as it did Hogan. And I can't stand Nash. Hogan has yet to show he can be a draw for considerable amount of time.

My point is this. And call me a WWE mark all ya want even though I hardly ever watch Raw. The fact is this and can't be disputed. If you want to take on Vince, and succeed even for a year or two, you MUST hit him at once.

Bring in Hogan, bring in Flair, bring in Bischoff, get rid of Russo, go live on Mondays and get into Arenas every week. Do it now before the Hogan and Flair nostalgia is gone, which I'm guessing won't take long. Don't bring Hogan, but stay taped. Don't bring in Bischoff if he has to share ideas with Russo.

And don't challenge Vince McMahon unless you are ready to give everything you have and then some. Cause if you blink, if you have a miscue, Vince will crush you. And if you think for one second Vince WON'T revert back to cussing, nude women, blood to beat TNA for the sake of his wife senate seat, then you haven't been paying attention.

For my sake, I hope TNA succeeds, I hope WWE responds, and I hope I have to reason to watch wrestling again. Here's to hoping

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

I think this could be just the thing to shake up wrestling. TNA has been playing it safe the last five years and now they have the talent to lay it all out. If everything goes as I see TNA could end up with

Hulk Hogan
Ric Flair
Eric Bischoff
Mr. Anderson
Mic Foley
Tazz
Desmond Wolfe
Sting
Kevin Nash
Samoa Joe
Kurt Angle
Eric Young
Matt Morgan
AJ Styles
Abyss

everyone you mentioned with the exception of Desmond Wolfe, Joe, Young, Styles & Abyss were all former WWE stars. I bring this up to make my point as TNA doesn't have anyone that the WWE didn't already have and the WWE is STILL the permier organization in the world, bar none. Simply put, until the day comes that TNA can stand on it's on with the majority of its main-eventers NOT coming from the WWE, then it will continue to play 2nd fiddle. Say whatever you want, hell, they can bring in Stone Cold and still be 2nd, because fans will ALWAYS identify their brand with the WWE. What Vince did in the early to mid 80s was take mid-carders and make them stars (though Hogan, Piper and Steamboat were hardly mid-carders but the rest of them were.

He did that and made the fans see the characters NOT their past. TNA has yet to do that. Foley? Still the same "hardcore legend" he was in WCW, ECW & WWE. The Dudleys? The same. Sting. The same. Angle. The same. Nothing's change except the location, that's all.

So bringing Hogan and Bishoff (and possibly Flair) in will do nothing to continue to promote the brand, it will only hinder it that much more. Think about it, who would you rather watch on Monday nights as a fan??? Sting battling Hogan (who by then would have politicked himself to death for the title), or Orton and Kingston? I don't care for Cena and make no bones about it, BUT I'd PAY to see him than watch Nash stumble around the ring fighting Flair any day of the week. Simply put, TNA is doomed to fail until their stars are THEIR stars, not Vince's table scraps.

 

[klunderbunker]

The problem with the ratings argument is simple: advertisers and sponsors aren't going to pay for shows drawing .5 or .6s. Spike could put old UFC fights on and draw higher than that. If people don't watch, they don't see the advertisements. If that happens, companies won't pay and there's no TV time. See what I mean about going out of business now? Staying in their current time slot gives them a chance to grow more and have a steady base. Once they do that in another 5 years or so, THEN make the jump. Until then it's suicide and throwing away all of the work they've done.

 

[WWEIsLife]

I agree TNA is making a huge mistake. Just because they signed Hogan they think they can challenge RAW on Mondays? Somehow I don't see it happening very much if at all. Im sure it will a little maybe people like Sidous will watch it but Im sticking with RAW on Mondays. Call me a WWE Mark if you want,TNA is ok but I still prefer WWE over TNA.

 

[Enigma]

I agree TNA is making a huge mistake. Just because they signed Hogan they think they can challenge RAW on Mondays? Somehow I don't see it happening very much if at all. Im sure it will a little maybe people like Sidous will watch it but Im sticking with RAW on Mondays. Call me a WWE Mark if you want,TNA is ok but I still prefer WWE over TNA.

Considering your username, you are a mark.

TNA moving to Mondays is a good move actually. There is a mass of wrestling fans that stopped watching due to WWE, with a move like this they can attract old viewers and new ones. Just how people were turned off WCW and got attracted to the WWF Attitude era. TNA has that WWF-Attitude-Era-like edge, so they can definitely pull it off.