Will the March 8th iMPACT! become another "January 4th"?

[Chicago1989]

After watching this week's iMPACT!, I thought that this should be something to talk about. Everytime TNA goes live, we expect them to bring the best show that they can make. But in the end, when you review their live shows, they end up being bad. There's always poor booking, botches, short matches, rushed segments on these shows. TNA always give us promises and guarantees of how they're going to make the "Best iMPACT! in TNA history" and I've heard this SO MANY times...

TNA said that the iMPACT! video game was going to be the greatest wrestling video game of all time and...look at it now.

The Las Vegas live show from 2008 was billed as the greatest iMPACT! ever but it was mediocre at best when you look back on it.

The January 4th show was just a complete clusterf*ck. Matches were short, there were botches, the booking was terrible, the presentation was bad...but they said it was the greatest iMPACT! ever.

My question is, do you think this March 8th live show will be any different than the last two live shows where everything's just a mess and will TNA deliver the goods this time? And will you also be watching the March 8th show?

 

[RicSpade]

You can't help but atleast switch back in forth between WWE and TNA like the old days of WWF and WCW there is going to be something to peak your interest maybe its a favorite wrestler or maybe its nostalgia or maybe its those shocker moments, whatever the case may be I can't see a regular fan unless you have no clue about TNA will be tuning in at some point throughout the night.

There are a lot of differences between TNA and WCW going live obviously and there has been a lot of differences between TNA going live then and two months later.

The first live impact actually had the return bout from a Destination X and was the first two hour impact (you have to go back to the beginning run on Spike for those who don't know what I am talking about) and it was actually a decent show.

The Las Vegas show and the Jan 4th impact while not the most exciting impact of all time unless you look at the Jan 4th main event which was one of the most entertaining TNA main events I have seen, there was a sense of we are under a new rule so we have to see what we can actually do with this, and you know Bischoff and Hogan and Dixie and Russo and Jarrett and whoever else had went this is what happened when we went live and what do we need to do to make this run smoother and this is why 2 months later as opposed to two weeks later they decided to officially move to Mondays and I honestly think they will be a slow process I mean before I look at TNA right now as WCW in the early 90's pre NWO with a late 90's attitude, will it deliver a homerun? probably not but they are going to keep throwing out all these things to make you guess over and over again until you are hooked.

So will it be better then Jan 4th production wise, I'm sure it will be. Will it be as entertaining as Jan 4th that'll depend on the show booked I would assume that with all the hooks they have going on from Abyss/Hogan to Nash and the band to Jarrett Bischoff to their big surprises there is going to be something there you will not want to miss.

 

[Jeffingb3oh3]

I think the way that they hyped up the TNA impact on janurary fourth was just for the return of Hulk back to the squared circle, this time they are making the move for sure to Monday night's. They didn't do a overall good job of hyping the show up, except for Hulk's debut. But since this is the first live TNA impact since making the move over to Monday night's, they are going to watch to draw more people in, which means they are going to put on the best possible show that they possibly could. They are also going head to head with WWE a few weeks before Wrestlemania as well, and Criss Angel is a big draw, so they are going to need to do something to keep the traditional wrestling fan happy. So, my answer is yes, this show will be better than the one that put on in Jan.

 

[Michael_Page]

I dont believe that this Mondays TNA iMPACT will be anything like Jan.4th because i dont think they will cram like 20 superstars in a 2 hour show. Im hoping that more thought will be brought into this mondays impact.Plus im sure Hulk's got sum trick up his sleeve. Guess we will have to wait and find out.

 

[psykohurricane]

Personally i don'T necessarily cared about what they do anymore. The fact of the matter is that Hulk Hogan himself said that they would have alot of surprises happening this monday night. We already know that RVD is coming to TNA on Monday and we will probably see a Hulk Hogan Heel turn on monday so what's left for them to do that would actually surprise them. The only thing i could see them do that would really surprise me at this point is have them destroy the IMPACT Zone and say they are going on the road everyweek for IMPACT. Outside of that, just by seeing that last few episode of IMPACT, it going to be alot like the january 4th episode.

Since Impact got a replay on thursday and i'm more interested in watching RAW, i'm going to watch RAW on monday and if i got time for it watch IMPACT on thursday like i always do.

 

[The Decrypter]

But... if they go on the road from then on, their schedule will be more akin to that of WWE's. That also means their "lighter scheduling" deals and contracts won't be as such anymore, therefore, making WWE even more of a better choice since they'd both be on the road anyway, and WWE is by far the bigger/better company.

 

[codatious99]

keep this short and simple.

there is now way they can do worse than jan 4th.

If they didnt do the show live from the impact zone they wouldnt sell enough seats in any other good sized arena... high school gym might sell out.

if i have to see 95% backstage promos and worthless hype over criminals and wwe rejects im just going to turn the channel.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The hype surrounding TNA's permanent move to Monday nights has been nill when compared to Hulk Hogan's debut with the company on January 4th. TNA and Hulk Hogan literally spend months making the rounds and getting the word out on TNA making a live iMPACT! on January 4, 2010 on the same night as WWE Raw. Buzz was out all over the internet and there was a ton of excitement about it for a number of reasons. First and foremost, this episode would potentially herald the beginning of a new Monday Night War and it had internet fans salivating.

Fast forward three months and you can see that the excitement for TNA's permanent move isn't nearly what I was expecting it to be. Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff have made their debut, Hogan's been doing his thing, some changes have been made, some wrestlers are being pushed that weren't prior to their coming, etc. In the end, I'd say that the Hogan/Bischoff era has received mixed reviews and is a key factor with the overall lack of buzz and excitement. Hogan is probably going to turn heel Monday night, RVD will almost certainly make his debut, there maybe a few other of Hogan's friends/associates that pop up on the show, etc. With the exception of RVD making an appearance, I'm not particularly interested in TNA on March 8th. The WWE is in the middle of still pushing and building up WrestleMania and, quite frankly, that's much more interesting to me than watching Hulk Hogan be made the center of TNA's attention.

If you think about it, the whole idea of a Monday Night War can be rendered moot for many people. With the DVR, you can watch one show live and record the other one to watch later. A lot of people on this forum did that on January 4th and will probably do it again when TNA moves to Mondays permanently. Even if Raw is the one that's recorded, it will still be the same as if you had watched the show ratings wise while the DVR was recording it. Besides that, as far as I know, TNA will replay Monday's shows on Thursdays. The only way this will be an actual sequel to the Monday Night Wars is if about 2 or 3 million people stop watching Raw altogether.

 

[Phenomenal]

Jan 4th is what TNA needs on March 8th. You ******s have been bitching about other things that everyone has forgotten the AJ vs Angle 20 min classic.

 

[VintageWWE]

TNA's move to Monday nights won't get any attention from me until they really make a full move and stop replays on Thursdays. There is essentially no difference with the move. Why would I or any other wrestling fan miss out on Raw to see a show they can see three days later in replay. The March 8th show will be exactly like like January 4th. TNA will just waste time with backstage segments and try and cram as much talent into the show as possible. I'd rather wait for the results to decide if I'll catch it on replay than flip between channels.

 

[Brahma Bull]

the only reason why im gunna flip channels is for the debut of rvd and the return of sting. which may show that january 4th will be like march 8th.

now i know i am just one person and i dont speak for everyone, but i think it will be a lot like jan 4th in that they just try to pack it with debuts and returns and a LOT of talking, which is not too bad if they balance that with good matches. the main event interests me, especially since sting is coming back, and it will probably help tna attrack some viewers.

but as someone earlier said, why watch monday when you can watch thursday? i would barely flip over to tna on monday without the rerun (mostly because it is close to wrestlemania) but since i can watch impact thursday, i will only watch tna during wwe commercials, which funny enough is exactly what the wwe sponsors dont want, lol.

i dont know if this completely answered your question, so ill just sum it up with: people look foward to debutes. there will be many of them with less wrestling, but it will set the stag for better impacts. (sting and rvd will only help tna)

and whether you want to see 2 old dudes wrestle or not, hulk wrestling again for the first time, and flair wrestling again for the first time is HUGE!!! (note: i know they wrestled in australia, but it doesnt really matter since hardly anyone knew about/saw it.)

 

[hatehabsforever]

Unfortunately, yes, 03/08/2010 will be another 01/04/2010. And trust me, that's not a compliment. In fact it bodes ominously for the future of TNA.

Style rather than substance. Hype, without the ability to back it up. At least Jan 4 had a lot of build up, and the anticipation of Hogan/Bischoff, hell even Jeff Hardy's cameo.

March 08 has virtually nothing, except for a returning RVD. Otherwise, a bunch of old men who don't have the ability or good sense to know when to hang the boots up, being directed by people who don't know what the hell they're doing.

If last night iMPACT was any indication of the direction of TNA, they won't survive 2010.

 

[WWEIsLife]

I too am not expecting much out of TNA on thier move to Monday starting Next Week. I only watched a little of the Jan 4th Show before RAW that night and I wanted that time back,it was really bad. Im sticking with RAW on Mondays plus with Wrestlemania right around the corner is enough for me stick with WWE on Monday Nights. Other than RVD showing up I have no interest in watching The Hulk Hogan Show.

 

[jpayne900]

This coming from a huge TNA fan,TNA IS screwed! =[
They've gone from 2.2 mill viewers to 1.5 in two weeks,not good not good at all
I hope im wrong.

I personally will keep on supporting TNA.
They need to do more alot more if they wanna compete
WWE is not gonna keep knocking them down,They are gonna hold them under water an drown them, until Vince buys them out.C'mon Hogan Bischoff what are you guys doing?

 

[BatistrioFlyPunt]

Isn't it funny that the people who wouldn't get signed on the WWE make it in TNA? That's the EXACT reason they have a 4-sided ring, and moves to Monday. The shows will always suck because they try so hard to copy everything the WWE is doing. Apparently they can't sell a heel-turn (which the WWE did just recently with Batista). The fans just don't get that AJ Styles is a heel which is pretty crappy considering that they now have two of the WWE's has-beens. They cram everyone in because it's 2 hours. Now, for instance, if it was 3 hours it'd be fine but they still try so hard to copy the WWE. So to answer the question: YES it will be a crappy show.

 

[Tastycles]

If TNA focus on making a decent wrestling show rather than a clusterfuck of suprises then it will be a lot better than the 4 January show. Raw is the worst it has been in my memory over the past few months, and all TNA has to do is play it slow and steady and gradually build up its audience. The jump to direct competition has come to soon, but working within that, TNA has to focus on compelling viewing and constant all over the place suprises isn't ever going to acheive that because eventually the suprise is going to be Shannon Moore. They're going with this first five minutes thing, which is a good idea, but they need to make sure that after that, the show is about progressing storyylines and starting worthwhile ones, and not about having 10 backstage segments with someone who was big in 1999.

 

[hatehabsforever]

But in all likelihood, the March 08 episode will be another clusterfuck of surprises, with no direction whatsoever as that's been the trend ever since the Eric and Terry show began on Jan 04. There'll be the big "surprise" of the debut of RVD. There'll probably be a surprise debut of Shannon Moore. Jeff Hardy may make an apperance, depending on his legal status. Sting will make a surprise appearance. Not to even mention whatever the hell is going to shock the world in the Abyss/Hogan vs Styles/Flair match (possibly yet another Hogan heel turn). With all of these surprises, how can it possibly be a show with any flow or logic, it can't. It will be an attempt to woo away WWE fans with a combination of shock value and nostalgia. Hardly the skeleton upon which to build a plausible competitor for WWE.

And I'm surprised by the comment that RAW has been bad for the last several months. I think RAW has been really good lately, building up to what should be the best WM in years. A little nostalgia, lots of great matches, WM26 looks to be something which TNA smarks could only dream of ever achieving. Ever.

 

[scorpioking1026]

What i wished TNA did in terms of advertising the March 8 show is really quite simple. Announce a couple of matches that we would see besides just Hogan/Abyss vs Flair/Styles. They should have treated the permant move to Mondays almost like a PPV. Give us the card. Hell announcing matches such as Anderson vs Angel and Wolfe vs Pope would help generate some excitement. Don't give the whole card cuz that would give WWE too much time to challenge, however, announcing just the few that I mentioned wouldn't hurt. Besides the McMahon/Cena match we also know that Orton vs Legacy will happen. Surprise can be good and all but it also helps to know that there is something worth watching besides the Main Event.

 

[MisterRob]

No.

I predict TNA's permanent move to Monday will be a lackluster event that doesn't draw any new viewers or interest, and it'll just begin the first of many weeks of TNA doing the same numbers as on Thursdays and not seeing any growth at all. There's nothing interesting about TNA's product, nothing unique or eye catching, and Hogan vs. Flair isn't going to draw people in, sorry. The Hogan/Bischoff era has completely dropped the ball in my mind, just as I predicted, and there's just no reason for people (aside from already made TNA fans) to tune in on March 8th.

 

[blowjoe5]

You guys can't be serious?

Right, let's explain why this is going to be a great night.

Firstly, a 'clusterfuck of surprises'? It's very well known that surveys have shown that the majority of wrestling fans looked for surprises in a wrestling product more than anything else. They want it to be unpredictable, exciting and that's in both the matches and the storylines.

TNA have a storyline involving Joe being kidnapped by a mystery group, which we may find out more about. They have a Hogan storyline that will almost definitely have a twist, either Abyss turning Heel, other people joining Hogan etc etc. They've also been hyping this very big surprise to be unveiled in the first five minutes of Impact which wont be RVD because that news has already been broken. Hyping the first five minutes is a brilliant idea, people tune in for the surprise, hear the rundown of the show etc.

Next, TNA moving to Mondays is a great idea. More people will watch TNA even though it's competing against WWE. The trial proved that they improved ratings by about .5 in one show, and so if they maintain that, it means they'll earn more and more money and gradually get bigger and bigger. They always have the option of returning to Thursdays if it fails, but it's definitely worth a try, and now is the time.

As for Hogan wrestling, him and Flair wont see much of the action at all. Hogan has even said his body is fucked at the moment. He can barely walk. He's doing it to make AJ vs Abyss seem a bigger deal, push both guys and attract some fan nostalgia and name recognition to the show.

Bringing in people like Jimmy Hart, Waltman, Hall etc is good. Eric Young is being pushed in the storyline, so far they've been involved in little if any ring time, it's all good.

Yes, some spots on the 1/4 show failed, namely the first match, but it was there first attempt and Bischoff and Hogan hadn't been there long at all.

When you consider the difficult balancing act of pushing new talent and TNA 'homegrown' talent, and putting on big name matches, I think they're doing it very well. AJ, Joe, Abyss, Eric Young, Kaz, Beer Money, Morgan and Hernandez are all getting good pushes currently and the rest of the roster isn't suffering much.

A TNA show involving Hogan, Flair, Jarret, Sting, Mick Foley, Abyss, Pope, AJ, Daniels, Joe, Hall, Nash, Eric Young, Morgan, Hernandez, Waltman, Jimmy Hart, Kurt Angle, Mr Anderson, RVD, Jeff Hardy, Kaz, Beer Money, Amazing Red, Kendrick, Team 3D, the Nasty Boyz, Kong, Hamada, The Beautiful People, Tara and Dafney is a pretty damn good lineup as far as I'm concerned. Plus we have all the other great Knockouts, X-division wrestlers, lesser used stars and potential new steals from WWE.

I see no reason why TNA going live isn't considered exciting based on that. It features more adult storylines, unpredictable debuts and events, better wrestling in every area, womens, high flying, heavyweight and tag and is a change from the same main event combinations we've seen for years in WWE.

 

[MisterRob]

You guys can't be serious?

Right, let's explain why this is going to be a great night.

Firstly, a 'clusterfuck of surprises'? It's very well known that surveys have shown that the majority of wrestling fans looked for surprises in a wrestling product more than anything else. They want it to be unpredictable, exciting and that's in both the matches and the storylines.

TNA have a storyline involving Joe being kidnapped by a mystery group, which we may find out more about. They have a Hogan storyline that will almost definitely have a twist, either Abyss turning Heel, other people joining Hogan etc etc. They've also been hyping this very big surprise to be unveiled in the first five minutes of Impact which wont be RVD because that news has already been broken. Hyping the first five minutes is a brilliant idea, people tune in for the surprise, hear the rundown of the show etc.

Next, TNA moving to Mondays is a great idea. More people will watch TNA even though it's competing against WWE. The trial proved that they improved ratings by about .5 in one show, and so if they maintain that, it means they'll earn more and more money and gradually get bigger and bigger. They always have the option of returning to Thursdays if it fails, but it's definitely worth a try, and now is the time.

As for Hogan wrestling, him and Flair wont see much of the action at all. Hogan has even said his body is fucked at the moment. He can barely walk. He's doing it to make AJ vs Abyss seem a bigger deal, push both guys and attract some fan nostalgia and name recognition to the show.

Bringing in people like Jimmy Hart, Waltman, Hall etc is good. Eric Young is being pushed in the storyline, so far they've been involved in little if any ring time, it's all good.

Yes, some spots on the 1/4 show failed, namely the first match, but it was there first attempt and Bischoff and Hogan hadn't been there long at all.

When you consider the difficult balancing act of pushing new talent and TNA 'homegrown' talent, and putting on big name matches, I think they're doing it very well. AJ, Joe, Abyss, Eric Young, Kaz, Beer Money, Morgan and Hernandez are all getting good pushes currently and the rest of the roster isn't suffering much.

A TNA show involving Hogan, Flair, Jarret, Sting, Mick Foley, Abyss, Pope, AJ, Daniels, Joe, Hall, Nash, Eric Young, Morgan, Hernandez, Waltman, Jimmy Hart, Kurt Angle, Mr Anderson, RVD, Jeff Hardy, Kaz, Beer Money, Amazing Red, Kendrick, Team 3D, the Nasty Boyz, Kong, Hamada, The Beautiful People, Tara and Dafney is a pretty damn good lineup as far as I'm concerned. Plus we have all the other great Knockouts, X-division wrestlers, lesser used stars and potential new steals from WWE.

I see no reason why TNA going live isn't considered exciting based on that. It features more adult storylines, unpredictable debuts and events, better wrestling in every area, womens, high flying, heavyweight and tag and is a change from the same main event combinations we've seen for years in WWE.

This post has a great deal of things wrong with it.

Firstly, the trial of January 4th didn't actually gain them an improvement of .5 in the ratings. That number was very misleading. When you looked at the second two hours opposite and competing with Monday Night RAW, and you looked at the numbers TNA ended the night with in terms of audience, they were at a 1.2. That's their normal rating; they've done that consistently. They're back down to a 1.1 now, even.

Secondly, yes people like surprises, but when surprises are done for the sake of surprises and there's no rhyme or reason, no meaning within them, then they fail and become pointless. I have no optimism that any surprise TNA will reveal will be either interesting nor relevant to anything shocking and impressive. TNA's not unpredictable, it's not exciting, and the current storylines aren't even interesting.

And I don't really think TNA can claim to have a better 'wrestling' product anymore, either, because there's barely any wrestling on their shows now. Their shows are crammed with segments and promos, and what little wrestling they do seem to have is never anything to write home about. They have some great talents and some great wrestlers, but they don't seem to be using them very well in terms of wrestling matches right now, in my opinion.

 

[onemandynasty08]

Why are we expecting unrealistic things to change in TNA in two months?
TNA is almost 8 years old, while WWE is over 50 years old. WWE was founded in 1952, Raw started in 1995. Even after all those years of building a fanbase, they didn't get 6.0s consistently out of the box. While the days of 6.0 ratings for wrestling are probably long gone, TNA is not going to get a 3.0 rating in one day. Going head to head with RAW will only be good for them, because viewers will already be in the wrestling mindset. Until TNA came to Thursdays, wrestling fans hadn't seen wrestling on Thursdays when SmackDown! moved to Thursday nights. They had begun to not expect wrestling on Thursdays. However, Monday is a wrestling night, and if a wrestling fan doesn't like what he sees on Raw but still wants to see wrestling, he/she may turn to TNA. We have all these peole on the internet trying to be the head writers of the show, but I believe that some of these crazy ideas we see would flop quicker than what the TNA writers come up with.

Now on to March 8th Impact!:

- Maybe I'm alone here, but I happened to like the Hogan vs Flair ending segment. Even though it was between two people who will soon be hanging up their boots, it reminded me of the brawls that use to end wrestling shows back in the Attitude era. It gave me the cliffhanger of seeing what happens on Monday. I see Hogan vs Flair as a side story line to build up face value for AJ Styles and Abyss. I think it makes them look good when they are interacting with well known stars.

- I like how TNA always has feuds going on else where besides the main event picture. There are many feuds from top to bottom such as Hogan/Abyss vs Flair/Styles, Bischoff vs Jarrett, Styles vs Pope, Beautiful People vs Angelina Love, Angle vs Anderson, and the list continues.

- RVD possibly debuting is big. I could see him having some decent matches with the stars of TNA. It'd be interesting to see RVD vs AJ Styles somewhere down the line.

- TNA has changed some aspects of its show since Jan. 4th. TNA more than likely knows what they did wrong in the show, and are going to try hard not to let the same mistakes happen tomorrow night.