Extreme Hardcore Reunion Homecoming of One Night Justice
This month’s (and tonight’s) TNA pay-per-view, Hardcore Justice, is of course going to be an ECW reunion show. I have many thoughts about this matter, such as, “Will anyone besides WWE’s lawyers actually care enough to order it?”
Dixie’s Kongfidential Quest
I never did get to talk about the quick end to the new “Monday Night Wars,” but I don’t think I had much to say about it anyway. I still contend that TNA’s side did start off well, but quickly fell back into mediocrity and apparently lost the interest of most Monday night viewers. But the return to Thursdays was back in May, and I want to be more recent and relevant than that. In June, Dixie Carter (the TNA Wrestling president, not the recently deceased Designing Woman) began talking about some huge secret thing that would “change TNA on every level.” Not that I’m calling her a liar, but I have a hard time believing that any one thing or person is capable of swooping in and saving TNA anymore. Except maybe Paul Heyman, but apparently it’s bigger than him. What the hell could it be, then!?
(Also, I realize this is probably my worst headline yet, but that’s exactly why I had to use it.)
TNA Monday Thoughts
So TNA has now had two regular Monday shows. They have a big pay-per-view tonight before the third Monday Impact!, so I figure this is the best time to discuss their new efforts. And if I didn’t know any better, I’d swear they listened to my complaints, because I genuinely enjoyed these two shows.
And this is only going to be about Impact! and TNA, because it’s a subject that deserves its own discussion without being compared to anything else, at least for now.
Monday Night Wars: Part Two and a Half
After the success of their January 4th show, TNA and Spike TV have decided to move Impact! to Mondays permanently, starting tonight. In the exact same 9-11 timeslot that WWE’s Raw runs in, no less. This effectively marks the return of the “Monday Night Wars,” or so the TNA side would have you believe. But I’m not sure it will be much of a battle for either side.
Monday Night Wars… Part No
I wanted to wait a while until the ratings were released and the shows really sank in. Raw ended up with a 3.6, which was identical to the week before. This means they gained as much for Bret Hart as they lost to TNA. Speaking of whom, Impact! did a 1.5, which was its highest rating ever. Just based on those numbers, it’s difficult to say who “won,” because Raw was obviously still much higher, but Impact! was the one who broke records.
But I’d say that neither of them really won anything.
Monday Night Wars… Part Two?
Today is January 4th. Eleven years ago today, in 1999, was the day that many (including myself) consider the day that WCW put the final nail in their own coffin. Coincidentally, today may have the opposite effect for TNA, or so Hulk Hogan would have you believe. He recently joined the company with the apparent intention of revamping it and turning it into a legitimate “threat” for WWE, starting with a special three hour Impact! going right up against tonight’s Raw. For now, it’s just a one-time thing to test the waters, but if TNA does well, they may permanently move Impact! to Monday nights.